Tree man

Treeman meets Treeman

This film follows the cases of three men with an extraordinary condition of extreme Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), an extreme version of the common wart virus that leads to shocking tree-like growths from their hands and feet and warts all over their bodies.

We also witness an emotional meeting between two of these ‘Treemen’ – one of whom, Zaenal, was inspired to come out of the jungle hut where he’d been living by the first 'Tree Man', Dede, whom he’d seen on TV after seeking help for his condition.

36 year old 'Tree Man' Dede’s story has created global fascination. He had root-like structures growing out of his body; branches that can grow up to 5cm a year, which protruded from his hands and feet and welts covering his whole body. He underwent a gruelling year of operations and drug treatment and felt hopeful that he’d finally been cured of this shocking condition. But suddenly, one year later, his warts started to grow back.

We follow 'Tree Man' Dede in the months after his first treatment and the lead up to having to go back for surgery once more. We’ll see what impact this has on the new life he was trying to create, away from performing as a circus freak.

Dede’s extraordinary journey will also include his meeting with a leading world HPV expert, Dr Martin Kast, who shockingly reveals to Dede that there is another ‘Tree Man’ in Indonesia.

Related links:
- See the Treeman meets Treeman image gallery
- Half Man Half Tree / Tree Man article
- Treeman: The Cure article
- Watch the first 5 minutes of the show
- See Tree Man videos

Giant head

Giant Head

Sain Mumtaz has the most extraordinary head – but what is causing its extreme growth and how Sain might be treated is a total mystery.

Sain was told as a child that he suffered from Proteus syndrome – the same condition as Joseph Merrick, the original Elephant Man. But Proteus is renowned for affecting only one side of the body, to the trained eye the symmetrical deformity of Sain’s face and skull suggests he is probably suffering from a different condition– but which of the many rare congenital dysmorphologies could it be?

Sain’s family sought no medical intervention for their son throughout his childhood, but now Sain is 18, and he wants to know what is wrong with him, and whether anything might be done to improve his day-to-day life. He has hopes for his future, one day he would like to run a rickshaw business, but he sees no place for marriage in his life.

He believes that he is the way he is because God has cursed him. It’s for him and him alone to bear the weight of the curse.

Leading Australian clinical geneticist, Dr Edwin Kirk (see below), from the Sydney Children's Hospital and the University of New South Sales, in Australia, has extensive experience of diagnosing extreme congenital deformities. He is keen to travel to Pakistan to meet Sain, now 18 years old, and to test, scan and diagnose the condition that is causing his problems. Back in Australia he would consult with expert clinician Dr Glen Marshall about which treatment would suit Sain best.

Is there any drug based treatment that could help this rare case? Would Sain accept the idea of corrective surgery? Are there practical suggestions to be made that could improve his daily life?

This episode also tells the stories of Noah Southall and ‘Luddu’ who both suffer from sever physical deformities. With the doctors’ help, have they any hope of leading a life free of the constraints of their afflictions?

Related links:
- See the Giant Head image gallery
- Watch Giant Head video clips
- Watch the first 5 minutes of the show

Galaxies

	Galaxies A galaxy is a collection of solar masses that contains between 100,000 and 3,000 billion stars. Galaxies are grouped together in clusters and super clusters and come in various forms. No one knows exactly how many galaxies there are in the Universe, but our galaxy - the Milky Way - is just one of thousands, even millions. The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy that stretches 100,000 light years in diameter and from our Earth-bound view it looks like two fried eggs back-to-back! Spiral galaxies tend to include younger and brighter stars, whereas eliptical galaxies, which are the most common type, usually contain older stars. Andromeda is sometimes described as our ‘twin’ galaxy, because it is about the same size, shape and age as the Milky Way.

