Born Different

Production Details

Every now and then an animal is born that has leapt wildly from its expected path.  In a less enlightened age we labelled them freaks of nature.  Once regarded as monstrosities, today we take a slightly different approach to these unusual creatures.  At the University of California in San Francisco, Professor Jill Helms shows us the science behind the freak.  She explains how small genetic errors give rise to extraordinary features that at the same time reveal to scientists the secrets of human development.

Two-headed snakes and turtles, hairless and stunted cats, pigs with two faces, frogs with extra legs and fish that glow in the dark.  The world is full of unusual animals, but more diverse still are the people who study, care for and breed them.