Summary: In this program, philosopher and theologian Conor Cunningham argues that only extremist viewpoints-Creationism and ultra-Darwinism-make evolution and religion mutually exclusive. Experts from across the gamut of opinions frame the debate and trace its origins, including Father Gregory Tatum of the Ecole Biblique; University of Oxford historian Pietro Corsi; Darwin scholar Nick Spencer, author...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: One of the most important stories in genetics is the race to understand DNA. This intro-level program guides viewers through that story, focusing on the biological and chemical processes central to the transfer of genetic material. Beginning in the middle of the 19th century, the program describes how competing scientists in Europe and America zeroed in on the DNA molecule and determined its...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Mapping the human genome is one achievement in a long line of scientific milestones. This intro-level program explores discoveries in the 18th and 19th centuries that gave birth to the science of genetics. Focusing on the work of Carl Linnaeus, Gregor Mendel, and Josef Kolreuter, the program shows how the basic laws of inheritance were established, highlighting the importance of Linnaean...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Likening the beauty and complexity of DNA to an epic poem, this program revolves around the idea that we all carry the story of life on Earth in our genes, and that the similarities between species may play a more significant role in that story than previously thought. A visit to Iceland's hot springs reveals heat-, acid-, and salt-resistant organisms called Archaea-primordial versions of which...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
View online at AVOD
Summary: When you look at a family photo, the resemblances, even across several generations, can be striking. What role do genes play, and why aren't siblings identical (and why are some)? This program explains how the formation of sex cells, from the first gamete to chromosome pairs, determines our genetic makeup. Deviations such as cystic fibrosis, Huntington's disease, achondroplasia, Klinefelter...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Geneticist Spencer Wells studies not just human evolution but human diversity. Known for, among other achievements, his groundbreaking recognition of Central Asia as a major factor in the global diaspora of Homo sapiens, Wells has contributed greatly to the study of genetic variation and the single, common source from which our astonishing diversity emerged. In this TEDTalk, he describes how...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: Expanding on the subject of DNA, this intro-level program explores the central processes that govern the continuation of all life. Beginning with a discussion of Watson and Crick's pivotal 1953 paper describing the structure of DNA and its possible role in heredity, the program describes Crick's collaboration with Sydney Brenner in solving the DNA-to-protein puzzle and the role of RNA in...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Our body is composed of billions of cells, but how does each cell know what to become? This program starts with the nucleus of a single cell and then explains the other components the cell needs to function: chromosomes, genes, DNA, and ribosomes. From hair color to height, our genes determine who we are. This program explores, through animated graphics, all of the basic genetic building blocks...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: As the 19th century gave way to the 20th, genetics came into its own as a science. This intro-level program shows how the development of the microscope pushed genetic studies forward, and includes in-depth discussion of early cell theory, particularly the first observations of meiosis and mitosis. Exploring Thomas Morgan Hunt's findings involving Drosophila mutation, the program covers...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Darwin's theory of natural selection, to be valid, required explanations for both the origin of variation and for the inheritance of variants. John Maynard Smith explains Lamarck's theory of the inheritance of acquired characteristics (in which Darwin believed), Weismann's theory of separate inheritance lines of germ and soma, Mendel's experiments and explanations, and the discovery of the role...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program analyzes how flight evolved not once but four times, in very different ways. Presenting a number of theories, the program examines how insects, pterosaurs, birds, and bats each took to the sky. Bug wings that may have evolved from larval gills into pond-crossing sails; flight feathers that could have begun as soft down on small dinosaurs; and bat wings that probably developed from...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: DNA testing has become a standard tool in genealogical research, but it takes more than saliva swabs and lab reports to truly understand one's ancestry. In this program, two young New Zealanders of Polynesian descent undergo DNA sampling, wrestle with the surprising results, and then embark on a journey of discovery, searching for their roots across the Pacific and into Asia. Their voyage-by...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: How do humans influence changes in other species? Has Homo sapiens itself stopped evolving? This program explores natural selection as an ongoing phenomenon, showing how evolutionary processes continue to shape the future of all life on Earth. Exploring the competition for resources, territory, and mates that occurs in any ecosystem, the video illustrates how species differentiation takes...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program introduces the concepts of naturally occurring and artificially induced mutagens, demonstrates how X-radiation and chemical additives can produce genetic mutations, introduces Dr. Maclyn McCarty (one of three researchers who identified DNA as the substance that transformed one variety of Pneumococcus into another), and shows how DNA is extracted and precipitated. After viewing the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: The oceans are life's laboratory, the global test tube where trial and error meet cause and effect. By focusing on pivotal animals-ammonites, flatworms, sea squirts, frog fish, and bottlenose dolphins, to name only five-and anatomical adaptations such as the eye, the brain, the backbone, and fins, this program illustrates how life populated the seas. Evidence of humankind's evolutionary past is...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Assume, for the sake of argument, that our species has created everything it needs-all the comfort and protection that technology can provide. Does that mean our biological evolution has come to an end? Not necessarily, says anatomist and anthropologist Alice Roberts. In fact, technology may be driving human evolution, and at breakneck speed. Dr. Roberts meets scientists who are detecting and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
View online at AVOD
Summary: All other life forms except humans exist to propagate themselves and pass on their genes; humans alone work to other ends. In this lecture, Richard Dawkins distinguishes between the result of eons of natural selection which has resulted in, say, a bird's tail, whose purpose is to enable the bird to fly-purpose with a survival value-and deliberate design, like an airplane's tail. Dawkins shows...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Recent findings in the fossil record have, in some scientific quarters, led to radical ideas on evolution. This program presents an intriguing and highly controversial theory: that human development has been-and continues to be-guided by genetic forces within us, rather than by the pressures of our environment. Following the work of paleontologist Anne Dambricourt Malasse and orthodontist...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: An extraterrestrial biologist would probably not hesitate to classify Homo sapiens as just another chimpanzee. After all, the two species share 98 percent of their DNA-and yet what a difference that two percent makes. This program investigates how such similar primates became so very dissimilar.and how humans, having reached the point where they are little hindered by natural selection, are...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program shows the process of sedimentation, which has preserved those life forms extant at the time the rock was formed and-most strikingly where the Colorado River has cut through the Grand Canyon-exposes a veritable history of life on earth; presents the stratified evidence that simple organisms populated the earth first, followed by increasingly complex forms; demonstrates modern...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: In this TEDTalk, geneticist Svante Paabo offers biological proof that early humans mated with Neanderthals after migrating out of Africa. Paabo also provides an overview of mutations and genetic variance, giving audiences a clear picture of the types of early hominids that lived in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East 100,000 years ago. Paabo explores human genetic evolution by analyzing DNA...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
View online at AVOD
Summary: This Explorer program investigates a provocative theory which suggests that all forms of life-including humans-are descended from viruses. Respected virologist Dr. Luis Villarreal explains his virus-centric conception of the world, guiding viewers from the heart of Africa to urban Atlanta to southern Texas as he reveals the cryptic nature of some of the most bizarre and dangerous microbes known...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Marking the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species, this program shows how Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution and explores its ramifications in today's scientific community. Renowned natural history interpreter David Attenborough travels the globe, examining fresh evidence for Darwinian thought and illustrating why it is more relevant than ever. Viewers...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: The use of heat and utensils to process food may be more than a by-product of human evolution. According to theories presented in this program, cooking began much earlier than previously thought and ignited a series of changes that shaped our physical and mental abilities. Viewers visit South African caves containing evidence, including tools and charred bone material, that pushes back the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010