Biology

Photosynthisis | Bitesize Science

Photosynthesis is essential to life on this planet.

The Lungs | Made of Stronger Stuff

Psychologist Kimberley Wilson and Dr Xand van Tulleken take a journey around the human body. In this episode it's the turn of the airbags,...

Generation of clean fuels | Botany: A Blooming History

Scientists harnessing the processes in photosynthesis.

Calvin-Benson cycle | Botany: A Blooming History

How Benson and Calvin established the biochemical reactions involved in photosynthesis.

How photosynthesis is vital to the success of farming | Science of the Harvest

Stefan Gates reveals how we can see photosynthesis in action using some simple props.

Trees and carbon dioxide | Making Scotland's Landscape

The important role that trees play in clearing carbon dioxide.

The discovery of chloroplast | Botany: A Blooming History

Timothy Walker explains how Julius von Sachs discovered where starch was made in a plant, and how new microscopy te...

How iodine was used to discover starch in plant leaves | Botany: A Blooming History

How botanists made the connection between a plant's growth and the energy from the sun.

An introduction to photosynthesis | Short Circuit

An introduction to how plants photosynthesise using chlorophyll, and how important the process is in maintaining the balanc...

1: Life From Light | How to Grow a Planet

How plants have driven the greatest changes to the Earth. Prof Iain Stewart shows how they first harnessed light from the sun and c...

2: Photosynthesis | Botany: A Blooming History

The air we breathe, and all the food we eat, is created from water, sunlight, carbon dioxide and a few minerals. That's it, no...

How commercial growers apply knowledge of photosynthesis | Botany: A Blooming History

Spec references J247: B1.4e J250: B1.4e. How commercial growers increase the amount of ...

Photosynthesis research by Julius von Sachs | Botany: A Blooming History

Spec references J247: B1.4d. Experiment by Julius von Sachs which involves testing for starch in lea...

Photosynthesis research by Jan Ingenhouz | Botany: A Blooming History

Spec references J247: B1.4d J250: B1.4d. How Jan Ingenhouz researched photosynthesis by putting plants ...

Rate of photosynthesis | i-Science

Photosynthesis is the chemical reaction through which plants make glucose and oxygen. It is crucial to all life on Earth because it is the...

Photosynthesis | Curriculum Bites

Schools science programme where topics in the double science curriculum are broken down into small chunks.

Respiration | Curriculum Bites

Schools science programme where topics in the double science curriculum are broken down into small chunks.

Breathing | Curriculum Bites

Schools science programme where topics in the double science curriculum are broken down into small chunks.

How cancer changes our cells | Bang Goes the Theory

Liz Bonnin explains and illustrates what it means for a cell to become cancerous.

Growing bacteria | Bitesize Science

Bacteria reproduce by cloning themselves, and in the right conditions can reproduce very quickly.

Beneath the surface | Bitesize Science

Microscopes continue to develop over time, giving us access to increasingly incredible magnification.

Dance of the chromosomes | Bitesize Science

Mitosis is a type of cell replication that is essential to the human body's ability to grow and repair.

All life needs water | Bitesize Science

Osmosis is a special type of diffusion, involving water, where molecules move from a high to a low concentration.

When a sperm cell meets an egg cell | Inside the Human Body

Using state-of-the-art graphics, Michael Mosley shows what happens in the moments a sperm cell meets an egg cell.

Collagen | Secrets of Skin

Collagen makes up 90% of the skin dermis. Professor Ben Garrod talks to a scientist studying collagen whose research has some ground-breaking appl...

Elastin | Secrets of Skin

Why do we get wrinkles? Professor Ben Garrod explores the function of elastin in an animal's skin.

Epidermis | Secrets of Skin

Professor Ben Garrod gives a brief introduction to the structure of skin, especially the epidermis.

The process of meiosis | Short Circuit

The process of meiosis in sperm and egg cells is explained and illustrated.

The process of mitosis | Short Circuit

The process of mitosis, seen through a microscope, and then illustrated and explained with a computer simulation.

