Dr. Vilayanur Ramachandran, an eloquent neuroscientist, is fascinated by patients who have unusual abilities or defects in the way they perceive the world. These include such puzzling phenomena as the phantom pain experienced in a missing, amputated limb, or the inability to recognize a familiar face following a stroke. From these strange cases, Ramachandran is building a novel vision of how the brain works. In "Secrets of the Mind," NOVA dramatizes the intimate stories of Ramachandran's encounters with his extraordinary patients.

544 :29x04 - Sex: Unknown

First aired: Oct/30/2001

545 :29x05 - Russia's Nuclear Warriors

First aired: Nov/06/2001

546 :29x06 - Bioterror

First aired: Nov/13/2001

547 :29x07 - Life's Greatest Miracle

First aired: Nov/20/2001

548 :29x08 - Methuselah Tree

First aired: Dec/11/2001

549 :29x09 - Flying Casanovas

First aired: Dec/25/2001

550 :29x10 - Death Star

First aired: Jan/08/2002

551 :29x11 - Neanderthals on Trial

First aired: Jan/22/2002

552 :29x12 - Fireworks!

First aired: Jan/29/2002

553 :29x13 - Secrets, Lies, and Atomic Spies

First aired: Feb/05/2002

554 :29x14 - The Missing Link

First aired: Feb/26/2002

555 :29x15 - Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance

First aired: Mar/26/2002

556 :29x16 - Why the Towers Fell

First aired: Apr/30/2002

557 :29x17 - Fire Wars

First aired: May/07/2002

558 :30x01 - Killer Disease on Campus

First aired: Sep/03/2002

559 :30x02 - Mysterious Life of Caves

First aired: Oct/01/2002

560 :30x03 - Lost Roman Treasure

First aired: Oct/08/2002

561 :30x04 - Galileo's Battle for the Heavens

First aired: Oct/29/2002

562 :30x05 - Volcano's Deadly Warning

First aired: Nov/12/2002

563 :30x06 - Sinking City of Venice

First aired: Nov/19/2002

564 :30x07 - The Orchid Hunter

First aired: Nov/26/2002

565 :30x08 - Spies That Fly

First aired: Jan/07/2003

566 :30x09 - Last Flight of Bomber 31

First aired: Jan/14/2003

567 :30x10 - Ancient Creature of the Deep

First aired: Jan/21/2003

568 :30x11 - Battle of the X-Planes

First aired: Feb/04/2003

569 :30x12 - Mountain of Ice

First aired: Feb/11/2003

570 :30x13 - Lost Treasures of Tibet

First aired: Feb/18/2003

571 :30x14 - Dirty Bomb

First aired: Feb/25/2003

572 :30x15 - Deep Sea Invasion

First aired: Apr/01/2003

573 :30x16 - Secret of Photo 51

First aired: Apr/22/2003

574 :31x01 - Infinite Secrets

First aired: Sep/30/2003

575 :31x02 - Who Killed the Red Baron?

First aired: Oct/07/2003

576 :31x03 - The Elegant Universe: Einstein's Dream (1)

First aired: Oct/28/2003
Guest star: Brian Greene (Himself)

577 :31x04 - The Elegant Universe: String's the Thing (2)

First aired: Oct/28/2003
Guest star: Brian Greene (Himself)

578 :31x05 - The Elegant Universe: Welcome to the 11th Dimension (3)

First aired: Nov/04/2003
Guest star: Brian Greene (Himself)

579 :31x06 - Wright Brothers' Flying Machine

First aired: Nov/11/2003

580 :31x07 - Magnetic Storm

First aired: Nov/18/2003

581 :31x08 - Volcano Above the Clouds

First aired: Nov/25/2003

582 :31x09 - MARS Dead or Alive

First aired: Jan/04/2004

NASA gambles on two rovers sent to determine if the red planet ever had conditions suitable for life.

583 :31x10 - Secrets of the Crocodile Caves

First aired: Jan/20/2004

Rare lemurs and crocodiles with bizarre cave-dwelling behavior draw scientists to a remote corner of Madagascar.

584 :31x11 - Dogs and More Dogs

First aired: Feb/03/2004

How and why did man's best friend evolve from wolves, and why are dogs so remarkably diverse today?

585 :31x12 - Descent Into the Ice

First aired: Feb/10/2004

A team of "glacionauts" ventures into a labyrinth of unexplored and hazardous glacier caves on France's Mt. Blanc.

586 :31x13 - Crash of Flight 111

First aired: Feb/17/2004

One of the most exhaustive investigations in aviation history reveals telling clues to the cause of a disaster off Nova Scotia.

587 :31x14 - Life and Death in the War Zone

First aired: Mar/02/2004

An American combat hospital mobilized in Iraq faces a daily drama of wartime treatment.

588 :31x15 - Hunt for the Supertwister

First aired: Mar/30/2004

Tornado-chasing scientists with an eye to better forecasting risk their lives to plumb the secrets of nature's most terrifying killer.

589 :31x16 - World in the Balance: The People Paradox (1)

First aired: Apr/20/2004

NOVA investigates forces that are radically changing populations in both rich and poor nations, and explores how to create a world that can sustain the human race.

590 :31x17 - World in the Balance: China Revs Up (2)

First aired: Apr/20/2004

591 :31x18 - Battle Plan Under Fire

First aired: May/04/2004

Can the U.S. military's high-tech weaponry prevail against insurgents?

592 :32x01 - Origins: Earth is Born (1)

First aired: Sep/28/2004

Journey back to the beginning of everything: the universe, Earth, and life itself.

593 :32x02 - Origins: How Life Began (2)

First aired: Sep/28/2004

594 :32x03 - Origins: Where Are the Aliens? (3)

First aired: Sep/29/2004

595 :32x04 - Origins: Back to the Beginning (4)

First aired: Sep/29/2004

596 :32x05 - The Most Dangerous Woman in America

First aired: Oct/12/2004

Examine the complex case of Typhoid Mary, a cook who was quarantined for life against her will in the early 1900s.

597 :32x06 - America's Stone Age Explorers

First aired: Nov/09/2004

Who were the first Americans, and where did they come from?

598 :32x07 - Great Escape

First aired: Nov/16/2004

Experts dig into World War II's most daring and technically ingenious prison break.

599 :32x08 - Ancient Refuge in the Holy Land

First aired: Nov/23/2004

Israel's remote Cave of Letters holds clues to a Jewish uprising against the Romans.

600 :32x09 - Welcome to Mars

First aired: Jan/04/2005

Two rovers roaming the surface of Mars find proof that it was once awash in water.

601 :32x10 - The Boldest Hoax

First aired: Jan/11/2005

Who perpetrated Piltdown Man, the greatest scientific fraud of the 20th century?

602 :32x11 - Supersonic Dream

First aired: Jan/18/2005

Engineers, pilots, and others who knew Concorde tell its remarkable story.

603 :32x12 - The Viking Deception

First aired: Feb/08/2005

Is the Vinland Map a priceless depiction of the New World made before Columbus's voyage or a 20th-century fake?

604 :32x13 - Saving the National Treasures

First aired: Feb/15/2005

Restorers take on the preservation of the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.

605 :32x14 - A Daring Flight

First aired: Feb/22/2005

In 1909, Louis Blériot undertakes a heroic first-ever flight across the English Channel.

606 :32x15 - Wave That Shook the World

First aired: Mar/29/2005

Experts reconstruct the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in an effort to prepare for the next big one.

607 :33x01 - Mystery of the Megaflood

First aired: Sep/20/2005

What unleashed a catastrophic flood that scarred thousands of square miles in the American Northwest?

608 :33x02 - Sinking the Supership

First aired: Oct/04/2005

The tragic WWII story of the Yamato, the largest battleship ever built.

609 :33x03 - Einstein's Big Idea

First aired: Oct/11/2005

The story behind the world's most famous equation, E = mc²

610 :33x04 - Volcano Under the City

First aired: Nov/01/2005

A restless mountain threatens a bustling metropolis perched on its flanks.

611 :33x05 - Hitler's Sunken Secret

First aired: Nov/08/2005

An expedition to the bottom of Norway's Lake Tinn illuminates Nazi Germany's nuclear ambitions.

