:00:08. > :00:12.On tonight's programme: Liz joins the team whose new stem
:00:13. > :00:17.cell research may change organ transplant surgery for ever.
:00:17. > :00:21.you a little bit nervous about it all? No, not nervous. I have just
:00:22. > :00:24.got anticipation that something good is going to come from it.
:00:25. > :00:30.And Dallas discovers why he can never remember where he left his
:00:30. > :00:34.keys as he books into Memory Boot Camp. So this little connection
:00:34. > :00:39.here, I mean, that's not a memory in itself? No, it's part of a
:00:39. > :00:46.memory. So it might be, you know, 100,000th of a memory pattern.
:00:46. > :00:50.That's Bang Goes The Theory: revealing your world with a bang.
:00:50. > :00:54.Hello and welcome to tonight's show. Now, I have got to that age where I
:00:54. > :00:57.keep forgetting things. What have I done with my car keys? Why have I
:00:57. > :01:00.walked into a particular room? Who are you? It's not good. So I have
:01:00. > :01:04.decided to investigate the science of memory. How does it all work,
:01:04. > :01:08.and what can we do to improve our memories? It's time for a memory
:01:08. > :01:12.MOT. So I have brought this memory with
:01:12. > :01:17.me. I haven't seen this for many years, but I look at it now and
:01:17. > :01:21.it's all floods back. I remember playing in the hose, I remember the
:01:21. > :01:25.hose was absolutely freezing cold. I remember my sister being there. I
:01:25. > :01:29.think of my brain, if you like, as a kind of filing cabinet for memory.
:01:29. > :01:33.Somewhere in my brain, there is a bit where that event happens. And
:01:33. > :01:36.like a filing cabinet, you can go through and pull it out. I know it
:01:36. > :01:40.is not like that. I think most of us think of things intuitively,
:01:40. > :01:43.that is an easy way to think about it. But memory is much more like
:01:43. > :01:46.this dynamic replay. And it captures the things that were of
:01:46. > :01:49.relevance. The coldness of the water, the sun, the breeze. Those
:01:49. > :01:56.sensations that you had then are reactivated and you kind of re-
:01:56. > :01:59.member or re-put-together reality to re-experience it in your head.
:01:59. > :02:05.So if memory is a mental replaying of past events, how are those
:02:05. > :02:08.events actually recorded in my mind? When we experience something
:02:08. > :02:14.that is significant and that we remember later on, what happens is
:02:14. > :02:19.we change the connections amongst brain cells. All of the brain sort
:02:19. > :02:21.of takes part in remembering and experience. So it is not at all
:02:21. > :02:24.that you have these little localised bits of brain that are
:02:24. > :02:29.special for memory. So when I remember my breakfast this morning,
:02:29. > :02:33.it is not, there is a location in my brain of "here's breakfast".
:02:33. > :02:36.here we have a bunch of brain cells, and these cells are special in that
:02:36. > :02:39.they are like little batteries. They have a little voltage in them
:02:39. > :02:42.and they can communicate electrical signals to one another and form
:02:42. > :02:49.circuits. We have, I don't know, 100 billion brain cells in the
:02:49. > :02:52.brain. There are lots of these. Each neuron can receive thousands
:02:52. > :02:56.of inputs from different cells. So when this cell is sufficiently
:02:56. > :02:59.excited, it will send out its own, what we call "a spike" of
:02:59. > :03:03.electricity, down the cell wire. And here we have these receiving
:03:03. > :03:07.little tentacles of this other cell here. And here, you can see that
:03:07. > :03:12.they are making a little connection. So this little connection here, I
:03:12. > :03:16.mean, that is not a memory in itself? No, it is part of a memory.
:03:16. > :03:21.So it might be, you know, 100,000th of a memory pattern. So what can I
:03:22. > :03:24.actually do to improve my memory? I think the important things are to
:03:24. > :03:28.try to form as rich a web of associations, objects, feelings,
:03:28. > :03:32.sensations, as you can. And that creates a very rich web of
:03:32. > :03:42.interconnected neurons. So you have more entryways, or hooks, to get
:03:42. > :03:58.
