Go inside the bodies of two women whose natural systems each must deal with foreign organisms trying to control its host: a flu virus and a growing fetus. The body's reaction to and changes from each "invader" are truly remarkable
This episode explores the human body's miraculous power to build and regenerate its intricate structures, and how the inevitable dimishment of that ability brings about aging and death.
Unravel the mysteries of the two most important organs in the human body - the heart and the brain. First, take a look at how frail the human heart is as an emergency team frantically works to save a heart-attack victim. Then, meet a man whose brain cannot correctly transmit signals - because he's consumed too much alcohol.
Follow the flow of hormones from pituitary glands on through the bloodstream of two young teens, Darren and Natalie, as the dramatic effects of puberty unfold. The month culminates with Natalie's first menstruation and a weekend party during which Darren's body seemingly does everything it can to ruin his chances with Natalie.
A husband and wife are critically injured in a car crash. See how the force of impact damages the delicate internal structures of their bodies and how doctors work to save their lives.
While eating at a friend's birthday party, Mike ingests Salmonella bacteria and falls ill. Follow the trail of the invading microbes through the digestive system are from the mouth to the lower intestine and examine the body's formidable arsenal of weapons designed to combat these tiny terrors.
This two-part story first explains how an infant's brain grows and develops, and how various sectors of the brain control different aspects of function. Part two takes you inside a woman who has been stung by a wasp. A subsequent sting triggers a massive and deadly allergic reaction
Laura and David are the perfect couple: young, attractive and madly in love. But their plans to move in together are brutally interrupted by a car accident which has devastating consequences, both physically and mentally. Crash deals with traumatic injury and its aftermath.
Natalie and Daren navigate through the tough beginnings of puberty.
George's body is stockpiling vast fat reserves beneath his belly. It is preparing for the famine it evolved to expect at any moment. But the famine never comes - so George just keeps growing. When the girl of his dreams deserts him, George decides to take on his own body chemistry through a campaign of diet and exercise. But as fat is liberated into his bloodstream, his body fights back, as it tries to hang on to its precious reserves.
Like all healthy babies, Robert has come kicking and screaming into the world with only half a brain. He's totally helpless - he can't even see or hear properly. Body Story joins Robert for the first four months of his life, using computer graphics to take us deep inside his head, where an army of brain cells are completing a massive construction project. If all goes to plan, they will give him control of his body and ultimately allow him to reach out into the world around him.
Mike Small is in big trouble. Body Story reveals the inside story of food poisoning, as computer graphics allow us to witness the invasion of his gut by millions of tiny salmonella bacteria. They've only got one aim - to breed. Mike's body fights back - with cells that slither across his gut lining to take on the bacteria, and with cruder methods to flush the bacteria out - in either direction. As the battle gets increasingly ugly, Mike's latest assignment - taking the snaps for a frozen vegetable company calendar - looks like it might be flushed down the pan.
In this week's Body Story we discover how our bodies turn against us to give us allergies - and even threaten our lives. A simple wasp sting triggers cells throughout Phoebe's skin to make her fatally allergic to wasps. When she's stung again, on a Florida beach holiday, Phoebe's body mounts one of its most primitive and powerful chemical defences, one that could kill her in minutes. As she goes into anaphylactic shock, she starts to swell up, her airways shut down and her heart...