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2021: 1. The Invisible Enemy
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam dives into the microworld of viruses, revealing how these invisible invaders can infect our bodies and how a revolution in testing may transform medicine forever. With the help of immunologist Professor Katie Ewer and virologist Professor Ravi Gupta, this action-packed lecture reveals the inner workings of the virus by blowing it up and inviting the audience to take part in a heist mission. Can they hijack our cell machinery to replicate? Up against the virus is our immune system, designed to fight back. We also dive into a nose to uncover the wonders of snot and whittle down the winner of a game of antibody bingo to crack how our immune system can defeat this invisible enemy.\n\nOne of the most impressive scientific advances of the past two years has been the development of new testing techniques in our battle against Covid-19. We peel back the mysteries of PCR, hack into a super-sized lateral flow and show how modern diagnostic technology could shape the future of medicine. \n\nThe Christmas Lectures are the most prestigious event in the Royal Institution’s calendar, dating from 1825 when Michael Faraday founded the series. They are the world’s longest-running science television series and always promise to inspire and amaze each year through explosive demonstrations and interactive experiments with a live theatre audience.\n
Source: BBC 4
Most recent episodes of Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
2023: Professor Mike Wooldridge - The Truth About Ai: 3. The Future Of Ai: Dream Or A Nightmare?
Professor Mike Wooldridge grapples with the future of AI in the third and final Christmas lecture. \n\nMike takes a ride in a driverless car. Autonomous vehicles, once a science ...
04-01-2024
BBC 4
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
2023: Professor Mike Wooldridge - The Truth About Ai: 2. My Ai Life
Professor Mike Wooldridge reveals the huge role AI already plays in our daily lives – sometimes without us even realising its role. \n\nMike investigates how games like ch ...
03-01-2024
BBC 4
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
2023: Professor Mike Wooldridge - The Truth About Ai: 1. How To Build An Intelligent Machine
Professor Mike Wooldridge asks: what is artificial intelligence? He compares how AI works and learns with how the human brain functions. \n\nExploring the roots of AI, Mike reve ...
02-01-2024
BBC 4
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
2022: Dame Sue Black: 3. Living Body
The final lecture in the series begins with a ‘heist’. A jewel thief steals a precious man-made diamond from the Royal Institution’s collection. Can forensic e ...
28-09-2023
BBC 4
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
2022: Dame Sue Black: 2. Missing Body
Professor Sue Black investigates a Christmas murder mystery to show how serious crimes are solved when there isn't a body. \n\nSue is joined by an expert team including leading ...
20-09-2023
BBC 4
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
2022: Dame Sue Black: 1. Dead Body
Professor Sue Black has been dubbed the ‘corpse whisperer’ for her role in deciphering the messages hidden within a dead body. In this first lecture in the Royal Ins ...
13-09-2023
BBC 4
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
2021: 3. Fighting Back
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam explores the inner workings of vaccines to reveal how these medical marvels can help win the war on viruses and potentially fight diseases such as can ...
30-12-2021
BBC 4
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
2021: 2. The Perfect Storm
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam uncovers what drives a virus to world domination and reveals how maths may be the secret weapon to thwart it. Joined by airborne infection expert Prof ...
29-12-2021
BBC 4
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
2021: 1. The Invisible Enemy
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam dives into the microworld of viruses, revealing how these invisible invaders can infect our bodies and how a revolution in testing may transform medic ...
28-12-2021
BBC 4
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
2020: Planet Earth - A User's Guide: 3. Up In The Air
Dr Tara Shine takes a deep breath and marvels at something we all take for granted: oxygen. She demonstrates how Earth produces a never-ending supply of this gas - the raw mater ...
31-12-2020
BBC 4
Most popular episodes of Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
2018: Who Am I?: 1. Where Do I Come From?
Professor Alice Roberts meets our ancient ancestral family, from armadillos to sharks, and discovers our true place in the tree of life. With 4D scanning, giant origami and a uk ...
26-12-2018
BBC 4
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
2017: The Language Of Life: 1. Say It With Sound
From musical mosquitoes to rumbling elephants, Say It with Sound explores how humans and other animals use noises to communicate.\n\nSophie Scott, a professor of neuroscience at ...
26-12-2017
BBC 4
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
2023: Professor Mike Wooldridge - The Truth About Ai: 1. How To Build An Intelligent Machine
Professor Mike Wooldridge asks: what is artificial intelligence? He compares how AI works and learns with how the human brain functions. \n\nExploring the roots of AI, Mike reve ...
02-01-2024
BBC 4
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
2018: Who Am I?: 2. What Makes Me Human?
Professor Alice Roberts explores the story of human evolution, revealing how a humble African ape became a successful global species. With daring parkour athletes and life-size ...
27-12-2018
BBC 4
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
2023: Professor Mike Wooldridge - The Truth About Ai: 2. My Ai Life
Professor Mike Wooldridge reveals the huge role AI already plays in our daily lives – sometimes without us even realising its role. \n\nMike investigates how games like ch ...
03-01-2024
BBC 4
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
2017: The Language Of Life: 2. Silent Messages
In this second lecture, Professor Sophie Scott explores the world of silent communication in the animal kingdom and the human world - showing how much we can actually say withou ...
27-12-2017
BBC 4
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
2020: Planet Earth - A User's Guide: 1. Engine Earth
Professor Chris Jackson travels back into deep geological time, charting the Earth’s climate as it swings from hothouse to ice house and back again. With the help of spect ...
29-12-2020
BBC 4
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
2016: Supercharged - Fuelling The Future: 1. Let There Be Light!
26-12-2016
BBC 4
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
2021: 1. The Invisible Enemy
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam dives into the microworld of viruses, revealing how these invisible invaders can infect our bodies and how a revolution in testing may transform medic ...
28-12-2021
BBC 4
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
2023: Professor Mike Wooldridge - The Truth About Ai: 3. The Future Of Ai: Dream Or A Nightmare?
Professor Mike Wooldridge grapples with the future of AI in the third and final Christmas lecture. \n\nMike takes a ride in a driverless car. Autonomous vehicles, once a science ...
04-01-2024
BBC 4