:03:58. > :04:02.To create the collection, I needed Her in A series of really dull
:04:02. > :04:05.objects. And then a vivid complex scene. Let's see, cows in the
:04:05. > :04:08.street, washing hanging out, there are some people at the bus stop and
:04:08. > :04:11.somewhere, there, on the balcony, top right, a mobile phone. Now,
:04:11. > :04:18.after a bit of brainwave analysis, I should be able to see the
:04:18. > :04:23.difference between a weak memory and a vivid one. OK, so now for the
:04:23. > :04:25.moment of truth. We are going to see if you one, have a brain. Two,
:04:25. > :04:30.whether you were able to form some associations, whether thatcaused
:04:30. > :04:34.physical changes in your brain and whether we can see it. This is my
:04:34. > :04:36.memory of a shoe from the first group of pictures. The coloured
:04:36. > :04:42.areas show where neurons were connecting, but this is me
:04:42. > :04:50.remembering the mobile phone. More connections formed because it was a
:04:50. > :04:52.richer memory and therefore easier to recall. So there is context with
:04:52. > :04:56.my object, therefore there is more brain activity and that brain
:04:57. > :04:59.activity is memories being formed. This brain activity is retrieval of
:04:59. > :05:03.those extra contextual things, so you are linking these objects with
:05:03. > :05:06.these rich themes and context. what you're doing is forging real
:05:06. > :05:13.links between those mundane objects and all of these aspects within the
:05:13. > :05:15.scene. So you are actually sort of reforming and strengthening
:05:15. > :05:21.connections within the brain, informing the circuitry of the
:05:21. > :05:29.brain. Terrifying to think that all of my
:05:29. > :05:36.early memories are on Super Eight. I am getting old. Better Super
:05:36. > :05:39.Eight than tapestry. This is true, this is true. Actually, you know
:05:39. > :05:41.what, we should make the distinction between the natural
:05:41. > :05:43.loss of efficiency of memory through ageing and actual brain
:05:43. > :05:46.damage that you can sustain through neuro-degenerative diseases like
:05:46. > :05:49.Alzheimer's. We are not talking about that, we are talking about
:05:49. > :05:52.ageing and that sort of thing. thing that struck me most about
:05:52. > :05:55.your film was that, you know when you have those microscopic images
:05:55. > :05:58.of the brain, that you could actually see that it was connected
:05:58. > :06:01.with wires. There are electrical connections. When you hear people
:06:01. > :06:04.saying "You are not wired up right", you actually aren't wired up right!
:06:04. > :06:08.It was amazing, we are physical machines, you are absolutely right,
:06:08. > :06:10.it is an amazing thing. What really Was the contextualisation of memory,
:06:10. > :06:13.because when I was doing exams, I always literally visually
:06:13. > :06:18.reproduced a page with a diagram and that was associated with a box
:06:18. > :06:21.of text here. That was how I learned, visually and contextually.
:06:21. > :06:25.There is a very good reason for that and we will be getting into
:06:25. > :06:27.the whole memory and context in the next part of that film later on.
:06:27. > :06:31.Excellent. OK, next up, stem cells. Scientists have been researching
:06:31. > :06:34.them for about 30 years now and over that time, it is safe to say
:06:34. > :06:37.it has become a very controversial subject. That is mainly because the
:06:37. > :06:40.early research focused on embryos. The stem cells were derived from
:06:40. > :06:43.the embryos that were replanted into a mother during IVF treatment.
:06:43. > :06:47.But nowadays, of course, we know that stem cells don't just come
:06:47. > :06:51.from embryos, they also exist in as adults. And it is those adult stem
:06:51. > :06:53.cells that are now the subject of the latest research. In fact,
:06:53. > :06:56.scientists are using an individual's own stem cells, adult
:06:56. > :07:06.stem cells, to treat that very person's conditions. OK, are you
:07:06. > :07:06.
