The Nature of Things
The Nature of Things is a Canadian television series of documentary programs. It debuted on CBC Television on November 6, 1960. Many of the programs document nature and the effect that humans have on it. The program was one of the first to explore environmental issues, such as clear-cut logging. The series is named after an epic poem by Roman philosopher Lucretius: "Dē Rērum Nātūrā" — On the Nature of Things.
Canadian scientist Fred Urquhart unravels the mystery of the monarch's winter home.
University of Toronto archaeologist Tony Mills travels to the desert of Egypt where he and other archaeologists have unearthed an untouched marvel: a site of over 500,000 years of uninterrupted human habitation.
Orphan elephant Sities must learn how to be a wild elephant when she leaves the safety of a Kenyan sanctuary to begin her journey back to freedom.
The quest to solve a great mystery in history: Identify the Black Death killer and unlock secrets that could save millions of lives.
Canadian paleo-pathologist Eldon Molto is leading the search for clues of the mysterious Pericu people of Baja California, Mexico - a fierce, primitive tribe that disappeared over a century ago, after being exposed to European disease. They left virtually nothing behind but their bones.
Through pictures, music and poetry, Canadian Commander Chris Hadfield brings us a view of earth from space that we’ve never seen before.
A rare look at the leatherback turtle as it migrates between the chilly waters off Eastern Canada and the sunny beaches of the Caribbean.
Scientists are attacking food allergies in new and inventive ways, driven by the alarming increase in the number of people, particularly children, who suffer from them – and can die from them.
A remarkable journey across Canada’s natural landscapes revealing the surprising influence early humans had on the land and its wildlife.
From the Rockies to the Pacific, western Canada has astonishing wildlife and landscapes, some of which have been influenced by early humans.
From the prairies to Canada's vast boreal forest that stretches almost from coast to coast, we reveal a huge wilderness of extremes that has been shaped over millennia by both humans and wildfires. Here pronghorn antelope, the fastest hoofed land animal on earth, still haunt the grasslands, the elusive wolverine thrives in the icy remote northern forests and beaver share their cozy lodges with grateful muskrats.
In the country's harshest climate, the wildlife survive in the tundra of ice.
Making the incredible Wild Canada series. Meet Jeff Turner, the series director, and see stories from the field.
The biggest archaeological survey ever conducted of the Stonehenge landscape finds new evidence of a lost civilization.
In Istanbul, Turkey, workers building a railway tunnel make a remarkable discovery - an ancient harbour, buried and shrouded in mystery ...until now. Will archaeologists be able to uncover the treasures of the past before it is buried again?
A look at two different Arctics - one that is the storybook land of ice, snow and polar bears and the other that is covered with petroleum plants and pipelines carrying fossil fuels.
Dr. Mike Cranfield looks at how he managed to be working in a Canadian veterinarian surgery to end up making house calls to some of Africa's most endangered mountain gorillas.
Dr. Jennifer Gardy tries out new technology and looks at fresh ideas of our relationships with nature.
A investigation into whether or not Cholesterol really is the cause of heart problems.
A light-hearted look at serendipity in science, from life-saving cancer cures to the x-ray machine and the discovery of North America.
A look at two different Arctics - one that is the storybook land of ice, snow and polar bears and the other that is covered with petroleum plants and pipelines carrying fossil fuels.
From preening peacocks to promiscuous primates, what do animals reveal about our own sexual behaviour? Explore how sexual diversity and the experience of pleasure itself may be the key to species survival.
Scientists are unraveling the delicate mysteries of the snowflake. And what they’re learning is amazing.
New science links man-made chemicals to the global obesity epidemic. Man-made chemicals may be programming us to be fat - before we're even born.
A look at the science deep within the teenage brain and a celebration of evolution's masterpiece - the years that bring us judgment, adaptation and innovation. In short the years that make us human.
Scientists explore the mysteries of animal consciousness and find growing evidence of compassion, cooperation, altruism, empathy, intelligence and communication in all sorts of different species.
Most tigers today are privately owned - experts estimate that the number of tigers living in the United States is nearly double of those in the wild. What's life like for the American tiger?
Multiple sclerosis patients use social media to engage in an unprecedented battle with the Canadian medical establishment for access to a controversial treatment.
In a new installment of Suzuki Diaries, David and his daughter, Sarika, set out to discover whether some of Canada's biggest cities are ready for the challenges of the future.
David Suzuki travels to the areas most affected by the tsunami on its anniversary.
Anthropologist Niobe Thompson explores the evolutionary past of humans.
The secrets of plant behavior.
Shot over twelve months, this blue chip wildlife documentary tells the story a young polar bear's epic migration through the icy waters of Hudson Bay and his subsequent adventures on land, where he must spend the ice-free season. It is his first summer alone without his mother to guide and feed him. His struggle to survive is set against the biggest environmental story of our time: climate change.
Wolves and Buffalo follows the fortunes of one pack of wolves, the Delta Pack. Will the pups survive their first year? Will the packs alpha animals retain their pack position to breed again next year? As they try to bring down the buffalo to keep themselves and their new pups alive what will the future hold for these ancient warriors?
People struggle to combat a blood-sucking little insect that is both delicate and deadly.
The conservation of the caribou and their environment is much-contested territory.
The national symbol has a new role as an ecological superhero.
There is a new hybrid species which is part wolf, part coyote.
The exotic world of fruit and the story of nature, commerce and obsession.
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Who were the first peoples of North America? Anthropologist Niobe Thompson embarks on a voyage of scientific discovery, using the latest in DNA analysis techniques to unlock the secrets behind humanity's earliest appearance in the Americas.
Tipping Point: The Age of the Oil Sands is a two-hour visual tour de force, taking viewers inside the David and Goliath struggle playing out within one of the most compelling environmental issues of our time
Filmmaker Jeff Turner documents grizzly bears in the Northern Cascades of British Columbia.
Revisiting the 2009 release of nearly extinct black-footed ferrets in Saskatchewan to see what happened.
Is your garbage can making raccoons smarter? Stunning footage shot in the deep, dark of night combines with groundbreaking research in this fascinating documentary to explore the remarkable ways that city life is changing raccoons.
In James Cameron's film, Avatar, an alien tribe on the distant planet of Pandora fights the human invaders bent on mining their forest home. Instead of Pandora, think Peru.
David Suzuki, scientist, educator, broadcaster and activist, delivers what he describes as 'a last lecture' interwoven with scenes from his life and lifetime – the major social, scientific, cultural and political events of the past 70 years.
Save My Lake is a TV documentary episode.
A celebration of half a century of a landmark science and natural history series, and an unrivaled Canadian institution.
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Looking at the use of nanotechnology in medical treatments.
Looking at the use of nanotechnology to solve pollution and environmental issues.
One of the most powerful hallucinogenic drugs on the planet is in a tea made from medicinal plants: it's called ayahuasca. There are studies around the world that say that this indigenous cure may also provide answers as to how to treat Western drug addicts.
In Istanbul, Turkey, workers building a railway tunnel make a remarkable discovery - an ancient harbour, buried and shrouded in mystery ...until now. Will archaeologists be able to uncover the treasures of the past before it is buried again?
Scientist Jennifer Gardy turns her critical eye towards the myths, lies, misunderstandings and errors behind the headlines, putting the science of the daily news to the test both in the lab and on the streets.
Examining modern China's ideas about nature and the environment.
A fresh perspective on autism research with the developing "Bacterial Theory" of autism. The fastest-growing developmental disorder in the industrialized world, autism has increased an astounding 600 per cent over the last 20 years. Science cannot say why. Some say it's triggered by environmental factors and point to another intriguing statistic: 70 per cent of kids with autism also have severe gastrointestinal symptoms. Could autism actually begin in the gut? The Autism Enigma looks at the progress of an international group of scientists who are studying the gut's amazingly diverse and powerful microbial ecosystem for clues to the baffling disorder.
Could bees be an early warning sign of a larger problem with our ecology? Are they the canary in the coal mine for the health of planet earth?
Meet nature's detectives; how bugs, plants, bones ... even dust can be formidable enemies of crime.
