Royal Institution Christmas Lectures - Season 44 / Year 2009

Royal Institution Christmas Lectures - Season 44 / Year 2009

Season 44 / Year 2009

Network
DatesDez. 21, 2009 - Dez. 25, 2009
Previous SeasonNext Season

Episodes

The 300-Million-Year War: Plant Wars
Year 2009Episode 160 min

The 300-Million-Year War: Plant Wars

In this years Royal Institution Christmas Lectures ecologist Professor Sue Hartley - only the fourth woman to present the lectures since they began in 1825 - shows how the epic 300-million-year war between plants and animals has shaped us and the world we live in. Plants may seem harmless, but Professor Hartley reveals that the opposite is the case: they've had to develop terrifying and devious ways to defend themselves and attack their plant and animal enemies. Vicious poisons, lethal materials and even cunning forms of communicating with unlikely allies are just some of the weapons in their armoury that have seen off everything from dinosaurs to caterpillars. And Professor Hartley demonstrates how humans have turned plants into food, medicines and drugs and reveals what is likely to happen next in the epic struggle between plants and animals. In this first lecture Professor Hartley reveals how, despite animals attempts to destroy plants by eating them, plants are winning the war.
Dez. 21, 2009
The 300-Million-Year War: The Animals Strike Back
Year 2009Episode 260 min

The 300-Million-Year War: The Animals Strike Back

Ecologist Professor Sue Hartley continues to show how the epic 300-million-year war between plants and animals has shaped us and the world we live in. The life of a herbivore is not a happy one. For a start, plants are the wrong sort of food for animals: they are low in essential nutrients and getting any of those nutrients in the face of flora defences is even harder. In this programme, Professor Hartley reveals the many different ways plant-eating animals, from sloths to aphids, have evolved to overcome these problems. Herbivores use all sorts of tricks: they employ "friendly" bacteria in their gut to extract as many nutrients as possible from indigestible plants. They also have continuously growing teeth to grind down tough plants like grasses. Professor Hartley also reveals some of the many ways herbivores cope with plant poisons, and that some herbivores even steal plants' poisons to use in their own defence against their predators
Dez. 22, 2009
The 300-Million-Year War: Talking Trees
Year 2009Episode 360 min

The 300-Million-Year War: Talking Trees

Can a plant, something without a mouth, ears or eyes, communicate? Yes! Plants do communicate but not in ways that are obvious to humans. Instead of barking or shrieking when they are attacked, they release chemical ‘signals' into the air which can be detected by other plants. But these physical and chemical defences cost energy that could be used to grow instead of being used for protection. Do they protect themselves, or grow?
Dez. 23, 2009
The 300-Million-Year War: Dangerous to Delicious
Year 2009Episode 460 min

The 300-Million-Year War: Dangerous to Delicious

Lunch anyone? Human agriculture has usually tried to disarm plant defences and increase plant nutrient content. Our domestic varieties of wheat and cabbage now look, and taste, very different to their wild relatives. White carrots anyone? We cook, cure, freeze and otherwise process plants until they become edible and more nutritious. We grow them to epic proportions. And now, using the latest scientific research, we have the opportunity to grow them more efficiently and perhaps more healthily using genetic modification.
Dez. 24, 2009
The 300-Million-Year War: Weapons of the Future
Year 2009Episode 560 min

The 300-Million-Year War: Weapons of the Future

With changing climate it is difficult to predict who will win the 300 million year war. What has gone wrong when herbivores get the upper hand and strip plants bare? The battle ground is changing such that different conditions could favour either the plants or the herbivores. When the balance is broken we could have an ‘outbreak’, which is a situation where one side of the war gets an unfair advantage and grows unchecked. Will climate change compromise the abilities of plants, including our crops, to defend themselves?
Dez. 25, 2009

Recently Updated Shows

Recently updated shows that might be of your interest.
The Rookie
Running

The Rookie

The Rookie is inspired by a true story. John Nolan is the oldest rookie in the LAPD. At an age where most are at the peak of their career, Nolan cast aside his comfortable, small town life and moved to L.A. to pursue his dream of being a cop. Now, surrounded by rookies twenty years his junior, Nolan must navigate the dangerous, humorous and unpredictable world of a "young" cop, determined to make his second shot at life count.

The Studio
Running

The Studio

As movies struggle to stay alive and relevant, Matt and his core team of infighting executives battle their own insecurities as they wrangle narcissistic artists and craven corporate overlords in the ever-elusive pursuit of making great films. With their power suits masking their never-ending sense of panic, every party, set visit, casting decision, marketing meeting, and award show presents them with an opportunity for glittering success or career-ending catastrophe. As someone who eats, sleeps, and breathes movies, it's the job Matt's been pursuing his whole life, and it may very well destroy him.

GenreComedy
True Detective
Running

True Detective

Touch darkness and darkness touches you back. True Detective centers on troubled cops and the investigations that drive them to the edge. Each season features a new cast and a new case.

True Detective is an American anthology crime drama television series created and written by Nic Pizzolatto. 

S.W.A.T.
Running

S.W.A.T.

Shemar Moore stars as a locally born and raised S.W.A.T. sergeant newly tasked to run a specialized tactical unit that is the last stop in law enforcement in Los Angeles. Torn between loyalty to where he was raised and allegiance to his brothers in blue, former Marine Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson has everything it takes to be an excellent leader and bridge the divide between his two worlds.

The Equalizer
Running

The Equalizer

A reimagining of the classic series, The Equalizer centers on enigmatic woman with a mysterious background who uses her extensive skills to help those with nowhere else to turn.