:07:07. > :07:12.OK? Just about. Good. We do want you to carry on a little bit longer
:07:12. > :07:15.if you can. OK. Michael Taylor suffers from a serious heart
:07:15. > :07:18.condition. He is preparing to join a
:07:18. > :07:21.pioneering clinical trial. Halfway through this phase now. But first,
:07:21. > :07:26.his heart is being assessed at the Royal Brompton Hospital to gauge
:07:26. > :07:32.the severity of his symptoms. I came home from work and I was
:07:33. > :07:36.absolutely shattered. Which was not normal? Not normal. Literally, I
:07:36. > :07:39.was watching a programme and I would fall asleep and my wife was
:07:39. > :07:42.telling me off, saying... "What is wrong with you?" Exactly. And I
:07:42. > :07:45.couldn't... I just thought it was tiredness. And how are you feeling
:07:45. > :07:48.about the next stage? Are you calm? You a little bit nervous about it
:07:48. > :07:51.all? No, not nervous. No, I have just got anticipation that
:07:52. > :07:55.something good is going to come from it. So I am hoping from this,
:07:55. > :07:58.I hope I get better. I will keep everything crossed for you. And
:07:58. > :08:03.well done on that treadmill. I was rooting for you. I needed it! I
:08:03. > :08:06.need a bit of luck. By volunteering, Michael will help
:08:06. > :08:15.doctors to discover whether stem cells can be used to relieve his
:08:15. > :08:18.condition. So, what are stem cells? Now, imagine this is a stem cell.
:08:18. > :08:21.Stem cells are unique, because they have the ability to generate new
:08:21. > :08:24.cells of almost any kind. They all start up as unspecialised cells,
:08:24. > :08:26.but given the right chemical and genetic signals, the stem cells can
:08:27. > :08:34.divide to form slightly more specialised cells, of different
:08:34. > :08:36.size, shape and function. And after a few more cycles of division,
:08:36. > :08:39.these can give rise to highly specialised cells, like heart
:08:39. > :08:42.muscle cells, for example, that help your heart pump the blood
:08:42. > :08:44.around your body. Given a different set of signals, this same
:08:44. > :08:47.unspecialised stem cell can go down an alternative pathway and give
:08:47. > :08:57.rise to a different type of specialised cell, like a neuron,
:08:57. > :08:59.
:08:59. > :09:02.that transmits electrical signals in the brain. Compared with stem
:09:02. > :09:05.cells from embryos, adult stem cells give rise to a smaller number
:09:05. > :09:14.of cell types, usually those of the organ or tissue in which they are
:09:14. > :09:18.found. Now, researchers have found adults stem cells in more tissues
:09:18. > :09:21.than previously thought. Bone marrow, skin, brain, liver, eyes,
:09:21. > :09:31.and this has led to research into using the patient's own adult stem
:09:31. > :09:33.
:09:33. > :09:38.cells to repair damaged organs. Just relax back your head. And that
:09:38. > :09:41.is exactly the focus of the trial Michael Taylor is taking part in.
:09:41. > :09:47.Led by Professor Anthony Mather at the London Chest Hospital, the
:09:47. > :09:50.trial is vitally important, because heart disease is still on the rise.
:09:50. > :09:52.Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the UK, With
:09:52. > :09:56.nearly three million people suffering from heart conditions in
:09:56. > :10:01.the UK. Around 800,000 people suffer from this condition of heart
:10:01. > :10:05.failure. He has got a condition which makes the heart fairly weak
:10:05. > :10:08.and baggy and it doesn't work very well as a pump. What we're trying
:10:08. > :10:13.to do is see whether his own stem cells can actually repair that
:10:13. > :10:18.heart and make it pump effectively again. So if you're looking to
:10:18. > :10:22.repair heart tissue, do you need to use heart stem cells?