What makes up a cell? | Short Circuit

A computer simulation of a cell allows us to see the structure of a cell close-up.

Sperms race to the egg | James May's Things You Need to Know

James May explains the human reproductive system and how sperm reaches the egg.

How is radiotherapy kept safe? | Bang Goes the Theory

Liz Bonnin explains how cells turn cancerous by blowing high-tech bubbles.

3: The Spark of Life | The Cell

Adam Rutherford reveals how scientists are close to repeating what has happened only once in four billion years - the creation of a new life ...

1: The Hidden Kingdom | The Cell

Adam Rutherford tells the story of the biological cell. He explores how centuries of scientific and religious dogma were overturned by the d...

2: The Chemistry of Life | The Cell

Adam Rutherford explores how scientists delved deeper into the world of the cell, seeking to reveal the magic ingredient that can bring c...

S2E5: Size Matters | Dara O'Briain's Science Club

Dara and the team reveal why size matters in science and how discoveries large and small are changing the way we view the u...

Off The Scale | Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds

The human eye can see extraordinary detail, but the eye of a needle held at arm's length is pretty much at the limit of ou...

Infested! Living with Parasites

Dr Michael Mosley explores the bizarre and fascinating world of parasites by turning his body into a living laboratory and deliberately infes...

S2E4: The Poles | Spy in the Wild

The Spy Creatures travel to the lands of ice and snow beyond the Arctic and Antarctic circles, observing the hardiest and most charismatic ...

S2E3: The Islands | Spy in the Wild

The spy creatures explore the islands of the southern seas. Some of the most unique animals on earth have evolved in these isolated place...

S2E2: The North | Spy in the Wild

The Spy Creatures travel to the temperate lands north of the tropics, where life is governed by the rhythm of the seasons. Their destinatio...

S2E1: The Tropics | Spy in the Wild

The spy creatures infiltrate a hippo pod, a nursery of red flying foxes and the secret world of pygmy forest elephants.

S1E4: Mischief | Spy in the Wild

Animatronic spy creatures discover that mischief is rife in nature, but there are still rules that govern the animals' lives.

S1E5: Meet the Spies | Spy in the Wild

A behind-the-scenes view of the story behind deploying the Spy Creatures, showing how the concept evolved and became the inspiration f...

S1E3: Friendship | Spy in the Wild

Animatronic spy creatures go undercover to discover how friendships are a vital part of animal societies, helping them survive in a danger...

S1E2: Intelligence | Spy in the Wild

Animatronic spy creatures go undercover to explore the world of animal intelligence and reveal their use of tools, self-medication, cult...

S1E1: Love | Spy in the Wild

Documentary in which animatronic spy creatures infiltrate the animal world to explore their complex emotions.

Life In The Snow

Gordon Buchanan meets the animals who live in nature's winter wonderlands, from the polar bear mother helping her cubs to the owl searching for food.

David Attenborough | The Queen's Platinum Jubilee

David Attenborough speaks about the environment. Also, includes footage of the drones that turn into animals.

Yunnan snubnosed monkey | Wild China

High in the mountains of China lives the yunnan snub-nosed monkey.

The invasive chameleons of Hawaii | Earth's Tropical Islands

Invasive species like these chameleons are a threat to the native wildlfe of Hawaii.

Rhea war dance | Natural World

Male rheas fight to win a harem of females.

Man-made ant nest | Planet Ant: Life Inside the Colony

Take a wander into the wondrous world of ant colonies.

Flying spiders | Life in the Undergrowth

David Attenborough looks at gossamer threads made by baby money spiders. The spiderlings use this gossamer to travel by 'ballooning'.

Cockatoos | Australia: Earth's Magical Kingdom

A parrot finds a tree hollow to lay her eggs in, the hollow is dry and out of reach from predators. The cockatoos also want to...

Big meeting | Elephant Diaries

Jonathan Scott meets Emily, matriarch of the orphan elephant herd.

