January - December 1979
Black Tide
On the morning of March 16, 1978, the US owned, Liberian
registered supertanker, the Amoco Cadiz, went aground off the
coast of Brittany. Over the following days and weeks its
entire 68 million gallons of oil drained into the sea. A NOVA
production team began filmming at the scene shortly after the
disaster, the biggest oil spill in history, and recorded
clean-up efforts, effects of the spill on the crucial tourism
and fishing industries, and the attempts of US and French
marine biologists to trace the passage of the oil through the
environment.
Original broadcast date: 01/04/79
Topic: environment/ecology
Long Walk Of Fred Young
As a child, Fred Young hunted birds and wild animals with
primitive weapons, spoke only the Indian languages Ute and
Navajo, went to a medicine man when he was sick, and slept
under the stars. NOVA profiles Dr. Frederick Young, now a
nuclear physicist working on the laser fusion project at the
Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in New Mexico.
Original broadcast date: 01/11/79
Topic: biography
World of Difference (A)
In 1945, B.F. Skinner shocked the world by putting his 13
month-old daughter, Deborah, into a "box." The box was
actually a climate-controlled crib designed for comfort and
protection, and the young psychologist was merely testing his
theory that environment controls behavior. NOVA portrays the
life of this famous behavioral psychologist now in his 70's
and living quietly in Cambridge as Emeritus Professor of
Psychology at Harvard University.
Original broadcast date: 01/18/79
Topic: biography
Cashing In On The Ocean
The bed of the northeast Pacific Ocean is covered with a
"carpet" estimated to be worth a staggering ten million
dollars. These manganese nodules—the bumpy
carpet—are rich not only in manganese but in the key
strategic minerals: copper, nickel and cobalt. NOVA examines
the debate about who owns them and who has the right to
exploit their use.
Original broadcast date: 02/01/79
Topic: environment/ecology
Patterns From The Past
Below the snow-capped peaks of the Peruvian Andes, the Q'eros
Indians live a life patterned on that of their ancestors
thousands of years ago. NOVA takes a look at the unchanging
world of these isolated mountain people.
Original broadcast date: 02/08/79
Topic: anthropology/culture
Invisible Flame (The)
Some day hydrogen may replace the gasoline that we are now
using up so rapidly. NOVA looks at the potential of hydrogen
as a zero-pollution fuel.
Original broadcast date: 02/22/79
Topic: technology/energy
End Of The Rainbow (The)
Is nuclear fusion the solution to the energy crisis? NOVA
examines the promise—and problems—of fusion as a
future energy source.
Original broadcast date: 03/01/79
Topic: technology/energy
Beersheva Experiment (The)
Health care is the third largest industry in the US. As a
result of billions of dollars spent for medical education in
the 1960s, there are now too many specialists and too few
primary care physicians, especially in underserved areas. NOVA
tells the story of one medical school in Israel that is
training a new kind of family doctor.
Original broadcast date: 03/08/79
Topic: medicine/health care & surgery
Einstein
One hundred years after his birth, Albert Einstein remains an
enigma to most Americans. NOVA presents an insightful portrait
of the man and his mind through rarely viewed film footage.
Original broadcast date: 03/15/79
Topic: biography
Keys Of Paradise (The)
Some powerful and complex painkilling drugs have just been
discovered—in a place where you would least expect to
find them. Endorphins and their component enkephalins are
manufactured in the brain, and perform the same painkilling
function as analgesics like morphine. NOVA explores some
physiological mysteries, such as why acupuncture works, and
how placebos can relieve symptoms, and shows how endorphins
could revolutionize the treatment of pain, depression, and
even schizophrenia.
Original broadcast date: 03/29/79
Topic: medicine/disease & research
Plague on our Children (A)
Is the chemical industry a boom to modern civilization, or a
major threat to our health and that of future generations?
NOVA examines how toxic heribicides, pesticides, and other
chemicals may cause cancer, miscarriages and birth defects in
humans.[7th season premiere]
Original broadcast date: 10/02/79
Topic: environment/ecology
Life On A Silken Thread
Sinister, sometimes even deadly, spiders have little popular
appeal; yet their silken webs are among nature's loveliest
creations. NOVA takes a close-look in slow motion, as spiders
reveal a delicate grace and beauty, and an amazing array of
lifestyles.
Original broadcast date: 10/09/79
Topic: animal biology/behavior
Sweet Solutions
NOVA views the history of sugar—from its scientific,
religious and political history to its medical controversy.
Original broadcast date: 10/16/79
Topic: medicine/disease & research
Race For The Gold
At the 1976 Olympics, East German athletes walked off with 40
of the coveted gold medals, though their country is only the
size of New Jersey. NOVA investigates whether a drug
responsible for their incredible success—or is American
athletic training and commitment falling behind that of the
Communist world?
Original broadcast date: 10/30/79
Topic: human biology/behavior
All Part of The Game
Thousands of amateur athletes are hurt every year, and many
professional athletes suffer injuries that may mean the end of
a career. NOVA looks at a new medical specialty—sports
medicine—that promises to prevent and cure many sports
related problems.
Original broadcast date: 11/06/79
Topic: medicine/health care & surgery
India: Machinery of Hope
Most of India lives by the same rhythm, the same tools, as in
centuries past. But there is another India—with thriving
commercial centers, spotless research laboratories and
large-scale industry. NOVA looks at how the gap between these
two extremes is shrinking because of a policy of "appropriate"
technology that uses the resources of both to meet the
greatest needs of all.
Original broadcast date: 11/20/79
Topic: technology/engineering
Bridge That Spanned The World (The)
The Iron Bridge across the River Severn in Telford, England is
two centuries old this year. It remains a monument to the
Shropshire iron masters who built it, and a symbol of the
Industrial Revolution that was born in the area where the
bridge stands. NOVA traces the development of ironmaking and
its far-reaching effects on society and the world economy.
Original broadcast date: 12/04/79
Topic: technology/engineering
Termites to Telescopes
Dr. Philip Morrison, Institute Professor and Professor of
Physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, presents
this thoughtful and provocative commentary on the nature of
civilization.
Original broadcast date: 12/11/79
Topic: biography
Blindness: Five Points of Views
For many people the idea of life without vision is as fearful
as death. NOVA looks at five people struggling to save their
threatened vision using drugs, surgery, counseling and
determination.
Original broadcast date: 12/18/79
Topic: medicine/disease & research