:10:22. > :10:25.Ideally, yes. The problem is that there are very few of those cells
:10:25. > :10:28.in the heart, and we have only recently discovered they are there.
:10:28. > :10:31.And the few heart stem cells that are present clearly aren't capable
:10:31. > :10:35.of repairing it. And that is really where we step in with our trials.
:10:35. > :10:38.By using bone marrow as a source of stem cells, we try and enhance the
:10:38. > :10:43.stem cells in the heart and their ability to repair the damage that
:10:43. > :10:45.has been caused. This trial tackles heart disease on two fronts.
:10:45. > :10:50.Michael's bone marrow has already been stimulated to release enormous
:10:50. > :10:57.amounts of stem cells into his blood. And now, more are to be
:10:57. > :11:06.harvested directly from the bone marrow in his hip. Are you OK?
:11:06. > :11:09.fine, thank you. It wasn't that bad at all. Good. As this is still a
:11:09. > :11:12.trial, only some patients will have the stem cells reinjected. Although
:11:12. > :11:15.Michael will get an injection directly into his heart, neither he
:11:15. > :11:23.nor Professor Mather know if it will contain his stem cells or a
:11:23. > :11:28.placebo. We are about to put either stem cells or placebos into his
:11:28. > :11:31.coronary arteries. We won't know which until the end of the study,
:11:31. > :11:34.when we have treated all of our patients. This uncertainty helps
:11:34. > :11:39.the researchers to rule out the placebo effect from any positive
:11:39. > :11:43.results they achieve. Professor Mather feeds a tube through
:11:43. > :11:48.Michael's blood vessels right back to the site of the disease in his
:11:48. > :11:57.heart. Incredibly, Michael remains fully awake throughout the entire
:11:57. > :12:02.procedure. Are you all right? fine, thank you. Good. You can't
:12:02. > :12:09.feel anything? No, I can't feel anything. So that is the first half
:12:09. > :12:15.we have done. -- first artery. Now the second one and then one more
:12:15. > :12:17.and we are all finished. All finished. OK. That is it, all done.
:12:17. > :12:20.That went very well. As you heard, the patient didn't
:12:21. > :12:30.feel anything. Yes, a very successful procedure. Let's see
:12:31. > :12:31.
:12:31. > :12:35.The big thing that leaps out at me, how's Michael? I know. Well, what
:12:35. > :12:38.is really interesting is that for the first time in years, his blood
:12:38. > :12:41.pressure is back then to normal, and he is cycling again, so it is
:12:41. > :12:47.looking positive, but we won't know whether he actually got his own
:12:47. > :12:50.stem cells or a placebo until next June, so fingers crossed. Yes.
:12:50. > :12:53.think that the potential and the versatility of stem cells is
:12:53. > :12:56.amazing. Yes, a couple of months ago, doctors already achieved an
:12:56. > :12:58.entire tracheal implant into a patient using his own stem cells.
:12:58. > :13:02.So they grew the trachea, the windpipe, in a bioreactor in
:13:02. > :13:06.something like two days. They implanted it into him and he is
:13:06. > :13:08.doing really well with it. So this eliminates the need for
:13:08. > :13:11.immunosuppressant drugs, because you are not going to reject your
:13:11. > :13:17.own cells, and also, it eliminates this long waiting list for donor
:13:17. > :13:21.organs, so it is really exciting stuff. I guess as well, you are not
:13:21. > :13:25.getting one that is already worn. It is brand-new. It is not like
:13:25. > :13:28.getting a part for your car from the breaker's yard, it is like
:13:28. > :13:31.getting one straight out of the shop. Nice analogy. What I find
:13:31. > :13:34.really exciting as a biologist, of course, is that the research is
:13:34. > :13:38.amazing but it is also a reflection of how incredible our own bodies
:13:38. > :13:41.are. The stem cells are fascinating entities and the more we learn
:13:41. > :13:45.about them, the more we will be able to use them in therapies.
