Advances in Neurotechnology

In this video segment from Greater Boston, learn how a man with severe motor disabilities can operate a computer and move a prosthetic hand by simply thinking the commands, thanks to the combined efforts of bioengineers and neuroscientists.

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Aerodynamics: What Causes Lift?

How does an airplane stay aloft when upside down? This media-rich essay from the NOVA Web site offers an explanation based on Newton's third law of motion.

Agricultural Runoff and the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone

This video segment adapted from Big River: A King Corn Companion shows how agricultural chemicals from the Midwest that travel downstream in water runoff create a vast marine "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico.

Air Bag Design

Using automobile crash test footage, this video segment adapted from NOVA shows some of the challenges in designing the air bag.

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Airplanes: Designing for Stealth

Explore this NOVA interactive activity to see how engineers have modified a military plane's sound, shape, and heat emissions to minimize detection.

Air Quality Index

In this interactive activity adapted from "Air Quality Index: A Guide to Air Quality and Your Health" by the U.S. EPA, learn about common pollutants in the air we breathe, their health effects, and how their levels are reported.

Alzheimer's Disease

This video segment from the Secret of Life School Video: "Genetic Medicine: Tinkering with Our Genes" explores the potential for gene therapy to cure diseases like Alzheimer's.

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Anatomy of a Rover

In this interactive activity from NOVA, learn about the sophisticated scientific instruments on two identical robotic rovers that have explored Mars — Spirit and Opportunity.

Arch Bridge

This video segment adapted from Building Big illustrates the strength of the arch in bridge design and construction.

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Astronauts in Hard Hats

This media-rich series of interviews from the NOVA Web site explores the unique challenges faced by astronauts doing construction work in outer space.

Atrazine Affects the Water Supply

In this video segment featuring live-action animation, adapted from Big River: A King Corn Companion, see how the agricultural pesticide atrazine impacts both crops and human health.

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Avalanche Town

The impact of natural disasters is made vivid in this video segment adapted from NOVA. A small town in Iceland, prepared for recurrent avalanches, is devastated when one takes a new and damaging path.

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Bandwidth and Data Conversion

This interactive activity adapted from the Wisconsin Online Resource Center describes the factors that affect the speed of data transfer in computer networking systems and some of the techniques used to increase the data capacity of these systems.

The Beginnings of the Telescope

This animated essay from the NOVA Web site examines the design of Galileo's refracting telescope and Sir Isaac Newton's reflecting telescope.

Biomedical Technician Training

In this video adapted from ATETV, hear from a medical electronics engineering technology student about how she is improving her math, science, electronics, and communications skills in her community college program.

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Breaking Point: Testing Tensile Strength

This video excerpt from NOVA’s "Making Stuff: Stronger" and accompanying demonstration illustrate the toughness and tensile strength of Kevlar® and other everyday materials.

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Bt Corn

This video segment from FRONTLINE/NOVA: "Harvest of Fear" looks at corn that has been genetically modified to resist one insect pest, and the multiple concerns it raises.

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Build a Bridge

Survey potential bridge sites, research bridge design, and select the right bridge for the right location in this interactive activity from the NOVA Web site.

Building a Cleaner Battery

This video excerpt from NOVA’s "Making Stuff: Cleaner" and accompanying activity guide for grades K–8 introduce students to the design and use of batteries and the rapidly developing science of clean energy and clean materials.

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Building the Channel Tunnel

How do you build a tunnel 32 miles long -- under water? This video segment adapted from Building Big, follows the construction of the Channel Tunnel (nicknamed "Chunnel"), the engineering wonder that connects England to France.

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