612 :33x06 - Newton's Dark Secrets

First aired: Nov/15/2005

Sir Isaac Newton, the eccentric genius who helped define modern science, was also an obsessive alchemist.

613 :33x07 - Storm That Drowned a City

First aired: Nov/22/2005

An exploration of the devastation wrought on New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina details failures of levees and disaster-relief planning; why the city was unprepared; and what made Katrina so powerful. Also examined are the challenges involved in rebuilding the city.

614 :33x08 - The Mummy Who Would Be King

First aired: Jan/03/2006

This episode unravels the history of a mummy that was part of a Niagara Falls Museum display, with evidence pointing toward it being the body of a pharaoh: Rameses I.

The first hint (its crossed arms) to its origins was spotted in the 1960s, but it wasn't until 1998, when Emory University purchased the display, that the mummy was a serious study topic, including CT scans.

615 :33x09 - Deadly Ascent

First aired: Jan/17/2006

A team of experts seeks to determine what causes the deaths of mountain climbers at extreme altitudes. Filmed on Alaska's Mount McKinley. Included: the dangers of hyperthermia and hypothermia; scenes of daring rescues and emergency treatments during the climbing season.

616 :33x10 - The Perfect Corpse

First aired: Feb/07/2006
Director: John Hayes Fisher
Guest star: Neil Ross (Narrator)

Two murder cases that date to the Iron Age (more than 2000 years ago) are investigated upon the discovery of two well-preserved bodies in Irish peat bogs. The 18-month investigation uses CAT scans and hair and radiocarbon analysis in an attempt to learn how the men lived and why they died.

617 :33x11 - Jewel of the Earth

First aired: Feb/14/2006
Guest star: David Attenborough (Himself (Presented by))

David Attenborough hosts this fascinating examination of the prehistoric creatures found inside amber, a fossilized tree resin that often holds perfectly preserved insects. Using an amber specimen given to him as a youth, he uncovers information about what the Baltic region of northern Europe was like 40 million years ago. He also investigates amber found in the Dominican Republic, including one piece that holds a honeypot ant from 150 million years ago.

618 :33x12 - The Ghost Particle

First aired: Feb/21/2006
Writer: David Sington
Guest star: Kathryn Walker (Narrator)

Scientists' efforts to identify and understand neutrinos, unseen building blocks of the universe, are chronicled, beginning in 1930 with Austrian physicist Wolfgang Pauli's observations about a decaying radioactive atomic nucleus. Included are comments from astrophysicist John Bahcall, who calculated the sun's theoretical neutrino output during the 1960s; and Nobel Prize winner Raymond Davis Jr., who built a neutrino trap in a South Dakota gold mine.

619 :33x13 - Arctic Passage

First aired: Feb/28/2006
Writer: Chris Schmidt
Director: Louise Osmond
Guest star: Neil Ross (Narrator), Anthony Garner (Sir John Franklin), Maureen Bennett (Lady Franklin), Thom Fell (James Fitzjames), Bo Poraj (Francis Crozier), Kåre Conradi (Roald Amundsen (credited as Corey Conradi)), Christian Rubeck (Gustav Wiik (credited as Christian Pedersen)), Darri Ingolfsson (Godfred Hansen)

An intriguing look back at two attempts to discover a route from Europe to the Pacific through the maze of islands in Arctic Canada, one that led to tragedy and one that was a success. In 1845 British explorer John Franklin led a 129-man expedition using two retrofitted warships. The men were never heard from again. In 1903, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen set sail using a much-lighter ship and a seven-man crew. Two years later he came out the other side, proving the voyage was possible.

620 :33x14 - The Great Robot Race

First aired: Mar/28/2006
Director: Joseph Seamans
Guest star: John Lithgow (Narrator)

Teams from around the world enter the Darpa Grand Challenge, a contest for robotic, driver-less vehicles.

621 :33x15 - Voyage to the Mystery Moon

First aired: Apr/04/2006
Writer: Paul Olding, William Hicklin
Guest star: Neil Ross (Narrator)

A chronicle of the cooperative effort by NASA and the European Space Agency to send two probes, Cassini and Huygens, to study Saturn and its moon Titan. The project involves the orbit of Cassini around the sixth planet from the sun; and Huygens' landing on Titan, which is one of four astral bodies in the solar system that has an atmosphere.

622 :33x16 - Dimming the Sun

First aired: Apr/18/2006
Director: Duncan Copp
Guest star: Kathryn Walker (Narrator)

The discovery that the sunlight reaching Earth is dimming and the implications that has for global climate change, is examined. Included: how researchers used the days after 9/11, when aircraft were grounded in the U.S., to study how plane vapor trails affect the atmosphere; and how less pollution in the atmosphere may have the unintended consequence of accelerating global warming.

623 :34x01 - Building on Ground Zero

First aired: Sep/05/2006
Guest star: Liev Schreiber (Narrator)

Detailing some of the structural reasons for the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings, employing computer animation and 9/11 footage to explain a National Institute for Standards and Technology report on the subject. Included: proposals to revise American building codes, such as increasing the width of stairways. Also: WTC lead engineer Leslie Robertson leads a tour of a complex on which he is working, the 101-story Shanghai World Financial Center.

624 :34x02 - Mystery of the Megavolcano

First aired: Sep/26/2006
Guest star: Neil Ross (Narrator)

625 :34x03 - The Deadliest Plane Crash

First aired: Oct/17/2006
Guest star: Neil Ross (Narrator)

An examination of the worst accident in civil aviation history, a March 1977 collision between two 747s on a foggy runway in Tenerife (one of the Canary Islands) that resulted in the deaths of 583 people. Included: what led to the tragedy; and insights from survivors, including co-pilot Robert Bragg and flight attendant Joan Jackson. Also: a look at improvements in runway safety since, featuring comments from NTSB chairman Mark Rosenker.

626 :34x04 - Monster of the Milky Way

First aired: Oct/31/2006
Guest star: Liev Schreiber (Narrator)

627 :34x05 - Wings of Madness

First aired: Nov/07/2006
Guest star: Kathryn Walker (Narrator)

628 :34x06 - Family That Walks on All Fours

First aired: Nov/14/2006
Guest star: Kathryn Walker (Narrator)

Experts explore the mysterious story of five siblings living in a remote Turkish village.

629 :34x07 - Underwater Dream Machine

First aired: Dec/26/2006
Guest star: Neil Ross (Narrator)

Follow one man's quest to engineer a submarine with panoramic views.

630 :34x08 - Forgotten Genius

First aired: Feb/06/2007
Guest star: Courtney B. Vance (Narrator)

631 :34x09 - The Last Great Ape

First aired: Feb/13/2007
Guest star: Lance Lewman (Narrator)

632 :34x10 - Kings of Camouflage

First aired: Apr/03/2007
Guest star: Lance Lewman (Narrator)

633 :34x11 - First Flower

First aired: Apr/17/2007
Guest star: Liev Schreiber (Narrator)

634 :34x12 - Saved by the Sun

First aired: Apr/24/2007
Guest star: Lance Lewman (Narrator)

635 :34x13 - Pocahontas Revealed

First aired: May/08/2007
Guest star: Robert Green (Chief Powhatan), Teshena Conlon (Pocahontas), Ashlee Harless (Young Pocahontas), Lisa Q. Wolfinger (Narrator), Neil Madden (John Smith)

636 :34x14 - Bone Diggers

First aired: Jun/19/2007
Guest star: Neil Ross (Narrator)

An expedition into a cavern located in the Australian outback finds complete skeletons of the Thylacoleo, a marsupial lion that died out some 30,000 to 50,000 years ago; and the remains of a giant kangaroo.

637 :34x15 - The Great Inca Rebellion

First aired: Jun/26/2007
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

An examination of how human remains found at an ancient cemetery near Lima, Peru, coupled with forensic science and historical documents, may upend the accepted story that a small band of Spanish conquistadors brought down the Inca Empire by ambushing the Incan emperor and his army in 1532. Included: comments from Peruvian archaeologist Guillermo Cock and ethnohistorian Maria Rostworowski; the conquistadors' reliance on Native American mercenaries.

