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There is nothing more familiar
or more mysterious...
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more breathtaking in its action...
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marvellous in its mechanics...
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exquisite in its range of senses...
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and staggering in its ability to understand.
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On a fantastic voyage
through a single day,
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we plunge deep into the routine miracles
of the human body.
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Dream on, dream on...
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Our instruments,
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engines,
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infrastructure,
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roadways and circuitry.
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Through 1 0,000 blinks,
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20,000 breaths,
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1 00,000 beats...
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Hello.
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..today is an ordinary, extraordinary day
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in the life of the incredible human machine.
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Bits of stardust is really all we are.
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Oxygen, carbon, hydrogen
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and a handful of elements that would cost
very little at any chemical supply shop.
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But get these chemicals together,
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marinate in a hospitable place
for about 3.8 billion years
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and the mundane mix of molecules
becomes precious.
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There are more than six billion human bodies
living on Earth
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and each of us is the amalgamation of
some 1 00 trillion microscopic cells.
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While the blueprint for each individual
are 99.9 per cent identical,
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no two of us are exactly the same.
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As a new day dawns,
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each human machine begins
the succession of miracles
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that will take it from morning to midnight.
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Cells, senses,
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muscles, bones,
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hearts, brains,
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all must marshal their forces and unite
just to wake us up.
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(Alarm beeps)
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(Sighs)
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At the surface of it all,
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a velvety overcoat of cells and protein
keeps us in
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and the rest of the world out.
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lt's our armour,
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our radiator,
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our entree to pain and pleasure.
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lt is the body's largest organ -
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our skin.
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Smooth and silky to the eyes and touch
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a closer look
presents a very different landscape.
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Magnified 600 times,
our outermost skin is nothing but dead cells,
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riddled with ridges and grooves
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and pocked with countless bumps
and holes.
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Look closer still and we find
hundreds of thousands of bacteria
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inhabit every square inch of us.
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With every tick of the clock,
our dead skin gets sloughed off.
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We shed at least 600,000 particles of skin
an hour-
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about a pound-and-a-half's-worth each year,
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which accounts for as much as 80 per cent
of the dust in our houses.
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But there's plenty of skin to go around.
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lf we could peel it off and lay it out flat,
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the average person's skin
would cover some 1 8 square feet.
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Though just millimetres thick,
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it would weigh about 6lb.
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And we're constantly making more.
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Just wait a month or so
and you'll have a shiny new coat.
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Which means skin can't be all dead.
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Dip below the surface
and you find cells continuously dividing
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to replace those dead cells above.
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Kilometres of blood vessels
pulse to skin's connective tissues.
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Not forgetting
all those precious nerve endings.
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45 miles-worth of nerves stretch
from our heads down to our toes,
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and many reach to our skin.
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Some parts more than others.
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lf sensitivity were size-dependent,
we would look something like this.
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Our supersensitive hands, feet,
tongue and lips,
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each packed with touch receptors,
would swell enormously.
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Our legs, on the other hand,
would resemble a chicken's.
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Good thing for us there is more to this organ
than touch.
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Skin is also our heating and cooling system.
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And by helping maintain
that comfy 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit
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it keeps us alive.
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Through its network of blood vessels,
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skin carries as much as one-third
of the heart's hot, freshly-pumped blood.
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Get too hot and these vessels can widen
to release heat from our bodies.
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But sometimes that's not enough.
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A good workout can raise the body's
temperature several degrees above normal -
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a potentially deadly state
if it weren't for skin's slick safety net..
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sweat.
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More than two million holes across our skin
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can produce up to half a gallon of the liquid
in an hour.
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The heated droplets evaporate into the air,
and leave the body cool.
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00:07:07,607 --> 00:07:10,565
Through a special camera that images heat,
not light,
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we can see this air-conditioning system at work.
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The hotter the body, the deeper the red.
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No surprise, some of the warmest parts
of our bodies -
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our foreheads, palms, and armpits -
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correlate with the greatest concentration
of sweat glands.
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But we're more likely to encounter the opposite
extreme in our morning routine.
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Exposed to a chill,
tiny musclesjerk our hairs to attention,
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bulging the skin around them.
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We call them goose bumps.
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Scientists have dubbed us ''the naked ape''.
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But look closely
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and we find we're anything but naked.
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Some of our skin cells form tubes
that produce hair.
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And we have as many of these follicles
punctuating our skin
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as do our hairy relatives.
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Some five million of them.
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As the new hair cells divide,
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they push old ones up and out.
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By the time our hair breaches the surface,
it's dead.
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Which is why we don't feel pain
with every haircut.
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Cleaned and groomed,
we venture into the bustling morning world.
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Around us, other incredible human machines
greet the day,
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in all different sizes and shapes,
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colours and textures.
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But on some level, we all inhabit the same skin.
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Below the surface, each of us has
about the same number of melanocytes,
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the cells that pump the dark pigment melanin
into our hair and skin
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and give them colour.
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lt'sjust the amount of melanin
these cells produce
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that determines whether we are black or white,
brunette or blonde.
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00:09:32,167 --> 00:09:35,443
Generally speaking,
the more melanin, the darker.
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That same chemical adds colour
to a very different sensory organ.
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Blue or brown,
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green or hazel,
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they are the most vital sensory organ
that the incredible machine has.
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Our day hasjust begun,
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and the magnificent miracle of sight
leads the way.
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Navigating the morning rush hour is something
most human machines do on autopilot,
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oblivious to the staggering task
we leave to two gelatinous orbs.
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Eyes sit squarely on the front of our faces
for a reason.
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Peering forward, and set apartjust enough
to let us gauge distance,
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they let us spot and track whatever we desire.
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ln microseconds, our eyes sight, follow,
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focus and process images
fractions of an inch long
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or moving at hundreds of miles per hour
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enabling us to assess and appreciate
the world around us more than any other sense.
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They may be the windows to our souls,
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but on a less poetic level,
eyes are just hungry harvesters of light,
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trapping and translating it into
electrical impulses the brain can understand.
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Light hits the cornea first.
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This transparent layer, cleansed and lubricated
about 1 0 times a minute with every blink,
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admits and directs incoming light rays.
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From there, they pass through
the dark opening of the pupil,
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then a transparent protein lens.
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00:11:50,847 --> 00:11:55,602
Gatekeepers of light, the muscles of
the colourful iris squeeze the pupil closed
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against too much light.
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Not enough, the iris relaxes
and the pupil opens.
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And in just a fraction of a second,
it can slide back and forth between the two.
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Focused by cornea and lens,
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light then flies through the jelly-like bulk
of the eye and onto its rear wall.
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Just about a hundredth of an inch thick,
this is the retina,
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where more than 1 20 million photoreceptors
convert light into electrical impulses,
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before processing
and shipping them off to the brain.
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ln a mind-boggling feat that soaks up
about a third of our brain power,
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our brains continually compare new data with
information processed a split second before.
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Combine that with
what they already expect to be there
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and vision is born.
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At least, that's how it's supposed to work.
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When it doesn't,
the world can look more like this.
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62-year-old Linda Morfoot has a genetic disease
called retinitis pigmentosa.
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which has been gradually degrading her
eyes'photoreceptors for the past 40 years.
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They haven't turned light into sight
for the last ten.
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lt's frustrating to lose your sight
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because you run into things,
you run into people.
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And it can be depressing.
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Just open up real wide.
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00:13:33,647 --> 00:13:34,966
Very good.
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00:13:35,007 --> 00:13:38,920
Now, thanks to Dr Mark Humayun
of the University of Southern California,
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she may see again.
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All along we've been told it's impossible,
it's science fiction, it can't happen.
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Look up.
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Humayun has implanted an ingenious
little device at the back of Linda's eye.
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Just 1 6 electrodes
that should act as a simple retina,
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turning light into impulses
that can be sent to the brain.
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We lay it right on the retina
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and the current stimulates
the underlying nerve cells.
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When this information is received by the brain,
you see a spot of light.
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To perceive those spots, Linda had to first wear
a special pair of sunglasses that capture light,
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convert it into electrical signals,
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and fire up the implants in her eyes.
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As the doctors activated the electrodes
one by one,
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it started to work.
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lt was crude,
but Linda could now see light and movement.
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As they turned more and more electrodes on,
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l could see the lights on
or the doorway.
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l could tell the difference
between black and white.
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lt was exciting. Yes, it was.
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1 6 signals hardly compares to the million or so
a working retina transmits.
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But with each passing day,
her brain compensates,
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and Linda sees more detail.
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We thought that 1 6 electrodes would never ever
give Linda or any other patients
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the level of vision they have been able to attain.
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The brain fills in the missing gaps.
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From simple flashes of light
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our brains can somehow conjure
meaningful images.
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So, now, after 1 0 years of blindness,
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Linda can see the grandchildren
she never saw before.
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They like to run in front of me.
''Where am l, Grandma? Where am l?''
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l'm more connected to them,
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a little more part of their lives, you know.
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Even for those of us lucky enough
to see 20/20
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the sense of sight does not work alone
in the incredible human machine.
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00:16:11,607 --> 00:16:16,806
On either side of our heads
are the body's microphones - ears.
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00:16:18,847 --> 00:16:20,838
But ears do much more than hear.
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00:16:21,407 --> 00:16:26,401
They give us balance, telling us
where we are in space at any given moment.
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Riding a bike, landing,
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perfecting a dive,
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even taking a baby step,
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all would be impossible without
the intricate gadgetry deep inside our ears.
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Here, three fluid-filled tubes work like
carpenters'levels to help keep us balanced.
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When we turn our heads, the fluids move,
stimulating nerve cells,
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and orienting the brain in three dimensions.
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Up-down, left-right,
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00:17:07,967 --> 00:17:09,958
forward-backward.
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00:17:11,327 --> 00:17:15,320
lt's a powerful little mechanism
that we can stimulate artificially.
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00:17:18,287 --> 00:17:20,482
Welcome to the weird world of tomorrow.
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00:17:23,927 --> 00:17:25,804
With a special electrified headset,
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00:17:25,847 --> 00:17:29,362
scientists in Japan have taken hold of
our balancing centres.
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00:17:32,007 --> 00:17:35,204
By sending current down to those nerves
in our inner ears
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00:17:35,247 --> 00:17:38,159
they've created remote-controlled
human beings.
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TRANSLATOR: l've never experienced
such a sensation.
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lt was like being drunk on the deck of a boat
rocking in the waves.
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The current is low voltage,
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00:18:00,287 --> 00:18:05,042
just enough to throw people off balance
and compel them to walk left, right,
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even trace the shape of a giant pretzel.
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00:18:10,607 --> 00:18:13,075
TRANSLATOR: My body was out of control.
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lt was swaying to the left and to the right.
228
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We can even remote control ourselves.
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We're not trying to control people
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or manipulate their actions.
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00:18:33,807 --> 00:18:35,798
Rather, we want to help them,
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help guide them.
233
00:18:39,487 --> 00:18:43,241
Especially people with balance problems
or dizziness.
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00:18:44,887 --> 00:18:49,881
The researchers say one day it may even help
navigational devices, like GPS,
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00:18:49,927 --> 00:18:52,236
to physically guide us to our destinations,
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00:18:52,287 --> 00:18:55,085
or make a video game
feel more like a rollercoaster.
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00:19:02,967 --> 00:19:06,562
Our ears provide another powerful sensation
to enrich our day.
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00:19:09,367 --> 00:19:12,120
Every time we, or anything else for that matter,
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00:19:12,167 --> 00:19:15,284
make a move or vibrate,
we create ripples in the air.
240
00:19:16,007 --> 00:19:19,158
Distinct waves all travelling at
different frequencies,
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00:19:19,207 --> 00:19:23,485
which waft into our ears at some 750mph
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00:19:23,527 --> 00:19:25,518
and produce sound.
243
00:19:31,767 --> 00:19:36,318
Like radar dishes, our ears channel
the sound waves deep into our skulls.
244
00:19:38,207 --> 00:19:41,643
Our eardrums vibrate in tune to the frequencies,
245
00:19:41,687 --> 00:19:45,157
moving three tiny bones,
each about as long as a grain of rice.
246
00:19:50,567 --> 00:19:54,480
Magnified 20 times we can see the ear
hear,
247
00:19:55,127 --> 00:19:56,116
inside...
248
00:19:57,327 --> 00:19:59,318
..and out.
249
00:20:00,047 --> 00:20:02,038
Love in an elevator
250
00:20:02,247 --> 00:20:04,681
Livin' it up when l'm going down
251
00:20:04,727 --> 00:20:06,718
Love in an elevator
252
00:20:07,407 --> 00:20:09,762
Turnin' it up till l'm upside down...
253
00:20:10,567 --> 00:20:13,798
The bones'movements get converted to pulses
of pressure
254
00:20:13,847 --> 00:20:15,599
which vibrates fluid
255
00:20:15,647 --> 00:20:17,638
which disturbs tiny hairs
256
00:20:17,687 --> 00:20:19,166
which excite nerve cells
257
00:20:19,207 --> 00:20:21,482
which translate all of this to the brain.
258
00:20:28,247 --> 00:20:31,922
One sound perhaps more than any other
is music to our ears -
259
00:20:31,967 --> 00:20:33,605
the human voice.
260
00:20:37,527 --> 00:20:41,406
lt's an astonishingly versatile instrument,
but it's vulnerable.
261
00:20:44,807 --> 00:20:46,798
As lead singer for Aerosmith,
262
00:20:46,847 --> 00:20:49,520
Steven Tyler's work depends on his vocal cords.
