Life Science

Animals

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NOVA

RESOURCE	GRADE LEVEL	MEDIA TYPE
Air Bag Design Using automobile crash test footage, this video segment adapted from NOVA shows some of the challenges in designing the air bag.	3-12	Video
Anglerfish This video segment from NOVA: "Animal Imposters" shows the lightning-fast strike of the anglerfish.	6-8	Video
Animal Hearing Students explore how sound is created, the importance of hearing in certain environments and some environmental causes of hearing loss.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Antarctica: A Challenging Work Day What happens when the ground under your feet is ice and it's moving? This video segment adapted from NOVA features some of the dangers faced by scientists conducting research in Antarctica.	3-12	Video
Antarctica: Sea Ice This video segment adapted from NOVA uses microwave images to reveal how sea ice doubles the size of Antarctica each winter. Rare footage shows how sea ice crushed the famous ship Endurance in 1914.	K-12	Video
Are We Alone? This video segment adapted from NOVA features a variety of scientific perspectives on the age old question, "Are we alone in the universe?" Animations make vivid the improbability that we could intercept a radio wave signaling extra terrestrial intelligence.	6-12	Video
Beavers This video segment explores the world of the beaver, including the biology of the species and, more importantly, its ability to transform an ecosystem for its own benefit.	K-5	Video
Beneath the Waters of Cocos Island The nutrient-rich waters surrounding Cocos Island set the stage for astounding predator-prey interactions, as seen in this video segment from NOVA: "Island of Sharks."	6-8	Video
Build a Steroid In this interactive activity from NOVA, learn about the molecular structure of steroids. See the intermediate molecules that are part of the pathway for synthesizing cortisone from diosgenin.	9-12	Interactive
Classical vs. Transgenic Breeding This video segment from FRONTLINE/NOVA: "Harvest of Fear" explains that genetic engineering and classical breeding both alter the genetic makeup of crop plants.	9-12	Video
Creepy Crawlies This interactive feature from the NOVA: "Odyssey of Life" Web site explores the often unwitting relationship we share with the billions of organisms that reside in our bodies and in our homes.	K-8	Interactive
Crocodiles! Clickable Croc This interactive feature from the NOVA "Crocodiles!" Web site details some of the characteristics that have enabled crocodiles to thrive for 200 million years.	6-8	Interactive
Decomposers Without the work of decomposers, living organisms would eventually use up all the raw materials in the environment, and dead organisms and wastes would pile up. This video segment from Interactive NOVA: "Earth" describes the role of decomposers as the Earth's great recyclers.	K-5	Video
Deep-Sea Bestiary This interactive from NOVA describes the physical and behavioral traits of some of the least-known and most unlikely creatures on Earth.	6-8	Interactive
Deep-Sea Vents and Life's Origins Deep-sea vents are home to life forms that do not rely on the Sun's energy. They depend instead on energy from volcanoes on the ocean floor. This video segment adapted from NOVA hypothesizes that life on Earth may have begun in this extreme environment.	3-12	Video
Desert Biome This video segment from NOVA: "A Desert Place" describes the physical characteristics and organisms that define the desert biome.	3-12	Video
Duck Development This video segment from NOVA: "The Shape of Things" follows the growth of a duck embryo, from a single fertilized egg cell to a complex, hatching duckling.	6-8	Video
Embryo to Duckling This video segment from NOVA: "The Shape of Things" follows the growth of a duck embryo, from a single fertilized egg cell to a complex, hatching duckling.	K-5	Video
Energy Flow in the Coral Reef Ecosystem This video segment, adapted from NOVA, describes the energy flow in a coral reef, including its food web.	3-12	Video
Explore a Stretch of Code Try your hand at reading a segment of genetic code in this interactive feature from the NOVA "Cracking the Code of Life" Web site.	9-12	Interactive
Finding Lucy This Evolution video segment depicts the landmark hominid fossil finds by Don Johanson and his team in Ethiopia.	9-12	Video
Frozen Frogs This video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW shows how the common wood frog freezes solid every winter, an adaptation that allows the organism to survive the cold winter.	6-12	Video
Genetic Modification This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" looks at the potential created by understanding the human genome.	9-12	Video
Genetics Case Studies Wrestle with ethical issues concerning genetic rights and practices from the NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" Web site.	9-12	Document
Genetic Variation This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" explores the genetic similarities and differences among organisms.	9-12	Video
Genome Facts This list from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" Web site provides some of the basic, yet impressive, facts and figures about the Human Genome Project.	9-12	Document
Global Warming: Beyond Fossil Fuels Martin Hoffert, professor of physics at New York University, discusses global warming and alternative energies in this interview from the NOVA/FRONTLINE Web site.	6-12	Document
The Grand Canyon: Conservation and Development This video segment adapted from NOVA explores the effects of the Glen Canyon Dam on the beaches, wildlife, and vegetation of the Colorado River.	3-12	Video
The Grand Canyon: Evidence of Earth's Past In this video segment adapted from NOVA, a fossil found among the Grand Canyon's rock layers reveals the existence of a shallow sea that once covered most of western North America.	6-12	Video
The Grand Canyon: The Top Two Rock Layers This brief video segment adapted from NOVA uses illustrations and the well-preserved footprints of a small reptile to portray the history of the Grand Canyon's top two rock layers.	3-12	Video
How Cancer Grows Follow the growth of a carcinoma from initial mutation to widespread metastasis in this feature from the NOVA: "Cancer Warrior" Web site.	6-12	Interactive
How Did Life Emerge Here? This video segment adapted from NOVA describes the emergence of life on the islands of Hawaiʻi from a barren volcanic platform under the ocean waves to the rich explosion of life that covers the many climate zones of the islands today.	3-12	Video
Human Chromosome 2 In this video segment adapted from NOVA: "Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial," learn how modern genetics and molecular biology offer compelling support for evolution. The video features an interview with biologist Ken Miller.	6-12	Video
Human Genome Project This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" looks at the meaning and significance of the effort to decode the human genome.	6-12	Video
Illuminating Photosynthesis This interactive feature from the NOVA: "Methuselah Tree" Web site details the process of photosynthesis and its role in the oxygen/carbon dioxide cycle.	3-12	Interactive
Intertidal Zone This video segment from NOVA: "The Sea Behind the Dunes" explores the community of organisms that exists in the New England tidal marsh.	9-12	Video
Laetoli Footprints This Evolution video segment describes how the famous track fossils known as the Laetoli footprints might have been formed and what they can reveal about the creatures who left them.	6-12	Video
Making Cortisone From Plants This video segment adapted from NOVA is a dramatized story of chemist Percy Julian’s work to synthesize cortisone. Find out how a biological process, not a chemical one, proved the key to producing cortisone in bulk.	6-12	Video
Mammals Get Their Chance In this video segment adapted from NOVA, animations of an asteroid hitting Earth are used to illustrate this widely accepted theory of dinosaur extinction and the resulting conditions that favored mammals.	K-5	Video
Marathon Migrators This video segment from NOVA: "The Mystery of Animal Pathfinders" explores how the migratory patterns of shorebirds have evolved to coincide with the spawning of horseshoe crabs.	6-8	Video
Masters of Disguise In the face of danger, what's a spineless animal to do? This video segment introduces the concept of camouflage -- how animals achieve it and how this form of disguise benefits both predators and prey. Footage from NOVA: "Animal Impostors."	K-12	Video
Metamorphosis: Change of Plans All animals develop and grow over time. The animals in this video segment, however, undergo very dramatic changes on their way to adulthood -- a developmental process known as metamorphosis.	K-5	Video
Migration of the Monarch This video segment from NOVA: "The Mystery of Animal Pathfinders" explores the migratorial exploits of monarch butterflies.	3-8	Video
Mirror Neurons This video segment, adapted from NOVA scienceNow, introduces the latest research on a system of neurons that plays a part in how people relate to each other.	6-12	Video
More Than an Image This video segment explores how humans perceive the world through vision. Footage from NOVA: "Mystery of the Senses: Vision."	3-8	Video
Nature's Pharmacy In this interactive activity from NOVA, learn about chemicals in nature that are used in medicine.	3-12	Interactive
Nature vs. Nurture Revisited Which dictates our existence -- our genetic makeup or the environment we grow up in? Kevin Davies offers an update on this long-standing debate, from the NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" Web site.	9-12	Document
A Night in the Coral Reef Coral reefs are often portrayed as brightly lit, bustling underwater marvels full of colorful creatures. This video segment, adapted from NOVA, paints a different picture as it explores the nocturnal behavior of organisms in the reef.	3-12	Video
Night Vision This interactive feature from the NOVA "Leopards of the Night" Web site highlights the nighttime habits and abilities of a wide range of nocturnal creatures.	6-8	Interactive
Smart Sea Lions This video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW explores whether animals and humans are more similar than we think. Meet Rio, a sea lion who demonstrates to researchers reasoning skills once thought limited to humans.	6-12	Video
Oil Spill: Exxon Valdez, 1989 This video segment adapted from NOVA follows the clean-up effort after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska. Also featured is a marsh where an oil spill occurred 20 years earlier; analysis suggests that environmental damage may last for decades.	6-12	Video
On Human Cloning Three cloning experts share their opinions in these interviews from the NOVA "18 Ways to Make a Baby." Web site.	9-12	Document
Organic Farming: Conserving Topsoil Against the backdrop of the devastating 1930's Dust Bowl, this video segment adapted from Interactive NOVA profiles an organic farmer and the techniques he uses to conserve topsoil.	3-12	Video
The Power of Touch This video segment explores the role of touch in the development of young animals, including humans. Footage from NOVA: "Mystery of the Senses: Touch."	3-8	Video
The Reproductive Role of Flowers In this video segment adapted from NOVA, learn about the critical role of flowers in seed plant reproductive biology.	6-12	Video
Ringed-Carbon Compounds In this interactive activity adapted from NOVA, learn about alkaloids and steroids, both examples of compounds with carbon rings. Short videos with interviews, animations, and photographs are featured.	9-12	Interactive
RNAi Discovered In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, learn how RNAi, a mechanism that has evolved in cells to prevent viral infection, was discovered and how it works.	9-12	Video
RNAi Therapy In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, learn about RNAi's potential to treat a wide range of genetic and infectious diseases.	9-12	Video
Scent of an Alewife This video segment from NOVA: "Sea Behind the Dunes" tracks the return of spawning alewife fish from the open ocean back to the freshwater streams and ponds where they were born.	3-8	Video
Seahorse Basics This diagram from the NOVA: "Kingdom of the Seahorse" Web site reveals some of the more remarkable traits of this enigmatic creature.	3-8	Document
Sea Turtles This video segment from Interactive NOVA: "Animal Pathfinders" describes the life history of the sea turtle.	6-8	Video
Seeing Through Camouflage This interactive feature from the NOVA "Leopards" Web site presents a wide variety of ways in which animals use coloration to their advantage.	6-8	Interactive
The Sense of Taste This video segment explores the sense of taste in humans -- why we have it, and what happens when we lose it. Footage from NOVA: "Mystery of the Senses: Taste."	3-8	Video
Shark Attack! The Hunt This interactive feature from the NOVA "Shark Attack!" Web site details the six senses sharks use to find and capture their prey.	6-8	Interactive
Sound Waves Underwater: The Loch Ness Monster This video segment, adapted from NOVA follows a team of enthusiasts and scientists who attempt to find a trace of the Loch Ness monster by scouring the lake with sonar.	6-12	Video
Sound Waves Underwater: True or False This interactive quiz from the NOVA Web site features an array of interesting facts about the nature of sound underwater.	3-12	Interactive
Super Salmon This video segment from FRONTLINE/NOVA: "Harvest of Fear" explores genetic modification of salmon and possible consequences.	9-12	Video
Surviving Winter In this lesson designed to enhance literacy skills, students learn about the varied physical and behavioral adaptations that animals rely on to help them survive changing environmental conditions, such as the arrival of winter.	5-12	Self-paced Lesson
Synthesizing a Steroid This video segment, adapted from NOVA, tells the story of chemist Percy Julian's quest to make progesterone from a plant steroid, an important medical advancement of the 1940s.	9-12	Video
Venom: A Viper’s Deadly Weapon This video excerpt from NOVA: “Venom: Nature’s Killer” explains how venom enters a human body and causes it to shutdown.	9-12	Video