Season 18

Eighteen months ago Brazilian surgeon Dr Randas Batista pioneered a controversial new technique for heart surgery. Tonight's QED is allowed into the operating theatre to witness the first operation of its kind in Britain.

In the highly competitive world of Grand Prix racing, how much does success depend on the skill of the driver and how much relies on the ingenuity of the engineers? Tonight's QED goes behind the scenes of 1995's winning Benetton Formula 1 racing team, as they prepare for this year's Grand Prix season.

A study in aging. Miller knows he is closer to death because he has lived a long life, but for Danny he is only in his early 20s but has all the symptoms of old age. Can science solve the problem of aging, both usual and unusual?

A return visit to report on the continuing work of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia. This small, charitable institution was founded by two Australian gynaecologists to help young women who are rejected by their family and friends after suffering painful and embarrassing injuries sustained during childbirth.

William was born with a club foot. At six months, he is about to have an operation that has never before been performed on such a young child.

The story of Piers Corbyn, ready to bet a fortune on his weather predictions a year in advance by examining the sun's activity. The meteorologists, however, remain sceptical.

Diving with marine biologist, Dr Amanda Vincent, QED explores the underwater world of the seahorse. Dr Vincent has devoted thousands of hours to studying these endangered creatures. Narrated by David Attenborough.

In the first in a new series of documentaries, three volunteers in search of happiness take part in QED's eight-week course on how to be happy.

Despite its unpleasant image, the leech has made a remarkable comeback to the modern operating theatres of hospitals around the world. Moreover, Dr Roy Sawyer , who runs the world 's first leech farm in Wales, believes that these bloodsuckers' saliva could hold the key to the treatment of heart attack and stroke victims.

Every year in Britain, some 11,000 people are permanently brain damaged following head injuries. Doctors in a Texas hospital believe they can reduce such horrifying statistics by cooling the bodies of accident victims to a state of hypothermia. QED spent two weeks in their hectic emergency department as doctors battled to rescue people in a coma.

Susan Duncan's appearance attracts a lot of attention; her face is disfigured. Susan is determined to help others in a similar predicament cope with a world that places so much importance on looks.

British inventor Trevor Bavlis developed this radio to help rural Africans get information on Aids. Since then, the radio has been widely used in developing countries and Baylis has been a guest of the Queen.