Horizon
Season 37

s37e01 / Life on Mars

11th Jan '01 - 9:00pm
Life on Mars Summary

If there's life on Mars, it would be one of the most important discoveries of all time. It would mean life on Earth was not some special unique event - it would mean there's likely to be life throughout the Universe. In the first of two special programs on Mars, Horizon explores how the search for Martians is now hotting up, and why many scientists are becoming more and more convinced that life may have arisen on Mars, and that there may even be something living there now.

140 have watched this episode

s37e02 / Destination Mars

18th Jan '01 - 9:00pm
Destination Mars Summary

Coming Soon...

137 have watched this episode

s37e03 / The Mystery of the Miami Circle

25th Jan '01 - 9:00pm
The Mystery of the Miami Circle Summary

July 1998, downtown Miami, Florida. Six apartment blocks have just been demolished, to allow the construction of two brand new 40-story skyscrapers. As construction workers prepare the site, they notice a strange phenomenon in the ground - a perfectly preserved circle of large holes, almost 13 meters across. What they had stumbled upon would generate huge excitement and controversy: either they had unearthed a rare and mysterious 2,000 year old Indian site - or a 1950s septic tank? ?or an ancient inverted American Stonehenge? or a unique Mayan village in North America. For a while theories ranged far and wide. But finally, after examining the strategically-placed holes, and the range of artifacts found around the circle - stone tools, shark bones, axe heads - archaeologists began to believe that this was a genuinely unique site - the remains of a mysterious forgotten tribe called the Tequesta.

137 have watched this episode

s37e04 / The Missing Link

1st Feb '01 - 9:00pm
The Missing Link Summary

In 2000, the discovery of a tiny fossilized jawbone hit the headlines. The jawbone, only a few centimeters long with seven rows of teeth, was found abandoned in a dusty museum where it had lain unnoticed for decades. Its rediscovery has caused a sensation in the world of paleontology because scientists now believe it may be a tiny remnant of a 'missing link', an ancient extinct animal that could provide a vital clue in our understanding of one of the great mysteries of science - how, 360 million years ago, a slimy fish-like creature grew legs and walked out of the water, onto the land to become our ancestor. This mystery has taken scientists a century to unravel. And this tiny jawbone may be a final clue. According to the theory of evolution all four-limbed animals, everything from human beings to dinosaurs, are descended from one creature, the first of its kind to crawl on the Earth. Long ago, this almost mythical beast must have evolved from a fish with fins, must have developed legs and made the great evolutionary move from water to land. How and why this huge evolutionary change should have happened was the source of fierce speculation and it was always believed that one day scientists would find the fossil evidence that would explain everything.

140 have watched this episode

s37e05 / Killer Algae

8th Feb '01 - 9:00pm
Killer Algae Summary

Thirty years ago a small and rare tropical plant was put into these tanks to grow. What came out was a monster. Today it is a potential threat to seas and oceans across the world.

137 have watched this episode

s37e06 / Ecstasy and Agony

15th Feb '01 - 9:00pm
Ecstasy and Agony Summary

Coming Soon...

138 have watched this episode

s37e07 / Snowball Earth

22nd Feb '01 - 9:00pm
Snowball Earth Summary

There is a controversial theory that for millions of years the Earth was entirely smothered in ice, up to one kilometer thick. The temperature hovers around -40?C everywhere, even in the tropics and the equator. If it did, then virtually nothing could survive this ferocious climate. There are some tantalizing geological clues that show this theory may be true but the problem is, the clues and the Snowball Earth theory defy the laws of nature.

139 have watched this episode

s37e08 / Taming the Problem Child

8th Mar '01 - 9:00pm
Taming the Problem Child Summary

Coming Soon...

137 have watched this episode

s37e09 / What Sank the Kursk?

8th Aug '01 - 9:00pm
What Sank the Kursk? Summary

Coming Soon...

138 have watched this episode

s37e10 / The Mystery of the Persian Mummy

20th Sep '01 - 9:00pm
The Mystery of the Persian Mummy Summary

Coming Soon...

139 have watched this episode

s37e11 / The Ape That Took Over the World

4th Oct '01 - 9:00pm
The Ape That Took Over the World Summary

In 2001, scientists announced an amazing discovery: the oldest skull of a human ancestor ever found. The 3? million year old fossil was remarkably complete, and unlike any previous fossil find. Its discovery - by a team led by Meave Leakey of the famous Leakey fossil-hunting family - has revolutionized our understanding of how humans evolved. The great mystery of our evolution is how an ape could have evolved into the extraordinary creature that is a human being. There has never been another animal like us on the planet. And yet ten million years ago there was no sign that humans would take over the world. Instead the Earth was dominated by the apes. More than 50 different species of ape roamed the world - ten million years ago Earth really was the planet of the apes. Three million years later, most had vanished. In their place came something clearly related to the apes, but also completely different: human beings!

140 have watched this episode

s37e12 / Life Blood

11th Oct '01 - 9:00pm
Life Blood Summary

Coming Soon...

137 have watched this episode

s37e13 / The Death Star

18th Oct '01 - 9:00pm
The Death Star Summary

Out in deepest space lurks a force of almost unimaginable power. Explosions of extraordinary violence, are blasting through the Universe every day. If one ever struck our Solar System it would destroy our Sun and all the planets. For years no one could work out what was causing these awesome explosions. Now scientists think they have identified the culprit. It's the most extreme object ever found in the Universe; they have christened it a 'hypernova'.

141 have watched this episode

s37e14 / Cloning the First Human

25th Oct '01 - 9:00pm
Cloning the First Human Summary

Doctors Panayiotis Zavos and Severino Antinori claim they are ready to embark on the greatest human experiment of our age. They say they will attempt to clone a human being before the year is out. Most people think the objections to this are ethical - human cloning would create many moral dilemmas. There is another question that few ever ask: is the science actually ready yet for cloning healthy humans? Horizon follows the latest research, which has led many scientists to believe that Zavos and Antinori's plans to clone the first human could end in tragedy. The programme also meets couples like Matthew and Desir?e Racquer (above) who think cloning offers them the only way to raise a child who is truly their own. Dr Lorraine Young at the Roslin Institute laboratoriesFor decades, cloning remained within the realms of science fiction. The idea that instead of combining a sperm and an egg, a new human could be made from a single cell taken from an adult, seemed completely absurd. But that all changed in February 1997, when the Roslin Institute (right) introduced the world to Dolly the sheep - the first animal cloned from an adult. Ever since Dolly, scientists have been continuing to experiment with cloning animals. So far, they have succeeded in cloning sheep, cattle, pigs, goats and mice, fueling the belief that humans could be next.

139 have watched this episode
Premium Upgrade
Share Visit
Share Visit