NOVA

s07e01 The Elusive Illness 1980-01-16 02:00 ⌄

No still

The Elusive Illness

s07e01 · 1980-01-16 · 02:00

Aborigines in Australia, woodchucks in Pennsylvania, the Nobel Prize in Stockholm and the gay community in New York—what could possibily link such disparate elements? The answer is Hepatitis. NOVA examines this elusive disease, what causes it, how it is spread and how you get rid of it.

Rate

s07e02 A is for Atom, B is for Bomb 1980-01-23 02:00 ⌄

No still

A is for Atom, B is for Bomb

s07e02 · 1980-01-23 · 02:00

NOVA profiles Dr. Edward Teller, the "Father of the Hydrogen Bomb," an acclaimed scientific genius and brilliant theoretician, and a man considered by some the most dangerous scientist in the United States.

Rate

s07e03 Living Machines 1980-02-06 02:00 ⌄

No still

Living Machines

s07e03 · 1980-02-06 · 02:00

NOVA explores the science of natural engineering and asks the basic questions: what makes a good design in nature and why did a particular plant or animal adopt a particular design?

Rate

s07e04 Portrait of a Killer 1980-02-20 02:00 ⌄

No still

Portrait of a Killer

s07e04 · 1980-02-20 · 02:00

More than 40 million Americans are afflicted by cardiovascular disease. NOVA examines the new information on risk factors and possible prevention of heart attacks and strokes—often fatal diseases.

Rate

s07e05 Umealit: The Whale Hunters 1980-03-05 02:00 ⌄

No still

Umealit: The Whale Hunters

s07e05 · 1980-03-05 · 02:00

Whaling is an integral part of Eskimo life, and a major source of food; even so, conservationists are seeking to restrict the hunting of bowheads in Alaska.

Rate

s07e06 The Safety Factor 1980-03-12 02:00 ⌄

No still

The Safety Factor

s07e06 · 1980-03-12 · 02:00

Recent aircraft accidents have raised the question of just how safe modern commercial aviation really is. NOVA looks at some of the problems and experimental efforts underway to deal with them.

Rate

s07e07 A Mediterranean Prospect 1980-03-19 02:00 ⌄

No still

A Mediterranean Prospect

s07e07 · 1980-03-19 · 02:00

Every year, millions of tourists converge on the Mediterranean's sunny coasts, lured by the prospect of bathing in clear, azure waters and basking in semi-tropical sun. But years of use and abuse have taken their toll on the once idyllic Mediterranean and the "world's biggest swimming pool" has become the world's biggest open sewer. NOVA explores the complex problems that plague the Mediterranean's future.

Rate

s07e08 Mr. Ludwig's Tropical Dreamland 1980-03-26 02:00 ⌄

No still

Mr. Ludwig's Tropical Dreamland

s07e08 · 1980-03-26 · 02:00

NOVA explores the amazing Jari project of the Amazon basin. Eleven years ago, 3.5 million acres of virgin jungle were bought by the reclusive billionaire, Daniel K. Ludwig.

Rate

s07e09 The Pinks and the Blues 1980-10-01 01:00 ⌄

No still

The Pinks and the Blues

s07e09 · 1980-10-01 · 01:00

NOVA explores the shaping and molding of the male and female personality. From infancy through childhood, the program documents the impact of culture on the development of sex differences.

Rate

s07e10 The Cancer Detectives of Lin Xian 1980-10-08 01:00 ⌄

No still

The Cancer Detectives of Lin Xian

s07e10 · 1980-10-08 · 01:00

In one of the first films ever to come out of modern China, NOVA sifts through clues that Chinese scientists have uncovered in their pursuit of particularly virulent and elusive forms of cancer from which one out of every four people die.

Rate

s07e11 The Sea Behind the Dunes 1980-10-15 01:00 ⌄

No still

The Sea Behind the Dunes

s07e11 · 1980-10-15 · 01:00

One year in the intricate life of a coastal lagoon unfolds in an hour's time when NOVA documents the fragile tidal ecosystem which supports the entire ocean.

