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20 Episodes 1978 - 1978
Episode 1
Wed, Jan 4, 1978
Can a nuclear war be survived? Some members of the defense community say yes. NOVA explores the possibility.
Episode 2
Wed, Jan 18, 1978
It is known that there are four human blood groups, based on different red cells and serum characteristics. NOVA looks at the more recent discovery that the different white cell types, open up the possibility of the prevention of disease.
Episode 3
Wed, Jan 25, 1978
Part one of a two-part series on the subject of man in space, NOVA examines the history of NASA - from the origin of the space race through the triumph of the Apollo programs.
Episode 4
Wed, Feb 1, 1978
Second of the two-part series on space programs, NOVA looks ahead to the future, post-Apollo and the role that man in space will play, including the possibility of space colonization.
Episode 5
Wed, Feb 15, 1978
In the rain forests of Zaire, in the heart of Africa, live the Mbuti Pygmies. The Pygmy way of life has always been extraordinarily difficult to capture on film, though many have tried. NOVA presents a rare portrait of an elusive people.
Episode 6
Wed, Feb 22, 1978
NOVA reconstructs the controversial lawsuit raised against renowned heart surgeon Dr. Denton Cooley when one of his patients died after heart surgery, and examines the legal and moral issues this raises in the practice of modern medicine.
Episode 7
Wed, Mar 1, 197853 mins
A science-based revolution in the making of wine is underway. NOVA traces the secrets of the aging process and science's involvement with the predicting of mass production high-quality vintage wines.
Episode 8
Wed, Mar 8, 197858 mins
NOVA investigates the theories of von Daniken and others that the Earth has been visited by intelligent beings from outer space.
Episode 9
Wed, Mar 22, 1978
Today's scientists may be creating their own successors. Work being done in Artificial Intelligence (AI), suggest that in the not too distant future, machines will outpace their creators. NOVA examines the possibility.
Episode 10
Wed, Mar 29, 1978
In the summer of 1977 Paul MacCready, a California scientist and businessman, built an airplane which completed, unaided, a one-mile figure-eight course entirely under the power provided by the pilot himself.
Episode 11
Wed, Apr 12, 1978
NOVA shows a year in the life of a beaver pond and includes almost every life form that exists in, on, under, around and above the water, from the microscopic life of summer to the eagles feeding on carcasses of deer on the winter ice.
Episode 12
Wed, Apr 19, 1978
The plateau above Athens known as the Acropolis is the site of some of the most remarkable architecture in the world. NOVA examines how the polluted air of Athens produces acid rain which is dissolving the marble sculptures and columns.
Episode 13
Wed, May 3, 1978
Documentary about the life of American industrialist Henry Ford. Using Newsreels, dramatic films and documentaries to tell the story of his life from boyhood until his death in 1947.
Episode 14
Wed, May 10, 1978
When invented 18 years ago, lasers were called "a solution looking for a problem;" nobody could think what to do with them. But in fact research scientists immediately began to exploit their pure colors and near-perfect focusing ability.
Episode 15
Wed, May 24, 1978
In a world that each year loses up to 40 percent of its crops to insects, some form of pest control is desperately needed. But chemical pesticides have backfired. NOVA examines several alternatives for pest control.
Episode 16
Wed, May 31, 1978
For thousands of years people have lived in deserts all over the world. But in recent years, a growing population has put more stress on these poor and easily exhausted lands. NOVA examines the consequences to desertification.
Episode 17
Wed, Jun 7, 1978
NOVA explores Bovine sleeping sickness. Spread by a fly, it is a deadly disease that poses a threat to Africa's cattle.
Episode 18
Wed, Jun 14, 1978
NOVA visits several United States zoos to examine a variety of activities of concern today: breeding, public education, creative new animal habitats, and the reintroduction of animals to their natural environment.
Episode 19
Wed, Jun 21, 1978
NOVA explores the current surge of cosmological discovery that continues to aid scientists in the "cosmic archaeology" of digging into the history of the universe.
Episode 20
Wed, Jun 28, 1978
NOVA explores the public debates on Alaska, such as the construction of the oil pipeline - a proposal that has sparked a bitter controversy between conservationists and developers.