Walking with prehistoric beasts
Journey into a strange world where flightless terror birds as tall as a man can kill with a single snap of their powerful beaks. Early ancestors of man struggle for power and territory trying to defend themselves against saber-tooth tiger attacks. This begins with the end of the dinosaurs and ends with the rise of the first humans.
The brain
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.
Brain games
[This] three-part series provides a fascinating window into the inner workings of the brain as never before. Through interactive experiments and tricks, [the programs] reveal how our brains create the illusion of a seamless reality. As these revealing experiments provide a unique view into our brains, the world's leading experts explain how and why these tests work.
Climbing redwood giants
These giant trees stretch more than 300 feet above the ground, with hidden gardens and mysterious predators thriving within their canopy. Obsessive redwood climber Steve Sillett of Humboldt State University investigates their monster crowns, tallying biological material and discovering new record-breaking trees, while escaping falling branches and crashing trees in the process. Explorer-in-Residence Mike Fay charts the redwood range.
Cracking the code of life
This documentary examines the complex race to decode the human genome. Examines the work of, and contains interviews with: Francis Collins, director of the National Center for Human Genome Research; J. Craig Venter, head of its rival, the private Celera Genomics; and the Whitehead Institute's Eric Lander, one of the leaders of the Human Genome Project.
Evolution. Darwin's dangerous idea
For 21 years, Charles Darwin kept his theory of evolution secret from all but a few friends. He confided to one: "It's like confessing to a murder." His torment resonates in society today -- in the challenge his incredibly powerful idea poses to our understanding of our world and ourselves. Darwin's Dangerous Idea interweaves the drama in key moments of Darwin's life with documentary sequences of current research, linking past to present and introducing major concepts of evolutionary theory. It explores why Darwin's "dangerous idea" might matter even more today than it did in his own time, and reveals how science might be used to explain the past and predict the future of life on earth
Greatest discoveries with Bill Nye. Genetics
Nye discusses the process by which scientists came to understand that inherited information is passed according to rules.
The human body, how it works. The skeletal and muscular systems
Identifies the various bones in the human body by dividing the skeleton, analyzing the composition, and categorizing the different bone and joint types. Also looks at the skeletal muscular system, including a detailed look at muscle cells, fibers, and connective tissue.
Incredible human machine
Brilliantly designed and marvelous in its mechanics, the human body is incredible. With stunning footage and powerful first hand accounts, take a fantastic journey through an ordinary day in the life of the human body. Witness striking feats of medical advancement, from glimpses of open-brain surgery to real-time views of Aerosmith rocker Steven Tyler's vocal chords. Meet athletes and other unique people who push the human body to its ultimate limits.
Judgment day: intelligent design on trial
Judgment day: intelligent design on trial captures the turmoil that tore apart the community of Dover, Pennsylvania, in a landmark battle over the teaching of evolution in public schools. In 2004, the Dover school board ordered science teachers to read a statement to high school biology students about an alternative to Darwin's theory of evolution called intelligent design--the idea that life is too complex to have evolved naturally and so must have been designed by an intelligent agent. The teachers refused to comply, and both parents and teachers filed a lawsuit in federal court accusing the school board of violating the constitutional separation of church and state. ... Featuring trial reenactments based on court transcripts and interviews with key participants and expert scientists, this program presents the case of Kitzmiller v. Dover School District.
Planet Carnivore: Sharks and Lions
Stories of survival among the biggest, most successful meat-eating predators in the world and how their biological imperative drives, shapes, and decides the fate of their world.