Naked Science

Archaeologists at Denali Nation Park have unearthed evidence of hunter-gathers who inhabited the area 14,000 years ago. Tools, weapons, hundreds of artifacts and human remains have been revealed. Receding glaciers in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve have yielded beautifully preserved human remains. Scientists try to determine how these early inhabitants were able to survive Alaska's harsh environment.

Each year, the moon moves an inch and one half farther away from Earth and is gaining momentum. The gravity it exerts on our planet acts as a stabilization mechinism, allowing for a consistent range of temperatures, seasons and days. If the moon moves just ten percent farther, it will cause unbelievable disaster for our planet, as Earth tips up to 90 degrees on its axis.

There are numerous theories about how life began on Earth. One thought is that it sprang up in the warm waters of a pond. Another suggests it arrived via comets. A different theory says life sprang from lightening and volcanoes. Scientists demonstrate that a spark of electricity applied to a primordial soup forms amino acids--the building blocks of life.

On your tour of the red planet, you'll see magnificent volcanoes and breathtaking canyons. Also breathtaking is the atmosphere: it's unbreathable. The low-gravity environment makes for incredible jumping powers for human tourists.

Until recently, there was nothing that could be done about natural disasters like super-volcanic eruptions, meteors striking Earth, and severe hurricanes. Now, both science and government are looking at possible game-changing options that include giant space mirrors, hurricane-draining pumps and lasers to save people and the planet.

The search for life on other planets in the universe involves cutting edge technology. The Allen Telescope Array is used by SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) to scan the skies in search of radio signals from intelligent beings. Planet hunters, astronomers and NASA scientists brainstorm on new techniques that could finally prove we're not alone in the universe.

The famous explosion that took place in Siberia early in the 20th century, known as the Tunguska Event, obliterated everything within thousands of square miles. It was so intense that the skies of Europe were lit for several nights. The debate continues over its cause: meteor, comet, or volcanic gasses?

With hundreds of satellites in orbit, the past 50 years have provided us with a remarkable new understand of our planet. Their ability to see Earth from such a vantage point has given us answers to some of Earth's most puzzling mysteries and a chance to see its changes, from global warming to a simple passing of the seasons.

Navigating your way around the gaseous giant would be quite an accomplishment. The planet's rings are made of rocky and icy debris, and there are move than 60 moons to dodge. This episode presents a CGI tour of the planet.

The eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano on April 14, 2010 was massive, sending a plume of ash 30,000 feet into the air. The result had both local and international effects including massive flooding, evacuations, and a halt to air travel in Europe for days. This episode looks at the volcano's behavior in the days leading up to the event and the explosion itself. The question arises about what effect this eruption might have on nearby Katla volcano, which holds the potential for even more destruction.

These massive walls of water are responsible throughout history for massive death and destruction. Civilizations have been destroyed by the unannounced arrival of waves reaching as high as a skyscraper. Dr. Iain Stewart hosts this telling of little-known 10 stories of tsunamis.

Chronically cheating on a good night's sleep has been linked to numerous maladies including diabetes, depression, being overweight, and heart problems. In this episode, researchers take a healthy 25-year-old and cut his sleep from eight hours a night to just three. Within just a week, he looses lucidity and even drives while asleep.

Cameras offer a rare look inside the Navy's latest weapon in the fight against terrorism: the USS Florida, a guided missile submarine. In a Joint Operations mission, the sub smuggles Navy SEALS ashore to identify a terrorist location and the use shipboard guided missiles to destroy the target. The technology on the sub allows it to operate quieter and stay underwater longer than previous ships.

On July 11, 2010, a unique total solar eclipse trekked across the Pacific Ocean and over the Moai statues of fabled Easter Island. This episode documents the cosmic event and looks at the science behind the phenomenon.

As the sun continues to age, it becomes increasingly hot and begins to expand, eventually swallowing up Earth. The temperatures on our planet will rise, turning the third rock from the sun into a scorched and uninhabitable wasteland. The changes our planet will undergo are depicted.

This episode provides answers to the unlikely question of what would happen to our planet if it should stop spinning. Day and night would each last for six months on alternating sides of the planet; sea levels at the equator would drop; the atmosphere would disappear and life as we know it would not survive.

Unusual forms of lighting have been documents and are presented. Slow-motion photography highlights lightning striking from the ground up into the sky, opposite of the way we expect. Spheres of electricity have been sighted floating midair and have been known to form inside of airplanes. To study lightning, scientists launch rockets into the sky to bring the bolts down from the clouds for study.

Some believe that man's insatiable desire to alter his environment is actually causing natural disasters. Urban sprawl perhaps strengthened a tornado in Atlanta; massive amounts of coal and water removal may have triggered Australia's strongest-ever earthquake; natural gas drilling causing a mud volcano in Java; these specific examples examined.

With most of the planet covered by oceans and overcrowding an issue on land, the time may be right to turn the science fiction idea of living beneath the sea into a reality. This episode examines what it would take to construct and operate an undersea colony of 100 families. The technology that could make it happen is already being developed.

In July 2008, paleontologists Nadia Frobisch, Jorg Frobisch, and Lars Schmitz unearthed the nearly complete fossilized remains of a 35 foot, 240 million year old Ichthyosaur in Nevada's Augusta mountains. Scientists instantly knew this creature would have been the top predator of the oceans in its time. Now, the investigation begins into this unique creature as scientists attempt to understand where it fits in the evolutionary history of the first sea reptiles.

It may be the best documented meteorite fall in history. Scientists at the University of Western Ontario record a meteorite lighting up the Canadian skies one a Friday night. Using a network of cameras, radar and listening equipment they had aimed at the skies, they know where to hunt for the rock that entered our atmosphere from outer space.