Animal Farm

Food for Thought starts by looking at the outlandish creatures that can be produced by traditional breeding practices alone - from the cows that carry twice the muscle mass of their ordinary bovine counterparts, to the chickens that are completely devoid of feathers. Other issues discussed are the high-tech production of giant GM salmon that could help save our dwindling fish stocks, and GM rice that has been modified to contain carotenoids, precursors of vitamin A, that could help prevent common developing world deficiencies that can lead to blindness. By the end of the programme, Olivia is a convert, but co-presenter Giles reserves judgement. He finds that the muscle-bound meat doesn't cut the mustard on the flavour stakes.

From Mouse to Man focuses on techniques in genetic manipulation that stand to directly benefit our health. Among the animal line-up are sheep that are used to grow human organs for transplants and plasma cows that could solve the threat of bioterrorism. The film also looks at a product called MySkin, a new tissue engineering technique that takes a small sample of human skin and encourages the cells within it to multiply and produce new skin. The technique is already being used to treat people who have suffered serious burns, but, as co-presenters Giles and Olivia discover, it could have a future use in growing whole body parts.

Arrival of the Clones looks at how genetic technologies already impact on our day-to-day lives. Charmayne James, one of the US's most successful female rodeo riders, talks about how she has cloned her champion steed, Scamper. He was unable to breed naturally because he was gelded at a young age. Charmayne introduces us to Scamper and his newly cloned twin, Clayton, to show us just how similar they are. A project involving goats that have been implanted with a gene to make them produce spider silk proteins in their milk is also discussed. Spider silk is amongst the strongest and most flexible material known. It is used for the production of everything from bullet-proof jackets to parachutes and airbags. Finally, Giles and Olivia look at pigs that have been engineered to help solve the global pollution crisis.