Engineer Jem Stansfield looks back through the Horizon archives to find out how scientists have come to understand and manipulate the materials that built the modern world. Whether it is uncovering new materials or finding fresh uses for those man has known about for centuries, each breakthrough offers a tantalising glimpse of the holy grail of materials science - a substance that is cheap to produce and has the potential to change the world. Jem explores how a series of extraordinary advances has done just that - from superconductors to the silicon revolution.

Touch, sight, smell, hearing and taste - our senses link us to the outside world. Dr Kevin Fong looks back through 40 years of Horizon archives to find out what science has taught us about our tools of perception - why babies use touch more than any other sense, why our eyes are so easily tricked and how pioneering technology is edging closer to the dream of replacing our human senses if they fail. (BBC FOUR)