Beyond The Lab

Thanks to medical science we experience more life but also more old age than ever before. But, what if you could slow it all down? What if there was a cure for aging?

Sometimes the world can feel out of control so it's nice to think that the one thing we do have control of is what goes on inside our own heads. But, what if this wasn't as true as we'd like to believe?

Before LSD, magic mushrooms and MDMA were street drugs they were seen as one of the most exciting things in psychiatry.

Our understanding of the world is always evolving, but what happens when something we we were almost certain is real starts to be questioned?

We are starting to find that not only does poverty and disadvantage imprint itself on the fundamental blueprints of our biology, it's effects can echo down the generations.

It's easy to forget that the way we see the world isn't always the same as how the creatures we share it with see it.

We generally get the idea that mood and personality can be infectious. Sometimes though an idea can be so powerful, it is not only able to affect you psychologically, but make you physically sick as well.

There was a time when it was a given that humanity was alone in the universe, But, after decades in the search for life outside of earth, are we any closer to finding it?

Think you're pretty science literate? I've got some bad news for you; just because you subscribe to a dozen or so science news feeds online, it doesn't mean you're not susceptible to science denial.

Reptiles in charge of the government, airplanes spraying us with mind controlling chemicals, and something not quite right about those images of the moon landing. Most of us think we would never fall for a conspiracy theory, but maybe there's a little guy wearing a tinfoil hat in all of us.

From IVF to so called three parent babies; new reproductive technologies open up the possibility of children to couples who may have thought it impossible. But, the road from research to reality can be rocky.

It's easy to think of space as cold, static and silent. But, the universe is 'noisier' than you may first think; you just need to know how to tune into it its song.

It can hard to go more than a couple of days without reading a headline proclaiming that science has found a new gene behind for some trait or another. But, is who we are only written in our DNA?

Our relationship with intelligent technology is becoming more and more intimate. Thanks to machine learning our AI enabled devices could soon be making their way from the bedside table and into the bed. But are we ready for a world of robot love?

The constant felling of Word Records is something athletes and armchair athletes alike come to expect from our elite performers. In this classic Beyond the Lab we return to the track to ask; is this relentless march forward sustainable?

A good horror film uses more than just blood, gore and violence to scare us. The sound of horror can be just as terrifying as anything a filmmaker can show us but, why does it affect us at all?

Humans are surprisingly well adapted to life in the ocean. Put us in water and our bodies start to change allowing us to dive and survive at amazing depths. In this classic Beyond the Lab we return to the water to ask: how deep can we go?

We have all got things about body we would like to change. But, how do you treat someone who wants to remove a body part altogether? In this Beyond the Lab special we revist the story of Jason and his complicated realtionship with his right hand.

From the Cabinet of Dr Cagliari to the latest found footage fright fest, a good horror film can make us feel as if the terrors on screen were actually happening to us. So, why do we watch them and what do they say about us?

Venoms have evolved to kill, maim or just generally cause pain and discomfort. But, these deadly chemical cocktails could also be a wellspring of new lifesaving medications.