[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.00,0:00:06.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Decay.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.24,0:00:10.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It happens to everything and everyone.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.80,0:00:14.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We try to keep it out of our everyday lives.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.20,0:00:18.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But decay is one of the most important forces in nature.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.08,0:00:24.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It underpins all life on Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.32,0:00:34.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what would we see, if we let it loose in our homes?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.16,0:00:37.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To find out, we've built a home of our own
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.12,0:00:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,inside this box.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.00,0:00:46.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We've filled it with everything you might find in a typical kitchen
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.68,0:00:54.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and garden. And now we're going to let it all rot.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.76,0:00:56.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, here it is.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.40,0:01:00.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A team of engineers and scientists have spent eight months recreating
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.96,0:01:05.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a kitchen and garden. On the inside is all the food you'd expect,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.16,0:01:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as if a family were just about to have a party.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.00,0:01:12.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Also on the inside are the bacteria and fungal spores that are going
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.08,0:01:17.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to start the process of decay. I can't wait to see what happens next.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.96,0:01:21.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over eight weeks, we're going to track every step
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.64,0:01:27.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the extraordinary process that breaks down and recycles our everyday things.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.88,0:01:32.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The house will be our lab, as we reveal the unexpected order behind
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.36,0:01:36.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the chaos of decay, and will help us understand why
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.44,0:01:42.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,life itself depends on this process.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.52,0:01:47.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At times what we find might be disturbing and repellent...
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.76,0:01:51.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is probably going to be absolutely atrocious.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.84,0:01:53.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,HE COUGHS
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.08,0:01:56.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But there will also be moments of surprise.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.56,0:02:01.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The mould has just covered that entire box.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.36,0:02:21.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,..as we uncover hidden beauty.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.24,0:02:25.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I'll go beyond the box to see how decay affects our lives...
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.40,0:02:28.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ah! Can't do it!
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.40,0:02:30.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,..how we detect it...
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.28,0:02:33.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Do you remember seeing the film The Blob?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.52,0:02:35.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,..how we fight it.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.28,0:02:39.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's definitely the best two-year-old sandwich I've ever had.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.64,0:02:43.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Something on this scale has never been attempted before,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.56,0:02:46.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so things might not go according to plan.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.88,0:02:50.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ah! Now that's where all the flies went.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.56,0:02:54.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But whatever happens, it will be a fascinating journey
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.04,0:02:59.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into the fate that awaits all living things.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.12,0:03:01.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To be broken down.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.28,0:03:24.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To be recycled. To be reborn.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.40,0:03:26.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a surprising thought,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.52,0:03:32.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,life relies on death.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.44,0:03:35.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Living things, us included, can only be made
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.44,0:03:39.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the remains of dead things.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.68,0:03:42.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that's the incredible cycle we hope to capture,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.76,0:03:46.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,inside our After Life House.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.44,0:03:50.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As a biologist, I can't wait to see what new life will emerge from these
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.96,0:03:54.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,dead things by the time we're done.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.20,0:04:02.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is day one. We have eight weeks to go.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.72,0:04:07.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is my first chance to see inside the box.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.20,0:04:10.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And a party was obviously just about to happen.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.44,0:04:13.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over here we've got cooked rice and chilli, there's cups of tea.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.80,0:04:15.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over in the corner there's a raw fish,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:15.64,0:04:18.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's going to get very smelly pretty fast.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.52,0:04:22.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Cheese and a fruit bowl here, masses of fruit flies on that, probably,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.92,0:04:26.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, we don't know, it hasn't been tried before.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.24,0:04:29.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A vegetable box over here, again, it all looks fresh,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.36,0:04:31.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but that will, in a week or two, begin to rot down.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.92,0:04:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And look at this, a raw chicken.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.00,0:04:37.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sausages, hamburgers, all this is
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.80,0:04:40.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,going to attract flies like nobody's business.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.52,0:04:44.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Out here in the garden you've got a whole pig on a spit.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.12,0:04:46.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's going to become very smelly.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.76,0:04:49.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it's not just food items out here in the garden.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.48,0:04:51.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We have a compost heap. We have a woodpile.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.64,0:04:53.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They'll rot down too.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.68,0:04:56.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It'll be interesting to see how, as all the things decay,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.44,0:04:59.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the wood and the plants and the pig, how they will interact.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.80,0:05:03.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over there in the corner we have a dead rat as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:03.04,0:05:07.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact everything in here has been carefully arranged to help us
Dialogue: 0,0:05:07.48,0:05:10.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,unravel the underlying patterns of decay.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.40,0:05:15.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're going to keep an eye on how humid it is, and how hot it is.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.20,0:05:20.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's already up to 66% RH which will make things go really quite fast.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.68,0:05:28.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm not sure if I'll be overcome by the heat, the stench or the flies.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.20,0:05:31.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Insects are my own speciality.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.84,0:05:36.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Together with moulds and bacteria, they are key agents of decay,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.40,0:05:39.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,things that will break all this down.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.76,0:05:43.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To make sure they are all present in our house from the start,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.48,0:05:47.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we're introducing a selection of common species.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.08,0:05:49.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Look at that, straight underneath!
Dialogue: 0,0:05:49.72,0:05:52.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These guys, blow flies, are going to be the ones
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.76,0:05:54.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to watch in the early stages.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.68,0:05:56.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And there they go.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:56.24,0:05:58.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, that's it. We're up and running
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.92,0:06:03.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's time to leave all this to the agents of decay.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.84,0:06:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, for nearly two months,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.00,0:06:11.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we're going to track every stage in the process of decay.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:11.48,0:06:14.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we're not the only ones following events.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.12,0:06:18.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The box and its contents are on display to the public within
Dialogue: 0,0:06:18.16,0:06:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Edinburgh zoo, to help explore our reactions to this
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.00,0:06:23.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,little understood process.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:23.24,0:06:26.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oh my God, I've never seen anything like it
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.08,0:06:27.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's a real pig.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:27.52,0:06:29.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ew, that's gross!
Dialogue: 0,0:06:29.52,0:06:31.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oh, there's a mouse.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:31.40,0:06:35.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's disgusting, eugh!
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.56,0:06:37.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Look at that fish.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:37.64,0:06:41.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Can we go out now cos it's going to make us feel sick?
Dialogue: 0,0:06:41.72,0:06:43.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,THEY LAUGH
Dialogue: 0,0:06:43.28,0:06:55.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I agree.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.40,0:06:58.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For the first 24 hours of our project,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:58.92,0:07:02.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,visible signs of decay are subtle.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:02.44,0:07:07.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the agents of decay are already battling it out to decompose
Dialogue: 0,0:07:07.16,0:07:10.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the food and get to the nutrients locked inside.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.80,0:07:21.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I want to investigate who's got the advantage in this opening stage
Dialogue: 0,0:07:21.28,0:07:25.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, it's the second day and it's really warm in here, it's 25 degrees.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:25.44,0:07:28.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's like a warm summer day, so some things are drying out
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.80,0:07:31.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the chilli con carne is already growing a layer of mould,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.52,0:07:35.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that shows that there are fungal spores drifting around in the atmosphere
Dialogue: 0,0:07:35.72,0:07:38.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all the time and settling on food.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:38.40,0:07:43.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over here, the sandwiches which originally filled the box,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:43.48,0:07:46.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,up to the top, have sagged down to about half their height.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:46.96,0:07:54.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what's really interesting me is what's happening over here.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:54.28,0:07:58.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The most obvious change so far has been on the surface of our chicken.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:58.52,0:08:02.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our time lapse cameras show these blotches appearing on its skin,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.08,0:08:07.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,over the course the past day.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:07.24,0:08:09.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To find out what's producing them,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:09.68,0:08:19.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've asked Dr Clare Taylor, a microbiologist, to join me.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:19.24,0:08:23.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, Clare, that chicken is beginning to look a bit discoloured.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:23.08,0:08:27.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It smells a bit as well. There's beginning to be a slight whiff. What have you got on this?
Dialogue: 0,0:08:27.60,0:08:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I tell you what I've got a UV light
Dialogue: 0,0:08:30.00,0:08:33.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so we can take a look more closely at the surface.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:33.04,0:08:35.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, ultraviolet I use for other things,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:35.60,0:08:38.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I'm interested to see what happens here.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.36,0:08:41.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now you can't see it. No, can't see anything.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:41.16,0:08:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Take a look at that!
Dialogue: 0,0:08:43.00,0:08:47.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's glowing! So all these areas are glowing sort of blue.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:47.48,0:08:53.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Exactly, so where you can see those glowing bits, that's bacteria.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:53.76,0:09:03.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Any particular kind? That's likely to be pseudomonas.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:03.12,0:09:08.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Pseudomonas is a common type of food spoilage bacteria.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:08.40,0:09:16.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our microscope shows a whole colony glowing under the UV light.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:16.92,0:09:20.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There could be as many as a billion individual bacterial cells
Dialogue: 0,0:09:20.36,0:09:25.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in this sample alone.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:25.36,0:09:27.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In sheer number terms,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:27.40,0:09:31.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bacteria are the most common agents of decay on the planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:31.76,0:09:35.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, on dead animals, they're the first to attack.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:35.40,0:09:39.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because they're already on the scene.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:39.52,0:09:43.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All creatures carry bacteria while they're alive.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:43.72,0:09:47.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These pseudomonas bacteria were on our chicken before it was killed,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:47.36,0:09:49.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,feeding on its skin secretions.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:49.44,0:09:59.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now it's dead, they've quickly switched to decomposing its flesh.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:59.84,0:10:02.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,With ample food, and enough moisture,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:02.40,0:10:04.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they've multiplied rapidly.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:04.76,0:10:09.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As colonies of bacteria like this expand, something surprising happens.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:09.68,0:10:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The bacteria start to coordinate their actions.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:14.00,0:10:16.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Working together to benefit the colony.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:16.84,0:10:21.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The bacteria send signals to each other to direct what they do.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.84,0:10:27.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the bacteria are talking to each other, telling each other where they need to go.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:27.32,0:10:31.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These E-coli bacteria have been genetically modified
Dialogue: 0,0:10:31.60,0:10:35.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to allow us to see this in action.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:35.16,0:10:43.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When the colony reaches a critical size all the bacteria start flashing in unison.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:43.08,0:10:47.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Bacteria are constantly exchanging chemicals that allow them
Dialogue: 0,0:10:47.24,0:10:53.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to sense their own numbers and those of rival colonies.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:53.40,0:10:56.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They can even detect when they have the numbers
Dialogue: 0,0:10:56.40,0:11:05.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to overwhelm a competitor.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:05.12,0:11:11.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Back on our chicken, these tactics have allowed food spoilage bacteria to gain the upper hand.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:11.08,0:11:15.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But their actions are setting off a chain of events
Dialogue: 0,0:11:15.16,0:11:20.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that will attract a whole new set of decomposers.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:20.16,0:11:24.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As they break down the cells of the chicken to feast on the protein inside,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:24.28,0:11:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the bacteria are releasing strong smelling gases.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:32.00,0:11:37.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,blow flies can pick up the smell of decomposing flesh within minutes of an animal's death.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:37.24,0:11:45.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So it's likely they've already laid eggs on the chicken and other meat throughout the box.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:45.56,0:11:52.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We'll find out if we start seeing maggots in the next few days.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:52.52,0:11:55.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These gases send a signal to us too.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:55.80,0:12:01.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's our most important clue that food spoilage bacteria have been at work.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:01.68,0:12:06.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right, let's see what folks make of these chicken drumsticks.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:06.92,0:12:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I want to see how sensitive we are to even the smallest signs of decay.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:13.00,0:12:18.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hi, guys, would you care to have a smell of this?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:18.12,0:12:20.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Erggh! I can smell it from here. Urgh!
Dialogue: 0,0:12:20.64,0:12:23.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,THEY LAUGH
Dialogue: 0,0:12:23.76,0:12:29.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's horrible. Stop it. It's not nice.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:29.68,0:12:32.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, if you found that in your house, what would you do?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:32.92,0:12:36.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wouldn't eat it. I think I'd put it in the bin.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:36.16,0:12:39.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'd throw it away immediately. Throw it out.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:39.04,0:12:43.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's disgusting.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:43.92,0:12:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We fight a daily battle to keep this kind of decay out of our kitchens.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:50.00,0:12:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Looking round the box already makes me think about what a challenge this really is.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:55.00,0:12:57.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Decay is a relentless opponent.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:57.96,0:13:04.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, I'm interested in exploring what we've learnt about delaying its effects.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:04.20,0:13:07.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in America, there's a team that's taking on
Dialogue: 0,0:13:07.44,0:13:11.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the ultimate food preservation challenge.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:11.08,0:13:15.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,GUNSHOTS
Dialogue: 0,0:13:15.88,0:13:18.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Keep your head down or it's going to get shot off you!