Is today's strong pot damaging young minds? That provocative question is at the heart of this new documentary on recent science discoveries about marijuana and mental illness.
Bats are scientifically extraordinary creatures. Now scientists have begun unlocking the secrets of the bat and are developing potential medical therapies based on their discoveries.
What would you do if you discovered a nuclear plant might be built right next door? Two women from Peace River Alberta journey into Ontario's nuclear heartland, to find out for themselves about life with a nuclear neighbour.
A journey into the rainforests of the Peruvian amazon to investigate the mysterious Red Uakari monkey, never before filmed in the wild.
Explore the ocean's tumultuous history and how the ocean transformed the earth into the livable, blue planet it is today.
Ancient traditional fisheries, over-development and the places of recovery that can give us hope for a healthy future ocean all intersect.
Starting in the deepest part of the ocean, take a secret and magical world of bizarre creatures and new discoveries deep beneath the surface.
Explore some of the most stunning underwater locations in the world and set sail on a scientific race to predict the fate of the global ocean.
Is space becoming a new war zone? A revealing look at the fine line between space-faring and space warfare.
The octopus is a close cousin of the oyster and snail. And yet, even by human standards the multi-limbed creature is considered highly intelligent. From Spain to Vancouver Island to Capri, Italy, scientists are testing the brain-power of the mysterious and mythic octopus.
Once thought to be incapable of fundamental change, our growing awareness of the adult brain's capacity for neuroplasticity is opening new doors to treatments for diseases and disorders once thought incurable.
An intimate look at the bond that is formed between humans and baby orphaned elephants at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust rehabilitation centre just outside of Nairobi, Kenya.
Traverse the Eurasian plate across Europe — from Iceland, where new land is formed - to the Alps, where old land is destroyed.
For millions of years the East African Rift has been widening at the seams, tearing the African plate in two.
Focusing on the Asia-Pacific side of The Pacific Rim of Fire, which stands as a living testament to the beauty and danger that powerful geologic forces can deliver. The Pacific Rim is home to half of the world's active volcanoes and ninety percent of the world's earthquakes, yet nearly 800 million people continue to live within its violent edge.
Nick Eyles continues to explore the Pacific Rim, this time looking at the west coast of North America.
The fiery unpredictability of Indonesia’s volcanoes at one end, the massive Himalayas at the other and millions of years of tectonic tension in between. The collision zone of the old world is about to be the hub of the new. India, the Himalayas and the island arc of Indonesia - these lands will form the centre of the world’s next supercontinent.
Learning and discussing the consequences of magnetic pole inversion.
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A light-hearted look at serendipity in science, from life-saving cancer cures to the x-ray machine and the discovery of North America.
A saga about what happens when ordinary people struggle for justice against a huge corporation that has destroyed both their environment and their livelihoods.
Engineering professor Brian Fleck on a quest to meet the engineers, designers and even students who are trying to build the car of the future.
What's wrong with Canada's cities? What's right? Award-winning urban affairs columnist Christopher Hume takes a cross-country journey to explore the sustainability, viability and liveability of Canada's population centres.
Canadian Arctic anthropologist Niobe Thompson takes us on a visually stunning journey across the North, tracing the origins of the modern Inuit.
Our lawns are one of our simplest pleasures. Grass is a luxury that represents relaxation, freedom, time off and of course, time away from the world of tarmac and concrete. A wild and quirky ride into the world of one of America's longest-standing obsessions, the perfect lawn.
From new companies rushing to claim the Arctic's plentiful resources to the effect climate change has had on animals as well as plant life. As the Arctic meltdown continues at an ever accelerating pace, who will protect it?
Until recently, only a few ships braved travel through these ice-strewn waters. More and more ships cross these seas each year and with more traffic come higher risks.
A look at two different Arctics - one that is the storybook land of ice, snow and polar bears and the other that is covered with petroleum plants and pipelines carrying fossil fuels.
A rare and intimate glimpse into the inner life of one of the most intelligent, playful and mischievous species on the planet.
A look at the astonishing and complex relationships of the "mini monsters", insects of the Membracidae family - treehoppers that live amid one of the richest ecosystems on the planet, one so mysterious most people don't even know that it exists.
A personal quest to discover the truth behind the disappearance of a captivating tiger, one of the world's leading tiger cameramen, tracks the escape and subsequent wanderings of a male tiger, named Broken Tail, from Ranthambore National Park.
The extraordinary and often harrowing story of Charles Darwin's 30-year struggle to piece together the mystifying puzzle he saw in nature, and publish his theory on the evolution of life on earth.
A father and daughter set out with hope on a journey of discovery to Canada's three coasts determined to find solutions for a troubled ocean and look signs of a sustainable future.
In Hearing, episode one of The Science of the Senses, finding the answer to that question will take us on a journey through the ear, into the brain and right into the heart of the human psyche.
In The Science of the Senses: Touch we will take a journey through the skin, into the subcutaneous world of our sensory receptors and up into the brain as we explore the hidden language of our most essential sense.
In this episode of The Science of the Senses, we explore how smell combines with taste, somewhere in our brain, to create the perception of flavour. Most people wrongly assume that taste dominates. But what actually allows us to differentiate one food from another beyond the basics of sweet, sour, salty, savory and bitter, is the aroma.
This episode takes viewers on a fascinating tour of our visual world, from the moment light enters our eyes, to the way this information is transformed into electrical impulses and decoded by our brain - the domain of "visual perception". The act of "seeing" takes an immense amount of brainpower, more than 65% of the brain's neural pathways.
The discovery of an exceptional palaeological deposit that revolutionized our knowledge of giant sloths, an ancient species of extraordinary creatures reaching the size of an elephant and weighing over four tons!
Explores how China's 1.3 billion people interact with their extraordinary wildlife and landscapes.
Beneath billowing clouds in China's far southwest, rich jungles nestle below towering peaks and jewel-coloured birds and ancient tribes share forested valleys where wild elephants still roam.
Explore the vast windswept wilderness in one of the world's most remote places - the size of Western Europe.
Travel across China's heartland where its Han people are the centre of a 5,000-year-old civilization.
Warrior nomads, bizarre wildlife and extreme weather conditions are found beyond the Wall, built by China's emperors.
China's coast is an area of huge contrast-from futuristic modern cities jostling traditional seaweed-thatched villages to ancient tea terraces and wild wetlands where rare animals still survive.
The SEDNA IV sails across the Polar Front, an area where cold turbulent Antarctic waters meet warmer water from the north - one of the earth's last great refuges for wildlife.
Antarctica's inhabitants are telling us that their world is changing in complex and subtle ways. The once successful colonies of diminutive Adelie penguins are declining because of increased snowfall - one of the unexpected consequences of a warmer climate.
A cold and mysterious world that is home to some of the toughest and most unusual creatures on the planet: giant ribbon worms, dragon fish, and ancient sponges.
Follow mission leader Jean Lemire and his crew as they endure 17 months on the expedition to measure the threat posed by global warming in the Antarctic - a place where the Earth is particularly vulnerable.
One of the greatest controversies in science today: just what did scientists really find when they uncovered the tiny, human-like skeleton of a strange creature on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003? Since the discovery was made public a bitter dispute has split the world of anthropology.
Has the time come to meet an artificially intelligent robot? Engineer and inventor Rodney Brooks thinks so. Forget about all those shiny robotic home-helpers of the past-Brooks is out to design a robot that can think for itself!
University of Toronto archaeologist Tony Mills travels to the eastern desert of Egypt where he and other archaeologists have unearthed an untouched marvel: a site of over 500,000 years of uninterrupted human habitation.
Linguist Ian Mackenzie has tracked the last true nomadic hunting and gathering people on earth - the Penan of Borneo. Their way of life is quickly disappearing as aggressive logging interests swallow up their forest habitat.
Archeologist Edmundo Edwards pulls back the vines and trees of the jungle to find huge stone cities that sprawled across the interiors of Tahiti, Raivavae and the Marquesas Islands.
David Suzuki and his daughter Sarika head out on a road trip across Europe to see sustainability in action and meet the people who are working towards restoring the equilibrium between human needs and planetary limits.
