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Season 44
The towering Himalayas were among the last places on Earth that humanity settled. Scaling sheer cliff sides, a team of daring scientists hunts for clues to how ancient people found their
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The towering Himalayas were among the last places on Earth that humanity settled. Scaling sheer cliff sides, a team of daring scientists hunts for clues to how ancient people found their way into this forbidding landscape and adapted to survive the high altitude. They discover rock-cut tombs filled with human bones and enigmatic artifacts, including gold masks and Chinese silk dating back thousands of years, and piece together evidence of strange rituals and beliefs designed to ward off the restless spirits of the dead.
Scientists explore mountain tombs in the Himalayas, revealing ancient secrets about the people who settled there, including rituals to ward off restless spirits.
Scientists explore mountain tombs in the Himalayas, revealing ancient secrets about the people who settled there, including rituals to ward off restless spirits.
Scientists and engineers work to control a nuclear renaissance five years after the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
Scientists and engineers work to control a nuclear renaissance five years after the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
Five years after the earthquake and tsunami that triggered the unprecedented trio of meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, scientists and engineers are struggling to
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Five years after the earthquake and tsunami that triggered the unprecedented trio of meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, scientists and engineers are struggling to control an ongoing crisis. What’s next for Fukushima? What’s next for Japan? And what’s next for a world that seems determined to jettison one of our most important carbon-free sources of energy? Despite the catastrophe—and the ongoing risks associated with nuclear—a new generation of nuclear power seems poised to emerge the ashes of Fukushima. NOVA investigates how the realities of climate change, the inherent limitations of renewable energy sources, and the optimism and enthusiasm of a new generation of nuclear engineers is looking for ways to reinvent nuclear technology, all while the most recent disaster is still being managed. What are the lessons learned from Fukushima? And with all of nuclear’s inherent dangers, how might it be possible to build a safe nuclear future?
David Pogue investigates how batteries work and what the future may hold for technical innovation.
David Pogue investigates how batteries work and what the future may hold for technical innovation.
We live in an age when technological innovation seems to be limitlessly soaring. But for all the satisfying speed with which our gadgets have improved, many of them share a frustrating
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We live in an age when technological innovation seems to be limitlessly soaring. But for all the satisfying speed with which our gadgets have improved, many of them share a frustrating weakness: the batteries. Though they have improved in last century, batteries remain finicky, bulky, expensive, toxic, and maddeningly short-lived. The quest is on for a “super battery,” and the stakes in this hunt are much higher than the phone in your pocket. With climate change looming, electric cars and renewable energy sources like wind and solar power could hold keys to a greener future...if we can engineer the perfect battery. Join host David Pogue as he explores the hidden world of energy storage, from the power—and danger—of the lithium-ion batteries we use today, to the bold innovations that could one day charge our world.
Shipbuilders in Italy work around the clock to build the Seven Seas Explorer, the world's largest and most luxurious cruise ship.
Shipbuilders in Italy work around the clock to build the Seven Seas Explorer, the world's largest and most luxurious cruise ship.
Weighing 54,000 gross tons and stretching over two football fields, the Seven Seas Explorer is no ordinary boat. Join pioneering shipbuilders as they endeavor to build the ultimate
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Weighing 54,000 gross tons and stretching over two football fields, the Seven Seas Explorer is no ordinary boat. Join pioneering shipbuilders as they endeavor to build the ultimate cruise ship. It will be decked with the finest gold, marble, and crystal and designed to offer guests the roomiest accommodations of any commercial cruise ship. However, engineering opulence is no easy feat. NOVA follows a pioneering team of ship builders as they embark on what is advertised to be a milestone in maritime engineering.
The art of origami reshapes the world, affecting drug development and future NASA space missions.
The art of origami reshapes the world, affecting drug development and future NASA space missions.
The centuries-old tradition of folding two-dimensional paper into three-dimensional shapes is inspiring a scientific revolution. The rules of folding are at the heart of many natural
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The centuries-old tradition of folding two-dimensional paper into three-dimensional shapes is inspiring a scientific revolution. The rules of folding are at the heart of many natural phenomena, from how leaves blossom to how beetles fly. But now, engineers and designers are applying its principles to reshape the world around us—and even within us, designing new drugs, micro-robots, and future space missions. With this burgeoning field of origami-inspired-design, the question is: can the mathematics of origami be boiled down to one elegant algorithm—a fail-proof guidebook to make any object out of a flat surface, just by folding? And if so, what would that mean for the future of design? Explore the high-tech future of this age-old art as NOVA unfolds “The Origami Revolution.”