Dialogue: 0,0:13:18.52,0:13:21.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,GUNSHOTS
Dialogue: 0,0:13:21.72,0:13:25.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, this is not necessarily the first place I'd think of
Dialogue: 0,0:13:25.68,0:13:29.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when it comes to the latest advances in food science,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:29.40,0:13:35.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the US army is right on the frontline in the war against decay.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:35.12,0:13:39.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Feeding an army in the field has always presented a challenge.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:39.20,0:13:42.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Soldiers need food that is quick to prepare,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:42.40,0:13:44.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,light to carry and long lasting.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:44.84,0:13:48.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Traditionally, the US military uses vacuum packed food
Dialogue: 0,0:13:48.76,0:13:53.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,called MREs, meals ready to eat.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:53.28,0:13:57.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Special packaging stops moisture and oxygen getting in
Dialogue: 0,0:13:57.64,0:14:04.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so bacteria can't grow. MREs have a shelf life of three years.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:04.32,0:14:06.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's a problem though.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:06.16,0:14:12.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,MREs are not exactly popular with the people who have to eat them.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:12.16,0:14:16.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hands-down-worst MRE made is the veggie omelette.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:16.32,0:14:19.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's like eating a... I don't know.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:19.80,0:14:23.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Wet, soggy cardboard is the best way I think you can describe it.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:23.84,0:14:28.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If I had to eat an MRE every day, that would basically suck.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:28.40,0:14:30.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,GUNFIRE
Dialogue: 0,0:14:30.72,0:14:34.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, when the army went looking for ways to spruce up the menu,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:34.36,0:14:37.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it wanted something more appealing.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:37.84,0:14:40.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Something that was quick and easy to eat.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:40.48,0:14:45.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And could deliver the huge amounts of energy that soldiers require.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:45.36,0:14:50.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The solution was a surprise.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:50.36,0:14:54.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A sandwich. But not just any sandwich.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:54.36,0:14:59.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A sandwich that remains fresh and tasty in the field for up to three years,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:59.52,0:15:03.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without refrigeration, freeze drying or the need to add water.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:03.44,0:15:05.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That is extreme preservation.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:05.88,0:15:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So how did they do it?
Dialogue: 0,0:15:10.00,0:15:15.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Food scientist Michelle Richardson was part of the team that developed the sandwich.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:15.64,0:15:22.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Her first challenge was to control the moisture you'd find in a typical sandwich.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:22.92,0:15:26.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,HE LAUGHS
Dialogue: 0,0:15:26.84,0:15:29.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These sandwiches do not look very happy.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:29.52,0:15:31.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They really don't.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:31.68,0:15:38.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's a ham and cheese wedge that's been in the car for three days.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:38.08,0:15:41.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If we open it up, we'll just have a look at this thing
Dialogue: 0,0:15:41.72,0:15:47.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cos if you had that in your backpack for three days...
Dialogue: 0,0:15:47.28,0:15:51.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That was just a normal shop-bought sandwich.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:51.88,0:15:56.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Urgh! It's soggy. It's really soggy. Look at that.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:56.48,0:16:00.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You wouldn't really want to eat that in the field?
Dialogue: 0,0:16:00.16,0:16:03.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You really wouldn't want to eat it for two reasons. It wouldn't taste good,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:03.96,0:16:07.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because the texture is not what you typically get. And also
Dialogue: 0,0:16:07.08,0:16:12.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because of that moisture excess you may have bacteria growing in it.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:12.04,0:16:16.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you can control the moisture, you can slow down the process of decay.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:16.76,0:16:20.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Without water, bacteria cannot grow.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:20.60,0:16:24.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's why drying is the classic way to stop food decaying.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:24.92,0:16:29.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But a sandwich without water would be inedible.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:29.20,0:16:34.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So Michelle has taken inspiration from another classic preservation technique.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:34.20,0:16:37.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, this right here is strawberry jam
Dialogue: 0,0:16:37.52,0:16:41.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and as you can see in here, it's very firm. Yeah.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:41.36,0:16:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's made from strawberries. Most fruits and vegetables contain
Dialogue: 0,0:16:45.00,0:16:50.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a lot of water, probably 95% water, but by adding different ingredients,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:50.68,0:16:54.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what that does is it holds the water in very tightly.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:54.56,0:16:58.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right, so it's locked away in there? Yes.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:58.40,0:17:03.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The sugar added to jam acts as what's called a humectant.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:03.48,0:17:06.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It traps the water from the fruit inside the jam.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:06.92,0:17:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's why the jam is moist enough to spread,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:10.00,0:17:12.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but doesn't make the bread soggy.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:12.52,0:17:15.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Crucially for the battle against decay,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:15.08,0:17:18.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the water is also now locked away from bacteria.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:18.80,0:17:22.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The army's sandwiches deploy a whole range of ingredients
Dialogue: 0,0:17:22.80,0:17:25.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that have these water-retaining properties.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:25.84,0:17:29.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Honey, sugar and salt have all been enlisted.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:29.28,0:17:34.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Bacteria need water to thrive. Most also need oxygen too.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:34.16,0:17:38.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Michelle has found a way to cut off supplies of that as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:38.40,0:17:42.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, when I opened the pack I found this inside
Dialogue: 0,0:17:42.92,0:17:45.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I assume that's not edible. No, it's not.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:45.72,0:17:47.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What is this for?
Dialogue: 0,0:17:47.56,0:17:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is an oxygen scavenger.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:50.00,0:17:54.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Basically what's contained in here are little iron shavings.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:54.12,0:17:57.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oh, right. Iron filings.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:57.16,0:18:02.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If there is any oxygen or moisture still inside the packaging,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:02.04,0:18:06.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they'll react with the iron filings, and become trapped in a layer of rust.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:06.60,0:18:11.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This will prevent yeast and mould from growing as well as bacteria but
Dialogue: 0,0:18:11.20,0:18:15.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it will also prevent chemical reactions that require oxygen from taking place.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:15.88,0:18:19.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is one seriously hi-tech sandwich!
Dialogue: 0,0:18:19.36,0:18:21.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yeah, it is.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:21.44,0:18:24.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These simple but ingenious solutions have combined to make
Dialogue: 0,0:18:24.92,0:18:29.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a food that is highly resistant to decay.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:29.04,0:18:32.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the ultimate test is whether anyone wants to eat it.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:32.48,0:18:36.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's definitely the best two-year-old sandwich I've had. Better than a lot of new ones too.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:36.68,0:18:38.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm a big fan. I like the bread.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:38.80,0:18:41.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The bread just makes it, it's definitely great,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:41.96,0:18:44.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,especially for two-years-old.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:44.88,0:18:48.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These sandwiches don't stay fresh for ever.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:48.72,0:18:53.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But they do show that, if you can reduce the moisture and oxygen that
Dialogue: 0,0:18:53.96,0:19:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bacteria thrive on, you can hold off decay for a very long time.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:08.00,0:19:10.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Back at the house, water and oxygen
Dialogue: 0,0:19:10.64,0:19:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,certainly aren't in short supply, so bacteria are thriving.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:19.00,0:19:22.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And over the last eight days of decay we've started to see
Dialogue: 0,0:19:22.64,0:19:25.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the first maggots appearing in our pig.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:25.48,0:19:30.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'd expect their numbers to rocket in a week or so.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:30.52,0:19:33.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Other insects have been busy around our dead rat.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:33.80,0:19:36.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These are sexton beetles.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:36.64,0:19:39.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the wild they'll bury the carcasses of small mammals
Dialogue: 0,0:19:39.88,0:19:42.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to protect them from rival insects.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:42.44,0:19:46.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Their own larvae then break down the flesh.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:46.56,0:19:50.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in our box, things are not quite going to plan.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:50.20,0:19:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Despite all the activity, our rat remains unburied.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:55.00,0:20:01.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I'll try laying out a new rat and see if they prefer it.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:01.68,0:20:05.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the most dramatic change has been in our kitchen.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:05.32,0:20:23.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's been overrun by the next agent of decay, mould.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:23.36,0:20:25.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Moulds are masters of decay.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:25.72,0:20:29.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're a form of fungi, the most versatile
Dialogue: 0,0:20:29.04,0:20:32.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and important decomposers on the planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:32.08,0:20:35.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Fungi can rot almost anything.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:35.76,0:20:44.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In our box, moulds are attacking our fruit and vegetables.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:44.48,0:20:51.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they're also on our meat, battling with the bacteria for dominance.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:51.80,0:20:56.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It'll be fascinating to see how that one plays out.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:56.92,0:21:02.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The typical house will contain about 1,000 different species of mould.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:02.88,0:21:09.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They can start to grow the moment their spores land on a suitable food source.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:09.40,0:21:19.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I want to see which ones are at work in our box.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:19.40,0:21:24.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, in the kitchen there is mould absolutely everywhere.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:24.72,0:21:27.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The vegetables in the tray are covered in fungus.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:27.36,0:21:30.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's at least three sorts of fungus I can see.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:30.72,0:21:35.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The hamburgers, sausages, even the hamburgers that are wrapped up are now covered in mould.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:35.52,0:21:39.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's looking quite... woah! That might blow at any time.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:39.48,0:21:43.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The soft fruit in particular have been attacked.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:43.40,0:21:47.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The peaches have gone and there's mould everywhere.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:47.20,0:21:50.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The melon's just incredible, it's really been hammered.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:50.92,0:21:52.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's just covered, all over there.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:52.96,0:21:58.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm a little bit nervous about taking this lid off.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:58.84,0:22:03.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is going to be... Urgh!
Dialogue: 0,0:22:03.44,0:22:06.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Urgh! That's an incredible smell.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:06.76,0:22:13.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's almost sweet.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:13.88,0:22:19.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's an incredible sort of yeasty, smell.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:19.08,0:22:24.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The mould has just covered the entire box.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:24.64,0:22:34.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's actually quite beautiful in a bizarre way.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:34.36,0:22:40.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's like just furry growths everywhere.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:40.92,0:22:51.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's amazing! That's only a week.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:51.40,0:23:06.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In close up, the unexpected beauty of mould is even clearer.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:06.28,0:23:09.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These networks of filaments we see on the surface of our bread
Dialogue: 0,0:23:09.52,0:23:26.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are the mould's fruiting body.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:26.80,0:23:33.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At the ends of the filaments are spore heads, each packed with individual spores,
Dialogue: 0,0:23:33.88,0:23:41.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all waiting to be released to grow into new colonies.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:41.76,0:23:48.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are 500 spores in every cubic metre of air in the average home.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:48.08,0:24:03.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So there's plenty of competition for the chance to attack our bread.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:03.60,0:24:08.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've asked Dr Patrick Hickey, our fungi expert to investigate
Dialogue: 0,0:24:08.56,0:24:12.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which moulds have managed to gain control.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:12.20,0:24:16.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, Patrick, it's only week one and we've got incredible fungal growth
Dialogue: 0,0:24:16.12,0:24:18.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all over the kitchen. Particularly on the bread.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:18.76,0:24:22.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, the bread is a perfect food source for the fungi.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:22.44,0:24:26.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The spores probably landed on the bread when it was being prepared and
Dialogue: 0,0:24:26.72,0:24:31.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they've grown quickly into the bread and they're taking up the nutrients.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:31.40,0:24:35.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What we're actually seeing is two moulds meeting.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:35.12,0:24:38.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the background, we've got a dark green-grey mould
Dialogue: 0,0:24:38.08,0:24:41.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's penicilium. These bright dots in the front
Dialogue: 0,0:24:41.80,0:24:45.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are the sporilating structures of aspergillus competing.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:45.08,0:24:47.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So they're kind of trying to out compete each other for the bread,
Dialogue: 0,0:24:47.96,0:24:51.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the food resource.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:51.52,0:24:57.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Each mould is trying to seize territory by out-growing its competitors.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:57.80,0:25:01.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But they are also using powerful chemical weapons to try to
Dialogue: 0,0:25:01.44,0:25:07.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,kill off other moulds and rival decomposers, like bacteria.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:07.60,0:25:11.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the case of penicillium, the toxin it produces to win
Dialogue: 0,0:25:11.36,0:25:16.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the battle for decay, has turned out to be highly beneficial to us.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:16.80,0:25:20.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We call it penicillin.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:20.72,0:25:24.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But not all moulds are good for us.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:24.60,0:25:28.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I have to admit, I sometimes cut the mould off bits of bread
Dialogue: 0,0:25:28.04,0:25:31.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and toast it. Is that really harmful?