Rate

s07e12 Do We Really Need the Rockies? 1980-10-29 02:00 ⌄

No still

Do We Really Need the Rockies?

s07e12 · 1980-10-29 · 02:00

Locked in the shale of the Western Rocky Mountains is more oil than in the Middle East—more than enough to solve our dependence on foreign crude oil. But will shale oil solve our gasoline shortage, or will it simply turn the Rockies into a gigantic industrial zone? NOVA explores the promise and the problems of shale oil.

Rate

s07e13 The Big IF 1980-11-05 02:00 ⌄

No still

The Big IF

s07e13 · 1980-11-05 · 02:00

Is interferon—known as IF in medical shorthand—the wonder drug and cure for cancer that some doctors claim? NOVA travels to London, Stockholm, Houston, San Francisco, and New Haven in search of the answer in the most complete film on interferon ever to appear on American television.

Rate

s07e14 Voyager: Jupiter & Beyond 1980-11-12 02:00 ⌄

No still

Voyager: Jupiter & Beyond

s07e14 · 1980-11-12 · 02:00

On Wednesday, November 12, 1980, Voyager 1 is expected to arrive at Saturn for a first time ever extensive close-up investigation of the majestic ringed planet. Astronomers can expect to gather more information than ever before possible. On the day before this historic event, NOVA documents Voyager's journey through the outer solar system.

Rate

s07e15 The Wizard Who Spat on the Floor 1980-11-19 02:00 ⌄

No still

The Wizard Who Spat on the Floor

s07e15 · 1980-11-19 · 02:00

Thomas Edison is the quintessential American hero, the Wizard whose inventions revolutionized modern living. But there was always more to Edison than met the eye. He was a complex and contradictory man; a brilliant inventor, a foolish investor; a demanding boss, a liberal benfactor—a public figure that no one ever really knew. NOVA profiles the man behind the mythical reputation.

Rate

s07e16 The Water Crisis 1980-11-26 02:00 ⌄

No still

The Water Crisis

s07e16 · 1980-11-26 · 02:00

Water, water everywhere...but just how useful is it? NOVA travels to the Adirondack Mountains where acid rain is killing many high elevation lakes; to the Mississippi River where chlorine has combined with natural and manmade organic chemicals to form cancer-causing toxic chemical susbtances; to California, where conservation recycling has had to become a way of life; and to Bedford, Massachusetts, where the town wells have been contaminated by industrial waste.

Rate

s07e17 Moving Still 1980-12-03 02:00 ⌄

No still

Moving Still

s07e17 · 1980-12-03 · 02:00

NOVA tells the story of still and cine photography in science—from the extraordinary work of the pioneers in the early 1800s to how the ability to freeze time on film in ever shorter periods has given scientists remarkable new insights. Today photography enables us to analyze (frame by frame) the thousands of molecular reactions that can happen in less time than the blink of an eye.

Rate

s07e18 A Touch of Sensitivity 1980-12-10 02:00 ⌄

No still

A Touch of Sensitivity

s07e18 · 1980-12-10 · 02:00

The exquisite sensitivity of tough cells in the human skin makes it possible for us to discriminate with precision the slightest changes in texture and pressure, but how the electrical impulses we receive are converted into sensation remains a mystery. NOVA explores the hidden meaning and extraordinary power of human touch.

Rate

s07e19 The Red Deer of Rhum 1980-12-24 02:00 ⌄

No still

The Red Deer of Rhum

s07e19 · 1980-12-24 · 02:00

The cuddly image of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has become an integral part of the jollity of the Christmas season. NOVA takes a timely look at how real deer live by visiting Rhum—an island off the coast of Scotland inhabited by red deer.

Rate

s07e20 It's About Time 1980-12-31 02:00 ⌄

No still

It's About Time

s07e20 · 1980-12-31 · 02:00

Time—a concept which has baffled scientists and philosophers since time immemorial. Actor Dudley Moore hosts a funny, sobering and visually stunning quest for answers to riddles, as NOVA spends an hour on time.

Rate