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Without the chemistry of photosynthesis, ozone, and a molecule called Rubisco, none of us would be here. So how did we get so lucky? To find out, host David Pogue investigates the surprising molecules that allowed life on Earth to begin, and ultimately thrive. Along the way, he finds out what we’re all made of—literally. (Premiering February 17, 2021)

Discover the origins of life and the chemistry that made it all happen.

Beyond the Elements: Life

Glass so strong you can jump on it, a rubber-like coating tough enough to absorb a bomb blast, endless varieties of plastic. Scientists and engineers have created virtually indestructible versions of common materials by manipulating the chains of interlocking atoms that give them strength—but have they made them too tough? Host David Pogue explores the fantastic chemistry behind the everyday materials we depend on, and how the quest for durability can be balanced with products’ environmental impact. (Premieres February 10, 2021)

Engineers have created super-strong glass, rubber, and plastic—but at what cost?

Beyond the Elements: Indestructible

Just about every solid, liquid, or gas in the world as we know it begins with reactions between individual atoms and molecules. Host David Pogue dives into the transformative world of chemical reactions, from the complex formula that produces cement to the single reaction that’s allowed farmers to feed a global population by the billions—a reaction that when reversed, unleashes the powerful chemistry of high explosives. (Premiered February 3, 2021)

From explosions to photosynthesis, chemical reactions transform our world.

Beyond the Elements: Reactions

Dogs have long been dependable companions by our sides. But it wasn’t always that way, and a look at their closest living relative, the wolf, makes it clear why. Research into dog domestication and intelligence offers clues into what the human-dog relationship is all about. And analyzing dogs’ brain activity and genes may even help answer the question of whether dogs are in it for the food—or if they really love us. (Premiered February 12, 2020)

Follow the epic journey of dog domestication and see what science says about dogs’ love.

Dog Tales

Leonardo da Vinci was a Renaissance genius. Not only did he paint masterpieces of art, but he was an obsessive scientist and inventor, dreaming up complex machines centuries ahead of his time, including parachutes, armored tanks, hang gliders, and robots. On the 500th anniversary of Leonardo’s death, with the help of biographer Walter Isaacson, NOVA investigates the secrets of Leonardo’s success. How did his scientific curiosity, from dissections of cadavers to studies of optics, shape his genius and help him create perhaps the most famous painting of all time, the &quot;Mona Lisa&quot;? (Premiered November 13, 2019)

Discover the science behind Leonardo da Vinci&#x27;s masterpieces—and Mona Lisa&#x27;s iconic smile.

Decoding da Vinci

Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs in a fiery global catastrophe. But we know little about how their successors, the mammals, recovered and took over the world. Now, hidden inside ordinary-looking rocks, an astonishing trove of fossils reveals a dramatic new picture of how rat-sized creatures ballooned in size and began to evolve into the vast array of species—from cheetahs to bats to whales to humans—that rule our planet today.

Amazing fossils reveal how mammals took over after an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs.

Rise of the Mammals

Follow along as NASA launches the Mars 2020 Mission, perhaps the most ambitious hunt yet for signs of ancient life on Mars. In February 2021, the spacecraft blazes into the Martian atmosphere at some 12,000 miles per hour and lowers the Perseverance Rover into the rocky Jezero Crater, home to a dried-up river delta scientists think could have harbored life. Perseverance will comb the area for signs of life and collect samples for possible return to Earth. Traveling onboard is a four-pound helicopter that will conduct a series of test flights—the first on another planet. During its journey, Perseverance will also test technology designed to produce oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, in hopes that the gas could be used for fuel—or for humans to breathe—on future missions. (Premiered February 24, 2021)

NASA launches its most ambitious search yet for traces of ancient life on Mars.

Looking for Life on Mars

NOVA revolves around a simple premise: the world of science is exciting! For NOVA viewers, science means adventure and exploration--because from ants to aliens, this weekly documentary series probes the far reaches of earth, sea and stars.  NOVA proves that science is neither secret lore nor sacred ritual but rather, at its heart, a lifelong journey of discovery.

Dream Hacking: Decisions, Addictions, and Sleep Hero

Have you ever felt drawn toward choices without knowing why? Or, as seen in the movie “Inception,” have you ever felt like you’ve woken up with a decision that’s already been made for you?Neuroscience is beginning to demystify such feelings. Our agency and decisions, it turns out, can be measurably influenced by events that evade the conscious part of our brains. We’ll see three groundbreaking experiments that illustrate that influences we are unaware of in our waking life, during dreamless sleep, or even in our dreams can impact our memory and behavior.Published on February 18, 2021, in the journal Current Biology, an international team of scientists have found a bridge to the dream world by showing that it’s possible to have a direct dialogue with someone in their dream—and NOVA’s Greg Kestin (host of “What the Physics?!”) was given exclusive access.The scientific context and potential effect of this team’s work are built up in the film through two related groundbreaking experiments. These experiments also show how scientists can influence your decisions, desires, and habits without you being aware.

Watch the first-ever video documenting this live two-way dream communication.

Dream Hacking: Decisions, Addictions, and Sleep

This NASA rover landed on Mars, more than 130 million miles from Earth. It’s task? To continue the search for past life on the red planet.

NASA&#x27;s Perseverance rover and the first-ever space helicopter landed on Mars.

