Hunt for the Oldest DNA • 2024

53:26

Some 30 million Americans have sent their DNA to be analyzed by companies like 23andMe and AncestryDNA. But what happens once the sample is in the hands of testing companies, and how accurate are their results? NOVA explores the power of genetic data to reveal family connections, ancestry, and health risks—and even solve criminal cold cases.

NOVA PBS • 2021 • Science

7:08

A war has been raging for billions of years, killing trillions every single day, while we don’t even notice. This war involves the single deadliest being on our planet: The Bacteriophage.

In a Nutshell • 2018 • Science

59:00

Professor Sue Black is joined by Silent Witness's Emilia Fox to reveal the secrets of forensic science. Sue shows how the stories of our lives are hidden in the very fabric of our bodies by examining an archaeological skeleton, using techniques she uses in modern-day forensic investigations. She gradually builds up its identity until a pile of old bones once again becomes a real person. She explains how extraordinary clues in our bones can reveal everything from our age and our sex to our diets and our ancestry – there's even a bone in our ear that can reveal where our mother lived while she was pregnant. Professor Black's investigations into the trauma marks visible in the 1,000-year-old skeleton's bones reveal where this person died, and how they died. In the process, she tells this individual's extraordinary life story and sheds light on one of the darkest days in English history. The Christmas Lectures date back to 1825 when Michael Faraday founded the lectures for children at the Royal Institution. They are the world's longest running science television series, which today use demonstrations and interactive experiments with the live theatre audience.

S1E1 • Secrets of Forensic Science • 2022 • Science

5:39

All we are is dust in the (cosmic) wind.

Science

59:24

For decades, scientists have tried to unlock the secrets of ancient DNA. But life's genetic blueprint is incredibly fragile, and researchers have struggled to find genetic material in fossils that has survived for millions of years. Then, one maverick scientist had the controversial idea of looking for DNA not in fossils or frozen ancient tissue - but in the soil. Follows the scientists deciphering the oldest DNA ever found and revealing for the first time the genes of long-extinct creatures that once thrived in warm, lush Arctic landscapes.

2024 • Science

49:00

Previously it was thought that only 2% of our DNA is meaningful and the remaining 98% is non-coding “junk”. But today we are beginning to know how the junk part of our DNA works to decide our personal characteristics and tendencies.

S1E1 • Dynamic Genomes • 2019 • Science