0:00:10 > 0:00:15Let's face it, our world is downright weird.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17MAN YELLS
0:00:17 > 0:00:20Crawling with creatures you've never heard of...
0:00:20 > 0:00:23I can't believe that's a living thing.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26..full of the unexpected.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30Like freak weather exploding out of the blue...
0:00:30 > 0:00:33I thought I was going to die.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36..and rocks that spontaneously combust...
0:00:36 > 0:00:38I thought that was dynamite going off.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40..and the unexplained.
0:00:40 > 0:00:45An unborn twin discovered inside a brain!
0:00:45 > 0:00:50There was multiple hair follicles, bone and teeth.
0:00:53 > 0:00:58We've scoured the globe to bring you the very weirdest stories.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01MAN YELLS
0:01:01 > 0:01:03I could feel this intense pain,
0:01:03 > 0:01:06as if you were being stabbed by hundreds of syringes.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15In this series, we're going to examine the evidence,
0:01:15 > 0:01:19test the science and unravel the mysteries.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24We're going to discover what in the weird world is going on.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37In this episode,
0:01:37 > 0:01:42we expose the bizarre truth behind some of the world's weirdest mysteries.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46Can you actually get drunk without drinking a drop?
0:01:46 > 0:01:48HE EXHALES
0:01:48 > 0:01:53And what exactly causes this surfer's illuminating ride?
0:01:53 > 0:01:58What on Earth could possibly make the jungle glow green?
0:01:58 > 0:02:00I had never seen anything like this before.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02This was just totally new.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05And, in a change of tune, has this pop band cracked
0:02:05 > 0:02:09the code to the ultimate hit, written in liquid DNA?
0:02:09 > 0:02:12If we sell one little vial
0:02:12 > 0:02:14of our new album as DNA,
0:02:14 > 0:02:16we will have the highest-selling album of all time.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26In the summer of 2014,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30Europe was having a scorcher. A heatwave swept across
0:02:30 > 0:02:37the Continent. But what's really weird is that in Siberia, close to the Arctic Circle,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39it was even hotter.
0:02:41 > 0:02:46Now, Siberia's probably not a place that springs to mind when you think of balmy
0:02:46 > 0:02:52beach holidays, but away from the cold, dark winters, that's exactly what you can get.
0:02:52 > 0:02:59Summer 2014, temperatures soar to a whopping 40 degrees
0:02:59 > 0:03:04and the locals head to the banks of the River Ob to soak up the sun.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10But all of a sudden, everything changes.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12The winds pick up
0:03:12 > 0:03:18and beach-goers notice the air cooling...and cooling fast.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36In a matter of minutes, laughter turns to screams.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Bullet-like ice replaces the blazing sun.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47An apocalyptic scene soon unfurls.
0:03:48 > 0:03:53Massive hailstones relentlessly raining down on horrified bathers.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57The locals rapidly have to deal with this terrifying onslaught,
0:03:57 > 0:03:59wearing nothing more than their swimwear.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03For more than a quarter of an hour,
0:04:03 > 0:04:07a powerful freak hailstorm pelts petrified sun worshippers.
0:04:07 > 0:04:13Their only escape? Sheltering under airbeds, towels and umbrellas.
0:04:18 > 0:04:19What on Earth was going on?
0:04:24 > 0:04:28Siberian weather is renowned for being extreme.
0:04:30 > 0:04:36The temperature can get down to minus 20 on regular occasions during the winter,
0:04:36 > 0:04:38but I guess less is known about the summer conditions.
0:04:38 > 0:04:43Typical temperature during daytime summer would be high 20s,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46but on this particular occasion in July 2014,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49the temperature had started to reach the low 40s -
0:04:49 > 0:04:5441 degrees, extreme heat in the middle of the continent.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59And then suddenly, the clouds built, grey, leaden skies. The temperature
0:04:59 > 0:05:04fell from 41 degrees down to 25 in just the space of ten or 15 minutes.
0:05:04 > 0:05:10So, what caused this ice storm of such Biblical proportions?
0:05:10 > 0:05:14Well, it was all down to a peculiar and potentially lethal
0:05:14 > 0:05:17set of circumstances.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22You see, for days, the unseasonable Siberian sun had
0:05:22 > 0:05:25been beating down on that sand.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28When the hot air began to rise, it met
0:05:28 > 0:05:32some exceptionally cold air that had come in from the mountains.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36That was a deadly cocktail for the perfect storm.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40Let's examine the evidence.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Now, hail is pretty simple stuff.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49It starts life as water droplets. Cold conditions cause them
0:05:49 > 0:05:51to freeze inside clouds
0:05:51 > 0:05:54and when they become too heavy, they fall to Earth.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57But these hailstones were different.
0:05:57 > 0:06:02Typically, hailstones are about the size of a pea, maybe about 1cm
0:06:02 > 0:06:07across, but on this occasion, they were about the size of a golf ball.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11So, what made Siberia's hailstones so big?
0:06:11 > 0:06:15Well, it was all to do with that freakish heatwave.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Normally, when a hailstone reaches this size,
0:06:21 > 0:06:26the forces of gravity come into play and it falls to the ground.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29But in this rising column of hot air,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32the hailstones were held up in that super-cool cloud
0:06:32 > 0:06:33where they bumped into other
0:06:33 > 0:06:38water particles, which stuck to them until they grew
0:06:38 > 0:06:40and grew and grew
0:06:40 > 0:06:42into monstrous chunks of ice
0:06:42 > 0:06:45this size!
0:06:45 > 0:06:49Then of course, eventually, gravity did do its work.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58And all HAIL broke loose.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01For small-size hailstones,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04they may hit the ground at about 20mph,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07but the larger hailstones - the hailstones we're looking at here -
0:07:07 > 0:07:11probably reached the ground at about 110mph.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15If you're hit by a hailstone at that size, at that speed, well,
0:07:15 > 0:07:17it can cause severe consequences.
0:07:21 > 0:07:26Cold downdraughts add to the process of acceleration.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30At these speeds, a hailstone becomes a deadly weapon,
0:07:30 > 0:07:34powerful enough to smash through toughened glass,
0:07:34 > 0:07:36as this man discovered
0:07:36 > 0:07:41when a scenic drive through Spain nearly cost him his life.
0:07:43 > 0:07:48It seems our Siberian sunbathers had a lucky escape.
0:07:55 > 0:08:01OK, so the cold can be a killer, but could it also, bizarrely,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04hold the key to unlocking one of the greatest
0:08:04 > 0:08:08medical mysteries of the 21st century?
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Creatures around our planet have adapted to living in some
0:08:14 > 0:08:18particularly cold environments. Temperatures so low,
0:08:18 > 0:08:22your blood would, literally, freeze in your veins.
0:08:22 > 0:08:29Take the wood frog. In winter, its blood does freeze in its veins.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32But, come spring, it's able to thaw out
0:08:32 > 0:08:36and bounce back to life as if nothing ever happened.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38Or the red-sided garter snake.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42It produces antifreeze that protects its major
0:08:42 > 0:08:45organs for several hours at a time.
