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New research about how our brains work, about the diseases associated with old age, and about nutrition is leading scientists to redefine what it means to grow old. This program examines this research, looking at a study of a new way to prevent the onset of age-related dementia, the effects of the hormone DHEA on aging, and at therapy aimed at helping Alzheimer's patients re-activate their memories.
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Our bones, muscles, and joints account for more than half of all reported pain. Over time, our skeletons suffer the effects of age and misuse, causing everything from arthritis and slipped disks to dowager's hump. Such conditions are commonplace and have plagued us throughout recorded history. In this episode, Dr. Alice Roberts, an experienced physical anthropologist as well as a medical doctor and an expert in anatomy, has acquired a collection of...
4) Biometrics
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Technology is taking the field of biometrics to new levels of accuracy and efficiency. But is the price of such security, achieved by turning over unique bodily information to governments and private companies, too high? And is biometric data really as foolproof as its proponents say? This program travels the globe to showcase examples of high-tech biometrics in action, including electronic recognition of iris patterns, fingerprints, faces, hand vein...
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In this program, Greg Foot attempts to dig to Australia, gets sucked into quicksand to discover if it's as deadly as the movies make out, eats a stupefying amount of fast food to see just how quickly you can get fat without really trying, and, with the help of a pig, finds out whether it's physically possible to die of a broken heart.
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Genetic and neurological research has led to increasingly sophisticated medical capabilities-resulting in a growing number of moral and ethical quandaries. This cluster of NewsHour segments surveys recent milestones in biology-many of which have produced as much controversy as insight. Reporting on the newly-identified anti-aging gene SIR2 and the cross-species implantation of stem cells, the program also inquires into artificial limb technology,...
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This classic Horizon program looks at two patients suffering from a rare form of brain damage known as visual agnosia. The illness prevents sufferers from recognizing even familiar faces and everyday objects. Since brain lesions are implicated in agnosia, there currently is no direct treatment for the condition. Patients face so many challenging situations in everyday living that they may not be able to hold jobs or even relate properly to members...
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This program presents fossil evidence for the evolution of reptiles and amphibians; explains the reasoning processes scientists must use when no direct evidence is available for examination; illustrates field techniques for collecting fragile fossils for transportation to the laboratory, where examination can take place under controlled conditions; and traces the evolution of some modern mammals back through time. After viewing the program, students...
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Without consciously realizing it, human beings navigate the world through an ongoing process of calculating and correcting in response to perceptions about their surroundings. In this program, host James Burke uses 3-D models and a tub of gelatin to illustrate the vestibular system and how it works with the brain to gauge distance, perspective, and spatial orientation. Burke also explains the extraordinary way in which the brain fills in naturally-occurring...
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Humans are storytellers, says host Roger Bingham. "Show us the sun, moon, and stars and we'll spin any number of tales about life and death, good and evil. We tell stories to feel at home in the universe." Humans are both mythmakers and scientists. Often, myth and science produce very different stories, different paths to the truth. And yet, they are both products of our brains, trying to make sense of our experience. This program explores the way...
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Social context, intonation, and body language add a vital layer of meaning to the spoken or signed word-a layer that can manifest only in conversation. In this program, Dr. Jonathan Miller addresses the subject of group talk, offering his observations on topics including the concept of "speech acts" a la Austin, Wittgenstein, and Searle; the implicit mechanics of verbal give-and-take; and the belief that social context, far from being a mere adjunct...
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Peter Proctor is New Zealand's father of biodynamic agriculture. Compost is the fundamental element in all gardening and farming. This master class takes you through the compost making process from gathering and assembling your materials to creating the perfect compost heap.
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Alzheimer's is a disease that affects not only the patient, but all who love and care for that person as well. This poignant program allows a rare glimpse into one couple's experience with the fatal illness that tore their life apart, tracking the mental deterioration of Malcolm Pointon-husband, father, Cambridge professor, and gifted pianist, diagnosed at only 51 years of age. The documentary sympathetically yet unflinchingly chronicles Malcolm's...
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How well do we understand the neurology of learning? Why does the brain's ability to learn diminish as we age? Can science find a way to extend brain "fitness," even for the very old? This program addresses those questions as it describes important medical experiments and studies. Topics include the central role of nerve cell connections in learning and cognitive development; cerebral plasticity, or the breakdown of unused connections; and growing...
15) My healthy body
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Describes the body systems and discusses what children can do to improve their well-being.
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"This course explores the history of how humans have produced, cooked, and consumed food - from the earliest hunting-and-gathering societies to the present. This course examines how civilizations and their foodways have been shaped by geography, native flora and fauna, and technological innovations. The scope of this course is global, covering civilizations of Asia, America, Africa, and Europe and how cultures in each of these continents domesticated...