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SEEING THE BIG PICTURE

Ant expert E.O. Wilson has spent his career studying tiny creatures. Yet what sets him apart is his ability to step back and see the grand scheme of things.
running time 9:55

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THE CHEMICAL LANGUAGE OF ANTS

Newly appointed to Harvard, Wilson ignores charges by molecular biologists that his work with ants is mere "stamp-collecting." He goes on to discover ants' extraordinary means of communication, which opens up whole new areas of study.
running time 10:05

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SOCIOBIOLOGY AND ITS DISCONTENTS

Wilson realizes that the chemicals governing an ant's behavior must have a genetic basis. Does this hold true for other animals, including humans? His answer, the 1975 book Sociobiology, unleashes a firestorm of controversy.
running time 8:34

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PRESERVING LIFE ON EARTH

As the controversy slowly dies down, Wilson turns his attention to a new crisis: the ongoing loss of biodiversity. In the Florida Keys, he undertakes a groundbreaking experiment that provides data critical to the new field of conservation biology.
running time 11:06

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78 YEARS YOUNG

Now in his sixth decade at Harvard, Wilson launches his Encyclopedia of Life and continues writing books and actively campaigning to protect what's left of the world's endangered ecosystems.
running time 10:41