263
00:20:50,167 --> 00:20:52,158
l need a girl like an open book
264
00:20:52,207 --> 00:20:54,198
To read between the lines
265
00:20:59,527 --> 00:21:04,681
Few of us think about the trauma we generate
in our voice boxes when we talk, sing, laugh
266
00:21:04,727 --> 00:21:06,524
or scream.
267
00:21:07,127 --> 00:21:10,085
But if you were to look down the gullet
of Steven Tyler,
268
00:21:10,127 --> 00:21:12,687
it would show why he,
and millions of others,
269
00:21:12,727 --> 00:21:15,241
are wreaking havoc on a delicate instrument.
270
00:21:15,807 --> 00:21:17,559
Thank you!
271
00:21:25,087 --> 00:21:26,839
Tonight, as Aerosmith perform,
272
00:21:26,887 --> 00:21:30,516
Dr Steven Zeitels and his team
from Massachusetts General Hospital
273
00:21:30,567 --> 00:21:32,558
will get a rare treat.
274
00:21:34,607 --> 00:21:37,075
With the help of special
monitoring equipment
275
00:21:37,127 --> 00:21:41,245
they'll see how this famous pair of vocal cords
holds up to such extremes.
276
00:21:42,567 --> 00:21:46,480
Dr Zeitels, one time for my kids,
what is this monitoring?
277
00:21:47,287 --> 00:21:51,678
What we're going to be doing is looking at
the vibrations on the skin of your neck,
278
00:21:51,727 --> 00:21:54,639
which is going to pick up the intensity
of your voice,
279
00:21:54,687 --> 00:21:57,679
it's going to be picking up the loudness
of your voice.
280
00:21:57,727 --> 00:21:59,445
Thank you, Doctor.
281
00:21:59,487 --> 00:22:01,478
lnto the abyss.
282
00:22:01,527 --> 00:22:04,485
lnto the great beyond with Dr Zeitels.
283
00:22:06,367 --> 00:22:08,722
Backstage throughout tonight's concert,
284
00:22:08,767 --> 00:22:12,646
Zeitels will use an endoscope
to examine Tyler's voice box up close.
285
00:22:15,967 --> 00:22:17,958
Try not to touch the sides.
286
00:22:19,287 --> 00:22:21,278
Stick your tongue out for me.
287
00:22:21,327 --> 00:22:23,318
Just breathe. Say ''Ah''.
288
00:22:23,967 --> 00:22:25,320
Ahhh!
289
00:22:25,367 --> 00:22:29,804
lt's a rare insight into what goes on
in a high-performance singer.
290
00:22:31,727 --> 00:22:34,605
Real time measures of a performer
291
00:22:34,647 --> 00:22:36,638
who is at the top of his game
292
00:22:37,367 --> 00:22:40,040
doing a live performance
in front of thousands of people -
293
00:22:40,087 --> 00:22:41,964
that's a first, hasn't been done before.
294
00:22:42,327 --> 00:22:44,921
(Sings high note)
295
00:22:52,567 --> 00:22:54,523
(Laughs)
296
00:22:55,647 --> 00:22:57,638
To produce these kinds of sounds,
297
00:22:57,687 --> 00:23:02,397
Tyler's vocal cords are slamming together
an average of 1 70 times a second.
298
00:23:05,087 --> 00:23:08,284
That's more than half a million times
during the course of a concert
299
00:23:08,327 --> 00:23:12,923
and nearly a billion times during the course
of his 30-year professional career.
300
00:23:16,127 --> 00:23:18,004
There's no part of the human body
301
00:23:18,047 --> 00:23:22,279
that likely sees these kinds of collision forces
and shearing stresses,
302
00:23:22,327 --> 00:23:24,887
which is why vocal folds
essentially wear out over time.
303
00:23:27,167 --> 00:23:32,287
lt's also why just months earlier damaged
vocal cords cancelled much of Aerosmith's tour.
304
00:23:33,767 --> 00:23:35,758
Tyler could barely sing...
305
00:23:36,727 --> 00:23:38,524
(Sings high note)
306
00:23:38,567 --> 00:23:40,558
Just breathe.
307
00:23:42,007 --> 00:23:44,123
..forcing him to undergo Zeitels'knife,
308
00:23:44,167 --> 00:23:46,158
or laser, in this case.
309
00:23:47,087 --> 00:23:52,798
Steven basically had a vocal bleed,
which is very common in performers.
310
00:23:53,607 --> 00:23:56,360
Common, in fact, to many with the gift of gab,
311
00:23:56,407 --> 00:23:58,398
from attorneys to telemarketers.
312
00:24:02,407 --> 00:24:06,320
The laser surgery,
which Zeitels and his team pioneered,
313
00:24:06,367 --> 00:24:09,677
works by sealing off damaged vessels
to stop the bleeding.
314
00:24:12,287 --> 00:24:14,278
This is Steven Tyler's voice box
315
00:24:14,687 --> 00:24:17,804
and these are his fragile blood vessels
disappearing.
316
00:24:20,607 --> 00:24:23,485
He was able to just zap those blood vessels
317
00:24:24,087 --> 00:24:27,557
so l go out there and sing
and hope for the best.
318
00:24:31,767 --> 00:24:36,921
Now, as Steven heads on stage,
his finely tuned vocal cords spring into action.
319
00:24:37,567 --> 00:24:39,558
(Guitar intro)
320
00:24:42,527 --> 00:24:44,518
This is Steven Tyler outside...
321
00:24:44,847 --> 00:24:49,762
Every time that l look in the mirror
322
00:24:50,807 --> 00:24:54,356
- ..and in.
- Every time that l look in the mirror
323
00:24:55,527 --> 00:25:00,806
All these lines on my face getting clearer
324
00:25:02,127 --> 00:25:03,958
Every time we exhale,
325
00:25:04,007 --> 00:25:06,999
we force air through our
two membranous vocal cords.
326
00:25:09,007 --> 00:25:11,396
When we bring them together, they vibrate.
327
00:25:12,167 --> 00:25:14,158
Dream on...
328
00:25:14,407 --> 00:25:16,398
These vibrations produce sound,
329
00:25:16,447 --> 00:25:19,245
much like a guitar string after it's been plucked.
330
00:25:21,447 --> 00:25:22,800
Dream on...
331
00:25:22,847 --> 00:25:26,442
Muscles open and close the chords
and change the sound's pitch.
332
00:25:29,767 --> 00:25:33,362
During low notes, the chords are loose
and vibrate more slowly.
333
00:25:34,127 --> 00:25:37,961
Dream on, dream on, dream on...
334
00:25:38,007 --> 00:25:40,043
But for those falsettos...
335
00:25:40,087 --> 00:25:42,362
(High-pitched) Dream on, dream on
336
00:25:42,407 --> 00:25:44,398
His chords stretch to the limit
337
00:25:44,447 --> 00:25:46,563
and vibrate virtually off the charts.
338
00:25:46,607 --> 00:25:48,598
(Holds high note)
339
00:25:52,647 --> 00:25:56,401
A surprisingly simple feat
for Tyler's pliable chords.
340
00:25:59,687 --> 00:26:01,086
l mean, to go from,
341
00:26:01,127 --> 00:26:04,437
(Gruffly) ''l woke up this morning
on the wrong side of the bed
342
00:26:04,487 --> 00:26:07,365
And how l got to thinking
And all them things l said''
343
00:26:07,407 --> 00:26:09,363
but it's in that voice.
344
00:26:09,407 --> 00:26:13,195
And then, you know, of course...
(Higher) ''And l don't want to miss a thing''
345
00:26:13,247 --> 00:26:14,521
is in that voice.
346
00:26:14,567 --> 00:26:17,320
And then Dream On is:
(Falsetto) ''Dream on, dream on''
347
00:26:17,367 --> 00:26:20,882
and they've asked me before,
''How do you sing that song every night?''
348
00:26:20,927 --> 00:26:23,236
That's one of the easiest ones
for me to sing.
349
00:26:23,287 --> 00:26:24,242
Go.
350
00:26:24,287 --> 00:26:26,278
(Rising pitch)
351
00:26:28,647 --> 00:26:31,764
As for what translates these vocal vibrations
into song
352
00:26:31,807 --> 00:26:33,798
that happens much further up
353
00:26:33,847 --> 00:26:37,123
in the throat, the mouth,
the tongue, and the nose.
354
00:26:40,407 --> 00:26:43,285
These are what put the stamp
on human sound,
355
00:26:43,807 --> 00:26:47,516
distinguishing the likes of Steven Tyler
from just about anyone else.
356
00:26:50,047 --> 00:26:52,686
After some two hours of vocal gymnastics,
357
00:26:52,727 --> 00:26:57,847
initial data reveal that Tyler's chords
crashed together more than half a million times,
358
00:26:57,887 --> 00:27:00,765
and covered the equivalent of
more than six miles.
359
00:27:01,927 --> 00:27:03,918
To read between the lines
360
00:27:03,967 --> 00:27:05,320
(Wild cheering)
361
00:27:05,367 --> 00:27:08,962
And there's no indication
they'll be wearing out anytime soon.
362
00:27:10,447 --> 00:27:12,039
Thank you!
363
00:27:16,127 --> 00:27:20,962
Dramatic as it may be, singing is a side effect
of a much more crucial process.
364
00:27:23,287 --> 00:27:26,882
The real reason why air passes through
our mouths is breathing.
365
00:27:30,687 --> 00:27:33,997
We wouldn't survive much more than
a couple of minutes if we didn't.
366
00:27:37,367 --> 00:27:42,236
With every inhalation our noses or mouths
suck in about a pint of air
367
00:27:42,287 --> 00:27:44,676
some 20,000 times a day.
368
00:27:46,247 --> 00:27:49,683
We can follow it on itsjourney down the throat
369
00:27:49,727 --> 00:27:51,365
past the voice box
370
00:27:51,407 --> 00:27:53,398
and into the windpipe or trachea.
371
00:27:55,327 --> 00:27:57,204
As it approaches the lungs,
372
00:27:57,247 --> 00:27:59,807
air has a choice - left or right,
373
00:28:00,247 --> 00:28:02,238
but both lungs lead to the same end.
374
00:28:04,327 --> 00:28:09,082
The lungs'bronchi divide and divide into
thousands of smaller and smaller branches,
375
00:28:09,127 --> 00:28:12,722
progressively filtering chemicals,
dust and smoke in the air,
376
00:28:13,087 --> 00:28:15,078
until finally they come to an end
377
00:28:15,407 --> 00:28:18,843
in this pouch-like ball called an alveolus.
378
00:28:22,447 --> 00:28:26,235
More than 300 million of them
spread across each lung
379
00:28:26,807 --> 00:28:30,800
with a combined surface area
roughly a third the size of a tennis court.
380
00:28:33,687 --> 00:28:37,680
ln less than a second,
oxygen molecules exit the lungs here
381
00:28:37,727 --> 00:28:39,718
through wallsjust one cell thick.
382
00:28:41,487 --> 00:28:43,921
They'll then cross into a surging bloodstream,
383
00:28:43,967 --> 00:28:45,719
be whisked throughout the body
384
00:28:45,767 --> 00:28:49,760
and provide precious resources
to every one of our trillions of cells,
385
00:28:50,447 --> 00:28:52,438
assuming air gets to this point.
386
00:28:55,567 --> 00:28:59,845
The blue here shows how a healthy lung
empties oxygen into the bloodstream.
387
00:29:01,847 --> 00:29:06,045
ln this smoker's lung,
oxygen can't empty nearly as well.
388
00:29:08,847 --> 00:29:10,838
Then there's the exhalation.
389
00:29:11,247 --> 00:29:12,805
Carbon dioxide.
390
00:29:12,847 --> 00:29:17,318
The waste product of breathing
makes the opposite journey back out.
391
00:29:20,647 --> 00:29:24,845
Another inhalation and our breathing apparatus
offers yet another gift,
392
00:29:25,847 --> 00:29:28,122
with delightful or disgusting results.
393
00:29:32,287 --> 00:29:37,964
With every new breath, our noses can
distinguish as many as 1 0,000 different odours.
394
00:29:38,607 --> 00:29:40,165
Some pleasing...
395
00:29:41,407 --> 00:29:43,125
..some not.
396
00:29:44,687 --> 00:29:48,202
They can calm, caution,
or make our mouths water.
397
00:29:50,367 --> 00:29:54,918
But the essence of any aroma,
from a day at the beach to fresh baked bread,
398
00:29:54,967 --> 00:29:56,798
is pure chemistry.
399
00:29:58,207 --> 00:30:03,520
lsobutyl acetate, vanillic acid and more than
300 different chemicals, for example,
400
00:30:03,567 --> 00:30:06,957
come together to give chocolate
its unmistakable bouquet.
401
00:30:09,807 --> 00:30:13,402
A rose by any other name
might be phenyl ethyl alcohol.
402
00:30:15,207 --> 00:30:17,482
And once fish is past its prime,
403
00:30:17,527 --> 00:30:19,643
it owes its stench to trimethylamine,
404
00:30:19,687 --> 00:30:22,804
a by-product of the bacteria growing inside it.
405
00:30:25,687 --> 00:30:27,678
Whatever the chemical
406
00:30:27,727 --> 00:30:32,403
deep inside our noses,
there is a small patch of about 1 0 million cells
407
00:30:32,447 --> 00:30:34,438
waiting to sniff it out.