comets,meteors & asteroids

	Comets, Meteors & Asteroids The Hale-Bopp comet is 40km long and passes Earth every 4026 years. Amongst the planets and moons, thousands of asteroids and comets that have been catalogued and their orbits calculated - thousands more remain unknown. Comets Comets, are small ‘dirty snowballs’ made from a mixture of ice, frozen gases, and dust. All comets are left over from the formation of the Solar System. Comets travel three times faster than asteroids and are only visible when near the Sun. Haley’s comet is 16km long and passes the Sun every 76 years. Hale-Bopp, at 40km long, swings by only once every 4026 years. It’s believed that half of the near-Earth asteroids may be ‘dead’ comets. Meteors Approximately twice a week, a meteor about the size of a pillow will hurtle towards the Earth and detonate with the force of an atomic bomb. Fortunately, our atmosphere means they vaporize around five miles above the ground. If a piece of meteor survives to reach the Earth's surface, it is known as a meteorite. Millions of meteors strike the Earth every day - most of them the size of a grain of sand. HOwever, from time-to-time, something larger crashes through the Earth’s natural defence shield - sometimes with catastrophic effect. It was one of these fireballs that some scientists now believe caused the extinction of the dinosaurs when it smashed into the ground at the Chicxulub in the Yucatan province of Mexico, 65 million years ago. That one was believed to have been 8km in diameter. Asteroids Most asteroids behave in an orderly fashion, orbiting the Sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Some escape their orbit and pose a threat to us. Asteroids are believed to be debris left over from the formation of the Solar System 4.6 billion years ago. Thought to be made from rock and metal, asteroids range in size from pebbles to 934km across

