Nova Episode Guide

Episode Guide

Nova: Season 36 (2009)

• Season 36 Episode 17: What Darwin Never Knew

  Science breakthroughs link the mystery of origins to the development of the embryo.

• Season 36 Episode 16: Lizard Kings

  Dr. Eric Pianka tracks monitor lizards, a species successful at adapting to all kinds of settings, through Australia's heartland.

• Season 36 Episode 15: Becoming Human: Last Human Standing

  Evidence reveals new insights into how humans became creative and modern; demise of Neanderthals.

• Season 36 Episode 14: Becoming Human: Birth of Humanity

  How ancestors survived in a savannah with vicious predators; when and why they left the African cradle to colonize the earth.

• Season 36 Episode 13: Becoming Human: First Steps

  Clues about early ancestors in Africa include a complete fossil named Lucy's Child.

• Season 36 Episode 12: What Are Dreams?

  Dream researchers investigate the world of sleep, from human narcolepsy to sleepwalking cats.

• Season 36 Episode 11: Hubble's Amazing Rescue

  NASA sends a shuttle crew to service the Hubble Space Telescope.

• Season 36 Episode 10: Musical Minds

  Dr. Oliver Sacks investigates how music affects the brain, revealing case studies such as a man who uses drumming to alleviate his Tourette's syndrome.

• Season 36 Episode 9: Doctors' Diaries

  An update on the seven doctors first profiled in 1987 as they began Harvard Medical School.

• Season 36 Episode 8: Doctors' Diaries

  An update continues profiles on seven doctors who began Harvard Medical School in 1987.

• Season 36 Episode 7: Last Extinction

  A new theory about what killed off America's mammoths.

• Season 36 Episode 5: Darwin's Darkest Hour

  Charles Darwin must decide whether to make his theory of evolution public. With Henry Ian Cusick and Frances O'Connor.

• Season 36 Episode 4: Extreme Ice

  Photojournalist James Balog and a scientific team disperse cameras in risky, remote locations in the Arctic, Alaska and the Alps to record melting glaciers.

• Season 36 Episode 3: Rat Attack

  The half-century bloom of a bamboo species in Mizoram spurs an explosion in the rat population in the Indian state.

• Season 36 Episode 2: The Spy Factory

  The modern technology underlying the National Security Agency's hunt for information in the war on terror.

  Next on: Tuesday 15th December 8:00pm EST - WETADT (WETA-DT) (PBS)
• Season 36 Episode 1: The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies

  The secret world of the monarch butterfly.

Nova: Season 35 (2008 - 2009)

• Season 35 Episode 19: The Big Energy Gamble

  The state of California's efforts to ensure a sustainable energy future include energy conservation and the development of new sources of carbon-free power.

• Season 35 Episode 18: Is There Life on Mars?

  Scientific results from NASA's twin robot explorers, Spirit and Opportunity, and the Phoenix probe, which 'tasted' water ice on Mars in July 2008.

• Season 35 Episode 17: Ocean Animal Emergency

  San Francisco veterinarian Frances Gulland and her team care for marine mammals affected by toxic algae blooms

• Season 35 Episode 16: The Bible's Buried Secrets

  Scholars and researchers discuss the Old Testament and how the concept of one God emerged.

• Season 35 Episode 15: Alien From Earth

  Excavations at Ling Bua on the island of Flores, Indonesia, unearthed tiny human fossil bones.

• Season 35 Episode 14: Hunting the Hidden Dimension

  A new branch of math called fractals has opened up a path to scientific analysis and understanding.

• Season 35 Episode 13: Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives

  Mark Oliver Everett, lead singer of the EELS, travels America to learn about his estranged father, one of the country's top quantum physicists.

• Season 35 Episode 12: Space Shuttle Disaster

  Astronauts, their families and members of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board talk about the Columbia space shuttle tragedy.

• Season 35 Episode 11: Arctic Dinosaurs

  A field expedition to collect new fossil clues on Alaska's North Slope reveals details of the lives of polar dinosaurs.

• Season 35 Episode 10: Lord of the Ants

  E.O. Wilson became known as the architect of sociobiology through his study of ants.

• Season 35 Episode 9: Car of the Future

  Tom and Ray Magliozzi of NPR's 'Car Talk' examine new technologies and ideas for transportation, including alternative fuel sources for cars.

• Season 35 Episode 8: Cracking the Maya Code

  Pioneers decipher the Maya's system of hieroglyphics.

• Season 35 Episode 7: Ape Genius

  The secret mental lives of great apes -- chimps, orangutans, gorillas and bonobos -- and what separates humans from them.

• Season 35 Episode 6: A Walk to Beautiful

  Three Ethiopian women with childbirth injuries find solace at a special hospital in Addis Ababa.

• Season 35 Episode 5: Absolute Zero: The Race for Absolute Zero

  Groundbreaking discoveries made over four centuries which led to creations such as frozen food, refrigeration and modern air conditioning.

• Season 35 Episode 4: Absolute Zero: The Conquest of Cold

  Groundbreaking discoveries over four centuries lead to freezing foods, refrigeration, and air-conditioning.

• Season 35 Episode 3: Secrets of the Parthenon

  Scholars probe the planning and construction of the Parthenon, erected by the ancient Greeks as a temple to the goddess Athena.

• Season 35 Episode 2: The Four Winged Dinosaur

  The reconstruction of the pigeon-sized microraptor, the smallest adult dinosaur ever found, sheds new light on how winged flight began.

• Season 35 Episode 1: Astrospies

  Author Jim Bamford goes to Russia to investigate the prototypes of the Almaz military space stations.

Nova: Season 34 (2007)

• Season 34 Episode 25: NOVA scienceNOW

  Epigenetics is changing how scientists think about identity, disease and heredity; Maya findings; students build prototypes for an elevator that could climb to space.

• Season 34 Episode 18: Missing in MiG Alley

  Russian and American fighter pilots battle it out over MiG Alley, a strip of airspace above the North Korean-Chinese border.

• Season 34 Episode 17: Master of the Killer Ants

  The Mofu shaman in the Mandaras Mountains of northern Cameroon calls on the Jaglavak army ant to fight off an invasion of termites.

• Season 34 Episode 16: Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial

  Conflict among the school board, parents and teachers evolves when the board orders teachers to read to students a statement suggesting an alternative to Darwin's theory of evolution.

• Season 34 Episode 15: Sputnik Declassified

  Before the founding of NASA, politics and personalities collide over early efforts to get America into space.

• Season 34 Episode 14: Marathon Challenge

  People from diverse backgrounds train for the Boston marathon, including a woman running in memory of her mother, a single working mom, and a former NFL linebacker.

• Season 34 Episode 13: The Ghost in Your Genes

  Epigenetics investigates hidden influences that could affect one's health in the present and the health of future generations.

• Season 34 Episode 12: Secrets of the Samurai Sword

  The craft of the traditional swordsmiths; samurai fighting school and the discipline of sword making.

• Season 34 Episode 11: NOVAscienceNOW

  Chemical switches inside human cells, the epigenomes, turn genes on and off; coded sculpture 'Kryptos'; a 68 million-year-old tyrannosaur.

• Season 34 Episode 10: NOVAscienceNOW

  Evidence suggests that sleep plays a crucial role in strengthening memories and facilitating learning in humans and animals; the Large Hadron Collider.

• Season 34 Episode 9: The Great Inca Rebellion

  Archaeologist Guillermo Cock examines mummies, victims of a battle pitting club-wielding Inca warriors against Spanish cavalry.

• Season 34 Episode 8: Bone Diggers

  Unknown kangaroo species and the first complete skeleton of the largest carnivorous marsupial ever found are recovered from Australia's Nullarbor Plain.

• Season 34 Episode 7: Saved by the Sun

  Problems and possible solutions to global warming; renewable energies like wind and solar power.

• Season 34 Episode 6: Pocahontas Revealed

  Archaeologists discover Chief Powhatan's capital, revealing more of the American Indian aspects of the Jamestown story.

• Season 34 Episode 5: First Flower

  Discovering the origin of flowers at a remote mountain region of China.

• Season 34 Episode 4: The Last Great Ape

  Bonobo researchers return to the Congo to determine the effects of the civil war and the bush meat industry on the bonobo population.

• Season 34 Episode 3: Forgotten Genius

  The grandson of Alabama slaves, Percy Julian became an industrialist, self-made millionaire, humanitarian and civil rights pioneer.

• Season 34 Episode 2: Kings of Camouflage

  Cuttlefish are able to change their skin color and even their shape to blend into virtually any background.

• Season 34 Episode 1: NOVAscienceNOW

  Scientists work on a pill that could extend the human life span; space elevators; satellite imaging helps uncover 2,000-year-old Mayan ruins.

Nova: Season 33 (2005 - 2006)

• Season 33 Episode 19: Underwater Dream Machine

  Peter Robbins stakes everything he owns to build a submarine to explore the sunken wrecks of German U-boats.

• Season 33 Episode 18: NOVAscienceNOW

  Genetic research that may solve the mystery of longevity; ancient papyrus scrolls; archaeologist Julie Schablitsky; a 250-million-year-old murder mystery.

• Season 33 Episode 17: Family That Walks on All Fours

  An impairment causes an impoverished family in Turkey to walk on all fours, and scientists investigate how much the condition may relate to human evolution.

• Season 33 Episode 16: Wings of Madness

  Re-creations and replicas of Brazilian-born inventor Alberto Santos-Dumont's pioneering balloons and airplanes.

• Season 33 Episode 15: The Deadliest Plane Crash

  Two Boeing 747 airliners collide on the runway at a small airport in the Canary Islands, killing 583 passengers and crew.

• Season 33 Episode 14: Monster of the Milky Way

  Computer-generated imagery depicts supermassive black holes.

• Season 33 Episode 13: NOVAscienceNOW

  Possible consequences of an asteroid hitting the earth in 2036; genes and hormones that regulate body weight; MIT roboticist Karl Iagnemma.

• Season 33 Episode 12: Mystery of the Megavolcano

  A remote lake in Southeast Asia conceals evidence of the greatest volcanic cataclysm of the last 100,000 years.