408
00:30:36,927 --> 00:30:41,637
These cells carry about a thousand
different kinds of receptors on their surfaces.
409
00:30:43,727 --> 00:30:46,878
When the right odour chemical
meets up with the right receptor
410
00:30:46,927 --> 00:30:49,395
an electrical signal gets sent to the brain,
411
00:30:49,447 --> 00:30:52,484
and, finally, the incredible machine smells.
412
00:30:56,287 --> 00:31:00,121
All in all, our respiratory systems
are ingenious multi-taskers,
413
00:31:00,167 --> 00:31:03,079
sorting thousands of smells at each intake,
414
00:31:03,127 --> 00:31:06,119
capable of making thousands of sounds
on the way out.
415
00:31:08,887 --> 00:31:10,684
(Laughter)
416
00:31:13,047 --> 00:31:15,561
But no matter how pleasant the by-product,
417
00:31:15,607 --> 00:31:17,882
there is a higher calling to breathing.
418
00:31:19,887 --> 00:31:24,597
Every breath we take delivers oxygen
to our trillions of power-hungry cells
419
00:31:24,647 --> 00:31:26,603
and gets our hearts to pump.
420
00:31:26,647 --> 00:31:28,638
(Heartbeats)
421
00:31:34,927 --> 00:31:36,883
Every second of every day,
422
00:31:36,927 --> 00:31:41,000
every cell in our body needs oxygen
to power its activities and survive.
423
00:31:45,527 --> 00:31:50,521
More than a gallon of blood needs to travel
through some 60,000 miles-worth of arteries,
424
00:31:50,567 --> 00:31:52,558
veins and capillaries.
425
00:31:56,767 --> 00:32:01,363
And one little 1 0-ounce heart has the
Herculean task of driving the whole system.
426
00:32:04,447 --> 00:32:06,836
lt begins with a heartbeat
427
00:32:06,887 --> 00:32:11,278
which sends fresh, oxygenated blood
from the lungs streaming into the heart.
428
00:32:18,247 --> 00:32:22,035
lf you stored up the power
from all the heartbeats in a day,
429
00:32:22,087 --> 00:32:24,920
it could lift a car some 30 feet into the air.
430
00:32:29,967 --> 00:32:32,481
The heart is a muscular pump to its core.
431
00:32:33,927 --> 00:32:37,476
Even if it's removed,
it can still function all on its own.
432
00:32:40,047 --> 00:32:43,198
lts genius lies in its cardiac cells -
433
00:32:43,247 --> 00:32:45,317
millions of them all beating in tune.
434
00:32:48,407 --> 00:32:51,922
But heart cells don't necessarily
have to be born in the heart.
435
00:32:55,527 --> 00:32:59,440
These are stem cells
coaxed into beating by Dr Amit Patel
436
00:32:59,487 --> 00:33:03,036
and his colleagues from
the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
437
00:33:05,327 --> 00:33:08,239
Those cells had nothing to do with
becoming heart muscle.
438
00:33:08,287 --> 00:33:10,084
But within less than a week,
439
00:33:10,127 --> 00:33:12,766
we were able to train them
to become heart muscle.
440
00:33:15,047 --> 00:33:17,322
Stem cells live in many tissues in our bodies,
441
00:33:17,887 --> 00:33:20,526
standing by for maintenance and repair.
442
00:33:22,727 --> 00:33:27,198
Unlike our other cells, stem cells can develop
into just about any kind of cell -
443
00:33:28,047 --> 00:33:30,880
brain, muscle, bone, fat.
444
00:33:32,487 --> 00:33:35,638
Almost anything you could possibly think of
in the body,
445
00:33:35,687 --> 00:33:38,565
over 220 different cell types,
446
00:33:38,607 --> 00:33:40,404
all come from stem cells.
447
00:33:43,727 --> 00:33:48,960
49-year-old Michael Carlat desperately hopes
that stem cells can turn into heart cells
448
00:33:49,007 --> 00:33:50,520
in his own body.
449
00:33:52,407 --> 00:33:55,205
A few years ago, his heart started to give out.
450
00:33:55,247 --> 00:33:57,238
Catastrophically.
451
00:33:57,607 --> 00:33:59,723
Mr Carlat's heart is very sick.
452
00:33:59,767 --> 00:34:01,758
He had a very large heart attack.
453
00:34:02,327 --> 00:34:04,443
When you look at the heart, it's a pump.
454
00:34:04,487 --> 00:34:08,958
Normally, 60% of what goes into the heart
should come out with every heartbeat.
455
00:34:09,647 --> 00:34:13,196
ln Mr Carlat, only 30% comes out.
456
00:34:13,247 --> 00:34:15,602
l was put on this heart transplant list
457
00:34:15,647 --> 00:34:18,844
and waited over a year for something to happen.
458
00:34:19,527 --> 00:34:21,245
There's 4,500 people on the list.
459
00:34:21,287 --> 00:34:24,006
l'm 275lb. l'm 6'4''.
460
00:34:24,047 --> 00:34:26,038
lt's hard to find a match for me.
461
00:34:26,567 --> 00:34:31,960
Waiting on that list would have been waiting to
play out the last couple of years and that'll be it.
462
00:34:33,447 --> 00:34:35,039
With few other options,
463
00:34:35,087 --> 00:34:38,397
Michael enrolled in
a highly-experimental clinical trial,
464
00:34:38,447 --> 00:34:42,235
in which Patel performs a risky bypass
on his heart's damaged area,
465
00:34:42,287 --> 00:34:44,323
extracts stem cells from his hip bone,
466
00:34:44,367 --> 00:34:47,040
and injects them back into Michael's heart.
467
00:34:56,207 --> 00:34:58,641
lt's not clear what these cells will do there.
468
00:34:58,687 --> 00:35:00,643
Help grow new blood vessels?
469
00:35:00,687 --> 00:35:02,803
lncrease the number of muscle fibres?
470
00:35:03,567 --> 00:35:07,640
The hope is that they'll help coax Michael's heart
into healing itself.
471
00:35:08,327 --> 00:35:11,603
We don't know what they do,
but they seem to know what's required.
472
00:35:14,207 --> 00:35:18,439
And though it's early, in Michael's case
they already seem to be working.
473
00:35:21,247 --> 00:35:23,636
Just three months after his surgery,
474
00:35:23,687 --> 00:35:26,884
Michael's heart pumps 25% more blood
than it did before.
475
00:35:30,447 --> 00:35:33,325
The difference between barely climbing
a flight of stairs
476
00:35:33,367 --> 00:35:35,358
and playing basketball.
477
00:35:37,407 --> 00:35:40,365
lt's working,
so l'm not going to ask why, how, what.
478
00:35:40,407 --> 00:35:44,116
He saved my life.
lf l didn't go to him, l probably would have just...
479
00:35:44,167 --> 00:35:45,964
..not been around today.
480
00:35:47,967 --> 00:35:52,995
Of course, it takes more than just a good pump
to give life-giving liquids around the body.
481
00:35:53,047 --> 00:35:55,038
lt takes good plumbing.
482
00:35:58,447 --> 00:36:00,244
Once out of the heart,
483
00:36:00,287 --> 00:36:04,166
blood carries our vital oxygen supply
through smaller and smaller arteries,
484
00:36:04,207 --> 00:36:07,802
eventually reaching an even narrower
network of capillaries.
485
00:36:11,207 --> 00:36:16,361
These tubes are so thin that red blood cells
thousandths of an inch across,
486
00:36:16,407 --> 00:36:18,398
must squeeze through single file.
487
00:36:24,407 --> 00:36:26,967
Ten billion capillaries fan throughout the body
488
00:36:27,007 --> 00:36:31,125
so that our organs and tissues
are never far from a fresh supply of oxygen.
489
00:36:35,727 --> 00:36:38,480
Carbon dioxide and other toxins need to get out
490
00:36:38,527 --> 00:36:42,600
and veins are crucial drainpipes
carrying the blood back to the heart,
491
00:36:42,647 --> 00:36:44,638
then to the lungs for cleaning.
492
00:36:46,487 --> 00:36:49,718
Blood travels through
more than 60,000 miles of vessels -
493
00:36:49,767 --> 00:36:51,758
more than twice around the Earth.
494
00:36:56,367 --> 00:36:59,564
lt circulates all around the body
in less than a minute,
495
00:36:59,607 --> 00:37:01,598
every minute of our lives.
496
00:37:04,447 --> 00:37:06,642
And sometimes blood moves even faster.
497
00:37:08,887 --> 00:37:10,605
The more oxygen our cells burn,
498
00:37:10,647 --> 00:37:14,435
the harder our heart and blood vessels
have to work to deliver more.
499
00:37:16,567 --> 00:37:18,683
When we eat, it rushes to our stomachs.
500
00:37:18,967 --> 00:37:20,958
When we run, to our muscles.
501
00:37:25,407 --> 00:37:29,116
Even when we read,
more oxygen must get to our brains.
502
00:37:32,967 --> 00:37:35,845
As efficient as this blood delivery system is,
though,
503
00:37:35,887 --> 00:37:37,605
it has its limits.
504
00:37:39,047 --> 00:37:42,039
Limits experienced by pilots in the US Navy.
505
00:37:45,327 --> 00:37:47,397
These are the Blue Angels,
506
00:37:47,447 --> 00:37:49,915
the US Navy's elite flight exhibition team.
507
00:37:53,327 --> 00:37:58,162
Experiencing up to 9Gs at times -
nine times the force of gravity -
508
00:37:58,207 --> 00:38:01,324
these pilots routinely push their bodies
to extremes.
509
00:38:01,927 --> 00:38:06,125
Well, 9Gs to me squashes me in the seat
pretty hard.
510
00:38:06,407 --> 00:38:08,921
l weigh about 1 80lb, so it's nine times that.
511
00:38:08,967 --> 00:38:11,162
l'm not going to do the math for you right now
512
00:38:11,207 --> 00:38:12,879
but it squashes me pretty hard.
513
00:38:15,287 --> 00:38:19,041
Some 1,600lb of pressure on solo pilot
Ted Steelman
514
00:38:19,087 --> 00:38:23,399
is enough to push the precious
oxygen-carrying blood right out of his brain.
515
00:38:25,367 --> 00:38:28,245
Same thing as if somebody strangles you
or anything like that.
516
00:38:28,287 --> 00:38:31,677
You're going to lose blood to your brain
and you're going to pass out.
517
00:38:33,127 --> 00:38:37,643
To counteract this
fighter pilots typically wear gravity or G suits,
518
00:38:37,687 --> 00:38:41,396
which automatically inflate
to squeeze blood where it's needed.
519
00:38:43,407 --> 00:38:45,967
Flying a mere foot-and-a-half apart,
520
00:38:46,007 --> 00:38:47,998
the Blue Angels can't chance it.
521
00:38:48,727 --> 00:38:52,766
The slightest jolt from a G suit on the stick
could be disastrous.
522
00:38:53,287 --> 00:38:58,486
When you're talking about stick inputs
of as much as a sixteenth of an inch,
523
00:38:58,527 --> 00:39:02,725
when you're doing 400mph
a mere 1 8 inches from the guy next to you,
524
00:39:02,767 --> 00:39:05,361
it actually has huge ramifications.
525
00:39:05,407 --> 00:39:09,480
So, no movement of the stick unless intended
is what you're looking for.
526
00:39:10,407 --> 00:39:12,841
Which means that these pilots
must use their muscle
527
00:39:12,887 --> 00:39:14,878
to force blood up to their brains.
528
00:39:15,527 --> 00:39:17,757
What l do is what we call a hick manoeuvre.
529
00:39:17,807 --> 00:39:20,196
lt's a culmination of breathing technique
530
00:39:20,247 --> 00:39:23,796
in that you contract the chest with a ''hick-k''
531
00:39:23,847 --> 00:39:27,157
to keep the overall pressure
within the chest cavity high
532
00:39:27,207 --> 00:39:29,004
in about 3-4 second intervals
533
00:39:29,047 --> 00:39:32,164
as well as isometric contractions
from the waist down.
534
00:39:35,527 --> 00:39:38,280
By simply breathing and contracting muscles
535
00:39:38,327 --> 00:39:41,319
the body can be trained to withstand
extreme forces.
536
00:39:43,687 --> 00:39:47,760
To do it, pilots must face this - the centrifuge.
537
00:39:48,567 --> 00:39:52,606
Like an extreme amusement park ride
that spins blood from brains to toes
538
00:39:52,647 --> 00:39:55,036
and tests how long a pilot is able to resist.
539
00:39:57,367 --> 00:40:00,325
They train their bodies,
like a marathoner will train their body
540
00:40:00,367 --> 00:40:03,643
to go out and run 26 miles
at five-minute miles.
541
00:40:04,047 --> 00:40:06,925
These guys train their bodies
to respond to the Gs.
542
00:40:08,287 --> 00:40:10,278
Legs and glutes, keep them in.
543
00:40:10,767 --> 00:40:16,080
But even highly-trained specialists like Steelman
can only defy physics for so long.
544
00:40:22,767 --> 00:40:24,997
lt happened right at the very end of the run.
545
00:40:25,047 --> 00:40:28,244
l expected a G release, so what did l do?
l relaxed my body.
546
00:40:29,087 --> 00:40:32,079
The moment you relax,
the absolute moment you relax,
547
00:40:32,127 --> 00:40:35,119
every single time you're going to pass out
under G like that.