638 :35x01 - Secrets of the Samurai Sword

First aired: Oct/09/2007
Guest star: Rob Tinworth (Narrator)

The science behind samurai swords is explored. Included: the six-month creation process of one sword, from smelting to the sharpening of the blade; a Japanese receptionist whose interest in samurai swords maintains a family tradition. Also: Lehigh University professor Michael Notis explains what makes the sword an effective weapon.

639 :35x02 - Ghost in Your Genes

First aired: Oct/16/2007
Guest star: Neil Ross (Narrator)

An examination of the gatekeeper role played by the epigenome, which can shape everything from whether people develop diseases to whether they are fat or slim by turning on and off specific genes. Also: how a person's habits---good and bad---may affect future generations.

640 :35x03 - Marathon Challenge

First aired: Oct/30/2007
Guest star: Liev Schreiber (Narrator)

Thirteen novices, ranging in age from 22 to 60, train nine months for the Boston Marathon. The group includes a former smoker, a heart-attack survivor and an overweight woman, and receives support from three-time Boston Marathon winner Uta Pippig and Donald Megerle, director of Tufts' annual President's Marathon Challenge. Included: comments from Timothy Noakes, a University of Cape Town sports-medicine expert; and Harvard bioanthropologist Daniel Lieberman.

641 :35x04 - Sputnik Declassified

First aired: Nov/06/2007
Guest star: Neil Ross (Narrator)

The early years of the space race are recalled, including the Soviet launch of the Sputnik I satellite on Oct. 4, 1957; the failed U.S. attempt to launch a satellite eight weeks later; and the contributions to the American space program by Wernher von Braun, who had led Nazi Germany's rocket program. Also: comments from the National Air and Space Museum's Roger Launius and Michael Neufeld; and National Reconnaissance Office historian emeritus R. Cargill Hall.

642 :35x05 - Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial

First aired: Nov/13/2007
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, a 2005 federal law suit that successfully challenged the mention of intelligent design in a Dover, Pa., public-school ninth-grade science class as a violation of church-state division, is recalled. Included: trial reenactments; comments from participants, including parents, scientists, teachers and town officials.

643 :35x06 - Master of the Killer Ants

First aired: Nov/20/2007
Guest star: Neil Ross (Narrator)

Driven by drought, termites invade the huts and granaries of the Mofu, a Cameroon tribe that relies on fierce dragon-shaped army ants to subdue the termites. Included: footage of the resulting termite-ant war.

644 :35x07 - Missing in MiG Alley

First aired: Dec/18/2007
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

The Korean War air battles between the American F-86 Sabre and the Soviet MiG-15 are recalled via archival footage, comments from American and Soviet pilots and dramatic reconstructions. Also: the efforts of American families to learn what happened to loved ones shot down over enemy territory.

645 :35x08 - Absolute Zero: The Conquest of Cold

First aired: Jan/08/2008
Guest star: Marinus Smit (Johannes Van Der Waals), Henk Van Rooyen (Heike Kammerlingh Onnes), Iain Agnew (James Dewar), Neil Ross (Narrator)

Part 1 of 2. The battle to control cold temperatures is documented. Included: a primitive air-conditioning system for Westminster Abbey in the 17th century; frozen food.

646 :35x09 - Absolute Zero: The Race for Absolute Zero

First aired: Jan/15/2008
Guest star: Marinus Smit (Johannes Van Der Waals), Henk Van Rooyen (Heike Kammerlingh Onnes), Iain Agnew (James Dewar), Neil Ross (Narrator)

In the conclusion of the battle to control cold temperatures, a look at a new form of matter near absolute zero.

647 :35x10 - Secrets of the Parthenon

First aired: Jan/29/2008
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

A look into the restoration of the Parthenon by the Greek government, dating back 25 centuries as secrets are revealed of how the temple was built. Includes remarks from Acropolis Restoration Project architect Manolis Korres; University of Florida art history professor Barbara Barletta; University of Bath architecture and civil engineering lecturer Mark Wilson Jones; and University of Pennsylvania Greco-Roman architecture expert Lothar Haselberger.

648 :35x11 - AstroSpies

First aired: Feb/12/2008
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

A look back at the plan to militarize space between the USA and USSR back during the Cold War era. Interviews from astronauts who were involved in the top secret American program, plus, a look at the Soviet "Almaz" spy station, which featured high-powered spy cameras and a cannon which could knock a satellite out of commission.

649 :35x12 - Ape Genius

First aired: Feb/19/2008
Guest star: David Slavin (Narrator)

An investigation concerning the great apes intellectual abilities which include bonbos, chimps, gorillas, and orangutans, plus a look at why the ape culture has yet to evolve. Includes an experiment comparing toddlers and chimpanzees, film of apes in their natural habitats and the surprising way they act, from the holding of a pool party to a mother grieving for her dead offspring.

650 :35x13 - The Four-Winged Dinosaur

First aired: Feb/26/2008
Guest star: Lance Lewman (Narrator)

A 350-million year old fossil was found in a Chinese stone quarry that may have been a missing link between dinosaurs and birds. The four winged, pigeon sized creature, dubbed the Microraptor, is examined.

651 :35x14 - Cracking the Maya Code

First aired: Apr/08/2008
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

The story of how experts deciphered the hieroglyphs of the ancient people who lived in the area of Southern Mexico and Central America known as the Mayans.

652 :35x15 - Car of the Future

First aired: Apr/22/2008
Guest star: John Lithgow (Narrator), Tom Magliozzi (Himself), Ray Magliozzi (Himself)

The hosts of Car Talk Tom and Ray Magliozzi are hunting for a new car to replace Tom's 1952 MG roadster. They head to at Detroit's North American International Auto Show and Boston's AltWheels Festival to seek out the future of the automobile talk with engineers working on environmentally friendly technologies and question a Detroit auto executive. Also included is a look at hydrogen-fuel cells, ethanol, and lithium-ion batteries

653 :35x16 - A Walk to Beautiful

First aired: May/13/2008

The story of a group of women in Ethiopia who are treated as pariahs because a an illness which they were born with, obstetric fistula (a condition since childhood which causes incontinence). The women make their way to Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital for treatments.

654 :35x17 - Lord of the Ants

First aired: May/20/2008
Guest star: Harrison Ford (Narrator), David Attenborough (Himself), Edward O. Wilson (Himself)

Biologist E.O. Wilson is profiled in the episode featuring his study in ants and sociobiology.

655 :36x01 - Arctic Dinosaurs

First aired: Oct/07/2008
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

An investigative look in Alaska where the scientists delve 60 feet into the permafrost, to examine how dinosaurs handled the Arctic climate over 65 million years earlier. Included is a look at the dinosaur's diet, and reasons on why they may have become extinct.

656 :36x02 - Space Shuttle Disaster

First aired: Oct/14/2008
Guest star: Neil Tyson (Narrator)

An exploration in the 2003 space shuttle Columbia tragedy, with interviews from NASA engineer Rodney Rocha, flight director Leroy Cain, astronauts and the Columbia Accident Investigation Board members. Also, a detailed look at the history of the space shuttle program and the design changes made which may have played a role in both the Challenger and Columbia explosions and a look at what lays ahead for the program.

657 :36x03 - Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives

First aired: Oct/21/2008
Guest star: Stefanie E. Frame (Narrator), Mark Oliver Everett (Himself)

Mark Oliver Everett, lead singer of the Eels investigates the father he hardly knows: quantum physicist Hugh Everett III (1930-82), who formulated Many Worlds Theory (which postulated the existence of parallel worlds) back in 1957. Hardly noticed back in his time, the theory is now embraced by science fiction and scientists. His son discovers that this rejection caused Hugh Everett III to turn his back on quantum physics.

658 :36x04 - Hunting The Hidden Dimension

First aired: Oct/28/2008
Guest star: Neil Ross (Narrator)

An exploration of a field of mathematics which is based on the intricate patterns found in nature, art, science and even the beating of a human heart, known as fractal geometry.

