PBS Science Shows & Nature Programs, News & More

NOVA

Mon May. 14, 2012

New tools let scientists better grasp our star's potentially destructive solar storms. Continue

Feed Your Kids' Creative Spark with Engineering

PBS Parents

Fri May. 18, 2012

Nate Ball is an inventor, entrepreneur, athlete, musician, and TV host of the PBS KIDS series Design Squad. Join the discussion he's leading on how to encourage children to explore the world of engineering in order to help them develop lifelong skills. Continue

Ocean Tipping Point?

NOW on PBS

Thu May. 17, 2012

NOW looks at a growing body of evidence that suggests climate change is affecting the chemistry of the seas, which could have potentially catastrophic results on the way we live. NOW travels deep into our oceans with a scientist from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and help from other researchers for a first hand look at this stunning sea change, and what we can do about it. Continue

'The Information Diet': Managing a Technology Glut

PBS NewsHour

Fri May. 18, 2012

Clay Johnson, author of "The Information Diet: A Case for Conscious Consumption", discusses with Hari Sreenivasan how abundant technology affects our health -- producing pulsing side effects such as "email apnea" or "reality dysmorphia." Continue

Cracking the Koala Code

Nature

Thu May. 17, 2012

From the miracle of marsupial birth to tender moments of discovery between mother and newborn joey, encounters with threatening forest creatures, battles between rival males and the complex chorus of bellows and grunts that have become so important to science — join leading scientists as they unravel just what a forest needs to support a healthy population of koalas by listening to these marsupial Continue

Forgotten Genius

NOVA

Tue May. 15, 2012

The story of how African-American Percy Julian defied the odds to become a famous chemist. Continue

Episode Test COVE 2.0

NOVA

Mon May. 14, 2012

Test Continue

Local

The Lexicon of Sustainability

Fri May. 11, 2012

As consumers take increased responsibility for what they eat, many choose to become locavores, favoring foods grown or produced in their communities. By voting local with their pocketbooks when they go to the supermarket, these consumers keep money in local economies while supporting and strengthening local food systems. They also decrease their “food miles” and their carbon footprint. Continue

Koala Communication

Nature

Fri May. 11, 2012

An interview about koala communication, vocalization, and social structure with Dr. Bill Ellis, head of The University of Queensland's Koala Ecology Group. Continue

Video: A Battle for Territory

Nature

Fri May. 11, 2012

A fight erupts between two koalas after one of the males invades the other's territory. Continue

Paralyzed Woman Powers Robotic Arm With Her Mind

PBS NewsHour

Wed May. 16, 2012

On April 12, 2011, a 59-year-old woman with a sensor implanted in her brain picked up her cinnamon latte with a robotic arm, brought it to her lips and took a sip through a straw, using only her thoughts. Continue

Future of Prosthetics: Mind-Bending Robotic Arms

PBS NewsHour

Wed May. 16, 2012

Researchers have shown that patients paralyzed from the neck down can move robotic arms with their minds, according to a new report in the journal Nature that documents two cases involving brain-stem stroke victims. Margaret Warner discusses the hopes for the technology with Dr. Leigh Hochberg of Massachusetts General Hospital. Continue

SpaceX Readies for Historic Launch

PBS NewsHour

Thu May. 17, 2012

On Saturday, if all goes as planned, the privately owned spaceflight company SpaceX will launch its Dragon capsule into low-Earth orbit and three days later dock with the International Space Station. Continue

The Rise of Facebook

PBS NewsHour

Fri May. 18, 2012

Founded in 2005, Facebook's social network has changed our relationships with friends, family and co-workers, created a new playground for politics, and altered the rules for media, culture and advertising. This timeline chronicles the evolution of the social media giant. Continue

Full Program

Bones of Turkana

Wed May. 16, 2012

Follow famed paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey, his family and colleagues as they work in the arid northern regions of Kenya's Turkana Basin to unravel the mysteries of human evolution. While one of the Leakey team's goals is to demonstrate the complexity and truth of human evolution, they also seek to show how the qualities that we proudly call human were all born in Africa. Continue

Sun Catcher Craft

PBS Parents

Mon May. 14, 2012

Have some homemade fun in the sun with this craft made of recycled plastic water bottles. Continue

Forage

The Lexicon of Sustainability

Fri May. 11, 2012

Our earliest descendants were hunter/gatherers who foraged for their food, were in tune with their surroundings, and ate with the seasons. After foraging was essentially replaced by agriculture, people became increasingly detached from where their food came from. Foraging offers people a way to reconnect with nature and shows that food is all around us. Continue

The Story of an Egg

The Lexicon of Sustainability

Fri May. 11, 2012

Can learning the meaning of a single term actually help change the food system? David Evans and Alexis Koefoed think so. These poultry farmers explain the real story behind such terms as cage free, free range, and pasture raised so that consumers can make informed decisions when they go to their local supermarket. Continue

Koala Fact Sheet