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20 Episodes 1981 - 1981
Episode 1
Tue, Jan 6, 1981
Is the fagara root a match for the stethoscope? This program looks at the contributions of both traditional herbal medicine and western orthodox medicine to the health of the Nigerian people.
Episode 2
Tue, Jan 20, 1981
NOVA explores clues gathered from ancient rocks and meteorites in an attempt to piece together how our planet formed, what happened during its earliest days, and when life first appeared.
Episode 3
Tue, Jan 27, 1981
NOVA examines the Dead Sea. The lowest place on earth, at 1400 feet below sea level, it is jointly owned by Israel and Jordan. If used properly it could become a vital natural resource for both countries.
Episode 4
Tue, Feb 10, 1981
When Mt. St. Helens erupted earlier this year, it focused the attention of the whole world on the incredible destructive forces that volcanoes can release. NOVA investigates for an in-depth look at the incident and its aftermath.
Episode 5
Tue, Feb 17, 1981
NOVA investigates what science can do in helping to solve murder; in understanding why it occurs, and how the rate might be reduced; and explores the work of people who have the stark job of dealing with death.
Episode 6
Tue, Feb 24, 1981
Health care is no longer two aspirins and some chicken soup; it is a huge enterprise capable of amazing feats and costing billions. NOVA examines these questions in a comparison between the American and British systems of health care.
Episode 7
Tue, Mar 3, 1981
Sophisticated instruments used by astronomers enable us to see a universe of perhaps 100 billion other galaxies. NOVA takes a trip into outer space to see these clusters which are as old as time and several million light years away.
Episode 8
Tue, Mar 10, 1981
Today most scientists accept that a large asteroid impact killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. But this was not always the case. For decades, experts felt the cause of dinosaur extinction to be a mystery. Watch the clues unfold as a talented group scientists chase the first lead, and the idea develops which we now accept today. Regarded by many as one of the most important dinosaur discoveries ever, and one of the best NOVA episodes of the eighties.
Episode 9
Tue, Mar 17, 1981
The beauty, endurance, and raw power of animals in the wild are captured on film as NOVA juxtaposes Olympic athletes performing feats which have parallels in the animal kingdom with animals who are the champions of grace and strength.
Episode 10
Tue, Aug 25, 1981
It's over 300 years since Galileo turned his new telescope on Saturn and first saw its spectacular rings. NOVA shows the beauty and new mysteries discovered by Voyager 1 on its historic visit.
Episode 11
Sun, Sep 27, 1981
NOVA reports on the potential danger of modern computers that gather "routine" information about our daily lives as we buy things, go to the hospital, or make donations.
Episode 12
Sun, Oct 4, 1981
NOVA uncovers glaring gaps in our defenses against flames that kill. Sealing any one of these gaps might save thousands of lives and prevent enormous pain and misery.
Episode 13
Sun, Oct 11, 1981
A great secret lies locked inside the master violins created by Italian craftsmen like Antonio Stradivari in the 17th and 18th centuries. Now, a Wisconsin physicist, working alone in his cellar, may have solved the violin mystery.
Episode 14
Sun, Oct 18, 1981
NOVA reveals the extraordinary discoveries of X-ray astronomy. This new science has revealed that our universe is much stranger and more violent than ever imagined, filled with neutrons, stars, exploding galaxies, quasars and black holes.
Episode 15
Sun, Oct 25, 1981
Called the "teeth of the wind" by those who have battled them for centuries, locusts continue to plague hundreds of millions of people. NOVA reveals some of man's latest attempts to rid himself of his age-old enemy, the locust.
Episode 16
Sun, Nov 1, 1981
The controversy which exploded a century ago when Charles Darwin published "The Origin of Species" is erupting again with new facts and emotion. NOVA explores the challenges to the theory of evolution.
Episode 17
Sun, Nov 15, 1981
Many were delighted by the extraordinary special effects in movies like "2001" and" Star Wars". NOVA introduces 20th century pioneers who use computers and lasers to create an extraordinary array of strange, exciting new art forms.
Episode 18
Sun, Nov 22, 1981
NOVA explores the mysterious wonder of life with Dr. Lewis Thomas, a leading biologist and award-winning author described by Time as "quite possibly the best essayist on science anywhere in the world".
Episode 19
Sun, Nov 29, 1981
William H. Whyte's insightful and humorous look at city parks, plazas and streets, and the people who use them. Whyte shows the research he did to find out why some city squares and small parks are enjoyable while others are so dreary.
Episode 20
Sun, Dec 6, 1981
NOVA tells the story of scientific research on twins; a field marked by brazen and damaging fraud, but also by surprising and important new discoveries about nature's recipe of heredity and environment which makes us all unique individuals