Science

H2O – The Molecule That Made Us episode 2: Civilisations begins in the jungles of the Congo on the trail of a new theory that puts water at the centre of how humans first stood upright.     In Egypt and China, an investigation shows how civilisations were shaped by their relationship to the great rivers, and in Mexico we reveal how access to underground water changed humanity’s footprint on the planet. A new current is also explored, and at one of the largest ports on earth we learn how ‘virtual water’ has hidden the consequences of excess water use.

H2O – The Molecule That Made Us episode 1: Pulse investigates the inseparable bond between water and life. It reveals how a few drops of rain can cause deserts to bloom through a time-lapse sequence that took a decade to make, follows the journey of a molecule of water through trees in the Amazon to create giant rivers in the air and maps how the great animal migrations follow water around the planet. But the world is changing. Drought-chasing scientists examine what happens when the pulse falters, showing how the flow of water is driven by its relationship with life.