Extinction
Experts and a lively audience join Dara O Briain to tackle the biggest ideas in science. Here, Dara and guests take a weird and wonderful look at life, death and extinction.
The third episode of this new six-part science series presented by Dara O Briain takes a weird and wonderful look at life, death and extinction.
Oceanographer Helen Czerski reports on bringing extinct species back from the dead, special guest comedian Mark Steel learns about how to deflect an incoming asteroid and neuroscientist Tali Sharot attends the first ever taste-test of beef grown solely in the lab.
Plus Alok Jha asks whether pandas should be allowed to die, as he examines if there are other species it would make more sense to invest effort saving.
Combining lively and in-depth studio discussion, with exploratory films and on-the-spot reports, Dara O Briain's Science Club takes a single subject each week and examines it from lots of different and unexpected angles from sex to extinction, Einstein to space exploration and brain chemistry to music. It brings some of the world's foremost thinkers together to share their ideas on everything, from whether computers are ruining music to whether or not we are still evolving.
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Mass extinction - in numbers
Duration: 02:00
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The world's appetite for meat - in numbers
Duration: 02:00
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A dodo鈥檚 guide to extinction
Duration: 04:34
Replay web chat with Dr Jan
As well as insights and photos from the production team, guest expert and paleobiologist Dr Jan Zalasiewicz was on hand to聽answer your questions about life, death and extinction.
Are some animals too 'ugly' to be saved?
People are used to being asked to help save photogenic pandas, but are there animals whose strange appearance hinders conservation?
Extinction: Guest experts
Professor Richard Fortey and Lucy Cooke joined Dara in Episode 3 to talk about life, death and extinction.
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Series Editor | Nigel Paterson |
| Presenter | Dara O Briain |
| Presenter | Alok Jha |
| Presenter | Helen Czerski |
| Presenter | Tali Sharot |
| Participant | Mark Steel |
| Executive Producer | Andrew Cohen |
| Series Producer | Kaye Godleman |
| Production Manager | Roger Houston |
| Participant | Richard Fortey |
| Participant | Lucy Cooke |
Why does a magnetised needle face north?
Mark demonstrates how to magnetise a needle in order to create your own working compass.