• Season 33 Episode 11: Building on Ground Zero

  The collapse of the World Trade Center and improvements to construction and security of other important structures.

• Season 33 Episode 10: Dimming Sun

  Research shows that the sun appears dimmer due to the increase in air pollution on Earth.

• Season 33 Episode 9: Voyage to the Mystery Moon

  The Huygens space probe explores the surface of Saturn's moon Titan.

• Season 33 Episode 8: The Great Robot Race

  Teams from around the world enter the DARPA Grand Challenge, a contest for robotic, driverless vehicles.

• Season 33 Episode 7: Arctic Passage: Ice Survivors

  Roald Amundsen learns Inuit skills for Arctic survival, which enable him to conquer the Northwest Passage.

• Season 33 Episode 6: Arctic Passage: Prisoners of the Ice

  John Franklin's ships vanish during an expedition to conquer the elusive Arctic route.

• Season 33 Episode 5: The Ghost Particle

  New theories explain the beginnings of creation.

• Season 33 Episode 4: Jewel of the Earth

  David Attenborough investigates whether dinosaur DNA can be extracted from mosquitoes trapped in amber.

• Season 33 Episode 3: The Perfect Corpse

  An investigation unearths two bog-bodies from Central Ireland's landscape, providing evidence of ritualistic killings during the Iron Age.

• Season 33 Episode 2: Deadly Ascent

  Doctors, rescuers and mountaineers try to determine why people die attempting to climb Mount McKinley.

• Season 33 Episode 1: The Mummy Who Would Be King

  Archaeologists try to determine if a mummy displayed in a Niagara Falls museum is Ramses I.

Nova: Season 32 (2005 - 2006)

• Season 32 Episode 19: NOVA scienceNOW

  Breakthroughs in embryonic stem cell techniques; tenth planet; risks of flu pandemic; ivory-billed woodpecker; hurricanes; cancer researcher Tyler Curiel.

• Season 32 Episode 18: Storm That Drowned a City

  A minute-by-minute, eyewitness account of Hurricane Katrina; why flood defenses failed.

• Season 32 Episode 17: Newton's Dark Secrets

  Isaac Newton makes breakthroughs in physics, optics and calculus and has a turbulent personality.

• Season 32 Episode 16: Hitler's Sunken Secret

  A salvage expedition tries to recover sunken barrels from the ferryboat Hydro, sunk en route to Germany to deliver material vital to Hitler's atomic bomb program.

• Season 32 Episode 15: Volcano Under the City

  Scientists venture into a volcano in Goma, Congo, to collect data from the lava.

• Season 32 Episode 14: Nova scienceNOW

  The danger to New Orleans from hurricanes; scientists try to create new forms of life in the laboratory; origins of lightning; surgery for pet fish.

• Season 32 Episode 13: Einstein's Big Idea

  Human conflicts lead to Albert Einstein's (Aidan McArdle) mathematical discovery.

• Season 32 Episode 12: Sinking the Supership

  Retracing the sinking of the Yamato, the largest battleship ever built.

• Season 32 Episode 11: Mystery of the Megaflood

  Thousand-foot-deep floodwaters scoured vast areas of the American northwest near the end of the last ice age.

• Season 32 Episode 10: Nova scienceNOW

  Tom and Ray Magliozzi talk about fuel cells; neurobiologist Erich Jarvis reveals the similarities between humans and birds.

• Season 32 Episode 9: Nova scienceNOW

  Stem-cell research; biologist Greg Erickson's research of the tyrannosaur; nanotechnologist Naomi Halas of Rice University.

• Season 32 Episode 8: The Wave That Shook the World

  December 2004 tidal waves claim the lives of hundreds of thousands and devastate communities around the Indian Ocean.

• Season 32 Episode 7: A Daring Flight

  Louis Bleriot's 1909 flight from France across the English Channel becomes the first long-distance flight over water.

• Season 32 Episode 6: Saving the National Treasures

  Preserving the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights documents.

• Season 32 Episode 5: The Viking Deception

  Some believe that the Vinland Map offers proof that the Vikings arrived in America before Christopher Columbus.

• Season 32 Episode 4: Nova scienceNOW

  Robert Krulwich examines the impact of advancements in science and technology.

• Season 32 Episode 3: Supersonic Dream

  Designers and engineers build the Concorde for supersonic passenger flight.

• Season 32 Episode 2: The Boldest Hoax

  The discovery of the bones of a primitive human turns out to be a hoax.

• Season 32 Episode 1: Welcome to Mars

  Scientists and engineers follow the progress of two rovers on Mars.

Nova: Season 31 (2004)

• Season 31 Episode 18: Ancient Refuge in the Holy Land

  A controversial theory surrounds the great temple in Jerusalem and the Romans.

• Season 31 Episode 17: Great Escape

  Allied prisoners of war escape from a Nazi prison camp by digging three tunnels.

• Season 31 Episode 16: America's Stone Age Explorers

  Archaeologists debate a theory claiming the first Americans came from Europe.

• Season 31 Episode 15: The Most Dangerous Woman in America

  Mary Mallon unwittingly spreads typhoid fever in the early 1900s.

• Season 31 Episode 14: Origins: Back to the Beginning

  Big-bang theory; stars explode and disperse newly forged elements throughout space.

• Season 31 Episode 13: Origins: Where Are the Aliens?

  Scientists search for life in the universe.

• Season 31 Episode 12: Origins: How Life Began

  Primitive organisms convert carbon dioxide into oxygen.

• Season 31 Episode 11: Origins: Earth Is Born

  Earth sees the formation of continental crust and the precipitation of water.

• Season 31 Episode 10: Battle Plan Under Fire

  The U.S. military uses high-tech weapons to fight terrorists and militias in Iraq.

• Season 31 Episode 9: World in the Balance: China Revs Up

  Population trends in China move away from the one-child policy.

• Season 31 Episode 8: World in the Balance: The People Paradox

  Population trends in India, Japan and sub-Saharan Africa.

• Season 31 Episode 7: Hunt for the Supertwister

  Two University of Oklahoma scientists attempt to forecast tornadoes.

• Season 31 Episode 6: Life and Death in the War Zone

  Life-and-death drama occurs daily at the tented 21st Combat Support Hospital near Baghdad, Iraq.

• Season 31 Episode 5: Crash of Flight 111

  The aviation investigation into the 1998 crash of Swissair Flight 111 off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada.

• Season 31 Episode 4: Descent Into the Ice

  An exploration of ice caves in Mont Blanc finds trapped flood water that menaces the populated valleys below.

• Season 31 Episode 3: Dogs and More Dogs

  Dogs' origins, breeding and relationship with man.

• Season 31 Episode 2: Secrets of the Crocodile Caves

  The survival strategies of lemurs and crocodiles in a remote refuge in Madagascar.

• Season 31 Episode 1: MARS Dead or Alive

  The rover Spirit will be launched from Earth to a dry lake bed near the Martian equator.

Nova: Season 30 (2003)

• Season 30 Episode 17: Volcano Above the Clouds

  The five climatic zones of Kilimanjaro; the formation of the African continent.

  Next on: Today at 5:00pm EST - WETADT (WETA-DT) (PBS)
• Season 30 Episode 16: Magnetic Storm

  The effects of changes to the planet's magnetic field.

• Season 30 Episode 15: Wright Brothers' Flying Machine

  An examination of the Wright brothers' personal story and the invention of the airplane.

• Season 30 Episode 14: The Elegant Universe: Welcome to the 11th Dimension

  The successful unification of five different string theories into a single theory.

• Season 30 Episode 13: The Elegant Universe: String's the Thing

  String theory states that vibrating strands of energy give rise to all the elementary particles.

• Season 30 Episode 12: The Elegant Universe: Einstein's Dream; String's the Thing

  Author Brian Greene ('The Elegant Universe') explains string theory; physicists attempt to unify general relativity and quantum mechanics; string theory states that vibrating strands of energy give rise to all the elementary particles.

• Season 30 Episode 11: Who Killed the Red Baron?

  An investigation into the 1918 death of German flier Manfred von Richthofen, also known as the 'Red Baron.'

• Season 30 Episode 10: Infinite Secrets

  Scientists use imaging techniques to unlock the secrets of a long-lost compendium of works by the ancient Greek scholar Archimedes.

• Season 30 Episode 9: Secret of Photo 51

  Molecular biologist Rosalind Franklin's contributions to the discovery of DNA.

• Season 30 Episode 8: Deep Sea Invasion

  Toxic algae decimates marine life in the Mediterranean.

• Season 30 Episode 7: Dirty Bomb

  One of the nightmare scenarios of terrorism is the detonation of a 'dirty bomb,' a device using a conventional explosive and containing radioactive materials.

• Season 30 Episode 6: Lost Treasures of Tibet

  The Buddhist monastery of Thubchen lies on Nepal's northern border, and its medieval wall paintings are deteriorating fast from roof leaks and lamp soot; conservators want to restore the artworks; locals want them repainted.

• Season 30 Episode 5: Mountain of Ice

  Mountaineer Jon Krakauer and his expedition team try to scale Antarctica's highest peak, the Vinson Massif.

• Season 30 Episode 4: Battle of the X-Planes

  Lockheed Martin and Boeing compete to win a government contract to build the next generation fighter jet.

• Season 30 Episode 3: Ancient Creature of the Deep

  In 1938 fishermen catch a coelacanth, believed extinct since the time of the dinosaurs.

• Season 30 Episode 2: Last Flight of Bomber 31

  Aviation experts and forensic scientists investigate the wreckage of a World War II bomber discovered on the edge of a volcano in Kamchatka, Russia.

• Season 30 Episode 1: Spies That Fly

  Advances in robotic planes for spying; the history of airborne spying.

Nova: Season 29 (2002)

• Season 29 Episode 15: Orchid Hunter

  An all-consuming passion for orchids subjects Tom Hart Dyke to Colombian guerrilla imprisonment for nine months, then propels him to politically unstable Papua New Guinea.

• Season 29 Episode 14: Sinking City of Venice

  Venetians fight to save their city from the rising tides of the Adriatic Sea.

