"Where did we come from? What makes us human? NOVA's ... investigation explores how new discoveries are transforming views of our earliest ancestors. Featuring interviews with world-renowned scientists, footage shot "in the trenches" as fossils were unearthed, and ... computer-generated animation, [these programs] bring early hominids to life, examining how we became the creative and adaptable modern humans of today ... In the first episode ... encounter...

Looks at some of the scientific aspects of food, including the chemistry involved in cooking a turkey, the nutritional benefits of cooking, and how taste works. Profiles Nathan Myhrvold, a scientist responsible for creating new foods in a laboratory.

Host Neil deGrasse Tyson will tackle one of science's major challenges in each video, framed as a simple question that ordinary people wonder and worry about. Neil will guide us as he explores dramatic discoveries and the frontiers of research that connect each central, provocative mystery. Episode includes: 1) How Smart Are Dogs? - Meet an extraordinary boarder collie and other dogs changing our view of canine intelligence. 2) How Smart Are Dolphins?...

In "Last Human Standing," the final program of the three-part series "Becoming Human," NOVA examines the fate of the Neanderthals, our European cousins who died out as modern humans spread from Africa into Europe during the Ice Age. Did modern humans interbreed with Neanderthals or exterminate them? The program explores crucial evidence from the recent decoding of the Neanderthal genome.

Join scientists and citizens alike as they observe the first total solar eclipse to traverse the US mainland in over a generation. Discover the storied history of eclipse science and follow current, cutting edge research into the solar corona.

Recent discoveries in archaeology are exploding the myth of the Amazon as a primeval wilderness, revealing traces of ancient civilizations that flourished for centuries, with populations numbering in the millions.

Host Neil deGrasse Tyson will tackle one of science's major challenges in each video, framed as a simple question that ordinary people wonder and worry about. Neil will guide us as he explores dramatic discoveries and the frontiers of research that connect each central, provocative mystery. Episode includes: 1) Magic and the Brain - Neuroscientists join Penn and Teller to explore why humans are so easily fooled by magic tricks. 2) Can Machines...

A powerful tornado is a terrifying phenomenon that continues to defy decades of scientific efforts to predict it. During one of the worst tornado seasons on record, a NOVA camera team chased across the Midwest, capturing hair-raising footage of highly destructive twisters in action. But HUNT FOR THE SUPERTWISTER is much more than just another "extreme weather" show. Our story focuses on the efforts of two scientists at the University of Oklahoma to...

How do you get a genius brain? Is it all in your genes? Or is it hard work? Is it possible that everyone's brain has untapped genius–just waiting for the right circumstances so it can be unleashed? From a man who can immediately name the day of the week of any date in history to a "memory athlete" who can remember strings of hundreds of random numbers, David Pogue meets people stretching the boundaries of what the human mind can do. Then, Pogue...

Mobile phones that read your mind? Video games that can cure cancer? Wearable robots that give you the strength of Ironman? David Pogue predicts which technologies will transform daily life for you - and your grandkids. These advancements are already taking shape in laboratories around the world - and gadgets that once were purely science fiction are on the verge of becoming as common as the iPhones and Androids Pogue reviews every day.