:13:45. > :13:47.is, it is absolutely amazing. Now, in Liz's film, she talked about the
:13:47. > :13:49.placebo effect, which you have probably heard of. The idea that
:13:49. > :13:54.just believing in something can have beneficial physiological
:13:54. > :14:04.effects. But have you heard of a "no-cebo" effect? That is placebo's
:14:04. > :14:04.
:14:04. > :14:07.evil twin. Well, we sent the evil What would you think if I told you
:14:07. > :14:11.that just believing that something is going to hurt or make you feel
:14:11. > :14:18.ill will actually make you suffer even more? It is called the no-cebo
:14:18. > :14:21.effect and it is very real. I can demonstrate using one of these. It
:14:21. > :14:30.is called an electrical stimulator. Ow! So, I'm going to need some
:14:30. > :14:34.willing volunteers. OK, anyone for pain? Bridget, thank you so much
:14:34. > :14:37.for volunteering. You are looking a bit worried. I am slightly.
:14:37. > :14:42.going to give you some electric shocks. Are you all right with
:14:42. > :14:45.that? I think so. What I would like you to do is to rank the pain on
:14:45. > :14:49.the scale from not painful at all, zero, to the worst possible pain
:14:49. > :14:58.you can imagine. And the first one, we are going to sit to sort of
:14:58. > :15:08.medium level. OK? Are you ready? Ouch. So what would you say that
:15:08. > :15:08.
:15:08. > :15:18.was? Four. Go. Go. There you go. Six? Probably about three, four.
:15:18. > :15:20.
:15:20. > :15:24.Six. Five. Four. 2-3. Ready? OK, go. Probably go three. Now, here comes
:15:24. > :15:27.the real no-cebo test. I am going to tell them that I'm cranking up
:15:27. > :15:30.the level to really high, but actually, I'm going to keep it
:15:30. > :15:37.exactly the same. OK, now, I'm afraid I'm going to
:15:37. > :15:43.take it up to very high. OK. Are you ready for this? I am ready. Go.
:15:43. > :15:47.Ooh. So what would you say that was? I would go for a five.
:15:47. > :15:53.will go for a five that time, all right. Last one, though, yes? OK.
:15:53. > :15:58.You're definitely ready? Yes. go. I would say five. Knock
:15:58. > :16:02.yourself out, go for it. This really will hurt. Right. Go. So I'm
:16:02. > :16:09.going to go for a seven. Now for the last one, I am afraid I'm going
:16:09. > :16:14.to take it up to a really high Are you ready for this? Go. What
:16:15. > :16:19.would you say? An eight? And eight, right, OK. Probably only one more
:16:19. > :16:23.than the previous one.about five. About six. Well, I have got a
:16:23. > :16:28.confession to make. Those last two were exactly the same level of
:16:28. > :16:32.electric shock. Oh! The last two shocks I gave you were exactly the
:16:32. > :16:37.same intensity. Were they exactly the same? They were exactly the
:16:37. > :16:41.same. Wow. Why did it feel a bit more tingly? I went to great pains
:16:41. > :16:45.to tell you that it was going to be more painful. Right. And because
:16:45. > :16:48.you thought it was going to be more painful, it was more painful.
:16:48. > :16:52.Definitely felt stronger, yes. definitely felt it was, yes. I felt
:16:52. > :16:55.that a bit more, yes. So that shows that the pain isn't just to do with
:16:55. > :16:59.the pain receptors in your skin, it is also to do with what your brain
:16:59. > :17:03.does with the information. And what is sort of going on is that when
:17:03. > :17:07.you feel more anxious, is like him I do when I tell you it is going to
:17:07. > :17:10.really hurt, then your brain gives out a chemical called CCK for short.
:17:10. > :17:14.And that increases the brain's pain response, making the signals from
:17:14. > :17:19.its pain receptors seem more painful. So it is a very real
:17:19. > :17:29.biochemical effect. Right. It is not just in your imagination, it
:17:29. > :17:30.
