British Universities Film & Video Council

moving image and sound, knowledge and access

Tale of Two Cells, A

Synopsis
Follows a link between the cells involved in human colour vision and a rather unusual bacterium from the Dead Sea. Dr Jim Bowmaker, Institute of Ophthalmology, London, describes the techniques for looking at human rod and cone cells. Although the structure of the human visual pigments is not known, some clues have emerged from an unexpected source. Dr Richard Henderson, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, has unravelled the structure of a light-sensitive molecule found in a salt-loving bacterium. This molecule, bacteriorhodopsin, turns out to be related to the human visual pigments. This shows that cells as different as those from a human and a bacterium share similar types of molecules that can be thought of as evolutionary variations on a theme.
Series
Biology: Form and Function, Course S203
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Video; Videocassette. Standard formats. col. 24 min.
Year of production
1991
Availability
Off-air recording licence
Sale; 1998 sale: £145.00 (+VAT +p&p)
Subjects
Biology
Keywords
bacteria; cells; colour blindness; colour vision; molecules; vision

Credits

Producer
Rissa de la Paz
Cast
Julie Berry 

Production Company

Name

BBC Open University Productions

Name

Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corporation

Web
http://www.eb.com External site opens in new window
Phone
+1 312 347 7944
Fax
+1 312 347 7903
Address
Chicago, IL 60604
USA

Distributor

Name

Open University Worldwide

Web
http://www.ouw.co.uk External site opens in new window
Phone
+44 (0) 1908 274066
Address
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA
Notes
NB. As of May 2016 Open University Worldwide are no longer distributing DVDs. They have posted this message on their website: ‘Unfortunately Open University Worldwide Limited has decided that product sales are no longer viable given the reduced funding to Higher Education institutions and diminishing demand for the products we have traditionally stocked. At present the Open University Students Association (OUSA) will continue to sell the "Good Study Guide", and we are in discussion with other possible distributors to continue to make The Open University’s products available for purchase. As soon as we have any information on other channels of distribution we will update this notice’. Some products are still available via second hand dealers on Amazon.co.uk

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