0:08:45 > 0:08:52But there's one animal whose survival skills surpass all others.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58The Arctic ground squirrel.
0:08:58 > 0:09:04Yes, this seemingly unremarkable rodent is very special indeed.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10This species of squirrel employs a remarkable strategy
0:09:10 > 0:09:14and it's actually one which might help us.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20For this tiny mammal,
0:09:20 > 0:09:24the best way to survive the big freeze is a mega sleep.
0:09:26 > 0:09:31For eight months each year, these ground-dwellers hibernate.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34No surprise there, really.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36Lots of animals hunker down over winter,
0:09:36 > 0:09:41but for the ground squirrel this is no ordinary hibernation.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49One day in early August, they'll retreat into their burrow,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52pull their tail over their head and they'll fall asleep.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55But what's unusual about the Arctic ground squirrel - in fact, unique -
0:09:55 > 0:09:58is that it can drop to the lowest body temperature of any
0:09:58 > 0:10:02mammal on Earth, to minus-three degrees Celsius.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04Should be frozen but isn't.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09But the squirrel's body is 50-70% water,
0:10:09 > 0:10:14so how does it stop from becoming a furry ice pop?
0:10:14 > 0:10:18Well, there's some very weird science going on inside
0:10:18 > 0:10:20the Arctic ground squirrel.
0:10:22 > 0:10:28Let's compare this super squirrel to a raspberry and a cucumber.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31They're made up of a similar percentage of water.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35When they freeze, ice crystals form.
0:10:35 > 0:10:40As the water becomes ice, it expands into sharp-edged crystals,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43which puncture the cell walls of the fruit.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47When they defrost, these cell walls collapse
0:10:47 > 0:10:51and the fruit turns to mush.
0:10:52 > 0:10:57But the squirrel comes out of hibernation completely unscathed.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00You see, it's got a means of protecting its cells from damage,
0:11:00 > 0:11:03a technique called super-cooling.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10Super-cooling - what does that mean?
0:11:11 > 0:11:15Well, the blood in this curious critter acts
0:11:15 > 0:11:18just like the water in this bottle.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22Although liquid in appearance, it's actually well below freezing,
0:11:22 > 0:11:27around minus-six to minus-eight degrees Celsius,
0:11:27 > 0:11:30and it's still fluid.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32It should be solid ice, but it isn't.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36Just like the hibernating squirrel's blood.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40Once their blood drops below the freezing point, it should freeze,
0:11:40 > 0:11:41but in fact, liquids don't
0:11:41 > 0:11:46unless they're in the presence of what's called an ice nucleator.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48Water needs an
0:11:48 > 0:11:53ice nucleator to start the freezing off, it acts as a template for ice.
0:11:53 > 0:11:58The trick of the super-cool water is that it's super-pure.
0:11:58 > 0:12:03There are no tiny impurities - what we call nucleators -
0:12:03 > 0:12:07that ice crystals need to grab on to in order to grow.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10Lots of things can act as a nucleator -
0:12:10 > 0:12:14a simple speck of dust, or even tiny bubbles.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18By hitting this bottle on a hard surface, we create bubbles.
0:12:20 > 0:12:25And that kick starts ice crystals to form around them.
0:12:25 > 0:12:26And right in front of our eyes,
0:12:26 > 0:12:31a bottle of water transforms into a solid block of ice.
0:12:31 > 0:12:36But why doesn't this happen inside the ground squirrel?
0:12:39 > 0:12:42What these Arctic ground squirrels seem to do is
0:12:42 > 0:12:45cleanse their bodies and their blood of would-be ice nucleators
0:12:45 > 0:12:48and that allows them to reach this super-cool state,
0:12:48 > 0:12:51this lowest temperature that no other animal does.
0:12:51 > 0:12:56So, the ground squirrel's blood has evolved to be pure.
0:12:56 > 0:13:02If it had any impurities at all, it would freeze and eventually die.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05And that's what stops the hibernating squirrel
0:13:05 > 0:13:08from turning into a slush puppy.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12Remember I told you that these chaps could hold the key to solving
0:13:12 > 0:13:14a great medical mystery?
0:13:16 > 0:13:20Scientists have already discovered another amazing string to the
0:13:20 > 0:13:25Arctic ground squirrel's already impressive bow.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27Its brain.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29When a ground squirrel goes into torpor,
0:13:29 > 0:13:33its brain cools, of course, and the firing rate of the neurons,
0:13:33 > 0:13:35which is how we think, slows down,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38and in fact, when they're in their deepest torpid state,
0:13:38 > 0:13:44there's no electrical activity in their brain at all.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47The number of synapses and the connections between neurons
0:13:47 > 0:13:49is reduced - they actually pull apart -
0:13:49 > 0:13:55which in humans is known to be part of the disease of Alzheimer's.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58These ground squirrels, when they re-warm, they can reverse all of this.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02So, if we could understand how ground squirrels
0:14:02 > 0:14:06are able to reverse these symptoms that are
0:14:06 > 0:14:09irreversible in humans, it might help us cure Alzheimer's.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15So, super-cooling might be the key to preventing memory loss,
0:14:15 > 0:14:20which is great news, because we're all living that much longer
0:14:20 > 0:14:26and that's what we want - we want a long life with our memories intact.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29And, of course, youthful looks.
0:14:29 > 0:14:34Many of us humans will try all sorts of weird and exotic potions in our
0:14:34 > 0:14:39quest to stay looking young, with ingredients sourced from some pretty weird places,
0:14:39 > 0:14:45like snake venom, caviar and even, dare I say it, haemorrhoid cream.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53But perhaps we've been looking in the wrong place all the time.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57I give you the naked mole rat.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02No, really - the naked mole rat.
0:15:04 > 0:15:09Yes, this sabre-toothed, sausage-shaped creature spends
0:15:09 > 0:15:13its entire life in underground burrows with up to 300 mates
0:15:13 > 0:15:15in the arid regions of East Africa.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19Conditions in these subterranean burrows are quite extreme.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23Oxygen levels are incredibly low,
0:15:23 > 0:15:28carbon dioxide is high. It's hot, it's claustrophobic -
0:15:28 > 0:15:32it doesn't sound like the perfect recipe for a long and healthy life.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34Or does it?
0:15:34 > 0:15:37They can live up to 30 years,
0:15:37 > 0:15:41which is totally exceptional for a small rodent.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44Our naked mole rat guru
0:15:44 > 0:15:47has the inside track on these critters.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50So, that's nearly ten times longer than a mouse
0:15:50 > 0:15:55and about five times longer than you would predict from their body size.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58So, I guess if you compare a really old naked mole rat,
0:15:58 > 0:16:03it would be equivalent to a really old human of maybe 90 or 100,
0:16:03 > 0:16:07but without most of the signs of ageing.
