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"Nonpareil science writer David Quammen explains how recent discoveries in molecular biology can change our understanding of evolution and life's history, with powerful implications for human health and even our own human nature." -- Publisher annotation.
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Welcome to Kingdom Animalia! Clue your students in on the characteristics of multicellular animals with this video. It illustrates the specialized structure and function of the four basic animal tissue types, describes 12 major bodily systems, and analyzes the process of homeostasis for both endotherms (regulators) and ectotherms (conformers) A concise history of zoology and species classification is also included, and the distinction between vertebrates...
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Called "Absolutely brilliant!" by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, this documentary tracks the war being waged by entomologists, ecologists, government officials, and private citizens against the Asian longhorned beetle - a nonnative species of insect that could destroy one third of America's trees. In addition to illustrating how these beetles do their damage, Bugged stresses the vigilance and cooperation needed to identify...
5) Dino Autopsy
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Nearly everything we know of dinosaurs comes from bones and teeth-usually the only body parts durable enough to fossilize. This program highlights the scientific rewards resulting from a 1999 discovery of a virtually intact dinosaur mummy. Viewers will learn about the conditions that preserved the 67-million-year-old hadrosaur specimen as well as exciting details of what the creature looked like, how it moved, and more. The paleontologists involved...
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Neil Shubin, a leading paleontologist and professor of anatomy who discovered Tiktaalik--the "missing link" that made headlines around the world in April 2006--tells the story of evolution by tracing the organs of the human body back millions of years, long before the first creatures walked the earth. By examining fossils and DNA, Shubin shows us that our hands actually resemble fish fins, our head is organized like that of a long-extinct jawless...
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Underpinning the plant and animal kingdoms is a group of organisms so basic-and alien-as to require three separate kingdoms of its own. This program explores the realms of Monera, Protista, and Fungi, spotlighting representative classes and species along the way. Topics covered include structure, habitat, means of obtaining energy and nutrients, reproduction, movement, behavior, life cycle, and relationships with other organisms.
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Across the world, plants and animals are silently finding their way into places where they don't belong. These interlopers, upon which scientists frequently bestow the term invasive species, have been known to display fearsome powers-including uncanny abilities to spread disease, damage soil, even devour buildings. This program examines the dangers posed by invasive species and the roles they are playing in an epic rearrangement of life on Earth.
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When a species stakes a claim in new surroundings, it often spells bad news for the native flora and fauna. This program presents invasive species case studies and highlights methods for ousting such unwanted guests. Viewers visit Florida's Gasparilla Island, where a burgeoning black iguana population of Guatemalan ancestry has wrecked ecological havoc. Diving into the Great Lakes, the program looks at another intruder, the zebra mussel-now a target...
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A sensational discovery is made in a German quarry: petrified tracks created by troodontidae, a beast of great interest to scientists but about which little is known. Paleontologists around the world are excited by the find, but how much data can they glean from a footprint? This program follows a research team as it reconstructs the lives of the feathered dino-birds, piecing together clues from Chinese fossils, computerized motion studies, and from...
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This program introduces the concepts of naturally occurring and artificially induced mutagens, demonstrates how X-radiation and chemical additives can produce genetic mutations, introduces Dr. Maclyn McCarty (one of three researchers who identified DNA as the substance that transformed one variety of Pneumococcus into another), and shows how DNA is extracted and precipitated. After viewing the program, students should understand why Drosophila melanogaster...
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This program shows the structure and replicating processes of DNA and the effect of genetic mutation; demonstrates the Lederberg Experiment; and recapitulates the evidence provided by fossils and structural and biological homologies that the process of adaptation and the selection of adaptors rests on a wide range of genetic variability. After viewing the program, students should have a general understanding of the general structure and functioning...
13) Water babies
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Did the ancestors of the human race go through a crucial semi-aquatic phase? This balanced program examines the latest evidence that water played a major role in human evolution and assesses how it stands up to the traditional Savanna Theory proposed by Darwin. Preeminent critics and adherents of the Aquatic Ape Theory discuss such key points as humans' unique diving reflex and voluntary breath control; the connection between brain development and...
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From the sponge to the giraffe, from mosses to redwoods, this program examines the similarities and differences between the denizens of the animal and plant kingdoms. Distinctive characteristics of plants and animals, including physical structure, methods of reproduction, and life cycle, as well as where they find their food and how they interact with other organisms are discussed. Vivid images underscore the diversity of the phyla, classes, and species...
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This collection of NewsHour segments examines developments in zoology and agriculture that are challenging scientists, business leaders, and government officials alike. With commentary from Lori Williams of the National Invasive Species Council, the program studies a disturbing increase in nonnative and often harmful insect populations on American soil. North Carolina's sprawling hog farms and their growing waste-disposal problem are also investigated,...
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This program provides arguments in favor of continental drift and the one-time existence of a supercontinent, shows how isolation can give rise to different species and how species develop in response to their environments, and explains clines and suggests the reason for their existence. After viewing the program, students should understand the significance of the continental drift theory, the purpose of studying inherited variation in isolated populations,...
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All other life forms except humans exist to propagate themselves and pass on their genes; humans alone work to other ends. In this lecture, Richard Dawkins distinguishes between the result of eons of natural selection which has resulted in, say, a bird's tail, whose purpose is to enable the bird to fly-purpose with a survival value-and deliberate design, like an airplane's tail. Dawkins shows the relationship between the two in explaining the evolution...
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This Science Screen Report explains how biologists help endangered species. It highlights captive breeding techniques that have strengthened populations of Malayan tapirs and southern white rhinos; it also examines the artificial insemination of giant pandas and the teaching of survival skills to orphaned orangutans. Emphasizing that humans can learn and benefit from these experiences-for instance, several innovative ways to communicate with animals...
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As a naturalist aboard the HMS Beagle, a Royal Navy survey ship charting the coast of South America, Charles Darwin encountered evidence on the Galapagos Islands and elsewhere that encouraged him to question the biblical story of creation. This program explores the intellectual journey he undertook as a result. Presented by British scientist Adam Hart-Davis, the film invokes specimens in Great Britain's Natural History Museum, especially "Darwin's...
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How do humans influence changes in other species? Has Homo sapiens itself stopped evolving? This program explores natural selection as an ongoing phenomenon, showing how evolutionary processes continue to shape the future of all life on Earth. Exploring the competition for resources, territory, and mates that occurs in any ecosystem, the video illustrates how species differentiation takes place-whether the environment is a petri dish, a jungle, or...