Investigators study wreckage of train accidents; safety experts test crash prevention designs.
Investigators study wreckage of train accidents; safety experts test crash prevention designs.
From derailments to head-on collisions to drivers killed at road crossings, deadly train accidents claim dozens of lives each year. But just how unsafe are the railroads? NOVA
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From derailments to head-on collisions to drivers killed at road crossings, deadly train accidents claim dozens of lives each year. But just how unsafe are the railroads? NOVA investigates recent rail tragedies and advances in train tech that could help prevent them, taking a special look at Japan’s superefficient bullet trains, which have a perfect safety record. What would it take to usher in a new golden age of safer, faster, more modern and reliable train travel?
Archaeologists discover a tunnel near Vilnius, Lithuania, which served as an escape route for Jews fleeing the Nazis during World War II.
Archaeologists discover a tunnel near Vilnius, Lithuania, which served as an escape route for Jews fleeing the Nazis during World War II.
For centuries, the Lithuanian city of Vilna was one of the most important Jewish centers in the world, earning the title “Jerusalem of the North” until World War II, when the Nazis
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For centuries, the Lithuanian city of Vilna was one of the most important Jewish centers in the world, earning the title “Jerusalem of the North” until World War II, when the Nazis murdered about 95% of its Jewish population and reduced its synagogues and cultural institutions to ruins. The Soviets finished the job, paving over the remnants of Vilna’s famous Great Synagogue so thoroughly that few today know it ever existed. Now, an international team of archaeologists is trying to rediscover this forgotten world, excavating the remains of its Great Synagogue and searching for proof of one of Vilna’s greatest secrets: a lost escape tunnel dug by Jewish prisoners inside a horrific Nazi execution site.
Engineers build a dome to contain the crumbling remains of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor.
Engineers build a dome to contain the crumbling remains of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor.
Design secrets that made chariots a war machine for hundreds of years; how they were used and how they helped unify China.
Design secrets that made chariots a war machine for hundreds of years; how they were used and how they helped unify China.
The water crisis in Flint, Mich., brings awareness to the vulnerabilities of water systems across the U.S.
The water crisis in Flint, Mich., brings awareness to the vulnerabilities of water systems across the U.S.
The history of eclipse science and research into the solar corona.
The history of eclipse science and research into the solar corona.
On August 21, 2017, millions of Americans will witness the first total solar eclipse to cross the continental United States in 99 years. As in all total solar eclipses, the moon will
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On August 21, 2017, millions of Americans will witness the first total solar eclipse to cross the continental United States in 99 years. As in all total solar eclipses, the moon will block the sun, revealing its ethereal outer atmosphere—its corona—in a wondrous celestial spectacle. While hordes of citizens prepare to flock to the eclipse’s path of totality,
The Cassini space probe attempts to dive between the innermost ring and top of Saturn's atmosphere.
The Cassini space probe attempts to dive between the innermost ring and top of Saturn's atmosphere.
A re-engineering of Greenwich armor to get a sense of what it was like to be a knight and how the armor was manufactured in medieval times.
A re-engineering of Greenwich armor to get a sense of what it was like to be a knight and how the armor was manufactured in medieval times.
Archaeological digs reveal new clues as to who built Stonehenge and why.
Archaeological digs reveal new clues as to who built Stonehenge and why.
The architectural design of Beijing's ancient complex of palaces and temples enabled it to survive centuries of earthquake shocks.
The architectural design of Beijing's ancient complex of palaces and temples enabled it to survive centuries of earthquake shocks.
The hunt for a volcanic mega-eruption that plunged medieval Earth into a deep freeze includes geologic evidence from Greenland to Antarctica.
The hunt for a volcanic mega-eruption that plunged medieval Earth into a deep freeze includes geologic evidence from Greenland to Antarctica.
Researching the Great Hurricane of 1780, which blasted its way across the Caribbean, why it was so dangerous and the potential for more mega-storms in the future.
Researching the Great Hurricane of 1780, which blasted its way across the Caribbean, why it was so dangerous and the potential for more mega-storms in the future.
