What is type 1 diabetes? How do people with diabetes manage their symptoms? Type 1 diabetes occurs when insulin producing cells are destroyed, and the body can no longer produce the insulin needed to control sugar levels in the blood. It can develop at any age, but most commonly emerges in childhood. Diabetics must ensure that they don’t have too much or too little sugar in their blood as either extreme can cause medical complications. In this collection, 21-year old Clemmy reveals what it is like to have high blood sugar, and 22-year old Sam shares his experiences of dealing with low levels of blood sugar.

19th Century philosopher Jeremy Bentham allowed his body to be put on public display after he passed on but would you allow your body to be displayed after you die? The following video and audio collection examines specific cases in which the issue of display and ownership are raised and explores how museums have handled this question. Experts share reasons for their beliefs regarding repatriation and refer to specific examples on the topic of whether remains should be returned to their country of origin.
This material forms part of the Open University course A151 Making sense of things: an introduction to material culture.

Where did the phrase ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing’ come from? And when did scientists finally get round to naming sexual body parts? Voiced by Clive Anderson, this entertaining romp through 'The History of English' squeezes 1600 years of history into 10 one-minute bites, uncovering the sources of English words and phrases from Shakespeare and the King James Bible to America and the Internet. Bursting with fascinating facts, the series looks at how English grew from a small tongue into a major global language before reflecting on the future of English in the 21st century.

How does your body control your breathing unconsciously? This album explores this complex process in fascinating detail using a battery of detectors attached to human guinea-pigs to monitor their breathing, blood flow and heartbeats. How does an anxious mind affect this system during a stressful situation? Whether stress is physical or emotional, the ancient “fight or flight” response is triggered. Physiologically, this can lead to the stress-related diseases which are getting more common in the West, so track 3 looks at the Eastern tradition of yoga, which recognises that controlling the breath is key to retaining health of mind as well as body. The audio track uses the case study of a primary school teacher monitored over the course of a day, revealing that some stress might be good for you; and experts shed light on the significance of stress using studies of baboons. This material forms part of The Open University course SK277 Human biology.

The Science Behind the Bike is a series of films that investigate how science and technology have transformed the sport of cycling. We talk to Olympic gold-medallists Chris Boardman and Rebecca Romero, and Paralympian gold-medallist Sarah Storey, take a trip to a wind tunnel, consult with Team GB physiologists and hear from design experts and cycling legends such as Graeme Obree and Francesco Moser. In this series you will find out about the legendary Hour Record (the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour), learn about technology, discover the forces that have to be overcome to ride fast and understand how the body deals physiologically when riding at Olympic level.

This material was produced to support the Open University module S172 Sport: the science behind the medals.