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Dr Michael Mosley explores our earliest attempts to tackle infection and how scientists, chemists and doctors from Louis Pasteur to Howard Florey helped us win the battle.

Infection can take over the entire human body, and if our immune systems aren't strong enough we will die - in fact, infectious disease has regularly wiped out millions of people across the planet. Dr Michael Mosley explores our earliest attempts to tackle infection and reveals the moment we began to harness the power of microbes to fight back. This is the story of how scientists, chemists and doctors helped us win the battle, from Louis Pasteur to Howard Florey, and how a small team of dedicated men and women wiped out one of mankind's deadliest diseases - smallpox.

1 hour

Last on

Tue 25 May 2021 23:55
BBC Four

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Clip

Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:50

    Muse

    The Orion Arm

Credits

Presenter Michael Mosley
Producer Ben Crichton
Director Ben Crichton
Series Producer Steve Crabtree
Executive Producer Tina Fletcher-Hill

Broadcasts

  • Thu 10 Oct 2013 21:00
    BBC Four
  • Fri 11 Oct 2013 03:00
    BBC Four
  • Tue 15 Oct 2013 22:30
    BBC Four
  • Sat 1 Feb 2014 20:00
    BBC Four
  • Sun 2 Feb 2014 02:35
    BBC Four
  • Wed 5 Feb 2014 00:30
    BBC Four
  • Thu 26 Feb 2015 20:00
    BBC Four
  • Fri 27 Feb 2015 00:00
    BBC Four
  • Tue 27 Sep 2016 22:00
    BBC Four
  • Tue 20 Jun 2017 20:00
    BBC Four
  • Wed 21 Jun 2017 02:00
    BBC Four
  • Thu 31 May 2018 23:00
    BBC Four
  • Thu 24 Oct 2019 23:00
    BBC Four
  • Mon 27 Apr 2020 16:00
    Red Button One
  • Tue 28 Apr 2020 15:00
    Red Button One
  • Tue 28 Apr 2020 20:00
    BBC Four
  • Wed 29 Apr 2020 02:30
    BBC Four
  • Wed 29 Apr 2020 18:00
    Red Button One
  • Thu 30 Apr 2020 16:00
    Red Button One
  • Fri 1 May 2020 17:00
    Red Button One
  • Tue 25 May 2021 23:55
    BBC Four

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Find out more on Infection, Poison and Managing long term health conditions with the Open University

Find out more on Infection, Poison and Managing long term health conditions with the Open University

Find out more with the Open University.