0:16:07 > 0:16:13That's like someone in their 60s with the body of a 21-year-old.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17Normally, as humans and other mammals and animals age,
0:16:17 > 0:16:20we get predictable changes.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23We get muscle wasting, bones become weaker,
0:16:23 > 0:16:26blood vessels become less elastic.
0:16:26 > 0:16:32But it's been shown in naked mole rats that they resist those changes into their old age.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37You'd think that having the key to eternal life would be
0:16:37 > 0:16:43good enough for most of us. Probably so, but not for the naked mole rat.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47No, these remarkable little rodents have another amazing trait.
0:16:47 > 0:16:53They're actually cancer-resistant and the secret to that
0:16:53 > 0:16:58lies in the very thing that makes them look so weird.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02If I hold this one just by the scruff, which they are quite happy with,
0:17:02 > 0:17:06you can see how stretchy the skin is there.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09This really loose skin is a good adaptation
0:17:09 > 0:17:13to living underground in tight tunnels and tight situations
0:17:13 > 0:17:16with a lot of other individuals.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19That helps them avoid getting stuck. But this stretchy skin
0:17:19 > 0:17:23is a result of a gloopy substance that only naked mole rats
0:17:23 > 0:17:28appear to produce. It's known as high molecular weight hyaluronan.
0:17:28 > 0:17:34In fact, this substance is known to give them their cancer resistance.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38Now scientists are delving deep into this gloopy substance,
0:17:38 > 0:17:42trying to copy its extraordinary anti-cancer powers.
0:17:42 > 0:17:47So, maybe the old naked mole rat's subterranean secret will help us
0:17:47 > 0:17:49live longer, healthier lives.
0:17:49 > 0:17:55They are quite ugly little spuds but they are really amazing, yes.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05So, the old naked mole rat could help prevent the wear
0:18:05 > 0:18:09and tear of the ageing process.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13But, of course, our bodies are not the only thing we want to maintain.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17What if I were to tell you that we could preserve everything on our
0:18:17 > 0:18:21planet for ever,
0:18:21 > 0:18:26and that the secret lies in a very unexpected place?
0:18:31 > 0:18:33Meet OK Go.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43A pop band with futuristic ideas.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47# I won't let you down No, I won't let you down... #
0:18:47 > 0:18:52A quirky quartet with more than 200 million views on YouTube.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56# ..I won't let you down No, I won't let you down... #
0:18:56 > 0:19:00Known for their wildly entertaining music videos...
0:19:00 > 0:19:03# ..Nikki, she's got no flag to fly... #
0:19:03 > 0:19:08..these arty musos are at the top of their musical game.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10But for frontman Damian Kulash,
0:19:10 > 0:19:15living in an age of cutting-edge technology has its pitfalls.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18I recorded music 15-20 years ago in college that
0:19:18 > 0:19:20I can't play any more.
0:19:20 > 0:19:25I can't find the right DAT machine, or the right ADAT machine,
0:19:25 > 0:19:27or the right 16-track digital machine
0:19:27 > 0:19:30that looked like it was the future then and now I can't even find one
0:19:30 > 0:19:33to play these tapes on, and that's only 15 years.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39But a chance meeting with a biochemist in 2012 meant
0:19:39 > 0:19:43that Damian would never, ever think about music
0:19:43 > 0:19:46in the same way again.
0:19:46 > 0:19:51I met Sri Kosuri, who was at Harvard at the time.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53We were both speaking at a storytelling conference
0:19:53 > 0:19:59and I learned of his work coding text.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02He'd done a book at that time.
0:20:02 > 0:20:08Amazingly, Kosuri had converted the entire contents of a book to DNA.
0:20:08 > 0:20:1553,000 words stored artificially using genetic material.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19If you can do text as DNA, you can do any data as DNA,
0:20:19 > 0:20:22and immediately, the first thing I thought was,
0:20:22 > 0:20:23"I want my music to be made of DNA!"
0:20:23 > 0:20:30Now, music and books stored in the building blocks of life? Hold on.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34Our bodies are basically the hardware
0:20:34 > 0:20:36and the software is essentially DNA.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38It builds the hardware as it goes.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40Your DNA is just a long code.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43Operating off that model, we can take pieces of DNA
0:20:43 > 0:20:45and put any data we want in there.
0:20:45 > 0:20:50For instance, our band is releasing our album on DNA.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53The same ones and zeroes that would be on the CD version will be on tiny,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55tiny pieces of DNA.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01It sounds complicated, doesn't it, but let me try and explain.
0:21:01 > 0:21:06You see, digital information, such as music, is stored in binary code.
0:21:06 > 0:21:11It's got two units. It's got a zero and a one.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14Well, DNA is a coded mechanism too. It doesn't have two units,
0:21:14 > 0:21:16it has four -
0:21:16 > 0:21:19G, C, T and A.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22They're not notes, of course, they're chemical compounds.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26But if we can store digital information using two units,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29we can also store it using four.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32It might be a bit more difficult, but it works.
0:21:35 > 0:21:41Using computer software, scientists can translate those ones and zeros
0:21:41 > 0:21:42into a code for DNA.
0:21:42 > 0:21:50For example, zeros become As and Ts and ones become Cs and Gs.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54Essentially, going from a long list of numbers, that's music,
0:21:54 > 0:21:56to a long list of letters, DNA.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02That's all we do, is make data. We make music, we make videos,
0:22:02 > 0:22:06we make art of all sorts, but it always comes out as ones and zeros,
0:22:06 > 0:22:10and those ones and zeros could be on DNA and that's just awesome.
0:22:10 > 0:22:15When songsmith Damian met Kosuri, they made beautiful molecular
0:22:15 > 0:22:16music together.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20Now DNA data is set to become all the rage.
0:22:20 > 0:22:26In theory, if we sell one little vial of our new album as DNA,
0:22:26 > 0:22:29we will have sold trillions and trillions of copies,
0:22:29 > 0:22:33which, I think, will make it the highest-selling album of all time.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Only one person will have all those copies, and they'd need
0:22:38 > 0:22:44a lab to be able to read them, but, hey, technicalities.
0:22:44 > 0:22:45Yes, technicalities.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49So, using DNA for albums might still be in its infancy,
0:22:49 > 0:22:52but whilst Damian's looking to DNA for music,
0:22:52 > 0:22:56scientists have their eyes on a bigger prize -
0:22:56 > 0:23:00storing all human knowledge.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04Yes, scientists reckon every bit of information in the world right now -
0:23:04 > 0:23:09that's all of your photos, all of my photos, phone data, CDs, DVDs,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12computer hard drives, the World Wide Web,
0:23:12 > 0:23:16in fact, every last byte of data on the entire planet -
0:23:16 > 0:23:22could be stored, not on hard drives, but in little vials like this.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25And what's more, we could squeeze it all into the back
0:23:25 > 0:23:28of just one truck.
0:23:28 > 0:23:33Six zettabytes of information in one truck.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37You've got to admit, it's absolutely incredible!