:17:30. > :17:32.really is more painful. Ouch. Thank you very much, Dr Yan. I find
:17:33. > :17:35.that really interesting, because not only does the placebo -no-cebo
:17:36. > :17:37.effect have an effect on your psychology, it affects you on a
:17:38. > :17:40.physiological basis, very physically, and that means the
:17:40. > :17:46.first time, doctors are having to consider a patient's expectations
:17:46. > :17:50.before they administer a drug or a treatment. That's very new. It is.
:17:50. > :17:54.My advice if you see Yan in the high Street and he has some kind of
:17:54. > :17:58.contraption, with wires coming out, you might want to run. OK, more of
:17:58. > :18:02.Dr Yan now, because here's another one of his puzzles. I have got a
:18:02. > :18:05.50p and 5p. Considerable difference in size. You might like this as an
:18:05. > :18:10.amateur magician, because it is a bit like magic. I have cut a hole
:18:10. > :18:14.in this piece of paper the same size as the 5p. The question is,
:18:14. > :18:17.how do you get the large 50p through the small hole of the 5p?
:18:17. > :18:21.actually know this, I can do this, but I can't tell you, obviously,
:18:21. > :18:26.because of the magicians code and all that. Whatever. You can't tear
:18:26. > :18:30.the paper. If you want to see how you compare with your brain and Dr
:18:30. > :18:35.Yan's massive brain teasing brain, go on the website at /bang to see
:18:35. > :18:39.how it is done. And while you are on that website, check out all of
:18:39. > :18:42.our live dates. Bang is on the road again all summer. This weekend we
:18:42. > :18:45.are going to Bradford for the British science Festival, so come
:18:45. > :18:49.down and say hello. Yes, now it is time for my memory challenge. Why
:18:49. > :18:51.is it I can remember some things and I can't remember other things.
:18:51. > :18:55.So for example, I can still remember my chemistry homework from
:18:55. > :18:58.20 years ago, 25 years ago, when I had to remember the first 20
:18:58. > :19:02.elements of the periodic table, but I can't remember what I have just
:19:02. > :19:06.done with my keys. So I have enlisted the help of a memory
:19:06. > :19:15.champion to get to the bottom of all of this. It is time to go back
:19:15. > :19:18.Ed, I want to know how good you are, so what I have done is I have
:19:18. > :19:22.brought a pack of cards. Do you think for example, you would be
:19:22. > :19:26.able to memorise an entire deck, and if so, how long would it take
:19:26. > :19:29.you? I can give it a pop. Maybe if you give me a minute or so. This is
:19:29. > :19:33.a shuffled deck, you reckon you could do this in a minute?
:19:33. > :19:36.Seriously? That is my claim. cards in a minute, OK. I have a
:19:36. > :19:46.stopwatch here. That is a shuffled deck of cards. Thank you very much.
:19:46. > :19:57.
:19:57. > :20:02.Ready? I think I am ready. On your How long was that? That was
:20:02. > :20:07.actually under a minute, that was 46 seconds. If you can do this, I
:20:07. > :20:14.will be seriously amazed. It was under a minute. Let's see you go.
:20:14. > :20:18.So, what have we got? We have got the three of spades. And then the
:20:18. > :20:24.the three of spades. And then the queen of clubs. The eight of clubs.
:20:24. > :20:28.And the five of hearts. The two of spades. And after the two of spades,
:20:28. > :20:32.a mildly mis-shuffled part of the pack, which was the king of spades,
:20:33. > :20:37.the queen of spades and the jack of spades. So disappointing shuffling
:20:37. > :20:41.there. Sorry, poor shuffling. the nine of clubs and then the five
:20:41. > :20:44.of diamonds. Then the four of diamonds and the ten of spades and
:20:44. > :20:49.the seven of clubs. Shall we go backwards from here now? Yes. Three
:20:49. > :20:51.of diamonds. And the ace of of diamonds. And the ace of
:20:52. > :20:54.diamonds. And you know what, I have actually got no idea what that last
:20:54. > :20:58.card is. The six of clubs. That is ridiculous. That is utterly
:20:58. > :21:02.ridiculous. Do you have an amazing memory? Are you special?