659 :36x05 - Alien From Earth

First aired: Nov/11/2008
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

An investigation of the discovered remains of a hobbit-sized people on the Indonesian island of Flores, which is believed to be around 18,000 years old. Scientists will check to see if these remains are from an previously unknown branch of human species, or that of a malformed person.

660 :36x06 - The Bible's Buried Secrets

First aired: Nov/18/2008
Guest star: Stockard Channing (Bible Reader), Liev Schreiber (Narrator)

A look at the early beginnings of Judaism and Old Testament which uses archeological evidence and literary research to learn of the monotheism and ancient Israelites, which includes where they came from and who they were. With the use of digital animation sequences and reenactments accenting this work along with interviews with biblical archeologists, as do the finds, which includes a carving of the Hebrew alphabet and evidence of the existence of the "House of David."

661 :36x07 - Ocean Animal Emergency

First aired: Nov/25/2008
Guest star: John Benjamin Hickey (Narrator)

A trip to Sausalito, CA. and the Marine Mammal Center, to view the work of the veterinarians who treat injured ocean animals. Includes: how Dr. Frances Gulland, the clinic director of veterinary science, discovered a new neurological illness affecting the seas lions in California and harbor seal pups. Then, Gulland travels to Oahu, Hawaii, to work on Hawaiian monk seals, an endangered species. Also, a look how humans impacty the sea life.

662 :36x08 - Is There Life On Mars?

First aired: Dec/30/2008
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

NASA has been sending up Mars rovers on missions for years now, with earthbound scientists controlling their paths where they have found subsurface ice and discuss whether the evidence points to past or present life on the Red Planet. Includes theories which may explain why Mars has become such an inhospitable planet, and why the North and South hemispheres are so different.

663 :36x09 - The Big Energy Gamble

First aired: Jan/20/2009
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

An examination of California's alternative-energy efforts which eco-celebrities Ed Begley Jr. and Bill Nye helped bring forth. Includes Luscious Garage in San Francisco, which makes custom made hybrid cars; and the wind turbines of Tehachapi Valley. Also, whether their efforts can be sustained during the economic downturn.

664 :36x10 - The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies

First aired: Jan/27/2009
Guest star: Stockard Channing (Narrator)

A look at the annual journey made by the monarch butterflies to the remote mountain areas in central Mexico. Included is a look at their inborn GPS system which directs them to their destination each year. Plus, interviews and insights from butterfly experts Lincoln Brower, Bill Calvert and Orley "Chip" Taylor.

665 :36x11 - The Spy Factory

First aired: Feb/03/2009
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

A look inside our National Security Agency, the security organization which intercepts our communications, including its supposed failures before 9/11 and its new eavesdropping system since. It also examines whether their practices are too broad and its load of unusable information just may drown out the critical information. Also featured are interviews with former FBI, CIA and NSA officials.

666 :36x12 - Rat Attack

First aired: Feb/24/2009
Guest star: Jamie Effros (Narrator)

Scientists examine why the rat population explodes every 50 years in a forest in India.

667 :36x13 - Extreme Ice

First aired: Mar/24/2009
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator), James Balog (Himself)

Along with National Geographic, NOVA examines the exploits of acclaimed photojournalist James Balog and a team of scientists as they place time-lapse cameras in risky, remote locations in the Alps and Arctic, including Alaska and Greenland. With blizzards, fickle technology and steep climbs up craggy precipices, the team must find a stable area where they can plant cameras which can handle subzero temperatures and winds up to 170 miles per hour. All of this is to the unlock the mystery of the mighty ice sheets, whose still-unknown behavior will affect the fate of coastlines around the world.

668 :36x14 - Last Extinction

First aired: Mar/31/2009
Guest star: Liev Schreiber (Narrator)

An examination over whether a comet struck the Great Lakes region 12,900 years ago, and whether it caused the extinction of such mega-creatures as the woolly mammoth and the saber-toothed cat in North America. Also included is the discovery of nano-diamonds which are created by heat and objects from space.

669 :36x15 - Doctors' Diaries Pt.1

First aired: Apr/07/2009

Nova has spent years tracking seven Harvard Medical students since 1987. All but one are still practicing medicine, although they each chose different specialties, and the one who didn't, Cheryl Dorsey, is now president of Echoing Green, a nonprofit organization which gives support to people and organizations which help improve society.

670 :36x16 - Doctors' Diaries Pt.2

First aired: Apr/14/2009

The story of seven Harvard Medical students which NOVA has been tracking since 1987. Only one has chosen another direction other than being a doctor, and she became the president of Echoing Green, a non-profit group which lends support to people and groups which work to improve society.

671 :36x17 - Musical Minds

First aired: Jun/30/2009
Guest star: Oliver Sacks (Himself), Alan Yentob (Himself)

An exploration of the effect of music on the brain via four case studies from neurologist Oliver Sacks book "Musicopia" and the MRI visualizations from Sacks' own brain as classical music is played, including Bach's "Mass in B Minor." Study subjects include a man with Tourettes syndrome who has found relief while playing the drums; an autistic savant who is simply dazzling on the piano; a woman who suffers the inability to process music, known as amusia; and a surgeon whose life changed after being struck by lightning.

672 :37x01 - Darwin's Darkest Hour

First aired: Oct/06/2009
Guest star: Henry Ian Cusick (Charles Darwin), Frances O'Connor (Emma Darwin), Nigel Bennett (Sir Charles Lyell), Jeremy Akerman (Parslow), Vanessa Walton-bone (Elizabeth Wedgwood), Richard Donat (Dr. Robert Darwin), Jacob Robertson (Frank Darwin), Simon Pattison (Horace Darwin), Owen Pattison (Lenny Darwin), Daniel Lilford (Dr. Engleheart), Gordon Gammie (Dr. Grant), Emily Power (Annie Darwin), Gary Levert (Joseph Dalton Hooker), Andrea Lee Norwood (Jane), Jeff Schwager (John Gould), John O'Keefe (Postman), Andrew Gillies (Uncle Jos Wedgewood), Rhys Bevan John (Alfred Wallace), Michael McPhee (William Fitzroy), Lee J. Campbell (John Bennett), Jeremy Webb (John Gray), David Hughes (Reverend Innes)

673 :37x02 - Hubble's Amazing Rescue

First aired: Oct/13/2009
Guest star: Rushmore Denooyer (Narrator)

674 :37x03 - Lizard Kings

First aired: Oct/20/2009
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

Dr. Eric Pianka heads to the Australian heartland to track monitor lizards, a species successful at adapting to all kinds of settings.

675 :37x04 - Becoming Human: First Steps

First aired: Nov/03/2009
Guest star: Lance Lewman (Narrator)

An investigation of the clues left behind by the earliest ancestors in Africa, which includes a complete fossil known as Lucy's Child.

676 :37x05 - Becoming Human: Birth of Humanity

First aired: Nov/10/2009
Guest star: Lance Lewman (Narrator)

677 :37x06 - Becoming Human: Last Human Standing

First aired: Nov/17/2009
Guest star: Lance Lewman (Narrator)

678 :37x07 - What Are Dreams?

First aired: Nov/24/2009
Guest star: Jamie Effros (Narrator)

679 :37x08 - What Darwin Never Knew

First aired: Dec/29/2009
Guest star: Lance Lewman (Narrator)

680 :37x09 - Killer Subs in Pearl Harbor

First aired: Jan/05/2010
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

NOVA announced that a routine test dive in the waters near Pearl Harbor has uncovered a find that could rewrite the history of the Japanese attack on the U.S on December 7, 1941, which claimed the lives of more than 2,400 Americans and drew the nation into World War II. A team of researchers on an
underwater expedition led by NOVA recently discovered three sections of mysterious steel wreckage deemed by experts to be the unaccounted-for fifth and final Japanese midget submarine used against the U.S. in a top-secret mission to attack the American fleet from below on that day

681 :37x10 - Building Pharaoh's Ship

First aired: Jan/12/2010
Guest star: Craig Sechler (Narrator), Ramsey Faragallah (Additional Voice Over), Adam Alexi-Malle (Additional Voice Over)

Did the ancient Egyptians, who built elaborate barges to sail down the Nile, also have the expertise to embark on a long sea voyage? NOVA follows a team of archeologists and boat builders as they reconstruct the mighty vessel shown on the mysterious carving and then finally launch it in to the Red Sea on a unique voyage of discovery

682 :37x11 - Riddles of the Sphinx

First aired: Jan/19/2010
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

683 :37x12 - Ghosts of Machu Picchu

First aired: Feb/02/2010
Guest star: Craig Sechler (Narrator)

684 :37x13 - Extreme Cave Diving

First aired: Feb/09/2010
Guest star: Craig Sechler (Narrator)

685 :37x14 - The Pluto Files

First aired: Mar/02/2010
Guest star: Neil Tyson (Himself)

686 :37x15 - Hunting the Edge of Space: The Mystery of the Milky Way

First aired: Apr/06/2010
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

Three centuries of engineering have enhanced Galileo's simple spyglass, resulting in powerful telescopes that sit on mountaintops, orbit the Earth and circle other planets.