0:23:40 > 0:23:44A freak hailstorm heralds an icy reign of terror for us,
0:23:44 > 0:23:48but thanks to its weird blood, the arctic ground squirrel
0:23:48 > 0:23:51doesn't fear the big freeze,
0:23:51 > 0:23:55and good genes allow the naked mole rat to live a long
0:23:55 > 0:24:00and healthy life, whilst DNA has another trick up its sleeve
0:24:00 > 0:24:05that could help preserve all the world's data for ever.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21Next, from an unanticipated intoxication,
0:24:21 > 0:24:24to a surprising invasion.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28First, watch this, because this guy swears that he hasn't
0:24:28 > 0:24:30touched a drop.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33Honest.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35Why are you recording me?
0:24:35 > 0:24:37Because I want to show this to the doctors.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41Please tell me how you're feeling.
0:24:44 > 0:24:50- What? Why are you recording me? - Nick, I need you to focus.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55HE EXHALES
0:24:56 > 0:25:00Let's be frank. Nick Hess looks absolutely hammered,
0:25:00 > 0:25:02but according to him, no alcohol has passed his lips.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07His wife, Karen, wasn't convinced.
0:25:07 > 0:25:12He started having mental confusion and he was slurring.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14He was disorientated.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16It was almost like he had had a couple of drinks, even though
0:25:16 > 0:25:18we had spent the entire day together.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21I decided, at that moment, I would go through the house and determine
0:25:21 > 0:25:23if he was indeed hiding alcohol.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27When she first accused me of being drunk without drinking, I thought
0:25:27 > 0:25:30she was crazy, or she was just playing a joke on me,
0:25:30 > 0:25:33or she was just not being serious.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35I didn't believe it.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38But Karen was serious and she wasn't alone.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41Friends often thought that Nick was drunk.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45Friends and family were kind of like, well, he's always a goofy,
0:25:45 > 0:25:49party kind of guy anyway, so maybe he is over there drinking
0:25:49 > 0:25:54by himself, or a secret alcoholic, or whatever.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56Desperate for him to see his behaviour through other
0:25:56 > 0:26:00people's eyes, Karen decided to film him in the act.
0:26:02 > 0:26:03What do you feel like?
0:26:06 > 0:26:12I feel like... I feel like I'm on some hard drug or something.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15Have you had anything to drink?
0:26:15 > 0:26:17Nothing.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21When I first saw the video, I looked in my eyes in the video
0:26:21 > 0:26:23and I could tell I wasn't there.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26I didn't remember her taking the video and when I see
0:26:26 > 0:26:28myself like that, I just...
0:26:28 > 0:26:33It was terrifying. It was terrible to see yourself like that.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36SLURRED SPEECH BLEEP!
0:26:36 > 0:26:38He's sworn, he's gotten combative...
0:26:38 > 0:26:41- Please.- I need to do this.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45..he's mooned me on camera. I mean, everything you can think of
0:26:45 > 0:26:48that you would imagine someone who's had seven shots of whisky doing,
0:26:48 > 0:26:49he's done.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54Maybe something else was brewing here.
0:26:54 > 0:26:59Because unbeknown to Nick and Karen, in Texas,
0:26:59 > 0:27:02a similar story was playing out
0:27:02 > 0:27:06and it was brought to the attention of Dr Barbara Cordell.
0:27:06 > 0:27:13I had a friend in 2010, that came to me and he and his wife were very
0:27:13 > 0:27:16concerned about some symptoms he was having.
0:27:16 > 0:27:21It seemed like he was getting drunk without having drunk any alcohol.
0:27:21 > 0:27:26But the weird thing was that Barbara's friend, Joe, was teetotal.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29That's when I really started to research and try to figure out
0:27:29 > 0:27:30what was going on with him.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34Initially, we thought Joe was having some low blood sugar issues,
0:27:34 > 0:27:40or that he was a diabetic, or that he maybe even was a closet drinker.
0:27:40 > 0:27:45So, Barbara's patient had exactly the same symptoms as Nick.
0:27:45 > 0:27:46But why?
0:27:46 > 0:27:53In order to pin down Joe's specific diagnosis, we went to a doctor.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57He actually hospitalised Joe for 24 hours and gave him
0:27:57 > 0:27:59a high-carbohydrate diet.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01He had no access to alcohol and that's
0:28:01 > 0:28:06when the folks in the hospital saw Joe's blood alcohol level
0:28:06 > 0:28:09increase on its own without any ingestion of alcohol.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12What Barbara had discovered was that Nick
0:28:12 > 0:28:17and Joe were suffering from a very rare syndrome called auto-brewery.
0:28:17 > 0:28:19But what's that?
0:28:19 > 0:28:24Well, to find out, we have to examine how booze is made.
0:28:28 > 0:28:29Take vodka, for instance.
0:28:29 > 0:28:34One of its key ingredients is the potato, the ultimate carb.
0:28:37 > 0:28:41Carbohydrates are essentially sugars and when you add yeast to them,
0:28:41 > 0:28:42they ferment, producing alcohol.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49Normally, our liver naturally stores most sugars,
0:28:49 > 0:28:53but if there's too much, it gets into the intestine
0:28:53 > 0:28:58and that's where Nick and Joe's guts differ from the rest of us.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01Their intestines turn those carbohydrates
0:29:01 > 0:29:04and yeasts into alcohol.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08It's as if they've got their own little distillery in their bellies.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11So, why doesn't this happen to all of us?
0:29:15 > 0:29:18Well, there was something else going on in Nick's body.
0:29:19 > 0:29:24I took a DNA culture test and when it came back,
0:29:24 > 0:29:29I had 400% more yeast than anybody my doctor had ever seen.
0:29:30 > 0:29:34And when all that yeast started dining out on all that sugar,
0:29:34 > 0:29:38it produced the perfect conditions to make alcohol.
0:29:39 > 0:29:45For Nick, it had brewed booze without him ever drinking a drop.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48But having a microbrewery in your stomach isn't as much
0:29:48 > 0:29:50fun as you might think.
0:29:50 > 0:29:52For Nick, it was completely debilitating.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58It was a daily routine. I'd wake up in the morning and I'd throw up,
0:29:58 > 0:30:01from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed,
0:30:01 > 0:30:02every single day.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06I've watched people suffer with it and the most frightening
0:30:06 > 0:30:09part of auto-brewery, is that it can come on at any time,
0:30:09 > 0:30:11so, for example,
0:30:11 > 0:30:14a person could be at work, or they could be driving, and it could
0:30:14 > 0:30:16hit them suddenly and they would be so drunk
0:30:16 > 0:30:18that they couldn't function,
0:30:18 > 0:30:23and that's a terrifying prospect for the people who are going through it,
0:30:23 > 0:30:26and the people who are watching their loved ones go through it.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29He'll have good and bad days and on his really bad days,
0:30:29 > 0:30:32it's very hard to... Sorry.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36..it's very hard to watch.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40But there is hope.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44Now that doctors have worked out what's happening inside Nick's gut,
0:30:44 > 0:30:48he's been put on a strict carb-free diet to eliminate foods
0:30:48 > 0:30:53that break down to sugar, and by getting his yeast under control,
0:30:53 > 0:30:57Nick is slowly getting back on much steadier feet.
