Level Up Human is back redesigning the human body! This series we are supported by the Physiological Society. This episode was created with the help of the Society for Endocrinology, a world leading authority on hormones.

This episode was recorded at the Barbican as part of the Life Rewired season. Host Simon Watt and judge Rachel Wheeley are joined by Dr. Miles Levy, consultant endocrinologist and honorary associate professor at University Hospitals of Leicester. And by Dr. Clare Jonas, psychologist and blogger at That Thinking Feeling.

If you’d like to see us live, we’re in the middle of a residency at the Barbican in London. Please join us on October 28th and November 7th 2019. You can reserve free tickets at https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2019/event/level-up-human

Episode summary

The team have brought news stories from the world of science to share before we kick off the pitches. Clare explains why elephants are basically cancer-proof, Miles sings the praises of the pituitary, and Rach has tardigrade news.

Then we hear pitches for how we should redesign the human body. Clare would like every human to have synaesthesia and Miles suggests we tone down testosterone. The audience want to eat like termites, improve face recognition and control their adrenaline. Simon wants to make humans stripy. Which suggestions will make it onto Rach’s shortlist?

Mentioned this episode

Synaesthesia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia

Acromegaly: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acromegaly

The Hyrax: does this sound like a video recorder rewinding to you?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF3rPvzTPF4

Video recorder, for the under 35s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Videocassette_recorder

Tardigrades could hold the key to treating life-threatening injuries: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/could-an-extremophile-hold-the-secret-to-treatment-of-devastating-injuries/

Pareidolia (recognising faces in inanimate objects): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia

Prosopagnosia (face blindness): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosopagnosia

Extracts

“The pituitary gland is the most under-rated gland in the whole body. It is the size of a pea and it’s the conductor of the endocrine-orchestra (thyroid gland, adrenal gland, ovaries, testes, pancreas and all other glands.) It controls every hormone. It’s the most important, yet the most misunderstood and ignored part of the body.” – Miles Levy

“Everyone should have synaesthesia. It’s a completely harmless, possibly even helpful neurological condition where your senses get mixed up. So you might see colours when you’re listening to music, you might taste words, or in my case, you might see the calendar and numbers and letters of the alphabet all laid out in space in front of you which is hugely useful.” – Clare Jonas

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