Studying Earth's creatures can yield profound scientific insights, but meddling with the natural world can have lethal consequences. Snake enthusiast Kevin Budden risks everything in his pursuit of Australia's most venomous reptile.
Eighteenth-century obstetrician Ignaz Semmelweis plants the seeds for germ theory before a stunning downfall. Peruvian hero Daniel Carrión chases down a deadly disease using a dangerous experiment.
Intrepid explorers have ventured into the world's most unforgiving landscapes in a relentless quest for knowledge. Biochemist Peng Jiamu braves the shifting sands of China's northern desert in search of its hidden secrets.
Every innovation started as an idea -- but not all ideas leave their inventors unscathed. To prove the possibility of heavier-than-air flight, Otto Lilienthal needs proof of concept.
Examining molecules, and chemicals, scientists take risks on great discoveries. Carl Wilhelm Scheele uncovers the stuff of life as he tinkers with deadly substances. Rosalind Franklin gives humanity the first image of the double-helix
Tinkering with the unseen can have dangerous consequences. As lightning flickers over St. Petersburg, a 19th-century physicist attempts to harness electricity.