Project X

Project X takes Flight with its debut episode! Dr. Brian Fleck takes a ride in a hang glider to help illustrate the basic physics of flight, along the way explaining how something the size of an apartment building can actually get off the ground. Marc Huot then goes skiing in a wind tunnel to unlock the secrets of an Olympic Gold alpine jump. And together they take a look at the human contribution to flight – rocket science. But flying is not quite as easy as these guys make it out to be. Dr. Jennifer Gardy picks up a few tips from some of Canada’s top fighter pilots on how to sustain performance and focus even under high levels of G force. Next she’s off to take a parabolic flight with the National Research Council, during which she’ll experience the feeling of zero Gs – weightlessness. (Read what Dr. Gardy has to say about these harrowing experiences on the Project X Blog) And Dr. Brian Alters gets up close and personal with the only mammals capable of really flying – bats. Meeting with bat experts and researchers he’ll help to show us that, for all the progress we humans have made in defying gravity, we still have a lot to learn from nature’s experts.

Dr. Brian Alters takes a dive from aboard the exploration boat, The Tiburon. Once beneath the surface of the waves, he takes a close look at some of the unusual protective suits of sea creatures including lobsters, sea snails, loggerhead turtles - and sharks. And he learns how the abalone, a shellfish, may have the toughest armour of all. Re-enacting scenes reminiscent of the movie 300 Dr. Brian Fleck and Marc Huot do their best to do damage to replicas of the suits of armour used throughout the ages. From animal hides to chain mail to armour suits and then bulletproof vests, they demonstrate how new weapons drove the need to develop new armours. Dr. Jennifer Gardy looks at the most personal form of armour, our skin, and finds that our body's largest organ contains the key to developing a new class of antibiotics. She travels down to the swamps of Louisiana to get up close and personal with an alligator - a reptile with impressive and surprising body armour.

The Project X team tracks the fallout when an outsider with bad manners and a voracious appetite disrupts the natural order of a paradise island ecosystem. Next they check out a clever way to head off invasive species before they get in, and finally they travel to Mexico, to find out what happens when an invader intrudes on the most private place you've got – your body.

Project X takes a big picture look at light. From what light consists of, to the amazing light shows we see in nature, the Project X team experiments with and explores the fundamentals of light to discover the most cutting-edge science on the planet.

Is there such a thing as a perfect memory? The Project X team learns that memories are subjective, selective, incomplete, even faulty. In the hands of a gifted magician, our memories don’t stand a chance.

This episode looks at things that go fast and our desire to push the limits of speed. We’ll look at the roles that design and chemistry play, and how we can create ways of going faster than previously thought possible.

How do you stave off dehydration in the scalding, suffocating heat of an unrelenting sun? Join the Project X team as they uncover amazing animal adaptations and human survival techniques that cheat death in the desolate heat of the desert.

This episode might not have you running to the fridge, but it will make you think about what you eat. We’re looking at what’s on the menu for people and animals- and how some not-so-appetizing food habits can be a good thing.