:21:02. > :21:05.actually, not at all. What I am doing here is I am using my
:21:05. > :21:09.imagination to make those cards extraordinarily vivid in my mind.
:21:09. > :21:14.I'm trying to inject them with a bit of personality and then I am
:21:14. > :21:17.linking them together into a bigger story. If you are interested in
:21:17. > :21:21.coming under my tutelage, it would be a pleasure to take you under my
:21:21. > :21:25.wing. I can reveal to you, they are not fixed, they are just ways of
:21:25. > :21:29.using your imagination and the latent power of your mind. -- of
:21:29. > :21:33.tricks. I want to make it even more difficult. I want to try and
:21:33. > :21:37.remember the entire periodic table of the elements, so from one to 118.
:21:37. > :21:41.Is that possible for someone like me to do and can you teach me to do
:21:41. > :21:44.it? I mean, it is possible, but it is going to take a couple of hours,
:21:44. > :21:49.some imagination and some discipline. Can you help me do it?
:21:49. > :21:55.I would love to. Brilliant. I have got to ask, why on earth do
:21:55. > :21:57.we need to do this in the zoo? Good question. The zoo has got a very
:21:57. > :22:01.interesting space, so lots of good candy for your imagination. We're
:22:01. > :22:04.going to be using the zoo as a memory pallet to store the memories
:22:05. > :22:08.we are going to be putting down for the hundred and 18 elements. --
:22:08. > :22:11.Palace. So for the next couple of hours, you are going to be putting
:22:11. > :22:14.your imagination into overdrive. We better get on with this. Starting
:22:14. > :22:16.with calcium. You know the ones before then? Go over them. Hydrogen,
:22:16. > :22:18.helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon,nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine,
:22:18. > :22:27.neon, sodium, magnesium, aluminium, silicon, phosphorus, so for,
:22:27. > :22:29.chlorine, argon, potassium, calcium. -- a sop up. That is 20. So we are
:22:29. > :22:34.going to basically arrange these memories with bright, visual images
:22:34. > :22:40.around the spaces as we encounter them. Let's try that little ball of
:22:40. > :22:44.what I am ignorantly going to call muesli. Little mouse food. Niobium.
:22:44. > :22:54.Sometimes it is useful saying a word backwards. I am thinking of
:22:54. > :23:01.Obi-Wan. Ni-Obi-One. Niobium. we have molybdenum. If we divide
:23:01. > :23:05.that into two, it will be like Molly and denim. Okay, I have got a
:23:05. > :23:12.niece called Molly, so I'm thinking of my niece called Molly.
:23:12. > :23:16.Is her middle name Bea? No. Can we pretend it is? Yes. Johnny be good.
:23:17. > :23:20.So Molly, Bea and then denim. She is wearing jeans. Molly Bea denim.
:23:20. > :23:23.Then you have got two tin cans and you are going to crawl through the
:23:23. > :23:28.tin cans to see the anti-money - antimony- protesters. When we get
:23:28. > :23:32.to the end, it is tellurium. They are a bit like telescopes. There is
:23:32. > :23:38.a kind of lure to get to the other end. So tel-lure. These things are
:23:38. > :23:42.like telescopes. OK, so tell. And who are we going to meet in the
:23:42. > :23:44.middle? The anti-money. That is right. And now we have a really
:23:44. > :23:47.bizarre set of elements called things like three little pigs, I'm
:23:47. > :23:57.thinking of the three little pigs.I'm genuinely nervous about
:23:57. > :24:06.