Dialogue: 0,0:25:31.52,0:25:34.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, what you're scraping off is really the tip of the iceberg.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:34.96,0:25:38.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The fungus grows deep into the bread and it also depends on what kind of
Dialogue: 0,0:25:38.24,0:25:41.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mould is growing into the bread. You have various different moulds,
Dialogue: 0,0:25:41.44,0:25:45.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some of which are harmless. Others like aspergillus produce deadly mycotoxins,
Dialogue: 0,0:25:45.72,0:25:49.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these are toxic chemicals, which can rot your liver,
Dialogue: 0,0:25:49.96,0:25:51.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they can give you cancer.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:51.60,0:25:54.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, what you're saying is, I shouldn't really do that.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:54.32,0:25:56.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's dangerous I should just throw it in the bin.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:56.92,0:26:00.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Absolutely, the fungus penetrates quite deep into the bread you're
Dialogue: 0,0:26:00.80,0:26:06.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not going to get rid of the toxins in the mould just by scraping it off.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:06.68,0:26:10.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most of us might prefer not to have to cope with mouldy bread
Dialogue: 0,0:26:10.48,0:26:18.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the first place. Moulds and other types of fungi are things that ruin our food, and may cause us harm.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:18.72,0:26:25.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But fungi are vital to life on this planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:25.48,0:26:28.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're amongst the Earth's oldest life forms.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:28.36,0:26:35.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On land, they pre-date plants by at least 300 million years.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:35.28,0:26:49.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they rise to almost any challenge.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:49.52,0:26:53.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There is a fungus growing inside the brain of this ant.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:53.20,0:26:56.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's producing chemicals that control the ant's behaviour,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:56.60,0:27:00.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,forcing it to climb to the top of a plant.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:00.28,0:27:03.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then the killer fungus bursts out of the ant's head,
Dialogue: 0,0:27:03.32,0:27:12.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,allowing its spores to spread.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:12.24,0:27:16.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Fungi have found ways to work on a microscopic level too.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:16.92,0:27:20.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This one is lying in wait for tiny roundworms.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:20.72,0:27:25.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At the right moment, it strangles them in a vice-like grip,
Dialogue: 0,0:27:25.64,0:27:33.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then feeds on their flesh.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:33.80,0:27:37.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it's fungi's unrivalled ability to decay organic matter that
Dialogue: 0,0:27:37.64,0:27:41.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,makes them so important to us.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:41.28,0:27:43.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A world where fungi couldn't decay things
Dialogue: 0,0:27:43.84,0:27:50.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would be a very different place.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:50.12,0:27:54.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To see just how different, we have to go back in Earth's history.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:54.20,0:27:57.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To a period when a new form of organic matter emerged.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:57.32,0:28:04.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One that challenged fungi's powers of decay.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:04.76,0:28:11.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The fate of life on Earth, hung in the balance.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:11.20,0:28:14.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Rewind 300 million years to the Carboniferous Period.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:14.64,0:28:17.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A time when plants, struggling to compete for sunlight,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:17.68,0:28:24.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had evolved into trees.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:24.16,0:28:27.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That new organic material was wood.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:27.76,0:28:32.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It gave plants the strength to grow taller.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:32.36,0:28:36.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But this evolutionary leap left fungi behind.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:36.52,0:28:40.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They weren't able to decompose wood.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:40.04,0:28:44.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The delicate mechanism of decay had been upset.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:44.04,0:28:50.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Without decay the trees grew, died and lay where they fell.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:50.36,0:28:56.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The effect on the planet's climate was spectacular.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:56.20,0:29:00.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Professor Lynne Boddy is an expert in the history of fungi.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:00.16,0:29:03.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:03.36,0:29:05.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They absorb nutrients from the soil.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:05.60,0:29:09.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then the carbon is locked up within the trees,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:09.04,0:29:14.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so when they fall and die, the carbon is still locked up inside them.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:14.52,0:29:22.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So huge changes simply because trees can't decay? Absolutely.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:22.04,0:29:26.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,With fungi unable to break down wood, over time, more and more
Dialogue: 0,0:29:26.32,0:29:30.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,carbon was removed from the air and locked up in dead trees.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:30.48,0:29:37.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Earth's atmosphere began to change.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:37.52,0:29:41.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oxygen levels shot up from 20% to 30%,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:41.60,0:29:44.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as carbon dioxide levels dropped.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:44.40,0:29:51.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This allowed insects to grow to gigantic proportions.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:51.48,0:29:57.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Spiders were as wide as a human head.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:57.48,0:30:03.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dragonflies were ten times larger than they are today.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:03.40,0:30:09.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If the atmosphere had stayed like this, life on our planet would have looked very different.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:09.40,0:30:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The stumbling block for fungi was a molecule in trees called lignin.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:14.00,0:30:16.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's what makes wood tough.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:16.68,0:30:21.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It took 50 million years for fungi to evolve a way to overcome it.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:21.76,0:30:24.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Lynne is able to show me the modern descendents of
Dialogue: 0,0:30:24.80,0:30:27.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the fungi that solved the problem.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:27.52,0:30:30.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you pick up that log we could have a better look.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:30.16,0:30:32.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No, the one underneath. That one, there.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:32.24,0:30:34.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first thing I see about it, it's not heavy at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:34.56,0:30:37.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's light as a feather. It hardly weighs anything.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:37.20,0:30:40.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yes, it's been rotted and you can see that it's really white.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:40.44,0:30:42.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why is it white?
Dialogue: 0,0:30:42.08,0:30:46.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's white because the fungi have broken down the lignin in the wood.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:46.44,0:30:48.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Which was brown. Yes.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:48.88,0:30:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's pretty easy to see what effect the fungi have had on the wood,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:52.00,0:30:54.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but can we actually see the fungi themselves?
Dialogue: 0,0:30:54.28,0:30:56.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We can't actually see them rotting the wood,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:56.48,0:30:58.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not with our naked eye because they're microscopic.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:58.92,0:31:04.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To show me the fungi in action, Lynne has grown this sample in soil.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:04.64,0:31:08.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's pretty. What we've got here is a little bit of beech wood
Dialogue: 0,0:31:08.20,0:31:11.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's got the fungus growing in it, and then you put the wood
Dialogue: 0,0:31:11.28,0:31:14.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on top of this soil, and the fungus has grown out of the wood,
Dialogue: 0,0:31:14.40,0:31:21.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,looking for other pieces of wood that they can colonise and get food from.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:21.08,0:31:29.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The fungus sends out a network of tiny threads called hyphae.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:29.32,0:31:34.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They've aggregated together so we can actually see them with the naked eye.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:34.08,0:31:39.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they're heading off to find other bits to eat? That's right.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:39.16,0:31:43.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The hyphae release powerful enzymes into the wood.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:43.24,0:31:46.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They are able to break down the lignin into nutrients
Dialogue: 0,0:31:46.52,0:31:49.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the fungi can then absorb.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:49.92,0:31:54.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This releases carbon from the wood, back into the air.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:54.80,0:32:02.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was the evolution of these enzymes that allowed fungi to rebalance the Earth's atmosphere.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:02.52,0:32:06.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If those fungi weren't here today then decay would come to a grinding
Dialogue: 0,0:32:06.28,0:32:09.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,halt and we would be in a similar position to what we were
Dialogue: 0,0:32:09.80,0:32:15.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the Carboniferous period.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:15.68,0:32:20.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By evolving the ability to unlock the carbon in dead wood,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:20.20,0:32:23.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,fungi saved the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:23.24,0:32:27.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We still rely on this delicate balance between all living things,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:27.52,0:32:48.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the agents that can decompose them.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:48.20,0:32:53.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At the After Life house another eight days have gone by.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:53.92,0:32:58.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just after my last visit we captured something extraordinary.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:58.88,0:33:01.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The new rat that I left out in the garden has been
Dialogue: 0,0:33:01.24,0:33:06.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,buried by the sexton beetles, as I hoped it would be.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:06.88,0:33:10.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Despite their size, it took the two of them less than 12 hours to
Dialogue: 0,0:33:10.80,0:33:18.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,get the whole carcass underground, and away from rival decomposers.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:18.48,0:33:20.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The female will lay her eggs in the rat
Dialogue: 0,0:33:20.72,0:33:25.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so her young will have food to eat when they hatch.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:25.88,0:33:28.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In about a month's time, we'll dig up the rat
Dialogue: 0,0:33:28.76,0:33:38.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and see what the beetle larvae have done.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:38.56,0:33:40.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Elsewhere in the box,
Dialogue: 0,0:33:40.20,0:33:46.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bacteria and mould are still battling it out on the meat.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:46.48,0:33:50.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The bacteria inside this sealed pack of burgers are hard at work,
Dialogue: 0,0:33:50.40,0:33:53.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,producing this build up of gas.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:53.40,0:34:02.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm not looking forward to smelling that.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:02.28,0:34:05.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Where meat was left exposed to the air, like these sausages,
Dialogue: 0,0:34:05.80,0:34:08.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mould has been able to move in,
Dialogue: 0,0:34:08.76,0:34:13.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,suggesting that the bacteria have been overwhelmed.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:13.44,0:34:16.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But just over two weeks in to our project,
Dialogue: 0,0:34:16.56,0:34:21.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and an army of even more voracious decomposers is taking control.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:21.84,0:34:27.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The maggot population has exploded.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:27.04,0:34:30.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our pig is literally seething with them.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:30.60,0:34:38.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maggots are some of decay's most effective operators.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:38.12,0:34:41.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The question is, how long will it take them
Dialogue: 0,0:34:41.16,0:34:46.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to munch their way through the contents of our house?
Dialogue: 0,0:34:46.44,0:34:51.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I haven't even got into the box and already I can see escaping maggots.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:51.96,0:34:55.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, even though we try really carefully to keep
Dialogue: 0,0:34:55.36,0:34:58.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all the insects on the inside, some have escaped.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:58.80,0:35:07.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They can squeeze through the tiniest gap
Dialogue: 0,0:35:07.12,0:35:10.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The time-lapse cameras have shown a real fever pitch,
Dialogue: 0,0:35:10.88,0:35:13.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,especially on the chicken and the fish.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:13.64,0:35:17.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I just want to show you the fish though. It's completely eaten out.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:17.96,0:35:24.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If I just... look at that, look at the inside of that.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:24.64,0:35:26.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Pwahh.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:26.44,0:35:29.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's just a writhing mass of maggots
Dialogue: 0,0:35:29.48,0:35:33.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the smell of ammonia is overpowering.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:33.56,0:35:35.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They've eaten everything.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:35.16,0:35:40.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All that remains is the dry skin on the outside and the bones.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:40.48,0:35:43.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These are the most efficient recyclers on the planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:43.96,0:35:53.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think they are just amazing insects.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:53.12,0:35:59.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's 15 days since I released about 100 blow flies into the box.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:59.76,0:36:04.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As soon as they mate, female flies look for a place to lay eggs.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:04.28,0:36:08.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Up to 300 at a time.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:08.56,0:36:13.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The gases given off in the very early stages of decomposition,
Dialogue: 0,0:36:13.16,0:36:18.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,will have attracted them to the dead meat and fish.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:18.12,0:36:20.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're the ideal food source for the maggots,
Dialogue: 0,0:36:20.84,0:36:25.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when they start to emerge, around 24 hours later.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:25.84,0:36:29.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now they've hatched, these maggots have only one aim.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:29.72,0:36:35.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To eat. Non-stop.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:35.08,0:36:38.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I've got the thermal image camera here
Dialogue: 0,0:36:38.28,0:36:40.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this is actually quite a useful item.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:40.80,0:36:45.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It can show heat that's produced by organisms.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:45.48,0:36:51.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The fly larvae, when they feed en masse, do generate quite a bit of heat.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:51.20,0:36:53.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I'm just shining it on the chicken drumsticks,
Dialogue: 0,0:36:53.84,0:36:57.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which are cold, they're not hot at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:57.44,0:37:01.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The chicken's not very hot. But wooo! Look at that!