All over the world, scientists are discovering traces of ancient floods on a scale that dwarfs even the most severe flood disasters of recent times. What triggered these cataclysmic
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All over the world, scientists are discovering traces of ancient floods on a scale that dwarfs even the most severe flood disasters of recent times. What triggered these cataclysmic floods, and could they strike again? In the Channeled Scablands of Washington State, the level prairie gives way to bizarre, gargantuan rock formations: house-sized boulders seemingly dropped from the sky, a cliff carved by a waterfall twice the height of Niagara, and potholes large enough to swallow cars. Like forensic detectives at a crime scene, geologists study these strange features and reconstruct catastrophic Ice Age floods more powerful than all the world’s top ten rivers combined. NOVA follows their efforts to uncover the geologic fingerprints of other colossal megafloods in Iceland and, improbably, on the seabed of the English Channel. There, another deluge smashed through a land bridge connecting Britain and France hundreds of thousands of years ago and turned Britain into an island for the first time. These great disasters ripped through terrain and transformed continents in a matter of hours—and similar forces reawakened by climate change are posing an active threat to mountain communities throughout the world today.
Efforts to uncover the geologic footprints of colossal megafloods in Iceland and on the seabed of the English Channel.
Efforts to uncover the geologic footprints of colossal megafloods in Iceland and on the seabed of the English Channel.
From lobster claws and dog teeth to bee stings and snake fangs, every creature depends on a weapon. But some are armed to extremes that make no practical sense—whether it’s bull elks
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From lobster claws and dog teeth to bee stings and snake fangs, every creature depends on a weapon. But some are armed to extremes that make no practical sense—whether it’s bull elks with giant 40-pound antler racks or tiny rhinoceros beetles with horns bigger than their body. What explains giant tusks, horns, and claws that can slow an animal down and even impair health and nutrition? NOVA investigates the riddle of outsize weaponry and uncovers a bold new theory about what triggers an animal arms race. In creatures as varied as dung beetles and saber-toothed tigers, shrimp and elephants, the same hidden factors trigger the race and, once started, these arms races unfold in exactly the same pattern. Join scientists as they crack the secret biological code that underlies nature’s battleground.
Why some animals have extreme armaments, including claws, horns, fangs and stings.
Why some animals have extreme armaments, including claws, horns, fangs and stings.
Call somebody a “bird brain,” and you’re not delivering them a compliment. But as NOVA shows, birds turn out to have advanced problem-solving skills that we usually assume are unique to
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Call somebody a “bird brain,” and you’re not delivering them a compliment. But as NOVA shows, birds turn out to have advanced problem-solving skills that we usually assume are unique to humans. Watch astonishing tests of avian aptitude: parrots that can plan for the future, jackdaws that can “read” human faces, and crows that can solve multi-step puzzles with tools like pebbles, sticks, and hooks. Could these just be clever tricks based on instinct or triggered by subtle cues from their human handlers? To rule out any doubts, NOVA puts feathered Einsteins through their paces and reveals skills that even three- or four-year-old children have a hard time mastering—such as putting off one reward now to get a bigger one later. From this revolution in thinking about our feathered friends, the conclusion seems irresistible that bird brains see the world in ways that aren’t so different from our own.
Scientists test avian aptitude with brainteasers that reveal acute intelligence.
Scientists test avian aptitude with brainteasers that reveal acute intelligence.
A seven-mile-wide asteroid collided with Earth 66 million years ago, triggering a chain of events that coincide with the end of the dinosaurs. But experts have long debated exactly what
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A seven-mile-wide asteroid collided with Earth 66 million years ago, triggering a chain of events that coincide with the end of the dinosaurs. But experts have long debated exactly what happened when the asteroid struck and how the giant beasts met their end. Now, scientists have uncovered compelling new clues about the catastrophe—from New Jersey to the wilds of Patagonia—and an international expedition of scientists has drilled into the impact crater off the coast of Mexico, recovering crucial direct evidence of the searing energy and giant tsunami unleashed by the asteroid. Join NOVA as scientists piece together a chillingly precise unfolding of the Earth’s biggest cataclysm, moment by moment, and discover how our early mammalian ancestors managed to survive and repopulate the Earth.
Scientists discover new clues as to the catastrophe that ended the reign of the dinosaurs on Earth.
Scientists discover new clues as to the catastrophe that ended the reign of the dinosaurs on Earth.
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