NOVA

Could tiny drones be the pollinators of the future?    Credits    Animated and Narrated by Anna Rothschild  Cinematography by Steve McCarthy    Original Footage  ©WGBH Educational Foundation 2013    Additional Footage   Courtesy Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering    SLOW MOTION: Flying Hoverfly  ©iStockphoto/Schroptschop

Could tiny drones be the pollinators of the future?

RoboBees to the Rescue

With just a few simple tools, anyone can turn a cockroach into a tiny controllable 'bugborg.' Why would you want to? It turns out that these nasty pests could turn into life savers in the future.    For media credits, visit: pbs.org/nova/tech/cockroach-cyborgs.html        

Scientists are turning cockroaches into robots—and you can, too.

Cyborg Cockroaches

Move over peanuts, there’s a new packaging material in town—and it’s made of mushrooms.

Mushroom Material

What happens when scientists open up nature's toolbox? In "Making Stuff Wilder," David Pogue explores bold new innovations inspired by the Earth's greatest inventor, life itself. From robotic "mules" and "cheetahs" for the military, to fabrics born out of fish slime, host David Pogue travels the globe to find the world’s wildest new inventions and technologies.

Host David Pogue travels the globe to explore new technologies inspired by nature. 

Making Stuff Wilder

Host David Pogue travels the globe to explore new technologies inspired by Nature.

Making Stuff Wilder Preview

A new drone doesn't fly like an airplane or helicopter—it flaps its wings like a bird.

The Hummingbird Drone

Hummingbird Drone

The National Science Foundation

The Department of Energy

Carlisle Companies

NOVA Science Trust Logo

<div class="rich-text"><p>(Program not available for streaming.) What happens when scientists open up nature's toolbox? In "Making Stuff Wilder," David Pogue explores bold new innovations inspired by the Earth's greatest inventor, life itself. From robotic "mules" and "cheetahs" for the military, to fabrics born out of fish slime, host David Pogue travels the globe to find the world’s wildest new inventions and technologies. It is a journey that sees today's microbes turned into tomorrow’s metallurgists, viruses building batteries, and ideas that change not just the stuff we make, but the way we make our stuff. As we develop our own new technologies, what can we learn from billions of years of nature’s research?</p>
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Host David Pogue travels the globe to explore new technologies inspired by nature.

Materials Scientist, Harvard University

Biologist, University of Guelph

University of Pennsylvania

Materials Scientist, University of Guelph

Boston Dynamics

Founder, Boston Dynamics

<div class="rich-text">Host David Pogue travels the globe to explore new technologies inspired by nature.</div>

Tech & Engineering

Cold is the new hot in this brave new world. For centuries we've fought it, shunned it, and huddled against it. Cold has always been the enemy of life, but now it may hold the key to a new generation of science and technology that will improve our lives. In "Making Stuff: Colder," David Pogue explores the frontiers of cold science from saving the lives of severe trauma patients to ultracold physic

Host David Pogue asks if cold holds the key to technology that can improve our lives. 

Making Stuff Colder Preview

Host David Pogue asks if cold holds the key to technology that can improve our lives.

Making Stuff Colder

A company called Alcor freezes dead people, hoping to restore them to health one day.

Cryonics

<div class="rich-text"><p>(Program not available for streaming.) Cold is the new hot in this brave new world. For centuries we've fought it, shunned it, and huddled against it. Cold has always been the enemy of life, but now it may hold the key to a new generation of science and technology that will improve our lives. In "Making Stuff Colder," David Pogue explores the frontiers of cold science from saving the lives of severe trauma patients to ultracold physics, where bizarre new properties of matter are the norm and the basis of new technologies like levitating trains and quantum computers.</p>
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University of Pittsburgh

U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine

Miami University

21st Century Medicine

University of Houston

Cardiac Arrest Survivor

Lockheed Martin

D-Wave

Universit&eacute; Paris Diderot, Paris 7

University of Alaska Fairbanks

Arctic Foundations, Inc.

<div class="rich-text">Host David Pogue asks if cold holds the key to technology that can improve our lives.</div>

The world has always been a dangerous place, so how do we increase our odds of survival? In "Making Stuff: Safer," David Pogue explores the cutting-edge research of scientists and engineers who want to keep us out of harm’s way. Some are countering the threat of natural disasters with new firefighting materials and safer buildings. Others are at work on technologies to thwart terrorist attacks.

Host David Pogue examines groundbreaking research that aims to keep us out of harm’s way. 

Making Stuff Safer Preview

Host David Pogue examines groundbreaking research that aims to keep us out of harm’s way.

Making Stuff Safer

A project called DETER allows researchers to practice fighting cyber crimes.

Cyber War Games

<div class="rich-text"><p>(Program not available for streaming.) The world has always been a dangerous place, so how do we increase our odds of survival? In "Making Stuff Safer," David Pogue explores the cutting-edge research of scientists and engineers who want to keep us out of harm's way. Some are countering the threat of natural disasters with new firefighting materials and safer buildings. Others are at work on technologies to thwart terrorist attacks. A next-generation vaccine will save millions from deadly disease. And innovations like smarter cars and better sports gear will reduce the risk of everyday activities. We'll never eliminate danger—but science and technology are making stuff safer.</p>
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Host David Pogue examines groundbreaking research that aims to keep us out of harm's way. 

TetraKO/EarthClean Corp.

Purdue University

Stanford University

Colorado State University

Decision Sciences

SBM Fire Department

<div class="rich-text">Host David Pogue examines groundbreaking research that aims to keep us out of harm's way. </div>

Host David Pogue tries to find out if there are physical limits to how fast we can go.

Making Stuff Faster Preview

A new high speed camera can capture light in motion and see around corners.

Super Fast Cameras

Host David Pogue explores the cutting-edge research behind a new wave of innovation. 

Making More Stuff Preview

Ever since humans stood on two feet we have had the basic urge to go faster. But are there physical limits to how fast we can go? David Pogue wants to find out, and in "Making Stuff: Faster," he’ll investigate everything from electric muscle cars and the America’s cup sailboat to bicycles that smash speed records.

Making Stuff Faster

<p></p><p>In this four-part special, technology columnist and best-selling author David Pogue takes a wild ride through the cutting-edge science that is powering a next wave of technological innovation. Pogue meets the scientists and engineers who are plunging to the bottom of the temperature scale, finding design inspiration in nature, and breaking every speed limit to make tomorrow's "stuff" "Colder," "Faster," "Safer," and "Wilder."</p>

Host David Pogue hits the road to explore the frontiers of invention and innovation.

<p>Host David Pogue hits the road to explore the frontiers of invention and innovation.</p>

Making More Stuff Episodes

Making Stuff Wilder

Making Stuff Colder

Making Stuff Safer

Making Stuff Faster