NOVA

Solar storms have the potential to affect our power grid and cause widespread blackouts. Watch how researchers and engineers are working together to make sure that doesn’t happen.

While the origins of the cannabis plant remain unknown, geneticists can trace its evolution and identify its closest living relative.

Explore the science of grilling and how it could affect your health.

On August 12, 2018, NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe to study the Sun like never before. It will hurtle towards the star at the center of our solar system at 120 miles per second, which is the fastest human-made object ever. The heat shield on the front of the

Opioids mimic the body's natural pain relievers, binding to receptor proteins in the brain and sometimes inducing euphoria.

Watch as a team of divers attempts to retrieve an ancient skull.

Regular use of cannabis could increase an adolescent's likelihood of developing a psychiatric disorder, including schizophrenia.

Feast your eyes on one of the most important images in all of cosmology: a picture of the first light from the Big Bang.

In most U.S. states, a surge in cases is reigniting conversations about the country’s response to the pandemic. Dr. Alok Patel speaks with a leading epidemiologist and a specialist in infectious diseases to gain perspective on pressing concerns, from vaccine effectiveness and boosters to vaccine hesitancy, misinformation, and

What makes PFAS chemicals extremely useful — and extremely hard to get rid of — are bonds between carbon and fluorine atoms that are almost impossible to break.

An ornithologist and conservationist shares how the coronavirus pandemic's effects on his ability to breathe has echoed the disproportionate effects of climate change on certain communities

According to a recent report released by the U.S. government, nearly 150 aerial objects observed between 2004 and 2021 remain unidentified—with the exception of one large deflated balloon. But what if there’s another explanation out there? Could extraterrestrial intelligence explain some sightings? To find out, Dr. Alok

With the help of hydrologists and innovators on the ground and in the lab, Dr. Alok Patel learns about the traditional ecological knowledge of the Navajo Nation in the especially hard-hit Southwest. And he speaks with innovators applying advanced technology to agricultural practices, like drone surveillance and artificial intelligence, to

Each year, California and the Southwest break new records for droughts and high temperatures, which bring damaging heat waves, wildfires, and even flooding. Learn how these catastrophes operate together—and how engineers are working on new technologies to help us survive.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 8 or higher hasn’t rumbled beneath the contiguous U.S. in more than 300 years. Now, the Pacific Northwest is due for another "big one." Clues from the past, along with modern-day science, can help coastal Indigenous communities understand the risks

Why do people make clickbait, and how do we identify false information in it? Sometimes it helps to have a system to ID the CAP.

NASA is launching a new spacecraft mission, DART, which will test scientists' ability to deflect asteroids at risk of colliding with Earth.

We’re stretching it out and exploring the science of exercise and—after more than a year of unexpected interruption—getting back in the game. Dr. Alok Patel checks in with an expert in exercise physiology and an Olympic athlete, biomechanist, and chiropractor.

The proteins that make fish fluoresce could help scientists map the human brain.

A scientist dives beneath the surface of the frigid Antarctic ice sheet—and finds a landscape full of colors, light, and life.

Minerals are essential in making everything from skyscrapers tall, to mobile phones small.

By studying the structural color of morpho butterflies, scientists are learning more about producing color without using pigments or paint.

When San Francisco's Millennium Tower unexpectedly sunk 16 inches, residents worried the building would topple over. Here's how a structural engineer and his team figured out the cause and suggested a potential fix.

Even if a building appears to be undamaged after an earthquake, it could have used up some of its initial earthquake resisting capability.

Studies have found that educational programs can lower misconduct and violence rates in prison and recidivism upon release.

Here's how Covid-19 antiviral pills from Pfizer and Merck and Ridgeback work, how effective they are, and how they might change the course of the pandemic.

Here's what to expect from the largest, most technologically advanced, and most expensive space telescope ever built.

Instead of slithering through soil, the Christmas tree worm inhabits coral reefs and might even help protect them against destruction.

What began with temporary manufacturing disruptions at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a series of supply breakdowns, including those related to computer chip shortages, across multiple industries.

Heat pumps are a key solution to help reduce carbon emissions. Instead of creating heat, they move heat from one place to another and have a much lower carbon footprint. But can we make them accessible to all?

Most fungi can’t grow and reproduce in the human body because it’s too warm. But experts say they’re evolving.

These stoves use electricity to create a magnetic field that causes the electrons inside pots and pans that contain iron to vibrate tens of thousands of times. This creates the friction and heat needed for cooking without the energy or fumes from gas stoves.

A mammal attacked a much larger dinosaur — then a volcano froze them both in time.

Ongoing droughts are straining the supply of clean drinking water. One solution might lie in an unexpected source: wastewater. Through a method of purification called reverse osmosis, Orange County is making millions of gallons of dirty water drinkable again.

Cloud seeding techniques boost clouds’ ability to drop precipitation by releasing particles that attract water, making it easier for water droplets or snowflakes to form.

Wildfire smoke can carry thousands of living microorganisms, like bacteria and fungi, across long distances. Some of them could potentially infect humans. With wildfires on the rise, experts are studying the risk this poses to our health.

Did your memories ever really happen? Turns out, every time you recall a memory, it gets a little more false. Scientists explain why your memories change over time—and why they’re less real than you think.

Trystan Reese felt grateful that he was able to become pregnant and give birth. But for parents about to transition, there are steps they can take to preserve their fertility.