Baby ibex chased by fox | Planet Earth II

Vertiginous slopes keep ibex families safe from predators but they need to descend to flat ground to drink and this brings them in ...

Personal staff | The Trials of Life

Looking at how species form partnerships or associations in the fight for survival.

How does inheritance work? | Dara O'Briain's Science Club

How the body keeps warm in cold environments | Inside the Human Body

Using state-of-the-art graphics, Michael Mosley shows what happens in our bodies when we get cold.

The role of the hypothalamus in water levels in blood | Short Circuit

An explanation and visualisation of how the hypothalamus works to control water concentration in the bl...

S2E2: Female Reproductive Organs | Dr Alice Roberts: Don't Die Young

Dr Alice Roberts turns her attention to the female reproductive organs where she uses an MRI scanner to ...

S2E1: Male Reproductive Organs | Dr Alice Roberts: Don't Die Young

In the first of a new series, Dr Alice Roberts explains how the male reproductive organs work and has advi...

S1E1: Reproduction | Dara O'Briain's Science Club

Dara O Briain and a team of experts look at the world of reproduction and inheritance. Comedian Ed Byrne discovers just how...

1: Challenges of Life | Life

David Attenborough examines how living long enough to breed is a monumental struggle, and how many animals and plants go to extremes to give the...

How the body maintains temperature | The Human Body: Secrets of Your Life Revealed

Spec references J247: B3.3b. Experiment to observe change in temperature and how it affect...

How the body responds to extreme temperatures | The Human Body: Secrets of Your Life Revealed

Chris van Tulleken uses a miniature thermometer to explore what happens to his ...

Fear Response | The Human Body: Secrets of Your Life Revealed

Chris van Tulleken accompanies some snake hunters at work, showing what happens inside our bodies when we exper...

The body's response to extreme cold | The Human Body: Secrets of Your Life Revealed

How do our bodies react and respond when we dive into freezing water?

An Introduction to Homeostasis | The Human Body: Secrets of Your Life Revealed

We live on a knife edge, and we are amazingly good at doing it. Chris van Tulleken gives a sim...

Homeostasis in Humans | GCSE Bitesize Revision

Spec references J247: B3.3g, B3.3i, B3.3j. Summary of homeostasis including removal of waste products, managing water levels, ...

Homeostasis | GCSE Bitesize Revision

Spec references J247: B3.3a, B3.3b, B3.3c, B3.3d, B3.3e, B3.3g, B3.3j. Higher paper content for homeostasis. Structure of the kidney, ho...

Let's Talk About Periods | Newsround Specials

Half of the world's population have periods - yet people are often embarrassed to talk about them. Lauren Layfield meets expert...

Hormone Hell | Body Chemistry

Bodily hormones tell us it's still the Stone Age and that if life was simpler, such torments as puberty, PMT and the menopause wouldn't be a pr...

What are hormones? | The Fantastical World of Hormones with Professor John Wass

Professor John Wass gives a simple introduction to hormones, what they are, and how they work...

The Fantastical World of Hormones with Professor John Wass

Expert John Wass presents a documentary telling the story of how hormones were discovered and remain at medicine's...

T Cells | Made of Stronger Stuff

Psychologist Kimberley Wilson and Dr Xand van Tulleken take a journey through the body's immune system and profile a remarkable white blood ...

S7E2 | Bang Goes the Theory

In response to recent fears about the future of antibiotics, the Bang Goes the Theory team investigates germs and infection.

Antibacterial resistance | Bang Goes the Theory

A demonstration of how bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics.

Defeating superbugs | Dara O'Briain's Science Club

Could it be, that of all people, the Victorians had the answer to defeating superbugs all along?

The role of T cells and antibodies when fighting an infection | Inside the Human Body

Using state-of-the-art graphics, Michael Mosley explains what happens when a virus ente...

An introduction to phagocytes | Inside the Human Body

Michael Mosley looks at how white blood cells, called phagocytes, fight bacteria inside our blood.