687 :37x16 - Hunting the Edge of Space: The Ever Expanding Universe

First aired: Apr/13/2010
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

688 :37x17 - Mind Over Money

First aired: Apr/27/2010
Guest star: Lance Lewman (Narrator)

689 :37x18 - Mt. St. Helens Back From the Dead

First aired: May/04/2010
Guest star: Lance Lewman (Narrator)

690 :38x01 - Building the Great Cathedrals

First aired: Oct/19/2010
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

How did medieval builders reach such spectacular heights using only hand tools to create the great cathedrals? The filmmakers behind NOVA’s award-winning documentary Secrets of the Parthenon take viewers on a dazzling new architectural journey, inside those majestic marvels and jewels of Gothic architecture. Carved from a 100 million pounds of stone and sometimes more than 100 years in the making, some now teeter on the brink of catastrophic collapse. To save them, an international team of engineers, architects, art historians, and computer scientists searches the naves, bays, and bell-towers for clues to how the dream of these temples of human achievement and artistry became a reality. NOVA teams perform hands-on experiments to learn the architectural secrets that the cathedral builders used to erect their towering, glass-filled walls and reveal the hidden formulas, drawn from the Bible, that drove medieval builders ever upward.

691 :38x02 - Emergency Mine Rescue

First aired: Oct/26/2010
Director: Tom Stubberfield, Nick Evans, Kate Dart
Guest star: Lance Lewman (Narrator)

With special access to the site of the San José, Chile, mine, the mining engineers and the miners’ families, NOVA chronicles the miners’ 69-day ordeal and the work of a global team of engineers who struggled tirelessly around the clock in a desperate bid to bring the trapped miners safely to the surface.

692 :38x03 - Trapped in an Elevator

First aired: Nov/02/2010
Guest star: John Lithgow (Narrator)

How do elevators work? Are they safe? Why are so many people afraid of them? Across North America, elevators move 325 million passengers every day, and most of the time, people don’t give them a second thought. In Trapped in an Elevator, NOVA reveals the secret life of these ubiquitous machines and investigates personal stories of those who have been caught inside when they do fail. NOVA cameras ride the world’s fastest elevator to the top of the Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building, and test whether the Burj’s elevator system is ready for the task of moving people to unprecedented heights. On the other side of the world, NOVA follows one of the thousands of elevator maintenance crews in Manhattan that keep New Yorkers moving up and down every day. Then, at the Otis Test Tower—a 28-story high-rise that’s the most over-elevatored building in the world—viewers experience a few heart-pumping moments as a test elevator is sent into free fall. Once brawny but simple machines, elevators are getting a brainy makeover. Computer controls, like those in the elevators at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, are getting passengers to their destinations faster and more safely than ever before. But will the elevator-wary be comfortable handing over the reins to computers?

693 :38x04 - Dogs Decoded

First aired: Nov/09/2010
Guest star: Lance Lewman (Narrator)

Dogs have been domesticated for longer than any other animal on the planet, and humans have developed a unique relationship with these furry friends. We treat our pets like a part of the family, and we feel that they can understand us in a way other animals cannot. Now, new research is revealing what dog lovers have suspected all along: Dogs have an uncanny ability to read and respond to human emotions. What is surprising, however, is new research showing that humans, in turn, respond to dogs with the same hormone responsible for bonding mothers to their babies. How did this incredible relationship between humans and dogs come to be? And how can dogs, so closely related to fearsome wild wolves, behave so differently? It’s all in the genes. Dogs Decoded investigates new discoveries in genetics that are illuminating the origin of dogs—with revealing implications for the evolution of human culture as well. NOVA also travels to Siberia, where the mystery of dogs’ domestication is being repeated—in foxes. A 50-year-old breeding program is creating an entirely new kind of creature, a tame fox with some surprising similarities to man’s best friend. Dogs Decoded reveals the science behind the remarkable bond between humans and their dogs and spurs new questions about what this could mean for our relationships with other animal species.

694 :38x05 - Secrets of Stonehenge

First aired: Nov/16/2010
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

Dated to the late Stone Age, Stonehenge may be the best-known and most mysterious relic of prehistory. Every year, a million visitors are drawn to England to gaze upon the famous circle of stones, but the monument’s meaning has continued to elude us. Now investigations inside and around Stonehenge have kicked off a dramatic new era of discovery and debate over who built Stonehenge and for what purpose. How did prehistoric people quarry, transport, sculpt, and erect these giant stones? Granted exclusive access to the dig site at Bluestonehenge, a prehistoric stone circle monument recently discovered about a mile from Stonehenge, NOVA cameras join a new generation of researchers finding important clues to this enduring mystery.

695 :38x06 - Quest for Solomon’s Mines

First aired: Nov/23/2010
Guest star: Craig Sechler (Narrator)

Countless treasure-seekers have set off in search of King Solomon’s mines, trekking through burning deserts and scaling the forbidding mountains of Africa and the Levant, inspired by the Bible’s account of splendid temples and palaces adorned in glittering gold and copper. Yet to date, the evidence that has claimed to support the existence of Solomon and other early kings in the Bible has been highly controversial. In fact, so little physical evidence of the kings who ruled Israel and Edom has been found that many contend that they are no more real than King Arthur. In the summer of 2010, NOVA and National Geographic embarked on two cutting-edge field investigations that illuminate the legend of Solomon and reveal the source of the great wealth that powered the first mighty biblical kingdoms. These groundbreaking expeditions expose important new clues buried in the pockmarked desert of Jordan, including ancient remnants of an industrial-scale copper mine and a 3,000-year-old message with the words “slave,” “king,” and “judge.”

696 :38x07 - Secrets Beneath the Ice

First aired: Dec/28/2010
Guest star: Lance Lewman (Narrator)

Almost three miles of ice buries most of Antarctica, cloaking a continent one-and-a-half times the size of the United States. If all that ice melted, seas around the world would rise high enough to flood 12-story skyscrapers in places like New York City. Even a ten percent loss of Antarctica’s ice would cause catastrophic flooding of coastal cities unlike any seen before in human history.

Secrets Beneath the Ice explores whether Antarctica's climate past can offer clues to what may happen to our warming planet. Antarctica's has a surprising climate history. In its distant past, it was ice-free, but around 14 million years ago, ice began overtaking the continent as it began plunging into a deep freeze. So when a massive ice shelf the size of Manhattan collapsed in less than one month in 2002, it shocked scientists and raised the alarming possibility that we may be heading toward an Antarctic meltdown.

To gather crucial evidence, NOVA follows an ambitious Antarctic investigation--a state-of-the-art drilling probe known as ANDRILL. Drilling deep beneath the Antarctic ice, down through the sea, and three-fourths of a mile into the seafloor, ANDRILL recovers rock cores that reveal intimate details of climate and fauna from a time in the distant past when the Earth was just a few degrees warmer than it is today. As researchers grapple with the harshest conditions on the planet, they discover astonishing new clues--not only about Antarctica’s past, but also Earth’s future. These breakthrough discoveries carry ominous implications for coastal cities around the globe.

