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NOVA
Beyond the Elements: Life
Season 47
Episode 19
Without the chemistry of photosynthesis, ozone, and a molecule called Rubisco, none of us would be here. So how did we get so lucky? To find out, host David Pogue investigates the surprising molecules that allowed life on Earth to begin, and ultimately thrive. Along the way, he finds out what we’re all made of—literally.
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53:47
See how Earth transformed from a barren hellscape to a planet capable of sustaining life.
53:31
Who created the Nazca lines and why? New clues to one of the greatest ancient enigmas.
53:43
Ancient footprints provide new evidence of humans and extinct giant beasts of the Ice Age.
53:16
Sir David Attenborough explores a site with traces of ancient mammoths and Neanderthals.
53:30
In the Arctic, enormous releases of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, threaten the climate
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53:17
Intrepid paleontologists discover that dinosaurs thrived in the Arctic’s cold and dark.
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53:28
Take a tasty look at insect foods that could benefit our health and our warming planet.