Trees that only grow on diamonds, tiny organisms that make the sea glow, and huge bat colonies that could provide researchers with insights into future pandemics: Galileo reporters Vincent Dehler and Johannes Musial travel around the globe with their Xplorer teams to uncover the secrets of these fascinating natural phenomena.
Their first adventure takes Galileo reporter Johannes Musial and his X-Plorer team to Liberia in West Africa. There, in the middle of the jungle, there is said to be a tree with a unique characteristic: it is said to thrive exclusively on kimberlite soil—the parent rock of diamonds. The tree could be one of the most valuable biological discoveries of the past decades—not only for the search for diamonds, but also for science and, ultimately, even for the rainforest. But the search for the mysterious “screw tree” is difficult because it looks inconspicuous. To find this natural phenomenon, the team battles through dense rainforest, talks to locals, and meets geologist Dr. Steven Haggerty, who discovered this special tree by chance. Will the X-Plorer team be able to solve the mystery of the screw tree?
Off the east coast of Puerto Rico, Galileo reporter Vincent Dehler and his X-Plorer team investigate a glowing wonder in the sea: here, in the bays of the island of Vieques, the water shimmers and sparkles particularly intensely at night—almost all year round. The reason for this is tiny single-celled organisms that have the ability to bioluminesce. Although this magical natural phenomenon can be found in many seas around the world, Mosquito Bay is considered the brightest bioluminescent bay in the world! But why does this natural phenomenon occur so intensely and almost all year round here of all places? Together with his X-Plorer team, reporter Vincent Dehler meets Mark Martin Bras, who grew up in Puerto Rico and has been researching the phenomenon for decades. Will the X-Plorer team be able to unravel the mystery of the intense blue glow with him?
A sinister natural phenomenon is the focus of attention for Vincent and his X-Plorer team in Thailand: huge colonies of millions of bats live in the rugged limestone caves of Ratchaburi Province. They not only play an important role for the local population, but are also the subject of research: A team led by Thai researcher Dr. Supaporn, co-discoverer of the coronavirus, hopes to gain insights from the bats that will enable them to save humanity from the next pandemic. Wearing protective suits, the X-Plorer team joins forces with the virus hunter team to hunt for the small flying animals in the caves. Can the scientists prevent a new pandemic before it emerges through their research?
Galileo X-Plorer “Mysterious Natural Phenomena” – airing on Sunday, September 14, 2025, at 7:05 p.m. on ProSieben and JOYN.
