Science and Nature

NOVA

NOVA brings you stories from the frontlines of science and engineering, answering the big questions of today and tomorrow, from how our ancestors lived, to whether parallel universes exist, to how technology will transform our lives. Visit the official website to watch full-length documentaries, or explore our world through short-form video, on our digital publication NOVA Next.

A.I. Revolution

53m 30s

A.I. tools like ChatGPT seem to think, speak, and create like humans. But what are they really doing? From cancer cures to Terminator-style takeovers, leading experts explore what A.I. can – and can’t – do today, and what lies ahead.

Episodes

  • Ancient Maya Metropolis: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Ancient Maya Metropolis

    S48 E22 - 53m 31s

    The ancient ancestors of today’s Maya people thrived in large sophisticated cities across Central America for centuries. Why, around 750 CE, did they begin to abandon many of their major cities? Archaeologists investigate dramatic new evidence of the catastrophic droughts and instability that pushed cities beyond their limits.

  • Alaskan Dinosaurs: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Alaskan Dinosaurs

    S48 E21 - 53m 21s

    A team of intrepid paleontologists discovers that dinosaurs thrived in the unlikeliest of places—the cold and dark of winter in the Arctic Circle. How did they survive year-round and raise their young in frigid and dark winter conditions?

  • Butterfly Blueprints: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Butterfly Blueprints

    S48 E20 - 53m 20s

    The hidden scientific secrets of butterflies reveal them to be more inventive and resilient than we ever imagined. Follow their extraordinary life cycle and migrations to tropical rainforests, windswept prairies, and even inside a chrysalis as it’s being spun.

  • High-Risk High-Rise: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    High-Risk High-Rise

    S48 E8 - 52m 36s

    Gleaming symbols of prestige, skyscrapers are an ingenious way to save space in dense urban areas. But even as we devise ways to defend them against fires, wind, and earthquakes, can we also make them more livable, interactive, and eco-friendly?

  • NOVA Universe Revealed: Big Bang: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    NOVA Universe Revealed: Big Bang

    S48 E19 - 53m 16s

    The Big Bang is when the cosmos started and time itself began. With stunning animation based on space telescope images, NOVA winds back the ages to discover new clues about this ultimate genesis and what happened in the universe’s first few seconds.

  • NOVA Universe Revealed: Black Holes: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    NOVA Universe Revealed: Black Holes

    S48 E18 - 53m 16s

    Take a seat on the ultimate thrill ride to explore nature’s strangest and most powerful objects. Discover new science showing how black holes reshape entire galaxies, warp the fabric of space and time, and might even be portals to another universe.

  • NOVA Universe Revealed: Alien Worlds: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    NOVA Universe Revealed: Alien Worlds

    S48 E17 - 53m 17s

    Ultra-sensitive telescopes have transformed alien planet-hunting from science fiction into enthralling hard fact. Join NOVA on a visit to exotic worlds orbiting distant suns to answer an age-old question with thrilling new science: are we alone?

  • NOVA Universe Revealed: Milky Way: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    NOVA Universe Revealed: Milky Way

    S48 E16 - 53m 17s

    Straddling the night sky, the Milky Way reminds us of our place in the galaxy we call home. But what shaped this giant spiral of stars and what will be its destiny? NOVA travels back in time to unlock the turbulent story of our cosmic neighborhood.

  • NOVA Universe Revealed: Age of Stars: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    NOVA Universe Revealed: Age of Stars

    S48 E15 - 53m 17s

    The sun is our life-giving source of light, heat, and energy, and new discoveries are unraveling its epic history. Join NOVA on a spectacular voyage to discover its place in a grand cycle of birth, death and renewal that makes this the age of stars.

  • Edible Insects: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Edible Insects

    S48 E14 - 53m 28s

    From crunchy crickets to nutty fly grubs, NOVA takes a tasty look at insect foods and how they could benefit our health and our warming planet.

  • Arctic Drift: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Arctic Drift

    S48 E13 - 53m 31s

    Join scientists on the biggest Arctic research expedition of all time. Facing hungry polar bears, perilous sea ice cracks, and brutal cold, the team strives to understand the forces that are changing the region—and the world—forever.

  • Particles Unknown: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Particles Unknown

    S48 E12 - 53m 28s

    Outnumbering atoms a billion to one, neutrinos are the universe’s most common yet most elusive and baffling particle. NOVA joins an international team of neutrino hunters whose discoveries may change our understanding of how the universe works.

Extras + Features

  • Fighting for Fertility Preview: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Fighting for Fertility Preview

    S48 E5 - 28s

    What causes infertility, and how can assisted reproductive technologies help? Follow the journeys of people navigating fertility challenges from structural inequalities and racism to falling sperm counts, egg freezing, and IVF.

  • To Start a Family, This Woman Turned to Egg Freezing: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    To Start a Family, This Woman Turned to Egg Freezing

    S48 E5 - 7m 34s

    At 39, Brigitte Adams became an early adopter of egg vitrification, a technology that can dramatically improve the preservation of a woman's eggs and, potentially, her future fertility.
    Here’s her story.

