Exploring nature, science, and tech like never before, biologist Patrick Aryee sets out on a high-octane global adventure to bring humanity’s future into focus.
Johannesburg, South Africa (28 September 2022) – Can nature teach us to be better humans? Can studying evolution give us insight into our future? Do animals hold the answers to saving the earth? Can unique adaptations of the animal world truly help us find futuristic solutions to some of our biggest problems?
Patrick Aryee certainly believes this and is bringing us closer to these answers in an incredible documentary premiering on Curiosity Channel (DStv 185) on Wednesday, 5th of October with two episodes back to back from 8 pm.
Crammed with adventure, wildlife, eye-watering locations and mind-bending futuristic science, Evolve tells the enthralling and visually spectacular stories of some of the most astonishingly superpowered creatures on the planet. Across six one-hour episodes, the series investigates how we could harness evolution’s unique adaptations to potentially revolutionize our future.
“We live in a laboratory where nature constantly evolves — from stunning animal superstars to mundane, unsuspecting heroes of the wild. From awe to wonder, it all has something to teach us,” said Aryee. “I genuinely believe that our future survival as a species lies in understanding and appreciating the inner workings of our natural world. It’s been the opportunity of a lifetime to work with some of humanity’s greatest minds to truly learn from mother nature.”
Celebrating the genius of evolution through astonishing wildlife sequences, Evolve takes viewers on a high-octane, host-driven adventure to the forefront of human ingenuity – joining forces with explorers, fighter pilots, scientists and inventors – for exclusive, on-camera reveals of startling wild-inspired innovations and demonstrating how animals around the globe have evolved beyond our current technologies.
Speaking to Goods Things Guy, Aryee says he learnt many fascinating things while filming, one of them being how camels are influencing the medical field.
“As we know, camels are desert specialists; they are masters of surviving in the heat and also retaining lots of water. They have these structures in their nose called turbinates – imagine scrolls of folded bone – and what those turbinates do is similar to a radiator in a car, like a condenser, and what that does is prevents moisture from leaving the body by condensing the water when breathing out but then humidifying the water and air as the camel breaths in. That also helps regulate their temperature. It’s absolutely fascinating and quite clever.”
Aryee says that by looking at camels and how they handle their temperature, new technology is being developed to refrigerate medicines without using as much energy.
But there were also many nerve-wracking moments that the biologist and team found themselves in while shooting in 2021. From being close-up with a bull shark, searching for deadly scorpions in the dead of night with only UV lights and peering into the heart of the planet through an active volcano, many moments humbled him.
“Pulling up to 5gs in a jet fighter!!! You know, having my own Tom Cruise, Top Gun moment, and pulling those Gs. That was pretty out there but funnily enough, the most nerve-wracking thing about that was not flying or pulling the Gs; it was the half-hour safety brief on the ground where we discussed what would happen if something went wrong and we needed to eject. The reality is you are sitting on an explosive – cause that’s how ejector seats work – and if you pull that handle while on the ground, you may die because you need the clearance space.”
This refreshing and uplifting global journey deep dives into the fascinating and emerging world of biomimicry and whether the unique adaptations of the animal world can genuinely help us to find futuristic solutions to some of our biggest problems. And it is hitting our screens next week!
Watch the trailer below:
Evolve is on Curiosity Channel, DStv 185, from Wednesday 5th October, with episodes 1 and 2 showing back-to-back from 8pm, then a new episode weekly on Wednesdays at 9pm.
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