Nature - The Living Body

With meticulous and startling detail, The Living Body examines the miracle of the human species from birth to death. The journey of a human life - the inner processes that bind us all - has rarely been rendered with such stunning clarity and insight. An Emmy-winning feature length documentary produced by Naked Science, The Living Body utilizes 3D computerized graphics, cutting-edge special effects and exploratory footage from actual human subjects to dramatize the manner by which our complex design accommodates each milestone phase of human development. The revelations begin at the moment of birth. Filled with amniotic fluid, a babys lungs have never before breathed air while in the womb. The presence of this fluid places the baby at great risk of drowning once they reach the outside world. If nature takes its proper course, a great surge of adrenaline will force the fluid from the lungs with the first attempted breath. The narrative of the newly born human species continues with the development of our five senses, the cerebral impulses that lead to an understanding of language and behaviors, and the bone and muscle structures which allow us to take our first step. Changes occur within us on a second by second basis even after were fully grown. Many of these are dictated by the stimuli that surround us, and by our own lifestyle choices. Loud music, for instance, can gradually damage the delicate nerves that foster our sense of hearing. Alcohol and tobacco are essentially poisons we introduce to our system, and there are few internal organs and bodily functions they fail to impact in a negative fashion. The film addresses the mysteries of aging as well. One aspect of this process involves our facial bones, which completely replace themselves every two years. As the film illustrates, this constant metamorphosis produces a cumulative redefining of our DNA code much like a copy of a copy degrades the quality of an image. Fascinating and exhaustive in its every detail, The Living Body encapsulates the totality of the human experience from the inside, and reminds us that lifes most significant miracles are occurring within us with each passing second.