:24:06. > :24:10.actually leaving here and being Three little pigs forced Bob I am
:24:10. > :24:14.thinking of the Three Little Pigs. Enjoy the process of recall, that
:24:14. > :24:18.is very important. As soon as you get anxious, you begin to panic and
:24:18. > :24:28.you think and you begin to think, that is Cesium. And it's not.
:24:28. > :24:33.
:24:33. > :24:37.shall we go and put this to the And so the moment of truth.
:24:37. > :24:44.Hydrogen I shouldn't have too many problems with the first 20 elements.
:24:44. > :24:48.Helium. Chlorine. Potassium. Calcium.
:24:48. > :24:58.It is the other 98 I'm going to struggle with.
:24:58. > :25:00.
:25:00. > :25:02.Here we go. Scandium. Titanium. Vanadium. Er, cobalt. I am
:25:03. > :25:06.wandering back through the zoo, replaying my memories.
:25:06. > :25:12.Hello, otter. A strong man fighting a
:25:12. > :25:15.brontosaurus was strontium. OK, I think this is too easy. What
:25:15. > :25:20.I want you to do, I will completely randomise it, this will be much
:25:20. > :25:25.more difficult. I need to know the exact number. I will dive in to
:25:25. > :25:35.begin with on number 80. Number 80 is Mercury. Let's have a look. That
:25:35. > :25:39.
:25:39. > :25:44.is correct. How about 118? 118? OK. I am in the pigsty. I'm thinking of
:25:44. > :25:51.the pigs. It is the last pig. The three little pigs going through to
:25:51. > :25:58.the end. The mouse muesli. What is the name
:25:58. > :26:05.of that? Niobium.. And then we went to my niece. She is wearing jeans.
:26:05. > :26:08.In denim. OK, 51 is Oh, God, what is it called?
:26:08. > :26:17.I am in the tunnel with the anti- money protesters.
:26:17. > :26:21.Antinomy. Let's have a look. Very good. So we are down to the last
:26:21. > :26:31.one. You can look if you want to see it. It is 104. What is behind
:26:31. > :26:38.
:26:38. > :26:48.104? 104. I feel quite emotional. OK. Rutherfordium. Is that correct?
:26:48. > :26:48.
:26:48. > :26:54.There it is. That, that is 118 out of 118. Well done. That is super
:26:54. > :26:59.impressive. I have to say, you know, when we first met today, and you
:26:59. > :27:03.were looking at your deck of cards, I was like, wow. I had no clue that
:27:03. > :27:09.I would be able to do this, genuinely. I genuinely did not
:27:09. > :27:15.think I would be able to do it. Well, you have done stunningly well.
:27:15. > :27:18.Thank you very much. You were amazing.
:27:18. > :27:27.That is impressive. I have finally finished my homework, 25 years too
:27:27. > :27:33.late. Get in. Do you remember them all? Yes. Can I test you? Yes.
:27:33. > :27:41.so what is 111? 111 is roentgenium. Yes. OK, give me the atomic number
:27:41. > :27:46.of francium. Francium is 8 Oh, blimey, 87? Yes, well done. And you
:27:46. > :27:50.still associate bits of the zoo with each element? You kind of do.
:27:50. > :27:54.It makes total sense. You think about the human brain, we are very
:27:54. > :27:57.good at finding our way around the space, we are very visual. So
:27:57. > :28:00.applying what we are naturally good at to our memories makes the
:28:00. > :28:03.memories more vivid. It makes them stand out. It is a brilliant
:28:03. > :28:06.technique. And if you want to find out more about Dallas's amazing
:28:06. > :28:09.memory technique, go to the website, and while you are there, find a
:28:09. > :28:12.link to the Open University and check out their interactive
:28:12. > :28:14.periodic table. Good stuff. That is it for this week. Next week, I'm
:28:14. > :28:18.tracking down an increasingly common and unwelcome guest in our
:28:18. > :28:21.beds. The bedbug. And I am off to Caltech to look deep into space
:28:21. > :28:24.using very interesting techniques. And Dr Yan is handing out bacon