NOVA Science Video Podcast | PBS

We ask Michelle Thaller 10 questions, and she talks a lot about Carl Sagan. Michelle Thaller is an astronomer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. She loves to study binary stars and the life cycles of the stars. In her off-hours, Michelle often puts on about 30 lbs of Elizabethan garb and performs intricate Renaissance dances. Exclusive funding for "The Secret Life of Scientists & Engineers" provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Lockheed Martin Corporation, and PBS viewers. © 2012 WGBH Educational Foundation

Looking for a culinary adventure? Try some bugs for dinner. They are a nutritious and eco-friendly alternative to common livestock. But, whether they're delicious or not is a matter of personal taste. Funding for NOVA scienceNOW is provided by the National Science Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and PBS viewers. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Lockheed Martin Corporation, and PBS viewers. © 2012 WGBH Educational Foundation

What could you learn just by looking at a brain? As it turns out, Dean Falk could probably tell you a lot. She is an anthropologist at Florida State University and at the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico. And when she examines David Pogue's brain scan she correctly predicts that he is colorblind. Funding for NOVA scienceNOW is provided by the National Science Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and PBS viewers. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Lockheed Martin Corporation, and PBS viewers. © 2012 WGBH Educational Foundation

Meet the hippocampus, a part of the brain responsible for memory and navigation. Then, stay tuned for some brainy slapstick comedy. Funding for NOVA scienceNOW is provided by the National Science Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and PBS viewers. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Lockheed Martin Corporation, and PBS viewers. © 2012 WGBH Educational Foundation

How does the "intelligence" of an ant colony or the stock market arise out of the simple actions of its members? NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Lockheed Martin Corporation, and PBS viewers. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0229297. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. NOVA scienceNOW is a trademark of the WGBH Educational Foundation NOVA scienceNOW is produced for WGBH/Boston by NOVA © 2007 WGBH Educational Foundation

Scientists journeying deep beneath Arctic sea ice discover a world never before seen. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA scienceNOW is provided the National Science Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0638931. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. NOVA scienceNOW is a trademark of the WGBH Educational Foundation NOVA scienceNOW is produced for WGBH/Boston by NOVA © 2009 WGBH Educational Foundation All rights reserved

Can't get enough of Curiosity? Neither can we. In this video, get a sneak peek at "Ultimate Mars Challenge," NOVA's upcoming look inside the Curiosity mission, as MSL Chief Engineer Rob Manning describes the feats of engineering required to land the Mars rover safely. For more on the Mars Curiosity rover, go to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ © WGBH Educational Foundation

Go behind the scenes at CERN for exclusive interviews with lead scientists on the historic 4 July announcement. Hear from Joe Incandela of CMS, Fabiola Gianotti of ATLAS, and Lyn Evans of the Large Hadron Collider Project on what the exciting and long-awaited announcement means to them. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and PBS viewers. To learn more about the Higgs boson, visit http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/

In 1964, physicist Peter Higgs predicted the existence of the Higgs boson, a particle that would confer mass on other particles. Today, scientists at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN may be on the brink of finding the Higgs. In this clip from "The Fabric of the Cosmos," learn about Higgs' theory and hear from Peter Higgs himself. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and PBS viewers. To learn more about the Higgs boson, visit http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/

In this video clip, see why an explosion three miles above Earth would act like a white-hot tornado on the surface. Watch NOVA Wednesday nights on PBS. Or join us online at pbs.org/nova. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and PBS viewers. To learn more, visit http://www.pbs.org/nova/clovis

William Herschel often gets the credit, but his sister Caroline was also a pioneer astronomer. For more watch NOVA's Hunting the Edge of Space airing April 6 and 13 on PBS. www.pbs.org/nova/telescope "Hunting the Edge of Space" produced for NOVA by Brook Lapping Productions and TPT National Productions, in association with Green Umbrella Films, LLC NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and PBS viewers.

In this excerpt from NOVA's "Ocean Animal Rescue," join biologist Daniel Costa and his team in the field as they study the surprising behavior of northern elephant seals. Watch NOVA every Wednesday night on PBS. Or join us online at pbs.org/nova. "Ocean Animal Rescue" is a NOVA Production produced by Hamilton Land & Cattle, Inc. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Lockheed Martin Corporation and PBS viewers. To learn more, visit http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/ocean-animal-emergency.html

By night she's a rocker. By day, she's a Harvard geneticist tracking the evolution of the human genome. Watch past episodes of the program, try out interactives, and more on our Web site: www.pbs.org/nova/sciencenow Watch NOVA on Wednesday nights on PBS. Check local listings. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA scienceNOW is provided the National Science Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and PBS viewers. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0407101. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and PBS viewers.

Can we predict earthquakes? NOVA scienceNOW visits Haiti and California in search of answers. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA scienceNOW is provided by the National Science Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and PBS viewers. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and PBS viewers.

They shuffle around, find the ball, plan their next move, and, of course, kick—all on their own. Designed by Manuela Veloso, a computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute and her team, these soccer-playing robots stand at the forefront of machines that can learn about the world and act appropriately. They can sense their surroundings and respond to changing conditions, like the arrival of another player in the vicinity. The long-term goal of Veloso's and other AI labs? To win the World Cup against humans by 2050. But they've got a few bugs to work out of their 'bots—like keeping them upright. For more, watch "The Smartest Machine on Earth" on Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at 9pm on PBS, or online at pbs.org/nova. Original footage produced for NOVA by Michael Bicks. Video (all) © WGBH Educational Foundation NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and PBS viewers.