Latest BBC Stories

LONDON, December 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the Public Catalogue Foundation (PCF) and the BBC completed their hugely ambitious project to put online the United Kingdom's entire collection of oil paintings in public ownership. This makes the UK the first country in the world to give such access to its national collection of paintings. In total, 3,217 venues across the UK have participated in the project and 211,861 paintings are now on the Your Paintings website at...

LONDON, October 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Millions of Sky homes can access their favourite BBC shows, on-demand, directly on their TV BBC iPlayer, the BBC's video on demand service, has today launched on Sky+, bringing the best of the BBC's TV programmes directly to the living room. Up to 6.7 million homes with a Sky+HD box and broadband connection will be able to enjoy the best of the BBC on demand in a familiar, easy-to-use...

NEW YORK, Oct. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The award-winning television series Horizons returns to BBC World News in October. Developed independently by BBC World News and based on OgilvyEntertainment's and DuPont's original concept, Horizons explores the businesses and people who are revolutionizing our world, specifically in the areas of food, energy, and protection. In the first new episode, hosts Adam Shaw and Saima Mohsin travel to Brazil and The Netherlands to investigate...

ROSWELL, N.M., Oct. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As Felix Baumgartner broke the world record for a free fall jump from higher than 120,000 feet today, Sunday, October 14 in space -- becoming the first person to free fall while breaking the sound barrier -- the National Geographic Channel and BBC detailed every second with more than 20 cameras. The footage will be combined with exclusive behind-the-scenes access following Baumgartner's four-year metamorphosis from an elite BASE...

Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online A group of researchers from the United Kingdom who worked with deaf gerbils were recently able to give the animals the ability to hear again. The study is the first of its kind to replace damaged nerve cells with stem cells. The study, published recently in the journal Nature, discovered that hearing can improve when nerves were placed in the ear of the gerbils. Gerbils were the focus of the study as they have a hearing range...

Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online While we’ve been fixated with lasers — shooting them from flying ships, attaching them to shark’s heads, what have you — there’s been another sort of beam waiting in the wings for someone to take notice. In fact, "Masers" have been around before their cooler, younger sibling the Laser. They’ve also been more difficult to generate, requiring high magnetic fields and plenty of cooling. Masers are microwave-emitting beams...

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Palladia, Viacom Media Networks' high-definition music channel, is adding two highly-acclaimed series to its regular line-up. The legendary BBC series "Later... with Jools Holland" premieres on Palladia on Thursday, September 6 at 10pm ET/PT and born-on-the-internet hit "Live From Daryl's House" immediately follows, premiering at 11pm ET/PT. "Palladia is the only network that could offer two very different, but equally brilliant,...

Peter Suciu for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online As the athletes head home, as the temporary venues are closed down and life returns to normal in the British capital, the London Olympics are now just history. For London, the third time was the charm, as the city previously hosted the games in 1908 and again 40 years later in 1948. Many records were broken while many dreams failed to be achieved. In the pool, Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands broke the women’s 100 meter...

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online A special type of glass coating, developed by a German company and inspired by spider webs, is being used for the first time in the UK to help protect birds flocking to an island off the northeast coast of England. The glazing, which is known as Ornilux and is visible to birds but invisible to humans, was developed by researchers at Arnold Glas and is being used at a lookout tower at The Holy Island of Lindisfarne in order to keep...

LONDON, August 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Last night the first national youth orchestra in the world, the National Youth Orchestra of Wales, made its debut at the BBC Proms 66 years after the Orchestra's formation in 1945. Wales' young musicians performed Bernstein's Mass on Monday 6th August at the Royal Albert Hall as they teamed up with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in a performance that also featured young singers from the National Youth Choir of Wales and members of...