Series of lectures on a single topic, presenting scientific subjects to a general audience in an informative and entertaining manner

The medieval alchemists made elements react to create magnificent shows, enthralling kings and commoners alike, but their secrets were never revealed until now.

In the second of this year's Christmas Lectures, Dr Peter Wothers drinks from the fountain and finds out whether the elements lurking in the water can restore his youth. Along the way he discovers how exploding balloons could solve the energy crisis, how water contains the remains of the most violent reactions on Earth and that the real secret to eternal youth might be drinking no water at all.

In the final Christmas Lecture, Dr Peter Wothers explores the elements within the earth and discovers just how difficult it is for chemists to extract the planet's greatest treasures. He discovers how our knowledge of the elements can allow us to levitate, turn carbon dioxide into diamonds and maybe turn lead into gold.

Professor Brian Cox uses this year's Huw Wheldon Memorial Lecture to address the main challenges in bringing science to television.

The story of how we defeated the first great man-made threat to our planet's environment: the hole in the ozone layer

Jim Al-Khalili travels through Syria, Iran, Tunisia and Spain to tell the story of the great leap in scientific knowledge that took place in the Islamic world between the 8th and 14th centuries

Physicist Jim Al-Khalili travels through Syria, Iran, Tunisia and Spain to tell the story of the great leap in scientific knowledge that took place in the Islamic world between the 8th and 14th centuries.

Physicist Jim Al-Khalili travels through Syria, Iran, Tunisia and Spain to tell the story of the great leap in scientific knowledge that took place in the Islamic world between the 8th and 14th centuries.

Physicist Jim Al-Khalili tells the story of the great leap in scientific knowledge that took place in the Islamic world between the 8th and 14th centuries.

Professor Brian Cox introduces Britain's science heroes.

Professor Brian Cox guides viewers through 350 years of British science to reveal what science really is, who the people are who practise it, and how it is inextricably linked to the past, present and future of each and every one of us.

This time, Professor Cox celebrates Britain's pivotal role in creating modern science. From performing Isaac Newton's iconic light experiment to meeting a wartime code breaker and making hydrogen explosions, Professor Cox leads the way through 300 years of British history.

Professor Brian Cox ends his homage to British Science by looking at how discoveries are made, asking whether it is better to let the scientists do their own thing, and hope for happy accidents, or to only back scientific winners at the risk of missing the occasional gems

Professor Iain Stewart reveals the story behind the Scottish physicist who was Einstein's hero; James Clerk Maxwell. Maxwell's discoveries not only inspired Einstein, but they helped shape our modern world - allowing the development of radio, TV, mobile phones and much more.

There is a battle playing out inside your body right now. It started billions of years ago and it is still being fought in every one of us every minute of every day. It is the story of a viral infection - the battle for the cell.

Evolutionary biologist and master skeleton builder Ben Garrod presents a six-part series looking at how bones have enabled vertebrates to colonise and dominate practically every habitat on Earth.

Evolutionary biologist and master skeleton builder Ben Garrod begins a six-part journey to discover how bones have enabled vertebrates to colonise and dominate practically every habitat on Earth

Evolutionary biologist and master skeleton builder Ben Garrod discovers how the skeleton has adapted for vertebrates to move on land in a remarkable number of ways.

Ben Garrod finds out how the skeleton has allowed vertebrates to do the most remarkable thing of all - take to the air.

Ben Garrod delves into the surprising ways in which bone has evolved to help vertebrates sense the world around them. He reveals why predators like the wolf have eyes at the front of their skull whereas prey animals such as sheep usually have eye sockets on the side of their heads.

Ben Garrod uncovers the secrets of how vertebrates capture and devour their food using extreme jaws, bizarre teeth and specialized bony tools. He takes a cherry picker up a giant sperm whale's jaw, finds out which animal has teeth weighing five kilos each and which uses its skull as a suction pump.

Ben Garrod seeks out the big part that bones can play in reproduction. Through sexual selection, the skeleton has adapted to aid courtship, competition and even copulation.

Film telling the story of the greatest physicists of the 20th century and the discoveries they made, told in their own words. Men and women who transformed our understanding of the universe, from unlocking the secrets of the atom to solving the mysteries of the cosmos.

The series will celebrate the diversity of life on each of these continents, but also the challenges faced by animals in a modern world.

Antarctica - the coldest, windiest, most hostile continent. Only the toughest can survive here. But the ocean here is warming and with that comes an uncertain future.

Asia - where rarely seen animals roam the hottest deserts, tallest jungles and highest mountains on Earth.

South America - the most species-rich continent on earth. From the volcanoes of the Andes to the world’s largest rainforest, animals here must specialise to carve out a niche.

Australia, a land cast adrift at the time of the dinosaurs. Isolated for millions of years, the weird and wonderful animals marooned here are like nowhere else on Earth.

Europe - a continent transformed by mankind, where extraordinary animals are found in surprising places.