Horizon Season 19, Episode 21: The State of the Planet

1

The Secret of the Snake

Profile of the snake, which presents a close-up look at how it kills and digests it's prey. Also shows how snake venom could be used in the treatment of many human ailments.

60 min

2

Finding a Voice

An examination of computer-based communication aids for the severely speech impaired. Follows the trip to America of Dick Boydell, a cerebral palsy sufferer without the power of speech. At the Artificial Language Research Laboratory in Michigan, he tries out some of the machines developed the re to help him find his own voice.

60 min

3

The Sea Beyond the Dunes

Documentary which looks at the wildlife of Pleasant Bay in New England marshland s of the Eastern USA, and their habitat.

60 min

4

Whatever Happened to the Energy Crisis?

Horizon explores what might happen when fossil fuel sources are depleted.

60 min

5

Notes of a Biology Watcher

Horizon documents how every one of us is owned and operated by other individuals; by hordes of hidden organisms.

60 min

6

The Cline Affair

Documentary on the first recorded instance of genetic engineering being carried out on a human, when in 1980, Dr. Martin Cline from Los Angeles operated on a 21 year old Israeli girl in Jerusalem to renew her defective blood system by implanting human genes. The programme examines the difficult ethical and moral questions surrounding the field of genetic manipulation and looks at the future of gene therapy.

60 min

7

The Million Murdering Death

Documentary which looks at the way in which disease in the world fights back against modern scientific methods of controlling it, looking at the example of the eradication of Malaria from Sri Lanka, and recent measures to eradicate it again

60 min

8

Shots in the Dark

An examination of the use of Depo-Provera in the Third World. The contraceptive is injected and prevents pregnancy for three months, but it is banned in the U.S. because of the risk of cancer. Looks at its use in Thailand.

60 min

9

The Victims

Documentary which looks at the psychological effects of kidnapping and imprisonment on the victims,based on the psychological characteristics shown by former concentration camp victims 30 years after the end of their ordeal.

60 min

10

The Future - Made in Japan?

Examines the prospects for Japanese economic supremacy in the 1990s and asks whether Japan will be able to compete in the development of new technologies or whether it will continue to look to the West for technological innovation. Also considers whether the Japanese education system stifles creativity.

60 min

11

The Private Face of Medicine

Documentary which looks at the boom in private medicine in GB and at the effects of this on the National Health Service in the country.

60 min

12

The Fatal Bargain

Documentary which looks at the outbreak of a new disease in Spain in 1981 which has affected 17,000 people, killing 300, and the confusion which remains as to its causes. Although adulterated olive oil sold by unscrupulous businessmen is thought to be partly to blame, no-one seems sure to what extent.

60 min

13

The Miracle of Life

Documentary which shows the human reproductive cycle from conception to birth, through the use of microscopic cameras within the human body.

60 min

14

The Case of the UFOs

Documentary which looks at the phenomenon of the Unidentified Flying Object and the possible explanations behind their sighting and observation by mankind.

60 min

15

A Killing Rain

Documentary about acid rain. The effects of various forms of pollution caused by processes of everyday life, including the contamination of rain by the burning of coal and oil. Written by Jeremy Taylor.

60 min

16

Intimate Relations

A look at current research into the causes and effects of divorce in the Western world.

60 min

17

The Scientist and the Baby

Documentary which looks at the great advances in the performance of ante-natal operations on the human foetus and the implications of these technical facilities for patient and health services and allocation of resources to this sort of medicine.

60 min

18

Brave New Babies?

Oxford moral philosopher Jonathan Glover introduces some of the new developments in genetic engineering, looks at the future possibilities of human genetic engineering and outlines the ethical questions raised by these new techniques.

60 min

19

The Professor of Surgery

An informal portrait of Prof. Ian McColl at work in Guy's Hospital, London, and in Kent. He discusses what makes a good surgeon; how he teaches his students to talk to their future patients; and how much a patient should be told about what is going to happen in the operating theatre.

60 min

20

The Chopper

Traces the evolution of the helicopter, using rare archive footage of early pioneering flights. Also examines the latest research within the industry, and, with the aid of graphics, produces a glimpse of the helicopter of the future

60 min

21

The State of the Planet

Documentary on the discussions at the second UN Environment Conference,in London in 1982,illustrating the points made in the debates on the possible future of the planet.

60 min

22

The Mysterious Mr. Tesla

Documentary about the little known Yugoslav-American scientist Nikola Tesla, whose experiments with electricity and wireless foreshadowed the discoveries of Edison and Marconi. Some of his most spectacular experiments are recreated by the programme's presenter Robert Syme.

60 min