Dialogue: 0,0:37:01.32,0:37:04.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The burgers are glowing like a beacon.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:04.04,0:37:07.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, that means that there are lots of fly larvae in there and they
Dialogue: 0,0:37:07.92,0:37:19.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are generating masses of heat, which actually makes them grow faster.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:19.60,0:37:23.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our time lapse camera shows how maggots feed as a pack,
Dialogue: 0,0:37:23.68,0:37:29.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so they can share not just heat, but digestive enzymes too.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:29.28,0:37:32.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They carefully coordinate their movements.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:32.68,0:37:37.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As the meat in one burger runs out, the maggots move together, almost
Dialogue: 0,0:37:37.24,0:37:46.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a single unit, over to the fresh supplies of the second burger.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:46.48,0:37:49.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maggots are a perfectly adapted mechanism for turning
Dialogue: 0,0:37:49.72,0:37:53.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,dead meat into flies.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:53.56,0:37:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At the head end, you've got these amazing hooks,
Dialogue: 0,0:37:59.00,0:38:03.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which are basically a pair of sharp, curved hooks
Dialogue: 0,0:38:03.88,0:38:16.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with which the maggot rasps its way through food.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:16.12,0:38:19.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As you move further down, you see it doesn't have legs.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:19.44,0:38:22.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There isn't any obvious head, thorax and abdomen.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:22.72,0:38:27.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It has got these bands of raised bumps,
Dialogue: 0,0:38:27.64,0:38:30.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they're like spikes for a grub.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:30.88,0:38:34.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're bands of raised welts,
Dialogue: 0,0:38:34.52,0:38:39.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which help the maggot move through its food so it's essentially
Dialogue: 0,0:38:39.28,0:38:41.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a pile of slop.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:41.60,0:38:47.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These welts enable it to undulate through the food.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:47.80,0:38:51.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Otherwise, it's very hard to move.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:51.56,0:38:58.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At the other end, let's go down to the back end.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:58.64,0:39:03.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These structures here are the breathing holes of the fly.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:03.80,0:39:12.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These are the spiracles through which it gets its air.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:12.08,0:39:20.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're on the rear end. It has a pair of them, quite big.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:20.20,0:39:25.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So it's able to insert its head into wet food and still feed
Dialogue: 0,0:39:25.52,0:39:29.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while its rear end is in the air.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:29.68,0:39:38.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All in all, it is just about the perfect eating machine.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:38.32,0:39:41.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To me, maggots are the clearest example we've seen
Dialogue: 0,0:39:41.52,0:39:45.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so far of the fundamental principle behind decay.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:45.76,0:39:48.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Recycling the nutrients from dead animals,
Dialogue: 0,0:39:48.80,0:39:50.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and turning it into new life.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:50.92,0:39:54.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, of course, for many of us they represent everything
Dialogue: 0,0:39:54.96,0:39:58.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's disgusting about decay.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:58.24,0:40:03.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm intrigued as to what these strong feelings of revulsion are, so I've devised a little test.
Dialogue: 0,0:40:03.80,0:40:07.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm going to put a £5 note inside a plastic bag
Dialogue: 0,0:40:07.24,0:40:13.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I'm going to hide it inside a tub, inside which I'm going to put
Dialogue: 0,0:40:13.40,0:40:19.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,loads of maggots. We're going to end up with a pretty simple test,
Dialogue: 0,0:40:19.96,0:40:22.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is essentially this,
Dialogue: 0,0:40:22.28,0:40:26.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a large box full of writhing maggots and a £5 note.
Dialogue: 0,0:40:26.08,0:40:30.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I reckon only one person in ten will be able to
Dialogue: 0,0:40:30.28,0:40:34.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,overcome their deep seated revulsion for maggots
Dialogue: 0,0:40:34.36,0:40:44.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and put their hand in to retrieve the fiver. Well, we'll find out.
Dialogue: 0,0:40:44.72,0:40:50.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Who would like to put their hand in a bucket of maggots for a fiver?
Dialogue: 0,0:40:50.40,0:40:54.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oh, you would, would you?
Dialogue: 0,0:40:54.28,0:40:58.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It looks like my bin at home. THEY LAUGH
Dialogue: 0,0:40:58.12,0:41:00.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can't do it! Five pound note.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:00.92,0:41:02.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No, I can't do it.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:02.92,0:41:06.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maggots. Ew! SHE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY
Dialogue: 0,0:41:06.92,0:41:09.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oh. It's a little gross, they're writhing on my fingers.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:09.76,0:41:13.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oh, no! Oh! Oh! No, no.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:13.80,0:41:17.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No, I can't do it. Five pound note.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:17.24,0:41:19.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,SHE SCREAMS
Dialogue: 0,0:41:19.68,0:41:22.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You're nearly there. I've got it! Ah!
Dialogue: 0,0:41:22.24,0:41:25.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You nearly got it. Yes!
Dialogue: 0,0:41:25.16,0:41:29.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,THEY APPLAUD
Dialogue: 0,0:41:29.08,0:41:34.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This feeling of disgust is an emotion that evolved over thousands of years.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:34.32,0:41:42.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not just maggots. All signs of decay revolt us.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:42.04,0:41:45.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a great mechanism for stopping us
Dialogue: 0,0:41:45.40,0:41:48.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from eating food that might make us sick.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:48.12,0:41:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it's also why we so rarely look at decay,
Dialogue: 0,0:41:52.00,0:41:57.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we're hardwired to be repulsed by it.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:57.44,0:42:00.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the next few weeks, I hope our After Life house will start
Dialogue: 0,0:42:00.72,0:42:05.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to show why this disgusting process is so important.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:05.80,0:42:11.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why decomposition is vital to life.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:11.40,0:42:19.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And there's one part of our box where we're attempting to demonstrate that, in a unique way.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:19.40,0:42:23.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These dead mustard plants are the starting point of an experiment
Dialogue: 0,0:42:23.64,0:42:29.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that will help me trace how new life emerges from old.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:29.96,0:42:32.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've made liquid compost from the mustard
Dialogue: 0,0:42:32.60,0:42:36.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and fed it to these seedlings.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:36.68,0:42:41.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We plan to track individual nitrogen atoms from the dead mustard leaves,
Dialogue: 0,0:42:41.32,0:42:46.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to see if they are re-used in the new plants.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:46.88,0:42:53.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No-one has ever followed the cycle of life in this way before.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:53.12,0:42:56.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In a couple of weeks time we can come back and, with any luck,
Dialogue: 0,0:42:56.60,0:43:15.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we'll be able to track this vital part of the cycle from death and decay to new life.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:15.64,0:43:20.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the 23rd day in the After Life house.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:20.48,0:43:24.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first waves of decay have now passed.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:24.60,0:43:28.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Vegetables and soft fruit have been consumed by mould.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:28.68,0:43:32.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In some places there's not much left for them to feed on.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:32.92,0:43:40.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They'll need to find new supplies.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:40.52,0:43:43.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Anything with a hard skin, like this orange,
Dialogue: 0,0:43:43.28,0:43:48.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,remains apparently unaffected.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:48.48,0:43:51.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maggot activity too has begun to die down,
Dialogue: 0,0:43:51.56,0:43:55.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,leaving behind a sort of meat slurry in our burger packet,
Dialogue: 0,0:43:55.68,0:44:04.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where a few late developers eke out a meal from the remains.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:04.80,0:44:07.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most of the maggots have started to pupate,
Dialogue: 0,0:44:07.84,0:44:10.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the next stage before they turn into adults.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:10.48,0:44:16.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we should soon see an explosion in our fly numbers.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:16.80,0:44:20.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And our chicken has gone through an alarming metamorphosis.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:20.32,0:44:26.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Bacteria continue to rot away at it, releasing gases as they feed.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:26.28,0:44:29.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This week the carcass bloated to even more grotesque proportions
Dialogue: 0,0:44:29.84,0:44:34.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before deflating as the gases escaped.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:34.84,0:44:38.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One month into the project and our house really isn't somewhere
Dialogue: 0,0:44:38.28,0:44:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you'd want to visit, unless you had to.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:41.00,0:44:47.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Every time I go into the box there's one thing that hits me.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:47.08,0:44:55.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That is, the all-pervading, hideous stink of decay.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:55.64,0:44:58.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Imagine sticking your nose deep into a rubbish bin.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:58.84,0:45:01.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's the smell I'm talking about.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:01.88,0:45:04.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But if you can get beyond your revulsion,
Dialogue: 0,0:45:04.52,0:45:09.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the smell of decay gives real clues to its underlying mechanisms.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:09.84,0:45:16.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the different ways plants and animals are broken down.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:16.04,0:45:19.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I want to share some of these smells with our audience.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:19.12,0:45:20.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've got two tubs.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:20.80,0:45:25.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One's got far gone vegetables and this one meat that's far gone.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:25.36,0:45:35.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I want to find out which our visitors find most disgusting.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:35.76,0:45:42.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is decaying vegetables. Have a smell of that. See what you think.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:42.08,0:45:46.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It smells like vegetables, still. Have a good sniff.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:46.68,0:45:49.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,THEY LAUGH It's not that bad, is it?
Dialogue: 0,0:45:49.44,0:45:51.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's not terrible.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:51.76,0:45:56.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think it's only fair to warn you, this is not nice.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:56.80,0:46:00.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Have a smell of that.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:00.20,0:46:04.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That smells like a pig barn!
Dialogue: 0,0:46:04.04,0:46:08.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,THEY LAUGH
Dialogue: 0,0:46:08.12,0:46:12.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As expected, the meat gets the same response every time.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:12.80,0:46:15.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's pretty grim, isn't it?
Dialogue: 0,0:46:15.04,0:46:18.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,His eyes are watering!
Dialogue: 0,0:46:18.88,0:46:20.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ew!
Dialogue: 0,0:46:20.32,0:46:24.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Rotting meat is far more dangerous to us than rotting vegetables.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:24.04,0:46:27.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we're programmed to find it more offensive.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:27.48,0:46:31.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what are we actually smelling?
Dialogue: 0,0:46:31.08,0:46:34.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Plant cells are largely made up of starches and sugars.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:34.32,0:46:37.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So when fruit and veg decay, they ferment,
Dialogue: 0,0:46:37.16,0:46:40.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,turning the sugars into alcohol, and releasing
Dialogue: 0,0:46:40.40,0:46:43.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,volatile compounds which have a sweet odour.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:43.08,0:46:47.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But fish and meat are going to produce really smelly gases
Dialogue: 0,0:46:47.12,0:46:51.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like hydrogen sulphide, sulphur dioxide and ammonia
Dialogue: 0,0:46:51.04,0:46:53.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so I'm just going to extract
Dialogue: 0,0:46:53.04,0:46:57.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some of the gases from the inside of this decaying chicken,
Dialogue: 0,0:46:57.64,0:47:00.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,suck it up into this syringe
Dialogue: 0,0:47:00.32,0:47:05.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and blow it over a gas analyser and see what happens.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:05.60,0:47:07.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,LOUD BEEPING
Dialogue: 0,0:47:07.64,0:47:13.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Look at that! The hydrogen sulphide shot up to 10%.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:13.32,0:47:16.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That really is smelly.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:16.76,0:47:18.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oh, God.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:18.64,0:47:23.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,HE COUGHS
Dialogue: 0,0:47:23.52,0:47:28.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Unlike plant cells, animal cells are made up largely of proteins.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:28.36,0:47:30.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The foul smelling gases are produced
Dialogue: 0,0:47:30.60,0:47:34.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when these proteins are broken down into amino acids.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:34.56,0:47:38.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To understand more about that process, and why the smell
Dialogue: 0,0:47:38.52,0:47:42.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it generates is such an important part of decay, I am going to
Dialogue: 0,0:47:42.88,0:47:57.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,experience rotting flesh on a scale that even the box can't provide.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:57.92,0:48:01.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At a secret location in north-west England
Dialogue: 0,0:48:01.68,0:48:07.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a grotesque but important experiment is taking place.
Dialogue: 0,0:48:07.56,0:48:16.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,65 pig carcasses are being left to rot.
Dialogue: 0,0:48:16.92,0:48:20.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're part of an investigation into exactly how
Dialogue: 0,0:48:20.76,0:48:28.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,flesh decomposes, under different conditions.
Dialogue: 0,0:48:28.76,0:48:35.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the smell of death is everywhere.
Dialogue: 0,0:48:35.84,0:48:41.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, I haven't been here very long and there's a real whiff of dead animal.
Dialogue: 0,0:48:41.24,0:48:46.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sometimes the wind changes direction and it catches your nose.
