The £10 Million Challenge (Horizon)

Following a public vote, the money was eventually awarded to the battle against antibiotic resistance

Broadcaster: BBC 2

Year: 2014

Genre: Documentary

URL: http://bobnational.net/record/283788

Review by Lorna McCall

Although 2014 may have been the first time many people had heard of it, the Longitude Prize is not new. In fact it was the combination of the 300th anniversary of the prize and the 50th anniversary of the Horizon TV programme that led to this highly publicised competition to find a worthy winner of £10 million pounds to make a significant impact in tackling one of six key problems: antibiotic resistance, paralysis, malnutrition, carbon emission from jet engines, inadequate supply of fresh water and living with dementia.

This summary focuses on the four most biologically-related topics. Each section is available as a specific clip (click on subheadings below for links).

Antibiotics (7.5 minute segment, starting at 05:28)

The first area of research discussed in the programme relates to appropriate use of antibiotics (see this link for clip). The rise of antibiotic resistance over the years means that 5000 patients in the UK already die every year due to treatment being ineffective. It is important to have antibiotics in order to prevent small infections becoming deadly; or to prevent infection in the first instance for example during routine surgeries.