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- Science documentaries about various topics.
- Uncover the complicated truth behind our sense of taste.
- On December 30, 2019, Chinese virologist George Fu Gao, director of the National Center for Disease Control in Beijing, saw a piece of information fall on his screen that would soon affect all of humanity: a lung disease of unknown origin had broken out in Wuhan, in central China. Eleven days later, on January 10, 2020, his team has already sequenced the genome of this new corona-virus and shared the results globally. For researchers at the forefront of virology, the Chinese alert is a wake-up call. The pandemic is likely, even inevitable, and they must try to catch it by creating an effective vaccine. Five teams will take the lead in this scientific race.
- Working in East Africa in the 1950s, Tony Allison was the first researcher to find a connection between the infectious parasitic disease malaria and the genetic disease sickle cell anemia. His discovery is among the first and best-understood examples of natural selection, where the selective agent, adaptive mutation, and critical molecules involved are known--and all in humans. The protection against malaria by the sickle-cell mutation shows how evolution does not necessarily result in the best solution imaginable but proceeds by whatever means are available.
- For life to survive, it must adapt and readapt to an ever-changing Earth. The discovery of the Antarctic icefish has provided a stunning example of adaptation in an environment both hostile and abundant, where the birth of new genes and the death of old ones have played crucial roles. Researchers Bill Detrich, Christina Cheng, and Art DeVries have pinpointed the genetic changes that enable icefish to thrive without hemoglobin and red blood cells and to avoid freezing in the icy ocean.
- A journey into a special region of the brain- the biological clock that governs our physiology and certain behaviors.
- The heart acts as a dual pump, sending oxygen-depleted blood to the lungs and pumping oxygen-rich blood to vital organs throughout the body.
- In the early 1800s, most people, scientists included, accepted as fact that every species was specially created by God in a form that never changed. The epic voyages and revolutionary insights of two brave young British naturalists, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, overturned this long-held idea. Prodigious collectors of animals and plants, each man developed a keen appreciation for the variation within species, the relatedness of species, and the patterns of geographic distribution-evidence that was hard to reconcile with special creation. This hard-earned knowledge led each to ask why and how creatures came to live in a given place.
- Eva Harris on developing safe vaccines for dengue and other diseases.
- The Darwinian revolution was the first revolution in biology.
- A first-hand account of the painstaking search for Tiktaalik, a creature with a mix of features common to fish and four-legged animals.
- Eva Harris lectures on research aimed at thwarting dengue fever in the lab and in communities.
- The products of natural, and human, selection are all around us. Humans have transformed wild plants into useful crops by selective breeding. Human selection has also produced pets and other domesticated animals with sizes and shapes very different from their wild ancestors.
- Lecture on how new technologies like the Virochip harness DNA's properties to identify and fight new viruses.
- The inner workings of the fruit fly's biological clock.
- Eric Kandel lectures on memory and the brain.
- Dr. Rosbash reveals that the fruit fly has a biological clock in its nervous system.
- Understanding biological clocks in mammals.
- A look at how birds evolved from dinosaurs.
- An overview of embryonic development, the progressive differentiation of cells, and properties of embryonic stem cells.
- A look at the origins of mankind.
- The role of stem cells in regeneration, and ongoing research to improve mammalian regeneration potency.
- Recent studies have identified important genes that direct embryonic development. Specific developmental regulators control the formation of heads and tails, backs and bellies, forelimbs and hind limbs, and the left and right sides of the body.
- The analysis of DNA sequences reveals the genetic heritage of modern humans. Using genetic evidence, scientists established that modern humans (Homo sapiens) originated from Africa. As groups of modern humans dispersed from Africa, they adapted to different environments around the globe. Genetic variations in human populations account for these adaptations, which continue to play a role in our lives. Examples of adaptations include what we choose to eat, what we are able to digest, and how susceptible we are to certain diseases.
- The cellular and molecular nature of learning and memory, investigated in simpler sea slugs and more-complex mice.
- Thomas M. Jessell lectures on how nerve cells get their identity, how they send axons, and how they make connections with other cells.
- Dr. Knoll takes viewers on a tour of the life forms that have existed on our planet since its origin. The history of animals etched in the fossil record represents merely the most recent 15 percent of the entire history of life on Earth. The deeper history and the greatest diversity is microbial. Dr. Knoll also discusses his exploration of possible life on Mars, research that draws on images of ancient sedimentary rocks collected by the NASA rover Opportunity.
- The discovery of DNA as the basis of heredity led to an explosive growth of knowledge about the human genome.