• Season 29 Episode 13: Volcano's Deadly Warning

  In January 1993, Stanley Williams and a few others manage to escape when a Colombian volcano erupts, killing nine scientists and hikers.

• Season 29 Episode 12: Galileo's Battle for the Heavens

  Scientific genius Galileo clashes with church authorities trying to suppress his astonishing discoveries.

• Season 29 Episode 11: Lost Roman Treasure

  Archaeologists try to excavate the Roman city of Zeugma before a hydroelectric dam floods the site.

• Season 29 Episode 10: Mysterious Life of Caves

  Geologists Carol Hill and Dave Jagnow's discovery of blocks of minerals in New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns leads to a new cave formation theory.

• Season 29 Episode 9: Killer Disease on Campus

  The medical community tries to combat the spread of meningitis on U.S. college campuses.

• Season 29 Episode 8: Fire Wars

  The Arrowhead Hotshots fight a wildfire during the summer of 2000; fire policy.

• Season 29 Episode 7: Why the Towers Fell

  A team of forensic engineers investigates the cause of the World Trade Center's collapse.

• Season 29 Episode 6: Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance

  Location footage and interviews describe the expedition of Ernest Shackleton and his crew to cross Antarctica in 1914.

• Season 29 Episode 5: The Missing Link

  A fossil jaw in a museum drawer leads paleontologists to believe that all four-limbed creatures descended from a single animal.

• Season 29 Episode 4: Secrets, Lies and Atomic Spies

  Evidence suggests Soviet spies penetrated some American projects and secrets, including the Manhattan Project.

• Season 29 Episode 3: Fireworks!

  Creating sequences and colors of fireworks requires scientific knowledge and artistry.

• Season 29 Episode 2: Neanderthals on Trial

  Scientists investigate a genetic link between Neanderthals and modern humans.

• Season 29 Episode 1: Death Star

  Scientists discover gamma-ray bursts at the edges of the known universe.

Nova: Season 28 (2001)

• Season 28 Episode 18: Flying Casanovas

  The courting behavior of Australia's male bower birds; David Attenborough.

• Season 28 Episode 17: Methuselah Tree

  In California's White Mountains, scientists examine what may be the world's oldest living tree.

• Season 28 Episode 16: Life's Greatest Miracle

  Lennart Nilsson's photography and computer animation show a baby in a womb.

• Season 28 Episode 15: Bioterror

  Experts discuss the use of germ warfare.

• Season 28 Episode 14: Russia's Nuclear Warriors

  Russian soldiers in charge of nuclear missiles.

• Season 28 Episode 13: Sex: Unknown

  The botched circumcision of an infant interferes with his sexual identity.

• Season 28 Episode 12: Secrets of the Mind

  Dr. V.S. Ramachandran studies the structure of emotion, perception and consciousness in the brain.

• Season 28 Episode 11: 18 Ways to Make a Baby?

  Science offers options for infertile couples; the reproductive revolution.

• Season 28 Episode 10: Search for a Safe Cigarette

  The quest for a safer cigarette and less-toxic smoke.

• Season 28 Episode 9: Cracking the Code of Life

  An investigation into the impact of new human DNA information and research.

• Season 28 Episode 8: Survivor MD: Hearts & Minds

  Psychiatrist Jay Bonner; cardiologist Luanda Grazette; anesthesiologist Elliott Bennett-Guerrero.

• Season 28 Episode 7: Survivor MD: Second Opinions

  Internist Jane Liebschutz; Dr. Cheryl Dorsey serves as a director of public health; ophthalmologist David Friedman.

• Season 28 Episode 6: Survivor MD: Tattooed Doctor

  ER physician Tom Tarter sports tattoos and rides a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

• Season 28 Episode 5: Cancer Warrior

  Dr. Judah Folkman uses clinical trials in an effort to suppress tumor growth.

• Season 28 Episode 4: Lost King of the Maya

  Archaeologists excavate the burial sites of Mayan kings in the Honduran city of Copan.

• Season 28 Episode 3: Nazi Prison Escape

  Allied prisoners plan escapes from Germany's Colditz Castle during World War II.

• Season 28 Episode 2: Vanished!

  Two mountaineers discover an airliner wreckage in the Andes.

• Season 28 Episode 1: Sultan's Lost Treasure

  Archaeologists attempt to salvage an ancient shipwreck in the South China Sea.

Nova: Season 27 (2000)

• Season 27 Episode 16: Japan's Secret Garden

  The Japanese word 'satoyma' reflects the balance between humans and nature.

• Season 27 Episode 15: Dying to Be Thin

  Specialists experiment with new approaches to eating disorders.

• Season 27 Episode 14: Garden of Eden

  The Seychelles Islands are home to rare and unique species of geckos, snails, snakes, parrots, sharks.

• Season 27 Episode 13: Runaway Universe

  Astronomers try to confirm the size and shape of the universe, as well as predict its end.

• Season 27 Episode 12: Hitler's Lost Sub

  Professional diver John Chatterton discovers a sunken World War II German U-boat located near the New Jersey shore.

• Season 27 Episode 11: Holocaust on Trial

  David Irving and Deborah Lipstadt debate the reality of the Holocaust.

• Season 27 Episode 10: Lincoln's Secret Weapon

  The U.S. Navy tries to salvage the USS Monitor.

• Season 27 Episode 9: The Vikings

  Retracing the voyages of the Vikings reveals the boldness of the Scandinavian seafarers.

• Season 27 Episode 8: The Vikings

  Retracing Viking voyages and exploits shows the boldness and dynamism of the warrior people.

• Season 27 Episode 7: Stationed in the Stars

  The International Space Station's long-term operation carries risks and hazards.

• Season 27 Episode 6: Lost Tribes of Israel

  Advances in genetics lead to the investigation of an African as a possible member of the Lost Tribes of Israel.

• Season 27 Episode 5: Mystery of the First Americans

  Paleoanthropologists research the earliest Americans.

• Season 27 Episode 4: Trillion Dollar Bet

  A mathematical formula might allow investors to predict the stock market in advance.

• Season 27 Episode 3: The Diamond Deception

  Breakthroughs in the production of synthetic diamonds may transform the marketing of the expensive gem.

• Season 27 Episode 2: Lost on Everest

  In May 1999, climbers locate the body of George Mallory, who was lost on Mount Everest in 1924.

• Season 27 Episode 1: Tales From the Hive

  A year inside a beehive shows an organized social life, rival queens, colony scouts and the defeat of enemies.

Nova: Season 26 (1999)

• Season 26 Episode 17: Electric Heart

  Surgeons and researchers try to develop an artificial heart to be used for transplant surgery.

• Season 26 Episode 16: Voyage of Doom

  An archaeologist finds the wreckage of La Belle, a French ship from the 1680s.

• Season 26 Episode 15: Decoding Nazi Secrets

  Geniuses break down the German code-machine 'Enigma' during World War II.

• Season 26 Episode 14: Island of the Spirits

  The remote Japanese island of Hokkaido has volcanoes, forests, lakes, valleys and diverse wildlife.

• Season 26 Episode 13: The Killer's Trail

  Current technology aids in the re-examination of evidence from the 1954 murder of Marilyn Sheppard.

• Season 26 Episode 12: Time Travel

  Physicists who believe in the possibility of time travel try to build a time machine.

• Season 26 Episode 11: Fall of the Leaning Tower

  Engineers and architects work to save the Leaning Tower of Pisa from collapsing.

• Season 26 Episode 10: To the Moon

  Astronauts, scientists and engineers chronicle the Apollo projects and landing on the moon.

• Season 26 Episode 9: Volcanoes of the Deep

  Undersea volcanoes offer clues to the beginnings of life.

• Season 26 Episode 8: Battle Alert in the Gulf

  Deployment of aircraft carriers, cruisers and submarines in the Persian Gulf.

• Season 26 Episode 7: Escape! Because Accidents Happen: Abandon Ship

  Sinking ships; evacuation; international regulations; Titanic.

• Season 26 Episode 6: Escape! Because Accidents Happen: Plane Crash

  Plane crashes; parachutes; ejection seat.

• Season 26 Episode 5: Escape! Because Accidents Happen: Car Crash

  Scientists try to make safer cars; windshields; seat belts; roll bars; air bags.

• Season 26 Episode 4: Escape! Because Accidents Happen: Fire

  Tragic fires trigger new safety codes; sprinklers; hydrants; evacuation drills.

• Season 26 Episode 3: Surviving AIDS

  Patients continue to live longer as scientists search for an HIV/AIDS vaccine.

• Season 26 Episode 2: Submarines, Secrets, and Spies

  Submarine accidents occur during Cold War spy missions.

• Season 26 Episode 1: The Beast of Loch Ness

  Scientists search for the Loch Ness monster in Scotland.

Nova: Season 25 (1998)

• Season 25 Episode 20: The Perfect Pearl

  Cultivation of pearls.

• Season 25 Episode 19: Leopards of the Night

  Leopards face challenges and dangers from rivals in Zambia; host David Attenborough.

• Season 25 Episode 18: Ice Mummies: Return of the Iceman

  Frozen remains of a 5,300-year-old man in the Alps.

• Season 25 Episode 17: Ice Mummies: Siberian Ice Maiden

  An ancient female corpse is very well-preserved.

• Season 25 Episode 16: Ice Mummies: Frozen in Heaven

  The Incas sacrifice children atop the Andes.

• Season 25 Episode 15: Deadly Shadow of Vesuvius

  The volcano Vesuvius destroys the city of Pompeii in the first century and continues to pose a threat to the area.

• Season 25 Episode 14: Special Effects: Titanic and Beyond

  Special effects make movies like 'Titanic' come to life.

• Season 25 Episode 13: Terror in Space

  Life-threatening problems aboard the space station Mir.

• Season 25 Episode 12: Chasing El Nino!

  Scientists examine El Nino and its effect on global weather.

• Season 25 Episode 11: Lost at Sea: The Search for Longitude

  John Harrison (Patrick Malahide) invents the chronometer for marine navigation; narrator Richard Dreyfuss.

• Season 25 Episode 10: The Truth About Impotence

  The physiological and psychological aspects of impotence.

• Season 25 Episode 9: Crocodiles! With David Attenborough

  Crocodiles band together to protect their family.