Planets

	Introduction The Earth is part of the Sun’s family of planets, known as the Solar System. The Sun itself is a star and only looks so bright to us because it is so close, compared to other stars in the universe. There are nine giant planets, including Earth, and thousands of dwarf planets and asteroids in the Solar System and they are all controlled by the Sun. The larger planets are made up mostly of gases and ice with rocky cores and the smaller, inner, principle planets are more solid. The Earth is the only planet able to support life. Mercury Mercury was named after the Roman messenger of the gods. It is heavily cratered and looks a bit like the surface of the moon. We know no life could survive on Mercury because the atmosphere is so thin it is hardly detectable and the temperature ranges from blisteringly hot during the day, to way below freezing during the night. Most of our knowledge of Mercury comes mainly from the 1974-5 Mariner probe. The Messenger probe launched in August 2004 will enter Mercury’s orbit in 2011, collecting data for one Earth year. Average distance from the Sun: 57,910,000km (35,980,000miles) Length of year: 88 Earth days Diameter: 4,878km (3,031miles) Average temperature: Day 800°F (427°C) Night -300°F (-183°C) Venus Venus is named after the Roman goddess of love and is the hottest planet in the Solar System. It’s about the same size as Earth, but it rotates in a retrograde (backwards) direction and has a much thicker atmosphere; standing on the surface of Venus would feel like standing 1km down under the sea on Earth! Until 1962, when Mariner 2 passed by, it was thought that there were oceans on this most brilliant of planets. We now know that Venus is far too hot to have water on the surface; it’s covered in deadly volcanoes and was probably shaped by the movement of tectonic plates. Average distance from the Sun: 108,200,000km (67,230,000miles) Length of year: 225 Earth days Diameter: 12,102km (7520miles) Average temperature: 896°F (480°C) Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only one in the Solar System not to be named after an ancient god or goddess. It is also the only planet in the universe that is known to support life. 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water and it has a relatively steady temperature. Earth is geologically active - its core is hotter than the surface of the Sun and it is constantly experiencing earthquakes, volcanoes and climate changes. The tilt of the planet’s axis is what gives Earth its changing seasons and why there are vast expanses of ice at either pole. Average distance from the Sun: 149,600,000km (92,960,000miles) Length of year: 365.26 Earth days Diameter: 12,756km (7,926miles) Average temperature: 59°F (15°C) Mars The Romans named the planet Mars after their god of war. From the 1960s, the United States and the former Soviet Union spent vast amounts of time and money developing the technology required to be the first to get to Mars. The atmosphere of Mars is quite different from that of Earth. It is composed primarily of carbon dioxide with small amounts of other gases. The current understanding of the interior of Mars suggests that it probably features a thin crust, similar to Earth's, alongside a mantle and a core. Average distance from the Sun: 227,940,000km (141,550,740miles) Length of year: 686.98 Earth days Diameter: 6,794 km (4,221.6 miles) Average temperature: -81°F (-63°C) Jupiter Jupiter takes its name from the king of the Roman gods and for good reason - because it’s the biggest planet in the Solar System. It’s 1300 times the size of Earth, but is made almost entirely of gases, swirling in continuous electrical storms and hurricanes. Its most famous storm - known as the Great Red Spot - has been raging for almost 400 years! Jupiter’s core is extremely magnetic and it has the strongest gravitational pull of any planet, sucking in asteroids, meteors and comets as they pass. At just under ten hours long, Jupiter has the shortest day of all the planets. Average distance from the Sun: 778,400,000km (483,700,000miles) Length of year: 11.9 Earth years Diameter: 142,980km (88,846miles) Average temperature: -238°F (-150°C) Saturn Saturn is named after the Roman god of agriculture and is often described as the most beautiful object in the sky. Saturn's famous rings, which are made from billions of particles of rock and ice, are even visible from Earth with a telescope. Saturn is sixth in line from the sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System. Like Jupiter, Saturn is made almost entirely of gas and its globe is flattened because of its rapid rotation. Saturn has the most moons of any of the planets, twenty-five or more, and one of these - Titan - is thought to be similar to Earth before life began. Average distance from the Sun: 1,427,000,000km (886,700,000miles) Length of year: 29.5 Earth years Diameter: 120,536km (74,901miles) Average temperature: -202°F (-130°C) Uranus Uranus was named after the Greek god of the heavens. It wasn’t discovered until 1781, after the development of the telescope. Uranus is a giant ball of gas about four times the size of Earth and is seventh in line from the Sun. It is the only planet to spin on its side, which means it rolls around in its orbit and has very strange days and seasons. Sometimes the north pole of Uranus points to the Sun and sometimes the south pole does. Its surface is pale blue, mainly because of the high methane content of its gases, and it is mostly featureless. Average distance from the Sun: 2,875,000,000km (1,786,000,000miles) Length of year: 84 Earth years Diameter: 51,118km (31,765 miles) Average temperature: -353°F (-214°C) Neptune Neptune is named after the Roman god of the sea and its main moon, Triton, is named after the three-pronged spear the god carried. Neptune is often seen as Uranus’ twin planet; they are more or less the same size, both blue in colour and formed by similar gases. The fastest winds in the Solar System were recorded on Neptune at 2,000km/h (1,240miles/h). At points during its orbit, Neptune passes Pluto and becomes the furthest planet from the Sun. We haven’t seen it pass through a complete orbit since it was discovered in 1846, because it takes 165 years! Average distance from the Sun: 4,504,000,000 km (2,800,000,000 miles) Length of year: 165 Earth years Diameter: 49,528km (30,775 miles) Average temperature: -364°F (-220°C) Pluto Pluto is named after the Greek god of the underworld. It’s the only planet to be discovered in the twentieth century; no one knew it existed until 1930! This is hardly surprising when you remember that Pluto is the furthest planet from the Sun, apart from 20 years during its orbit, when Neptune takes over. Pluto is the most mysterious of all the planets. It is thought to be made of gas and ice, but we can’t be sure because no probe has ever made it that far. Even the strongest telescope on Earth has difficulty seeing any of Neptune’s detail. Average distance from the Sun: 5,915,000,000km (3,675,000,000miles) Length of year: 248 Earth years Diameter: 2,300km (1,429miles) Average temperature: -382°F (-230°C)