Extinction: The Facts

L'Europe à la reconquête de la biodiversité

Increase of chronic diseases, loss of biodiversity, extinction of bees... for a few years, the consequences of pesticides mass use are compelling public opinion. How to explain their effects on human health and biodiversity, whereas EU regulations forbid the spread of every harmful product ?

Portrait of Hermann Heinzel.

They have no roots, no seeds, no flowers, but mosses show immense survival capacities and can suspend their biological activity for long periods. Today, researchers are exploring the exceptional resistance of these archaic organisms. British ecologists have even resurrected a "zombie" moss that has been trapped in the permafrost for 1,500 years. Associated with decay and disliked in Europe, mosses are deified in Japan. With 25,000 species worldwide, bryophytes - their scientific name - are the seat of real ecosystems, and can develop in inhospitable landscapes, through an extravagant reproduction cycle.

Jane Goodall-Reasons For hope is an uplifting journey with stories to inspire people to make a difference in the world. Three different conservation stories illustrate Jane's pillars of hope.

One entry in a series of films produced to make science accessible to the masses—especially children—this film describes the sun in scientific but entertaining terms.

The biggest tech revolution of the 21st century isn’t digital, it’s biological. A breakthrough called CRISPR gives us unprecedented control over the basic building blocks of life. It opens the door to curing disease, reshaping the biosphere, and designing our own children. This documentary is a provocative exploration of CRISPR’s far-reaching implications, through the eyes of the scientists who discovered it, the families it’s affecting, and the genetic engineers who are testing its limits.

This remarkable journey across our planet and universe explores how meteorites, shooting stars, and deep impacts have awoken our wonder about other realms—and make us rethink our destinies.

A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography. It includes bees collecting nectar, ladybugs eating mites, snails mating, spiders wrapping their catch, a scarab beetle relentlessly pushing its ball of dung uphill, endless lines of caterpillars, an underwater spider creating an air bubble to live in, and a mosquito hatching.

Free Will? A Documentary is an in-depth investigation featuring world renowned philosophers and scientists into the most profound philosophical debate of all time: Do we have free will?

Die Sonne

Etienne-Jules Marey, a French inventor who turned a gun into a camera. A hand-drawn hunter whose weapon, instead of firing ammunition, shoots photographs. Carlos, a Mexican wildlife photographer who used to be a real life hunter until he chose to get rid of all his guns. All come together in this poetic yet approachable animated documentary short film.

Dessine - moi une hirondelle

Are we becoming Plastic People? Our ground-breaking feature documentary investigates our addiction to plastic and the growing threat of microplastics on human health. Almost every bit of plastic ever made ends up ground down into "microplastics". These microscopic particles drift in the air, float in the water and sit in the soil. And now, leading scientists are finding them in our bodies: organs, blood, brain tissue and even the placentas of new mothers. What is the impact of these invisible invaders on our health? Ziya Tong, author and science journalist, makes it personal by visiting leading scientists and undergoing experiments in her home, on her food, and on her body.

Explore the secrets of the universe with Professor Brian Cox in this special event that combines ground-breaking science with the power of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Horizon: Which Universe Are We In?

What forms might life take in the Solar System and beyond? In the Academy's newest original planetarium show, see how a deeper understanding of Earth might help us locate other living worlds, light years away.

Bill Nye is retiring his kid show act in a bid to become more like his late professor, astronomer Carl Sagan. Sagan dreamed of launching a spacecraft that could revolutionize interplanetary exploration. Bill sets out to accomplish Sagan's mission, but he is pulled away when he is challenged by evolution and climate change contrarians to defend the scientific consensus. Can Bill show the world why science matters in a culture increasingly indifferent to evidence?

A large iron meteorite is found by two enthusiasts. But who owns it? A subtle film about property rights that develops into a philosophical and slightly absurd story.

A documentary produced in 1979 to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Albert Einstein. Narrated and hosted by Peter Ustinov and written by Nigel Calder.