Bird Brains Clues to the origins of human language are turning up in the brains of birds.
Capturing Carbon An eighth-grader's science fair project prompts her scientist father to develop a new way to pull excess carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
Car of the Future (2008) NOVA Documentary, watchable online and also available as a DVD. The "Car Talk" guys from NPR go on a journey, exploring electric and hybrid cars, biofuels, hydrogen fuel cells.
Dr. Fun - Mantis Report - Preparing Fruit Flies Short but amusing video of an experimenter who is learning how to prepare fruit flies in preparation for feeding them to praying mantises. From the Mantis Report, a blog for kids of all ages on raising praying mantises. http://mantisreport.blogspot.com
Fastest Glacier A glacier moving way too fast reveals how unpredictable the effects of global warming can be.(online)
Hydrogen Power 13-minute film about clean energy, designed for education audience, produced by BMW Clean Energy. Viewable online and DVD is orderable (free DVD may be in european video format or unavailable but you can always try). Designed for use by teachers of Science, Environmental Studies, Geography, etc. Explores issues surrounding the need for clean energy and how liquid hydrogen can be used in an internal combustion engine as a fuel for cars.
Lord of the Ants At age 78, E.O. Wilson is still going through his "little savage" phase of boyhood exploration of the natural world. In "Lord of the Ants," NOVA profiles this soft-spoken Southerner and Harvard professor. Actor and environmentalist Harrison Ford narrates this engaging portrait of a ceaselessly active scientist and eloquent writer, who has accumulated two Pulitzer Prizes among his many other honors.
Profile: James McLurkin James McLurkin of MIT is one of the world's leading designers of robot "swarms"—groups of robots that work together for a greater purpose.
Solar Energy: Saved by the Sun (2007) An EXCELLENT documentary by NOVA, watchable online and also available as a DVD. Coverage includes: National Renewable Energy Lab in Colorado, with an explanation of how silicon solar cells work; a tour of two solar-powered houses; a journey inside Kramer Junction in the Mojave Desert - the world's largest solar thermal plant, powering some 150,000 Los Angeles-area homes. There is also mention of Germany, showing how it has become a solar leader, with the government encouraging many citizens to put up solar panels with incentives.
Space Storms Behind the dazzling display of the aurora borealis are space storms that could turn the lights off here on Earth.
