In Greek mythology Pandora opened a jar releasing sickness, death and many other unknown evils into the world. Today, over half of all existing human infectious diseases and three quarters of new and emerging infectious diseases are from animals, many of which we know very little about. As our contact with wildlife increases, habitats are destroyed and the environment changes, are we opening up our own Pandora's Box of trouble?

Half the world's population lives at constant risk of becoming sick with malaria, yet the only route to infection is the bite of a mosquito. Why is the malaria parasite so successful? Together we will explore the sex life of male and female malaria parasites and how malaria contraception is helping us to beat malaria.

Archaeologists find cool stuff all the time, from lost cities to cave paintings to buried treasures. But how do archaeologists know where to find these traces of ancient history? How do archaeologists decide where to dig, and how do they know they will discover something? What happens when archaeologists decide they have found a place to start shoveling? The answer is usually a combination of research, sampling and luck.