548
00:40:36,607 --> 00:40:39,075
Now, when Steelman takes to the skies,
549
00:40:39,127 --> 00:40:42,005
he knows the warning signs
and takes evasive action.
550
00:40:46,927 --> 00:40:49,999
Passengers, on the other hand,
are a different story.
551
00:40:51,727 --> 00:40:56,323
You'll hear them executing the hick manoeuvre,
working hard,
552
00:40:56,367 --> 00:41:00,440
and suddenly it gets quiet, and you look back
in the mirror and they just do this.
553
00:41:00,487 --> 00:41:02,921
Their heads are down to their chest.
554
00:41:05,527 --> 00:41:07,882
Fortunately, the effects are only temporary.
555
00:41:07,927 --> 00:41:11,044
Whoa! Did we do it?
556
00:41:12,207 --> 00:41:15,756
Blood is something our brains,
and the rest of our organs for that matter,
557
00:41:15,807 --> 00:41:17,798
never want to be without.
558
00:41:20,927 --> 00:41:23,395
But there's more to this liquid than oxygen.
559
00:41:28,287 --> 00:41:30,084
ln a single drop of blood,
560
00:41:30,127 --> 00:41:34,643
up to 400,000 infection-fighting white blood cells
are constantly patrolling
561
00:41:34,687 --> 00:41:38,236
and seeking out foreign agents,
like viruses and bacteria,
562
00:41:38,287 --> 00:41:40,278
and internal threats like cancer,
563
00:41:40,687 --> 00:41:42,678
and attacking them.
564
00:41:46,287 --> 00:41:49,040
Unfortunately, they don't always win.
565
00:41:50,487 --> 00:41:52,318
And when that happens,
566
00:41:52,367 --> 00:41:56,246
aggressors like these rogue melanoma cells
can grow out of control.
567
00:42:01,967 --> 00:42:04,800
Whether our cells work with us or against us,
568
00:42:04,847 --> 00:42:06,803
one thing is certain -
569
00:42:06,847 --> 00:42:08,838
we are tirelessly working for them.
570
00:42:12,767 --> 00:42:17,124
Since we woke up, our heart has beaten
more than 20,000 times,
571
00:42:17,167 --> 00:42:21,206
bringing vital oxygen
to a hundred billion microscopic masters.
572
00:42:24,007 --> 00:42:26,521
But it takes more than air to feed the machine.
573
00:42:29,207 --> 00:42:31,198
lt takes fuel.
574
00:42:39,087 --> 00:42:41,362
Every time we swallow a morsel of food,
575
00:42:41,967 --> 00:42:45,676
we set it on a journey
designed to suck everything useful out of it.
576
00:42:51,087 --> 00:42:57,117
Sit down to lunch, and in the 30 or so hours
and 20-plus feet it takes to digest it,
577
00:42:57,167 --> 00:43:00,045
we convert plants or animals into energy
578
00:43:00,087 --> 00:43:03,443
and absorb their chemical building blocks
into our own flesh and blood.
579
00:43:09,527 --> 00:43:13,805
Carbohydrates, proteins, fats,
vitamins, and minerals -
580
00:43:13,847 --> 00:43:16,566
all of our nutrients come from what we eat.
581
00:43:23,447 --> 00:43:26,883
Digestion actually starts
before food crosses our lips.
582
00:43:28,367 --> 00:43:31,677
Just the idea of food
can get our mouths to water.
583
00:43:33,767 --> 00:43:35,837
We salivate roughly a pint every day.
584
00:43:38,567 --> 00:43:42,321
And in that saliva are enzymes that,
along with our teeth,
585
00:43:42,367 --> 00:43:44,562
begin to break down the food that we eat.
586
00:43:49,567 --> 00:43:51,762
But not before we get to savour it first.
587
00:43:55,927 --> 00:43:58,487
Some 1 0,000 taste buds line our tongues,
588
00:43:59,207 --> 00:44:03,917
each one home to about 50 taste receptor cells
that tell the brain what we're eating.
589
00:44:11,047 --> 00:44:14,119
And if some of those precious receptors
are scorched off,
590
00:44:14,167 --> 00:44:18,001
it will only take a week to 1 0 days
to grow back a brand-new set.
591
00:44:24,727 --> 00:44:29,437
Once the muscular tongue manoeuvres food
into our oesophagus, we're on autopilot.
592
00:44:38,367 --> 00:44:43,043
When we eat, a flap of skin called the epiglottis
seals off our windpipes.
593
00:44:45,327 --> 00:44:47,124
Except when it doesn't.
594
00:44:56,447 --> 00:44:57,721
l'm OK.
595
00:44:57,767 --> 00:44:59,758
Then it's back to the beginning.
596
00:45:01,927 --> 00:45:05,715
A typical journey down the oesophagus
takes about five seconds.
597
00:45:07,447 --> 00:45:10,041
From here it's squeezed, like toothpaste.
598
00:45:14,047 --> 00:45:20,361
Once it passes into the stomach as it's doing
here it's time to slow down a bit and digest.
599
00:45:22,967 --> 00:45:26,676
Normally this stretchy, J-shaped bag
isn't much bigger than a fist.
600
00:45:27,567 --> 00:45:28,556
(Groan)
601
00:45:28,607 --> 00:45:32,680
But after a big meal,
it can expand to more than 20 times that size.
602
00:45:34,767 --> 00:45:40,160
For the next several hours highly acidic gastric
juices spew from the stomach's walls,
603
00:45:40,207 --> 00:45:45,645
breaking down proteins in our food while muscle
contractions knead and churn it into a pulp.
604
00:45:49,687 --> 00:45:54,238
The acid here is so strong the stomach must
continuously secrete a layer of protective mucus
605
00:45:54,287 --> 00:45:56,278
so that it doesn't digest itself.
606
00:46:00,687 --> 00:46:02,882
lt absorbs very few nutrients, though.
607
00:46:07,287 --> 00:46:11,917
For that we pass into the 20-foot
''dis-assembly'' line of the small intestine
608
00:46:11,967 --> 00:46:14,606
with the help of a specialised camera pill.
609
00:46:17,167 --> 00:46:20,955
For about five hours, food's building blocks
are pushed, prodded,
610
00:46:21,007 --> 00:46:24,636
sprayed with digestive juices
and wrung like a rag here,
611
00:46:24,687 --> 00:46:28,362
until its vital elements
are forced through the intestinal wall
612
00:46:28,407 --> 00:46:30,398
and into the bloodstream.
613
00:46:33,447 --> 00:46:38,202
From here, most of our meal's nutrients
will flow directly to the liver,
614
00:46:38,247 --> 00:46:40,238
the body's largest internal organ.
615
00:46:43,127 --> 00:46:47,803
The liver breaks down, repackages and delivers
nutrients to our cells for growth and power.
616
00:46:51,567 --> 00:46:54,559
Our bodies ultimately try to balance
energy intake.
617
00:46:56,447 --> 00:46:59,120
But sometimes more goes in than out.
618
00:47:00,287 --> 00:47:02,801
The result.. fat.
619
00:47:03,647 --> 00:47:07,879
This is how fat looks on the inside...
and on the outside.
620
00:47:12,967 --> 00:47:16,562
lt doesn't take a lot of excess calories
to make you gain weight.
621
00:47:17,207 --> 00:47:21,997
Just 1 5 more a day than you need -
about the amount in four pistachio nuts -
622
00:47:22,047 --> 00:47:24,436
will add a pound and a half of fat over a year.
623
00:47:28,447 --> 00:47:32,156
Once the small intestine
has taken in everything worth ingesting,
624
00:47:32,207 --> 00:47:34,721
the rest is pushed along to the large intestine.
625
00:47:38,767 --> 00:47:43,045
For another 20 hours or so,
the last of the water is absorbed,
626
00:47:43,087 --> 00:47:46,636
and billions of bacteria work to break down
the remaining contents.
627
00:47:48,847 --> 00:47:52,635
ln the end,
anything we can't digest gets flushed...
628
00:47:53,327 --> 00:47:55,283
(Toilet flushing)
629
00:47:55,327 --> 00:47:57,318
..out of our bodies.
630
00:48:02,607 --> 00:48:05,326
Food's complicated journey
has a larger purpose.
631
00:48:06,727 --> 00:48:10,003
Once we've extracted what we need
to feed the incredible machine
632
00:48:10,047 --> 00:48:12,436
and gotten our cellular engines humming,
633
00:48:12,487 --> 00:48:15,604
it's nothing short of astounding
what we can do with them,
634
00:48:15,647 --> 00:48:18,241
thanks to amazing contraptions called muscle.
635
00:48:29,687 --> 00:48:31,962
The incredible human machine in action.
636
00:48:36,047 --> 00:48:39,198
Just about every body part,
from our skin receptors
637
00:48:39,247 --> 00:48:41,363
to the balance centre in our inner ears,
638
00:48:41,407 --> 00:48:46,117
help to make these amazing complexities of
movement seem almost effortless,
639
00:48:46,167 --> 00:48:48,158
automatic even.
640
00:48:57,767 --> 00:49:00,281
But if we peer beneath our skin,
641
00:49:00,327 --> 00:49:04,843
we see that one tissue above all
propels us into a thousand different positions.
642
00:49:09,647 --> 00:49:14,880
From the soles of our feet
to the tips of our fingers some 650 muscles,
643
00:49:14,927 --> 00:49:18,761
about 40% of our body mass,
power every move we make.
644
00:49:24,727 --> 00:49:26,319
As our day pushes on,
645
00:49:26,367 --> 00:49:30,963
these skeletal muscles lift us through it
usually without our thinking about it.
646
00:49:35,007 --> 00:49:39,683
Without them we couldn't run or blink,
smile or speak for that matter.
647
00:49:40,487 --> 00:49:42,318
Hello?
648
00:49:42,367 --> 00:49:44,198
Just muttering a single word...
649
00:49:44,247 --> 00:49:45,236
Hello?
650
00:49:45,287 --> 00:49:48,120
(Prolonged) Hello?
651
00:49:48,167 --> 00:49:54,686
..involves muscles in the face, lips, tongue, jaw,
larynx - as many as 1 00 muscles.
652
00:49:56,287 --> 00:49:58,676
Many of the same muscles let us form a frown.
653
00:50:00,647 --> 00:50:05,562
Turn them upside down and all 34 muscles
in the face let us deliver a kiss.
654
00:50:10,607 --> 00:50:13,519
Walking,. a highly coordinated series of falls
655
00:50:13,567 --> 00:50:16,445
that we've taken for granted
since we were toddlers
656
00:50:16,487 --> 00:50:21,163
requires no fewer than 200 skeletal muscles.
657
00:50:21,207 --> 00:50:23,880
Back muscles to keep you from falling forward,
658
00:50:23,927 --> 00:50:26,487
abdominal muscles
to keep you from falling back.
659
00:50:29,247 --> 00:50:32,956
lt takes 40 or so musclesjust to raise one leg
and move it forward.
660
00:50:34,847 --> 00:50:36,360
Now, add into that running,
661
00:50:36,407 --> 00:50:37,556
swimming,
662
00:50:37,607 --> 00:50:39,484
shooting, riding,
663
00:50:39,527 --> 00:50:41,563
and fencing,
664
00:50:41,607 --> 00:50:45,805
and you get an idea of how many different
muscles are at work inside Eli Bremer,
665
00:50:45,847 --> 00:50:48,441
top-seeded US Olympic pentathlete.
666
00:50:51,167 --> 00:50:54,955
l think what l do is very normal and someone
will ask what a typical training day is.
667
00:50:55,007 --> 00:50:58,124
And l'll tell them, ''Swim about four miles
and run about ten miles.''
668
00:50:58,167 --> 00:51:00,158
You know, it's not that big of a deal.
669
00:51:00,207 --> 00:51:01,925
l mean, l think anybody could do it.
670
00:51:01,967 --> 00:51:05,198
And then l get this weird look like,
''You must be crazy.''
671
00:51:06,607 --> 00:51:08,598
So, what propels him?
672
00:51:11,007 --> 00:51:13,475
lf we zoom in on one of these muscles in motion
673
00:51:15,327 --> 00:51:18,842
and closer still at the hundreds of muscle fibres
that run its length,
674
00:51:20,567 --> 00:51:24,355
we find two proteins, actin and myosin.
675
00:51:25,367 --> 00:51:27,562
And their actions couldn't be simpler.
676
00:51:28,447 --> 00:51:31,564
They link up,
squeezing together like cogs on a wheel.
677
00:51:32,847 --> 00:51:36,635
And then they relax,
releasing their grip and going back to normal.
678
00:51:39,687 --> 00:51:43,043
lf during a fencing bout
Eli wants to strike an opponent
679
00:51:43,967 --> 00:51:46,162
the actin and myosin in his tricep bind,
680
00:51:46,207 --> 00:51:48,721
while in his biceps they release.
681
00:51:51,887 --> 00:51:55,004
When he winds up for another blow
the opposite happens.
682
00:51:55,047 --> 00:51:58,483
Now his biceps bind and his triceps release.
683
00:52:00,367 --> 00:52:02,881
By binding and releasing
all our skeletal muscles
684
00:52:02,927 --> 00:52:05,805
we get our every motion.
685
00:52:05,847 --> 00:52:08,441
And 3, 2, 1 ...go!
686
00:52:09,367 --> 00:52:12,439
The more we work our muscles
the more actin and myosin we make,
687
00:52:13,807 --> 00:52:16,116
the bulkier our skeletal muscles become,
688
00:52:16,647 --> 00:52:19,559
as Olympic hopeful Doreen Fullhart
demonstrates.
