Episode 1 starts by looking at the outlandish creatures that can be produced by traditional breeding practices alone - from the cows that carry twice the muscle mass of their ordinary bovine counterparts, to the chickens that are completely devoid of feathers.
Other issues discussed are the high-tech production of giant GM salmon that could help save our dwindling fish stocks, and GM rice that has been modified to contain carotenoids, precursors of vitamin A, that could help prevent common developing world deficiencies that can lead to blindness.
By the end of the programme, Olivia is a convert, but co-presenter Giles reserves judgement. He finds that the muscle-bound meat doesn't cut the mustard on the flavour stakes.
SERIES:
-
-
Series 1 Episode 1
Episode 1 starts by looking at the outlandish creatures that can be produced by traditional breeding practices alone -…
- Contains some surgical scenes
-
Series 1 Episode 2
Episode 2 focuses on techniques in genetic manipulation that stand to directly benefit our health.
- Contains some surgical scenes
-
Series 1 Episode 3
Episode 3 down on Animal Farm looks at how genetic technologies already impact on our day-to-day lives.
- Contains some surgical scenes
-
MORE:
-
The Horse Hoarder
1 Episode
Favourite ShowPensioner Clwyd Davies has accumulated 52 untamed horses, which he keeps at his home in Wrexham's suburbs
-
Inside Nature's Giants
10 Episodes
Favourite ShowThe award-winning series that gets under the skin of the largest animals on the planet. Most wildlife documentaries show how animals behave, but by exploring their anatomy, Inside Nature's Giants reveals how these creatures really work.
-
Bodyshock
10 Episodes
Favourite ShowLong-running documentary strand that investigates extraordinary and moving real-life stories about the extremes of the human body
-
Jaws: The Great White Myth
1 Episode
Favourite ShowJaws: The Great White Myth reveals the stories of how lives and the natural world were significantly influenced by this infamous movie monster from 1975
-
Gypsy Blood
1 Episode
Favourite ShowGypsy Blood examines the violent culture that some gypsy and traveller fathers hand on to their children, exploring its impact on two fathers and their young sons
-
The IT Crowd
4 Series, 24 Episodes
Favourite ShowAward-winning comedy from writer Graham Linehan. Banished from the ivory towers of Reynholm Industries, the IT crowd lurk below ground, avoiding work and social contact in equal measure...
-
Mary Queen of the High Street
1 Episode
Favourite ShowMary Portas wants to revive Britain's failing high streets, putting local people at the heart of the solution
-
Dogging Tales
1 Episode
Favourite ShowMeet the people who have sex in front of strangers in public in a compelling documentary that looks at how and why they do it
-
Inside Nature's Giants
10 Episodes
Favourite ShowThe award-winning series that gets under the skin of the largest animals on the planet. Most wildlife documentaries show how animals behave, but by exploring their anatomy, Inside Nature's Giants reveals how these creatures really work.
-
The Elephant: Life after Death
1 Episode
Favourite ShowA stunning investigation of what happens when an elephant dies in the wild and the life cycle that it feeds, from vultures and leopards to flies and beetles
-
Easter Eggs Live
2 Episodes
Favourite ShowMark Evans introduces Channel 4's Easter celebration of nature's most ingenious creation - the egg