The process of healing a wound | Inside the Human Body

Using state-of-the-art graphics, Michael Mosley illustrates what happens inside the body in response to a wound or inj...

What happens when you get a cold? | James May's Things You Need to Know

James May asks the big questions about his body. Why are we made like this? In this clip, he explains...

Episode 6 | Your Body Uncovered with Kate Garraway

Kate and Guddi meet Paul, a dad of two who has been dealing with the aftermath of a severe stroke, and Janet, whose back p...

Episode 5 | Your Body Uncovered with Kate Garraway

Kate and Guddi meet Miriam, a young woman with debilitating endometriosis, as she comes face to face with the source of he...

Episode 3 | Your Body Uncovered with Kate Garraway

Kate meets Judith, a singer struggling with a thyroid nodule affecting her voice, as well as Melina, whose favourite foods...

Episode 4 | Your Body Uncovered with Kate Garraway

Kate and Dr Guddi meet Tina, whose adventurous lifestyle has ground to a halt because of a spine problem, and Annabelle, w...

Episode 2 | Your Body Uncovered with Kate Garraway

Kate meets Rozi, a doting grandmother to 23 grandchildren, who tries to understand why Covid-19 hit her so hard, as well a...

Episode 1 | Your Body Uncovered with Kate Garraway

Kate and Guddi meet Hilda, a fashion influencer suffering from fibroids who confronts her debilitating condition, as well ...

4: Behaviour | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

Documentary series about the effect of medicine on life expectancy. How the readiness of communities to engage wi...

3: Data | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

Documentary series about the effect of medicine on life expectancy. Before a vaccine or an effective treatment can com...

2: Medical Drugs | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

Documentary series about the effect of medicine on life expectancy. How knowledge gained from the discovery o...

1: Vaccines | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

Documentary series about the effect of medicine on life expectancy. How the development and delivery of the smallp...

S2E6: The Immune System | Dr Alice Roberts: Don't Die Young

Dr Alice Roberts endures a terrifying test to see how well her immune system works and swab analysis at a student...

3: Poison | Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicines

Dr Michael Mosley explores how scientists went from finding antidotes to poisons to applying poisons as cur...

The Beasts Within | Walking with Beasts

A look behind the scenes at the making of the series on prehistoric mammals. TV special effects show how Man's dextrous hands & expre...

Mammoth Journey | Walking with Beasts

Last in the series follows a herd of mammoths as they make their way south for winter, running a gauntlet of ice-age hunters including ...

Triumph of the Beasts | Walking with Beasts

The incredible story of how mammals took over from the dinosaurs as the largest, fastest and fiercest creatures on Earth.

Sabre Tooth | Walking with Beasts

This episode follows the progress of a Smilodon called Half Tooth. Smilodon was the largest of all the sabre tooth cats which roamed South ...

Next of Kin | Walking with Beasts

We travel back 3 million years to Ethiopia, where Australopithecus, one of the first upright apes, lived in danger of being hunted by sabre...

Land of Giants | Walking with Beasts

25 million years ago in the Oligocene Epoch lived the Indricotheres. Weighing 15 tonnes and standing 7 metres tall, they were the larges...

Whale Killer | Walking with Beasts

36 million years ago mammals ruled the world. It is in the sea, however, that the most monstrous mammals can be found.

New Dawn | Walking with Beasts

The series following on from Walking with Dinosaurs. begins 49 million years ago. The world is heavily forested and birds rule the planet, pre...

Woolly Mammoth: Secrets from the Ice

Professor Alice Roberts on the natural history of the woolly mammoth, revealing adaptations that helped the species evolve from their or...

The defensive spines of a porcupine | Secrets of Skin

Porcupine spines are enough to deter the most dangerous of predators.

S4E6 | Bang Goes the Theory

Liz Bonnin looks at the controversial science of genetically modified crops in Hawaii, while Dallas tries to remedy Jem's dust allergy by making ...

