We’re excited to announce the launch of The Human Spark web site. A three-part series to be broadcast on PBS in 2009, The Human Spark will follow Alan Alda in his quest to find the answer to one question: “What is the nature of human uniqueness?” Read more…
A century after falling out of favor among doctors, medicinal leeches are back in hospitals, sucking away on patients’ wounds. Watch the segment and read more about this treatment.
The Hubble Space Telescope has produced the most stunning images of the cosmos humanity has ever seen. It has transformed our understanding of the universe, about its age and evolution, the life cycle of stars, and the very existence of black holes. Watch a video about the visionaries behind the Hubble.
The Louisiana Science Education Act, signed into law on June 28, 2008, opens the doors for treating Intelligent Design and Creationism as a theory to be examined in the classroom setting. Read more about the law and the issue.
New York has long boasted about the quality of its drinking water. However, plans to drill for natural gas near the watersheds that supply New York City may change that.
Calculate your carbon footprint based on your home size, transportation method, energy usage, food consumption, and goods and services. You can compare your results to other households of a similar size and location, as well as the average U.S. or global household.
Endangered species protections were removed from the Yellowstone grizzly bear population in April 2007. Read an update on the plight of the bears, including the damage that delisting the bears has done. You can also watch the full episode online.
The 29th Annual Emmy Awards for News & Documentary were announced July 15, 2008. Among the nominees, many productions from WNET/Thirteen and PBS. Watch some (a lot!) of the nominees online.
Earlier this week, President Bush held a press conference about the global energy crisis. He said, “To help address the pressure on gasoline prices, my administration took action this week to clear the way for off shore exploration on the outer continental shelf.”
The tiny pebbles were collected by astronauts during NASA’s Apollo missions of the 1970s, but the techniques used to find the traces of water weren’t available until recently. A new analysis of moon pebbles has found that they indeed contained water. Read the full report.