0:31:02 > 0:31:06Honestly, who'd have thought that such an innocent part
0:31:06 > 0:31:10of our staple diet could lead to such dangerous intoxication?
0:31:10 > 0:31:14But, you know, we're not the only ones at the top of a food chain
0:31:14 > 0:31:17that are vulnerable to a deadly tonic.
0:31:21 > 0:31:254th October 1997.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28A group of whale watchers out near the Farallon Islands,
0:31:28 > 0:31:32close to San Francisco, chanced upon a surprising display.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35We got a call from another fishing boat
0:31:35 > 0:31:37and he said to our captain,
0:31:37 > 0:31:38"Mick, get over to the islands.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42"We just saw two killer whales kill a sea lion
0:31:42 > 0:31:43"and they partly ate it."
0:31:43 > 0:31:48Sightings were just virtually unknown that close to the islands for killer whales.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54So, we headed over there very, very quickly
0:31:54 > 0:31:55and saw the two killer whales.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59But then research volunteer Mary Jane Schramm spotted
0:31:59 > 0:32:02something else in the water.
0:32:02 > 0:32:04Suddenly we saw a dark form
0:32:04 > 0:32:09just going parallel to the whole of the boat, really hugging it
0:32:09 > 0:32:13and moving almost directly toward where the killer whales were.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19And it was a white shark, it was a good-sized animal, about 11 or 12 feet.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22The ocean's deadliest hunters,
0:32:22 > 0:32:24the great white and the killer whale,
0:32:24 > 0:32:29so rarely seen together, were now about to collide.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33What happened next would leave the onlookers stunned.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35One of the killer whales stopped
0:32:35 > 0:32:38and broke off and went on an intercept path
0:32:38 > 0:32:42with the white shark, and they pretty much disappeared into the waves.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50Everything after that point for the next 15 minutes was dead.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53We had no indication what was going on.
0:32:53 > 0:32:58We collectively were holding our breath to find out exactly how this drama would play out.
0:33:00 > 0:33:05For 15 long minutes nothing but calm seas.
0:33:05 > 0:33:09Unseen below, a clash of the titans.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15All of a sudden, we saw a killer whale swimming directly back to the boat
0:33:15 > 0:33:19with a white shark upside down in its mouth.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21Oh, my God!
0:33:21 > 0:33:22Astonishing!
0:33:22 > 0:33:26The great white, the predator supreme, was dead,
0:33:26 > 0:33:29chomped by the killer whale.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31It swam directly to the boat
0:33:31 > 0:33:35and it actually did a few laps with this dead shark in its mouth,
0:33:35 > 0:33:38almost like victory laps, while we were watching,
0:33:38 > 0:33:40not believing what we had just seen.
0:33:41 > 0:33:45After a while, the other killer whale joined in
0:33:45 > 0:33:47and they were dismembering the shark
0:33:47 > 0:33:49and they were feeding on its liver.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55Mary Jane had witnessed what appeared to be the first time
0:33:55 > 0:33:59a great white shark had been taken out by another apex predator.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06How did the orca overpower the great white?
0:34:06 > 0:34:10After all, the shark has razor-sharp teeth
0:34:10 > 0:34:13and the ultimate killer instinct.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20But orcas are known for using their big brains
0:34:20 > 0:34:26and their wily hunting methods to sneak up on unsuspecting seals on sand.
0:34:28 > 0:34:32Or make waves to knock them into the water.
0:34:42 > 0:34:43When it comes to great whites,
0:34:43 > 0:34:47the orcas need to bring out their big guns.
0:34:47 > 0:34:50In fact, they've developed a special tactic
0:34:50 > 0:34:53which renders the great white defenceless.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58This is just a baby lemon shark,
0:34:58 > 0:35:02but most sharks will stop struggling
0:35:02 > 0:35:06if they're turned upside down.
0:35:06 > 0:35:08It sends them into a sort of a trance,
0:35:08 > 0:35:12which scientists call tonic immobility.
0:35:14 > 0:35:18The killer whale had exploited the Achilles heel of the great white -
0:35:18 > 0:35:21turn it on its back and it goes into sleep mode.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24In this relaxed state, the mighty shark
0:35:24 > 0:35:27can't respond to an attack with its lethal teeth.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29Hmm. It's a nifty trick.
0:35:31 > 0:35:33So the orca, with its big brain,
0:35:33 > 0:35:37put the great white into a state of tonic immobility
0:35:37 > 0:35:40and then it held it there for 15 minutes,
0:35:40 > 0:35:43and that is the clever part.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47You see, sharks have to keep swimming in order to breathe.
0:35:47 > 0:35:50So, by holding it upside down and still,
0:35:50 > 0:35:53the orca was able to suffocate it.
0:35:58 > 0:36:02To see it play out in this drama of life or death,
0:36:02 > 0:36:04where a white shark is killed,
0:36:04 > 0:36:09it was more than anybody could possibly have even imagined.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12Nothing like that has ever been observed since then.
0:36:12 > 0:36:18There you have it - the great white shark can be overcome
0:36:18 > 0:36:20and killed without much of a fight.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26The orca's secret superpower is all to do
0:36:26 > 0:36:29with what's going on up here,
0:36:29 > 0:36:32but, you know, there is another sea creature
0:36:32 > 0:36:35which has a formidable, hidden strength.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38Although, on the surface of it, I've got to say,
0:36:38 > 0:36:41its credentials are not nearly so impressive.
0:36:43 > 0:36:48It might be the size of a 50 pence piece, but scientists recently
0:36:48 > 0:36:53discovered something truly amazing about the humble limpet.
0:36:53 > 0:36:55It has a super strength like no other.
0:36:55 > 0:37:00Now, if you've ever trodden on one of these molluscs in bare feet,
0:37:00 > 0:37:04you'll know exactly how painfully hard their conical shells can be
0:37:04 > 0:37:09and you'd be forgiven for thinking that's where their toughness lies.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13But you'd be wrong.
0:37:13 > 0:37:15So, if it's not the shell,
0:37:15 > 0:37:18you might think it's the vice-like grip that it uses to
0:37:18 > 0:37:22cling onto rocks as it battles against the ocean's currents.
0:37:23 > 0:37:28But that's not where the limpet's super strength lies either.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31Remarkably, you know, it's in its teeth.
0:37:31 > 0:37:33Yes, its teeth!
0:37:33 > 0:37:38The limpet's pearly whites have got one mechanical engineer gripped.
0:37:39 > 0:37:44The teeth are almost alien, so they look like claws
0:37:44 > 0:37:48that are scraping away at rock surfaces to loosen the food
0:37:48 > 0:37:50so the limpet can feed,
0:37:50 > 0:37:53and this is really an incredibly demanding process.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58The teeth can't afford to break, because if the teeth break,
0:37:58 > 0:38:01it doesn't feed and it will die of starvation.