Canadian paleo-pathologist Eldon Molto is leading the search for clues of the mysterious Pericu people of Baja California, Mexico - a fierce, primitive tribe that disappeared over a century ago, after being exposed to European disease. They left virtually nothing behind but their bones.
Based on the best-selling book by Toronto psychiatrist and researcher Dr. Norman Doidge, a look at how we view the human mind.
TARANTULA is the hair-raising journey to discover the secret lives of these ancient crawlers. They have been roaming our planet for more than 350 million years and survived to become the giants of the spider kingdom. And they have a reputation to match – their name alone provokes fear and loathing.
Every year the Caribbean paradise is turned into a hurricane hell. From the beginning of June until the end of November its hurricane season in the islands. With winds of over 150 mph, 5 metre storm surges and torrential rain, the destruction caused by hurricanes makes them one of the most feared forces of nature.
In a refreshing hour, Build Green advises making the sun, the wind, and the rain – along with dirt, straw, and sewage – your friends. By building a house using innovative practices and materials, you'll be doing the earth a favour too.
The clear blue waters that surround the Caribbean islands are home to some of the world's most stunning underwater treasures. Coral reefs form beautiful underwater gardens visited by angels, horse eye jacks, blue tangs and stingrays.
Take the island hop of your life. Discover the rich variety of islands that are the Caribbean, and what forces have shaped this violent paradise.
The Caribbean is not just the islands. We explore the least known Caribbean, that area beyond the Sea. A journey along the greatest Caribbean shoreline of all, that of Central America.
Imagine an alien with three hearts, blue blood and a doughnut shaped brain. In an instant it could become invisible, or switch on electrifying light shows. Then imagine this bizarre creature was real, and somehow connected to us.
Today's sloths rank highly among the most surprising creatures of the animal kingdom: living suspended to the Amazon rainforest's trees, they move about extremely slowly, as if from a world where time flows differently.
Canadian bear expert Charlie Russell rescues two orphaned cubs destined for death in a squalid Russian zoo and secrets them away to his home in the remote wilds of the South Kamchatka peninsula, in the former Soviet Union.
Explorer the ongoing quest to extend human life, the cutting-edge research and the latest discoveries.
Climate change is irrevocably altering the world as we know it, challenging our sense of the future and the fundamental values of our industrial societies.
Explore the impact of both colonial and contemporary initiatives in Kenya and how they affect the peoples who have traditionally lived off the land.
The emerging world market in living cells, where an individual's genes can be bought and sold as commodities.
Witness the exciting lead up to the launch of the new High Speed One service out of St. Pancras Station, in London. A look at the Large Hadron Collider, the largest and most sophisticated machine ever constructed by science. And an interview with musician and environmentalist, Sarah Harmer.
Now that climate change is an accepted, if inconvenient, truth, how are we coping? David Suzuki takes a first-hand look at how climate change is affecting Canadians where it really hurts: in their ability to make a living.
Hot Times in the City takes the pulse of three major Canadian cities: Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax, as they grapple with one of the planet's greatest threats to human health: global warming.
A look into the multi-billion dollar underworld of counterfeit drugs, the tale of the Lunokhod a self-propelled robot on the Moon that could be controlled from the Earth and an interview with Boston Bruins' defenseman, Andrew Ference.
Everyday Einstein provides a fast-paced and jazzy look at the extraordinary impact Einstein continues to have on our daily lives.
Homo Sapiens: The Rise of Our Species will introduce you to the ultimate family tree. This story is the story of each one of us. It's the story of the birth of humanity and civilization.
Homo Sapiens deftly employs both docu-drama and interviews with key scientists to illuminate the remarkable story of the origins and development of our species.
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A look at the rising interest in the ancient healing arts of traditional Tibetan medicine.
Examining how bees communicate.
Sustainable Agriculture Examines Cuba's response to the food crisis created by the collapse of the Soviet Bloc in 1989.
Health Care System In spite of the economic crisis and US embargo, the Cuban health system is an outstanding success story around the world.
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Examining the comeback of the sea otter in British Columbia.
Sculptor, aviator, inventor, and filmmaker Bill Lishman documents his journey around the globe in search of earth's renewable energy.
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Biologists have seen within our genes the possibility of extending human life spans to 300 years or more. In the 21st century, will scientists reach the Holy Grail? Will they find the secret of eternal youth? THE NATURE OF THINGS with David Suzuki presents LIVING FOREVER, a look at how far scientists have come in discovering the human potential for longevity.
In 2001 the Government of Canada approved the following genetically modified crops for food use: canola, corn, cottonseed, flax, potato, soybean, tomato, wheat, sugar beet and squash. Is enough really known about genetic engineering to ensure that genetically modified (GM) food products are safe for consumption?
Most major advances in medicine and science and are made by people who push the envelope. From morphine to cardiac surgery, we owe much to the risks taken by scientists of the past who have experimented on their own bodies to make new discoveries.
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Amanda is an insightful 19-year-old from Timmins, Ontario. She has a three-year-old son and a dilemma: whether or not to be tested for the faulty gene that will bring on Alzheimer's Disease by her mid-30s, as happened with her mother and other generations in her family. It is a disease that always leads to early death.
Salmon are considered an excellent source of nutrition. And farmed salmon provide it inexpensively. But at what cost? The Price of Salmon explores the complex issues involved with aquaculture. This CBC/BBC co-production visits fish farms, commercial fishers, fishery biologists and other scientists in Canada, the U.K. and Norway to examine the issues and see how each country is handling its situation.
Albertans have traditionally been proud of their mighty petroleum industry. But lately, they have begun to question how that industry works. Nowhere is this shift more apparent than along the Clearwater River in Central Alberta, near Rocky Mountain House. There, residents are opposing Shell Canada's plans to drill a sour gas well in their area. The sour gas from the well could generate $10,000 a day in gross revenue, to meet today's high energy demands.
South America is a land of extremes. It boasts the world's longest mountain chain, the Andes; the mightiest river, the Amazon; the largest rainforest, the driest desert and the richest sea.
The Salmon Forest transports viewers to the breathtaking remote temperate rainforests, stretching 400 km along the B.C. coast from Vancouver Island to Alaska. The millions of spawning salmon support dense concentrations of forest life - among them grizzly bears, black bears, bald eagles, seals, otters, gulls and countless invertebrates. Much about life here still remains hidden and unknown, but THE NATURE OF THINGS joins two University of Victoria scientists to reveal the secrets of this amazing ecosystem.
PENGUIN SHORES is part five of the magnificent six-part BBC series Lost Worlds, covering the amazingly diverse topography of South America, and its remarkable denizens. The world's longest mountain chain stretches from the tropics to the massive Patagonian Ice Sheet of sub-Antarctica. Its icy power dominates the lives of the hardy animals that dare to call it home, making living there one of nature's greatest challenges.
Lost Worlds - A six-part series on the breath-taking natural world of South America takes viewers on a cross-continent grand tour - from the mighty Amazon to the spectacular Andean peaks and the world's driest desert - stopping to view the strange and wonderful array of animals, birds and other wildlife along the way. Produced by the BBC. Narrated by David Suzuki.
Bob thinks but doesn't feel. Christina feels but has trouble thinking. Virginia can neither think or feel as she's pulled down into a spiral of darkness that zaps her very will to survive. Kent lives within a 20-minute time span, unable to remember his past or plan for his future. Each of these people has had an injury to a part of the brain called the frontal lobes and their stories, told in Me, My Brain And I, are helping neuroscientists unravel the mystery of what makes us distinctly human.
All over the planet, temperature increases are affecting wildlife. Some species are spreading to new areas. For others, climate change means extinction. THE NATURE OF THINGS with David Suzuki presents Warnings From The Wild, a documentary that draws together recent evidence of the effects of the biggest climatic upheaval in 10,000 years.
TOUCH - THE FORGOTTEN SENSE is a film about the amazing, but often overlooked sense of touch. The film takes us on an artistic and scientific journey from a woman who has completely lost her sense of touch, to a deaf-blind child that can understand speech through his fingers.
