Subscribe to Naked Science - http://goo.gl/wpc2Q1 By the age of 11 childhood is nearly over and we’re about to change like never before, we’re on the brink of adulthood, but first comes the hormone surge of puberty. Puberty doesn’t follow a schedule, it can begin at any time, depending on our DNA clock, our lifestyle, even our diet. Whether female of male, it begins at the base of the brain in the hypothalamus, the same region that controls our body temperature. Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction to enable fertilisation. Puberty starts when the hypothalamus releases the protein Kisspeptin into the brain. The Kisspeptin triggers the release of other hormones throughout the body, this stimulates the sex organs to mature. Clip from the critically acclaimed documentary “The Living Body”. Watch it here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvprxzfsYQU