http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/shortfilms/ Short documentary films for science education, focused on genetics, biology, earth science, evolution. Feeder 2.3.7(1701); Mac OS X Version 10.8.2 (Build 12C60) http://reinventedsoftware.com/feeder/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss en © 2013 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Thu, 07 Mar 2013 10:51:03 -0500 Thu, 07 Mar 2013 10:51:03 -0500 http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/podcast/hhmi_films.jpg http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/shortfilms/ 144 144 Howard Hughes Medical Institute hhmi,biointeractive,evolution,films,Carroll,pocket mouse,icefish,stickleback,malaria,lactose intolerance,sickle cell,extinction,dinosaurs no no http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/shortfilms/ The Making of the Fittest: Got Lactase? The Co-evolution of Genes and Culture
Human babies drink milk; it's the food especially provided for them by their mothers. Various cultures have also added the milk of other mammals to their diet and adults think nothing of downing a glass of cows' milk. But worldwide, only a third of adults can actually digest lactose, the sugar in milk. In this short film we follow human geneticist Spencer Wells, Director of the Genographic Project of the National Geographic Society, as he tracks down the genetic changes associated with the ability to digest lactose as adults, tracing the origin of the trait to less than 10,000 thousand years ago, a time when some human populations started domesticating animals, including goats, sheep, and cows. Combining genetics, chemistry, and anthropology, this story provides a compelling example of the co-evolution of human genes and human culture.

]]> Thu, 07 Mar 2013 10:50:56 -0500 BBA29A7E-10CD-4223-9931-60003D125B3B Howard Hughes Medical Institute Lactose intolerance. Human babies drink milk; it's the food especially provided for them by their mothers. Various cultures have also added the milk of other mammals to their diet and adults think nothing of downing a glass of cows' milk. But worldwide, only a third of adults can actually digest lactose, the sugar in milk. In this short film we follow human geneticist Spencer Wells, Director of the Genographic Project of the National Geographic Society, as he tracks down the genetic changes associated with the ability to digest lactose as adults, tracing the origin of the trait to less than 10,000 thousand years ago, a time when some human populations started domesticating animals, including goats, sheep, and cows. Combining genetics, chemistry, and anthropology, this story provides a compelling example of the co-evolution of human genes and human culture. no 14:51 http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/shortfilms/ The Day the Mesozoic Died
The disappearance of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period posed one of the greatest, long-standing scientific mysteries. This three-act film tells the story of the extraordinary detective work that solved it. Shot on location in Italy, Spain, Texas, Colorado, and North Dakota, the film traces the uncovering of key clues that led to the stunning discovery that an asteroid struck the Earth 66 million years ago, triggering a mass extinction of animals, plants, and even microorganisms. Each act illustrates the nature and power of the scientific method. Representing a rare instance in which many different disciplines—geology, physics, biology, chemistry, paleontology—contributed to a revolutionary theory, the film is intended for students in all science classes.

]]> Fri, 10 Aug 2012 15:00:46 -0400 480A1828-6264-4041-9FA8-BE5462E2282D Howard Hughes Medical Institute Dinosaur and mass extinction. The disappearance of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period posed one of the greatest, long-standing scientific mysteries. This three-act film tells the story of the extraordinary detective work that solved it. Shot on location in Italy, Spain, Texas, Colorado, and North Dakota, the film traces the uncovering of key clues that led to the stunning discovery that an asteroid struck the Earth 66 million years ago, triggering a mass extinction of animals, plants, and even microorganisms. Each act illustrates the nature and power of the scientific method. Representing a rare instance in which many different disciplines—geology, physics, biology, chemistry, paleontology—contributed to a revolutionary theory, the film is intended for students in all science classes. no 15:27 http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/shortfilms/ Evolving Switches, Evolving Bodies
After the end of the last ice age 10,000 years ago, populations of marine stickleback fish became stranded in freshwater lakes dotted throughout the northern Hemisphere in places of natural beauty like Alaska and British Columbia. These remarkable little fish have adapted and thrive, living permanently in a freshwater environment drastically different than the ocean. Stickleback bodies have undergone a dramatic transformation, some populations completely losing long projecting body spines that defend them from large predators. Various scientists, including David Kingsley and Michael Bell, have studied living populations of threespine sticklebacks, identified key genes and genetic switches in the evolution of body transformation, and even documented the evolutionary change over thousands of years by studying a remarkable fossil record from the site of an ancient lake ten million years ago. Watch this film to learn about a species where we can study evolution in action, identify key genes, and peer deep into the evolutionary past.