697 :38x08 - Deadliest Earthquakes

First aired: Jan/11/2011
Director: Peter Chinn
Guest star: Craig Sechler (Narrator)

In 2010, epic earthquakes all over the planet delivered one of the worst annual death tolls ever recorded. The deadliest strike was in Haiti, where a quake just southwest of the capital, Port-au-Prince, killed more than 200,000, reducing homes, hospitals, schools and the presidential palace to rubble. In exclusive coverage, a NOVA camera crew follows a team of U.S. geologists as they first enter Haiti in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. It is a race against time as they hunt for crucial evidence that will help them determine exactly what happened deep underground and what the risks are of a new killer quake. Barely a month after the Haiti quake, Chile was struck by a quake 100 times more powerful, unleashing a tsunami that put the entire Pacific coast on high alert. In a coastal town devastated by the rushing wave, NOVA follows a team of geologists as they battle aftershocks to measure Earthquake. Could their work, and the work of geologists at earthquake hot-spots around the U.S., lead to a breakthrough in predicting quakes before they happen? NOVA investigates intriguing new leads in its gripping investigation of a deadly scientific conundrum.

698 :38x09 - Making Stuff: Stronger

First aired: Jan/19/2011
Guest star: David Pogue (Himself)

What is the strongest material in the world? Is it iron? Are Kevlar and carbon nanotubes the way of the future, or will the powerful properties discovered in natural spider silk one day replace steel? NOVA begins the ambitious four-hour program with a quest for the world’s strongest stuff. Host David Pogue helps viewers understand what defines strength, examining everything from mollusks to a toucan’s beak and testing the world’s strongest materials. Pogue travels from the deck of a U.S. naval aircraft carrier to a demolition derby to the country’s top research labs to check in with the experts who are re-engineering what nature has given us to create the next generation of strong “stuff.”

699 :38x10 - Making Stuff: Smaller

First aired: Jan/26/2011
Guest star: David Pogue (Himself)

How small can we go? Could we one day have robots taking “fantastic voyages” in our bodies to kill rogue cells? The triumphs of tiny are seen all around us in the Information Age: transistors, microchips, laptops, cell phones. Now, David Pogue takes NOVA viewers to an even smaller world in Making Stuff Smaller, examining the latest in high-powered nano-circuits and micro-robots that may one day hold the key to saving lives and creating materials from the ground up, atom by atom. Pogue explores the star materials of small applications, including silicon, the stuff of computer chips, and carbon, the element now being manipulated at the atomic level to produce future technology. “Smaller” and more portable stuff has already revolutionized the way we live. The nanotechnology to come could change the face of medicine, with intelligent iPills that know what medicine to release into the body and treat patients from the “inside” based on changing needs; robots that repair damaged body parts; and more.

700 :38x11 - Making Stuff: Cleaner

First aired: Feb/02/2011
Guest star: David Pogue (Himself)

Most modern materials are dangerous to the environment, but what about cleaning up our world? Batteries grown from viruses, tires made from orange peel oil, plastics made of sugar, and solar cells that cook up hydrogen–these are just a few glimpses of a new generation of clean materials that could power devices of the future. In Making Stuff Cleaner, David Pogue explores the rapidly developing science and business of clean energy and examines alternative ways to generate it, store it, and distribute it. Is hydrogen the way to go? One scientist is even using America’s abundance of chicken feathers to create a cheap way to make hydrogen cars safer. What about lithium batteries? Does this solve an energy problem or create a new dependency–in this case, on South America for a different kind of limited resource than oil? Can scientists instead develop a process in which batteries run on molten salts found in cheap abundance in the U.S. or on genetically engineered viruses? Pogue investigates the latest developments in bio-based fuels and in harnessing solar energy for our cars, homes, and industry in a fascinating hour full of the “stuff” of a sustainable future.

701 :38x12 - Making Stuff: Smarter

First aired: Feb/09/2011
Guest star: David Pogue (Himself)

What can nature teach us in building smarter materials? Can we create materials that sense and respond? “When describing ‘smart materials,’ one analogy scientists give is the evolution from the first Terminator robot, a machine made of metal and circuitry, to the shape-shifting ‘liquid guy’ in Terminator 2,” said Making Stuff producer Chris Schmidt. Smarter looks into the growing number of materials that can shape themselves–reacting, changing, and even learning. An Army tanker trunk that heals its own bullet wounds. An airplane wing that changes shape as it flies. Clothing that can monitor its wearer’s heart rate, health, and mood. For inspirations and ideas, scientists are turning to nature and biology and producing some innovative new developments in materials science. The sticky feet of geckos have yielded an adhesive-less tape. Studying the properties of skin has led to the development of self-healing protective foam. And Pogue literally goes swimming with sharks to understand a different kind of skin that is intriguing scientists. Scientists are modeling a material after sharkskin to develop an antibacterial film that, when sprayed in hospitals, could eliminate MRSA and other anti-biotic resistant bacteria from clinging to surfaces. Pogue also visits a scientist who has created a material that can render objects invisible. “Smarter” concludes with a vision of the future, the ultimate in “life-like” stuff: programmable matter that could create a duplicate of a human being.

702 :38x13 - Smartest Machine on Earth

First aired: Feb/09/2011
Guest star: John McKenzie (Narrator)

NOVA investigates the world of artificial intelligence and profiles the computer that could be the “Smartest Machine on Earth.” Known as “Watson,” this IBM supercomputer is so advanced it’s pursuing the first-of-its-kind challenge competing against “Jeopardy!” champions to prove its uncanny ability to mimic the human thought process.

703 :38x14 - Crash of Flight 447

First aired: Feb/16/2011
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

On June 1, 2009, Flight AF447, an Air France Airbus A330 flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean, taking with it all 228 lives on board. How could a state-of-the-art airliner with elaborate electronic safety and navigation features and a faultless safety record simply vanish without a trace? NOVA assembles a team of seasoned pilots, engineers and safety experts to examine the evidence that emerged in the weeks following this disaster. What led Flight 447’s crew to fly straight into a towering thunderstorm? Using expert testimony, messages transmitted by the doomed plane’s computer system and multi-layered CGI weather reconstructions, NOVA pieces together the events leading up to the catastrophe. With a veteran pilot at the controls of an Airbus simulator, NOVA reconstructs the final moments in the cockpit as the crisis overwhelmed Flight 447’s crew. The program provides a forensic view of crucial events seen from all angles to reveal what really happened on Flight 447.

704 :38x15 - Venom: Nature's Killer

First aired: Feb/23/2011
Guest star: Jamie Effros (Narrator)

Venom scientists are in a race against time. Inside the bodies of many creatures, evolution has produced extremely toxic cocktails, all designed for one reason: to kill. It took millions of years to perfect these ultimate brews of proteins and peptides, and we have only just begun to discover their potential. Now, the race is on to collect and study them before the animals that produce them disappear. But how does venom do its deadly work? NOVA reveals how venom causes the body to shut down, arteries to bleed uncontrollably and limbs to go black and die. But nature’s most destructive and extreme poisons could contain the building blocks for a new generation of advanced drugs that could treat heart attack, stroke, diabetes, obesity and cancer. “Venom” follows two scientists on their expeditions to track down and capture the planet’s most deadly creatures, risking life and limb just to tease out milligrams of venom and get it back to the lab. Find out how nature’s deadliest cocktails could be medicine’s brightest new hope.

705 :38x16 - Japan's Killer Quake

First aired: Mar/30/2011
Writer: Richard Burke-ward, Robert Strange
Guest star: Corey Johnson (Narrator)

In its worst crisis since World War II, Japan faces disaster on an epic scale: a rising death toll in the tens of thousands, massive destruction of homes and businesses, shortages of water and power, and the specter of nuclear-reactor meltdowns. The facts and figures are astonishing. The March 11th earthquake was the world's fourth-largest earthquake since record keeping began in 1900 and the worst ever to shake Japan. The seismic shock wave released more than 4,000 times the energy of the largest nuclear test ever conducted; it shifted the earth's axis by six inches and shortened the day by a few millionths of a second. The tsunami slammed Japan's coast with 30-feet-high waves that traveled six miles inland, obliterating entire towns in a matter of minutes. “Japan’s Killer Quake” combines authoritative on-the-spot reporting, personal stories of tragedy and survival, compelling eyewitness videos, explanatory graphics and exclusive helicopter footage for a unique look at the science behind the catastrophe.

