Alien From Earth
Do the remains of a tiny hobbit-like creature found on the island of Flores belong to a new human species?
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Alien From Earth
An ancient legend on the Indonesian island of Flores tells of an elflike creature similar to the fictional hobbit of novels and film. But a controversial 2003 archeological find not only suggests that there could be some truth behind the legend but promises to rewrite a key chapter in the human evolutionary story. This program investigates the discovery, analysis, and startling implications of the hobbit of Flores.
- 11/01/2008
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The Four-Winged Dinosaur
In 2002, the discovery of a beautiful and bizarre fossil astonished scientists and reignited the debate over the origin of flight. With four wings and superbly preserved feathers, the 130 million-year-old creature was like nothing paleontologists had ever seen before.
In this program, NOVA travels to the Chinese stone quarry where the fossil was discovered–a famed fossil treasure-trove –and teams up with the world's leading figures in paleontology, biomechanics, aerodynamics, animation, and scientific reconstruction to perform an unorthodox experiment: a wind tunnel flight test of a scientific replica of the ancient oddity.
The Four-Winged Dinosaur
Surprising fossils from northeastern China spur a debate over how birds evolved.
- 02/01/2008
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Little People of Flores
In 2003 paleoanthropologists made a discovery on the Indonesian island of Flores that shook up the world of early human studies like no other in recent years. Inside a cave, under a thick blanket of sediments, they unearthed fossil bones of a three-foot-tall human. The fossil appeared for all the world not to have been that of a diseased modern human or Homo sapiens, but rather an entirely new species, which its discoverers named Homo floresiensis. The debate over just what this so-called hobbit and its kind were has only just begun.
Little People of Flores
The remains of three-foot-tall humans are discovered on a remote Indonesian island.
- 04/19/2005
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First Primates
As inhabitants of Earth, we humans are relative newbies. In fact, our branch of the evolutionary tree may have split from that of the apes only about six million years ago. But what if we look further back in our primate family tree? What would we find? As correspondent Peter Standring reports, the latest research is revealing that our origins may have been quite a bit humbler than we may have thought.
First Primates
Our most distant primate ancestors, which appeared soon after the dinosaurs died out, were the size of mice.
- 07/09/2008
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Evolution in Action: Salamanders
NOVA visits David Wake, a renowned evolutionary biologist at the University of California, Berkeley, as he explains why members of the same species of California salamander look and behave so differently. It's a case study of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, and an example, Wake says, that Darwin himself would have loved.
Evolution in Action: Salamanders
See how salamanders in California are evolving, just as Darwin might have predicted.
- 11/01/2007
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Why NOVA Covered the Case
In this short video, NOVA's Paula Apsell explains the reasons for making “Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial.”
Why NOVA Covered the Case
In this short video, NOVA's Paula Apsell explains the reasons for making “Intelligent Design on Trial.”
- 11/01/2007
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Intelligent Design on Trial
In this two-hour special, NOVA captures the turmoil that tore apart the community of Dover, Pennsylvania in one of the latest battles over teaching evolution in public schools. Featuring trial reenactments based on court transcripts and interviews with key participants, including expert scientists and Dover parents, teachers, and town officials, "Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial" follows the celebrated federal case of Kitzmiller v. Dover School District. This program was coproduced with Paul G. Allen's Vulcan Productions, Inc.
Intelligent Design on Trial
Science is "Exhibit A" in a landmark trial on the teaching of evolution.
- 11/13/2007
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Darwin's Darkest Hour
This two-hour scripted drama tells the remarkable story behind the unveiling of the most influential scientific theory of all time, Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. The program is a special presentation from NOVA and National Geographic Television, written by acclaimed British screenwriter John Goldsmith and directed by John Bradshaw.
Darwin's Darkest Hour
A two-hour drama on the crisis that forced Darwin to publish his theory of evolution.
- 10/06/2009
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Becoming Human Part 1
Where did we come from? What makes us human? An explosion of recent discoveries sheds light on these questions, and NOVA's comprehensive, three-part special, "Becoming Human," examines what the latest scientific research reveals about our hominid relatives.
Becoming Human Part 1
First Steps: Six million years ago, what set our ancestors on the path from ape to human?
- 10/26/2009
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Becoming Human Part 2
In "Birth of Humanity," the second part of the three-part series "Becoming Human," NOVA investigates the first skeleton that really looks like us–"Turkana Boy"–an astonishingly complete specimen of Homo erectus found by the famous Leakey team in Kenya. These early humans are thought to have developed key innovations that helped them thrive, including hunting large prey, the use of fire, and extensive social bonds.
Becoming Human Part 2
Birth of Humanity: New discoveries reveal how early humans hunted and formed families.
- 11/02/2009
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Becoming Human Part 3
In "Last Human Standing," the final program of the three-part series "Becoming Human," NOVA examines the fate of the Neanderthals, our European cousins who died out as modern humans spread from Africa into Europe during the Ice Age. Did modern humans interbreed with Neanderthals or exterminate them? The program explores crucial evidence from the recent decoding of the Neanderthal genome.
Becoming Human Part 3
Last Human Standing: Many human species once shared the globe. Why do we alone remain?
- 11/02/2009
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