Countdown to Life: The Extraordinary Making of You

Episode
Countdown to Life: The Extraordinary Making of You - Ep1
Broadcast Info
2015 (58 mins)
Description
Episode One tells the story of the first 8 weeks when a single cell, no bigger than a spec of dust transforms into the most sophisticated organism on the planet. A human fetus.
The film begins with Michael on top of a pinnacle of rock over 800m high that overlooks Rio de Janeiro. Here he meets a man who uses every facet of his adult body to walk a line only 2.5cm thick that stretches across a crevice at the summit. In a breathtaking stunt, he steps out into the abyss.
The stunt shows just what humans "with enough training" are capable of. But it is only possible at all because we all pass through a series of make or break moments in the womb when every single part of our bodies was built. This is when everything about who you are hangs in the balance - when the layout of our organs is determined, when our heart makes its first beat, and when the length of our lives could be decided. Told through a series of surprising, moving and inspirational human stories we discover how the journey to becoming a human being is a rollercoaster ride where anything can - and does - happen.
The clock starts with the moment of conception- but days after our story can take the most unexpected turn. Holly, Jessica, Ellie and Gorgie are the 1 in 64 million identical quads whose lives changed forever when they were a clump of a few hundred cells. For reasons no-one can really explain the connections binding their cells were mysteriously broken and four clumps of cells started to behave independently from the rest. Then against the odds they each went on to form four entirely separate young lives.
As early as the very first week of life our destiny is already being shaped in the most profound way. Michael heads off to a remote region of the Gambia where an extraordinary 70-year long study has been looking into the seasonal effects of life expectancy - and it’s thrown up some shocking results. Babies conceived during the dry months are seven times more likely to die in young adulthood than those conceived when it’s wet. And this extraordinary difference may be all down to what a mother is eating during the very first week of life in the womb. At this critical point the DNA inside every cell of the body can be permanently changed - and this will alter forever how the body is built. It could explain the stark difference in life expectancy in Gambia, because a key gene involved in building the immune system has been altered potentially making people conceived in the dry season far more vulnerable to infections and diseases than those conceived just a few months later. The incredible effects of the environment on our genes can be observed most strongly in Gambia because of the extreme seasons - but they happen to us all, wherever we are in the world.
Genre
Nutrition; Culture; Science; Biology

How to cite this record

The Open University, "Countdown to Life: The Extraordinary Making of You". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ou/search/index.php/prog/220140 (Accessed 03 Apr 2025)