Dialogue: 0,0:48:46.36,0:48:51.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm used to dealing with smells and excrement and stuff but I'm
Dialogue: 0,0:48:51.80,0:49:00.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wondering if I'm up to this. There's a lot of dead animals around here.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:00.40,0:49:04.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The pigs are stand-ins for human remains.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:04.04,0:49:06.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The aim of the experiment is to help police forensic teams
Dialogue: 0,0:49:06.88,0:49:12.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,establish an accurate time of death, based on the state of decomposition.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:12.80,0:49:16.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr Tal Simmons is the research director for the project.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:16.64,0:49:19.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And she's going to help me understand how
Dialogue: 0,0:49:19.08,0:49:23.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the different stages of decay account for what we smell.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:23.32,0:49:25.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Good morning, Tal. Good morning, George.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:25.76,0:49:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I won't shake hands. Possibly not. What's happening here?
Dialogue: 0,0:49:29.00,0:49:32.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Let's move the cage and we'll be able to see a bit better.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:32.76,0:49:37.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, we've got a pig we put out four days ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:37.24,0:49:40.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He's just begun to really show some of the early stages of decomposition.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:40.56,0:49:45.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first thing that's obvious to me, it's swollen up there.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:45.80,0:49:48.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He's beginning to bloat
Dialogue: 0,0:49:48.04,0:49:54.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he'll bloat more in the next couple of days and that's due to the cellular breakdown, inside the body.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:54.40,0:49:58.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All those cells are starting to collapse, the cell membrane is going.
Dialogue: 0,0:49:58.44,0:50:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's exuding all the fluids inside the cell.
Dialogue: 0,0:50:01.00,0:50:03.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A lot of those contain digestive enzymes.
Dialogue: 0,0:50:03.60,0:50:06.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He's starting to eat himself from the inside.
Dialogue: 0,0:50:06.40,0:50:09.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The moment blood stops flowing in an animal,
Dialogue: 0,0:50:09.84,0:50:13.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this process of cell death begins.
Dialogue: 0,0:50:13.04,0:50:17.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As each cell membrane splits, enzymes inside are released
Dialogue: 0,0:50:17.16,0:50:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and begin to break down other cells.
Dialogue: 0,0:50:20.00,0:50:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Bacteria then start to feed on these protein rich contents,
Dialogue: 0,0:50:24.00,0:50:28.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,releasing the gases that are bloating the pig.
Dialogue: 0,0:50:28.36,0:50:32.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All of these gases produced inside are coming up the digestive tract.
Dialogue: 0,0:50:32.36,0:50:37.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So that smell is actually coming out and that's what attracts the flies?
Dialogue: 0,0:50:37.52,0:50:43.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We can't smell it but flies can. It's not obvious at all. No.
Dialogue: 0,0:50:43.12,0:50:47.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, as I know from the rotting meat and fish in the box,
Dialogue: 0,0:50:47.04,0:50:53.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it doesn't take long for the smell to become something we can detect.
Dialogue: 0,0:50:53.28,0:50:54.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,HE COUGHS
Dialogue: 0,0:50:54.92,0:50:57.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oh, that's a lot worse.
Dialogue: 0,0:50:57.36,0:50:59.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Let's pull this off.
Dialogue: 0,0:50:59.60,0:51:02.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oh, dear!
Dialogue: 0,0:51:02.44,0:51:05.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He's much more advanced, as you can see.
Dialogue: 0,0:51:05.04,0:51:06.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,HE COUGHS
Dialogue: 0,0:51:06.68,0:51:10.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're now smelling a cocktail of highly volatile gases and
Dialogue: 0,0:51:10.72,0:51:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,liquids produced, not just by the break down of the animal proteins,
Dialogue: 0,0:51:15.00,0:51:19.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but by the agents of decay themselves.
Dialogue: 0,0:51:19.20,0:51:23.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The body is largely composed of water, so as the cells break down
Dialogue: 0,0:51:23.24,0:51:27.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the cell walls go, you get the liquid coming from that,
Dialogue: 0,0:51:27.24,0:51:30.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you get the liquid that was part of the organs, and you get the liquid
Dialogue: 0,0:51:30.32,0:51:34.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the maggots are excreting as part of their digestive process too.
Dialogue: 0,0:51:34.12,0:51:37.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you look at it really closely, it's actually rather interesting.
Dialogue: 0,0:51:37.16,0:51:39.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a fascinating process.
Dialogue: 0,0:51:39.44,0:51:44.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wouldn't say it's attractive. I wouldn't go that far either!
Dialogue: 0,0:51:44.88,0:51:48.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Many of the molecules in this cocktail of decomposition fluids
Dialogue: 0,0:51:48.84,0:51:55.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have a particular property, they are highly electrically charged.
Dialogue: 0,0:51:55.56,0:51:58.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a bit like when you rub a balloon on a woollen jumper.
Dialogue: 0,0:51:58.72,0:52:02.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The molecules of the balloon pick up a charge, which means they stick to
Dialogue: 0,0:52:02.36,0:52:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,other materials they come into contact with.
Dialogue: 0,0:52:05.00,0:52:09.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Which is why the smell of decay can literally stick to our clothes.
Dialogue: 0,0:52:09.88,0:52:13.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it also explains why decay can leave a trace
Dialogue: 0,0:52:13.12,0:52:16.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that lingers far longer than you might think.
Dialogue: 0,0:52:16.36,0:52:17.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Top off.
Dialogue: 0,0:52:17.84,0:52:21.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tal's colleague Peter Cross is measuring what effect
Dialogue: 0,0:52:21.44,0:52:28.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the decomposing pigs are having on the surrounding earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:52:28.36,0:52:31.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just draw the water up. It's even frothing.
Dialogue: 0,0:52:31.40,0:52:33.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's foaming. Yeah.
Dialogue: 0,0:52:33.84,0:52:38.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, it's clearly not fresh.
Dialogue: 0,0:52:38.52,0:52:41.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Argh!
Dialogue: 0,0:52:41.64,0:52:44.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's pretty bad!
Dialogue: 0,0:52:44.68,0:52:50.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is soil water taken from the site of a buried pig carcass.
Dialogue: 0,0:52:50.52,0:52:54.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This machine is passing an electrical current through the soil water
Dialogue: 0,0:52:54.36,0:52:58.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then measuring how well that soil water conducts electricity.
Dialogue: 0,0:52:58.84,0:53:03.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The contaminated water is 30 times more conductive than
Dialogue: 0,0:53:03.72,0:53:06.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,soil water taken from ten metres away.
Dialogue: 0,0:53:06.76,0:53:10.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the trace that decay leaves behind.
Dialogue: 0,0:53:10.44,0:53:12.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We think that because of all the electrolytes
Dialogue: 0,0:53:12.64,0:53:16.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are leaching into the soil water from the decomposing pig,
Dialogue: 0,0:53:16.08,0:53:19.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that they are changing the electrical properties of the soil water.
Dialogue: 0,0:53:19.56,0:53:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How long will that remain?
Dialogue: 0,0:53:21.00,0:53:24.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'd expect conductivity to continue increasing for up to two years.
Dialogue: 0,0:53:24.64,0:53:27.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So that really is a fingerprint of death, isn't it?
Dialogue: 0,0:53:27.88,0:53:37.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Absolutely, yes.
Dialogue: 0,0:53:37.44,0:53:41.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's a fingerprint that allows scientists to detect
Dialogue: 0,0:53:41.20,0:53:45.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,signs of decay, not just over years, but over centuries.
Dialogue: 0,0:53:45.56,0:53:48.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,OK, Chris, do you want to grab the remote probes?
Dialogue: 0,0:53:48.60,0:53:52.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr Jamie Pringle is a forensic geophysicist.
Dialogue: 0,0:53:52.48,0:53:57.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Today he's using the conductive qualities of decomposition fluids
Dialogue: 0,0:53:57.84,0:54:01.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to identify unmarked graves in this churchyard.
Dialogue: 0,0:54:01.80,0:54:07.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some are estimated to be 200-years-old.
Dialogue: 0,0:54:07.32,0:54:12.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Jamie's kit sends an electrical current into the ground to measure conductivity.
Dialogue: 0,0:54:12.80,0:54:16.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It can detect electrically charged molecules
Dialogue: 0,0:54:16.44,0:54:21.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,left behind by the bodies buried centuries ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:54:21.92,0:54:22.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,BEEPING
Dialogue: 0,0:54:22.84,0:54:31.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oh, that's interesting, lads. Looks like it's going down there.
Dialogue: 0,0:54:31.12,0:54:33.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've just downloaded the data from the machine
Dialogue: 0,0:54:33.52,0:54:38.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the results show there's one, two, three, four, five areas
Dialogue: 0,0:54:38.28,0:54:41.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of blue, which means it's high conductivity results,
Dialogue: 0,0:54:41.68,0:54:45.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which suggests to me that's where the graves are going to be located
Dialogue: 0,0:54:45.28,0:54:49.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and where the decompositional fluids have been retained in the soil.
Dialogue: 0,0:54:49.32,0:54:53.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This technology opens up new possibilities in forensic science.
Dialogue: 0,0:54:53.80,0:54:57.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Not only can it be used for unmarked graves, it can be used for
Dialogue: 0,0:54:57.56,0:55:02.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,other things as well, such as looking for buried murder victims.
Dialogue: 0,0:55:02.12,0:55:06.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For crime fighters, the powerful lingering effect of decay,
Dialogue: 0,0:55:06.48,0:55:28.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,turns out to be one of its most useful qualities.
Dialogue: 0,0:55:28.52,0:55:32.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're more than halfway through our investigation of what happens
Dialogue: 0,0:55:32.64,0:55:38.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when decay is allowed to run its course in a typical home.
Dialogue: 0,0:55:38.28,0:55:42.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We set out to see how quickly its contents would be broken down
Dialogue: 0,0:55:42.32,0:55:46.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and transformed into new life.
Dialogue: 0,0:55:46.32,0:55:53.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One month in, we have our most striking result yet.
Dialogue: 0,0:55:53.76,0:56:04.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The clue is in our rapidly increasing fly numbers.
Dialogue: 0,0:56:04.80,0:56:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These flies are the first generation to be born and bred in the box.
Dialogue: 0,0:56:10.00,0:56:17.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Two weeks ago, they were the maggots that were so active in all the meat.
Dialogue: 0,0:56:17.32,0:56:20.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Once a maggot has fed enough, it pupates.
Dialogue: 0,0:56:20.72,0:56:26.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Within about seven days, the adult blow fly emerges.
Dialogue: 0,0:56:26.40,0:56:42.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It inflates a soft spongy sack on the top of its head to help push itself out.
Dialogue: 0,0:56:42.68,0:56:46.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then blood pumps into the wings, spreading them out
Dialogue: 0,0:56:46.32,0:57:04.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ready for take off.
Dialogue: 0,0:57:04.76,0:57:07.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There isn't anything better than flies to illustrate
Dialogue: 0,0:57:07.84,0:57:10.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the transformative power of decay.
Dialogue: 0,0:57:10.52,0:57:13.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The fly larvae have eaten this pig. I want to show you
Dialogue: 0,0:57:13.80,0:57:17.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just how little is left behind.
Dialogue: 0,0:57:17.32,0:57:24.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If I get this torn back without cutting my finger, it's quite tough.
Dialogue: 0,0:57:24.24,0:57:30.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The outer surface of the skin is now quite dry. Look at that.
Dialogue: 0,0:57:30.60,0:57:36.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oh! The smell of ammonia is quite overpowering.
Dialogue: 0,0:57:36.16,0:57:40.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If I peel it back...
Dialogue: 0,0:57:40.44,0:57:43.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What we've got here is basically dried skin
Dialogue: 0,0:57:43.64,0:57:47.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a few bits of fat All the meat has gone.
Dialogue: 0,0:57:47.68,0:57:51.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The fly larvae have eaten this pig out completely
Dialogue: 0,0:57:51.92,0:57:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All that's left are some ribs and fat.
Dialogue: 0,0:57:55.00,0:57:59.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All that meat that was once pig is now flying around this room.
Dialogue: 0,0:57:59.44,0:58:11.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Who says pigs can't fly?
Dialogue: 0,0:58:11.72,0:58:24.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Seven days later and the number of blow flies is becoming a problem inside the house.
Dialogue: 0,0:58:24.32,0:58:27.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, it's a week since I was here before
Dialogue: 0,0:58:27.28,0:58:31.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and, as I predicted, the numbers of flies have absolutely sky rocketed,
Dialogue: 0,0:58:31.40,0:58:33.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they've gone through the roof.
Dialogue: 0,0:58:33.44,0:58:40.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm going to wear an all-in-one suit for a bit of protection this week.
Dialogue: 0,0:58:40.08,0:58:45.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I reckon there could be as many as 10,000 flies inside.
