Solving the Secrets

Season 1Episode 260 minJun 2, 2012
Solving the Secrets

David uses the latest 3D technology to explore a world beyond the confines of our human senses. He begins with the secret world of plant movement and uses sinister carnivorous plants to show just how active plants can be.

Bladderwort utricularia is a pond-dweller that is among the fastest known, its traps snapping shut in less than a millisecond.

As the seasons change, David demonstrates how plants operate on a different time scale to us; how they modify their lives according to the time of year. We discover insects' hidden links with plants, both as pests and pollinators. UV-sensitive 3D cameras reveal the invisible alter-ego of plants and their flowers' mesmerizing patterns; a parallel-dimension of strange colours and stunning patterns through which plants communicate with them.

With the aid of visual effects, David steps among the swirling vortices of plant scent; communication signals with which plants are inextricably plugged in to the natural world. And using a tuning fork, he demonstrates how plants and insects can even communicate with music.

As autumn envelopes the Gardens, fungi reveal themselves not as the enemies of plants but their vital allies. In Kew's atmospheric Fungarium, David discovers a specimen that has the power of mind control and another that lives underground where it has grown to be so big it can be counted as the largest single organism on the planet. It is 6 times bigger than Kew Gardens itself.

David concludes the film in the Princess of Wales Conservatory, where he meets an old friend, the great Titan arum. At 8ft tall, it is the largest flower in the world and a plant he remembers from a previous filming trip to Sumatra. Using heat sensitive cameras, David reveals the Titan arum's secrets, how it uses a combination of heat and powerful scent to punch a hole in the stratified layers of air in the rainforest, enabling it to broadcast its presence across vast distances.

Solving the Secrets has aired on Jun 2, 2012
Previous EpisodeNext Episode

Trailer

We do not have any trailers for this episode

Recently Updated Shows

Recently updated shows that might be of your interest.
WWE Monday Night RAW
Running

WWE Monday Night RAW

WWE Monday Night RAW is World Wrestling Entertainment's (formerly the WWF and the WWWF before that) premiere wrestling event and brand. Since its launch in 1993, WWE Monday Night RAW continues to air live on Monday nights. It is generally seen as the company's flagship program due to its prolific history, high ratings, weekly live format, and emphasis on pay-per-views. Monday Night RAW is high profile enough to attract frequent visits from celebrities who usually serve as guest hosts for a single live event. Since its first episode, the show has been broadcast live or recorded from more than 197 different arenas in 165 cities and towns in seven different nations: including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom twice a year, Afghanistan for a special Tribute to the Troops, Germany, Japan, Italy and Mexico.

WWE Friday Night SmackDown
Running

WWE Friday Night SmackDown

Featuring a star-studded cast of WWE Superstars, SmackDown Live delivers a shot of adrenaline to viewers and bring fans over-the-top action, feats of athleticism beyond the reach of mortal men, and WWE's special brand of drama.

Alone
Running

Alone

Alone places ten hardcore survivalists alone in the wilderness - no camera crew, no teams, no producers - on a single mission to stay alive. At stake is $500,000 awarded to the person who can last the longest. They will face extreme isolation and psychological distress as they plunge into the unknown, self-documenting their experience.

Alone Australia
Running

Alone Australia

Follow ten brave Australians who are dropped in the merciless Tasmanian wilderness, completely isolated from the world and each other, stripped of modern possessions, contact and comforts, to self-document their experience. Who will survive the longest?

The Rookie
Running

The Rookie

The Rookie is inspired by a true story. John Nolan is the oldest rookie in the LAPD. At an age where most are at the peak of their career, Nolan cast aside his comfortable, small town life and moved to L.A. to pursue his dream of being a cop. Now, surrounded by rookies twenty years his junior, Nolan must navigate the dangerous, humorous and unpredictable world of a "young" cop, determined to make his second shot at life count.