Catalyst - Season 20

With Australia in the grip of an allergy epidemic, we set up a pop-up clinic to understand why so many of us are suffering from these conditions and reveal the latest science about what we can do to treat and prevent them.

Catalyst brings together 15 ordinary Australians to take part in a revealing scientific experiment - to see if practicing mindfulness can help treat conditions like chronic pain, anxiety and stress that affect millions of us.

Professor Tamara Davis meets the scientists on a quest to hunt down black holes, the journey has brought us to the cusp of an unprecedented milestone in scientific achievement - to photograph a black hole for the first time.

Ian Henderson, the recently retired and much loved ABC newsreader, sets out on a quest to find the secret to ageing healthily, and along the way uncovers some amazing new science that could benefit us all.

Dr Sarah McKay uncovers the revolutionary new science that promises to keep your brain healthy into old age - and uncovers the drugs that hope to defeat many of the diseases of ageing.

Lily Serna finds out how maths can help us all become smarter with the risks we take in life. And she discovers that far from taking too many risks, many of us are playing it too safe.

For 6 weeks, Catalyst was given unprecedented access to an incredible unit that performs some of the most complex and specialised craniofacial surgery in the world to help rebuild people's faces and lives.

Journalist Ruby Jones meets some of the 2.5 million Australians whom body image concerns have become a serious mental health issue. Ruby discovers that far from vanity these disorders are crippling people's lives.