Dialogue: 0,0:58:45.12,0:58:48.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because our box is sealed, they can't escape to find
Dialogue: 0,0:58:48.40,0:58:52.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,new sources of food and places to lay their eggs.
Dialogue: 0,0:58:52.28,0:59:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm worried that their sheer numbers may disrupt the natural course of decay elsewhere in the box.
Dialogue: 0,0:59:01.00,0:59:07.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are now simply too many flies here, it's becoming quite unpleasant.
Dialogue: 0,0:59:07.52,0:59:11.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's causing a problem because of the fly speck, that's the excrement,
Dialogue: 0,0:59:11.40,0:59:14.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which they leave on the surfaces, inside the glass.
Dialogue: 0,0:59:14.20,0:59:19.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, it's time I tried to reduce them a bit...
Dialogue: 0,0:59:19.40,0:59:21.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,manually.
Dialogue: 0,0:59:21.32,0:59:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The trouble is, they're flying quite low and sitting on surfaces.
Dialogue: 0,0:59:28.00,0:59:31.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's hard to get them.
Dialogue: 0,0:59:31.64,0:59:37.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Half the flies are drunk because
Dialogue: 0,0:59:37.12,0:59:40.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the fruit bowl has become alcoholic
Dialogue: 0,0:59:40.44,0:59:44.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the flies are flying under the influence at the moment.
Dialogue: 0,0:59:44.76,0:59:48.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's probably why there are so many on the floor.
Dialogue: 0,0:59:48.92,0:59:52.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can hear them.
Dialogue: 0,0:59:52.32,0:59:54.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A constant buzz.
Dialogue: 0,0:59:54.40,0:59:56.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is pretty unpleasant.
Dialogue: 0,0:59:56.88,1:00:03.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oh! Look at this!
Dialogue: 0,1:00:03.72,1:00:06.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's no wonder that flies are so hard to capture.
Dialogue: 0,1:00:06.36,1:00:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Their compound eyes give them 360 degree vision.
Dialogue: 0,1:00:11.00,1:00:15.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So they can respond to movement in less than 30 milliseconds.
Dialogue: 0,1:00:15.32,1:00:19.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Me and my net can only do so much.
Dialogue: 0,1:00:19.80,1:00:23.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It will be hunger that kills off these flies in the remaining weeks,
Dialogue: 0,1:00:23.68,1:00:27.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as food supplies in the box run out.
Dialogue: 0,1:00:27.72,1:00:30.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Their role in our project is coming to an end.
Dialogue: 0,1:00:30.76,1:00:34.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We should start to see other insects moving in to carry on
Dialogue: 0,1:00:34.76,1:00:42.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the process of breaking down what's left of the meat.
Dialogue: 0,1:00:42.80,1:00:53.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the meantime, the flies need for food is affecting one of our other agents of decay.
Dialogue: 0,1:00:53.72,1:00:58.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Six weeks in, mould is still ravaging the sandwich box.
Dialogue: 0,1:00:58.24,1:01:00.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's even grown out from under the lid.
Dialogue: 0,1:01:00.64,1:01:08.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's attracted the attention of our starving flies.
Dialogue: 0,1:01:08.16,1:01:13.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, this to me, is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.
Dialogue: 0,1:01:13.48,1:01:20.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Patrick Hickey has returned to investigate what's been happening to the moulds in our house.
Dialogue: 0,1:01:20.12,1:01:22.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How many actual species of fungus are here?
Dialogue: 0,1:01:22.60,1:01:26.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At least 20 or 30, maybe more.
Dialogue: 0,1:01:26.12,1:01:29.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,20 or 30 species of fungus! I can't wait to have a sort of...
Dialogue: 0,1:01:29.64,1:01:33.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the perfect environment. Some of them are fairly dangerous.
Dialogue: 0,1:01:33.96,1:01:40.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the moulds here, aspergillus flavus, a greeny-yellow one,
Dialogue: 0,1:01:40.56,1:01:45.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can produce a nasty toxin. So, you want to be careful.
Dialogue: 0,1:01:45.32,1:01:49.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Look at this, it's a solid mat.
Dialogue: 0,1:01:49.60,1:01:53.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are the layers of sandwich.
Dialogue: 0,1:01:53.08,1:01:58.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's completely through. There aren't any flies, of course.
Dialogue: 0,1:01:58.32,1:02:02.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was sealed in the box so the flies couldn't get in.
Dialogue: 0,1:02:02.92,1:02:07.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Big contrast to the fruit bowl, which was left open.
Dialogue: 0,1:02:07.48,1:02:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A couple of weeks ago it was covered in thick layers of fungus and
Dialogue: 0,1:02:13.00,1:02:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the flies have stripped it bare.
Dialogue: 0,1:02:16.00,1:02:21.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They've eaten the fungus and spores and recycled the fungi.
Dialogue: 0,1:02:21.44,1:02:25.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Fruit has become mould. Mould has become flies. Flies fly off.
Dialogue: 0,1:02:25.72,1:02:31.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, if they were outside, they'd be eaten by something.
Dialogue: 0,1:02:31.40,1:02:33.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Outside in the garden,
Dialogue: 0,1:02:33.12,1:02:37.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,other forms of fungi rely on insects to help them do their job.
Dialogue: 0,1:02:37.12,1:02:41.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the fruiting body of a stinkhorn fungus.
Dialogue: 0,1:02:41.72,1:02:45.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The rest of the fungus is below the soil,
Dialogue: 0,1:02:45.32,1:02:48.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,feeding on wood and plant matter in the soil.
Dialogue: 0,1:02:48.28,1:02:52.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These stalks emerge when the fungus is ready to fruit,
Dialogue: 0,1:02:52.16,1:03:01.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,growing up to 15cms in less than 24 hours.
Dialogue: 0,1:03:01.72,1:03:05.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When they break through the top layer of soil,
Dialogue: 0,1:03:05.36,1:03:09.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they release an intense smell that flies find irresistible,
Dialogue: 0,1:03:09.88,1:03:13.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the smell of dead and decaying meat.
Dialogue: 0,1:03:13.96,1:03:17.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The flies strip the jelly-like flesh from the mushroom,
Dialogue: 0,1:03:17.32,1:03:21.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and help spread its spores.
Dialogue: 0,1:03:21.16,1:03:24.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even after 30 years of studying biology,
Dialogue: 0,1:03:24.24,1:03:33.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm still amazed by the complex behaviour of these simple organisms.
Dialogue: 0,1:03:33.84,1:03:40.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But stinkhorns aren't the strangest things feeding on the decaying wood in our garden.
Dialogue: 0,1:03:40.64,1:03:47.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hidden away in our woodpile is something even more intriguing.
Dialogue: 0,1:03:47.40,1:03:52.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a slime mould.
Dialogue: 0,1:03:52.56,1:03:56.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the largest single-celled organism on Earth.
Dialogue: 0,1:03:56.04,1:04:07.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It can grow to more than three square metres.
Dialogue: 0,1:04:07.32,1:04:10.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Scientists have recently discovered that these primitive life forms
Dialogue: 0,1:04:10.76,1:04:26.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have some rather sophisticated talents.
Dialogue: 0,1:04:26.60,1:04:29.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At Oxford University, Dr Mark Fricker is one of a team of
Dialogue: 0,1:04:29.84,1:04:34.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,botanists and computer scientists studying a species of slime mould
Dialogue: 0,1:04:34.44,1:04:37.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,called Physarum Polycephalum.
Dialogue: 0,1:04:37.16,1:04:40.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For years slime moulds have fascinated scientists
Dialogue: 0,1:04:40.40,1:04:45.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with their remarkable ability to solve simple mazes.
Dialogue: 0,1:04:45.40,1:04:47.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Put food at the end of a maze
Dialogue: 0,1:04:47.56,1:04:51.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the slime mould will find the quickest route through.
Dialogue: 0,1:04:51.08,1:04:53.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But scientists started to wonder
Dialogue: 0,1:04:53.04,1:04:56.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if the mould could do more than just perform clever tricks.
Dialogue: 0,1:04:56.44,1:04:59.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can set them lots of little tasks, and
Dialogue: 0,1:04:59.28,1:05:02.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can allow them to forage and connect up little
Dialogue: 0,1:05:02.16,1:05:05.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,food sources to see what sort of network they would make. OK.
Dialogue: 0,1:05:05.24,1:05:08.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And a geometric shape, so a square or something more complicated,
Dialogue: 0,1:05:08.88,1:05:11.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is interesting, but we wanted to see whether they would
Dialogue: 0,1:05:11.72,1:05:18.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,be able to solve a slightly more complex problem.
Dialogue: 0,1:05:18.96,1:05:21.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Mark is recreating an experiment
Dialogue: 0,1:05:21.24,1:05:25.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he worked on with colleagues at Tokyo University.
Dialogue: 0,1:05:25.20,1:05:28.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He takes a blob of slime mould and then surrounds it with
Dialogue: 0,1:05:28.16,1:05:35.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a pattern of oat flakes, an irresistible treat to slime mould.
Dialogue: 0,1:05:35.68,1:05:43.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What happens next is recorded by a time-lapse camera.
Dialogue: 0,1:05:43.84,1:05:50.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The slime mould locates the oat flakes by growing out in all directions.
Dialogue: 0,1:05:50.92,1:05:54.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But within hours the slime mould shrinks back,
Dialogue: 0,1:05:54.36,1:06:00.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,leaving an intricate web of tubes that connect the oat flakes.
Dialogue: 0,1:06:00.32,1:06:06.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's these tubes that transfer nutrients around the slime mould.
Dialogue: 0,1:06:06.72,1:06:11.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Incredibly, everything you can see is part of one single cell.
Dialogue: 0,1:06:11.52,1:06:16.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It needs to build a network that is quite efficient, to transport all those resources.
Dialogue: 0,1:06:16.84,1:06:20.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At the same time, that network mustn't cost too much.
Dialogue: 0,1:06:20.56,1:06:23.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It mustn't take up too many of its own resources.
Dialogue: 0,1:06:23.24,1:06:27.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then the other problem it has is, it's going to be subject to damage.
Dialogue: 0,1:06:27.28,1:06:29.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If there was only ever one connection,
Dialogue: 0,1:06:29.92,1:06:33.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there's a risk it would break.
Dialogue: 0,1:06:33.36,1:06:36.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The slime mould takes no chances.
Dialogue: 0,1:06:36.44,1:06:43.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It grows back-up routes to make sure that its food supply isn't cut off.
Dialogue: 0,1:06:43.76,1:06:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But there's something even more extraordinary about what the slime mould has done.
Dialogue: 0,1:06:50.00,1:06:55.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Mark hasn't just laid out the flakes in a random pattern.
Dialogue: 0,1:06:55.40,1:06:57.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The large blob in the middle is Tokyo
Dialogue: 0,1:06:57.56,1:07:03.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and each of the food sources are positioned as cities nearby Tokyo.
Dialogue: 0,1:07:03.12,1:07:06.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, it's a re-creation of the area around Tokyo? Indeed.
Dialogue: 0,1:07:06.76,1:07:11.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is actually what it's based on, the rail network around Tokyo.
Dialogue: 0,1:07:11.16,1:07:15.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We can superimpose that over. Ok, so we align it...
Dialogue: 0,1:07:15.24,1:07:18.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's identical! It's absolutely identical!
Dialogue: 0,1:07:18.64,1:07:23.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You see a lot of these connections. It's formed the same sort of links, it's got a few extra ones in as well,
Dialogue: 0,1:07:23.76,1:07:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's a slightly more resilient network than the ones the engineers designed... Hold on!
Dialogue: 0,1:07:28.00,1:07:30.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You're telling me, wait a minute,
Dialogue: 0,1:07:30.32,1:07:34.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that this slime mould has built a better network...
Dialogue: 0,1:07:34.08,1:07:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A remarkably similar network.
Dialogue: 0,1:07:36.00,1:07:41.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,..than the humans built. Yes.
Dialogue: 0,1:07:41.24,1:07:44.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Tokyo rail system is one of the most efficient
Dialogue: 0,1:07:44.12,1:07:46.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and well organised in the world.
Dialogue: 0,1:07:46.44,1:07:51.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It took lots of skilled engineers using lots of brain power to plan.
Dialogue: 0,1:07:51.80,1:07:55.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yet, somehow, slime mould has achieved the same goal,
Dialogue: 0,1:07:55.88,1:08:01.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how to efficiently link together multiple locations.
Dialogue: 0,1:08:01.32,1:08:05.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Slime mould has also been put to work in other parts of world.
Dialogue: 0,1:08:05.52,1:08:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here it tackles some of Britain's major motorways.
