tonight on "nightline" -- abandon ship. the shocking, new audiotapes reveal the captain of that crippled italian cruise liner they have jumped ship, while hundreds of passengers were still scrambling to safety. the end of illness. i've climbed glaciers. dodged bullets. survived free fall. >> the unfortunate truth is, you do have some heart disease. >> after my accidental discovery, how one doctor's discovery thinks he may have saved my life. and may save yours, too. and golden at 90. her humor has not waned a bit. >> forget those other women.

>> betty white just had her 90th birthday. and we try to keep up. good evening. i'm bill weir. and a shocking, new picture is emerging tonight of disaster at sea. more than 4,000 people on a luxury cruise, when suddenly, a sickening tilt of the decks breaks the calm. according to reports, the staff says there's no reason for concern. but a frantic scramble for survivor ensues, with some even pushing children out of the way in the race to evacuate. meanwhile, it seems, at least one member of the boat's crew did see cause for concern, the captain himself. it turns out, he was already in a lifeboat. in italy, tonight, here's abc's llama harassen. . >> reporter: that is the sound of a last-ditch rescue effort here in the mediterranean sea.

five days after this luxury cruise ship crashed, divers are actually blowing up parts of "the costa concordia," in an attempt to reach further inside of it. today, they made a grim discovery, five more bodies. but no survivors. >> they just found five people. where people go before leaving -- supposed to go before leaving the ship on a lifeboat. >> reporter: so, they just missed getting on the lifeboat? >> we think so. >> reporter: italian investigators are now piecing together the details of what happened aboard the doomed ship. and they are laying the blame squarely at the feet of its captain, who authorities say was dangerously close to shore. he is under house arrest, after a hearing this morning. prosecutors are considering charging him with manslaughter, as the death toll in the disaster reaches 11 people.

and today, shocking, new audiotapes appear to show he abandoned the sinking ship, while passengers were scrambling for safety. >> look, shchettino, you may have saved yourself from the sea. but it would be very bad for you. >> officer, please. >> there are no pleases. get back onboard. go. there are already bodies. go. >> officer, how many bodies are there? >> i don't know. i know about one. i've heard about one. but you must tell me. do you realize it's dark out there? and we can't see anything. >> what do you want to do? do you want to go home? it's dark, so you want to go home? get on the stern of that ship. climb the ladder. and tell me what can be done. how many people are there and what they need, right now. >> reporter: and while the captain had reportedly abandoned ship, chaos reigned. the ship's 4,200 passengers and

crew try to find their way to the remaining lifeboats. >> i keep praying for somebody to come and rescue us. i thought i was going to die. >> about 200 people went down and caught on the railing. and the lifeboat tipped sideway and fell and swung. everybody was screaming. >> it was complete chaos. it really was the "titanic." people are holding on for dear life. people are screaming. >> reporter: one passenger says she and her family were among the last people to make it on to the lifeboats. >> when we got on that boat, it was really, really listing at this point. it was very, very scary. if you did not hold on to any type of railing, you were not going to survive. >> reporter: from the angle of the ship, you can see how difficult it was for the crew to lower the lifeboats into the water and just how close it is for the shore. for those who did jump, it was only a short distance to get to safety. those who made it to shore, were

greeted by townspeople, bearing water, blankets and shoes for the shocked survivors. >> translator: then, i heard the screams of the people when the ships started to tilt. and at that part, all of the people came out of their houses. >> reporter: this hotel manager, who opens his doors to the survivors, compared the scene to 9/11. >> translator: people were crammed in everywhere. on the garden. on the balcony. it was incredible. a shocking night. >> reporter: five days after the most terrifying night of her life, alex beach still can't believe how the crew failed to provide the most basic safety measures. >> never were we given the drill when you actually put the life jacket on and went to your muster station. >> reporter: one of the first people to call beach was her nephew, "modern family" star,

jesse tiyler ferguson. now, she is back home safe in new mexico. but she thinks of those who didn't make it back. >> my last thought would be for those who were waiting to be rescued and there were no more boats. >> reporter: 20 passengers are still missing, including an american couple, taking their first big vacation since retiring. tonight, their families are trying to look for a glimmer of hope in these dark seas. for "nightline," i'm lama hasan, in italy. >> a lawyer said the loss of life did pain the captain. but he saved many lives by taking the ship in the shallow waters. our thanks to lama hasan. just ahead, i used to joke that my job was killing me. but i'll show you the assignment that saved my life, literally. ♪ what's he looking for?

