How the future of treating heart disease might mean having no heartbeat
The heartbeat is synonymous with human life, but could we possibly live without one? Flatline tells the extraordinary story of Dr Bud Frazier and Dr Billy Cohn of the Texas Heart Institute, who in March of 2011 performed a continuous-flow artificial heart transplant to extend the life of a dying man. In doing so, they proved that it was possible for a person to live without a pulse. Directed by the US filmmaker Jeremiah Zagar, this short documentary explores how some advances in medical science and technology brush up against the limits of what we view as possible, making us reconsider what it means to be human.
Director: Jeremiah Zagar
Producer: Jeremy Yaches
videoMathematics
After centuries of trying, we’ve yet to arrive at a perfect way to map colour
20 minutes
videoMedicine
Drinking wine from toxic cups was the 17th century’s own dubious ‘detox’ treatment
11 minutes
videoIllness and disease
Humanity eradicated smallpox 45 years ago. It’s a story worth remembering
25 minutes
videoAnimals and humans
One man’s quest to save an orphaned squirrel, as narrated by David Attenborough
14 minutes
videoBiology
Butterflies become unrecognisable landscapes when viewed under electron microscopes
4 minutes
videoCognition and intelligence
A father forgets his child’s name for the first time in this poetic reflection on memory
4 minutes