PSYCHOPATHS is a documentary that looks at the understanding of this condition in the scientific community, and what hope there is for treatment, therapy or a cure.
Are our regulatory agencies doing their best to ensure drug safety? Or are they buckling to corporate pressure to market lucrative new drugs before they are adequately tested? These are questions raised in DRUG DEALS: THE BRAVE NEW WORLD OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS.
Since the September 11th terrorist attack on The World Trade Center, the news has been saturated with information about a new threat, bio-terrorism. But how new is it? THE NATURE OF THINGS with David Suzuki presents BIOTERROR, an exploration of the past, present and future of bio-terrorism.
It's an epidemic of staggering proportions. Thirty-six million people are infected with the HIV virus worldwide, with over 25 million of them in Africa. More than 21 million people have died of AIDS, nearly 17 million in Africa alone. THE NATURE OF THINGS with David Suzuki presents RACE AGAINST TIME, a film about the greatest challenge of the 21st century and the work of Canadian Stephen Lewis, the United Nations Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Africa.
Adept at diving at speeds normally reserved for fighter pilots, the peregrine falcon is the fastest and most widely dispersed creature on the planet. A one-hour documentary, RETURN OF THE PEREGRINE chronicles this majestic bird of prey's journey back from the brink of extinction.
How much are children influenced by their peers? The documentary Do Parents Matter? examines a controversial concept put forth by Judy Harris, a suburban grandmother and author of the explosive book, The Nurture Assumption.
The Birth of The Human Mind takes viewers on an amazing journey back in time, exploring the use of language, tools and how our distant ancestors came to walk. Contrary to long-accepted belief, scientists now believe that Homo sapiens did not evolve from Neanderthals, but shared the earth with them for thousands of years. Our ancestors, the Homo sapiens, are the youngest members on the human family tree, about 150,000 years old. Homo erectus goes back 1.8 million years and Neanderthals about 200,000 years.
Paleoanthropologists, linguists, archeologists and other scientists offer the latest interpretations of fossil findings and genetic studies and posit intriguing theories on how Homo sapiens became the only existing human species. Did we kill off our cousins, interbreed and merge with them, or did they just die out? It took five million years for an upright ape to evolve into an agile, quick-thinking and inventive human being. But once our ancestors emerged in Africa, were we destined to dominate the globe?
The nature of weather is so complex that it is really a system of chaos. Weather is often benign, but occasionally the chaos spawns fierce dragons. Severe weather - violent storms, floods and droughts - is largely beyond human control, and can be cruel. Few need reminding of the 1987 tornado that killed 27 people in Edmonton, the flooding of the Saguenay region in 1996 and the Red River in 1997, and the 1998 ice storm in Quebec.
We've all felt the terror of being lost - even for just a few moments. We lose our way; a child unexpectedly vanishes in the aisles of a supermarket.
There is a growing number of people who regard marijuana (cannabis) as a benign medicine, offering relief to people suffering from a variety of illnesses, including epilepsy, arthritis, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma as well as lessening the side effects of medications and treatments given to cancer and HIV patients. CBC Television's THE NATURE OF THINGS with David Suzuki examines the medicinal uses of marijuana.
The program is about the natural history of this invisible world: the things that float in the air around us, the microbes that live in the dish cloth on the kitchen counter, the fungi under our fingernails, and the visitors in the saucer under a house plant.
It is only recently that humans have become aware that animal communication is often elegant, elaborate and subtle. Understanding how other species communicate tells us a great deal about the history and evolution of our species.
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Global temperatures are rising and so are we: millions of young people rise up to demand their right to a livable planet.
How screens affect our children's development, learning abilities and mental health.
Signs of life and hope emerge from the scorched landscapes of the worst wildlife disaster in modern history. of life and hope emerge from the scorched landscapes of the worst wildlife disaster in modern history.
3,711 passengers and crew. 14-day quarantine. 1 deadly infectious disease. Coronavirus aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
Uncovering the truth about the richest and most powerful woman in world history.
Canadians push the limits of cold endurance while baby harp seals brave icy water and flying squirrels cuddle.
Rain brings unexpected benefits for spadefoot toads, grizzlies, and whitewater kayakers - but too much can be deadly.
The invisible element that shapes our lives; falcons, butterflies and spiders hitch a ride, while Canadians harness, and harvest, the wind.
The driving force behind all weather, sunlight creates a banquet for blue whales, helps vultures soar, and is essential for training some extreme athletes.
Crews go to great lengths to get amazing shots of wildlife people and weather. Working with scientists is essential.
Neanderthals weren't brutish or dim-witted. New discoveries reveal they were more human than we ever thought!
Veteran polar bear guide Dennis Compayre goes on a remarkable journey into the world of a polar bear mom and her newborn cubs as they leave the safety of their den for the first time.
Veteran polar bear guide, Dennis Compayre watches as a mother bear teaches her young cubs to hunt and discovers how they are struggling to adapt to a rapidly warming Arctic.
A filmmaker explores one man’s quest to save a walrus, as the debate around marine mammal captivity evolves in Canada.
The epic story of three legendary women who fought to save the great apes — and inspired a generation.
A journey around the world and back in time to discover why horses and humans make perfect partners.
Travel back to the moment humans tamed the horse, and learn how horsepower made history.
How did humans save the wild horse from extinction? And how did we create over four hundred specialized breeds today?
From volcanoes to earthquakes & dust migration to meteorites — scientists reveal how much the Earth changes in 24 hours.
Join an investigative journey around the world to uncover the mysteries of the most famous dinosaur super-predator: the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Can we trust what we remember about our own lives? Memory scientists say most memories are full of distortions and errors.
A look at how innovations in remote unmanned cameras let us bear witness to animal behaviour 24/7 - almost anywhere on earth.
Trailblazing scientists are making ground-breaking discoveries in the rapidly evolving world of genetic engineering.
From emus to penguins, meet some of the most devoted stay-at-home animal dads on the planet.
When it comes to diet, we swallow a lot of advice. Food for Thought sorts through the latest science to create a new recipe for health.
The aurora borealis delights and amazes us, but we're just beginning to understand its beauty.
The first days of spring sees Arctic fox pups take their first steps and black bear cubs learn to climb trees after the long cold days of winter.
Killer whales and blue sharks are on the hunt, while amorous fireflies light up the night forest with their dazzling display, as summer reveals Canada’s landscape at the peak of its splendour.
Fall chronicles a remarkable season of change: young northern gannets leap off perilous cliffs as chipmunks race to gather winter supplies, and prairie rattlesnakes give birth to live young.
Lynx hunt snowshoe hares in the boreal forest and the ancient dance between wolves and caribou on Canada's vast tundra reveal the harshest time of year when landscapes are transformed by winter.
Watch the incredible feats of endurance and technical wizardry needed to capture the sequences featured in the landmark series The Wild Canadian Year.
The Great Pyramid of Egypt may be humanity’s greatest achievement. It’s a skyscraper of stone built without computers or complex machinery. Now the secrets of the pyramid could finally be exposed, thanks to a series of astonishing new findings. Egyptologists are unearthing evidence across the country to reveal a story that tells of more than just how Egypt built a pyramid – they are discovering how the pyramid itself changed Egypt and the world. David Suzuki is joining the experts and scientists on the front-line who are unraveling new clues to the world’s greatest ancient mystery.
Despite intense archaeological scrutiny, much of the ancient city of Pompeii still remains a mystery. Now a team of archaeologists, scientists, and historians are taking to uncover Pompeii's secrets.
The race to get to Mars is on, seizing the imagination of the world. Every month there seems to be a new revelation.
Experience a calf’s first year of life as it grows up in Jasper National Park amid some of the most striking scenery on the planet.
Every year, athletes keep going higher, farther and faster, shattering previous world records and setting new ones. But are today’s record holders really better than those of the past? Or do modern athletes get their edge from their high tech gear? Top sports scientist Steve Haake sets off on a journey to investigate.
The biggest archaeological survey ever conducted of the Stonehenge landscape finds new evidence of a lost civilization.
Dr. Mike Cranfield looks at how he managed to be working in a Canadian veterinarian surgery to end up making house calls to some of Africa's most endangered mountain gorillas.
Dr. Jennifer Gardy tries out new technology and looks at fresh ideas of our relationships with nature.
A investigation into whether or not Cholesterol really is the cause of heart problems.
From preening peacocks to promiscuous primates, what do animals reveal about our own sexual behaviour? Explore how sexual diversity and the experience of pleasure itself may be the key to species survival.
Scientists are unraveling the delicate mysteries of the snowflake. And what they’re learning is amazing.
North America is under attack by a sly and wily aquatic invader. Introduced in the ‘70s for the purpose of cleaning up algae in fish ponds, the aggressive Asian carp escaped into the Mississippi river system during floods. The 50-kilogram bottom feeders have advanced north at a surprising rate, becoming a familiar sight with their frenzied and often physically threatening mass leaps into the air. Despite their fascination with this newcomer, scientists on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border agree this invader is a threat we need to take seriously.
Lyme disease, a mysterious tick-borne illness, has become one of the fastest-spreading diseases in North America. Tiny, dangerous and once uncommon, the population of ticks is growing at an alarming rate. The documentary explores how climate change has hastened the spread of the ticks and this devastating disease, one that is often misdiagnosed and mistreated, and is mired in medical controversy.
Dr. Jennifer Gardy is back. But this time, Dr. Gardy’s journey of scientific discovery will plumb our very hopes and dreams - our quest for self-improvement. Are raw vegetables really better for you? Can you be fat and fit? Should you ditch caffeine? Dr. Gardy puts her own body on the line in lively experiments and scientific investigations to discover whether many popular health claims are science fact or science fiction.
What if each of us could make the symptoms of an illness disappear? Cast a spell so powerful it would actually heal our bodies, help us walk, or breathe better? For centuries placebos have been thought of as just fake medicine, but Brain Magic: The Power of Placebo explores the growing scientific evidence that placebos can have powerful—and real—effects on our minds and bodies.
Canadian scientist Fred Urquhart unravels the mystery of the monarch's winter home.
Orphan elephant Sities must learn how to be a wild elephant when she leaves the safety of a Kenyan sanctuary to begin her journey back to freedom.
The quest to solve a great mystery in history: Identify the Black Death killer and unlock secrets that could save millions of lives.
A rare look at the leatherback turtle as it migrates between the chilly waters off Eastern Canada and the sunny beaches of the Caribbean.
Scientists are attacking food allergies in new and inventive ways, driven by the alarming increase in the number of people, particularly children, who suffer from them – and can die from them.
A remarkable journey across Canada’s natural landscapes revealing the surprising influence early humans had on the land and its wildlife.
From the Rockies to the Pacific, western Canada has astonishing wildlife and landscapes, some of which have been influenced by early humans.
From the prairies to Canada's vast boreal forest that stretches almost from coast to coast, we reveal a huge wilderness of extremes that has been shaped over millennia by both humans and wildfires. Here pronghorn antelope, the fastest hoofed land animal on earth, still haunt the grasslands, the elusive wolverine thrives in the icy remote northern forests and beaver share their cozy lodges with grateful muskrats.
In the country's harshest climate, the wildlife survive in the tundra of ice.
Making the incredible Wild Canada series. Meet Jeff Turner, the series director, and see stories from the field.
Wolves and Buffalo follows the fortunes of one pack of wolves, the Delta Pack. Will the pups survive their first year? Will the packs alpha animals retain their pack position to breed again next year? As they try to bring down the buffalo to keep themselves and their new pups alive what will the future hold for these ancient warriors?
There are those of us who see squirrels as cute and fascinating, but there is also a large contingent who regard them as “tree rats” - little pests that never tire of wreaking havoc in our attics, gardens, and just about anything else that catches their fleeting fancy. So who’s right? Nuts about Squirrels reveals the secret world of the ubiquitous urban grey squirrel with squirrel robots, micro-chipped acorns and an army of citizen scientists.
Are we alone in the universe? We may be very close to finding out. For millennia humans studying the stars had no idea if there were any other planets in the universe, let alone ones similar enough to ours to sustain life. Now, scientists may be close to discovering Earth-like planets, using a new space telescope and a technique pioneered by two Canadian astronomers.
Twelve hours of light. Twelve hours of dark. For our entire history we have lived and worked in rhythm with the sun. But all that changed with the invention of artificial light. Light fixtures, computer and television screens - all of these have allowed us more time to live, work, play and shorten our nights. But at what cost? Are we putting our health at risk? We explore how the type of light we are exposed to in the hours between dusk and bedtime can play tricks on our bodies and cancel the healthful benefits naturally triggered by the absence of light.
People struggle to combat a blood-sucking little insect that is both delicate and deadly.
There is a new hybrid species which is part wolf, part coyote.
The exotic world of fruit and the story of nature, commerce and obsession.
The conservation of the caribou and their environment is much-contested territory.
The national symbol has a new role as an ecological superhero.
Through pictures, music and poetry, Canadian Commander Chris Hadfield brings us a view of earth from space that we’ve never seen before.
One of the most powerful hallucinogenic drugs on the planet is in a tea made from medicinal plants: it's called ayahuasca. There are studies around the world that say that this indigenous cure may also provide answers as to how to treat Western drug addicts.
In Istanbul, Turkey, workers building a railway tunnel make a remarkable discovery - an ancient harbour, buried and shrouded in mystery ...until now. Will archaeologists be able to uncover the treasures of the past before it is buried again?
Scientist Jennifer Gardy turns her critical eye towards the myths, lies, misunderstandings and errors behind the headlines, putting the science of the daily news to the test both in the lab and on the streets.
Examining modern China's ideas about nature and the environment.
A fresh perspective on autism research with the developing "Bacterial Theory" of autism. The fastest-growing developmental disorder in the industrialized world, autism has increased an astounding 600 per cent over the last 20 years. Science cannot say why. Some say it's triggered by environmental factors and point to another intriguing statistic: 70 per cent of kids with autism also have severe gastrointestinal symptoms. Could autism actually begin in the gut? The Autism Enigma looks at the progress of an international group of scientists who are studying the gut's amazingly diverse and powerful microbial ecosystem for clues to the baffling disorder.
New science links man-made chemicals to the global obesity epidemic. Man-made chemicals may be programming us to be fat - before we're even born.
A look at the science deep within the teenage brain and a celebration of evolution's masterpiece - the years that bring us judgment, adaptation and innovation. In short the years that make us human.
Scientists explore the mysteries of animal consciousness and find growing evidence of compassion, cooperation, altruism, empathy, intelligence and communication in all sorts of different species.
Most tigers today are privately owned - experts estimate that the number of tigers living in the United States is nearly double of those in the wild. What's life like for the American tiger?
Multiple sclerosis patients use social media to engage in an unprecedented battle with the Canadian medical establishment for access to a controversial treatment.
In a new installment of Suzuki Diaries, David and his daughter, Sarika, set out to discover whether some of Canada's biggest cities are ready for the challenges of the future.
David Suzuki travels to the areas most affected by the tsunami on its anniversary.
Anthropologist Niobe Thompson explores the evolutionary past of humans.
The secrets of plant behavior.
Shot over twelve months, this blue chip wildlife documentary tells the story a young polar bear's epic migration through the icy waters of Hudson Bay and his subsequent adventures on land, where he must spend the ice-free season. It is his first summer alone without his mother to guide and feed him. His struggle to survive is set against the biggest environmental story of our time: climate change.
The octopus is a close cousin of the oyster and snail. And yet, even by human standards the multi-limbed creature is considered highly intelligent. From Spain to Vancouver Island to Capri, Italy, scientists are testing the brain-power of the mysterious and mythic octopus.
Once thought to be incapable of fundamental change, our growing awareness of the adult brain's capacity for neuroplasticity is opening new doors to treatments for diseases and disorders once thought incurable.
An intimate look at the bond that is formed between humans and baby orphaned elephants at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust rehabilitation centre just outside of Nairobi, Kenya.
Traverse the Eurasian plate across Europe — from Iceland, where new land is formed - to the Alps, where old land is destroyed.
For millions of years the East African Rift has been widening at the seams, tearing the African plate in two.
Focusing on the Asia-Pacific side of The Pacific Rim of Fire, which stands as a living testament to the beauty and danger that powerful geologic forces can deliver. The Pacific Rim is home to half of the world's active volcanoes and ninety percent of the world's earthquakes, yet nearly 800 million people continue to live within its violent edge.
Nick Eyles continues to explore the Pacific Rim, this time looking at the west coast of North America.
The fiery unpredictability of Indonesia’s volcanoes at one end, the massive Himalayas at the other and millions of years of tectonic tension in between. The collision zone of the old world is about to be the hub of the new. India, the Himalayas and the island arc of Indonesia - these lands will form the centre of the world’s next supercontinent.
Learning and discussing the consequences of magnetic pole inversion.
Who were the first peoples of North America? Anthropologist Niobe Thompson embarks on a voyage of scientific discovery, using the latest in DNA analysis techniques to unlock the secrets behind humanity's earliest appearance in the Americas.
Tipping Point: The Age of the Oil Sands is a two-hour visual tour de force, taking viewers inside the David and Goliath struggle playing out within one of the most compelling environmental issues of our time
Filmmaker Jeff Turner documents grizzly bears in the Northern Cascades of British Columbia.
Revisiting the 2009 release of nearly extinct black-footed ferrets in Saskatchewan to see what happened.
Is your garbage can making raccoons smarter? Stunning footage shot in the deep, dark of night combines with groundbreaking research in this fascinating documentary to explore the remarkable ways that city life is changing raccoons.
In James Cameron's film, Avatar, an alien tribe on the distant planet of Pandora fights the human invaders bent on mining their forest home. Instead of Pandora, think Peru.
David Suzuki, scientist, educator, broadcaster and activist, delivers what he describes as 'a last lecture' interwoven with scenes from his life and lifetime – the major social, scientific, cultural and political events of the past 70 years.
Save My Lake is a TV documentary episode.
A celebration of half a century of a landmark science and natural history series, and an unrivaled Canadian institution.
A rare and intimate glimpse into the inner life of one of the most intelligent, playful and mischievous species on the planet.
A look at the astonishing and complex relationships of the "mini monsters", insects of the Membracidae family - treehoppers that live amid one of the richest ecosystems on the planet, one so mysterious most people don't even know that it exists.
A personal quest to discover the truth behind the disappearance of a captivating tiger, one of the world's leading tiger cameramen, tracks the escape and subsequent wanderings of a male tiger, named Broken Tail, from Ranthambore National Park.
The extraordinary and often harrowing story of Charles Darwin's 30-year struggle to piece together the mystifying puzzle he saw in nature, and publish his theory on the evolution of life on earth.
A father and daughter set out with hope on a journey of discovery to Canada's three coasts determined to find solutions for a troubled ocean and look signs of a sustainable future.
Could bees be an early warning sign of a larger problem with our ecology? Are they the canary in the coal mine for the health of planet earth?
Meet nature's detectives; how bugs, plants, bones ... even dust can be formidable enemies of crime.
Is today's strong pot damaging young minds? That provocative question is at the heart of this new documentary on recent science discoveries about marijuana and mental illness.
Bats are scientifically extraordinary creatures. Now scientists have begun unlocking the secrets of the bat and are developing potential medical therapies based on their discoveries.
What would you do if you discovered a nuclear plant might be built right next door? Two women from Peace River Alberta journey into Ontario's nuclear heartland, to find out for themselves about life with a nuclear neighbour.
A journey into the rainforests of the Peruvian amazon to investigate the mysterious Red Uakari monkey, never before filmed in the wild.
Explore the ocean's tumultuous history and how the ocean transformed the earth into the livable, blue planet it is today.
Ancient traditional fisheries, over-development and the places of recovery that can give us hope for a healthy future ocean all intersect.
Starting in the deepest part of the ocean, take a secret and magical world of bizarre creatures and new discoveries deep beneath the surface.
Explore some of the most stunning underwater locations in the world and set sail on a scientific race to predict the fate of the global ocean.
Is space becoming a new war zone? A revealing look at the fine line between space-faring and space warfare.
One of the greatest controversies in science today: just what did scientists really find when they uncovered the tiny, human-like skeleton of a strange creature on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003? Since the discovery was made public a bitter dispute has split the world of anthropology.
Has the time come to meet an artificially intelligent robot? Engineer and inventor Rodney Brooks thinks so. Forget about all those shiny robotic home-helpers of the past-Brooks is out to design a robot that can think for itself!
Linguist Ian Mackenzie has tracked the last true nomadic hunting and gathering people on earth - the Penan of Borneo. Their way of life is quickly disappearing as aggressive logging interests swallow up their forest habitat.
University of Toronto archaeologist Tony Mills travels to the eastern desert of Egypt where he and other archaeologists have unearthed an untouched marvel: a site of over 500,000 years of uninterrupted human habitation.
Archeologist Edmundo Edwards pulls back the vines and trees of the jungle to find huge stone cities that sprawled across the interiors of Tahiti, Raivavae and the Marquesas Islands.
David Suzuki and his daughter Sarika head out on a road trip across Europe to see sustainability in action and meet the people who are working towards restoring the equilibrium between human needs and planetary limits.
Canadian paleo-pathologist Eldon Molto is leading the search for clues of the mysterious Pericu people of Baja California, Mexico - a fierce, primitive tribe that disappeared over a century ago, after being exposed to European disease. They left virtually nothing behind but their bones.
Based on the best-selling book by Toronto psychiatrist and researcher Dr. Norman Doidge, a look at how we view the human mind.
A light-hearted look at serendipity in science, from life-saving cancer cures to the x-ray machine and the discovery of North America.
A saga about what happens when ordinary people struggle for justice against a huge corporation that has destroyed both their environment and their livelihoods.
Engineering professor Brian Fleck on a quest to meet the engineers, designers and even students who are trying to build the car of the future.
What's wrong with Canada's cities? What's right? Award-winning urban affairs columnist Christopher Hume takes a cross-country journey to explore the sustainability, viability and liveability of Canada's population centres.
Canadian Arctic anthropologist Niobe Thompson takes us on a visually stunning journey across the North, tracing the origins of the modern Inuit.
Our lawns are one of our simplest pleasures. Grass is a luxury that represents relaxation, freedom, time off and of course, time away from the world of tarmac and concrete. A wild and quirky ride into the world of one of America's longest-standing obsessions, the perfect lawn.
From new companies rushing to claim the Arctic's plentiful resources to the effect climate change has had on animals as well as plant life. As the Arctic meltdown continues at an ever accelerating pace, who will protect it?
Until recently, only a few ships braved travel through these ice-strewn waters. More and more ships cross these seas each year and with more traffic come higher risks.
A look at two different Arctics - one that is the storybook land of ice, snow and polar bears and the other that is covered with petroleum plants and pipelines carrying fossil fuels.
Canadian bear expert Charlie Russell rescues two orphaned cubs destined for death in a squalid Russian zoo and secrets them away to his home in the remote wilds of the South Kamchatka peninsula, in the former Soviet Union.
Explorer the ongoing quest to extend human life, the cutting-edge research and the latest discoveries.
Climate change is irrevocably altering the world as we know it, challenging our sense of the future and the fundamental values of our industrial societies.
Explore the impact of both colonial and contemporary initiatives in Kenya and how they affect the peoples who have traditionally lived off the land.
The emerging world market in living cells, where an individual's genes can be bought and sold as commodities.
Witness the exciting lead up to the launch of the new High Speed One service out of St. Pancras Station, in London. A look at the Large Hadron Collider, the largest and most sophisticated machine ever constructed by science. And an interview with musician and environmentalist, Sarah Harmer.
Now that climate change is an accepted, if inconvenient, truth, how are we coping? David Suzuki takes a first-hand look at how climate change is affecting Canadians where it really hurts: in their ability to make a living.
Hot Times in the City takes the pulse of three major Canadian cities: Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax, as they grapple with one of the planet's greatest threats to human health: global warming.
