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: In the expanding world of biotechnology, cells taken from aborted fetuses are seen as a promising resource for developing a variety of medical cures-although their use has sparked intense controversy. This program examines stem cell and fetal tissue research programs in the United States, Japan, and China and highlights the ethical concerns that surround these projects. Explaining why stem...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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: Why are girls entering puberty at progressively younger ages? Why are the rates of heart attack, cancer, and adult-onset diabetes rising? This program examines growing indications that food affects our genes-a concept vitally important to the science of epigenetics. Viewers encounter a wide range of experiments, case studies, and historical evidence, including Dutch birth records and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program offers an overview of genetics and cloning as they occur both in nature and in the laboratory while addressing the ethical and social implications of genetic engineering. Genes, chromosomes, and DNA are identified, and the process of cell fertilization is demonstrated. Identical human twins are presented as an example of naturally occurring clones. The synthesis of human insulin...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: How far should people be allowed to go in trying to have better babies? And whose definition of “better” should prevail? This Fred Friendly Seminar moderated by Dateline NBC correspondent John Hockenberry considers the ethical dilemmas facing individuals and society that grow out of prenatal testing and genetic options that may be available in the future—such as cloning. Panelists include...
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: Imagine a world free of genetic diseases, where parents control their offspring's height, eye color, and intelligence. This world may be closer than you think, as scientists make great advances in genetic engineering. Such practices, however, could have unintended consequences, such as creating new diseases or ailments. And yet even if the science could be perfected, is it morally right? Would...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2013
View online at AVOD
Summary: How accurate is the term "identical twins"? Can a cell-for-cell likeness between two siblings really exist? And what does that say about the supposed uniqueness of each human being? This program examines the genetics, physiology, and psychology behind such questions as it presents fascinating real-world case studies of identical twin development. Viewers meet monozygotic twins raised apart and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Although the impact of genetic research on human life is an ever-changing and often theoretical prospect, our current knowledge of the human genome already has direct, real-world applications. This program looks at several ways in which genetic breakthroughs have improved health care technology and enriched the study of human physiology. Case studies focus on DNA screening and its benefits-for...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
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Summary: One of Australia's most distinguished scientists, Dr. Alan Trounson administered early IVF fertility treatments and is now an internationally recognized leader in stem cell research. In this extended interview, he reflects on a range of research techniques and genetics issues-including gene expression and epigenetics; real-world applications for genetics and epigenetics; triggering...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: From hydras to humans, every organism on Earth can trace its ancestry back to the first primitive cell. Will biotechnology one day create a cell outside of that family tree? This program looks at 21st-century genetic science and its search for the secret of life's creation. Background information highlights the Oparin-Haldane Hypothesis and its vision of a prebiotic soup as well as Stanley...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
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: This clinical though often emotionally charged program challenges one of the most seductive and controversial ideas in all medicine: gene therapy. Scientists once thought its concept beautifully simple: remove the defective genes and replace them with healthy ones. Research was thought to advance when Dr. James Wilson determined that the best way to transport the healthy genes into the...
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: Imagine a future in which physical strength and assertiveness are the top-selling items on "baby menus." This program explores that possibility and other frightening implications of market-driven genetic engineering. Showing how the government-funded Human Genome Project has become highly lucrative for pharmaceutical companies, the video examines cases of exploitative gene harvesting in Iceland...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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: PGD, or pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, allows doctors and parents to screen brand-new embryos for genetic diseases. This program illustrates the PGD process and what it implies-from lifesaving medical solutions to what many see as the Nazi-esque disposal of life. The experiences of couples considering or undergoing PGD are featured-including the story of Leanne and Stephen, who ignited...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Even as some governments and activists work to prevent human cloning, it can be assumed that, in a laboratory somewhere on this planet, scientists are moving closer to cloning a human being. This program offers an extraordinary and at times unsettling look at rapid advances in what is perhaps the most controversial area of genetic science. Both sides of the ethical debate over cloning are...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
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: Some of the most fascinating research in genetics today involves mutagens-physical, chemical, and biological agents capable of altering the structure of DNA. This program looks at the characteristics and behavior of mutagens and shows how they are prevalent in the world around us-for example, in the form of UV radiation, cosmic rays, and some radioactive isotopes, as well as synthetic chemicals...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Despite their shared genetic makeup, some "identical" twins don't appear identical at all-raising important questions about the role of environment in human development. This program explores several ways in which monozygotic twins grow and change on separate paths as well as the epigenetic, anatomical, and psychological factors involved. With the help of 4D scanning and CGI graphics, viewers...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010