Certain experiences are so profound that they can impact brain biology from one generation to the next.

Neuroscientist and clinical psychologist Heather Berlin visits a sleep center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai to learn what’s going on in the brain when someone sleepwalks.

A region located inside the prefrontal cortex processes our emotions and helps regulate our behavior. What would happen if it were gone?

Concrete and asphalt make cities hotter, because they absorb the sun’s energy and re-radiate it as heat, even well into the night.

The asteroid released the equivalent of 10-billion nuclear bombs worth of energy when it struck Earth. The impact started a chain of events that wiped out 75% of all plants and animals at the time.

Researchers call this movement “beakiation” which is a play on an existing term, “brachiation,” used to describe how Gibbons move by swinging from their arms.

252 million years ago, the most devastating mass extinction of all time wiped out around 90% of all species on Earth. The culprit? Liquid magma beneath Pangea’s northern surface that split open the crust and tore apart the landscape, spewing curtains of lava and fire.

There are multiple theories about what happened to the people of Rapa Nui - also known as Easter Island - and the famous Moai statues. Some say the civilization fell into collapse and ruin. But a new theory tells a different story, one of resilience and ingenuity against all odds.

At the time of its construction, the Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure ever built. That meant that the engineers had a key challenge: making sure the structure could survive the wind.

Astronomers looked at extremely distant and extremely bright exploding stars and discovered that universe is not just expanding - it’s accelerating in its expansion.

To many people in China, there’s no better example of success than the tech giant Huawei. Although it’s considered controversial to some, there’s no denying that the company innovates in a very unique way.

Many Black families in America don’t have robust ancestry records because of the legacy of slavery and family separation. But this documentary filmmaker is on a mission: use DNA technology to solve the mysteries of his family tree.

Around the 1900s, parts of the United States were awash with Malaria—especially in the South and parts of the Eastern Seaboard. And it even has impacted major historical events like the American Revolution.

Malaria overwhelms the body before it has a chance to fight back, making the development of a vaccine especially challenging.

China is betting big on 5G, deploying the technology at a greater scale than any other place in the world.

A new generation of researchers is revealing the rich history, innovation, and resilience of the Rapanui people.

This part of the Sahara Desert is the resting place of some of the earliest whales ever found. These fossils may hold the key to how whales evolved.

A small furry carnivore that lived both on land and sea is the ancestor of modern whales.

The Eiffel Tower is an engineering icon that changed the face of the modern world.

The star system will become bright enough to see with the naked eye for several days before it dims again for about 80 years.

In the early 90s’ scientists combed through data and found something surprising that led to the discovery of planets beyond our solar system. It changed science forever.

NOVA producer Alex Clark shares 3 fundamentals of shooting with a smartphone, from optimizing your phone to store high quality videos to holding your camera and framing your shot.

Doctors rely on computer programs to make decisions about diagnosis and treatment. Designed to weigh factors like symptoms, medical history, and test results to achieve the best possible outcomes for patients, some common medical algorithms were built using data based on old pseudoscience about racial differences. Investigate how their continued

For decades, scientists have tried to unlock the secrets of ancient DNA. Follow the dramatic quest to recover DNA millions of years old and reveal a lost world from before the last Ice Age.

Wenona & Sal Baldenegro (Tucson, Arizona) - Agriculture can thrive in the desert. The Tohono O'odham people have used Ak Chin farming, a form of dry farming, to grow crops for thousands of years, and in this short documentary, cultural experts demonstrate these traditional practices as well as

Natives Outdoors (Colorado Plateau) - The Southwestern United States is experiencing a megadrought, but this isn't the first time people have survived one in the region. By highlighting ideas and practices from Navajo tradition, the story recenters our relationship to water.

Steven Tallas (Navajo Nation) - In a journey of reconnection, filmmaker Steven Tallas explores the hogan - a small, unassuming traditional structure found across the Navajo Nation. Remaining cool in the summers and warm in the winters, this short film revisits the hogan amidst a warming American southwest.

Kanesia McGlashan-Price (Unalaska, Alaska) - Communities like the Unangax̂ rely on traditional foodways in lieu of customary, expensive grocery suppliers. Following the journey of a local subsistence hunter, we learn the realities of food access in the changing Arctic and the values that inform their harvest.

Jeremy Charles (Smith River, California) - In 2023, the Tolowa Dee-ni' people alongside partnering tribes asserted sovereignty over the 700 square miles of their ancestral fisheries. Now in 2024, we see how marine science and resource management can be guided by community and culture.

Anna Hoover (Bristol Bay, Alaska) - In an observational survey, this short documentary presents the realities of coastal erosion by witnessing the experience of Bristol Bay community members. Interviews, local archives, and ancestral knowledge put the circumstances in stark relief as we detail the communities' adjustments to the retreating

Now at a crossroads for the future of the Gulf of Maine and our oceans, Indigenous peoples and scholars practice climate resilience and adaptation, scientists track developments, and entrepreneurs find new ways to make a living from the sea.

Dive into Cashes Ledge with scientists as they race to discover if this remote and relatively pristine part of the Gulf of Maine is vulnerable to rapid warming. Can Cashes still offer hope for the Gulf’s more than 3,000 species?

Discover the Gulf of Maine and how its bounty was forever changed by a global appetite for fish. Now with the Gulf warming faster than 97 percent of the world’s oceans, witness how wildlife and people are adapting to rapid change.