What caused the Cambrian explosion? • 2015 The Economist

Category: Nature | Download:

For most of the Earth's history, life consisted of the simplest organisms; but then something happened that would give rise to staggering diversity, and, ultimately, life as complex as that which we see today. Scientists are still struggling to figure out just what that was.

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The Economist • 2015 - 2017 • 9 episodes •

What caused the Cambrian explosion?

For most of the Earth's history, life consisted of the simplest organisms; but then something happened that would give rise to staggering diversity, and, ultimately, life as complex as that which we see today. Scientists are still struggling to figure out just what that was.

2015 • Nature

Do we live in a multiverse?

It has long been thought that our universe is all there is, but it is possible we may live in just one of many.

2015 • Astronomy

What is consciousness?

Understanding what consciousness is, and why and how it evolved, is perhaps the greatest mystery known to science.

2015 • Brain

Why does time pass?

The equations of physics suggest time should be able to go backwards as well as forwards. Experience suggests, though, that it cannot. Why? And is time travel really possible?

2015 • Physics

Life in the universe

Does life exist anywhere else in the universe? And how did it get started? Scientists are seeking the answers in the cosmos, our solar system and right here on planet Earth.

2015 • Astronomy

What is the universe made of?

The Earth, the sun, the stars, and everything we can see, only comprise five percent of the universe. But what about the other 95 percent? Scientists are puzzling over dark matter and dark energy, the mysterious components that make up the rest.

2015 • Astronomy

Why are women paid less than men?

The gender pay gap is not caused by women earning less than men for the same job. It is largely because women choose different careers and suffer a “motherhood penalty”’.

2017 • Economics

Transforming cities with technology

Cities are growing faster than at any time in history, straining services and infrastructure. Technology-driven advances are at the forefront of solving this age-old problem

2017 • Technology

Which trends will affect our lives in the future

A futurist, a demographer and a museum curator spot trends that will affect the way people live and work.

2015 • Technology

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Nature

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S1E9Animal Super Senses • 2020 • Nature

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The museum's dinosaur experts Susie Maidment and Paul Barrett follow up an exciting tip-off about some possible dino footprints in Wales. Meanwhile, the world's most famous dinosaur - Dippy the Diplodocus - is on a road trip around the country and needs an up-close inspection to make sure it's safe.

S1E2Natural History Museum: World of Wonder • 2020 • Nature

Inferno

In Inferno, Chris Packham explores one of the darkest periods in Earth’s history: the worst mass extinction the planet has ever seen, when as much as 90% of all species died, 252 million years ago. This extraordinary moment in Earth’s history took life to the brink, wreaking havoc and destruction on an unprecedented scale. But somehow, life found a way to bounce back, and a new geological era ushered in the age of the dinosaurs. The story begins with a massive volcanic eruption: the Siberian Traps eruption lasted for two million years and created enough lava field to cover an area the size of Australia. Life in the immediate vicinity was no doubt vaporized, but the fossil record reveals a bigger mystery – a strange ‘line of death’ in rock formations all over the world that indicates almost all life dying out, no matter how close it was to the lava field. Chris uncovers what the latest science reveals about the aftermath of the eruption, and the terrifying series of events that led to the global mass dying. It’s a stark cautionary tale of how rapid climate change can cause whole ecosystems to collapse, but the fossil record also hints at Earth’s miraculous powers of reinvention. Chris discovers clues in rocky mountain ranges to one of greatest deluges in the planet’s history – a downpour lasting on and off for almost two million years that transformed conditions and led life to bounce back in extraordinary style, with the rise and eventual domination of the dinosaurs.

S1E1Earth: One Planet, Many Lives • 2023 • Nature

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Five heroes, each with a unique power, fighting to survive, killing to reign supreme over the Savage Kingdom.

S1E6Savage Kingdom • 2016 • Nature

African Deserts

Silence may seem golden in the desert, but secret sounds connect curious meerkats - and tip off eavesdropping predators like cobras and eagles.

S1E7Earth Sounds • 2024 • Nature