• Season 25 Episode 8: Warnings From the Ice

  Calving icebergs may cause a catastrophic rise in the sea level.

• Season 25 Episode 7: Search for the Lost Cave People

  Archaeologists and spelunkers find evidence of a lost civilization in Central America.

• Season 25 Episode 6: Everest: The Death Zone

  Researchers study the effects of weather and altitude on the human mind and body.

• Season 25 Episode 5: The Brain Eater

  Researchers investigate an infectious and incurable disease responsible for killing nearly a million cattle in Britain.

• Season 25 Episode 4: Animal Hospital

  Cutting-edge veterinary medicine saves the lives of pets.

• Season 25 Episode 3: Supersonic Spies

  The race to build the first supersonic jet leads to Cold War espionage.

• Season 25 Episode 2: Mysterious Mummies of China

  Mummies with blond hair and blue eyes are found in a Chinese desert.

• Season 25 Episode 1: Night Creatures of the Kalahari

  Nighttime in the Kalahari features rare and exotic animals searching for food.

Nova: Season 24 (1997)

• Season 24 Episode 19: Danger in the Jet Stream

  Balloonists attempt circumnavigation.

• Season 24 Episode 18: Avalanche!

  An elite corps combats avalanches.

• Season 24 Episode 17: Treasures of the Sunken City

  After earthquakes, much of Egypt's ancient city of Alexandria sinks into the sea.

• Season 24 Episode 16: Super Bridge

  The Clark Bridge spans the Mississippi in Alton, Ill.

• Season 24 Episode 15: Wild Wolves With David Attenborough

  Wolves in their natural habitat; host David Attenborough.

• Season 24 Episode 14: The Proof

  Working for seven years, mathematician Andrew Wiles finally proves an equation.

• Season 24 Episode 13: Bomb Squad

  Bomb disposal requires technological and personal skill.

• Season 24 Episode 12: Faster Than Sound

  Records of test programs show man's attempt to fly faster than sound.

• Season 24 Episode 11: Coma

  A neurosurgeon uses revolutionary treatment for head injuries.

• Season 24 Episode 10: Kingdom of the Sea Horse

  Biologist Amanda Vincent studies sea horses, to save them from extinction.

• Season 24 Episode 9: Cut to the Heart

  Brazilian surgeon Randas Batista cuts diseased tissue from living human hearts.

• Season 24 Episode 8: Curse of T. Rex

  The FBI protects tyrannosaurus bones; paleontologists compete with commercial fossil hunters.

• Season 24 Episode 7: Hunt for Alien Worlds

  Astronomers seek planets on which life could already exist.

• Season 24 Episode 6: Secrets of Lost Empires: Colosseum

  Specialists re-create the canvas awning of the Roman Colosseum.

• Season 24 Episode 5: Secrets of Lost Empires: Obelisk

  Egyptians construct a massive obelisk.

• Season 24 Episode 4: Secrets of Lost Empires: Inca

  Incan stone fortresses and grass bridges.

• Season 24 Episode 3: Secrets of Lost Empires: Stonehenge

  Scientists study the construction of Stonehenge and build a replica.

• Season 24 Episode 2: Titanic's Lost Sister

  Many survive the 1916 sinking of the hospital ship Britannic in the Aegean.

• Season 24 Episode 1: Kaboom!

  The power of explosives is seen in science, accidents, war and terrorism.

Nova: Season 23 (1996)

• Season 23 Episode 20: Cracking the Ice Age

  A new theory about the causes of the Ice Age focuses on the Himalayas.

• Season 23 Episode 19: Odyssey of Life: The Photographer's Secrets

  Lennart Nilsson demonstrates techniques of microphotography.

• Season 23 Episode 18: Odyssey of Life: The Unknown World

  Microscopic creatures, malignant and benign, inhabit human bodies and dwellings.

• Season 23 Episode 17: Odyssey of Life: The Ultimate Journey

  The development of animal embryos reflects the evolution of species.

• Season 23 Episode 16: Shark Attack!

  Survivors of shark attacks, including surfers, discuss the animals' behavior.

• Season 23 Episode 15: Top Gun Over Moscow

  American pilots visit Russia to see planes of the former Soviet Union.

• Season 23 Episode 14: Secrets of Making Money

  The $100 bill is redesigned to foil counterfeiters.

• Season 23 Episode 13: Three Men and a Balloon

  Three wealthy adventurers attempt a nonstop balloon trip around the world.

• Season 23 Episode 12: Lost City of Arabia

  The space shuttle helps locate the lost city of Ubar in the Arabian desert.

• Season 23 Episode 11: Einstein Revealed

  Albert Einstein's troubled personal life contrasts with his scientific genius.

• Season 23 Episode 10: Bombing of America

  Scientists help in the fight against criminal bombings.

• Season 23 Episode 9: Warriors of the Amazon

  The healing ceremonies, death practices and other customs of the Yanomami, one of the few remaining hunter/gatherer groups.

• Season 23 Episode 8: Dr. Spock the Baby Doc

  Dr. Benjamin Spock mixes an interest in babies with a long-standing activism for world peace.

• Season 23 Episode 7: Flood!

  In 1993, record floods strike the Mississippi River Valley.

• Season 23 Episode 6: Kidnapped by UFOs?

  In 1963, a couple reports being abducted by aliens and taken aboard a spacecraft.

• Season 23 Episode 5: War Machines of Tomorrow

  War technology employed in Desert Storm; military machines of the future.

• Season 23 Episode 4: Plague Fighters

  Doctors, Red Cross workers and scientists battle to contain an Ebola outbreak in Kikwit, Zaire.

• Season 23 Episode 3: B-29 Frozen in Time

  Darryl Greenamyer forms an expedition to recover a B-29 lost over the North Pole more than 50 years ago.

• Season 23 Episode 2: The Day the Earth Shook

  The science of earthquake prediction and preparedness.

• Season 23 Episode 1: Terror in the Mine Fields

  An international team struggles to locate and defuse land mines in Cambodia.

Nova: Season 22 (1995)

• Season 22 Episode 17: Can Buildings Make You Sick?

  Investigators search for possible causes of sick-building syndrome.

• Season 22 Episode 16: Race to Catch a Buckyball

  Two scientists stumble across a third form of carbon.

• Season 22 Episode 15: Treasures of the Great Barrier Reef

  Cameras chronicle the diverse activity of Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

• Season 22 Episode 14: Hunt for the Serial Arsonist

  A rash of suspicious store fires sets Los Angeles investigators on the trail of a serial arsonist.

• Season 22 Episode 13: Lightning!

  Three scientific teams attempt to solve the mystery of how lightning is generated.

• Season 22 Episode 12: The Doomsday Asteroid

  Many astronomers believe that a large meteor will invade the Earth's atmosphere within the next 50 to 100 years.

• Season 22 Episode 11: Hawaii Born of Fire

  Hawaiians view volcanos as both destroyers and creators of life.

• Season 22 Episode 10: Venus Unveiled

  Radar views of the surface of Venus spark a debate about the planet's long-term history.

• Season 22 Episode 9: Anastasia Dead or Alive?

  Skeletons discovered in Ekaterinburg in 1979 may be the remains of Czar Nicholas II and his family.

• Season 22 Episode 8: Fast Cars

  A team entering the Indianapolis 500 attempts to build a faster car.

• Season 22 Episode 7: Making of a Doctor

  Seven recently graduated doctors struggle with death, divorce and chronic sleep deprivation.

• Season 22 Episode 6: The Universe Within

  Microphotography details the circulatory, immune, digestive and reproductive systems.

• Season 22 Episode 5: Siamese Twins

  Doctors attempt to separate two girls who were born joined at the pelvis.

• Season 22 Episode 4: Nazi Designers of Death

  Recently opened German archives yield files seized when the Red Army liberated the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz.

• Season 22 Episode 3: Little Creatures Who Run the World

  Edward Wilson, with the aid of close-up photography, reveals the hidden world of ants.

• Season 22 Episode 2: Vikings in America

  Norse legends may suggest that the Vikings discovered North America 500 years before Columbus.

• Season 22 Episode 1: Mammoths of the Ice Age

  Evidence shows the mammoth lived beyond the Ice Age and almost avoided extinction.

Nova: Season 21 (1994)

• Season 21 Episode 20: In Search of the First Language

  Linguists search for links between languages previously considered unrelated.

• Season 21 Episode 19: Journey to the Sacred Sea

  The people of Siberia refer to Lake Baikal as the 'sacred sea.'

• Season 21 Episode 18: Rescue Mission in Space

  The Hubble space telescope, from its planning to its results.

• Season 21 Episode 17: Buried in Ash

  Dr. Mike Voorhies travels to a north-central Nebraska location where volcanic ash preserved fossils of animals.

• Season 21 Episode 16: Killer Quake!

  Scientists study seismic pressure under southern California to minimize possible destruction.

• Season 21 Episode 15: The Tribe That Time Forgot

  A Brazilian Amazonian tribe maintains a primitive culture.

• Season 21 Episode 14: What's New About Menopause?

  New research into menopause addresses medical and ethical questions.

• Season 21 Episode 13: Haunted Cry of a Long Gone Bird

  Naturalist Richard Wheeler kayaks the migration route of the extinct auk, a flightless seabird, down the Northeast Atlantic coast.

• Season 21 Episode 12: Secret of the Wild Child

  Social workers find a teen imprisoned from infancy by her parents.

• Season 21 Episode 11: The Great Wildlife Heist

  The international crime of smuggling rare and endangered birds.

• Season 21 Episode 10: Aircraft Carrier!

  Daily routine aboard the Navy aircraft carrier USS Independence.

• Season 21 Episode 9: Can China Kick the Habit?

  China's tobacco industry flourishes despite a rise in smoking-related illnesses.

• Season 21 Episode 8: In Search of Human Origins

  Early man's progression from scavenger to hunter began the migration out of Africa.

• Season 21 Episode 7: In Search of Human Origins

  Early man's small body features forced him to rely on intelligence to find food in other ways than hunting.

• Season 21 Episode 6: In Search of Human Origins

  The discovery of an ape's fossilized remains in 1974 changed scientific thinking about evolution.

