Featuring Michael Pollan and based on his best-selling book, this special takes viewers on an exploration of the human relationship with the plant world — seen from the plants' point of view. Narrated by Frances McDormand, the program shows how four familiar species — the apple, the tulip, marijuana and the potato — evolved to satisfy our yearnings for sweetness, beauty, intoxication.
This documentary outlines the unique properties and latest studies of "Physarum Polycephalum", also known as Blob.
In a studio setting, Stephen Hawking, Arthur C. Clarke and Carl Sagan (who joins them via satellite) discuss the Big Bang theory, God, our existence as well as the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
A short doc about how faces are perceived: by scientists, by artists, by animals. How do we remember faces so well if we can barely describe them with words? Why do we see them everywhere? What even are they? What is my face?
A Cambridge geneticist dispels misconceptions about living with obesity and explores why the epidemic continues to expand across the UK and America.
THE BRAIN is an astonishing voyage of discovery into our last biological frontier. Although today s computers can make calculations in one-100th of a second and technology can transport us outside the bonds of Earth, only now are we beginning to understand the most complex machine in the universe. Using simple analogies, real-life case studies, and state-of-the-art CGI, this special shows how the brain works, explains the frequent battle between instinct and reason, and unravels the mysteries of memory and decision-making. It takes us inside the mind of a soldier under fire to see how decisions are made in extreme situations, examines how an autistic person like Rain Man develops remarkable skills, and takes on the age-old question of what makes one person good and another evil. Research is rushing forward. We’ve learned more about the workings of the brain in the last five years than in the previous one hundred.
Every month, an estimated 200,000 Australians deliberately hurt themselves. They cut, scratch, burn and sometimes even break bones. It's called self-harm, and it peaks in teenagers and young people. The Silent Epidemic explores this dark and often secret behaviour, asking why more and more people are turning to self-harm as a way to cope with life. Interweaving their personal stories with scientific enquiry, The Silent Epidemic casts a unique lens onto what is fast becoming a problem that can no longer remain hidden. In response to the growing numbers, a group of Melbourne scientists are hunting for a radical solution to self-harm with a world-first experiment. The Silent Epidemic charts their progress: it is both a wake-up call, and ultimately, a story of hope. Written by Mark Hamlyn
A documentary that explores the natural world of the sea, from the single-celled organism to more complex forms of life, OCEAN ORIGINS was originally filmed in the IMAX large format, which adds a crispness and clarity to the images. This documentary film seeks to examine the process of evolution by looking at the many creatures of the sea that can illustrate the way multi-cellular life emerged over the course of four billion years. OCEAN ORIGINS is a creative film that uses fascinating documentary footage to look at scientific theories and principles in an interesting manner
An exploration of the link between science and beauty through the work of scientists at CERN, in Geneva.
Take a fascinating journey inside the bizarre world of a living human being with this compelling documentary from National Geographic, where microscopic cameras and other state-of-the-art technologies reveal perspectives that will blow your mind. Tracking the body of a female from infancy to old age, viewers will observe the digestion of a meal, the development of the cardiac system and other mesmerizing aspects of the body's inner workings.
For a few years now, scientists have known about the existence of another brain within our bodies. This second brain, or "brain down below" is none other than our stomach. The stomach's intelligence is a new avenue of research that is fascinating research teams the world over.
The universe, endless expanse. In this galactic double feature you will experience a breath-taking insight into our solar system. Up close, made for IMAX® Theaters and of course in 3D!
Earth teems with a staggering variety of animals, including 9,000 kinds of birds, 28,000 types of fish, and more than 350,000 species of beetles. What explains this explosion of living creatures—1.4 million different species discovered so far, with perhaps another 50 million to go? The source of life's endless forms was a profound mystery until Charles Darwin brought forth his revolutionary idea of natural selection. But Darwin's radical insights raised as many questions as they answered. What actually drives evolution and turns one species into another? To what degree do different animals rely on the same genetic toolkit? And how did we evolve?
In this two-hour special, NOVA captures the turmoil that tore apart the community of Dover, Pennsylvania in one of the latest battles over teaching evolution in public schools. Featuring trial reenactments based on court transcripts and interviews with key participants, including expert scientists and Dover parents, teachers, and town officials, "Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial" follows the celebrated federal case of Kitzmiller v. Dover School District.
What powers some of the brightest attractions at Disney's theme parks? Electricity! From lighting the half million bulbs in Magic Kingdom's Spectromagic parade to transmitting electricity through water for the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, Disney Imagineers show students how electricity brings some of their favorite rides to life. Students will learn the definitions of source, load, conductor, watts, as well as static electricity and its connection to lightning rods aboard the Disney Magic cruise ship.
While life expectancy is increasing in Western countries, cases of diabetes, hypertension, obesity and cancer are increasing, and the use of medication has exploded. Does this mean that in order to live to a ripe age we are condemned to swallow more and more drugs? What if there was another way? For half a century, in Russia, Germany and the U.S., doctors and biologists have been exploring a different therapeutic approach: fasting. The results are amazing. Soviet researchers have provided a body of clinical studies of exceptional health…only published in Russian, and thus unknown in the West. Young biologists from the University of Los Angeles have overturned conventional wisdom and used molecular biology to demonstrate the powerful effects of fasting. This research suggests a wide-ranging potential, which could include treatments for the disease of the century, cancer. If these scientists are right, maybe our approach to disease and treatment will need a rethink.
Since the invention of the wheel we have striven to make great machines that would make our lives more productive and efficient, however we will almost certainly never invent a machine as efficient as the human body. Each component of the machine is given in depth attention with the same clarity and insightful touch you have come to expect from the Eyewitness books. There are over 206 bones, half of which are in the hands and feet. A total of 640 muscles contract and exert pressure, working together with our skeleton to turn power and strength into movement and precision. Our bodies are incredibly resilient machines, and conversely life is very fragile. After all, unlike any other, this machine can reproduce itself.
15 Ph.D. scientists expose devastating weaknesses in modern evolutionary theory. Subject areas covered include the fields of genetics, radiometric dating, natural selection, the geologic column, the fossil record, the origin of life, cosmology, and ethics. 3D animations and dramatic footage help to show how the theory's supposed strengths are, in fact, its fatal flaws-Evolution's Achilles' Heels. - Written by Carter, Robert (XXII)
Sous-marins nucléaires : Les Armes de l'ombre
David Attenborough takes us on a guided tour through the secret world of plants, to see things no unaided eye could witness. Each episode in this six-part series focuses on one of the critical stages through which every plant must pass if it is to survive:- travelling, growing, and flowering; struggling with one another; creating alliances with other organisms both plant and animal; and evolving complex ways of surviving in the earth's most ferociously hostile environments.