简介：GeniusofNature Synopsis LifehasbeenevolvingonPlanetEarthfornearlythreeandahalfbillionyears.Inthattimetheprocessofnaturalselectionhasshapedcreaturesabletosurviveinvirtuallyeverycorneroftheplanet,fromboilinghotspringstothecrushingpressuresoftheMarianasTrenchatadepthof11kilometres. Andinthosethreeandahalfbillionyears,thesurvivorshaveneededtomovearoundtheirchosenhabitat,avoidbeingeatenandfindfoodthemselves.Naturalselectionhasbeenlikeanarmsrace,honinganimals,givingthemspeedandagilitytohunttheirpreyandabilitytohidefromtheirownpredators. Just10,000yearsago,astheworldemergedfromthelastIceAge,onespeciesevolvedtheintelligencetomanipulatethenaturalworldasneverbefore.Homosapiens–thewiseman.Andinthelastfewdecades,thosewisehumanshaverealisedthattheanswerstomanyofourtechnologicalproblemscanbefoundinthevastlibraryofnature. Eachprogrambeginsbyidentifyingaselectionofhumanproblems,exploreshownaturehassolvedthesedifficulties,andthenrevealshowmodernsciencehasadaptednature’ssolutiontoourownends.Insomecases,nature’ssolutionisstillfarbeyondourcapabilitiesandwehavehadtoinventaningeniousparallelsolution. Thevisualstyleincludesblue-chipnaturalhistory,includingtime-lapseandultra-slowmotion,alongwithspectacularexperiments,withscientistsuncoveringnature’ssecretsandtheengineerstestingboldnewdesigns. Thestoriesarevisuallylinkedbytheuseofanelegant‘LibraryofLife’set.Speciallybuiltandlookinglikeasuper-modernmuseumstore,thesetispackedwithspecimensandskeletonsandcanbeextendedtoinfinitywithCGI–tosuggestthesheerscaleofpossibilitiesforinspirationfromnature.Thissetalsoformsthebackdropformanyoftheexperimentalsettings. EPISODE1:SENSING We,ashumans,havefairlyadvancedsenses,butthereisagreatdealwecanlearn,copyanddevelopfromnature.Thisprogrammelooksathowwecandrawonmillionsofyearsofevolutiontoenhanceourowntechnologyandmethodsofsensingtheworldaroundus.Someoftheanimalkingdom’sgreat‘sensers’includethecommonseal,whosewhiskerscandetectwaterturbulenceover30secondsafteritwasgenerated;Africanelephantswhoareableto‘hear’soundsthroughtheirfeetfrompotentiallyover2kilometresawayandbats,whoseabilitytoecholocate,hasleadtothenewdesignofawalkingcanefortheblind,andevenabikethatcanberiddenbyablindcyclist. EPISODE2:EXTREMES Wehavetakencuesfromnature’smostextremeexamplestohelpourselvesinasmanyapplicationsaspossible.Huskiessurviveinthecoldestplacesonearthandsoarecoveredinthickfur,butcanalsoavoidoverheatinginwarmerclimates.Basedontheircoolingmethodsscientistshavedevelopedthe‘Bearglove’tohelpstophumansfromoverheating.Copyingagiraffe’sabilitytoregulatethebloodpressureinitshead,Swissscientistshavedevelopedasuitforfighterpilotstowear,allowingthemtostayconsciouswhenexperiencingmorethan9G.Andcrashhelmetsarenowbeingimprovedbycopyingthewaywoodpeckersprotecttheirbrainswhentheyundergo1200G,hammeringtheirheadagainstatree.Wehavelearntfromsomeofnature’smostextremeevolutionaryadaptationstomakeourlivesjustthatlittlebiteasierandsafer. EPISODE3:ARMSRACE Evolutionisarace.Asurvivalofthefittest.Andbecauseofthis,naturehascomeupwithsomeincredibleanswerstoourplanet’sdifficultquestions.Animals’exoskeletons,whichmakethemstrong,protectedfrompredatorsandmobile,nowprovideinspirationforscientistshopingtoaiddisabledpeopletowalk.Thecuttlefish’sabilitytocamouflageitselfinalmostanymarineenvironmenthasleadtothedevelopmentofspecialistcamouflagetechnologyforthemilitary.Andevenanowl’swingisnowbeingusedtomakeourworldatinybitquieter.Fancompaniesarestudyingtheirabilitytoflysilentlyandcopythisfortheirproduct’sfanblades.Theracetobestronger,better,quieter,fasterhasgivenusanswersfromnaturethatwecancopytoadvanceourselves. Inthesethreeone-hourepisodesof‘GeniusofNature’,welookatsomeofthosemostremarkablecreaturesontheplanet,howthey’veevolvedtomovearound,howthey’vebecomeadaptedtoattackanddefendthemselvesandhowtheymanagetosurviveinextremeenvironments. Inaddition,apresenter-ledversion,starringRichardHammond,titled‘MiraclesofNature’,isalsoavailable. ProducedbyTerraMaterFactualStudiosandOxfordScientificFilmsinco-productionwithBBC…