• Season 21 Episode 5: Can Chimps Talk?

  New research on the controversy over chimps using human symbols to communicate.

• Season 21 Episode 4: Journey to Kilimanjaro

  Wildlife flourishes in the volcanic peaks of Kenya, Kilimanjaro and the Aberdares.

• Season 21 Episode 3: Daredevils of the Sky

  The U.S. Aerobatic Team's preparation for the 1992 World Aerobatic Championship.

• Season 21 Episode 2: Dinosaurs of the Gobi

  The American Museum of Natural History team traces paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews' 1920 fossil-hunting expedition.

• Season 21 Episode 1: Codebreakers

  The World War II codebreaking efforts known as 'Enigma' and 'Purple.'

Nova: Season 20 (1993)

• Season 20 Episode 20: Stranger in the Mirror

  With the neurological disorder visual agnosia, the patient fails to recognize familiar articles and people.

• Season 20 Episode 19: The Best Mind Since Einstein

  A profile of physicist Richard Feynman highlights his career accomplishments.

• Season 20 Episode 18: Great Moments From Nova

  Host Bill Cosby celebrates the show's 20th anniversary with excerpts from previous shows.

• Season 20 Episode 17: Mysterious Crash of Flight 201

  The investigation of a plane crash in Panama unearths clues.

• Season 20 Episode 16: Roller Coaster!

  Roller coaster designers use physics and psychology to build the thrill rides.

• Season 20 Episode 15: The Real Jurassic Park

  An examination of the steps needed to genetically re-create dinosaurs answers questions of its possibility.

• Season 20 Episode 14: Shadow of the Condor

  A controversial program attempts to help the California condor from becoming extinct, while the Andean condor flourishes.

• Season 20 Episode 13: Dying to Breathe

  Three terminally ill patients wait for lung transplants at Toronto General Hospital.

• Season 20 Episode 12: Secrets of the Psychics

  Magician James Randi investigates paranormal claims like knifeless surgery, faith healers and psychic services.

• Season 20 Episode 11: Wanted: Butch and Sundance

  An archaeological dig may determine if Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed in a Bolivian town shootout.

• Season 20 Episode 10: The Nova Quiz

  Marc Summers tests the science knowledge of a cross section of Americans to celebrate the show's 20th season.

• Season 20 Episode 9: The Lost Tribe

  Anthropologists conflict on whether the Tasaday, a Philippine jungle tribe, is truly of the Stone-Age.

• Season 20 Episode 8: Murder, Rape and DNA

  DNA surpasses the fingerprint as a forensic tool for solving murder, rape, paternity suit and immigration cases.

• Season 20 Episode 7: Diving for Pirate Gold

  Modern pirates use metal detectors, sonar and other high-tech equipment unavailable to the high-seas robbers of yore.

• Season 20 Episode 6: Can Science Build a Champion Athlete?

  Science takes a vital role in improving athletic performance.

• Season 20 Episode 5: In the Path of a Killer Volcano

  Scientists study the eruption of Mount Pinatubo to predict volcanoes in the Philippines.

• Season 20 Episode 4: Nazis and the Russian Bomb

  German scientists tell how they helped develop the Soviet Union's first atomic bomb in the 1940s.

• Season 20 Episode 3: The Deadly Deception

  A Tuskegee study of untreated syphilis victimized black men who sought treatment but received placebos.

• Season 20 Episode 2: Can Bombing Win a War?

  A history of strategic bombing examines its success in the Persian Gulf War.

• Season 20 Episode 1: The Hunt for Saddam's Secret Weapons

  The U.N. Inspection Team searches for hidden chemical, nuclear and biological weapons in Iraq.

Nova: Season 19 (1992)

• Season 19 Episode 20: Sex and the Single Rhino

  Conservationists employ biology, ecology, diplomacy and political acumen to preserve endangered species like the rhino.

• Season 19 Episode 19: Can You Stop People From Drinking?

  Russia and the United States use old and new weapons to combat alcohol abuse.

• Season 19 Episode 18: Brain Transplant

  In a sequel to 1986's 'The Case of the Frozen Addict,' researchers seek a cure for paralysis in patients with addictions and Parkinson's disease.

• Season 19 Episode 17: The Private Lives of Dolphins

  Research stations in Australia and Florida study the dolphin's advanced social structure.

• Season 19 Episode 16: Iceman

  Scientists study the frozen body of a 5,000-year-old man and artifacts found with him in 1991.

• Season 19 Episode 15: This Old Pyramid

  Egyptologist Mark Lehner and stonemason Roger Hopkins ('This Old House') test theories on how pyramids were built, by constructing a scale model in Egypt.

• Season 19 Episode 14: Rafting Through the Grand Canyon

  A rafting trip down the Colorado River examines natural and man-made forces shaping the Grand Canyon.

• Season 19 Episode 13: Search for the First Americans

  New discoveries shed light on the arrival of the first peoples in North, Central and South America.

• Season 19 Episode 12: Mind of a Serial Killer

  An FBI unit uses psychological profiles in a serial-murder investigation in Rochester, N.Y.; narrator Patrick Stewart.

• Season 19 Episode 11: The Genius Behind the Bomb

  Edward Asner narrates the story of Hungarian-born physicist Leo Szilard, who pioneered nuclear energy.

• Season 19 Episode 9: Eclipse of the Century

  Scientists study the 1991 solar eclipse at Hawaiian observatories.

• Season 19 Episode 8: An Astronaut's View of Earth

  Music by David Byrne forms the backdrop for dramatic footage of a shuttle mission.

• Season 19 Episode 7: Rescuing the Baby Whales

  An update of the 1986 rescue of beached whales in Cape Cod includes a more recent rescue and efforts to stop strandings.

• Season 19 Episode 6: Making a Dishonest Buck

  The Treasury tries to curb counterfeiting by catching criminals and by making currency harder to duplicate.

• Season 19 Episode 5: Can You Believe TV Ratings?

  Though not a science, the statistical analysis of TV audiences improves in accuracy.

• Season 19 Episode 4: What Smells?

  Scientists study olfaction's role in human survival, from detecting food to finding potential mates.

• Season 19 Episode 3: Saddam's War on Wildlife

  Environmentalist John Walsh tries to save animals from oil spills and other man-made dangers during the Persian Gulf War.

• Season 19 Episode 2: Submarine!

  A film crew accompanies the ballistic missile submarine USS Michigan on a three-month undersea mission.

• Season 19 Episode 1: Hell Fighters of Kuwait

  Firefighters battle Kuwait's blazing oil wells, the source of the worst man-made pollution in history.

Nova: Season 18 (1991)

• Season 18 Episode 20: The Fine Art of Faking It

  Museums employ scientists to discover forgeries and delve into the artistic process.

• Season 18 Episode 18: Avoiding the Surgeon's Knife

  Doctors try alternatives to surgery and drugs to treat patients with heart disease.

• Season 18 Episode 17: Fastest Planes in the Sky

  The speed of planes increases dramatically since the record 47 mph set in 1908.

• Season 18 Episode 16: Taller Than Everest?

  Cartographers examine satellite data to determine whether Godwin Austen (K2) is taller than Mount Everest.

• Season 18 Episode 15: Suicide Mission to Chernobyl

  Soviet scientists undertake a perilous mission inside the sarcophagus entombing the Chernobyl nuclear reactor.

• Season 18 Episode 14: Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls

  Scholars seek access to the Dead Sea Scrolls, controlled for 40 years by a team painstakingly compiling them.

• Season 18 Episode 12: So You Want to Be a Doctor?

  Host Neil Patrick Harris; cameras follow seven aspiring doctors through four years of medical school and experiences with birth and death.

• Season 18 Episode 11: Sex, Lies & Toupee Tape

  A study of causes, cures and cover-ups for baldness includes an annual convention of men who claim bald is beautiful.

• Season 18 Episode 10: Swimming With Whales

  For five weeks in 1989, a team studies whale migration, feeding and breaching to learn how man can protect the creatures.

• Season 18 Episode 9: Russian Right Stuff: Mission

  Soviet cosmonauts prepare for a 6-month stay in space, as their families prepare for their absence.

• Season 18 Episode 8: Russian Right Stuff: Dark Side of the Moon

  Plans to land a man on the moon die with Korolev; a moon project is kept secret for 20 years.

• Season 18 Episode 7: Russian Right Stuff: Invisible Spaceman

  Korolev, the anonymous mastermind behind early Soviet space missions, is profiled.

• Season 18 Episode 6: T. Rex Exposed

  Paleontologists laboriously unearth the nearly complete skeleton of a tyrannosaur in Montana.

• Season 18 Episode 5: Case of the Flying Dinosaur

  Newly discovered fossils fuel debate among paleontologists on whether birds evolved from dinosaurs.

• Season 18 Episode 4: Hunt for China's Dinosaurs

  Chinese and Canadian paleontologists collaborate to scour dinosaur fields of Asia's Gobi plateau.

• Season 18 Episode 3: Chip vs. the Chess Master

  Chess champion Gary Kasparov plays against a computer called Deep Thought created at Carnegie-Mellon University.

• Season 18 Episode 2: ConFusion in a Jar

  Scientists try vainly to duplicate a 1989 experiment said to have produced cold fusion, a source of limitless energy.

• Season 18 Episode 1: Return to Mount St. Helens

  Crews return a decade after the eruption of Mount St. Helens to see how nature has reacted to the disaster.

Nova: Season 17

• Season 17 Episode 20: What's Killing the Children?

  Atlanta's Center for Disease Control studies a virulent, unidentified sickness afflicting Brazilian children in 1984.

• Season 17 Episode 19: In the Land of the Llamas

  The llama, alpaca, vicuna and guanaco are extraordinarily adapted to life in the Andes.

• Season 17 Episode 18: We Know Where You Live

  Journalist Erik Larson investigates the amount and type of information gathered, stored and used by advertisers.

• Season 17 Episode 17: Can the Elephant Be Saved?

  Some argue that an ivory trade ban is not enough to save the African elephant from poachers.

• Season 17 Episode 16: Killing Machines

  High-tech missiles with computerized sensors ('smart weapons'), locate and destroy aircraft, ships and tanks.

