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NOVA

TV Show 1974 7.0/10 1025 episodes
Documentary

Synopsis

PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and technology, and highlights the people involved in scientific pursuits.

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Season 15 Episodes

Episode 1 EP 1
Top Gun and Beyond

Today's sophisticated fighter jets can almost fly themselves, but well-trained pilots are still needed to win air battles. NOVA looks at ho…

Episode 2 EP 2
How to Create a Junk Food

Julia Child introduces NOVA's behind-the-scenes look at how science aids in the creation of snack foods.

Episode 3 EP 3
Buried in Ice

Scientists investigate the frozen remains of members of the 19th century Franklin Expedition to the Canadian Arctic and ask why all perishe…

Episode 4 EP 4
Why Planes Burn

Airplane fires are often deadly. NOVA looks at efforts to make fires aboard planes less likely and more survivable.

Episode 5 EP 5
Battles in the War on Cancer: A Wonder Drug on Trial

In part one of a two-part special presentation, NOVA reports on the trials to determine whether the new drug Interleukin-2—the first to mak…

Episode 6 EP 6
Battles in the War on Cancer: Turning the Tide

Breast cancer claims the lives of four American women every hour. Jane Pauley of NBC News hosts and narrates this NOVA report on stepped-up…

Episode 7 EP 7
The Mystery of the Master Builders

Princeton professor and author Robert Mark tracks down the engineering secrets of some of the beautiful buildings in the world including No…

Episode 8 EP 8
Whale Rescue

It was a blustery day in December 1986, and the New England Coast was in the midst of a winter storm, accompanied by strong on-shore gales …

Episode 9 EP 9
The Man Who Loved Numbers

NOVA explores the life of Srinivasa Ramanujan, a poor clerk from India who astounded mathematicians in the 1910s with his brilliant insight…

Episode 10 EP 10
Race for the Superconductor

NOVA charts an electronics revolution in the making as Japan and the United States race to develop a material that will conduct electricity…

Episode 11 EP 11
Can You Still Get Polio?

Most cases of polio in this country are caused by the vaccine designed to prevent it. NOVA examines the controvery surrounding the nation's…

Episode 12 EP 12
Pioneers of Surgery: The Brutal Craft

Part one of a four-part series on the pioneers of modern surgery relives the early days, when surgery was practiced without the benefit of …

Episode 13 EP 13
Pioneers of Surgery: Into the Heart

Once unthinkable, open-heart surgery is now an everyday miracle. NOVA looks at the brave doctors and patients who make it possible.

Episode 14 EP 14
Pioneers of Surgery: New Organs for Old

From kidneys to hearts, NOVA examines the daring attempts to replace diseased organs with transplanted ones.

Episode 15 EP 15
Pioneers of Surgery: Beyond the Knife

Surgeons have always been eager to help patients, even at the risk of killing them. NOVA looks at some of the excesses of surgery, and at h…

Episode 16 EP 16
Can the Vatican Save the Sistine Chapel?

Science meets art in the controversial effort to restore Michelangelo's famous Sistine Chapel frescoes.

Episode 17 EP 17
Can the Next President Win the Space Race?

Thirty years after Sputnik, the United States space program is mired in uncertainty, while the Russians, Europeans, Japanese and others spr…

Episode 18 EP 18
Do Scientists Cheat?

NOVA examines the troubling question of scientific fraud: How prevalent is it? Who commits it? And what happens when the perpetrators are c…

Episode 19 EP 19
Who Shot President Kennedy?

Using previously unavailable technology, NOVA probes the available evidence surrounding the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Episode 20 EP 20
The Light Stuff

Reliving a Greek myth takes an effort of mythic proportions, as NOVA reveals in its behind-the-scenes report of a human powered-flight acro…

Episode 21 EP 21
The All-American Bear

The life of the shy, intelligent black bear in the wild—foraging, mating, playing and constantly preparing for its remarkable hibernation—i…

Episode 22 EP 22
Can We Make a Better Doctor?

NOVA embarks on a 10-year project to profile—in its entirety—the education of a doctor. In the premiere episode, we follow a handful of stu…

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