  • Building a Family as a Transgender Person: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Building a Family as a Transgender Person

    S48 E5 - 5m 41s

    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.

  • The Coronavirus Pandemic's Toll on Mental Health: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Coronavirus Pandemic's Toll on Mental Health

    S48 - 6m 6s

    The precautions we’ve taken to quell the coronavirus pandemic—sheltering in place, social distancing, not spending much time with people outside our own households—have exacerbated America’s mental health crisis.

  • GameStop, Reddit, and the Rise of Risky Trades: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    GameStop, Reddit, and the Rise of Risky Trades

    S48 - 8m 35s

    As many as one in four Americans have invested in speculative "meme" stocks in 2021, many using new mobile apps like Robinhood. How risky is it for small investors entering a volatile market?

  • Scientists Breed a New Generation of "Super Corals": asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Scientists Breed a New Generation of "Super Corals"

    S48 E4 - 4m 45s

    Some corals, called "super corals," are more resistant to temperature changes and bleaching. Discover how scientist Ruth Gates began a "super coral" breeding program to create more resilient reefs.

  • Reef Rescue Preview: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Reef Rescue Preview

    S48 E4 - 28s

    If oceans continue to warm at the current pace, coral reefs could be wiped out by the end of the century. But scientists from around the globe are rushing to help corals adapt to a changing climate through assisted evolution.

Schedule

  • Image
    NOVA: A.I. Revolution: TVSS: Banner-L1

    NOVA

    A.I. Revolution

    Thursday
    Mar 28

    1 Hour

    The power and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
  • Image
    NOVA: A.I. Revolution: TVSS: Banner-L1

    NOVA

    A.I. Revolution

    Thursday
    Mar 28

    1 Hour

    The power and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Star Chasers of Senegal

    Thursday
    Mar 28

    1 Hour

    Senegalese astronomer Maram Kaire investigates his nation's history of astronomy, which stretches back thousands of years.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Star Chasers of Senegal

    Thursday
    Mar 28

    1 Hour

    Senegalese astronomer Maram Kaire investigates his nation's history of astronomy, which stretches back thousands of years.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Star Chasers of Senegal

    Thursday
    Mar 28

    1 Hour

    Senegalese astronomer Maram Kaire investigates his nation's history of astronomy, which stretches back thousands of years.
  • Image
    NOVA: A.I. Revolution: TVSS: Banner-L1

    NOVA

    A.I. Revolution

    Thursday
    Mar 28

    1 Hour

    The power and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Picture a Scientist

    Friday
    Mar 29

    2 Hours

    Women make up less than one-quarter of the amount of people employed in STEM, and the number is even smaller for women of color.
  • Image
    NOVA: A.I. Revolution: TVSS: Banner-L1

    NOVA

    A.I. Revolution

    Sunday
    Mar 31

    1 Hour

    The power and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Star Chasers of Senegal

    Sunday
    Mar 31

    1 Hour

    Senegalese astronomer Maram Kaire investigates his nation's history of astronomy, which stretches back thousands of years.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Star Chasers of Senegal

    Sunday
    Mar 31

    1 Hour

    Senegalese astronomer Maram Kaire investigates his nation's history of astronomy, which stretches back thousands of years.
  • Image
    NOVA: A.I. Revolution: TVSS: Banner-L1

    NOVA

    A.I. Revolution

    Sunday
    Mar 31

    1 Hour

    The power and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Picture a Scientist

    Sunday
    Mar 31

    2 Hours

    Women make up less than one-quarter of the amount of people employed in STEM, and the number is even smaller for women of color.
  • Image
    NOVA: A.I. Revolution: TVSS: Banner-L1

    NOVA

    A.I. Revolution

    Sunday
    Mar 31

    1 Hour

    The power and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Star Chasers of Senegal

    Sunday
    Mar 31

    1 Hour

    Senegalese astronomer Maram Kaire investigates his nation's history of astronomy, which stretches back thousands of years.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Picture a Scientist

    Monday
    Apr 1

    2 Hours

    Women make up less than one-quarter of the amount of people employed in STEM, and the number is even smaller for women of color.
  • Image
    NOVA: A.I. Revolution: TVSS: Banner-L1

    NOVA

    A.I. Revolution

    Tuesday
    Apr 2

    1 Hour

    The power and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
  • Image
    NOVA: A.I. Revolution: TVSS: Banner-L1

    NOVA

    A.I. Revolution

    Wednesday
    Apr 3

    1 Hour

    The power and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Star Chasers of Senegal

    Wednesday
    Apr 3

    1 Hour

    Senegalese astronomer Maram Kaire investigates his nation's history of astronomy, which stretches back thousands of years.
  • Image
    NOVA: A.I. Revolution: TVSS: Banner-L1

    NOVA

    A.I. Revolution

    Wednesday
    Apr 3

    1 Hour

    The power and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
  • Image
    NOVA: Great American Eclipse: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Great American Eclipse

    Wednesday
    Apr 3

    1 Hour

    Scientists prepare new experiments to study the solar eclipse.

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