Naked Science

Who really discovered America?

They were sent to Mars on a 90-day mission, but almost five years later the rovers Spirit and Opportunity have traveled farther, seen more, and survived longer than anyone imagined possible, earning a place among the most prolific explorers in history.

Examining Earth's complex atmosphere. Included: how it is necessary for life on the surface; a man who braved its dangerous upper reaches and survived.

Imagine a world where sea levels have risen by 20 feet. Cities flood and coastal regions disappear. Travel to Greenland where scientists are investigating if this nightmare could become a reality.

On a single day on a single street, with the DNA of just a couple of hundred random people, National Geographic Channel sets out to trace the ancestral footsteps of all humanity. Narrated by Kevin Bacon, The Human Family Tree travels to one of the most diverse corners of the world -- Queens, N.Y. -- to demonstrate how we all share common ancestors who embarked on very different journeys. Regardless of race, nationality or religion, all of us can trace our ancient origin back to the cradle of humanity, East Africa. What did our collective journey look like, and where did it take your specific ancestors? At what point in our past did we first cross paths with the supposed strangers living in our neighborhood? Now, in The Human Family Tree, the people of this quintessential American melting pot find out that their connections go much deeper than a common ZIP code.

Documenting NASA's Phoenix mission to search for water on Mars and determine whether the planet may have sustained life in the past.

One day technological advances may allow us to relocate to other planets. Journey through the solar system to discover what we would find and how these alien planets compare with our own.

Is it possible to stop a hurricane? Some scientists think it is.We have chosen seven scientists and inventors who will pitch their theories, and we observe a real mega-storm bearing down on the Gulf Coast. Intercutting between hurricane footage, experiments, small-scale trials and computer animation, the seven innovators present how their plans would stop, stall, weaken or divert a future hurricane before it can make landfall on a major coastal city.

Why do some buildings collapse during earthquakes? Meet the man who may have made a breakthrough in predicting earthquakes and hear the compelling stories from survivors and rescuers.

The story of mankind's first open ocean crossing to Australia. Experts answer mysteries surrounding the journey, including how it was achieved.

Imagine a world where sea levels have risen by 20 feet. Cities flood and coastal regions disappear. Travel to Greenland where scientists are investigating if this nightmare could become a reality.

Is Mount Vesuvius set for another enormous eruption? Explore the alarming evidence helping to forecast the mighty volcano's future activity.

Scientists believe that our universe started with a colossal explosion called the Big Bang. That powerful blast created all the matter and energy in the universe and laid the groundwork for every explosion since.

How did life begin? its one of the most fundamental and difficult questions that has challenged us for ages. Our planet is teaming with life, from the highest mountain to the deepest ocean; life is everywhere. But what was the firing pistol that started the evolutionary race? How did material go from non-living to alive?

In 250 million years, Earth may be a single supercontinent. Scientists believe a future single landmass world could destroy all life.

America once was ravaged by some of the largest, most destructive hurricanes ever. Are these mega-storms poised to return, targeting the heavily populated eastern coastline?

The Hubble Space Telescope can see to the far reaching corners of the galaxy and is one of the most important scientific instruments ever built, but can it unlock the secrets of the universe?

Imagine a world frozen solid. Imagine that vast sheets of ice hundreds of feet thick encased the entire planet--a giant snowball floating through space. This is not some exotic new world deep in space. It may be our world, the Earth. Some top-ranking scientists believe that in the past the Earth froze over completely for millions of years... then warmed up rapidly over 600 million years ago. Struggling against skepticism and disbelief for years, they have gathered a growing body of evidence that explains many mysteries, and others in the scientific community are slowly coming around to the extraordinary idea not just of the dramatic freeze, but of an equally dramatic thaw. Naked Science explores what may have been the most extreme period of Earths climatic history, Meeting all the major players of this controversial theory that is Snowball Earth.

The Genographic Project aims to sample the DNA of more than 100,000 indigenous people from around the world, with the ultimate goal of charting new knowledge about the migratory history of the human species. DNA will be used for a five-year research partnership led by Dr. Spencer Wells, renowned international scientists, and IBM researchers.