Secrets of a long life(2013)

The documentary depicts the birth of eugenics - a pseudo-science created in the 19th century that propounded the theory of perfecting the human race. According to the views of eugenicists, only healthy and creative individuals should reproduce. The film shows how these controversial ideas influenced the intellectual and political elite of the West in the 20th century, including the dictator of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler. Eugenics is a pseudoscience created in the 19th century and treating the improvement of the human race. According to eugenicists, only healthy and creative individuals could procreate, and the procreation of the sick or disabled and racially unworthy (prostitutes, the poor, beggars) should be forbidden. The author of the film posits that modern genetics, the killing of unborn children and euthanasia have their roots in this infamous pseudoscience.

Earth teems with a staggering variety of animals, including 9,000 kinds of birds, 28,000 types of fish, and more than 350,000 species of beetles. What explains this explosion of living creatures—1.4 million different species discovered so far, with perhaps another 50 million to go? The source of life's endless forms was a profound mystery until Charles Darwin brought forth his revolutionary idea of natural selection. But Darwin's radical insights raised as many questions as they answered. What actually drives evolution and turns one species into another? To what degree do different animals rely on the same genetic toolkit? And how did we evolve?

Pauline, a plucky Super Ager from Erie, Pennsylvania lives her 102nd and 103rd years on camera, revealing the power that family, faith, purpose, a sense of humor and some good genetics play in a long, well-lived life. An intimate portrayal of grit and resilience emerges with a needed acknowledgment of the often overlooked role of women in America's "Greatest Generation."

Many geneticists and archaeologists have long surmised that human life began in Africa. Dr. Spencer Wells, one of a group of scientists studying the origin of human life, offers evidence and theories to support such a thesis in this PBS special. He claims that Africa was populated by only a few thousand people that some deserted their homeland in a conquest that has resulted in global domination.

The documentary gives us a unique insight into the life of a pop star who broke through at ten years old. We follow her around the world and see a side she's never shown before. This is the story of an artist reaching for the very top, but with the knowledge that no matter how much she achieves, it'll never be enough to satisfy her.

The documentary tells two very different human fates in the 1920s Soviet Union. Nikolai Vavilov was a botanical genius, Trofim Lyssenko was an agronomist who made great promises and fake inventions. Each of them tried to solve the country's nutritional problem, but only one succeeded.

In a television first, Fat Family Tree sets out to prove that unlocking the secrets of a fat family’s genes can help provide the answer to their lifelong weight problems. Presented by Dr Dawn Harper (Embarrassing Bodies), Fat Family Tree uses cutting edge genetics to decode the genes of an overweight family for whom all other attempts to shed the pounds have not worked. Discovering how the family’s genes have put them at risk of excessive weight gain is the first step to devising a diet to help them beat their genes. Based on the latest science, the programme’s “gene-busting” diet also promises fail safe diet tips that could help all of us lose weight.

A well-preserved mammoth carcass is found in the remote New Siberian Islands in the Arctic Ocean, opening up the possibility of a world-changing “Jurassic Park” moment in genetics.

The film tells a very personal story from two perspectives: our protagonist is both doctor and patient. As a patient, he has struggled with recurring depression for years, and as a doctor he wants to find out why. The search for the origins of his illness leads him into the realm of his own genes and casts light on the fundamental changes facing modern society as a result of the tremendous progress being made in the field of genetic sequencing. Along the way, he meets a host of people – researchers, artists, visionaries – who have developed their own very individual approach to genetic coding and are drawing attention to the social significance of genetic technology. The film does not restrict itself to a scientific view of the subject but also makes use of artistic visions and more playful approaches to genetic blueprints.

The 1977 discovery of RNA splicing by Dr. Phillip A. Sharp, Kentucky farm boy turned Nobel-prize winning scientist, set the stage for a revolution in molecular biology, enabling research into a new class of medicines predicated on recombinant DNA techniques ranging from the development of synthetic insulin and human growth hormone to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Is our life predetermined from birth? Does our genes determine our personality and behavior? Is there a criminal gene? This documentary follows the well-known Danish journalist, author, and neurobiologist Lone Frank, who explores her own self with the help of her genetic map and her family history.