DNA

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[edit] General Information

Health-Medical Documentary published by PBS in 2005 - English narration

[edit] Cover

[edit] Information

A half-century ago, two unknown scientists heralded the dawning of a new era in biology and human life as they entered an English pub! Of course, Jim Watson and Francis Crick were hardly exaggerating. Their achievements almost single-handedly launched the new science of DNA. Interviews with renowned scientists and stunningly realized animations and reconstructions of key experiments offer an unprecedented glimpse of the molecular basis of life.

[edit] The Secret of Life

Fifty years after the discovery of the double helix, this film re-assesses the classic story of how Jim Watson and Francis Crick worked out the double helix structure of DNA. This is the definitive documentary account of how the human race found the secret of life. It reveals how a gawky American biologist, with a strong interest in birds came to team up with a cocky, but brilliant physicist in Cambridge, England. Against all the odds, they decided to tackle the problem of the century: was DNA the key to life?

[edit] Playing God

In 1973, two scientists, Herb Boyer and Stan Cohen, became the first genetic engineers when they transferred the DNA from one species to another. Their experiment triggered a wave of controversy about the dangers of genetic manipulation, but it also generated a multi-billion dollar industry. Was altering the genetic makeup of plants and animals a threat to humanity or the key to alleviating a host of health problems? Biologists, along with lawyers and journalists from all over the world, were called to a meeting in California to decide the future of DNA research.

[edit] The Human Race

The race to discover the structure of DNA was eclipsed by another race - to catalogue three billion letters of code that make up human DNA. The practical applications and profit potential of mapping the human genome, a virtual instruction manual of the human being, were extensive, from DNA fingerprinting to fighting cancer. In an exclusive interview for this film, President Bill Clinton discusses his involvement in the historic race, which ultimately became a battle.

[edit] Curing Cancer

In 1994, Bud Romine was diagnosed with an incurable type of cancer, chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). He was given three years to live. In 1996, a newspaper article caught his eye. It described how a local doctor and researcher, Brian Druker, was looking to test a new kind of cancer drug that targets the damaged gene responsible for CML.In 1997, months away from death, Romine became the first patient ever to take a drug called Gleevec.Within 17 days his leukemia had completely disappeared.

[edit] Pandoras Box

In the final programme, James Watson gives a tour of the future of DNA science. He believes it should be used to change the human race. His views are both extraordinary and extremely controversial. Watson argues for a new kind of eugenics - where parents are allowed to choose the DNA of their children - to make them healthier, more intelligent, even better looking. This film is his journey through the subject, from a gas chamber in Germany where the mentally ill were murdered by the Nazis to labs today where scientists have found ways to create new strands of DNA. In the program, Dr. Kay Jamison, a renowned neuroscientist who is manic depressive, and the parents of a child with Down's Syndrome make a case for the value of differences among people in society.