Working-titled 'Dust to Dust', the documentary tracks the decomposition process from the moment of death with a team of leading scientists, following on from its 2002 'Autopsy' one-off show.
The Science Museum is to mount an exhibition around the results.
Channel 4 is currently looking for a possible donor, who will be filmed alive before dying of natural causes and the experiment taking place.
The project aims to shed light on the exact processes that take place after death, allowing forensic pathologists to be more precise about the time of death of murder victims.
Peter Korminsky, the director behind 'Warrior' and 'No Child of Mine', has written and directed the fact-based drama, working-titled 'David Kelly', about the weapons inspector who took his own life after becoming embroiled in one of the biggest showdowns between the BBC and the government. The series is due to air in a primetime slot in March.
'Not Only but Always' is a feature-length drama based on comedy duo Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, starring 'Notting Hill' actor Rhys Ifans in his first major TV role. The series tracks Cook and Moore's first meeting, through their glory days in the 1960s, from Private Eye to the movie '10', as well as the bitter split and attempted reconciliation before Cook's death in 1995. It airs in December.
'Cocaine', due to air in January, is a dramatic three-part series from Angus Macqueen following the South American drug trade from three different yet harrowing perspectives.
Jamie Oliver is back for a new documentary series trying to change the eating habits of 20,000 children from schools in South London. 'Jamie's School Dinners' sees the celebrity chef change the greasy school lunch menus to his healthy alternatives all at a cost of 37p a head. As a counterpart, the new documentary 'Fat Kids' explores childhood obesity in the UK.
Channel 4 has also secured a number of US documentaries, most notably the controversial hits, 'Fahrenheit 9/11' and 'Supersize Me'. Reality series such as 'Wife Swap' and 'Brat Camp' are back in the New Year, alongside 'Celebrity Big Brother'.
The broadcaster could not resist a huge helping of sex, with a week in March dedicated to the porn industry.
On the lighter side is 'Diary of a Porn Virgin', detailing what it is like for everyday people to give up their day jobs to join the "glamorous world of porn", while the other side of the industry is shown in 'Dark Side of Porn', which uncovers the HIV crisis that resulted in four US porn stars contracting the disease.
Channel 4 also plans to dedicate a week to programme topics, with thought-provoking documentaries ranging from X-rated programmes and programmes they tried to ban, to religion and arts. These show aim to spice up the often overlooked 11pm offering.
The channel is trying to position itself as an alternative to the BBC, ITV and Five by scheduling its factual programmes at 9pm when the other terrestrial broadcasters would normally be showcasing its drama pieces.
In much the same way, at 10pm Channel 4 is planning to screen its drama offerings, which includes a second series of the award-winning drama, 'Shameless', 'No Angels' and hit US drama 'Desperate Housewives.'
In July, Channel 4 spent an extra £20m on programmes after generating its highest level of advertising revenue and increasing its audience share by 5%. The added investment took the Channel 4 programme budget to £469m -- the highest amount to date for the broadcaster.
Channel 4 director of programmes Kevin Lygo said at the unveiling of the winter schedule today that the channel plans to increase the programme budget by £5m year on year so it can commission more compelling drama and documentary series.
"Ten years ago, 43% of Channel 4 programmes were made up of US imports, in 2004 that has dropped to 29%."
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