Dialogue: 0,1:08:10.00,1:08:16.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is its take on the best routes around Spain.
Dialogue: 0,1:08:16.76,1:08:23.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And here are some interesting alternatives to Americas Route 66.
Dialogue: 0,1:08:23.28,1:08:25.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What is the slime mould actually displaying here?
Dialogue: 0,1:08:25.88,1:08:29.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a sort of smart behaviour. It hasn't got a brain,
Dialogue: 0,1:08:29.20,1:08:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it hasn't got a nervous system, but it still seems to be able to solve
Dialogue: 0,1:08:33.00,1:08:36.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these sorts of complex problems with very simple rules.
Dialogue: 0,1:08:36.08,1:08:40.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's something the computer scientists we work with are getting very interested in,
Dialogue: 0,1:08:40.92,1:08:56.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whether or not you can take inspiration from this system and apply it to other sorts of problems.
Dialogue: 0,1:08:56.92,1:09:01.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How does one of the most simple life-forms on Earth,
Dialogue: 0,1:09:01.04,1:09:05.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a single-celled amoeba that spends most of its time on woodland waste,
Dialogue: 0,1:09:05.40,1:09:14.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,match its wits against transport engineers and computer scientists?
Dialogue: 0,1:09:14.04,1:09:21.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The clue seems to lie in its extraordinary biology.
Dialogue: 0,1:09:21.96,1:09:26.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Professor Bruce Ing is a self confessed slime mould obsessive.
Dialogue: 0,1:09:26.44,1:09:30.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He's going to help me track down some slime mould
Dialogue: 0,1:09:30.40,1:09:34.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in one of its native habitats.
Dialogue: 0,1:09:34.12,1:09:36.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Slime moulds aren't rare things?
Dialogue: 0,1:09:36.52,1:09:40.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oh, no. They're very common, indeed. They're everywhere. But overlooked?
Dialogue: 0,1:09:40.44,1:09:43.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Overlooked because they are shy, not easy to find,
Dialogue: 0,1:09:43.28,1:10:02.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,unless you know where to look. Shy slime moulds!
Dialogue: 0,1:10:02.76,1:10:06.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Do you remember the film The Blob? Yes.
Dialogue: 0,1:10:06.48,1:10:10.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A giant mass of jelly, eating caravans?
Dialogue: 0,1:10:10.68,1:10:13.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was a slime mould? It was.
Dialogue: 0,1:10:13.72,1:10:15.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But not one we'll find here.
Dialogue: 0,1:10:15.76,1:10:22.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Not as big as that, I hope.
Dialogue: 0,1:10:22.32,1:10:30.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Bruce's 54 years in the field prove vital as we hunt the elusive slime mould.
Dialogue: 0,1:10:30.96,1:10:33.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After half an hour, he finds what we are looking for.
Dialogue: 0,1:10:33.80,1:10:38.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not quite the sheet I was hoping for. No, indeed not.
Dialogue: 0,1:10:38.36,1:10:44.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it's still the real McCoy.
Dialogue: 0,1:10:44.32,1:10:50.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This small patch of orange is creeping slime mould.
Dialogue: 0,1:10:50.72,1:10:57.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Up close, you can see how it's constantly pulsating.
Dialogue: 0,1:10:57.32,1:11:00.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When one part of it finds something it likes to eat,
Dialogue: 0,1:11:00.24,1:11:03.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it pulses more rapidly.
Dialogue: 0,1:11:03.08,1:11:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Scientists believe that it's this pulsating that helps transmit
Dialogue: 0,1:11:07.00,1:11:09.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,information across the entire cell,
Dialogue: 0,1:11:09.60,1:11:18.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,allowing the slime mould to move towards its food source.
Dialogue: 0,1:11:18.56,1:11:22.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These pulsations control where and how they grow across the forest floor,
Dialogue: 0,1:11:22.80,1:11:30.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or even around the oat flakes of the Tokyo rail map.
Dialogue: 0,1:11:30.24,1:11:33.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What's so special about slime mould is that it can use
Dialogue: 0,1:11:33.80,1:11:38.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this information to make multiple decisions, simultaneously.
Dialogue: 0,1:11:38.04,1:11:46.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Pretty ingenious stuff for a single-celled organism.
Dialogue: 0,1:11:46.56,1:11:51.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Slime moulds are what's known as self organising systems.
Dialogue: 0,1:11:51.88,1:11:55.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not a unique phenomenon in nature.
Dialogue: 0,1:11:55.12,1:11:57.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Flocks of birds work in a similar way.
Dialogue: 0,1:11:57.80,1:12:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,With no leader, no overall control,
Dialogue: 0,1:12:00.00,1:12:04.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the flock nevertheless acts as a single unit.
Dialogue: 0,1:12:04.32,1:12:09.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But slime mould can do something that flocks of birds could never do.
Dialogue: 0,1:12:09.72,1:12:15.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Meet the Phi-Bot, the world's first slime mould controlled robot.
Dialogue: 0,1:12:15.44,1:12:19.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Phi-Bot is the brain child of Dr Soichiro Tsuda
Dialogue: 0,1:12:19.76,1:12:23.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Dr Klaus Peter Zauner from Southampton University.
Dialogue: 0,1:12:23.64,1:12:29.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Their robot takes its orders from a tiny blob of slime mould.
Dialogue: 0,1:12:29.44,1:12:32.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I sort of don't believe you, I want to...
Dialogue: 0,1:12:32.40,1:12:33.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,HE LAUGHS
Dialogue: 0,1:12:33.96,1:12:35.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,..I want to see it working. Prove it!
Dialogue: 0,1:12:35.92,1:12:39.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,THEY LAUGH Soichiro, flip the switch.
Dialogue: 0,1:12:39.20,1:12:43.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It just seems almost unbelievable.
Dialogue: 0,1:12:43.60,1:12:47.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not instant, is it? It's not instant... Oh!
Dialogue: 0,1:12:47.52,1:12:54.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Wow! That's fantastic!
Dialogue: 0,1:12:54.80,1:12:59.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The slime mould sits on an electronic chip, inside the robot.
Dialogue: 0,1:12:59.52,1:13:03.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As it transmits information around its single-cell by pulsing,
Dialogue: 0,1:13:03.52,1:13:06.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the robot detects these pulses and translates them
Dialogue: 0,1:13:06.48,1:13:10.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into much larger movements across the surface of the table.
Dialogue: 0,1:13:10.76,1:13:17.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How did you get the idea for having a live organism inside a robot?
Dialogue: 0,1:13:17.16,1:13:21.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One inspiration source obviously from the Daleks, from Doctor Who?
Dialogue: 0,1:13:21.76,1:13:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is inspired by a Dalek? Yes.
Dialogue: 0,1:13:24.00,1:13:26.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, it's the same thing, isn't it? Yeah exactly.
Dialogue: 0,1:13:26.48,1:13:30.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You've got a live organism in the machine, which controls it.
Dialogue: 0,1:13:30.16,1:13:34.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Phi-Bot is pioneering a new approach to computing.
Dialogue: 0,1:13:34.28,1:13:39.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Today's computers use a single central processing unit to do their thinking.
Dialogue: 0,1:13:39.52,1:13:43.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the slime mould has no need to ask a brain what to do,
Dialogue: 0,1:13:43.56,1:13:47.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all parts of the cell just work together, for the good of the whole.
Dialogue: 0,1:13:47.36,1:13:51.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The simple organism inside, processes information in a completely
Dialogue: 0,1:13:51.32,1:13:54.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,radically different way from our conventional computing technology.
Dialogue: 0,1:13:54.64,1:13:59.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We want to learn more about how it can do that information processing.
Dialogue: 0,1:13:59.88,1:14:04.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So slime mould could hold the secret to a revolution in computing.
Dialogue: 0,1:14:04.88,1:14:08.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or even the creation of artificial intelligence.
Dialogue: 0,1:14:08.80,1:14:23.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Not bad for something you can find in your wood pile.
Dialogue: 0,1:14:23.32,1:14:30.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's only a week left to go in our project to study decay in a typical house and garden.
Dialogue: 0,1:14:30.08,1:14:34.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The pace of change in the box is beginning to slow down.
Dialogue: 0,1:14:34.40,1:14:39.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, even now, decay is following an ordered sequence.
Dialogue: 0,1:14:39.36,1:14:44.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What one decomposer leaves behind is food for others.
Dialogue: 0,1:14:44.32,1:14:48.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, it's day 44 and the one thing that's immediately obvious,
Dialogue: 0,1:14:48.16,1:14:54.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it doesn't smell nearly as bad in here. It's actually quite pleasant.
Dialogue: 0,1:14:54.68,1:14:58.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The other thing that's obvious is there are very few flies now,
Dialogue: 0,1:14:58.32,1:15:02.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the majority of the flies that hatched out have died.
Dialogue: 0,1:15:02.16,1:15:05.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There aren't as many dead ones lying about as I'd expected, but
Dialogue: 0,1:15:05.68,1:15:10.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it looks like a few flies might have got themselves stuck in this
Dialogue: 0,1:15:10.12,1:15:15.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bottle of wine, as they searched for something to drink.
Dialogue: 0,1:15:15.40,1:15:18.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is solid. Uh!
Dialogue: 0,1:15:18.44,1:15:21.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Look at this. Oh my God!
Dialogue: 0,1:15:21.28,1:15:26.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Urgh! That is incredible.
Dialogue: 0,1:15:26.16,1:15:28.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,HE LAUGHS
Dialogue: 0,1:15:28.48,1:15:30.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can't get them all out.
Dialogue: 0,1:15:30.44,1:15:37.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've never seen so many flies in one bottle, in my life.
Dialogue: 0,1:15:37.96,1:15:39.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can barely get them out.
Dialogue: 0,1:15:39.96,1:15:44.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That sort of explains why I wasn't seeing as many flies
Dialogue: 0,1:15:44.56,1:15:47.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,flying around, as I expected.
Dialogue: 0,1:15:47.28,1:15:51.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's because most of them were in here.
Dialogue: 0,1:15:51.08,1:15:56.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Look at it. It's just incredible. It's thick.
Dialogue: 0,1:15:56.60,1:16:05.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's thick with flies.
Dialogue: 0,1:16:05.16,1:16:08.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Conditions in the box are very dry.
Dialogue: 0,1:16:08.68,1:16:14.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All that remains of the meat are hardened chunks of sinew and skin.
Dialogue: 0,1:16:14.32,1:16:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even if the flies had survived there's nothing left for another generation of maggots to feed on.
Dialogue: 0,1:16:21.00,1:16:25.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But this is the perfect fodder for beetles.
Dialogue: 0,1:16:25.40,1:16:29.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This dried meat gives off a far less pungent odour, but the smell
Dialogue: 0,1:16:29.76,1:16:37.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it does produce gives them a signal that starts the next stage in decay.
Dialogue: 0,1:16:37.64,1:16:44.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Decay happens in a series in waves, this fish is dry and hard,
Dialogue: 0,1:16:44.96,1:16:49.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there are beetle larvae who will eat it. So there's no waste.
Dialogue: 0,1:16:49.48,1:16:53.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's what I'm hunting for now, I'm hunting for the larvae
Dialogue: 0,1:16:53.52,1:17:01.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of a larder beetle and there's one right there.
Dialogue: 0,1:17:01.20,1:17:06.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Larder beetle larvae are present in around half of all homes.
Dialogue: 0,1:17:06.28,1:17:11.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They only colonise a carcass once it's become dried and desiccated.
Dialogue: 0,1:17:11.04,1:17:14.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Their powerful jaws allow them to eat through flesh, hair and skin.
Dialogue: 0,1:17:14.96,1:17:18.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they can strip an animal down to the bone.
Dialogue: 0,1:17:18.12,1:17:21.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This stage in decay moves slowly though.
Dialogue: 0,1:17:21.12,1:17:25.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Larder beetle larvae take months to pupate into these adults.
Dialogue: 0,1:17:25.32,1:17:36.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The job of recycling what remains in the box could take generations of them, years to complete.
Dialogue: 0,1:17:36.08,1:17:39.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But another beetle in our box does allow us
Dialogue: 0,1:17:39.16,1:17:49.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to see how effective these insects can be.
Dialogue: 0,1:17:49.36,1:17:53.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,36 days ago, two sexton beetles took less than 12 hours
Dialogue: 0,1:17:53.08,1:18:00.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to bury our dead rat.
Dialogue: 0,1:18:00.44,1:18:03.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What I'm aching to do now is a spot of archaeology.
Dialogue: 0,1:18:03.68,1:18:06.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because what has happened is, the sextons beetles have taken
Dialogue: 0,1:18:06.80,1:18:11.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the rat down and they will have formed it into a ball,
Dialogue: 0,1:18:11.08,1:18:16.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on which their larvae have fed and hopefully 36 days should be
Dialogue: 0,1:18:16.04,1:18:20.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,enough time. I should find a crypt in which the rat sits,
Dialogue: 0,1:18:20.64,1:18:24.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,surrounded by its own fur, which they smear on the outside.
Dialogue: 0,1:18:24.32,1:18:27.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And there should just be bones left.
Dialogue: 0,1:18:27.56,1:18:32.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This, for me, is about as exciting as it gets.
Dialogue: 0,1:18:32.56,1:18:39.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm going to use a hoover to gently take away the soil.
Dialogue: 0,1:18:39.56,1:18:42.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What is amazing about these insects is,
Dialogue: 0,1:18:42.40,1:18:47.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they're one of the very few insects who look after their young.
Dialogue: 0,1:18:47.08,1:18:52.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They take care of their young. Once they've dragged the prey down,
Dialogue: 0,1:18:52.88,1:19:00.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and hidden it underground, they'll lay the eggs around the crypt,
Dialogue: 0,1:19:00.44,1:19:04.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then the larvae will move in and feed.
Dialogue: 0,1:19:04.52,1:19:07.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they'll help them to feed as well.
Dialogue: 0,1:19:07.96,1:19:10.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're beginning to see a shape here.
Dialogue: 0,1:19:10.40,1:19:16.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is very exciting. Turn that off.
Dialogue: 0,1:19:16.28,1:19:21.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Wonder if I can free it.
Dialogue: 0,1:19:21.80,1:19:31.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That is just fantastic.
Dialogue: 0,1:19:31.04,1:19:35.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There look at that, that's all that remains of the rat.
Dialogue: 0,1:19:35.92,1:19:41.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can see the top part of the skull and the teeth.
Dialogue: 0,1:19:41.04,1:19:44.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The rest of it has completely disappeared,
Dialogue: 0,1:19:44.32,1:20:03.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there's nothing left of that rat.
Dialogue: 0,1:20:03.16,1:20:08.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're now at week eight. We're nearing the end of our project.
Dialogue: 0,1:20:08.32,1:20:12.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But there is one final stage of decay I want to investigate.
Dialogue: 0,1:20:12.84,1:20:17.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's probably the most important.
Dialogue: 0,1:20:17.48,1:20:21.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We've watched as the nutrients, locked up in plant
Dialogue: 0,1:20:21.52,1:20:24.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and animal remains, have been re-used by other organisms.
Dialogue: 0,1:20:24.76,1:20:27.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the process, complex things like chickens, rats and fruit,
Dialogue: 0,1:20:27.80,1:20:34.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have become simpler ones, insects, fungi, bacteria.
Dialogue: 0,1:20:34.08,1:20:38.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the true power of decay is its ability to reduce complex things
Dialogue: 0,1:20:38.84,1:20:44.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,right back to the most basic building blocks of life.
Dialogue: 0,1:20:44.44,1:20:46.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And all through the project,
Dialogue: 0,1:20:46.48,1:20:52.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's been quietly happening in a corner of the box.
Dialogue: 0,1:20:52.76,1:20:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is one of best places to see decay in action. We set this up
Dialogue: 0,1:20:58.00,1:21:03.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,eight weeks ago and it was piled to the top with plant material.
Dialogue: 0,1:21:03.16,1:21:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's now completely decayed down, we've been adding to it.
Dialogue: 0,1:21:07.00,1:21:13.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What I really want to do, is have a look inside and see what's going on.
Dialogue: 0,1:21:13.88,1:21:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, decay has been happening and the further you go down,
Dialogue: 0,1:21:19.00,1:21:28.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the more advanced it is. There's a snail on the trowel handle.
Dialogue: 0,1:21:28.24,1:21:31.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As all gardeners know, compost heaps turn dead plants
Dialogue: 0,1:21:31.36,1:21:38.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into a form of nutrients that new plants can use.
Dialogue: 0,1:21:38.88,1:21:44.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On the surface, animals like snails, slugs and worms begin the process
Dialogue: 0,1:21:44.04,1:21:50.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by eating the remains of plants, helping to break them into pieces.
Dialogue: 0,1:21:50.48,1:21:53.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The waste they excrete, and anything else left behind,
Dialogue: 0,1:21:53.52,1:21:57.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is eaten by smaller creatures like these mites.
Dialogue: 0,1:21:57.16,1:22:05.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Too tiny to be seen with the naked eye.
Dialogue: 0,1:22:05.32,1:22:08.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this process continues down through the compost.
Dialogue: 0,1:22:08.32,1:22:10.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ever smaller organisms,
Dialogue: 0,1:22:10.56,1:22:14.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reducing the plant waste to ever smaller components.
Dialogue: 0,1:22:14.36,1:22:21.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Until tiny fungi and bacteria are able to break down the very cells of the plant.
Dialogue: 0,1:22:21.12,1:22:25.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A teaspoon of soil contains four billion micro-organisms.
Dialogue: 0,1:22:25.56,1:22:28.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They finally release the nitrogen
Dialogue: 0,1:22:28.04,1:22:33.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and other building blocks of organic life, back into the soil.
Dialogue: 0,1:22:33.28,1:22:36.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What we end up with,
Dialogue: 0,1:22:36.16,1:22:41.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is an incredibly very fine soil,
Dialogue: 0,1:22:41.24,1:22:49.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the result of the breakdown processes of countless organisms.
Dialogue: 0,1:22:49.20,1:22:57.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Having begun with a big pile of green material, you may think that is an end point, but it's not,
Dialogue: 0,1:22:57.08,1:23:05.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's just the beginning.
Dialogue: 0,1:23:05.60,1:23:09.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,From here, life can begin to rebuild.
Dialogue: 0,1:23:09.20,1:23:19.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To me, this is the most amazing moment in the story of decay.
Dialogue: 0,1:23:19.24,1:23:21.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When we began eight weeks ago,
Dialogue: 0,1:23:21.44,1:23:28.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we wanted to demonstrate its significance in a unique way.
Dialogue: 0,1:23:28.16,1:23:32.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is probably one of the most important experiments we've set up in the box.
Dialogue: 0,1:23:32.96,1:23:36.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These may look like ordinary plants but they're going to show us
Dialogue: 0,1:23:36.40,1:23:41.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a part of the story that's absolutely crucial. These are the marigolds and radish seedlings
Dialogue: 0,1:23:41.20,1:23:44.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I planted back at the beginning of the project.
Dialogue: 0,1:23:44.32,1:23:47.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They've flourished into mature plants.
Dialogue: 0,1:23:47.28,1:23:50.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've been feeding them with a special liquid compost
Dialogue: 0,1:23:50.48,1:23:55.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,made from plants grown using chemically labelled nitrogen atoms.
Dialogue: 0,1:23:55.76,1:23:58.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If everything has gone according to plan,
Dialogue: 0,1:23:58.84,1:24:02.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we should be able to track how individual atoms of nitrogen
Dialogue: 0,1:24:02.12,1:24:07.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are transferred from the mustard plant to our seedlings.
Dialogue: 0,1:24:07.12,1:24:13.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,From death to life.
Dialogue: 0,1:24:13.28,1:24:17.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We sent samples of our plants to Professor Malcolm Clench.
Dialogue: 0,1:24:17.84,1:24:22.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's time to find out if our experiment has worked.
Dialogue: 0,1:24:22.72,1:24:25.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first one is from the marigold.
Dialogue: 0,1:24:25.28,1:24:30.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What can you see at the moment is a photograph of the marigold leaf.
Dialogue: 0,1:24:30.16,1:24:35.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He's able to pinpoint exactly where the labelled nitrogen has ended up.
Dialogue: 0,1:24:35.60,1:24:40.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As I start to play the video clip, we'll come up with
Dialogue: 0,1:24:40.28,1:24:44.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an overlay that shows the nitrogen in high abundance.
Dialogue: 0,1:24:44.68,1:24:50.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's really clear. Yes, very clear.
Dialogue: 0,1:24:50.96,1:24:54.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Each one of these dots shows where we found traces of the labelled
Dialogue: 0,1:24:54.88,1:25:00.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,nitrogen from the mustard plant in our marigold leaf.
Dialogue: 0,1:25:00.12,1:25:05.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,White areas show where it's concentrated.
Dialogue: 0,1:25:05.96,1:25:13.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How can we be 100% sure that labelled nitrogen has come from our experiment and nowhere else?
Dialogue: 0,1:25:13.52,1:25:19.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The form of nitrogen we're using is only 0.3% naturally abundant.
Dialogue: 0,1:25:19.48,1:25:23.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We can see areas of high intensity and they can only have come from
Dialogue: 0,1:25:23.52,1:25:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the mustard that was grown with the labelled nitrogen in.
Dialogue: 0,1:25:27.00,1:25:33.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, that is the definitive proof of the cycle of life? Indeed.
Dialogue: 0,1:25:33.68,1:25:37.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think you're going to be pleased with the radish results.
Dialogue: 0,1:25:37.04,1:25:39.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We can see first off a very nice radish.
Dialogue: 0,1:25:39.68,1:25:43.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One that you prepared earlier.
Dialogue: 0,1:25:43.04,1:25:44.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Wow look at that!
Dialogue: 0,1:25:44.76,1:25:48.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That is absolutely cast iron proof,
Dialogue: 0,1:25:48.24,1:25:54.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we have transferred material, an element in this case,
Dialogue: 0,1:25:54.20,1:25:58.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from one plant, dead and decayed, fed to something else and it takes it up.
Dialogue: 0,1:25:58.48,1:26:01.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yes, it's incontrovertible.
Dialogue: 0,1:26:01.96,1:26:05.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is what I hoped we'd see when we began our project.
Dialogue: 0,1:26:05.60,1:26:08.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the fundamental principle of decay,
Dialogue: 0,1:26:08.24,1:26:11.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,revealed in front of our eyes.
Dialogue: 0,1:26:11.04,1:26:21.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For me, this is as good as it gets.
Dialogue: 0,1:26:21.04,1:26:27.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Two months of decay have transformed the After Life box.
Dialogue: 0,1:26:27.96,1:26:32.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Little is left of the fresh food we began with.
Dialogue: 0,1:26:32.64,1:26:41.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And what remains will continue its inexorable journey back to the basic building blocks of life.
Dialogue: 0,1:26:41.12,1:26:44.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, as our plant experiment so dramatically demonstrated,
Dialogue: 0,1:26:44.60,1:26:50.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what we have witnessed in the box is a process of renewal.
Dialogue: 0,1:26:50.08,1:26:59.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That we are all part of.
Dialogue: 0,1:26:59.60,1:27:02.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a real snap-shot of everyone's life.
Dialogue: 0,1:27:02.44,1:27:07.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To see things changing, as they do, is a fantastic experiment.
Dialogue: 0,1:27:07.96,1:27:10.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We'd be in a horrible mess if we didn't have decay.
Dialogue: 0,1:27:10.52,1:27:16.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When you see what nature can do to get rid of all the dead things in the world...
Dialogue: 0,1:27:16.28,1:27:21.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We need that decay to happen in order for life to go on, I guess.
Dialogue: 0,1:27:21.04,1:27:24.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oh, my God! Look at that.
Dialogue: 0,1:27:24.56,1:27:28.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We tend to think of life as a linear process, with a beginning and end.
Dialogue: 0,1:27:28.88,1:27:31.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Things go from life to death.
Dialogue: 0,1:27:31.16,1:27:35.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I hope the box has shown this process in a new light.
Dialogue: 0,1:27:35.08,1:27:37.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Life is an ever repeating cycle.
Dialogue: 0,1:27:37.60,1:27:42.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One that's not just happening here, but everywhere on the planet.
Dialogue: 0,1:27:42.20,1:27:48.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The plants and animals of Earth's ecosystems rely on this continuing cycle.
Dialogue: 0,1:27:48.04,1:27:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even the atoms that make us up are recycled.
Dialogue: 0,1:27:51.00,1:27:54.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They come from the food we eat, the air we breathe,
Dialogue: 0,1:27:54.12,1:27:57.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they're in our flesh, blood and bones.
Dialogue: 0,1:27:57.08,1:27:59.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They've been used millions of times before,
Dialogue: 0,1:27:59.84,1:28:36.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they'll be used millions of times again.
Dialogue: 0,1:28:36.72,1:28:39.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
Dialogue: 0,1:28:39.72,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk