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Anna has built a successful business from the ground up, and upon retirement, she leaves the company to her employees, not to her son. What does that decision tell us about Anna's psychology and about the development of the human brain over a lifetime? Explores the emotional and neurological elements of learning, explaining how the brain processes and stores experiences and prepares for future decision-making. Employing real-to-life dramatizations, Anna's journey from innocent teenager to philosophical retiree--and the changes that take place in her cortex, hippocampus, and neural synapses as she faces and overcomes challenges--are all depicted. In addition, several influential brain experiments from the past decade are described.
(Source: DCMP)
The Darién Gap is a remote tropical forest that has been home to indigenous people for thousands of years. As pressures from outside human development encroach on the forest, these communities are protecting their land using a cutting-edge tool: drones. Through a partnership with a nonprofit organization, the Rainforest Foundation, they map their community boundaries to secure land titles, create sustainable land-use plans, and monitor their forests against logging and ranching.
At the twilight of an active life, Anna is now bedridden due to a serious fall. What makes the elderly--even those who are in full possession of their mental and physical faculties--more prone to falling than younger people? As this program demonstrates, the answer lies not in the body or the brain alone, but in their interconnection. Exploring Anna's past dreams of becoming a ballerina, the film shows how complex physical motion, such as dancing or even typing, requires sophisticated coordination between the body's neural, muscular, and skeletal systems. How aging affects such coordination and how new artificial limb technology enables movement are running themes in the program.
This video describes how indigenous communities from the tropical rainforest of Darién, Panama, use drones to map their lands. The communities use these maps to protect their territories from outside incursions and to design sustainable land-use plans. The Darién Gap is a remote tropical forest that has been home to indigenous people for thousands of years. As pressures from outside human development encroach on the forest, these communities are protecting their land using a cutting-edge tool: drones. Through a partnership with a nonprofit organization, the Rainforest Foundation, they map their community boundaries to secure land titles, create sustainable land-use plans, and monitor their forests against logging and ranching.
Energy has been essential for the development of human activities from the Industrial Revolution to present day. Over the course of history, human consumption of energy has increased significantly. Currently, society depends largely on nonrenewable energies that come from fossil fuels. However, the increase in greenhouse gas emissions has highlighted the need to change from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources that reduce environmental contamination. Many industries are committing to the development of alternative energy sources that don’t contribute to global warming. Chapter 9 of Air: Climate Change Series.
Mai Lee Chang did not envision becoming a NASA engineer. At the age of six, her family settled in the U.S. as refugees of the Vietnam War. During her senior year in high school, her physics teacher suggested that she look into engineering as a potential college major. Mai Lee is an engineer at the Johnson Space Center within the Human Systems Engineering and Development Division. She started her career at NASA as a co-op student. Part of the "Women@NASA" series.
Anna was born with a sweet tooth, and as a young woman, she created a successful business using it. Her delicious jams and jellies gave pleasure to many, but did they also cause harm? Explores the way the human body processes food and how its long-term growth and development are shaped by eating habits. Illustrating cellular aging and its relationship to AGEs, or advanced glycation end products, a connection is drawn between the bacteria an infant must consume to build a healthy immune system and the bacteria that consume the body at death. As Anna's life draws to a close, viewers will understand that "dust to dust" is a cycle in which humans take an active part--every time they sit down to a meal.
Researchers around the world can compare notes on one of the most powerful tools available for imaging human brain function, the fMRI, thanks to support from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The project, called OpenfMRI, allows scientists to share their data easily and securely in a standardized format. The advantages are clear to Stanford neuroscientist Vinod Menon, who researches brain development and is using OpenfMRI to validate his research. Menon says as more studies are added to OpenfMRI, it becomes a powerful tool for diagnosing and treating neurological disorders. Part of the National Science Foundation Series “Science Nation.”
Music is the art of combining sounds according to an artistic criterion and is a form of human expression. Musicians such as Richard Strauss and Arnold Schoenberg were interested in seeking new quality tone and sounds in the orchestra by adding new, nontraditional instruments. In 1909, Luigi Russolo in his "Futurist Manifesto" spoke about combining sounds from machines and non-traditional musical instruments and combining those sounds with an artistic criterion based on the imagination of the composer. But what role do technological advances play in the creative development and composition of music?
Physical activity and quality sleep are both vital for healthy bodies, as well as healthy brains. Viewers learn the relationship between activity, boredom, and sleep and how each plays a role in healthy development of children. Part of "The Brain" series.
The human brain is wired to perceive patterns and structure in surrounding environments. Young children especially need structure to feel secure. Yet the developing brain is also continuously seeking new information. Discover how to give young children the structure they need to establish a strong foundation for continual learning. Part of "The Brain" series.
Why do we gesture? What role do simple hand movements play in some of the most fundamental aspects of language? Susan Goldin-Meadow has dedicated her career to asking, and answering, those big questions. In her lab at the University of Chicago, she studies gesture’s role in cognition, development, and the acquisition of verbal language. Part of the Scientists and Engineers On Sofas Series.
Nature vs. Nurture is a long-running debate in the social sciences. While human genetics is an important part of the story, recent scientific developments suggest that the way genes actually work can be critically shaped by the environment in which one lives. Dr. Nessa Carey and Dr. Guy Sutton explore the ways epigenetics gives a new and exciting dimension to the debate.
A mutagen is any agent (physical, chemical, or biological) capable of altering the structure of DNA within human cells. This program explores how some mutations are a natural process resulting from errors in the copying and repair of DNA and how some mutagens naturally exist in the world (e.g., UV radiation, cosmic rays, and some radioactive isotopes). Others are specific chemicals that have been synthesized for use in manufacturing or other industries. Mutagens may also arise during the metabolism of certain foods. In many cases mutagens may also lead to the development of cancers.
Whether they arise from human causes or forces within planet Earth itself, natural disasters threaten life and civilization with what seems to be growing frequency. Studies troubling developments in marine, arctic, wetland, and urban environments while highlighting research opportunities that may help prevent future catastrophes. Coral reef decay, Everglades habitat loss, polar ice disappearance, and global warming are all analyzed. Looks at earthquake prediction, hurricane and tornado tracking, air pollution monitoring, tsunami warning systems, and the cleanup of toxic flood sediment in New Orleans.
Investigates the reasons why cattle and humans have been linked together for over 30,000 years. Analyzes the anatomy of the cow's stomach, detailing the purpose of each chamber. Visit the Masai with their cattle herds and the sacred cows of India. Introduces the main cattle breed of the 800 breeds developed in England, explaining how artificial selection is used to produce desirable characteristics. Also introduces British dairy cow detailing the working of the udder and teats and the use of genetic engineering to increase milk production. Interviews Eric Schlosser, an author about the development of slaughterhouse methods in America. Also visits a family ranch where cattle are being raised in natural conditions under a grass management system.
Human beings, like every living organism, are driven by two inherent needs: to survive, and ultimately, to reproduce. To accomplish the goals of survival and reproduction, we have inherited bodies crafted by evolution so that every individual human organism is an organic super factory, a living machine made up of systems that process fuel, build products, repair damage, expel waste, and defend against invaders. Introduces the complex physiological systems of the human body: muscular movement, digestion, circulation, respiration, nerves, glands, immunity, and reproduction. Also, illustrates and explains the cellular basis of life and the importance of carbon in organic chemistry.
The smartest people in the world have spent millions of dollars trying to develop high-tech robots. Even though technology has come a long way, these humanoid robots are nowhere close to having the "brain" and motor control of a human. Why is that? A MIT scientist explains the motor control processes in the human brain, and how cutting-edge research is trying to implement it in robots. Part of the "Science Out Loud" series.
Paleontologists have studied the fossil record of human evolution just like they have done for other major transitions, including the evolution of tetrapods from fish and the evolution of birds from dinosaurs. Sean Carroll and Tim White discuss the most important human fossils and how they illuminate key phases of human evolution, focusing in particular on three traits: larger brains, tool use, and bipedality.
Touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight: the human body's five major senses. They are senses that have evolved independently over millions of years but are brought together by our marvelous central nervous system into the most refined way of interacting with the environment of any species on the planet. Join Dr. Mark Reisman as he provides you with a look at the anatomy and physiology of each of these sensory systems and shows how the brain uses them to produce what we call being human.
Showing collections 1 to 6 of 6
Biology related concepts
A collection containing 59 resources, curated by Benetech
Resources to teach younger students about animals
A collection containing 58 resources, curated by DIAGRAM Center
Collection of anatomy resources
A collection containing 21 resources, curated by Benetech
Resources related to vision
A collection containing 12 resources, curated by Charles LaPierre
A collection of Chemistry related resources
A collection containing 67 resources, curated by Benetech
A collection of simulations from PhET.
A collection containing 15 resources, curated by Charles LaPierre
