Imagined Worlds. Part 1: Serpent in the Garden of Eden

Subtitle

Serpent in the Garden of Eden

Synopsis

A series in which each programme is a personal account by an eminent scientist of recent changes in scientific thought. Professor Walter Herbert of Harvard University has been engaged for 20 years in deciphering the genetic message of DNA. He discusses the advances made since Crick and Watson first identified the double helix and explains how his own research has thrown light on the nature of evolution. He considers ethical questions associated with recombinant DNA, asking whether curious scientists in genetic engineering are ‘serpents in the Garden of Eden’. He appreciates that most laymen would prefer that such research be abandoned even though it may eventually enable us to escape the tyrannies of inheritance. In addition to a Nobel Prize, Professor Herbert’s work has brought him the chairmanship of a multi-million dollar genetic engineering company. The programme ends with a brief account of some of the company’s products (eg vitamins, interferon, insulin) and their uses.

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Video; Videocassette. Standard formats. col. 25 min.

Year of production

1982

Availability

OUT OF DISTRIBUTION

Uses

Science undergraduates.*

Subjects

Biology

Keywords

DNA; genetics; Herbert, Walter

Production Company

Name

BBC Television

Distributor

Name

BBC Active Video for Learning - now BBC Learning

Contact

Carolina Fernandez Jeremy Wilcox (CF - for educational enquiries JW - channel sales manager)

Email

BBCStudiosLearning@bbc.com

Web

https://www.bbcstudioslearning.com/ External site opens in new window

Phone

+44 (0) 20 8433 1009

Address

BBC Studios Limited
Television Centre
101 Wood Lane
London
W12 7FA
UK

Notes

The BBC Active company has now been absorbed within BBC Learning, a division of BBC Studios. It was originally a joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Pearson Education. Formerly known as ‘BBC Worldwide Learning Studies’ and before that as ‘Videos for Education & Training’