- In 1994, scientists discovered the remarkably well-preserved fossil of "Ardi," a member of the 4.4-million-year-old species Ardipithecus ramidus. Fossils found with Ardi indicate that she lived in a woodland rather than savanna habitat. Even more surprising than her ecology is the unique combination of humanlike and chimplike anatomical features. Ardi's remains illuminate the divergent evolutionary histories of living chimpanzees and humans.
- Dr. Oreskes shares her insights into why the growing scientific consensus on climate change continues to be debated. She describes how a Cold War-era think tank became an influential source of anti-regulation sentiment, swaying public opinion on many topics, including climate change. She then reviews the reasons why scientists have come to a consensus on climate change, as well as debunking some common arguments against anthropogenic causes of climate change.
- Understanding the neural circuits in the spinal cord that control movement.
- One of the most profound questions we can ask is "Where have we come from?" Charles Darwin addressed this question in his book on human evolution, The Descent of Man, which was published in 1871. Since then, scientists have gathered fossil and genetic evidence to give shape to the human evolutionary tree. Evolutionary science, like all science, involves processes for building a body of knowledge based on reason and evidence, and requires both creativity and critical thinking.
- Dr. Oreskes explores past scientific models of the processes responsible for shaping the physical features of our planet and describes the current theory of plate tectonics. She brings her historical perspective to tell fascinating stories of how scientific ideas are born and how some eventually die.
- Archaeology is the study of human residues using the scientific method to reconstruct human behavior. Residues are anything that results from human action, including stone tools. Tools are important in differentiating humans from other animals, and stone tools can be preserved over millions of years. By studying stone tools, scientists have learned how past human species might have lived and behaved, and how early humans differed from chimpanzees.
- The story of animal evolution is marked by key innovations such as limbs for walking on land, wings for flight, and color patterns for advertising or concealment.
- The Virochip has been used to identify the infectious agents of SARS and other diseases.
- The disappearance of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period posed one of the greatest, long-standing scientific mysteries. This three-act film tells the story of the extraordinary detective work that solved it. Shot on location in Italy, Spain, Texas, Colorado, and North Dakota, the film traces the uncovering of key clues that led to the stunning discovery that an asteroid struck the Earth 66 million years ago, triggering a mass extinction of animals, plants, and even microorganisms. Each act illustrates the nature and power of the scientific method. Representing a rare instance in which many different disciplines- geology, physics, biology, chemistry, paleontology- contributed to a revolutionary theory, this film will engage all who are interested in science.
- The rock pocket mouse is a living example of Darwin's process of natural selection. Evolution is happening right now everywhere around us, and adaptive changes can occur in a population with remarkable speed. This is essential if you're a mouse living in an environment where a volcanic eruption can reverse selective pressure in nearly an instant. The film features Dr. Michael Nachman, whose work on pocket mice reveals a complete story, from ecosystem to molecules, that demonstrates how random changes in the genome can take many paths to the same adaptation-a colored coat that hides them from predators.
- Although heart disease typically occurs after middle age, seemingly fit and healthy young individuals can die suddenly from heart disease.
- Dr. Schrag discusses climate change in the geologic past and explains how that knowledge can help us understand the impact of human activities on future climate. Climate researchers agree that over the past century human activities have been causing global temperatures to rise at unprecedented rates. Dr. Schrag looks at how this trend might be slowed with the aid of technologies such as carbon capture and storage.
- Molecular genetic research has identified genes that, when mutated, cause either increased or decreased blood pressure.
- A look into how the inventions of Howard Hughes and his companies changed the world.
- Scientists are on the verge of answering one of the greatest questions in history: Are we alone? Finding Life Beyond Earth immerses audiences in the sights and sounds of alien worlds, while top astrobiologists explain how these places are changing how we think about the potential for life in our solar system.
- The ability for people to have their genetic codes analyzed is examined, as are the moral aspects that come with access to such information.
- NOVA meets a new breed of experts who are approaching "cold case" art mysteries as if they were crime scenes, determined to discover "who committed the art," and follows art sleuths as they deploy new techniques to combat the multi-billion dollar criminal market in stolen and fraudulent art.
- What we see is only a small portion of the full spectrum of colour. The "invisible" colours are not only interesting to examine also but powerful and useful for science and industrial production and affect many aspects of our everyday lives.
- This program explores the way our experiences shape our minds and bodies as we journey from the most helpless to the most sophisticated organism on earth. Drs van Tullekan uncover how we develop new skills.