0:38:01 > 0:38:06What limpets are looking for is microscopic algae
0:38:06 > 0:38:08that finely carpet rocks.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11But to get it off, they need some mighty molars.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15If you look closely...
0:38:15 > 0:38:19hidden in its mouth is a rolled-up radula,
0:38:19 > 0:38:22a tongue-like appendage.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26When unravelled, it reveals rows and rows of teeth -
0:38:26 > 0:38:291,000, to be precise.
0:38:32 > 0:38:37If you thought that limpets having 1,000 teeth was mindboggling enough,
0:38:37 > 0:38:40Asa discovered something even more exciting
0:38:40 > 0:38:42when he was looking at their gnashers.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45There's been a little bit of a race to discover
0:38:45 > 0:38:48what's the strongest biological material,
0:38:48 > 0:38:53and spider silk has been winning that race for a long, long time,
0:38:53 > 0:38:57but we found that limpet teeth, this mundane sea creature,
0:38:57 > 0:39:02produced teeth that were actually even stronger than spider silk.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04It really is astounding.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08So the strength of a limpet tooth is over twice that
0:39:08 > 0:39:12of Kevlar fibres that are commonly used in ballistic protection.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15So, tucked away under their shell,
0:39:15 > 0:39:19these tiny teeth, less than a millimetre long,
0:39:19 > 0:39:23are the strongest biological material on Earth.
0:39:24 > 0:39:25It's incredible!
0:39:25 > 0:39:30Now scientists think that by understanding how limpets grow
0:39:30 > 0:39:34their teeth, they can mimic their design in modern-day structures,
0:39:34 > 0:39:38everything from aircraft wings to Formula One cars,
0:39:38 > 0:39:40but with a greener twist.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46The great thing about limpets that we have to remember is
0:39:46 > 0:39:50the teeth are made from elements found in the local environment.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54It's using a very efficient biological manufacturing process
0:39:54 > 0:39:56that's sustainable.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59So the design found in limpet teeth could be very
0:39:59 > 0:40:02important for the composites of the future.
0:40:06 > 0:40:11I like it when we accept that we get some of our better ideas from nature
0:40:11 > 0:40:13and there are plenty of examples around us.
0:40:13 > 0:40:15We've all got air bags in our car.
0:40:15 > 0:40:19Well, allegedly that idea came from gannets.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22Yes, they have air bags in their bodies
0:40:22 > 0:40:26so when they plunge into the water at high speed, they don't get hurt.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29And now look, the engineers have turned to the
0:40:29 > 0:40:32teeth of limpets for ideas.
0:40:32 > 0:40:33Smart.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36But sometimes we have to admit that nature
0:40:36 > 0:40:39wants a little bit of what we've got -
0:40:39 > 0:40:40our gardens.
0:40:44 > 0:40:46On the southern tip of Africa,
0:40:46 > 0:40:49there's been an invasion.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51These beach-side retreats are under
0:40:51 > 0:40:54attack by something particularly menacing
0:40:54 > 0:40:57and it's keeping residents up all night.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00They are very tough, very aggressive,
0:41:00 > 0:41:02quite dangerous animals.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05A stench, which stinks like hell.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07They can inflict very nasty bites.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10And when the wind blows, we get all this bloody black
0:41:10 > 0:41:12rubbish into the house.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15They can inflict extremely nasty scratches with their claws.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18And the noise at night is unreal.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20HE BELLOWS
0:41:20 > 0:41:22They bellow and bellow and bellow and bellow.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25HE BELLOWS
0:41:25 > 0:41:27I didn't sleep from quarter to four the other morning.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34The picturesque seaside towns of Betty's Bay,
0:41:34 > 0:41:37and its neighbour Boulders Beach, are under siege.
0:41:37 > 0:41:39From -
0:41:39 > 0:41:41and wait for it -
0:41:41 > 0:41:45a badly behaved group of African penguins.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52Known as jackass penguins because of their donkey-like bray,
0:41:52 > 0:41:56the African bird's black and white markings and frankly adorable waddle
0:41:56 > 0:41:59are a firm family favourite.
0:42:01 > 0:42:03Unless, of course, you live in Betty's Bay.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07Look what they've done to the bush here, they've killed all the garden.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12So, what is bringing hundreds of jackasses to Barbara's back yard?
0:42:12 > 0:42:15Could it be the manicured lawn,
0:42:15 > 0:42:18the beautifully planted beds or the irresistible sea view?
0:42:20 > 0:42:23The real problem with Betty's Bay is that it's the only growing
0:42:23 > 0:42:26colony of African penguins and there's no space.
0:42:26 > 0:42:30Professor Peter Barham is just potty about penguins.
0:42:30 > 0:42:34These animals arrived in Betty's Bay around about 30-odd years ago
0:42:34 > 0:42:36in 1982 for the first time.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38They've increased in numbers ever since and started to
0:42:38 > 0:42:41invade the areas where people live as well.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47These jackasses normally hang out in the neighbouring penguin reserve
0:42:47 > 0:42:48with about 5,000 others.
0:42:49 > 0:42:53The problem is it's full to bursting and, when space is at a premium,
0:42:53 > 0:42:57they'll quite happily up sticks in search of another place to live.
0:42:57 > 0:43:02And that's exactly what 50 or so have done in Betty's Bay.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05The penguins moved to wherever they can get more space.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09As soon as the density goes up, they seem to want to move away.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13As the gardens are further away, they'll move into those gardens.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16Penguins breed best in a really nice, dry burrow.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19Well, there are no dry, nice burrows, but a little shed is great,
0:43:19 > 0:43:21a building is great.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24Anything which has a good roof on it, that's where they're going to nest.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28Finding the perfect habitat is key to their breeding success.
0:43:28 > 0:43:33What these guys are looking for is enough room to breed and nest,
0:43:33 > 0:43:36far away from the rest of the colony.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39It's that that's brought them into conflict with the locals.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47As the penguin colony grew in numbers, there were so many
0:43:47 > 0:43:51birds starting to breed in people's gardens that the people found
0:43:51 > 0:43:53they were too noisy, too smelly
0:43:53 > 0:43:56and the guano was killing off their plants -
0:43:56 > 0:43:58everything you can imagine.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01People, for some reason, didn't like having them in their garden.
0:44:01 > 0:44:02It wasn't romantic.
0:44:04 > 0:44:07When there was just one or two in the colony it was fine,
0:44:07 > 0:44:10but when there are 20 or 30, it suddenly becomes too many.
0:44:16 > 0:44:17It's understandable, I suppose.
0:44:17 > 0:44:21But it does create a bit of a dilemma for the residents here.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24You see, although these penguins are a bit of a nuisance,
0:44:24 > 0:44:28the African penguin is, in fact, in serious decline.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31100 years ago, there were one and a half million pairs.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34These days there are only 20,000
0:44:34 > 0:44:36and I've got to tell you,
0:44:36 > 0:44:41the only place where the population is doing any good is Betty's Bay.
