NOVA Wonders

While we believe language sets us apart, scientists are finally beginning to unravel the codes of animal communication. Some animals demonstrate they can learn our language, but the question now is whether we can learn theirs. NOVA Wonders travels around the globe, where researchers are deciphering an amazing array of clues that reveal how animals share information critical to their survival.

From what makes us fat, to what makes us fart, to what makes us freak out, there is a whole new paradigm for understanding how the human body works. Human cells are outnumbered by non-human bacteria, viruses and fungi, making our bodies a host and resource for multitudes of other organisms. Scientists are discovering this biological frontier and opening up a new world of microbial forensics.

From the Kepler mission’s discovery of extrasolar planets, to the probing of planetary ecosystems and the high-tech telescopes under development, the prospects for finding life beyond Earth have never been stronger. NOVA Wonders checks in with the explorers now searching the galaxy for life and intelligence on other planets and asks, if we do find other life in the universe…then what?

Artificially intelligent machines are taking over and influence our everyday lives. The world’s brightest computer programmers are building brighter machines by reverse-engineering the brain and inventing completely new kinds of computers with greater speed and processing power. NOVA Wonders looks at how far we’ve come and where machines are headed as their software becomes ever more…cerebral.

New tools allow researchers to use cells to create their own DNA and edit it into existing genomes with more ease and less cost than ever before. Along with renewed hopes for treating some genetic diseases, there’s talk of using the technology to bring long-extinct animals back from the dead. NOVA Wonders explores the benefits and the burden of risk surrounding this controversial new technology.

The universe is hiding something. In fact, it is hiding a lot. NOVA Wonders journeys to the stars and back to investigate what we know and don’t know. Find out how scientists are discovering new secrets about the history of the universe and why they’re predicting a shocking future.