706 :38x17 - Power Surge

First aired: Apr/20/2011
Writer: Doug Hamilton
Guest star: Ted Marcoux (Narrator)

Can emerging technology defeat global warming? With more than $30 billion earmarked for “green energy,” President Obama’s stimulus package marks the first serious step by a U.S. administration to tackle the threat of global warming. But as the pace of innovation slackens in the crumbling economy and the public worries more about jobs than the future of the planet, is it all a case of too little, too late? NOVA focuses on the latest and greatest innovations that include everything from artificial trees to cleaner coal, nuclear energy and wildly ambitious — and risky — schemes to re-engineer the entire climate system. Can our technology, which helped create this problem, now solve it?

707 :39x01 - Engineering Ground Zero

First aired: Sep/07/2011
Director: David Shadrack Smith
Guest star: Lance Lewman (Narrator)

On the tenth anniversary of 9/11, NOVA presents an epic story of engineering, innovation and the perseverance of the human spirit. With extraordinary access granted by The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, “Engineering Ground Zero” follows the five-year construction of One World Trade Center (1 WTC) and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. NOVA captures the behind-the-scenes struggle of architects and engineers to make the buildings safe and secure under the pressures of a tight schedule, the demands of practical office space and efficient “green” architecture, and the public's expectations of a fitting site for national remembrance. The program features interviews with 1 WTC architect David Childs; Chris Ward, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; Mayor Michael Bloomberg, chairman of the 9-11 Memorial Foundation; and Michael Arad, the man behind the breakthrough concept for the 9-11 Memorial.

708 :39x02 - Surviving the Tsunami

First aired: Sep/28/2011
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator (Prologue)), Kenichi Nakamaru (Himself (Reporter)), Shu Morino (Him/Herself (Reporter))

The earthquake that hit the northern coast of Japan on March 11, 2011, was recorded at magnitude 9.0 — the worst ever recorded in Japan. It generated an unprecedented tsunami, obliterating coastal villages and towns in a matter of minutes. In some areas, the tsunami climbed above 100 feet in height and traveled miles inland. Amazingly, amateur and professional photographers captured it all on video, including remarkable tales of human survival, as ordinary citizens became heroes in a drama they never could have imagined. As the waves rush in, a daughter struggles to help her elderly mother ascend their rooftop to safety; a man climbs onto an overpass just as the wave overtakes his car. These never-before-seen stories are captured in video and retold after the fact by the survivors who reveal what they were thinking as they made their life-saving decisions. Their stories provide lessons for how we should all act in the face of life-threatening disasters.

709 :39x03 - Finding Life Beyond Earth

First aired: Oct/19/2011
Writer: Oliver Twinch
Director: Oliver Twinch
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

Scientists are on the verge of answering one of the greatest questions in history: Are we alone? Combining the latest telescope images with dazzling CGI, “Finding Life Beyond Earth” immerses audiences in the sights and sounds of alien worlds, while top astrobiologists explain how these places are changing how we think about the potential for life in our solar system. We used to think our neighboring planets and moons were fairly boring — mostly cold, dead rocks where life could never take hold. Today, however, the solar system looks wilder than we ever imagined. Powerful telescopes and unmanned space missions have revealed a wide range of dynamic environments — atmospheres thick with organic molecules, active volcanoes and vast saltwater oceans. This ongoing revolution is forcing scientists to expand their ideas about what kinds of worlds could support life. If we do find primitive life forms elsewhere in the solar system, it may well be that life is common in the universe — the rule, and not the exception.

710 :39x04 - Iceman Murder Mystery

First aired: Oct/26/2011
Director: David Murdock, Brando Quilici, Noel Dockstader
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

He’s been dead for more than 5,000 years — and been poked, prodded and probed by scientists for the last 20. Yet today, Otzi the Iceman, the famous mummified corpse pulled from a glacier in the Italian Alps nearly two decades ago, continues to keep many secrets. Now, through an autopsy like none other, scientists will attempt to unravel more mysteries from this ancient mummy, revealing not only the details of Otzi’s death, but an entire way of life. How did people live during Otzi’s time, the Copper Age? What did they eat? What diseases did they cope with? The answers abound miraculously in this one man’s mummified remains. Join NOVA to defrost the ultimate time capsule, the 5,000-year-old man.

711 :39x05 - The Fabric of the Cosmos: What is Space?

First aired: Nov/02/2011
Guest star: Brian Greene (Himself)

Space. It separates you from me, one galaxy from the next, and atoms from each other. It is everywhere in the universe. But to most of us, space is nothing, an empty void. Well, it turns out space is not what it seems. From the passenger seat of a New York cab driving near the speed of light to a pool hall where billiard tables do fantastical things, Brian Greene reveals space as a dynamic fabric that can stretch, twist, warp, and ripple under the influence of gravity. Stranger still is a newly discovered ingredient of space that actually makes of 70% of the universe. Physicists call it dark energy because while they know it’s out there, driving space to expand ever more quickly, they have no idea what it is. Probing space on the smallest scales only makes the mysteries multiply down there, things are going on that physicists today can barely fathom. To top it off, some of the strangest places in space, black holes, have led scientists to propose that like the hologram on your credit card, space may just be a projection of a deeper two-dimensional reality, taking place on a distant surface that surrounds us. Space, far from being empty, is filled with some of the deepest mysteries of our times.

712 :39x06 - The Fabric of the Cosmos: Illusion of Time

First aired: Nov/09/2011
Guest star: Brian Greene (Himself)

Time. We waste it, save it, kill it, make it. The world runs on it. Yet, ask physicists what time actually is, and the answer might shock you: They have no idea. Even more surprising, the deep sense we have of time passing from present to past may be nothing more than an illusion. How can our understanding of something so familiar be so wrong? In search of answers, Brian Greene takes us on the ultimate time traveling adventure, hurtling 50 years into the future before stepping into a wormhole to travel back to the past. Along the way, he will reveal a new way of thinking about time in which moments past, present, and future—from the reign of T.Rex to the birth of your great-great-grandchildren—exist all at once. This journey will bring us all the way back to the Big Bang, where physicists think the ultimate secrets of time may be hidden. You’ll never look at your wristwatch the same way again.

713 :39x07 - The Fabric of the Cosmos: Quantum Leap

First aired: Nov/16/2011
Guest star: Brian Greene (Himself)

Join Brian Greene on a wild ride into the weird realm of quantum physics, which governs the universe on the tiniest of scales. Greene brings quantum mechanics to life in a nightclub like no other, where objects pop in and out of existence and things over here can affect others over there, instantaneously—without anything crossing the space between them. A century ago, during the initial shots in the quantum revolution, the best minds of a generation—including Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr—squared off in a battle for the soul of physics. How could the rules of the quantum world, which work so well to describe the behavior of individual atoms and their components, appear so dramatically different from the everyday rules that govern people, planets, and galaxies? Quantum mechanics may be counterintuitive, but it’s one of the most successful theories in the history of science, making predictions that have been confirmed to better than one part in a billion, while also launching the technological advances at the heart of modern life, like computers and cell phones. But even today, even with such profound successes, the debate sill rages over what quantum mechanics implies for the true nature of reality.

714 :39x08 - The Fabric of the Cosmos: Universe or Multiverse?

First aired: Nov/23/2011
Guest star: Brian Greene (Himself)

Hard as it is to swallow, cutting-edge theories are suggesting that our universe may not be the only universe. Instead, it may be just one of an infinite number of worlds that make up the multiverse. Brian Greene takes us on a tour of this brave new theory at the frontier of physics, explaining why scientists believe it’s true and showing what some of these alternate realities might be like. Some universes may be almost indistinguishable from our own; others may contain variations of all of us, where we exist but with different families, careers and life stories. In still others, reality may be so radically different from ours as to be unrecognizable. Brian Greene reveals why this radical new picture of the cosmos is getting serious attention from scientists. It won’t be easy to prove, but if it’s right, our understanding of space, time and our place in the universe will never be the same.