689
00:52:22,847 --> 00:52:27,477
To lift, her brain sends electrical impulses down
nerves to muscle fibres
690
00:52:27,527 --> 00:52:29,722
telling the actin and myosin to bind...
691
00:52:31,607 --> 00:52:33,404
..and release.
692
00:52:36,047 --> 00:52:40,086
But for our muscles to work,
that signal from the brain must get through.
693
00:52:44,567 --> 00:52:47,320
That requires an intricate but delicate
wiring system.
694
00:52:47,367 --> 00:52:49,119
(Monitor beeps)
695
00:52:49,167 --> 00:52:51,522
- Have you met Dr Redett?
- Good to see you again.
696
00:52:51,567 --> 00:52:53,558
Good to see you.
697
00:52:53,607 --> 00:52:58,965
34-year-old Jason Keck severed some nerves
in a logging accident three months ago
698
00:52:59,007 --> 00:53:01,123
and he hasn't moved his left arm since.
699
00:53:04,607 --> 00:53:08,680
Just a few years ago, doctors could do virtually
nothing to fix this kind of damage.
700
00:53:10,727 --> 00:53:14,845
Today Doctor Dr Allan Belzberg and his team
at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
701
00:53:14,887 --> 00:53:17,879
will try to get Jason's wiring system
working again.
702
00:53:21,567 --> 00:53:24,445
The nerve is just an electric cable,
when all is said and done.
703
00:53:24,487 --> 00:53:28,036
A very sophisticated one,
but nonetheless an electrical cable.
704
00:53:28,087 --> 00:53:31,875
We have a nerve that's been broken,
that's been stretched and snapped.
705
00:53:31,927 --> 00:53:34,202
We can bring the ends together and fix it.
706
00:53:34,247 --> 00:53:38,843
lf we can't get the ends together we can fill
the gap in and splice in some material.
707
00:53:40,047 --> 00:53:43,926
And if we can't do that
then again we go to this nerve transfer concept
708
00:53:43,967 --> 00:53:46,242
of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
709
00:53:46,967 --> 00:53:49,276
Anything? Nothing?
710
00:53:50,087 --> 00:53:52,555
Paul in this case is Jason's arm.
711
00:53:54,087 --> 00:53:58,717
To find a suitable Peter to rob,
Belzberg zaps various nerves with electricity
712
00:53:58,767 --> 00:54:00,758
to see where current is being lost.
713
00:54:00,807 --> 00:54:03,605
Not unlike an electrician checking wires
in a house.
714
00:54:07,727 --> 00:54:11,356
What makes this interesting
is everybody's wired just a little bit differently.
715
00:54:13,647 --> 00:54:16,639
The hope is that at least some wires
are still plugged in.
716
00:54:19,967 --> 00:54:23,676
Sadly, Belzberg discovers
this isn't the case with Jason.
717
00:54:23,727 --> 00:54:25,240
Just terrible.
718
00:54:25,287 --> 00:54:29,280
Unfortunately, all five of the major nerves
that leave the spinal cord
719
00:54:29,327 --> 00:54:32,160
that go to control the arm and the hand
have been ripped right out.
720
00:54:32,207 --> 00:54:34,038
There is no connection with the brain.
721
00:54:36,567 --> 00:54:41,402
So far, no-one has figured out how to plug
nerves back into the spinal cord.
722
00:54:44,367 --> 00:54:46,881
The team will need to patch in somewhere else.
723
00:54:48,287 --> 00:54:51,199
This looks fairly scarred in here as well.
724
00:54:51,247 --> 00:54:55,399
So we do a somewhat heroic manoeuvre
where we go down
725
00:54:55,447 --> 00:54:58,519
and we take some of the nerves
that normally feed the ribs,
726
00:54:58,567 --> 00:55:01,764
normally feed the muscles in-between the ribs
and help you breathe.
727
00:55:01,807 --> 00:55:05,322
We're using those nerves now
to eventually make his arm move.
728
00:55:07,847 --> 00:55:10,759
Jason's nerves
don't reach from his ribs to his arms
729
00:55:10,807 --> 00:55:13,879
so first they'll have to get extra wiring
from his leg.
730
00:55:14,687 --> 00:55:18,885
So l'm harvesting the splicing wire now
from his leg that we're gonna use.
731
00:55:20,407 --> 00:55:24,923
Trading what will become a scar and a numb
patch on his foot for a bend at his elbow.
732
00:55:28,567 --> 00:55:32,242
lf the nerves take
his left arm's only connection to his brain
733
00:55:32,287 --> 00:55:35,085
will be through the breathing muscles in his ribs.
734
00:55:38,367 --> 00:55:41,677
That means with every breath Jason takes
his arm will bend.
735
00:55:42,927 --> 00:55:46,715
Every breath.
That will only last perhaps six months.
736
00:55:46,767 --> 00:55:49,645
Then the brain will relearn and stop doing that.
737
00:55:51,167 --> 00:55:55,285
lt will take time before we know how
much movement Jason will get back.
738
00:55:57,567 --> 00:56:02,083
Axons,. the fibres extending from the nerve cells
that carry electrical signals
739
00:56:02,127 --> 00:56:04,118
grow about an inch a month.
740
00:56:05,567 --> 00:56:08,035
Jason is receiving about nine inches worth.
741
00:56:08,887 --> 00:56:13,244
So if all goes well, he'll have some feeling
and motion return within the year.
742
00:56:13,287 --> 00:56:15,403
He went through a heck of an operation.
743
00:56:15,447 --> 00:56:18,837
l'm sure he's going to have a lot of pain from it,
a lot of expense from it.
744
00:56:18,887 --> 00:56:22,243
But to him, if this works,
l suspect it will be worth it.
745
00:56:24,687 --> 00:56:28,043
Nerves to muscles -
the system is a marvel to behold.
746
00:56:31,127 --> 00:56:33,118
But whether we're competing
at the Olympic level
747
00:56:33,167 --> 00:56:36,443
or simply making dinner plans
and picking up groceries,
748
00:56:36,487 --> 00:56:40,605
the whole thing would be absolutely useless
without an infrastructure.
749
00:56:51,447 --> 00:56:57,044
Follow any muscle to its base, through a bundle
of strong, flexible fibres called tendons,
750
00:56:57,087 --> 00:56:59,726
down to the very point where it's anchored
751
00:56:59,767 --> 00:57:04,079
and you'll find one of the world's
most remarkable materials - bone.
752
00:57:08,527 --> 00:57:12,520
Some 206 of these engineering marvels
are strewn throughout the body.
753
00:57:14,727 --> 00:57:17,878
Strong enough to support up to 20 times
our body weight,
754
00:57:17,927 --> 00:57:21,078
light enough to defy gravity - however briefly,
755
00:57:21,127 --> 00:57:24,119
flexible enough to absorb unfathomable impacts
756
00:57:24,167 --> 00:57:28,763
and connected in such a way as to provide
a seemingly endless range of movement.
757
00:57:34,607 --> 00:57:37,679
Accounting for some 1 5 percent
of our body mass,
758
00:57:37,727 --> 00:57:39,319
bones are what give us our shape.
759
00:57:39,367 --> 00:57:40,959
(Squelching)
760
00:57:41,007 --> 00:57:43,316
Without them, we would all look like this.
761
00:57:51,007 --> 00:57:55,239
But despite the amazing strength and support
our inner frameworks provide,
762
00:57:55,887 --> 00:57:58,355
they're usually portrayed
in a more sinister manner.
763
00:58:02,647 --> 00:58:07,163
Descend 60 feet under the streets of Paris
to its catacombs hundreds of years old
764
00:58:08,007 --> 00:58:10,396
and we get the stereotypical image of bone.
765
00:58:10,807 --> 00:58:13,321
Dry, sterile,
766
00:58:14,087 --> 00:58:15,156
white,
767
00:58:16,367 --> 00:58:18,164
dead.
768
00:58:19,047 --> 00:58:20,958
That's not exactly surprising.
769
00:58:21,007 --> 00:58:23,885
This is the only way
most of us ever to get see bones.
770
00:58:28,167 --> 00:58:31,318
And these are the only bits of us
that are going to be left.
771
00:58:38,087 --> 00:58:42,444
This was the world's first glimpse of bone
inside a living human body.
772
00:58:43,367 --> 00:58:45,437
The left hand of Frau Bertha Roentgen
773
00:58:46,967 --> 00:58:52,678
as imaged in 1 895 by her husband
Wilhelm Roentgen, discoverer of the X-ray.
774
00:58:52,727 --> 00:58:58,962
We've come a long way since then
and it turns out bones are anything but dry.
775
00:59:03,567 --> 00:59:07,640
Deep in the centre of many bones,
in this tissue called the marrow,
776
00:59:07,687 --> 00:59:11,805
some 1 20 million oxygen-carrying
red blood cells
777
00:59:11,847 --> 00:59:16,557
and seven million microbe-fighting
white blood cells are born every minute
778
00:59:16,607 --> 00:59:18,723
and shipped off to the rest of the body.
779
00:59:19,527 --> 00:59:24,043
Toward the surface, specialised cells
continually lay down new bone
780
00:59:24,087 --> 00:59:27,318
while others do the opposite
and whisk away old layers.
781
00:59:32,447 --> 00:59:35,405
This is how bone grows with us
throughout our youth
782
00:59:35,447 --> 00:59:38,439
and keeps itself strong long after we're grown.
783
00:59:42,127 --> 00:59:47,520
lf we suck away all that marrow, we see bone
is mainly a blend of two substances -
784
00:59:47,567 --> 00:59:51,162
the mineral calcium phosphate
and the protein collagen.
785
00:59:54,087 --> 00:59:56,078
lt's a match made in heaven.
786
00:59:58,167 --> 01:00:01,603
Without flexible collagen,
bone would be as brittle as glass.
787
01:00:04,327 --> 01:00:08,639
Without calcium phosphate,
it would be as unstructured as rubber.
788
01:00:09,967 --> 01:00:12,037
Together they're light enough to manoeuvre,
789
01:00:12,087 --> 01:00:15,477
strong enough to shelter
our most delicate inner organs
790
01:00:15,527 --> 01:00:17,882
and resilient enough to last a lifetime.
791
01:00:21,807 --> 01:00:23,604
Go!
792
01:00:25,807 --> 01:00:30,927
Champion gymnasts like Joey Hagerty
routinely push the limits of bone.
793
01:00:32,847 --> 01:00:35,680
They train them to grow and adapt to extremes.
794
01:00:35,727 --> 01:00:37,206
OK, Joe. Ready? Three...
795
01:00:37,247 --> 01:00:42,162
Sports physiologist Bill Sands tries to ensure
this isn't past the breaking point.
796
01:00:43,167 --> 01:00:47,797
Bone are living tissue like all other living tissues,
so the things we ask the tissue to do,
797
01:00:47,847 --> 01:00:53,479
as long as we provide those stimuli carefully,
slowly, progressively,
798
01:00:53,527 --> 01:00:56,325
we can usually get tissues
to withstand astonishing things.
799
01:00:57,727 --> 01:01:04,075
lt is this adaptive property of bone that allows
a martial arts expert to punch through concrete.
800
01:01:04,127 --> 01:01:06,357
SANDS:
You don't do that the first day, of course.
801
01:01:06,407 --> 01:01:09,763
You have to build them up more
and more and more over multiple years.
802
01:01:11,407 --> 01:01:15,685
The same goes for gymnasts whose bones
absorb a tremendous amount of shock.
803
01:01:17,247 --> 01:01:19,636
Yeah, don't hook your toes.
804
01:01:19,687 --> 01:01:23,077
Sands uses a variety of apparatuses
to measure this,.
805
01:01:23,127 --> 01:01:26,915
like these inserts
that measure the forces on Joey's feet,
806
01:01:26,967 --> 01:01:29,162
and high-speed cameras to record the impact.
807
01:01:29,207 --> 01:01:31,926
Ready? Three, two, one.
808
01:01:31,967 --> 01:01:33,878
Go.
809
01:01:38,367 --> 01:01:41,803
Well, right here
he's over 1 50lbs per square inch.
810
01:01:41,847 --> 01:01:43,803
Trust me, that's a big force.
811
01:01:43,847 --> 01:01:48,523
The forces generally seen in gymnastics are
the biggest forces we've had recorded so far.
812
01:01:48,567 --> 01:01:50,558
1 4 to 20 times body weight.
813
01:01:53,287 --> 01:01:58,884
The unsung heroes of all this movement are not
our bones, but what brings them together.
814
01:01:58,927 --> 01:02:00,918
lngenious devices called joints.
815
01:02:04,247 --> 01:02:06,715
From our knees to our knuckles,
816
01:02:06,767 --> 01:02:10,726
some 1 87 separate joints allow our bones
to slide back and forth,
817
01:02:10,767 --> 01:02:13,235
side to side, up, down,
818
01:02:13,287 --> 01:02:15,881
and round and round like a well-oiled machine.
819
01:02:22,407 --> 01:02:25,604
While bones have an almost
miraculous tendency to heal,
820
01:02:25,647 --> 01:02:27,683
joints are prone to break down.
821
01:02:30,047 --> 01:02:31,799
Hey, Mark, how you doing?
822
01:02:31,847 --> 01:02:35,522
The surgery that we're going to be doing today
is to go through...