]]> Thu, 23 Aug 2012 15:00:46 -0400 51CC6C8A-D52A-41AC-BB75-3535F2C7466B Howard Hughes Medical Institute Stickleback fish evolution. After the end of the last ice age 10,000 years ago, populations of marine stickleback fish became stranded in freshwater lakes dotted throughout the northern Hemisphere in places of natural beauty like Alaska and British Columbia. These remarkable little fish have adapted and thrive, living permanently in a freshwater environment drastically different than the ocean. Stickleback bodies have undergone a dramatic transformation, some populations completely losing long projecting body spines that defend them from large predators. Various scientists, including David Kingsley and Michael Bell, have studied living populations of threespine sticklebacks, identified key genes and genetic switches in the evolution of body transformation, and even documented the evolutionary change over thousands of years by studying a remarkable fossil record from the site of an ancient lake ten million years ago. Watch this film to learn about a species where we can study evolution in action, identify key genes, and peer deep into the evolutionary past. no 33:43 http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/shortfilms/ Natural Selection and Adaptation
The rock pocket mouse is a living example of Darwin's process of natural selection. Not only is evolution happening right now everywhere around us, but adaptive changes can occur in a population with remarkable speed. This speed is essential if you're a desert mouse living in an environment where a volcanic eruption can reverse selective pressure in nearly an instant. The film features Dr. Michael Nachman, whose work in the field and in the lab has quantified the selective pressure of predators and identified the genes involved in adaptation. In a complete story, from ecosystem to molecules, pocket mice show us how random changes in the genome can take many paths to the same adaptation—a colored coat that hides them from predators.

]]> Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:00:46 -0400 74225937-966F-415C-8E01-4DB388148E0F Howard Hughes Medical Institute Pocket mouse evolution. The rock pocket mouse is a living example of Darwin's process of natural selection. Not only is evolution happening right now everywhere around us, but adaptive changes can occur in a population with remarkable speed. This speed is essential if you're a desert mouse living in an environment where a volcanic eruption can reverse selective pressure in nearly an instant. The film features Dr. Michael Nachman, whose work in the field and in the lab has quantified the selective pressure of predators and identified the genes involved in adaptation. In a complete story, from ecosystem to molecules, pocket mice show us how random changes in the genome can take many paths to the same adaptation—a colored coat that hides them from predators. no 10:25 http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/shortfilms/ The Birth and Death of Genes
For life to survive, it must adapt and readapt to an ever-changing Earth. The discovery of the Antarctic icefish has provided a stunning example of adaptation in an environment both hostile and abundant, where the birth of new genes and the death of old ones have played crucial roles. Researchers Bill Detrich, Christina Cheng, and Art DeVries have pinpointed the genetic changes that enable icefish to thrive without hemoglobin and red blood cells and to avoid freezing in the icy ocean.

]]> Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:00:46 -0400 927A6F02-C5B8-4845-84D8-7A7CA9AD8E52 Howard Hughes Medical Institute The invention of antifreeze in icefish. For life to survive, it must adapt and readapt to an ever-changing Earth. The discovery of the Antarctic icefish has provided a stunning example of adaptation in an environment both hostile and abundant, where the birth of new genes and the death of old ones have played crucial roles. Researchers Bill Detrich, Christina Cheng, and Art DeVries have pinpointed the genetic changes that enable icefish to thrive without hemoglobin and red blood cells and to avoid freezing in the icy ocean. no 13:10 http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/shortfilms/ Natural Selection in Humans
In some parts of the world, there is an intimate connection between the infectious parasitic disease malaria and the genetic disease sickle cell anemia. A keenly observant young man named Tony Allison, working in East Africa in the 1950s, first noticed the connection and assembled the pieces of the puzzle. His story stands as the first and one of the best understood examples of natural selection, where the selective agent, adaptive mutation, and molecule involved are known—and this is in humans to boot. The protection against malaria by the sickle-cell mutation shows how evolution does not necessarily result in the best solution imaginable but proceeds by whatever means are available.

]]> Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:00:46 -0400 4CC0389B-9CF4-4F1D-9AEC-24978FBD9462 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Malaria and sickle cell anemia. In some parts of the world, there is an intimate connection between the infectious parasitic disease malaria and the genetic disease sickle cell anemia. A keenly observant young man named Tony Allison, working in East Africa in the 1950s, first noticed the connection and assembled the pieces of the puzzle. His story stands as the first and one of the best understood examples of natural selection, where the selective agent, adaptive mutation, and molecule involved are known—and this is in humans to boot. The protection against malaria by the sickle-cell mutation shows how evolution does not necessarily result in the best solution imaginable but proceeds by whatever means are available. no 14:03