Why NASA is Back on Mars

Feast Your Eyes on the First-Ever Mars 2020 Mission Videos Hero

Get a guided tour of the first Mars rover landing captured on video from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer Ian Clark.

Watch amazing high-definition footage of the Perseverance landing.

Feast Your Eyes on the First-Ever Mars 2020 Mission Videos

How Mask-Wearing Misinformation Became a Reality Hero

NOVA Producer Alex Clark traces misinformation on mask-wearing from internet circles, to social media influencers, and back to the CDC in the NOVA Education video series.

There are various reasons why people believe in misinformation.

How Mask-Wearing Misinformation Became a Reality

Learn the science behind misinformation–how it’s shared, why it&#x27;s believed, and what we can do to address it.

The spread of misinformation is influencing human behavior.

Why Misinformation Matters

Meet the Enzyme Driving Photosynthesis Hero

RUBISCO, which helps make photosynthesis happen, is the most plentiful enzyme on the planet. But it&#x27;s not the most efficient. Can a team of researchers give it a boost?

Hear from two scientists trying to hack photosynthesis.

Meet the Enzyme Driving Photosynthesis

Since the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947, these fragile parchment relics have intrigued scholars, religious leaders, and profiteers alike. The 2,000-year-old scrolls include the oldest-known versions of the Hebrew Bible and hold vital clues about the birth of Christianity. While certain scrolls have survived intact, others have been ravaged by time—burnt, decayed, or torn to pieces—and remain an enigma. Now, scientists are using new technologies to read the unreadable, solve mysteries that have endured for millennia, and even discover million-dollar fakes. (Premiered November 6, 2019)

New technologies unravel the Dead Sea Scrolls’ mysteries and uncover million-dollar fakes.

Dead Sea Scroll Detectives

The Dead Sea is dying: Since 1976, its level has dropped more than 100 feet, leaving its coastline pockmarked with thousands of sinkholes. But after more than a decade of research and debate, scientists, engineers, and political leaders have come up with a daring plan: connect the Red Sea to the Dead Sea by way of a massive desalination plant. If it’s successful, the project could not only revive the sea, but also help ease political tensions and water shortages in the region. NOVA follows this unprecedented endeavor—perhaps the world’s largest water chemistry experiment—as scientists race to save the Dead Sea and bring water to one of the driest regions on Earth. (Premiered April 24, 2019)

Can a daring water engineering project revive the Dead Sea without altering its unique chemistry?

Saving the Dead Sea

Tiny, transparent, and threatened, krill are crucial to the Antarctic ecosystem. But the population of krill is crashing for reasons that continue to baffle the experts. A leading theory says that krill’s life cycle is driven by an internal body clock that responds to the waxing and waning of the Antarctic ice pack, and as climate change alters the timing of the ice pack, their life cycle is disrupted. To test it, NOVA travels on the Polarstern, a state-of-the-art research vessel, to the frigid ice pack in the dead of winter. From camps established on the ice, scientists dive beneath the surface in search of the ice caves that shelter juvenile krill during the winter. There, they hope to discover what’s causing the krill to vanish and, ultimately, how the shifting seasons caused by climate change could disrupt ecosystems around the world. (Premiered January 20, 2016)

What’s behind the death of a tiny creature with an outsized role in the Antarctic?

Mystery Beneath the Ice

Women make up less than a quarter of STEM professionals in the United States, and numbers are even lower for women of color. But there is a growing group of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists, exposing longstanding discrimination, and leading the way in making science more inclusive. A biologist, a chemist, and a geologist lead viewers on a journey through their own experiences in the sciences, ranging from outright harassment to years of subtle slights. Along the way, from cramped laboratories to spectacular field stations, scientific visionaries, including social scientists, neuroscientists, and psychologists, provide new perspectives on how to make science itself more diverse, equitable, and open to all. (Premiering April 14 at 9 pm on PBS)

Researchers expose longstanding discrimination against women in science.

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Looking for Life on Mars

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Dead Sea Scroll Detectives

Saving the Dead Sea

Mystery Beneath the Ice

Episodes

Beyond the Elements: Life

Beyond the Elements: Indestructible

Beyond the Elements: Reactions

Dog Tales

Decoding da Vinci

Rise of the Mammals

Shorts

Dream Hacking: Decisions, Addictions, and Sleep

Why NASA is Back on Mars

Feast Your Eyes on the First-Ever Mars 2020 Mission Videos

How Mask-Wearing Misinformation Became a Reality

Why Misinformation Matters

Meet the Enzyme Driving Photosynthesis

Watch Page

Hero Area

Looking for Life on Mars

Upcoming Schedule

Dead Sea Scroll Detectives

Saving the Dead Sea

Mystery Beneath the Ice

Episodes

Beyond the Elements: Life

Beyond the Elements: Indestructible

Beyond the Elements: Reactions

Dog Tales

Decoding da Vinci

Rise of the Mammals

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Shorts

Dream Hacking: Decisions, Addictions, and Sleep

Why NASA is Back on Mars

Feast Your Eyes on the First-Ever Mars 2020 Mission Videos

How Mask-Wearing Misinformation Became a Reality

Why Misinformation Matters

Meet the Enzyme Driving Photosynthesis