• Season 17 Episode 15: Earthquake!

  Geologists try to save lives and money by accurately predicting when and where earthquakes occur.

• Season 17 Episode 14: The Blimp Is Back!

  A history of airships examines the problems and promising aspects of blimps, zeppelins and cyclocranes.

• Season 17 Episode 13: Poisoned Winds of War

  Controlling chemical weapons becomes increasingly difficult as the deadly substances gain accessibility.

• Season 17 Episode 12: To Boldly Go ...

  Voyagers 1 and 2 collect data on planets, moons, stars and more on their epic trip through the solar system.

• Season 17 Episode 11: Neptune's Cold Fury

  Data collected by the Voyager spacecraft helps scientists study distant Neptune.

• Season 17 Episode 10: KGB, Computer & Me

  Computer sleuth Cliff Stoll tracks a data thief's complex trail through military and research computers.

• Season 17 Episode 9: Genius That Was China: Will the Dragon Rise Again?

  Deng Xiaoping makes sweeping changes to raise China's economic standing.

• Season 17 Episode 8: Genius That Was China: Threat From Japan

  Japan adapts to Western trade methods in the 19th century, but China does not.

• Season 17 Episode 7: Genius That Was China: Empires in Collision

  China remains an insular middle kingdom from the 15th to the 18th century, as other nations expand.

• Season 17 Episode 6: Genius That Was China: Rise of the Dragon

  In the 13th century, China reigns as a wealthy, powerful, technologically advanced nation.

• Season 17 Episode 5: Big Spill

  A study of the Exxon Valdez oil spill shows technological failure in prevention, containment and cleanup.

• Season 17 Episode 4: Bomb's Lethal Legacy

  Years of mismanagement at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state cause a costly and alarming waste problem.

• Season 17 Episode 3: Disguises of War

  Warring factions outsmart each other with simple and complex deceptions, from camouflage to radar-evasion.

• Season 17 Episode 2: Race for the Top

  U.S. and European physicists use an enormous machine to discover a tiny, fundamental building block called the top quark.

• Season 17 Episode 1: Poison in the Rockies

  Acid rain, economic development and a century of mining pollute Rocky Mountain waters.

Nova: Season 16

• Season 16 Episode 20: Schoolboys Who Cracked the Soviet Secret

  In 1966 grammar-school students near London discover a Soviet spy mission while studying satellites.

• Season 16 Episode 19: Yellowstone's Burning Question

  Scientists study environmental consequences of the 1988 inferno at Yellowstone National Park.

• Season 16 Episode 18: What Is Music?

  Scientists try to define music by exploring aspects, from instruments' characteristics to the brain's perception of music.

• Season 16 Episode 17: Will Venice Survive Its Rescue?

  Vast floodgates protect Venice as the city sinks and sea levels rise.

• Season 16 Episode 16: Hurricane!

  Scientists fly into the center of hurricanes to measure conditions that help forecast storms' intensities and probable paths.

• Season 16 Episode 15: Decoding the Book of Life

  Scientists try to decipher each of the billions of genetic messages delineating a single human being.

• Season 16 Episode 14: Echoes of War

  Radar helps the Allies win World War II by tracking aircraft and submarines, and guiding missions in adverse conditions.

• Season 16 Episode 13: Design Wars!

  Specialists discuss strengths and weaknesses of five competing architects' plans for Chicago's new public library.

• Season 16 Episode 12: Controversial Dr. Koop

  Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop speaks candidly about AIDS, smoking, alcohol and abortion.

• Season 16 Episode 11: Hidden City

  New York City relies upon the smooth operation of its water, power and waste systems. Narrator: Judd Hirsch.

• Season 16 Episode 10: Confronting the Killer Gene

  Laboratory tests alert children whose parents died of Huntington's disease whether they carry the hereditary defect.

• Season 16 Episode 9: The World Is Full of Oil!

  Scientists consider new oil sources and methods of finding the fuel, including drilling near emptied reservoirs.

• Season 16 Episode 8: Legends of Easter Island

  In its glory days, an isolated civilization erects nearly 1,000 huge stone statues on Easter Island.

• Season 16 Episode 7: Secrets of Easter Island

  In its glory days, an isolated civilization uses obsidian blades, hieroglyphs, fishhooks and a calendar, and erects nearly 1,000 huge stone statues.

• Season 16 Episode 6: Adrift on the Gulf Stream

  Author Bill MacLeish travels the Gulf Stream, exploring its importance to climate, history and ocean life.

• Season 16 Episode 5: God, Darwin & Dinosaurs

  Scientists debate whether schools should teach creationism alongside evolutionism in the classroom.

• Season 16 Episode 4: Back to Chernobyl

  Correspondent Bill Kurtis and physicist Richard Wilson investigate the 1986 Chernobyl reactor explosion.

• Season 16 Episode 3: Strange New Science of Chaos

  Scientists discuss progress in researching turbulent processes and disorderly natural phenomena.

• Season 16 Episode 2: Last Journey of a Genius

  A profile of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman examines his interest in the Asian republic Tannu Tuva.

• Season 16 Episode 1: Hot Enough for You?

  Scientists investigate the greenhouse effect's disastrous impact on Earth's environment, and possible solutions.

Nova: Season 15

• Season 15 Episode 21: Can We Make a Better Doctor?

  A series examining medical training begins by following six Harvard freshmen through the academic year.

• Season 15 Episode 20: All-American Bear

  Crews film the North American black bear for a year in the wild as it forages, mates, gives birth and hibernates.

• Season 15 Episode 19: The Light Stuff

  Cameras follow human-powered craft Daedalus 88 as it re-creates a mythical 74-mile flight across the Aegean Sea.

• Season 15 Episode 18: Who Shot President Kennedy?

  Photo enhancement and three-dimensional computer modeling shed new light on John F. Kennedy's assassination.

• Season 15 Episode 17: Do Scientists Cheat?

  Increasing fraud and misconduct erode public confidence and prompt investigations of the integrity of scientists and research.

• Season 15 Episode 16: Can the Next President Win the Space Race?

  A report compares U.S. progress in space research and exploration with that of other nations.

• Season 15 Episode 15: Can the Vatican Save the Sistine Chapel?

  Specialists work painstakingly to restore Michelangelo's paintings in the Sistine Chapel.

• Season 15 Episode 14: Beyond the Knife: Pioneers of Surgery

  Ethical questions arise as surgeons increasingly experiment on humans.

• Season 15 Episode 13: New Organs for Old: Pioneers of Surgery

  Surgeons through the ages try to cure illness by transplanting human tissue and organs.

• Season 15 Episode 12: Into the Heart: Pioneers of Surgery

  Surgeons gradually perfect open-heart surgery, making a risky procedure a commonplace one.

• Season 15 Episode 11: Brutal Craft: Pioneers of Surgery

  Revolutions in surgical procedures solve problems of pain, infection and blood loss.

• Season 15 Episode 10: Can You Still Get Polio?

  One of every 500,000 infants receiving the Sabin oral vaccine will get paralytic polio or infect someone else.

• Season 15 Episode 9: Race for the Superconductor

  Nations vie to discover a substance capable of transmitting electricity at room temperature with zero resistance.

• Season 15 Episode 8: Man Who Loved Numbers

  Humble Indian clerk S. Ramanujan astounds accomplished mathematicians in 1913 with his self-taught math skills.

• Season 15 Episode 7: Mystery of the Master Builders

  Professor Robert Mark discusses ancient building techniques used in structures such as Notre Dame de Paris.

• Season 15 Episode 6: Battles in the War on Cancer: Breast Cancer -- Turning the Tide

  Experts advocate early detection as they explore possible causes and treatment.

• Season 15 Episode 5: Battles in the War on Cancer: A Wonder Drug on Trial

  Controversial cancer-fighting drug Interleukin-2 stimulates the body's immune system.

• Season 15 Episode 4: Why Planes Burn

  Simple protective measures can reduce the likelihood of fire aboard planes and increase chances of surviving aircraft fires.

• Season 15 Episode 3: Buried in Ice

  Scientists examine remains of the 19th-century Franklin expedition, preserved in Arctic permafrost, to learn why the entire party died.

• Season 15 Episode 2: How to Create a Junk Food

  Technical expertise and ingenuity combine in the inexact science of developing a new snack food for humans.

• Season 15 Episode 1: Top Gun and Beyond

  High-tech aeronautics create sophisticated fighter jets and necessitate adaptations in pilot training.

Nova: Season 14 (1987)

• Season 14 Episode 20: Secrets of the Lost Red Paint People

  Archaeolgists discover an advanced, seafaring North American people who may have existed 7500 years ago.

• Season 14 Episode 19: Riddle of the Joints

  Strides are made in understanding rheumatoid arthritis, a crippling inflammation of the joints with no proven cause or cure.

• Season 14 Episode 18: Ancient Treasures From the Deep

  Excavators retrieve a Bronze Age merchant vessel and its well-preserved cargo, 33 centuries after its shipwreck.

• Season 14 Episode 17: How Good Is Soviet Science?

  Soviet scientists discuss technological shortcomings of their country and the urgent need to improve the system.

• Season 14 Episode 16: Volcano!

  Scientists try to prevent loss of human life by developing new techniques to predict when and how forcefully volcanoes will erupt.

• Season 14 Episode 15: A Man, a Plan, a Canal, Panama

  The construction of the Panama Canal.

• Season 14 Episode 14: Japan's American Genius

  A profile of controversial inventor Stanford Ovshinsky includes his accomplishments in solar-cell technology.

• Season 14 Episode 13: Hidden Power of Plants

  Men race to identify and preserve plants with healing qualities and medicinal potential before they become extinct.

• Season 14 Episode 12: Spy Machines

  An inside view of secret intelligence includes development of surveillance equipment, from hot-air balloons to today's satellites.

• Season 14 Episode 11: Death of a Star

  Astronomers get a rare opportunity to witness at close range a supernova ... the explosion of a huge, aging star.

• Season 14 Episode 10: Rocky Road to Jupiter

  The trouble-plagued history of the Galileo space probe, and the uncertain future of its scheduled launch by shuttle.