823
01:02:35,567 --> 01:02:38,877
Whether it's due to football,
weight-lifting or biking,
824
01:02:38,927 --> 01:02:41,964
45-year-old Mark Kramer
has had eight shoulder operations
825
01:02:42,007 --> 01:02:43,998
over the last decade and a half.
826
01:02:44,927 --> 01:02:45,996
Pretty easy.
827
01:02:46,047 --> 01:02:50,325
Today, Dr Carl Basamania and his team
at the Duke University Medical Center
828
01:02:50,367 --> 01:02:53,404
will give him his ninth.
829
01:02:53,447 --> 01:02:55,438
Number one: l hope to be out of pain.
830
01:02:56,567 --> 01:03:00,446
When you live with pain every day
it makes life challenging.
831
01:03:00,487 --> 01:03:02,478
(Monitor beeps)
832
01:03:02,527 --> 01:03:06,998
Basamania first assesses the damage to Mark's
shoulder with an arthroscopic camera.
833
01:03:13,647 --> 01:03:15,239
He discovers one of the tendons
834
01:03:15,287 --> 01:03:19,838
that is supposed to hold the ball and socket joint
of Mark's shoulder in place is eroding,
835
01:03:19,887 --> 01:03:21,878
causing Mark intense pain.
836
01:03:24,007 --> 01:03:27,317
l can show you on the X-ray,
but the ball is sitting quite a way forward now,
837
01:03:27,367 --> 01:03:30,598
because there's nothing to really hold it in place.
838
01:03:30,647 --> 01:03:34,765
Basamania wants more than to simply pop
Mark's shoulder back into place.
839
01:03:35,487 --> 01:03:37,478
He wants to keep it there.
840
01:03:40,887 --> 01:03:43,447
And to do that he'll turn to this -
841
01:03:43,487 --> 01:03:49,323
a specially engineered biological material
called extracellular matrix, or ECM,
842
01:03:49,367 --> 01:03:51,801
that has the power to regenerate tissue.
843
01:03:56,207 --> 01:03:59,756
Suck away the cells
from just about any tissue in the body
844
01:03:59,807 --> 01:04:01,798
and ECM is what will be left.
845
01:04:06,487 --> 01:04:11,322
Mother Nature's done a really good job
of bringing this material together.
846
01:04:12,407 --> 01:04:16,798
Stephen Badylak of Pittsburgh's McGowan
lnstitute for Regenerative Medicine
847
01:04:16,847 --> 01:04:19,361
helped discover ECM's power,
848
01:04:19,407 --> 01:04:23,480
which, like stem cells, has the potential
to heal many tissues in the body.
849
01:04:25,367 --> 01:04:28,962
The real magic of the material,
if you wanna call it magic,
850
01:04:29,007 --> 01:04:32,522
is that this is loaded with signalling molecules
851
01:04:32,567 --> 01:04:37,641
that instruct the surrounding cells and tissues
to heal in a specific way.
852
01:04:37,967 --> 01:04:39,878
So if we examine...
853
01:04:39,927 --> 01:04:44,921
The best part is that extracellular matrix
is found in all animals.
854
01:04:46,487 --> 01:04:50,400
Pig ECM, for example,
is not that different from human ECM.
855
01:04:52,167 --> 01:04:56,160
lt's not that much different than a mouse
or a dinosaur's as far as that goes.
856
01:04:56,207 --> 01:05:00,678
Therefore, when we take ECM from one species
and put it in another,
857
01:05:00,727 --> 01:05:03,480
it tends to be accepted as self.
858
01:05:05,087 --> 01:05:09,205
We can even extract the material
from one tissue, like pig's small intestine,
859
01:05:09,247 --> 01:05:12,159
and put it into another
like Mark Kramer's shoulder.
860
01:05:13,167 --> 01:05:16,239
We're going to have graft, tendon
and then more graft.
861
01:05:16,927 --> 01:05:20,840
This is what l refer to as a taco repair,
simply cos it looks like a taco.
862
01:05:22,527 --> 01:05:25,883
Basamania simply wraps the material
around Mark's damaged tendon
863
01:05:25,927 --> 01:05:27,918
and sutures it into place.
864
01:05:30,447 --> 01:05:32,517
Mark's own cells will then attach to the graft
865
01:05:32,567 --> 01:05:36,480
and then within weeks his own body
will reconstruct the tissue and heal itself.
866
01:05:39,847 --> 01:05:44,045
For me this is very satisfying
to go from a flimsy material
867
01:05:44,087 --> 01:05:49,241
to now he has what looks like
a very nice healthy-looking tendon.
868
01:05:49,287 --> 01:05:51,960
Oh, he'll be back in the gym before too long.
869
01:05:53,887 --> 01:05:57,766
Extracellular matrix has already been used
to grow and treat things
870
01:05:57,807 --> 01:06:00,241
like the oesophagus, skin, bladder.
871
01:06:00,287 --> 01:06:03,006
Even to heal the damaged dorsal fin
of a dolphin.
872
01:06:05,647 --> 01:06:10,357
This idea of coaxing the body to fix itself
may offer a whole new way to treat disease.
873
01:06:12,087 --> 01:06:16,922
Salamanders and newts and starfish
can regrow entire legs. Why can't we do it?
874
01:06:17,887 --> 01:06:23,086
Our goal is to tell the body,
''We don't want you to just heal this tissue again.
875
01:06:23,127 --> 01:06:25,083
We want you to reconstruct this tissue.''
876
01:06:27,487 --> 01:06:32,083
Perhaps one day we will grow a new arm
or leg as easily as a wounded starfish does.
877
01:06:34,567 --> 01:06:37,798
For now,
we're stuck with the limbs our parents gave us.
878
01:06:41,927 --> 01:06:43,758
And as the sun sets on our day,
879
01:06:43,807 --> 01:06:48,278
just getting two incredible machines
to reproduce at all is challenge enough.
880
01:06:53,007 --> 01:06:54,998
( Violin plays a tango)
881
01:06:58,247 --> 01:07:00,397
lt's a simple biological function.
882
01:07:00,447 --> 01:07:04,838
The swapping of genetic material
to improve the adaptability of the species.
883
01:07:07,287 --> 01:07:10,006
But getting together is anything but easy.
884
01:07:13,447 --> 01:07:15,324
The seduction.
885
01:07:15,367 --> 01:07:17,642
The courtship.
886
01:07:17,687 --> 01:07:19,120
The commitment.
887
01:07:24,567 --> 01:07:27,877
lt's all part of an intricate dance
originated millions of years ago
888
01:07:27,927 --> 01:07:30,646
and choreographed over countless generations.
889
01:07:35,607 --> 01:07:37,598
So why all the fuss?
890
01:07:40,607 --> 01:07:43,121
Why don't humans simply do
as an amoeba does?
891
01:07:43,967 --> 01:07:45,958
Just split in two.
892
01:07:51,167 --> 01:07:56,241
lf all we wanted was to make exact copies
of ourselves that is exactly what we would do.
893
01:07:59,967 --> 01:08:03,403
But humans,
along with practically the entire animal kingdom,
894
01:08:03,447 --> 01:08:05,915
want more out of life than to simply survive.
895
01:08:07,687 --> 01:08:09,200
We're built to thrive
896
01:08:09,247 --> 01:08:12,796
and mixing up genes through sexual
reproduction is the best way to do it.
897
01:08:16,767 --> 01:08:19,122
The dance may begin with an attractive sight.
898
01:08:19,727 --> 01:08:21,718
A smell, a touch.
899
01:08:24,407 --> 01:08:27,524
Soon enough the heart beats faster,
blood pressure rises.
900
01:08:28,087 --> 01:08:29,600
Breathing accelerates.
901
01:08:29,647 --> 01:08:31,000
Skin gets flushed.
902
01:08:31,047 --> 01:08:34,562
And whether or not baby-making
is on the agenda tonight,
903
01:08:34,607 --> 01:08:36,996
the baby-making machinery is raring to go.
904
01:08:45,887 --> 01:08:49,675
Every second of every day,
a man produces more than 1,000 sperm.
905
01:08:53,727 --> 01:08:58,881
That's 60,000 sperm per minute
or 1 4 million during the course of an evening.
906
01:09:03,887 --> 01:09:06,560
They may only be about two-thousandths
of an inch long,
907
01:09:06,607 --> 01:09:10,680
but 300 million are always ready
to fulfil their life's mission -
908
01:09:10,727 --> 01:09:13,082
to fertilise...one of these.
909
01:09:14,807 --> 01:09:19,676
Unlike a man, a woman is born with her
allotment of sex cells, about one million of them.
910
01:09:23,967 --> 01:09:27,084
Only about 400 eggs will ever get released,
911
01:09:27,127 --> 01:09:30,517
less than half the sperm cells
a man produces every second.
912
01:09:34,487 --> 01:09:37,240
Once the egg is pushed out of the ovary
each month,
913
01:09:37,287 --> 01:09:40,245
it's swooped into the fallopian tube
for about a day,.
914
01:09:40,287 --> 01:09:42,357
life's window of opportunity.
915
01:09:45,527 --> 01:09:47,961
lf no suitor appears the egg dissolves.
916
01:09:52,487 --> 01:09:55,604
But far more interesting is what happens
when one does.
917
01:09:57,847 --> 01:10:01,123
Of the millions of sperm
engaged in this genetic race
918
01:10:01,167 --> 01:10:04,557
only a few will defy all the odds
and glimpse the finish line.
919
01:10:07,647 --> 01:10:12,675
And as the body's smallest cells
meet the largest, only one will make it across.
920
01:10:15,527 --> 01:10:17,802
There was a time just a few centuries ago,
921
01:10:17,847 --> 01:10:22,796
when some scholars believed that every sperm
cell had a fully-formed miniature person inside
922
01:10:22,847 --> 01:10:24,838
called a homunculus.
923
01:10:24,887 --> 01:10:27,720
(Babies laugh and gurgle)
924
01:10:29,287 --> 01:10:31,755
We now confidently know this is not the case.
925
01:10:33,887 --> 01:10:37,038
Deep within each of the body's 1 00 trillion cells
926
01:10:37,087 --> 01:10:40,716
is a complete blueprint for a human being -
a genome.
927
01:10:43,727 --> 01:10:48,039
Here our DNA molecules are tightly packaged
into bundles called chromosomes.
928
01:10:49,767 --> 01:10:52,327
Each cell has 23 pairs of chromosomes.
929
01:10:54,567 --> 01:10:58,162
Sperm and egg cells, though,
only have half a blueprint each.
930
01:10:59,687 --> 01:11:01,484
They need each other.
931
01:11:02,687 --> 01:11:06,396
And during that fateful meeting, their DNA fuses,
932
01:11:06,447 --> 01:11:09,200
mingling the mother
and the father's genetic traits.
933
01:11:10,647 --> 01:11:15,277
For several days, the fertilised egg journeys
through the fallopian tube towards the uterus,
934
01:11:15,327 --> 01:11:17,318
growing and dividing along the way.
935
01:11:20,727 --> 01:11:25,517
About 20 hours after fertilisation,
it divides into two cells.
936
01:11:25,567 --> 01:11:30,163
ln 48 hours, four. 1 2 hours later, it's eight cells.
937
01:11:30,207 --> 01:11:33,165
And by 72 hours, it's 1 6.
938
01:11:34,887 --> 01:11:38,482
Each of the new cells
is genetically identical to the original.
939
01:11:40,767 --> 01:11:44,282
At this stage everything from eye
and hair colour, gender,
940
01:11:44,327 --> 01:11:49,765
and even to some extent height, weight,
intelligence, sense of humour and personality,
941
01:11:49,807 --> 01:11:51,798
are all pre-determined.
942
01:11:54,607 --> 01:11:58,885
ln fact, scientists can even sift through
a dish of embryos to choose gender
943
01:11:58,927 --> 01:12:01,441
or identify genetic defects and remove them.
944
01:12:05,887 --> 01:12:09,004
But not if couples have a baby
the old-fashioned way.
945
01:12:11,527 --> 01:12:16,157
By the end of the first week, the free-floating
ball of cells, now known as a blastocyst,
946
01:12:16,207 --> 01:12:17,925
has entered the uterus.
947
01:12:19,087 --> 01:12:22,762
Cells continue to divide here
before they find a place to settle.
948
01:12:25,847 --> 01:12:27,997
lt's official,. she is pregnant.
949
01:12:30,527 --> 01:12:35,476
As the weeks pass, cells start to specialise
and forms begin to take shape.
950
01:12:38,567 --> 01:12:42,401
At three weeks a groove marks the beginning
of a nervous system,
951
01:12:42,447 --> 01:12:47,123
the top of the tube destined to become a brain
and the lower portion the spinal cord.
952
01:12:51,207 --> 01:12:54,165
By eight weeks,
almost all of the organs and systems
953
01:12:54,207 --> 01:13:00,999
in this walnut-sized embryo are in place,
earning it by week nine the official title of foetus.
954
01:13:02,887 --> 01:13:04,878
And now growth really kicks in.
955
01:13:07,767 --> 01:13:13,046
By 1 2 weeks, just as expectant parents
get their first glimpse into the watery womb,
956
01:13:13,087 --> 01:13:17,683
the foetus may practise breathing,
taking in amniotic fluid instead of air.
957
01:13:22,287 --> 01:13:25,245
Already it can punch and kick.
958
01:13:27,087 --> 01:13:29,965
At 1 4 weeks, it can swallow and suck its thumb.