0:44:41 > 0:44:46So you might say - and Barbara is not going to thank me for this -
0:44:46 > 0:44:49that's all down to people's back yards.
0:44:51 > 0:44:53Our world is wonderfully weird.
0:44:53 > 0:44:57We've seen how an inexplicable intoxication
0:44:57 > 0:45:00was explained by a deadly diet.
0:45:00 > 0:45:05While fearsome sharks go belly-up when they're flipped on their backs.
0:45:05 > 0:45:07And when it comes to strength,
0:45:07 > 0:45:11the tiny limpet has super-tough teeth to take on anything.
0:45:11 > 0:45:14Oh, and if you want to pick up a penguin,
0:45:14 > 0:45:17you might get lucky in a garden.
0:45:32 > 0:45:37And, finally, what's the link between an extraordinary eruption
0:45:37 > 0:45:39and a Day-Glo dilemma?
0:45:41 > 0:45:42Well...
0:45:42 > 0:45:45it all starts with a bang.
0:45:51 > 0:45:53Volcanoes.
0:45:55 > 0:46:00These fiery giants inspire awe and terror in equal measure.
0:46:04 > 0:46:06I fall in love on volcanoes
0:46:06 > 0:46:09and I really want to spend
0:46:09 > 0:46:13as much time as I can on volcanoes.
0:46:14 > 0:46:16For Olivier Grunewald they're an obsession.
0:46:16 > 0:46:20I've been on maybe 100 volcanoes in the world
0:46:20 > 0:46:23but one changed really my life.
0:46:23 > 0:46:26Kawah Ijen.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28East Java.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32Olivier had heard that something out of the ordinary was going on
0:46:32 > 0:46:35at this rather special volcano.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40It was absolutely something strange.
0:46:40 > 0:46:44It's very rare to have a phenomenon like that.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47I tried to find some information on the internet.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50There is no picture, no info, nothing.
0:46:50 > 0:46:52I decide to take my chance.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55So, Olivier headed to Indonesia
0:46:55 > 0:46:58to see for himself whether the rumours were true.
0:46:58 > 0:47:00I arrive at the top of the crater
0:47:00 > 0:47:04and the crater is full of gas and I saw nothing.
0:47:04 > 0:47:08In my mind, I really think we've travelled so far for nothing.
0:47:08 > 0:47:14The decision to travel more than 7,000 miles based just on hearsay
0:47:14 > 0:47:17was beginning to feel a little bit foolhardy,
0:47:17 > 0:47:20but then Olivier's luck changed.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25Suddenly, the wind changed
0:47:25 > 0:47:28and some... Like lightning in a storm,
0:47:28 > 0:47:31some blue line appeared in the crater.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34I was so excited.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37The plumes of gas parted
0:47:37 > 0:47:39to reveal something bizarre.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42Glowing rivers of blue light.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46It's something absolutely incredible.
0:47:48 > 0:47:53It's difficult to describe, because when the light disappear,
0:47:53 > 0:47:57we can see the blue light glowing.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04The lava pouring from the crater's mouth
0:48:04 > 0:48:06wasn't the usual river of red.
0:48:09 > 0:48:10It was like a dream.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14I spent the night in a trance, taking picture.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17I remember nothing of this night except the picture.
0:48:18 > 0:48:22It was a natural spectacle unlike anything he'd ever seen.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29Back home, Olivier's photographs went viral and caught
0:48:29 > 0:48:32the attention of geologists.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35I've been studying volcanoes for years,
0:48:35 > 0:48:38but I'm constantly surprised by them.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41Everything about this blue material
0:48:41 > 0:48:45that's flowing down the volcano appears to be like lava.
0:48:45 > 0:48:47It flows over the mounds and troughs.
0:48:47 > 0:48:49It looks like lava but it's blue,
0:48:49 > 0:48:53which means it can't possibly be the lava itself.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58When lava erupts from the Earth's crust,
0:48:58 > 0:49:01it can flow at temperatures of more than 1,000 degrees Centigrade.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05And it's the heat from the lava that tends to give
0:49:05 > 0:49:08a volcano its incandescent red glow.
0:49:08 > 0:49:12So, if it's blue, then it can't be lava.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18If it's not lava, then what is it?
0:49:18 > 0:49:21Well, Kawah Ijen has some secret ingredients
0:49:21 > 0:49:25and Olivier's photographs have gone some way to explain its source.
0:49:28 > 0:49:32During the day, he watched the locals moving in,
0:49:32 > 0:49:35completely unfazed, hacking off what appeared to be
0:49:35 > 0:49:38chunks of yellow rock.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40But it's not rock that they're mining,
0:49:40 > 0:49:42it's actually solid sulphur
0:49:42 > 0:49:46that's cooled and solidified on top of the rocks.
0:49:47 > 0:49:51Could this sulphur be the cause of Olivier's blue volcano?
0:49:57 > 0:50:00We're used to the yellow flame that carbon produces
0:50:00 > 0:50:03from burning wood or paper,
0:50:03 > 0:50:07but some compounds burn with more unusual coloured flames.
0:50:09 > 0:50:11This is boron.
0:50:11 > 0:50:13Lithium.
0:50:13 > 0:50:15Sodium.
0:50:17 > 0:50:21But as the sulphur burns, it reacts with oxygen to produce -
0:50:21 > 0:50:23and you've guessed it -
0:50:23 > 0:50:24a bright blue flame,
0:50:24 > 0:50:29the source of the extraordinary blue in Olivier's pictures.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33Now, sulphur is common at every single volcano around the world,
0:50:33 > 0:50:36but what's special at this particular volcano is that
0:50:36 > 0:50:38it's got really high concentrations of sulphur.
0:50:39 > 0:50:45A breathtakingly beautiful phenomena explained by simple chemistry.
0:50:47 > 0:50:51The sulphur at Kawah Ijen burns day and night,
0:50:51 > 0:50:53but, of course, during the daytime,
0:50:53 > 0:50:56with all of that blue reflected light coming from the sky,
0:50:56 > 0:50:58you can't actually see the flames.
0:50:58 > 0:51:02It's only at night when they look truly spectacular.
0:51:02 > 0:51:08Then, of course, a light in the dark is often an irresistible lure.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15The Peruvian rainforest -
0:51:15 > 0:51:18dark, mysterious,
0:51:18 > 0:51:20where strange things come out at night.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26But on a moonlit hike in 2012,
0:51:26 > 0:51:30something unusual caught the eye of intrepid wildlife photographer
0:51:30 > 0:51:32Jeff Cremer.
0:51:32 > 0:51:34We stopped in an area just
0:51:34 > 0:51:37to turn off the headlamps and look at all the stars.
0:51:37 > 0:51:38It's really dark in the Amazon jungle.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41The stars are amazing when you're out.
0:51:41 > 0:51:42You can see the whole Milky Way.
0:51:42 > 0:51:47Jeff, expecting to take in the celestial beauty of the night sky,
0:51:47 > 0:51:50was met by something much stranger.
0:51:50 > 0:51:52Right when we turned the headlamps off,
0:51:52 > 0:51:55we were surrounded by a wall of glowing lights.