• Season 14 Episode 9: The Desert Doesn't Bloom Here Anymore

  How productive farmland turns to sterile dust through mismanagement of land and water resources.

• Season 14 Episode 8: Will the World Starve?

  Specialists examine the links between soil exhaustion, deforestation, erosion and starvation in Nepal, China and Ethiopia.

• Season 14 Episode 7: Confessions of a Weaponeer

  Chemist and former presidential adviser George Kistiakowsky describes his experiences in Russia and the United States.

• Season 14 Episode 6: Hole in the Sky

  A mid-winter expedition to Antarctica to examine the recently discovered hole in the ozone layer.

• Season 14 Episode 5: Freud Under Analysis

  Freud's beliefs, theories and impact on modern society, plus film of the psychologist.

• Season 14 Episode 4: Orangutans of the Rain Forest

  Scientists studying orangutans of Borneo's rain forest spend much of their time in trees with the creatures.

• Season 14 Episode 3: Why Planes Crash

  Communication problems, crowded airways, boredom and other human factors cause more plane crashes than mechanical failure.

• Season 14 Episode 2: Children of Eve

  Genetic studies spark controversy on man's origins, common ancestors and evolutionary divergence from apes.

• Season 14 Episode 1: Countdown to the Invisible Universe

  The IRAS satellite, launched in January 1986, gathers information from the infrared spectrum.

Nova: Season 13

• Season 13 Episode 20: How Babies Get Made

  Scientists study the process by which creatures develop from simple cells into complicated organisms.

• Season 13 Episode 19: Leprosy Can Be Cured

  Why the disease still affects 12 million people despite the known cure.

• Season 13 Episode 18: Sail Wars!

  A behind-the-scenes look at Dennis Connor's multimillion dollar campaign to win back the America's Cup in February 1987.

• Season 13 Episode 17: Are You Swimming in a Sewer?

  Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Diego and Seattle find solutions to harbor pollution.

• Season 13 Episode 16: Mystery of the Animal Pathfinders

  The trumpeter swan, redknot bird, ladybug and monarch butterfly migrate across continents and oceans.

• Season 13 Episode 15: Is Anybody Out There?

  Lily Tomlin, Steven Spielberg, Carl Sagan and NASA scientists explore current searches for intelligent life in space.

• Season 13 Episode 14: Can AIDS Be Stopped?

  Scientific prospects for halting and curing the epidemic estimated to have infected over two million Americans.

• Season 13 Episode 13: High-Tech Babies

  Moral, legal and political questions and choices of the new reproductive technologies.

• Season 13 Episode 12: Planet That Got Knocked on Its Side

  The 9-year Voyager 2 space mission studies Uranus' formation, composition and its seas, moons and atmosphere.

• Season 13 Episode 11: Search for the Disappeared

  Scientists in Argentina help locate kidnapped children and identity thousands of people killed by the military.

• Season 13 Episode 10: When Wonder Drugs Don't Work

  Bacterial resistance to antibiotics results in the largest staph outbreak ever to take place in a hospital.

• Season 13 Episode 9: Rise of a Wonder Drug

  The development of penicillin.

• Season 13 Episode 8: Return of the Osprey

  Scientific study of the mysterious population decline of the bird of prey.

• Season 13 Episode 7: Skydive to the Rain Forest

  Terrain and weather hinder exploration of a remote Venezuelan region of waterfalls, rare creatures and exotic plants.

• Season 13 Episode 6: Toxic Trials

  A community's investigation into the origins of a cluster of childhood leukemia cases and health effects of long-term chemical exposure.

• Season 13 Episode 5: Case of the Frozen Addict

  The plight of a paralyzed drug addict provides clues to Parkinson's disease and precipitates a breakthrough.

• Season 13 Episode 4: Life's First Feelings

  A study of infants' emotional development includes early psychological intervention to prevent future emotional problems.

• Season 13 Episode 3: Horsemen of China

  The lifestyle and ancient traditions of the Kazakh nomads of northwestern China, who call their horses their wings.

• Season 13 Episode 2: Goddess of the Earth

  A hypothesis states the Earth is an organism that modifies conditions to create an environment suitable for life.

• Season 13 Episode 1: Halley's Comet: Once in a Lifetime

  The intensive worldwide prepartions for the re-appearance of the solar system's most famous traveler.

Nova: Season 12

• Season 12 Episode 20: The Plane That Changed the World

  On the 50th anniversary of its first flight, a history of the DC-3 illustrates its importance to aviation.

• Season 12 Episode 19: Animal Architects

  Rare footage reveals the sand sculptures, diving bells, baskets and other intricate shelters constructed by animals.

• Season 12 Episode 18: Genetic Gamble

  Current research into gene manipulation.

• Season 12 Episode 17: Tornado!

  Scientists from the National Severe Storms Laboratory chase tornadoes in Oklahoma to learn more about the elusive phenomena.

• Season 12 Episode 16: Child Survival: Silent Emergency

  A world-wide health program to save the lives of children who die from curable diseases.

• Season 12 Episode 15: Magic of Special Effects

  Clips from 'Return of the Jedi,' 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' and '2010' show the art of illusion.

• Season 12 Episode 14: Robot Revolution

  The impact of computers and robots on the American workplace.

• Season 12 Episode 13: What Einstein Never Knew

  Modern physicists seek a theory of unification to encompass four major, distinct energy forces of the universe.

• Season 12 Episode 12: Seeds of Tomorrow

  Scientists around the world use aggressive agricultural techniques to ensure a future food supply.

• Season 12 Episode 11: National Science Test II

  Panelists David Attenborough, Edwin Newman, Air Force Capt. Michelle Johnson and psychiatrist Alvin Poussaint answer questions based on past 'Nova' episodes.

• Season 12 Episode 10: Monarch of the Mountains

  Predators, starvation, natural forces and disease challenge the survival of Wyoming's Rocky Mountain elk.

• Season 12 Episode 9: Child's Play: Prodigies & Possibilities

  Research into the phenomenon of early achievement examines intelligence, talent and motivation in children.

• Season 12 Episode 8: Mathematical Mystery Tour

  Pure mathematicians seek solutions to abstract problems the average person considers improbable or impossible.

• Season 12 Episode 7: Baby Talk

  How babies acquire the intricacies of grammar and syntax to learn a language.

• Season 12 Episode 6: Shape of Things

  Eggshells, snowflakes, beehives and water drops consist of efficient, visually spectacular patterns created by nature.

• Season 12 Episode 5: AIDS: Chapter One

  The history of the disease that has killed more than 3,700 people in four years is examined from the first reports in 1981 to laboratory research today.

• Season 12 Episode 4: In the Land of the Polar Bears

  Filmmaker Yuri Ledin explores Wrangel Island, home to polar bears, walruses, polar foxes and Siberian snow geese.

• Season 12 Episode 3: Conquest of the Parasites

  The use of immunology, biochemistry and genetic engineering to battle pesticide-resistant insects.

• Season 12 Episode 2: Global Village

  A look at India's use of satellite technology to attempt a jump into space age communications.

• Season 12 Episode 1: Edgerton & His Incredible Seeing Machines

  Electronics wizard Dr. Harold E. Edgerton demonstrates his inventions.

Nova: Season 11

• Season 11 Episode 20: Spacebridge to Moscow

  A special satellite teleconference lets four Russian and four American scientists compare research in the chemistry of life, astrophysics, controlled nuclear fusion and the seismology of earthquakes and underground nuclear tests. Also: the history and

• Season 11 Episode 19: Garden of Inheritance

  A docudrama of the life and work of Gregor Mendel, the 19th century friar called the father of modern genetics.

• Season 11 Episode 18: Stephen J. Gould: This View of Life

  The paleontologist discusses his evolutionary theories and visits the tyrannosaurus rex that first inspired him.

• Season 11 Episode 17: New Bad News

  Germany's Black Forest and Adirondack lakes and forests show the effects of acid rain.

• Season 11 Episode 16: Jaws: The True Story

  The white shark -- one of the few warmblooded species of sharks -- is examined.

• Season 11 Episode 15: Space Women

  Astronauts Sally Ride, Kathryn Sullivan and Judith Resnick discuss their backgrounds and NASA's rigorous physical and mental training.

• Season 11 Episode 14: Frontiers of Plastic Surgery

  Cosmetic surgery is examined from its origins in tattooing to the latest computerized 'electronic scalpel.'

• Season 11 Episode 13: Farmers of the Sea

  The cultivation of aquatic animals and plants, from the techniques developed 4,000 years ago in China to the 'blue revolution' today.

• Season 11 Episode 12: Nomads of the Rain Forest

  Civilization's advance threatens the survival of Ecuador's Waorani Indians, a Stone Age culture.

• Season 11 Episode 11: Mystery of Yellow Rain

  An investigation into the controversy of chemical warfare in Southeast Asia.

• Season 11 Episode 10: Fountains of Paradise

  A probe of Sri Lanka's Mahaweli Irrigation Project includes visits with some of the 150,000 resettled farm families.

• Season 11 Episode 9: National Science Test

  Host Art Fleming quizzes panelists Edwin Newman, Jules Bergman, Marva Collins and Jane Alexander on topics from past 'Nova' programs.

• Season 11 Episode 8: World According to Weisskopf

  Physicist and papal adviser Victor Weisskopf, 75, discusses his philosophy and joy of insight that has led him into science, culture and music.

• Season 11 Episode 7: Make My People Live: Crisis in Indian Health

  Visits to reservations in Alaska, New Mexico and Oklahoma show the state of medical care for American Indians.

• Season 11 Episode 6: Down on the Farm

  Efforts to increase the productivity of American agriculture without depleting the soil are examined.

• Season 11 Episode 5: Visions of the Deep: Underwater World of Al Giddings

  A profile of the undersea cinematographer includes footage of whales, sunken Japanese fleets and a white shark.

• Season 11 Episode 4: Will I Walk Again?

  New developments are arising in the search to find a cure for spinal injuries that result in paralysis.

• Season 11 Episode 3: China's Only Child

  China's 'one child only' policy is examined in light of their estimated population of one billion.

• Season 11 Episode 2: Antarctica: Earth's Last Frontier

  A visit with the population of seals, penguins, krill and international scientists of the ice-covered continent.