A look into the multi-billion dollar underworld of counterfeit drugs, the tale of the Lunokhod a self-propelled robot on the Moon that could be controlled from the Earth and an interview with Boston Bruins' defenseman, Andrew Ference.
In Hearing, episode one of The Science of the Senses, finding the answer to that question will take us on a journey through the ear, into the brain and right into the heart of the human psyche.
In The Science of the Senses: Touch we will take a journey through the skin, into the subcutaneous world of our sensory receptors and up into the brain as we explore the hidden language of our most essential sense.
In this episode of The Science of the Senses, we explore how smell combines with taste, somewhere in our brain, to create the perception of flavour. Most people wrongly assume that taste dominates. But what actually allows us to differentiate one food from another beyond the basics of sweet, sour, salty, savory and bitter, is the aroma.
This episode takes viewers on a fascinating tour of our visual world, from the moment light enters our eyes, to the way this information is transformed into electrical impulses and decoded by our brain - the domain of "visual perception". The act of "seeing" takes an immense amount of brainpower, more than 65% of the brain's neural pathways.
Explores how China's 1.3 billion people interact with their extraordinary wildlife and landscapes.
Beneath billowing clouds in China's far southwest, rich jungles nestle below towering peaks and jewel-coloured birds and ancient tribes share forested valleys where wild elephants still roam.
Explore the vast windswept wilderness in one of the world's most remote places - the size of Western Europe.
Travel across China's heartland where its Han people are the centre of a 5,000-year-old civilization.
Warrior nomads, bizarre wildlife and extreme weather conditions are found beyond the Wall, built by China's emperors.
China's coast is an area of huge contrast-from futuristic modern cities jostling traditional seaweed-thatched villages to ancient tea terraces and wild wetlands where rare animals still survive.
The SEDNA IV sails across the Polar Front, an area where cold turbulent Antarctic waters meet warmer water from the north - one of the earth's last great refuges for wildlife.
Antarctica's inhabitants are telling us that their world is changing in complex and subtle ways. The once successful colonies of diminutive Adelie penguins are declining because of increased snowfall - one of the unexpected consequences of a warmer climate.
A cold and mysterious world that is home to some of the toughest and most unusual creatures on the planet: giant ribbon worms, dragon fish, and ancient sponges.
Follow mission leader Jean Lemire and his crew as they endure 17 months on the expedition to measure the threat posed by global warming in the Antarctic - a place where the Earth is particularly vulnerable.
The hair-raising journey to discover the secret lives of these ancient crawlers. They have been roaming our planet for more than 350 million years and survived to become the giants of the spider kingdom. And they have a reputation to match – their name alone provokes fear and loathing.
Everyday Einstein provides a fast-paced and jazzy look at the extraordinary impact Einstein continues to have on our daily lives.
Homo Sapiens: The Rise of Our Species will introduce you to the ultimate family tree. This story is the story of each one of us. It's the story of the birth of humanity and civilization.
Homo Sapiens deftly employs both docu-drama and interviews with key scientists to illuminate the remarkable story of the origins and development of our species.
A look at the rising interest in the ancient healing arts of traditional Tibetan medicine.
Examining how bees communicate.
Examines Cuba's response to the food crisis created by the collapse of the Soviet Bloc in 1989.
In spite of the economic crisis and US embargo, the Cuban health system is an outstanding success story around the world.
Every year the Caribbean paradise is turned into a hurricane hell. From the beginning of June until the end of November its hurricane season in the islands. With winds of over 150 mph, 5 metre storm surges and torrential rain, the destruction caused by hurricanes makes them one of the most feared forces of nature.
In a refreshing hour, Build Green advises making the sun, the wind, and the rain – along with dirt, straw, and sewage – your friends. By building a house using innovative practices and materials, you'll be doing the earth a favour too.
The clear blue waters that surround the Caribbean islands are home to some of the world's most stunning underwater treasures. Coral reefs form beautiful underwater gardens visited by angels, horse eye jacks, blue tangs and stingrays.
Take the island hop of your life. Discover the rich variety of islands that are the Caribbean, and what forces have shaped this violent paradise.
The Caribbean is not just the islands. We explore the least known Caribbean, that area beyond the Sea. A journey along the greatest Caribbean shoreline of all, that of Central America.
Imagine an alien with three hearts, blue blood and a doughnut shaped brain. In an instant it could become invisible, or switch on electrifying light shows. Then imagine this bizarre creature was real, and somehow connected to us.
Today's sloths rank highly among the most surprising creatures of the animal kingdom: living suspended to the Amazon rainforest's trees, they move about extremely slowly, as if from a world where time flows differently.
Bob thinks but doesn't feel. Christina feels but has trouble thinking. Virginia can neither think or feel as she's pulled down into a spiral of darkness that zaps her very will to survive. Kent lives within a 20-minute time span, unable to remember his past or plan for his future. Each of these people has had an injury to a part of the brain called the frontal lobes and their stories, told in Me, My Brain And I, are helping neuroscientists unravel the mystery of what makes us distinctly human.
All over the planet, temperature increases are affecting wildlife. Some species are spreading to new areas. For others, climate change means extinction. THE NATURE OF THINGS with David Suzuki presents Warnings From The Wild, a documentary that draws together recent evidence of the effects of the biggest climatic upheaval in 10,000 years.
A film about the amazing, but often overlooked sense of touch. The film takes us on an artistic and scientific journey from a woman who has completely lost her sense of touch, to a deaf-blind child that can understand speech through his fingers.
A documentary that looks at the understanding of this condition in the scientific community, and what hope there is for treatment, therapy or a cure.
Are our regulatory agencies doing their best to ensure drug safety? Or are they buckling to corporate pressure to market lucrative new drugs before they are adequately tested? These are questions raised in DRUG DEALS: THE BRAVE NEW WORLD OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS.
Since the September 11th terrorist attack on The World Trade Center, the news has been saturated with information about a new threat, bio-terrorism. But how new is it? THE NATURE OF THINGS with David Suzuki presents BIOTERROR, an exploration of the past, present and future of bio-terrorism.
It's an epidemic of staggering proportions. Thirty-six million people are infected with the HIV virus worldwide, with over 25 million of them in Africa. More than 21 million people have died of AIDS, nearly 17 million in Africa alone. THE NATURE OF THINGS with David Suzuki presents RACE AGAINST TIME, a film about the greatest challenge of the 21st century and the work of Canadian Stephen Lewis, the United Nations Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Africa.
Adept at diving at speeds normally reserved for fighter pilots, the peregrine falcon is the fastest and most widely dispersed creature on the planet. A one-hour documentary, RETURN OF THE PEREGRINE chronicles this majestic bird of prey's journey back from the brink of extinction.
Biologists have seen within our genes the possibility of extending human life spans to 300 years or more. In the 21st century, will scientists reach the Holy Grail? Will they find the secret of eternal youth? THE NATURE OF THINGS with David Suzuki presents LIVING FOREVER, a look at how far scientists have come in discovering the human potential for longevity.
In 2001 the Government of Canada approved the following genetically modified crops for food use: canola, corn, cottonseed, flax, potato, soybean, tomato, wheat, sugar beet and squash. Is enough really known about genetic engineering to ensure that genetically modified (GM) food products are safe for consumption?
Most major advances in medicine and science and are made by people who push the envelope. From morphine to cardiac surgery, we owe much to the risks taken by scientists of the past who have experimented on their own bodies to make new discoveries.
South America is a land of extremes. It boasts the world's longest mountain chain, the Andes; the mightiest river, the Amazon; the largest rainforest, the driest desert and the richest sea.
Amanda is an insightful 19-year-old from Timmins, Ontario. She has a three-year-old son and a dilemma: whether or not to be tested for the faulty gene that will bring on Alzheimer's Disease by her mid-30s, as happened with her mother and other generations in her family. It is a disease that always leads to early death.
PENGUIN SHORES is part five of the magnificent six-part BBC series Lost Worlds, covering the amazingly diverse topography of South America, and its remarkable denizens. The world's longest mountain chain stretches from the tropics to the massive Patagonian Ice Sheet of sub-Antarctica. Its icy power dominates the lives of the hardy animals that dare to call it home, making living there one of nature's greatest challenges.