959
01:13:30,007 --> 01:13:31,156
(Woman laughs)
960
01:13:31,967 --> 01:13:33,958
By 24, it can hear.
961
01:13:35,687 --> 01:13:38,565
By 32, it responds to music, voices.
962
01:13:38,607 --> 01:13:41,519
OK, so that's... Oh, there's her eyes.
963
01:13:41,567 --> 01:13:42,966
That's eyes, nose, mouth.
964
01:13:43,007 --> 01:13:45,043
Now her mouth is wide open.
965
01:13:45,087 --> 01:13:48,966
And at 40 weeks, give or take,
it's ready to enter the world.
966
01:13:49,207 --> 01:13:50,765
Push.
967
01:13:52,447 --> 01:13:54,915
- Ten, nine. Ten.
- (Exhales heavily)
968
01:13:54,967 --> 01:13:56,400
- That's it.
- Now push.
969
01:13:56,447 --> 01:13:58,642
Great, great. Great, honey.
970
01:13:59,887 --> 01:14:01,684
Another push.
971
01:14:03,487 --> 01:14:05,478
- Oh, my God.
- There's your baby.
972
01:14:05,527 --> 01:14:07,802
Good job!
973
01:14:07,847 --> 01:14:09,883
22:30.
974
01:14:09,927 --> 01:14:12,122
- Oh, my God.
- Good job.
975
01:14:12,167 --> 01:14:14,158
- 1 0:31 .
- There you go.
976
01:14:14,887 --> 01:14:16,878
Oh, my gosh.
977
01:14:19,647 --> 01:14:21,638
(Air hisses)
978
01:14:23,207 --> 01:14:25,198
(Cries)
979
01:14:32,847 --> 01:14:34,838
- lt's a big girl.
- lt's a big girl.
980
01:14:37,927 --> 01:14:42,842
ln the nine months it takes her to go from
fertilised egg to fully formed human baby
981
01:14:42,887 --> 01:14:46,084
she will have grown
more than 5,000 times bigger.
982
01:14:52,007 --> 01:14:56,285
As women around the globe can attest,
getting to this point is no easy task.
983
01:14:58,127 --> 01:15:02,245
And yet some 260 humans
are born this way every minute.
984
01:15:02,927 --> 01:15:08,957
That's 37 4,000 every day
and more than 1 36 million every year.
985
01:15:15,567 --> 01:15:17,125
(Laughter)
986
01:15:17,167 --> 01:15:21,240
Why evolve such a painful and risky way
to keep a species going?
987
01:15:23,007 --> 01:15:25,441
lt's the price we pay for our giant brains.
988
01:15:25,487 --> 01:15:27,478
Hi.
989
01:15:28,087 --> 01:15:31,204
Billions of neurons
are buzzing around in that head of hers,
990
01:15:31,247 --> 01:15:34,557
virtually all the nerve cells
her brain will ever need.
991
01:15:36,047 --> 01:15:39,517
Throughout her childhood
they'll be reaching out to other neurons,
992
01:15:39,567 --> 01:15:42,479
making more connections
with each new experience.
993
01:15:48,447 --> 01:15:52,406
With each connection mind and body fuse
to form the thing that is us.
994
01:15:54,367 --> 01:15:58,440
And at the helm, the most remarkable
command centre in the world.
995
01:16:04,767 --> 01:16:10,205
Every system in the body is complex, but there
is only one presiding over everything we do.
996
01:16:13,607 --> 01:16:15,837
Every second since our day began,
997
01:16:15,887 --> 01:16:19,357
our brains have been guiding,
guarding and giving orders.
998
01:16:20,007 --> 01:16:22,202
Defining nothing less than what we are.
999
01:16:27,367 --> 01:16:31,724
Through an information superhighway of nerves
fanning throughout our bodies
1000
01:16:31,767 --> 01:16:34,440
our brains keep tabs on every part of us -
1001
01:16:34,487 --> 01:16:37,923
eyes and ears, skin and bones,
heart and muscles.
1002
01:16:41,327 --> 01:16:44,558
Through a hundred billion specialised cells
called neurons
1003
01:16:44,607 --> 01:16:49,476
zapping millions of electrical and chemical
signals at up to 200 miles per hour
1004
01:16:49,527 --> 01:16:56,399
these three-pound blobs of fat and water
let us think, feel, want, remember and react.
1005
01:16:58,767 --> 01:17:00,758
lt really is what makes us human,
1006
01:17:00,807 --> 01:17:04,925
because it encapsulates everything
from our ability to paint a beautiful picture
1007
01:17:04,967 --> 01:17:07,037
to construct a building,
1008
01:17:07,087 --> 01:17:09,806
to render violence on somebody else.
1009
01:17:09,847 --> 01:17:13,283
lf l transplant your heart, for example,
you're still you.
1010
01:17:13,327 --> 01:17:15,795
But if we do something that damages your brain,
1011
01:17:15,847 --> 01:17:19,044
the very character,
your very personality may change.
1012
01:17:19,727 --> 01:17:21,718
And so the brain is you.
1013
01:17:22,567 --> 01:17:25,877
And when this unremarkable-looking organ
is under assault,
1014
01:17:25,927 --> 01:17:28,122
everything that defines you is at risk.
1015
01:17:31,687 --> 01:17:35,441
Hi, Brandon. This is Dr Liau.
They're gonna be putting you to sleep now, OK?
1016
01:17:35,487 --> 01:17:38,320
- OK.
- l'll see you when you wake up.
1017
01:17:38,367 --> 01:17:44,556
Everyone in this UCLA operating room
is acutely aware of the brain's vulnerability.
1018
01:17:47,407 --> 01:17:50,683
23-year-old Brandon Carson
has a large cancerous tumour
1019
01:17:50,727 --> 01:17:53,958
near a region of his brain critical for language.
1020
01:17:54,007 --> 01:17:57,636
His tumour is very close to Broca's area.
1021
01:17:57,687 --> 01:17:58,563
(Whirring)
1022
01:17:58,607 --> 01:18:01,075
lt's probably one of the closer ones l've seen.
1023
01:18:01,927 --> 01:18:05,715
The challenge to Dr Linda Liau
and the team of doctors
1024
01:18:05,767 --> 01:18:09,442
is to remove the tumour
whilst keeping Brandon's speech intact.
1025
01:18:10,527 --> 01:18:12,518
Brandon, wake up.
1026
01:18:13,527 --> 01:18:16,997
Which is why once they've opened his skull
and revealed his brain
1027
01:18:17,047 --> 01:18:19,959
the doctors do their best
to keep Brandon awake.
1028
01:18:23,127 --> 01:18:25,118
Brandon, open your eyes.
1029
01:18:26,487 --> 01:18:31,003
The brain doesn't have pain receptors,
so Brandon doesn't feel anything,
1030
01:18:31,047 --> 01:18:32,639
even when they do wake him up.
1031
01:18:32,687 --> 01:18:35,155
- Give it a try.
- Brandon.
1032
01:18:35,607 --> 01:18:37,598
(Low conversation)
1033
01:18:37,647 --> 01:18:39,319
- No, no.
- No, you can't.
1034
01:18:39,367 --> 01:18:41,835
Don't sit up.
1035
01:18:41,887 --> 01:18:43,718
Can we do this test real quick?
1036
01:18:43,767 --> 01:18:47,999
DR LlAU: Language is a function
we can't map when a patient is asleep.
1037
01:18:48,047 --> 01:18:50,436
We can measure muscle and things like that,
1038
01:18:50,487 --> 01:18:55,038
but we can't really with a 1 00% certainty
know where his language areas are
1039
01:18:55,087 --> 01:18:58,921
unless we wake him up
and stimulate those particular areas.
1040
01:18:58,967 --> 01:19:00,719
OK. What's this?
1041
01:19:00,767 --> 01:19:03,520
Good. And this one?
1042
01:19:03,567 --> 01:19:08,925
Using easily-identifiable flash cards, a
psychologist tests Brandon's language capacity.
1043
01:19:10,607 --> 01:19:16,204
Simultaneously, Liau disrupts tiny areas of
his language centre with a mild electric shock.
1044
01:19:16,247 --> 01:19:18,602
Let's try that same area again.
1045
01:19:19,407 --> 01:19:24,276
lf Brandon has trouble recognising these
images while the shock is being delivered,
1046
01:19:24,327 --> 01:19:28,525
the team then knows this is a critical area
and makes sure to work around it.
1047
01:19:31,007 --> 01:19:34,602
Jessica, there's an area that l think is safe.
1048
01:19:34,647 --> 01:19:38,765
l'm going to start there
and you just keep talking to him.
1049
01:19:41,607 --> 01:19:47,079
By imaging the brain before and during surgery,
something she couldn't do just ten years ago,
1050
01:19:47,127 --> 01:19:49,595
Liau can cut out the tumour with confidence.
1051
01:19:52,647 --> 01:19:56,322
And with a living, functioning,
awake brain exposed,
1052
01:19:56,367 --> 01:20:02,397
neuroscientists get a rare opportunity
to peer inside down to individual blood vessels
1053
01:20:02,447 --> 01:20:04,915
and glimpse the mysterious organ in action.
1054
01:20:07,327 --> 01:20:10,603
Mapping the human brain is a Holy Grail -
we all want to do it.
1055
01:20:10,647 --> 01:20:14,083
We want to create a map
where we know what structures are where
1056
01:20:14,127 --> 01:20:17,005
and what the function is in those structures.
1057
01:20:17,047 --> 01:20:21,199
But unlike the map of the Earth where there's
latitude and longitude and so forth,
1058
01:20:21,247 --> 01:20:23,602
the human brain is individualised.
1059
01:20:23,647 --> 01:20:27,037
Each is different from the other;
it's what makes us unique.
1060
01:20:29,367 --> 01:20:32,200
At UCLA's Laboratory of Neuro lmaging,
1061
01:20:32,247 --> 01:20:35,717
Dr Arthur Toga isjust beginning to understand
these differences
1062
01:20:35,767 --> 01:20:37,758
with what is called the Brain Atlas.
1063
01:20:39,807 --> 01:20:43,356
lt's a collection of thousands and thousands
of scans of human subjects.
1064
01:20:43,407 --> 01:20:46,877
Various ages, various groups, various genders.
1065
01:20:48,287 --> 01:20:52,166
With it, we can watch a brain develop
from five years old to 90
1066
01:20:52,967 --> 01:20:55,561
and see it start to degrade during middle age.
1067
01:20:59,647 --> 01:21:01,638
Comparing a man and a woman's brain.
1068
01:21:03,487 --> 01:21:06,957
His may have more volume
but hers has added surface area.
1069
01:21:08,367 --> 01:21:13,395
Here's the brain activity of someone who speaks
one language, and someone who speaks two.
1070
01:21:14,087 --> 01:21:16,123
A right-hander and a left.
1071
01:21:18,967 --> 01:21:23,085
The Brain Atlas looks at our master organ
from a variety of perspectives,
1072
01:21:23,127 --> 01:21:25,118
right down to individual neurons.
1073
01:21:27,287 --> 01:21:31,166
Through functional magnetic
resonance imaging, or FMRl,
1074
01:21:32,087 --> 01:21:36,365
we can see the exact spots where conscious
thoughts originate as they form.
1075
01:21:36,887 --> 01:21:42,678
Navigating a map, listening to music,
experiencing fear and laughter.
1076
01:21:43,367 --> 01:21:45,358
This is remarkable.
1077
01:21:45,407 --> 01:21:48,763
You can watch the human brain function
in a normal, living individual.
1078
01:21:51,287 --> 01:21:55,405
FMRl also allows us to watch the brain
as it malfunctions.
1079
01:21:58,487 --> 01:22:02,719
Two years ago a severe car crash
left 22-year-old Kimberlee Lizarraga
1080
01:22:02,767 --> 01:22:06,885
crippled by pain in her neck and shoulders,
and she feels it to this day.
1081
01:22:10,127 --> 01:22:13,915
Just picking up groceries or driving a car
can be excruciating.
1082
01:22:14,847 --> 01:22:20,126
The pain that l felt was so unexplainable.
l can't even explain the pain that l felt.
1083
01:22:20,167 --> 01:22:23,921
lt affects my job,
it affects my whole life tremendously.
1084
01:22:25,607 --> 01:22:29,998
Kimberlee suffered no brain trauma in the
accident and her injuries are completely healed.
1085
01:22:31,767 --> 01:22:33,758
Her pain lives only in her brain.
1086
01:22:39,127 --> 01:22:45,157
And with the help of Stanford's Dr Sean Mackey
and an FMRl, Kimberlee is learning to control it.
1087
01:22:46,207 --> 01:22:47,686
Pain doesn't live in one region.
1088
01:22:47,727 --> 01:22:53,962
We believe it is ultimately a flow of information,
a flow of neural activity
1089
01:22:54,007 --> 01:22:56,475
between a multitude of regions within the brain.
1090
01:22:56,527 --> 01:23:01,601
What we're working on now is actually
trying to control the volume on... the faucet,
1091
01:23:01,647 --> 01:23:04,366
so to speak,
on information flowing back and forth.
1092
01:23:05,687 --> 01:23:08,565
Mackey doesn't want to stop
that flow completely.
1093
01:23:11,007 --> 01:23:12,998
Pain does have its place.
1094
01:23:15,967 --> 01:23:19,039
What's wonderful about pain
is that it's so terrible.
1095
01:23:19,087 --> 01:23:22,159
My son only had to touch a hot stove once
to learn not to do it.
