Nova Sciencenow: Episode #301: TV Schedule: Rocky Mountain PBS: a3

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Episode #301

"Dark Matter" – Host Neil deGrasse Tyson reports from a half-mile underground in an abandoned mine, where scientists are using special detectors to look for evidence of a ghostly substance that they believe makes up most of the matter of the universe – a hypothetical entity called dark matter.

"Alzheimer's/Memory Mice" – Researchers have found that mice with induced memory loss are able to retrieve memories either by being put into an enriched environment or by being given a drug that promotes beneficial gene activity in their brains. Such new insights may lead to a better understanding of dementia and other memory-impairment disorders, such as Alzheimer's, in humans.

"Hany Farid" – Is seeing believing? In this age of easy photo manipulation, sometimes only a digital detective can tell. Enter Hany Farid, professor of computer science at Dartmouth College. He developed a program that can unmask photo tampering by analyzing light sources and other subtle features in an image – a service that turns out to be in high demand, especially during political campaigns.

"Wisdom of the Crowd" – Famed British scientist Sir Francis Galton (1822 to 1911), a proud aristocrat, thought he was proving the ignorance of the masses in his observation about a country-fair competition in which entrants were asked to guess the exact weight of an ox. The correct answer was 1,198 pounds; understandably, none of the 800 contestants got it exactly. "See!" said Sir Francis. "Decisions should be left to higher classes" – or sentiments to that effect. However, Sir Francis failed to realize that graphing all the guesses and determining their median produces the right answer and shows the "wisdom of the crowd

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Episode Guide

Nova Sciencenow

first aired: September 1, 2009 (#408)
Using new data from cave stalagmites and the Mississippi riverbed to understand ...

first aired: August 25, 2009 (#407)
The repair mission for the Hubble space telescope, as astronauts try to ...

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The implications of the personal genetic profile, which will predict a ...

first aired: July 28, 2009 (#405)
The science behind our sense of taste; a product that may fulfill the ...

first aired: July 21, 2009 (#404)
Rockets to the moon; the oldest known organic molecules on earth; neuronal ...

first aired: July 14, 2009 (#403)
Two drugs that may aid kids with muscular dystrophy; demise of the dinosaurs; ...

first aired: July 7, 2009 (#402)
Astronomers on the brink of finding "another Earth" in our galaxy, using ...

first aired: June 30, 2009 (#401)
Breakthroughs in the engineering of artificial diamonds; the science that ...

first aired: July 30, 2008 (#306)
"Phoenix (Mars Mission)" - "Nova Sciencenow" follows the upcoming NASA ...

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"Leeches" - Leeches, those innocent bloodsuckers, have been bad-mouthed ...

Finch Brains
first aired: July 16, 2008 (#304)
"Finch Brains" - What can the songs of zebra finches tells us about the ...

first aired: July 9, 2008 (#303)
"Hubble Repair" - "Nova Sciencenow" covers the upcoming repair mission ...

Personal Genome
first aired: July 2, 2008 (#302)
Several companies now offer a personal genetic profile that predict a ...

Episode #301
first aired: June 25, 2008 (#301)
"Dark Matter" - Host Neil deGrasse Tyson reports from a half-mile underground ...

More discussions about Nova Sciencenow

Genetic testing - are we headed in the right direction?
Tuesday, July 7

What's your point of view?