715 :39x09 - Deadliest Volcanoes

First aired: Jan/04/2012
Writer: Nathan Williams
Director: Nathan Williams
Guest star: Craig Sechler (Narrator)

Millions of people around the world live in the shadow of active volcanoes. Under constant threat of massive volcanic eruptions, their homes and their lives are daily at risk from these sleeping giants. From Japan's Mount Fuji to the "Sleeping Giant" submerged beneath Naples to the Yellowstone "supervolcano" in the United States, travel with scientists from around the world who are at work on these sites, attempting to discover how likely these volcanoes are to erupt, when eruptions might happen and how deadly they could prove to be.

716 :39x10 - Bombing Hitler's Dams

First aired: Jan/11/2012
Writer: Ian Duncan
Director: Ian Duncan
Guest star: Demetri Goritsas (Narrator)

In 1943 a squadron of Lancaster bombers staged one of the most audacious raids in history — destroying two gigantic dams in Germany's industrial heartland and cutting the water supply to arms factories — with a revolutionary bouncing bomb invented by British engineer Barnes Wallis. Wallis and the pilots of 617 Squadron dealt a mighty blow to the German war machine. Now, NOVA re-creates the extreme engineering challenges faced by Wallis and the pilots with the aid of six spectacular experiments. Each represents a technical challenge that the "Dambusters" had to solve to make their mission a success. A team of experts — from dam engineers to explosives specialists — steps into the shoes of the Dambusters. They will adapt a vintage World War II DC4 to carry a bomb the size of an oil drum; train to drop it from a dangerously low altitude in pitch darkness; get it to bounce over obstacles and onto the target; and finally, at a test site in Canada with a 1:6 scale model of one of the German dams, try to repeat history.

717 :39x11 - 3D Spies of WWII

First aired: Jan/18/2012
Writer: Tim Dunn
Director: Tim Dunn
Guest star: Craig Sechler (Narrator)

During World War II, Hitler's scientists developed terrifying new weapons of mass destruction. Alarmed by rumors about advanced rockets and missiles, Allied intelligence recruited a team of brilliant minds from British universities and Hollywood studios to a country house near London. Here, they secretly pored over millions of air photos shot at great risk over German territory by specially converted, high-flying Spitfires. Peering at the photos through 3D stereoscopes, the team spotted telltale clues that revealed hidden Nazi rocket bases. The photos led to devastating Allied bombing raids that were crucial setbacks to the German rocket program and helped ensure the success of the D-Day landings. With 3D graphics that recreate exactly what the photo spies saw, NOVA tells the suspenseful, previously untold story of air photo intelligence that played a vital role in defeating Hitler.

718 :39x12 - Mystery of a Masterpiece

First aired: Jan/25/2012
Writer: David Murdock
Director: David Murdock
Guest star: Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

In October 2009, a striking portrait of a young woman in Renaissance dress made world news headlines. Originally sold two years before for around $20,000, the portrait is now thought to be an undiscovered Leonardo da Vinci masterwork worth more than $100 million. How did cutting-edge imaging analysis help tie the portrait to Leonardo? NOVA meets a new breed of experts who are approaching "cold case" art mysteries as if they were crime scenes, determined to discover "who committed the art," and follows art sleuths as they deploy new techniques to combat the multi-billion dollar criminal market in stolen and fraudulent art.

719 :39x13 - Ice Age Death Trap

First aired: Feb/01/2012
Director: Eleanor Grant
Guest star: Lance Lewman (Narrator)

Racing against developers in the Rockies, archaeologists uncover a unique site packed with astonishingly preserved bones of mammoths, mastodons and other giant extinct beasts, opening a window on the vanished world of the Ice Age.

720 :39x14 - Separating Twins

First aired: Feb/08/2012
Writer: Wayne Dyer
Director: Ben Shackleford
Guest star: Lance Lewman (Narrator)

This is the incredible story of Trishna and Krishna, twin girls born joined at the head. Abandoned shortly after birth at an orphanage in Bangladesh, they had little chance of survival, until they were saved and taken to Australia by an aid worker. After two years battling for life, the twins are ready for a series of delicate operations, which will prepare them for the ultimate challenge: a marathon separation surgery that will allow them to live truly separate lives. Since the beginning, surgeons knew there was no guarantee of survival for either of the girls - but without surgery there was no hope at all. With exclusive access to this extraordinary human and medical drama, NOVA's cameras have been with Trishna and Krishna and their caregivers at each moment of their journey.

721 :39x15 - Cracking Your Genetic Code

First aired: Mar/28/2012

What will it mean when most of us can afford to have the information in our DNA--all three billion chemical letters of it--read, stored and available for analysis? In "Cracking Your Genetic Code," NOVA reveals that we stand on the verge of a revolution. Meet cancer patients returned to robust health and a cystic fibrosis sufferer breathing easily because scientists have been able to pinpoint and neutralize the genetic abnormalities underlying their conditions. What are the moral dilemmas raised by the new technology? Will it help or hurt us to know our genetic destiny? What if such information falls into the hands of insurance companies, employers and prospective mates? One thing is certain: the new era of personalized, gene-based medicine is relevant to everyone. Soon, all of us may be deciding whether to join the ranks of the DNA generation.

722 :39x16 - Hunting the Elements

First aired: Apr/04/2012
Guest star: David Pogue (Himself)

What are things made of? It's a simple question with an astonishing answer. Fewer than 100 naturally occurring elements form the ingredients of everything in our world--from solid rocks to ethereal gases, from scorching acids to the living cells in our body. David Pogue, lively host of NOVA's popular "Making Stuff" series and personal technology correspondent for The New York Times, spins viewers through the world of weird, extreme chemistry on a quest to unlock the secrets of the elements. Why are some elements, like platinum and gold, relatively inert, while others, like phosphorus and potassium, are violently explosive? Why are some vital to every breath we take, while others are potentially lethal? Punctuated by surprising and often alarming experiments, David Pogue takes NOVA on a roller coaster ride through nature's hidden lab and the compelling stories of discovery that revealed its secrets.

723 :39x17 - Deadliest Tornadoes

First aired: Apr/11/2012

In April 2011, the worst tornado outbreak in decades left a trail of destruction across the U.S., killing more than 360 people. Why was there such an extreme outbreak? How do such outbreaks form? With modern warning systems, why did so many die? Is our weather getting more extreme--and if so, how bad will it get? In this NOVA special, get a look at the science behind the last year's outbreak, meeting those affected and the scientists striving to understand the forces behind the outbreak. Could their work improve tornado prediction in the future? Learn how we all can protect ourselves and our communities in the future.

724 :39x18 - Why Ships Sink

First aired: Apr/18/2012

Are you safe aboard a modern cruise ship? Twenty million passengers embark on cruises each year, vacationing in deluxe "floating cities" that offer everything from swimming pools to shopping malls to ice skating rinks. And the ships just keep getting bigger: The average cruise ship has doubled in size in just the last 10 years. Some engineers fear that these towering behemoths are dangerously unstable, and the recent tragedy of the Costa Concordia has raised new questions about their safety. Now, NOVA brings together marine engineering and safety experts to reconstruct the events that led up to famous cruise disasters, including the ill-fated Concordia, the Sea Diamond and the Oceanos. Are we really safe at sea—or are we on the brink of a 21st century Titanic?

725 :39x19 - Secrets of the Sun

First aired: Apr/25/2012

It contains 99.9 percent of all the matter in our solar system and sheds hot plasma at nearly a million miles an hour. The temperature at its core is a staggering 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. It convulses, it blazes, it sings. You know it as the sun. Scientists know it as one of the most amazing physics laboratories in the universe. Now, with the help of new spacecraft and Earth-based telescopes, scientists are seeing the sun as they never have before and even re-creating in labs what happens at the very center of the sun. Their work will helps us understand aspects of the sun that have puzzled scientists for decades. But more critically, it may help us predict and track solar storms that have the power to zap our power grid, shut down telecommunications and ground global air travel for days, weeks, even longer. Such storms have occurred before--but never in the modern era of satellite communication. "Secrets of the Sun" reveals a bright new dawn in our understanding of our nearest star--one that might help keep our planet from going dark.