• Season 11 Episode 1: Case of ESP

  A scientific study of the phenomenon considers how it is applied in areas such as police work.

Nova: Season 10

• Season 10 Episode 21: Alcoholicism: Life Under the Influence

  The history of American attitudes about drinking includes a look at alcohol abuse, addiction and recovery.

• Season 10 Episode 20: Eyes Over China

  An American plane with a state-of-the-art operating theater is followed through China as it exchanges medical information and techniques.

• Season 10 Episode 19: Climate Crisis

  The greenhouse effect illustrates the relationship of Earth's surface and lower atmosphere.

• Season 10 Episode 18: Nuclear Strategy for Beginners

  The world's ability to unleash the equivalent of 7,000 World War IIs in a second is examined in a look at the history of the atomic age.

• Season 10 Episode 17: 25 Years in Space

  A review of spaceflight beginning with the launching of Sputnik I in 1957. The report also offers a preview of future celestial ventures.

• Season 10 Episode 16: Captives of Care

  A docudrama about patients at an Australian institution for the severely handicapped who rebel against the hospital's overprotective administration.

• Season 10 Episode 15: A Normal Face: Wonders of Plastic Surgery

  Modern plastic surgeons reshape the facial skeleton.

• Season 10 Episode 14: Magic Way of Going: Story of Thoroughbreds

  Footage of Secretariat, Northern Dancer and other great racehorses in action is used to explore their breeding, training and genetic history.

• Season 10 Episode 13: To Live Until You Die

  In her work with the terminally ill, Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross reveals her renowned understanding and compassion.

• Season 10 Episode 12: Papua New Guinea: Anthropology on Trial

  A look at New Guinea examines what has happened to the cultures studied and introduced to the world by anthropologists such as Margaret Mead.

• Season 10 Episode 11: Talking Turtle

  The trend of computers in classrooms is exemplified by the Talking Turtle, seen crawling on the floor and 'speaking' with a 5-year-old.

• Season 10 Episode 10: Artificial Heart

  The controversy over 15 years of federally funded heart research, including the costs of the 1982 implantation of an artificial heart in Barney Clark.

• Season 10 Episode 9: Signs of the Apes, Songs of the Whales

  Animal communication includes primates' use of sign language and whales use of tonal patterns in sounding.

• Season 10 Episode 8: Sixty Minutes to Meltdown

  A minute-by-minute sequence of the malfunctions and mistakes at the Three Mile Island nuclear incident.

• Season 10 Episode 7: Fat Chance in a Thin World

  Science provides some surprising answers to the perpetual problems of losing weight.

• Season 10 Episode 6: City of Coral

  Weak coral denizens borrow the shields and weapons of the strong.

• Season 10 Episode 5: Asbestos: A Lethal Legacy

  The tragic consequences of asbestos use have led to the current controversy over who is responsible.

• Season 10 Episode 4: Miracle of Life

  For four years Swedish filmmakers look within the human body to capture the conception and development of an embryo.

• Season 10 Episode 3: Lassa Fever

  Public health workers combating a deadly virus in Nigeria inadvertently risked releasing the virus into the United States.

• Season 10 Episode 2: Pleasure of Finding Things Out

  Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, openly discusses the Nobel Prize.

• Season 10 Episode 1: Hawaii: Crucible of Life

  Beautiful and unique life forms flourish in Hawaii, but extinction has claimed others.

Nova: Season 9

• Season 9 Episode 19: Making of a Natural History Film

  An explanation of the production of wildlife documentaries.

• Season 9 Episode 18: Tracking the Supertrains

  An examination of a proposed high speed train line between Los Angeles and San Diego.

• Season 9 Episode 17: Whale Watch

  The annual migration of the grey whale reveals the familial bond of the intelligent mammals.

• Season 9 Episode 16: Goodbye, Louisiana

  The results of the Army Corps of Engineers' struggle to hold the Missississippi River and the coastline in place.

• Season 9 Episode 15: Cobalt Blues

  Strategic minerals vital to U.S. aerospace and steel industries.

• Season 9 Episode 14: Adventures of Teenage Scientists

  The high school student winners of the 1982 Westinghouse Science Talent Search.

• Season 9 Episode 13: Here's Looking at You, Kid

  The chronicle of a young boy's struggle to recover from severe burns over 73 percent of his body.

• Season 9 Episode 12: Fragile Mountain

  A study of the slow destruction of the Himalayas discloses man's carelessness as the primary cause of the crumbling.

• Season 9 Episode 11: Case of the UFOs

  Vivid films and eyewitness accounts of the facts, fiction or possible hoaxes behind reports of unidentified flying objects.

• Season 9 Episode 9: Animal Impostors

  Certain species of snakes, butterflies, fish, turtles and other wildlife use unusual forms of deception to eat or avoid being eaten.

• Season 9 Episode 8: Palace of Delights

  A behind-the-scenes look at San Francisco's Exploratorium discloses the spontaneous and comic operations of its managing physicists, artists and students.

• Season 9 Episode 7: Life: Patent Pending

  In the creation of new forms of life through genetic engineering, scientists are revolutionizing industry, medicine and research universities.

• Season 9 Episode 6: Television Explosion

  A study of the evolution of television examines its social impact and its future potential.

• Season 9 Episode 3: Field Guide to Roger Tory Peterson

  The master bird-watcher and author is followed from his country studio in Connecticut to field studies in Antarctica.

• Season 9 Episode 2: Test Tube Babies: A Daughter for Judy

  Exclusive footage chronicles the conception and birth of America's first test-tube baby in celebration of her first birthday.

• Season 9 Episode 1: Salmon on the Run

  The determination and tremendous strength which allows the species to complete its fatiguing life cycle.

Nova: Season 8

• Season 8 Episode 18: Notes of a Biology Watcher: A Film With Lewis Thomas

  The author studies different aspects of nature from why birds sing to bacteria that use the earth's magnetic field as a guide.

• Season 8 Episode 17: Artists in the Lab

  The futuristic technologies of computers, lasers, holograms and synthesizers are shown by artists who use them to create graphics, animation, music and 'Star Wars' special effects.

• Season 8 Episode 15: Locusts: War Without End

  The biological and political causes of the 1977-79 plague of locusts in Africa.

• Season 8 Episode 14: Cosmic Fire

  X-ray astronomy reveals the violent energy of neutron stars, exploding galaxies, quasars and black holes.

• Season 8 Episode 13: Great Violin Mystery

  Modern-day violin makers try to unlock the 250-year-old secret of the great Italian masters.

• Season 8 Episode 9: Animal Olympians

  Nature graces animals with extraordinary speed and strength; training and talent help humans excel.

• Season 8 Episode 8: The Asteroid & the Dinosaur

  A piece of clay provides new clues about dinosaur extinction.

• Season 8 Episode 5: Science of Murder

  Forensic scientists and law enforcement officials detail the realities of murder.

• Season 8 Episode 4: Anatomy of a Volcano

  Geologists probe the aftermath of the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens in the state of Washington.

• Season 8 Episode 1: Doctors of Nigeria

  Doctors in Nigeria use herbal and modern Western medicine to combat the health hazards caused by poor hygiene and sanitation.

Nova: Season 7

• Season 7 Episode 20: It's About Time

  Dudley Moore presents a study of time that answers some long-unsolved questions.

• Season 7 Episode 11: Sea Behind the Dunes

  Underwater photography documents the yearly events in the eco-system of a coastal lagoon.

• Season 7 Episode 5: Umealit: Whale Hunters

  The fate of the bowhead whale and the men who hunt them comprise a complex history of debate.

• Season 7 Episode 4: Portrait of a Killer

  Swedish photographer Lennart Nilsson uses electron microscopy to document the progress of cardiovascular disease.

• Season 7 Episode 3: Living Machines

  Natural engineers discover that many of 'man's inventions' were first used in nature.

• Season 7 Episode 2: A Is for Atom, B Is for Bomb

  A profile of Dr. Edward Teller's work on nuclear bombs includes an interview on his advocacy of the strategic defense systems where he states, 'Overkill does not exist.'

Nova: Season 6

• Season 6 Episode 9: Einstein

  The life and thoughts of Albert Einstein chronicle the humanist and philosopher behind the scientific genius.

• Season 6 Episode 1: Black Tide

  The crash of a supertanker off the coast of Brittany spills 68 million gallons of oil into the sea.

Nova: Season 5

• Season 5 Episode 13: Road to Happiness

  A look at the life, times and image of Henry Ford demonstrates how he motorized America by developing the Model T Ford.

• Season 5 Episode 11: Still Waters

  A film of the seasonal changes of a beaver pond documents the myriad life forms that exist in, on, under and around its waters.

• Season 5 Episode 9: Mind Machines

  Subject: Advances in computer science that may create a replacement for the human mind.

• Season 5 Episode 5: BaMiki BaNdula: Children of the Forest

  A portrait of the nomadic Mbuti pygmies who live in the rain forests of Zaire.

Nova: Season 3

• Season 3 Episode 20: Case of the Bermuda Triangle

  This 1976 investigation of mysteriously disappearing planes and ships begins with five U.S. Navy warplanes lost in 1945.

Nova: Season 2

• Season 2 Episode 1: Why Do Birds Sing?

  An exploration into the reasons birds sing focuses on their regional accents, territorial rights and learning processes.

Nova: Season 1 (2000)

• Season 1 Episode 5: Secrets of Lost Empires: China Bridge

  Engineers and scholars try to duplicate the design of China's rainbow bridge.

• Season 1 Episode 4: Secrets of Lost Empires: Roman Bath

  Researchers describe the advanced technological design of the Roman baths.

• Season 1 Episode 3: Secrets of Lost Empires: Easter Island

  Archaeologists try to solve the mystery of Easter Island's monuments and lost civilization.

• Season 1 Episode 2: Secrets of Lost Empires: Pharaoh's Obelisk

  Engineers try to re-create the raising of a massive granite obelisk, a feat that ancient Egyptians accomplished.

• Season 1 Episode 1: Secrets of Lost Empires: Medieval Siege

  Engineers design missile-launchers like those of the medieval era.