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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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Sir David Attenborough explores a site with traces of ancient mammoths and Neanderthals.
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53:21
Intrepid paleontologists discover that dinosaurs thrived in the Arctic’s cold and dark.
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Take a tasty look at insect foods that could benefit our health and our warming planet.
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Join the hunt for the universe’s most common—yet most elusive and baffling—particle.
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As state-legalized cannabis spreads, NOVA explores its little-known risks and benefits.
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NASA launches its most ambitious search yet for traces of ancient life on Mars.
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Discover the fascinating chemistry that makes our world and everything in it—including us.
53:31
Discover the fascinating chemistry that makes our world and everything in it—including us.