Lost Worlds - A six-part series on the breath-taking natural world of South America takes viewers on a cross-continent grand tour - from the mighty Amazon to the spectacular Andean peaks and the world's driest desert - stopping to view the strange and wonderful array of animals, birds and other wildlife along the way. Produced by the BBC. Narrated by David Suzuki.
Salmon are considered an excellent source of nutrition. And farmed salmon provide it inexpensively. But at what cost? The Price of Salmon explores the complex issues involved with aquaculture.
Albertans have traditionally been proud of their mighty petroleum industry. But lately, they have begun to question how that industry works. Nowhere is this shift more apparent than along the Clearwater River in Central Alberta, near Rocky Mountain House. There, residents are opposing Shell Canada's plans to drill a sour gas well in their area. The sour gas from the well could generate $10,000 a day in gross revenue, to meet today's high energy demands.
We've all felt the terror of being lost - even for just a few moments. We lose our way; a child unexpectedly vanishes in the aisles of a supermarket.
How much are children influenced by their peers? The documentary Do Parents Matter? examines a controversial concept put forth by Judy Harris, a suburban grandmother and author of the explosive book, The Nurture Assumption.
The Birth of The Human Mind takes viewers on an amazing journey back in time, exploring the use of language, tools and how our distant ancestors came to walk. Contrary to long-accepted belief, scientists now believe that Homo sapiens did not evolve from Neanderthals, but shared the earth with them for thousands of years. Our ancestors, the Homo sapiens, are the youngest members on the human family tree, about 150,000 years old. Homo erectus goes back 1.8 million years and Neanderthals about 200,000 years.
Paleoanthropologists, linguists, archeologists and other scientists offer the latest interpretations of fossil findings and genetic studies and posit intriguing theories on how Homo sapiens became the only existing human species. Did we kill off our cousins, interbreed and merge with them, or did they just die out? It took five million years for an upright ape to evolve into an agile, quick-thinking and inventive human being. But once our ancestors emerged in Africa, were we destined to dominate the globe?
The nature of weather is so complex that it is really a system of chaos. Weather is often benign, but occasionally the chaos spawns fierce dragons. Severe weather - violent storms, floods and droughts - is largely beyond human control, and can be cruel. Few need reminding of the 1987 tornado that killed 27 people in Edmonton, the flooding of the Saguenay region in 1996 and the Red River in 1997, and the 1998 ice storm in Quebec.
The program is about the natural history of this invisible world: the things that float in the air around us, the microbes that live in the dish cloth on the kitchen counter, the fungi under our fingernails, and the visitors in the saucer under a house plant.
There is a growing number of people who regard marijuana (cannabis) as a benign medicine, offering relief to people suffering from a variety of illnesses, including epilepsy, arthritis, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma as well as lessening the side effects of medications and treatments given to cancer and HIV patients. CBC Television's THE NATURE OF THINGS with David Suzuki examines the medicinal uses of marijuana.
It is only recently that humans have become aware that animal communication is often elegant, elaborate and subtle. Understanding how other species communicate tells us a great deal about the history and evolution of our species.
Throughout the BUILD GREEN episode, The Nature of Things highlights the success stories of forward-thinking architects, builders and owners who are creating green residential buildings today, all across the country. It is not easy, and there are still hurdles to be overcome, but it is imperative that we change the way we build and live in our homes. BUILD GREEN is a great opportunity to show Canadians just how to go about building green – one house at a time.
The automobile has reshaped our world in fundamental ways. Now, global warming, loss of arable land, a growing population and the politics of oil are all conspiring to reshape the automobile. It’s an colossal challenge but the rewards are also enormous. In SUPERCAR, we meet some of the unorthodox designers and engineers who are leading the race to create the next generation of cars and trucks.
Sculptor, aviator, inventor, and filmmaker Bill Lishman documents his journey around the globe in search of earth’s renewable energy. In Niagara, he discovers our rich history of hydroelectric production. His travels continue as he explores the world’s largest solar collector power plant in the Mojave dessert. In Iceland, geo-thermal energy literally shoots out of the ground. And Bill is blown away in Denmark where they produce 25% of their electricity with wind turbines.
What's happening to our cities? Comparing the vision of our forefathers with many politicians and civic leaders, The Nature of Things sets out to explore the crumbling sub-structure of many of our cities, and using 21st century animation, to sketch an alternative view of our civic future. At once a celebration and a call for action, LIVING CITY will track our architectural and civic achievements, at the same time as the compromises and inaction that can be seen so often across the country.
The revolutionary new understanding of the brain's functional and structural capacities.
The Suzuki Diaries is a road trip, a travelogue, an adventure. The legendary David Suzuki and his youngest daughter Sarika, a university student about to start her own career in the sciences, are full of hope as they travel to Europe to see what sustainability truly looks like. In Germany, Denmark, France and Spain, they set out to meet the people working to restore the equilibrium between human needs and planetary limits. They find a renewable energy expert, a biodynamic farmer and writer, a blogging bike enthusiast, two meticulous industrial designers, and a political powerhouse in the green movement. What they discover is that sustainability can be built into the fabric of contemporary life, not just by environmentalists but by anyone, across the full spectrum of society. The idea, innovations and inspiring individuals David and Sarika encounter prove that sustainability does not mean sacrificing quality of life. The Suzuki Diaries illustrates what is truly possible if humans have the will.
We’ve come a long way since the first “horseless carriages” began to transform not just how we get from one place to another, but also how we think about transportation, urbanization, city-planning and personal mobility in general. With rising fuel prices and growing environmental concerns, never before has it been so urgent to imagine what next year’s model might look like. But there is hope. All over the world there are people trying to figure out how to build an environmentally and socially sound version of the car. Join engineering professor Brian Fleck on a quest to meet the engineers, designers and even students working on new technologies to make this possible. From hydrogen-powered family sedans to high end fully-electric powered sports cars, and even cars that drive themselves, you'll find plenty of surprises. Perhaps the future is not so far off as we might think — the technology that will transform our societies tomorrow is being developed today. The question is, are we ready?
Despite Canada’s overwhelming urban demographic, Canadian cities struggle to provide the services expected of them, whether that means collecting garbage and fixing potholes or running schools and public transit systems. Award-winning urban affairs columnist Christopher Hume takes a cross-country journey from Halifax to Vancouver and gives the viewer a firsthand look at what’s wrong with Canada’s aging infrastructure and overall lack of political will.
Do you remember the children's tale, "Three Little Pigs?" Build a strong house made out of bricks and mortar, and you'll be safe from the big, bad wolf. Build Green is here to show audiences that a house built from sticks and straw is better protection from the elements, and it mitigates your personal impact on global climate change. In a refreshing hour, Build Green advises making the sun, wind and rain — along with dirt, straw and sewage — your friends. By building a house using innovative practices and materials, you'll not only do the earth a favour, but you could save big bucks too. In Build Green, Canada's best architects hype their green creations. From retro-fitting a hip, old Montreal housing complex with state-of-the-art sustainable energy systems, to pitching hay for strawbale houses, to building transportable "mini-homes" with their own small power plant, take a close look at the materials and means we can all adopt for building green homes.
Filmmaker Bill Lishman journeys around the world in search of earth’s renewable energy. He discovers Canada’s rich history of hydroelectric production, finds the world’s largest solar power plant in the Mojave Desert and makes the discovery that 25% of Denmark’s electricity is produced with wind turbines. Lishman explores North America’s wealth of renewable resources and looks at ways other countries are harnessing earth energy in clean, safe methods.
A Murder of Crows is a visually stunning one-hour documentary that offers a rare and intimate glimpse into the inner life of one of the most intelligent, playful and mischievous species on the planet - the common crow. It is also a film that explores a unique pairing of science and cinema as world-renowned scientists, including crow expert Professor John Marzluff, joins forces with an award-winning camera team to explore the secret world of crows. A scientific exploration with a compelling twist, the film is a visually stunning HD documentary that reveals new insights and understanding into this haunting and elusive species.
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| Language | English |
| Release | 1960-11-06 |
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