Episode
NOVA: ScienceNOW: Extinction
Overview
The "Nova scienceNOW" magazine delves into a case of mass extinction some 250 million years ago; investigates the 1918 influenza outbreak, which killed as many as 50 million people; details the work of MIT roboticist Cynthia Breazeal's efforts to create "sociable robots"; and examines attempts to decipher 2000-year-old papyrus scrolls. Neil deGrasse Tyson hosts.
Details
- Series
- NOVA
- Season
- Season 33
- Episode
- Episode 19
- Air date
- 2006-10-03
- Runtime
- 57 min
Episode context
ScienceNOW: Extinction is Episode 19 in Season 33 of NOVA. It aired on 2006-10-03. The runtime is 57 min.
Previous / Next
Episode 18: Family That Walks on All Fours
This episode focuses on a scientific debate about five siblings in a Turkish family who walk on all fours. When, in 2005, scientist Uner Tan labeled them "genetic throwbacks," they became part of the dialogue about a possible missing link to an era when humans walked on all fours. Included: comments from geneticist Sean Carroll and anthropologist Brian Richmond, who disagree with Tan; and interviews with and footage of the family.
Episode 20: Underwater Dream Machine
The story of Peter Robbins, an engineer who---at a cost of $1.5 million---built his own submarine (named Alicia) in order to explore sunken German U-boats. Included: the Alicia's maiden voyage.
More episodes from this season
Episode 17: Wings of Madness
Nova reviews the contribution of Alberto Santos Dumont in the early days of aircraft development and his uncanny ability to abandon one line of endeavor for a technology with better long term potential.
Episode 16: Dimming the Sun
Everyone has heard of global warming, but a lesser-known man-made phenomenon has been nearly as powerful at affecting Earth's climate. A look at global dimming, created by soot and pollution reflecting the sun's rays and surprisingly helping to offset global warming's catastrophic advance.
Episode 15: Voyage to the Mystery Moon
A mission to Saturn and its enigmatic sattelite, Titan, looks for clues to the origins of life.
Episode 14: The Great Robot Race: Nova
Driverless vehicles compete in a 130-mile race across the Majove Desert.
Episode 13: Arctic Passage
NOVA recreates the expeditions of Sir John Franklin and Roald Amundsen, two Arctic explorers who set out to find the legendary Arctic sea route known as the Northwest Passage.
Episode 12: The Ghost Particle
A 40-year hunt for solar neutrinos leads to a new understanding of matter itself.
Episode 11: Jewel of the Earth
David Attenborough probes the mystery of ancient life-forms perfectly preserved in amber.
Episode 10: The Perfect Corpse
Forensic investigators tease secrets from the well preserved bodies of people buried long ago under peat bogs.
Episode 9: Deadly Ascent
Doctors, rescuers and mountaineers try to determine why people die attempting to climb Mount McKinley.
Episode 8: The Mummy Who Would Be King
Could a mummy found in Niagara Falls be the remains of a long-lost Pharaoh?