Episodes

Episode 1

The Twenty-Five Hour Clock

Jan 05, 1987 60 min

Report on research into biological body clocks, which can effect emotional and physical health and well-being.

Episode 2

The Search for the Disappeared

Jan 12, 1987 60 min

Report on how forensic scientists ae identifying individual victims amongst the people murdered by Argentina's military juntas, by examination and genetic testing of their remains.

Episode 3

The Blind Watchmaker

Jan 19, 1987 60 min

In this interview by Horizon, zoologist Richard Dawkins investigates an attack on evolution by scientific creationists, based on the book of the same name by the famous zoologist.

Episode 4

Riding the Stack

Jan 26, 1987 60 min

Astronauts and space shuttle designers talk about the risks of space flight, in the light of the space shuttle disaster of January 1986.

Episode 5

Bruno Bettelheim: The Man Who Cared for Children

Feb 02, 1987 60 min

Two part documentary on psychologist Bruno Bettelheim and his work with emotionally disturbed children.

Episode 6

Bruno Bettelheim: A Sense of Surviving

Feb 09, 1987 60 min

Two part documentary on psychologist Bruno Bettelheim and his work with emotionally disturbed children.

Episode 7

Energy from Outer Space

Feb 16, 1987 60 min

Report on exploration into releasing energy sources which came from outer space during the formation of the earth, 4,500 million years ago, and have lain dormant under the earth's crust. In Sweden a five mile deep drill hole was made to unleash this energy.

Episode 8

The Return of the Osprey

Feb 23, 1987 60 min

Documentary on the Osprey in north east America, where its natural habitat was being damaged by the use of DDT, but after some conservation work the Osprey is returning to the area.

Episode 9

Can AIDS Be Stopped?

Mar 02, 1987 60 min

Report on the development of the AIDS virus, and current research into vaccines to combat the disease.

Episode 10

Police Stress: The John Wayne Syndrome

Mar 09, 1987 60 min

Documentary on the increasing pressure put on the British police resulting in stress and psychological disorders, and also on the work of Dr. Douglas Duckworth, a psychologist at Leeds University who has worked with the police on these problems.

Episode 11

To Engineer Is Human

Mar 16, 1987 60 min

Engineer Henry Petroski explains why engineering can never be an exact science and looks at examples of engineering failures.

Episode 12

The Magma Chamber

Mar 23, 1987 60 min

Report on the research into volcanoes by British scientists Professor Geoff Brow n and Dr. Hazel Rymer, who have developed a technique of exploring the magma chambers of volcanoes and predicting when they will erupt.

Episode 13

Broken Images

Mar 30, 1987 60 min

Report on two sufferers of visual agnosia. The condition affects their ability to impose order on the visual world, even though they are not blind, but it does reveal a great deal about normal perception.

Episode 14

Trial Babies

Apr 06, 1987 60 min

Report on the different tests done on pregnant women to detect abnormalities in the foetus, with investigation of why these tests are not available in all pregnancies.

Episode 15

After Chernobyl - Closer to Home

Apr 13, 1987 60 min

Report on the safety of UK nuclear power stations, following the accident at Chernobyl in the USSR in 1986. The programme focuses on the nuclear installation at Hartlepool on Teeside, which has the smallest evacuation zone in the western world.

Episode 16

Making Sex Pay

May 11, 1987 60 min

James Gould, Professor of Biology at Princeton University, lectures on the mating habits of animals and humans.

Episode 17

The Anthropic Principle

May 18, 1987 60 min

Discussion of the Anthropic Principle, a scientific theory for man's place in th e Universe.

Episode 19

Aircrash: The Burning Issue

Jun 01, 1987 60 min

Report on the need for improved safety features on airplanes in particular the desirability of smoke hoods, plus an interview with a survivor of the 1985 Manchester aircrash.

Episode 20

The Riddle of the Joints

Jun 08, 1987 60 min

Report on research into rheumatoid arthritis.

Episode 21

To Catch a Falling Star

May 15, 1987 60 min

Report on the future and commercial benefit of research into astronomy conducted by the Royal Greenwich Observatory and other scientific institutions in Great Britain.

Episode 22

In the Light of New Information

Jun 22, 1987 60 min

Report on the evolution of laser light technology for communication in the 21st century, with a dramatised account of the effect of the technology on our daily lives.

Episode 23

Janice's Choice

Jun 29, 1987 60 min

Janice Blenkharn's mother died of Huntington's Chorea, which any child of a victim has a 50-50 chance of inheriting. Janice is faced with the choice of having a test, developed after research in South America, to see if she has this incurable genetic disease.