The Making of Man's Best Friend | Dog Tales and Cat Tales

The latest archaeology and genetics answer the biggest questions about dogs. Where did they come from? How can they...

What contributions has The Human Genome Project made? | Dara O'Briain's Science Club

When the human genome was sequenced, it was heralded as one of the most significant even...

How many genes do we have compared to a banana? | Dara O'Briain's Science Club

Dara O'Briain explores how many genes humans have in common with mice, fruit flies, and bananas.

Vavilov and the first seed banks | Botany: A Blooming History

Nikolai Vavilov’s work crossing plant varieties led him to establish the first seed bank.

The development of artificial selection in farming | Science of the Harvest

Stefan Gates reveals the ways in which plant breeders can speed up natural selection.

Genetically Modified Papaya | Bang Goes the Theory

An examination of the need for, and the potential issues with, the genetic modification of papayas in Hawaii.

Echolocation | Secrets of Bones

Sperm whales have extraordinary sensory capabilities, and use echolocation to hunt and locate their prey.

Sensory Hub | Secrets of Bones

While skulls evolved in order to protect the brain, they've since adapted to become a sensory hub.

Soar and glide | Secrets of Bones

While pigeons have adapted to be all rounders, other birds have adapted to be able to execute specialised forms of flight.

Alcohol and the brain | The Secrets of Your Food

Michael explains what happens to the brain when we drink alcohol.

Chillis, capsaicin and ''pain'' | The Secrets of Your Food

James finds out why we like the taste of chillies and the idea of "pain" or "burn" with our food.

Coffee, caffeine and cravings | The Secrets of Your Food

James finds out about a study done with bees that suggest caffeine works in a similar way to fat when it comes to ou...

Fat, addiction and the reward pathway | The Secrets of Your Food

Michael describes in detail what is happening in the pleasure centres of our brain and why such fatty foods ...

Clotted cream, fat and taste receptors | The Secrets of Your Food

Michael explains how the structure of fatty foods can affect how it tastes in our mouth and therefore what...

Chocolate cravings | The Secrets of Your Food

James explains why treats like chocolate are so pleasurable for our brains and why its chemical makeup links back to when we we...

Fat and the brain | The Secrets of Your Food

Fats have a "rewarding" effect on the brain, the more fat we eat the more we stimulate the "reward pathway".

Vitamins and mushrooms | The Secrets of Your Food

When you can't get enough sunlight to top up your vitamin D levels, mushrooms can act as a good alternative source.

Calcium, lactose and yogurt | The Secrets of Your Food

James explains why calcium is good for our bones and how yogurt can even be a source of it for those with lactose into...

Fats, Omega 3 and Scotland | The Secrets of Your Food

Essential fatty acids like Omega 3 can be hard to source however Scottish beef has an abundance due to the high levels ...

Amino acids and sweetcorn | The Secrets of Your Food

James explains what our amino acids are and how a certain type of sweetcorn can be a good source for them.

Eggs, muscles and wrestling | The Secrets of Your Food

Michael describes how beneficial a cooked egg is for the body especially when exercise is a constant.

Eggs and protein | The Secrets of Your Food

Michael explains the chemical makeup of a standard chicken egg and why they are a great source of protein.

The Science of Sourdough | The Secrets of Your Food

Michael describes exactly what is chemically happening when sourdough is being made.

Carbohydrates and energy | The Secrets of Your Food

James defines what carbohydrates are and why they are essential for our everyday.

Breast Milk | The Secrets of Your Food

Michael examines the chemical makeup of breast milk to see what nutrition babies are being provided with.

The Spine | Made of Stronger Stuff

Psychologist Kimberley Wilson and Dr Xand van Tulleken take a journey around the human body. In this episode, it's the turn of the backbon...

Blood Vessels | Bitesize Science

A short guide on blood vessels in the body.

The circulatory system | Bitesize Science

A short guide on the circulatory system.

The dead-horse arum and the titan arum | The Private Life of Plants

David Attenborough describes how the dead-horse arum and the titan arum are able to reproduce.