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>> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city, with bill weir. this story was not supposed to be about me. it was sup a man called a rock star of science. and his belief that modern medicine is completely backwards. instead of america spending billions on the sick, he says, the system should keep us from getting sick in the first place. and to demonstrate his theory, he asked me to undergo a series of cutting-edge tests. said, i'm healthy. you probably won't find anything. but sure. why not? with no clue, that our series, "the end of illness," would actually save my life. all right. >> bill, have a seat. >> reporter: the moment of truth. yeah. >> that is part of you. >> reporter: you know, it's funny. i actually thought this was going to be just another

assignment. until right about here. >> you know, the unfortunate truth is, you do have some heart disease now. >> reporter: the first thought, i actually flashed to an image of my kids, spreading ashes on the same mountain where i buried my dad. second thought, i deserve this. you see, for my first four decades, i carried a secret, arrogant hunch that was i bullet-proof. sure, i exercised. but i can't remember my last checkup. i don't even have a doctor. yeah, i like salad. but my food pyramid is built with racks of ribs and a six-pack. i thought, maybe he's wrong. >> you've been on no preventive strategies. >> reporter: but this is dr. david agus. he kept steve jobs alive years beyond what anybody thought was possible. and he wrote the

most-anticipated book of the year. in "the end of illness," agus makes the staggering admission that man may not ever understand cancer, let alone cure it. but using the science we already have and vast oceans of data, he thinks we can eventually prevent disease altogether. but it can't happen until american boneheads like this fully understand how they're killing themselves. >> when we look in that one of your most important arteries of the heart, called the l.a.d., the big artery going to the heart, there's one lesion in there where there's calcification. these lesions can cause heart attack in the near-term. we all read in the paper about the 45-year-old who went jogging and died of a heart attack. these are the things we worry about. >> reporter: this is my fondness for shtick coming back to haunt me. why has it calcified? >> most predominant is your

genetics. you can blame your parents. you inherited predisposition. >> reporter: how does he know this? dr. agus has a company called navigenics that tests dna. a couple of weeks ago, he provided instructions how to spit into a tube in eight simple steps. it doesn't mention step nine, with the moral dilemma of which is better? knowledge is power? or ignorance is bliss. but to agus, ignorance is death. so, we must gather as much data about ourselves as is medically possible. he had me get a fit tracker, to measure how much i move and how well i sleep. he did a bunch of bloodwork. and then, he sent me through the latest c.t. scanner, to take pictures of every nook and cranny. and here's the crazy part. the rest of me, healthy as a

horse. >> here's your liver. your liver never looked better. >> reporter: i'm a bit surprised. >> i'm a little worried by your surprise. >> we like our beer. i'm sorry. what can i say? >> well, it's liking the cheese i think is a little -- >> reporter: so, while a much-cheaper blood test does show high cholesterol, it was this $1,300 doughnut ride that took the picture that probably saved my life. how accessible is this to a person on an hmo? >> it may or may not be covered by health lines. >> reporter: there's resistance to scans like this being part of your routine checkup. some worry the burst of radiation could raise your risk of cancer. there's an idea of we shouldn't put them in malls and have everybody go through them because you end up chasing, spending more on things that may not be worth it.

what are your thought osen that? >> there are false positives and false negatives. to me, this is an art. you lessen the chance if somebody good does it. >> reporter: the same argument is made of dna testing. remember that spit? >> we're going to talk about your dna. >> reporter: dr. agus found amazing things in there. >> if you look at alzheimer's disease. the national average is 9%. you're 5%. >> reporter: that's a relief. >> it's a relief but it's still not zero. >> what do you say to somebody that says, i don't want to know if i'm going to get alzheimer's. >> i want to charge. being in charge of your destiny is key to health care. the way i liken it, you're in front of two chinese restaurants. you look at the ingredient list, they're exactly the same. you taste the food, they're different. genetics are your ingredient list. you have the example to change the recipe a little. >> reporter: how do we change my

recipe? the advice is simple and may save your life. >> your hdl, your good cholesterol, is elevated. i don't want you on a low-fat diet. i want you on a good-fat diet. olive oil, eggs, cold water fish. i want you to continue your exercise regimen. do something every day. and i want you to develop a regular schedule. i don't want you having lunch today at noon and tomorrow at 3:00. stop the vitamins. you're not vitamin deficient. so, you look at all the large studies of vitamins, most of them have caused problems rather than benefit. so, real food. regular schedule. live healthy. that's the key. >> reporter: you make it sound so simple. >> it's got to be simple and fun. >> reporter: so, get this. i actually dug the treadmill out of the back of the garage and

walked five miles while writing this piece. and for the first time in my life, instead of bratwurst, i grilled salmon during a packers game. and i'm pretty sure why they lost. if they eat enough, i can buy another 50 years of catching fish with a certain girl i know. it's worth a shot. tomorrow morning, i'll join dr. agus on "good morning america." and he'll have more cutting-edge information for you, right here, on "nightline" tomorrow night. coming up next, the golden girl. who must hold the secrets of long life. what's betty white doing for her 90th birthday? [ woman ] i was living with this all-over pain.

a deep, throbbing, persistent ache. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia -- thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and for some people, it can work in as early as the first week of treatment. so now, i can do more of the things i enjoy. lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior, or any swelling or affected breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight including blurry vision, or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs, and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. with less pain, i'm feeling better

now that i found lyrica. ask your doctor if lyrica is right for your fibromyalgia pain.

"nightline" would like to wish the last surviving golden girl, betty white, a very happy 90th birthday. when we set out to unlock the secrets of one of the longest careers in showbiz, she was happy to take us to her favorite place, the los angeles zoo. let's go back. here's abc's vicki mabrey for our series, "on the town." >> reporter: it turns out, if you're on the town with betty white, the only wildlife you'll be seeing is here, at the los angeles zoo. >> kelly has his back to us. but it looks like he has his front to us. >> reporter: she's worked with the l.a. zoo for four decades as a testee and fund-raiser and all-around booster. here, she knows not only the

keepers, but most of the animals, too. >> reporter: where are they from? >> south america, mostly. >> reporter: who do they mate with? >> another taper. >> reporter: off the set, she has that betty white devilish twinkle. >> i'm thinking of breeding them. >> reporter: a twinkle americans have been in love with for a very long time. >> hi. >> reporter: what is it like when you're driving through here or you stop, and all these people want to take your picture. >> oh. they're all so nice. >> reporter: listen, they're young enough to be my grandchildren, almost. >> oh, well, i'm the oldest old broad on the face of the earth. and a lot of these people, the kids are grown up with me. and their parents have grown up with me. and their grandparents have grown up with me. i'm a fixture, as far as they're concerned. that's why they kind of feel that they're, you know, close.

>> reporter: and she shows no signs of slowing down. >> i have a bawdy sense of humor. and i keep my editor awake. >> reporter: anything in showbiz you want to do that you haven't? >> i have one answer for that question. that's robert redford. >> reporter: you mean, you want to star opposite robert? >> not necessarily what i meant. but i don't know if that's for you. >> reporter: she's not retiring, she says. not until the offers stop coming. after all, she has a lot of dependents, all those animals at the l.a. zoo. >> i introduced you to a taper yesterday. you didn't think you would like tapers. >> now, i am in love with tapers. and i'm in love with betty white. >> thank you so much. i appreciate it. thank you, darling. >> reporter: you keep going. >> i will. you can't get rid of me. >> reporter: we can't get ridf