1096
01:23:23,927 --> 01:23:26,236
The problem is when pain becomes chronic.
1097
01:23:26,687 --> 01:23:31,602
When it lasts beyond the time you would expect
for the tissue to have healed after an injury.
1098
01:23:31,647 --> 01:23:35,606
lt's persistent.
lt robs our soul, it robs of who we are.
1099
01:23:35,647 --> 01:23:39,162
All right, Kimberlee, we're going to take
anatomical images of your brain.
1100
01:23:39,207 --> 01:23:41,357
This is gonna take about two minutes.
1101
01:23:41,407 --> 01:23:46,117
Which explains why Kimberlee submits to
the confines of this claustrophobic machine.
1102
01:23:47,847 --> 01:23:51,078
While she's in there
the Stanford team gives her a real-time picture
1103
01:23:51,127 --> 01:23:53,436
of the activity in her brain's pain areas.
1104
01:23:55,047 --> 01:23:57,561
Represented by either a line graph or a flame.
1105
01:23:59,887 --> 01:24:02,799
By simply thinking about
putting those flames out,
1106
01:24:02,847 --> 01:24:06,283
Kimberlee is, for the first time,
putting her pain out.
1107
01:24:07,487 --> 01:24:10,604
The idea is to drive the activity down.
1108
01:24:10,647 --> 01:24:13,957
And in doing so, we also hope to see
that the flame goes down.
1109
01:24:14,687 --> 01:24:17,565
We still don't understand
how the brain does this.
1110
01:24:19,087 --> 01:24:21,157
But one thing is clear,.
1111
01:24:21,207 --> 01:24:26,201
we can physically change the activity
in our brains and the FMRl lets us watch.
1112
01:24:32,207 --> 01:24:37,076
What we showed here is that you can
actually focus on a particular region,
1113
01:24:37,127 --> 01:24:39,800
a particular area, and learn to control that.
1114
01:24:39,847 --> 01:24:41,997
And that's the first time this has been done.
1115
01:24:45,327 --> 01:24:49,684
This new-found power over our brains
has applications well beyond pain
1116
01:24:49,727 --> 01:24:53,561
to mental illnesses like depression,
phobias and addiction.
1117
01:24:55,487 --> 01:24:59,082
Our brains are highly malleable,
plastic, changeable.
1118
01:25:00,607 --> 01:25:04,680
We really can control and change our brain.
1119
01:25:04,727 --> 01:25:07,366
And so the opportunities are truly limitless,
1120
01:25:07,407 --> 01:25:10,877
because there's no area of the brain
that we can't now tap into
1121
01:25:12,887 --> 01:25:15,082
and have somebody learn how to control it.
1122
01:25:18,807 --> 01:25:23,597
What's news to neuroscientists has been
practised by others for thousands of years.
1123
01:25:25,687 --> 01:25:31,239
Using nothing but simple meditation, some of us
have already learned how to control the brain.
1124
01:25:37,287 --> 01:25:40,279
Our brains enable us to do extraordinary things,
1125
01:25:40,327 --> 01:25:43,797
but some are much better than others
at harnessing its power.
1126
01:25:47,727 --> 01:25:51,879
Buddhist monks have used their brains
to dry wet sheets on their backs,
1127
01:25:51,927 --> 01:25:55,636
slow their heart rates,
or be incredibly resistant to pain.
1128
01:26:00,527 --> 01:26:05,647
For Souei Sakamoto, a Shingon Buddhist,
it's meditating half an hour a day
1129
01:26:05,687 --> 01:26:08,406
under a frigid waterfall in Toyama, Japan.
1130
01:26:08,447 --> 01:26:10,836
A ritual that dates back hundreds of years.
1131
01:26:15,087 --> 01:26:16,281
(Speaks Japanese)
1132
01:26:16,327 --> 01:26:18,557
TRANSLATOR:
We have an old saying in Japan;
1133
01:26:18,607 --> 01:26:23,442
''Clear your mind of all mundane thoughts
and you'll find that even fire is cool.''
1134
01:26:26,087 --> 01:26:31,115
When you learn to control your brain
it may be possible to use the brain
1135
01:26:31,167 --> 01:26:34,159
to influence the body in very unusual ways.
1136
01:26:37,247 --> 01:26:39,363
To understand the brain's power
1137
01:26:39,407 --> 01:26:42,444
Richard Davidson
of the University of Wisconsin-Madison
1138
01:26:42,487 --> 01:26:45,524
studies the effects of meditation
on Buddhist monks.
1139
01:26:45,567 --> 01:26:50,800
Specifically, measuring how their ancient
practices physically change their brains.
1140
01:26:50,847 --> 01:26:56,444
These are individuals who we can think of
as the Olympic athletes of meditation.
1141
01:26:56,487 --> 01:27:01,242
They have spent years cultivating
certain qualities of mind
1142
01:27:01,287 --> 01:27:05,599
and they are virtuosos in many respects.
1143
01:27:06,087 --> 01:27:09,841
This is just to keep any water that might drip
down from getting on your clothing.
1144
01:27:09,887 --> 01:27:12,447
- Oh.
- A little bit of water might drip on you.
1145
01:27:12,487 --> 01:27:15,320
East meets West in Davidson's lab
1146
01:27:15,367 --> 01:27:20,600
as FMRls, PETscans
and electroencephalograms, or EEGs,
1147
01:27:20,647 --> 01:27:22,922
which involve this unusual contraption,
1148
01:27:22,967 --> 01:27:25,879
are all aimed at monks deep in meditation.
1149
01:27:28,247 --> 01:27:31,364
Today it's 84-year-old Geshe Lhundab Sopa,
1150
01:27:31,407 --> 01:27:34,558
who's been an ordained Tibetan monk
since 1 932.
1151
01:27:37,407 --> 01:27:41,525
You have an interesting new hat, Geshe.
You look very futuristic.
1152
01:27:43,287 --> 01:27:47,803
By attaching these 1 28 wire-laden sponges
to Geshe Sopa's head,
1153
01:27:47,847 --> 01:27:51,396
the Wisconsin team can record
the tiny electrical currents
1154
01:27:51,447 --> 01:27:53,881
that continuously emanate through his scalp.
1155
01:27:53,927 --> 01:27:58,443
A measure of the millions of neurons firing away
in his brain at any given moment.
1156
01:28:00,167 --> 01:28:03,364
He'll begin with a traditional
compassion meditation.
1157
01:28:03,407 --> 01:28:05,557
So we'll begin in the neutral state, Geshe,
1158
01:28:05,607 --> 01:28:09,122
and l'll let you know when to begin
the compassion meditation.
1159
01:28:10,727 --> 01:28:16,120
Experienced meditators can enter a deep,
meditative state in less than 20 seconds
1160
01:28:16,167 --> 01:28:18,920
and with the EEG we can watch as it happens.
1161
01:28:20,527 --> 01:28:22,404
Compassion, compassion.
1162
01:28:23,967 --> 01:28:28,836
Just at the start of the transition
when a practitioner begins to meditate
1163
01:28:28,887 --> 01:28:34,803
there is a very discernible change
in these brain signals.
1164
01:28:38,207 --> 01:28:40,437
And together with FMRl data,
1165
01:28:40,487 --> 01:28:44,162
Davidson has located these changes
in several areas of the brain
1166
01:28:44,207 --> 01:28:46,198
including the prefrontal cortex.
1167
01:28:47,287 --> 01:28:52,725
So this is an area here
that is in the left prefrontal cortex,
1168
01:28:52,767 --> 01:28:55,565
that we find more activated in the practitioners,
1169
01:28:55,607 --> 01:28:58,758
particularly when they're generating
this compassion meditation.
1170
01:29:00,287 --> 01:29:05,042
Left activity in this region is associated
with enthusiasm and happiness,
1171
01:29:05,087 --> 01:29:07,555
right with negativity and stress.
1172
01:29:10,207 --> 01:29:15,839
By meditating these monks are able to shift
their neurons'activity from right to left.
1173
01:29:15,887 --> 01:29:20,119
DAVlDSON: These changes are changes
that have not been seen before
1174
01:29:20,167 --> 01:29:25,924
and so this opens up whole vistas
of new possibilities
1175
01:29:25,967 --> 01:29:29,357
that we're only just beginning
to scratch the surface with.
1176
01:29:31,007 --> 01:29:35,637
Already, Davidson and others have found
that meditation's effects on brain activity
1177
01:29:35,687 --> 01:29:39,282
can lower levels of stress hormones
and boost immune function.
1178
01:29:43,407 --> 01:29:46,240
And for as little as two minutes three times a day
1179
01:29:46,287 --> 01:29:51,361
he believes even those on a much lower plane
of enlightenment can reap these benefits too.
1180
01:29:59,487 --> 01:30:02,126
Whether we control them or they control us,
1181
01:30:02,167 --> 01:30:05,842
our brains more than anything else
set us apart from all other species,
1182
01:30:07,167 --> 01:30:09,158
and one another.
1183
01:30:10,367 --> 01:30:13,723
But thought, feeling and selfhood are fragile.
1184
01:30:16,687 --> 01:30:21,841
Though it's only about 2% of our body weight,
the brain exhausts 20% of our oxygen.
1185
01:30:23,407 --> 01:30:27,605
lf the brain is without oxygen for
just ten seconds we lose consciousness.
1186
01:30:27,647 --> 01:30:30,320
Four minutes,
and the damage can be permanent.
1187
01:30:33,647 --> 01:30:35,842
And unlike other cells in the body,
1188
01:30:35,887 --> 01:30:39,163
when neurons get badly damaged
they cannot be replaced.
1189
01:30:40,327 --> 01:30:43,683
WOMAN: (over speakerphone) OK,
this is the result for patient Carson, Brandon.
1190
01:30:43,727 --> 01:30:46,799
For section No.1 left frontal tumour,
the diagnosis is...
1191
01:30:46,847 --> 01:30:52,205
At UCLA Dr Linda Liau continues to work
on 23-year-old Brandon Carson.
1192
01:30:54,167 --> 01:30:59,036
After mapping the speech areas of his brain,
she's ready to remove a cancerous tumour.
1193
01:30:59,687 --> 01:31:01,678
That darkened mass, yes.
1194
01:31:02,767 --> 01:31:05,076
What l'm trying to do is dissect around it.
1195
01:31:06,487 --> 01:31:11,800
As an electronic scalpel cuts into his brain
Brandon is still responding to those flash cards.
1196
01:31:15,727 --> 01:31:18,400
Not a scrap of cancerous tissue can stay.
1197
01:31:19,567 --> 01:31:22,286
And just the tiniest sliver of brain
can be removed.
1198
01:31:22,327 --> 01:31:26,206
There's some deeper parts of the tumour
that are near blood vessels,
1199
01:31:26,247 --> 01:31:29,523
and, obviously, we don't want to take out
any necessary blood vessels.
1200
01:31:29,567 --> 01:31:32,957
The only way we could see that
is through the microscope.
1201
01:31:34,367 --> 01:31:36,756
This is the hole where the tumour used to be.
1202
01:31:38,167 --> 01:31:42,046
Thanks to these new real-time glimpses
into the brain
1203
01:31:42,887 --> 01:31:47,165
Brandon will soon wake up from his surgery,
tumour-free and speech intact.
1204
01:31:50,287 --> 01:31:53,677
We inch one step closer to understanding
how it all works
1205
01:31:55,647 --> 01:31:57,638
and how far we still have to go.
1206
01:31:58,727 --> 01:32:01,719
l think that as you learn, you know,
where vision is
1207
01:32:01,767 --> 01:32:05,362
and where l control my hand from
and where my speech is located,
1208
01:32:05,407 --> 01:32:08,479
you begin to feel like,
''l'm understanding this circuitry.
1209
01:32:08,527 --> 01:32:10,518
l think l understand how the brain works.''
1210
01:32:10,567 --> 01:32:12,956
And then you get into it a little more deeply
1211
01:32:13,007 --> 01:32:15,362
and you realise you don't know very much at all.
1212
01:32:15,407 --> 01:32:20,401
That the wonder of the human brain is sort of
one of these great frontiers. That's the truth.
1213
01:32:20,447 --> 01:32:22,915
The more you learn
the dumber you realise you are.
1214
01:32:26,607 --> 01:32:29,804
The same applies to all parts
of the incredible machine.
1215
01:32:33,287 --> 01:32:36,723
Whether it's our control centre
or pumping station,
1216
01:32:37,807 --> 01:32:39,798
our security or exhaust system,
1217
01:32:41,447 --> 01:32:43,563
our power plants or copying machines,
1218
01:32:44,807 --> 01:32:49,005
the human body has been a marvel
of complexity for more than 1 00,000 years.
1219
01:32:51,207 --> 01:32:55,359
From its surface to its core,
amongst its trillions of cells,
1220
01:32:55,407 --> 01:32:57,875
and throughout its roadways and circuitry,
1221
01:32:58,807 --> 01:33:00,365
at the end of the day,
1222
01:33:00,407 --> 01:33:04,798
somehow all of these systems converge
into one truly incredible design.
1223
01:33:09,607 --> 01:33:15,637
Even while we sleep, our bodies are always
working, always breathing, always beating,
1224
01:33:15,687 --> 01:33:17,678
always ready to begin another day.
1225
01:33:22,007 --> 01:33:25,477
And though there may be an infinite number
of species born of stars long gone,
1226
01:33:26,647 --> 01:33:32,358
we can all rest easy knowing there is nothing
quite like the incredible human machine.
110152
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