0:51:55 > 0:51:58I've never seen anything like that before.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00They were everywhere, like, hundreds of them.
0:52:00 > 0:52:04Glowing green dots, flickering in front of him.
0:52:04 > 0:52:06I've worked in the Amazon for about five years.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09I've seen a lot of really cool stuff, a lot of weird things.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12I've never seen a wall of glowing lights.
0:52:12 > 0:52:14Each light revealed something peculiar,
0:52:14 > 0:52:19a creature that Jeff had never seen before.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23Mystified, he quickly took pictures of this rather odd sight
0:52:23 > 0:52:26in the hope that someone would be able to help identify it.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31Cue entomologist Aaron Pomerantz.
0:52:33 > 0:52:34I first came across Jeff's photos online.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37They were causing this big stir, because nobody knew what they were
0:52:37 > 0:52:40and they were so bizarre-looking.
0:52:40 > 0:52:44They looked like glowing worms that were bursting out of the earth.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47I'd never seen any picture like this before of an animal.
0:52:47 > 0:52:51Intrigued, Aaron wanted to see them in their natural habitat.
0:52:58 > 0:53:02So, with the light on, this might just look like a bunch of dirt.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04But when the lights are off...
0:53:06 > 0:53:09..we'll see a bunch of little green, glowing dots in here.
0:53:09 > 0:53:13Let's focus right here, because I can see one sticking his head out.
0:53:13 > 0:53:15Right there. So, let's kill the lights.
0:53:19 > 0:53:20(No way.)
0:53:20 > 0:53:22I had never seen anything like this before.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25Even working with lots of insects, this was just totally new.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27What on earth were they?
0:53:28 > 0:53:32We really dug in and started doing a lot more in-depth research
0:53:32 > 0:53:34on what these were.
0:53:34 > 0:53:36How long are they?
0:53:36 > 0:53:38Look at its other different body parts, how many legs do they have?
0:53:38 > 0:53:40What do their mandibles look like?
0:53:42 > 0:53:44There he is.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48We took a closer look and that's when we could confirm right away
0:53:48 > 0:53:50that they were some sort of insect larvae,
0:53:50 > 0:53:53but then the question on all of our minds was,
0:53:53 > 0:53:57why are these things glowing in the middle of the Amazon rainforest?
0:53:57 > 0:54:01The mysterious worms were the larvae of an unknown type of beetle
0:54:01 > 0:54:04and not your average larvae.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07Not only was light coming from their heads, which is pretty weird,
0:54:07 > 0:54:10but they also had huge mandibles.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14Aaron and Jeff's larvae were armed, but why?
0:54:14 > 0:54:16Our first clue came from their behaviour.
0:54:16 > 0:54:18They looked tough, they looked dangerous,
0:54:18 > 0:54:20like they can grab something and kill it.
0:54:20 > 0:54:24What Aaron did is he took some termites,
0:54:24 > 0:54:25some tiny, little termites.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28He kind of dropped them in really close to where these larvae were.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39We were like, "Yeah, they're definitely predatory."
0:54:43 > 0:54:47The larvae were using their illuminated heads
0:54:47 > 0:54:49to lure in their lunch -
0:54:49 > 0:54:52fiendishly clever.
0:54:52 > 0:54:56By observing the behaviour of these predatory larvae,
0:54:56 > 0:55:00Aaron has been able to shed some light on their mysterious glow.
0:55:01 > 0:55:05But is he any closer to knowing which beetle species it is?
0:55:05 > 0:55:09This discovery is really exciting and we really want to figure out,
0:55:09 > 0:55:13how long have they been there, what are they doing and what are they going to turn into,
0:55:13 > 0:55:15because we've never seen an adult before.
0:55:15 > 0:55:17This could be a new species.
0:55:17 > 0:55:23To make new discoveries and add to the body of knowledge is unbelievable.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26To be on the front lines with that kind of discovery
0:55:26 > 0:55:27has just been such a dream come true.
0:55:31 > 0:55:35Because they're a new species, we're not entirely sure yet,
0:55:35 > 0:55:37but it's likely that these beetles
0:55:37 > 0:55:40produce their light in the same way that glow worms do.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43It's a bit like the fuel, the wood here,
0:55:43 > 0:55:46burning in the presence of oxygen.
0:55:46 > 0:55:50Because inside the insect's body, there are two chemicals,
0:55:50 > 0:55:52luciferin and luciferase,
0:55:52 > 0:55:58and in the presence of oxygen, they actually produce their own light.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01It's called bioluminescence.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08The beetle larvae are in good company.
0:56:08 > 0:56:12Fireflies and glow worms create breathtaking light displays,
0:56:12 > 0:56:16but the greatest numbers of bioluminescent species
0:56:16 > 0:56:18aren't found on land.
0:56:19 > 0:56:21Look at this.
0:56:22 > 0:56:24A video gone viral
0:56:24 > 0:56:27of a surfer on the San Diego coast.
0:56:37 > 0:56:41This is astonishingly beautiful and it's 100% real,
0:56:41 > 0:56:46but what creatures create light on this kind of scale?
0:56:46 > 0:56:49The reason the wave is glowing like that is because
0:56:49 > 0:56:53within the water, there are thousands of tiny, single-celled creatures
0:56:53 > 0:56:55known as dinoflagellates.
0:56:57 > 0:56:59And they do that when they're knocked around.
0:56:59 > 0:57:03So, whether it's the water moving, or the surfer with his board
0:57:03 > 0:57:06touching the waves, each of them only glowing for maybe half a second
0:57:06 > 0:57:09at a time, but because there are thousands of them,
0:57:09 > 0:57:13you get this twinkling and glowing effect across the whole wave.
0:57:13 > 0:57:17Dinoflagellates use their illumination as a security light
0:57:17 > 0:57:19to deter predators.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23But other species, like this cone jellyfish, use it to attract
0:57:23 > 0:57:28their prey, just like our mysterious beetle in Peru.
0:57:28 > 0:57:30It's certainly a pretty neat survival skill.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37So, sulphur explains a volcano burning blue,
0:57:37 > 0:57:41while a brand-new species survives by the same chemical reaction
0:57:41 > 0:57:44that gave a surfer a really epic ride,
0:57:44 > 0:57:49but it also enables a tiny organism living deep in the blue
0:57:49 > 0:57:52to put on a spectacular light display.
0:57:54 > 0:57:57If you thought all of those stories were weird,
0:57:57 > 0:58:00just wait, because things are going to get a lot weirder.
0:58:02 > 0:58:04Next time...
0:58:06 > 0:58:09..how can the weather ruin your perfect day?
0:58:09 > 0:58:13You just see it coming, like the end of the world.
0:58:13 > 0:58:16How could cats in bibs save millions of lives?
0:58:18 > 0:58:22What's the secret behind some mysterious green balls?
0:58:22 > 0:58:26And how could a twin appear inside your brain?
0:58:26 > 0:58:28She was literally dying.