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  A Restoration Drama (Sulfur) St. Servatius Basilica in Maastricht is one of Holland’s oldest churches; it has been restored and redesigned several times over the years. During the 20th century, the interior began to decay: the church was built of a soft stone that absorbs water easily; water had entered the stone and salt had built up on or just below the surface of the stone. One of these salts was calcium sulfate, which expands in hydrate form, so that it expanded every time fresh water was absorbed. As a result, the stone began to crumble.  
     
  Acids, Bases, and Neutralization In the first lesson, five aqueous solutions are tested for degrees of acidity and alkalinity. The nature of acids and bases is examined. In lesson two, table salt is produced by mixing small pieces of aluminum with solutions of hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide. Current flow in acid, neutral, and alkaline solutions is demonstrated. An experiment using ammonia water and dry ice tests varying degrees of acidity.  
     
  Adaptation to Site Plants, much more than animals, must adapt to the terrain, the climate, this or that local particularity of where they live, must modify their structure and behavior. This program shows the adaptations of plants that grow in walls, brassicas, sedges that grow at water’s edge and prevent beach erosion.  
     
  Air and Other Gases This second unit in the Applied Biology/Chemistry CD-ROM series examines the following topics: The Composition of Air; Gases and Pressure; Commercial Gases; and Maintaining Air Quality. Lesson one looks at air as a mixture of gases and examines the particles which make up those gases. It continues with the chemical composition of air and the location of gases throughout the atmosphere. Lesson two explains how air supports life, how gases cycle through Earth’s environment, and how organisms relate to atmospheric gases.  
     
  Anatomy of the Human Brain Neuropathologist Dr. Marco Rossi dissects and examines a normal human brain. Using three methods of dissection—coronal plane, CT-MRI plane, and sagittal plane—Dr. Rossi separates the hindbrain from the midbrain, and removes a portion of the brain containing the substantia nigra.  
     
  Applied Biology/Chemistry This comprehensive series of six CD-ROMs is designed to accompany and enhance the nationally approved Applied Biology/Chemistry curriculum which was developed by the Center for Occupational Research and Development (C.O.R.D.)  
     
  Atomic Structure Atomic structure lies at the crossroads of both chemistry and physics, and this program examines a field of study crucial to both: the scientific shell game known as quantum mechanics. Schrödinger’s mathematical distribution and the Pauli Exclusion Principle; electron orbitals and the three types of quantum numbers; and shells, subshells, and nodes are all discussed.  
     
  Atoms, Molecules, and Chemical Change Lesson one looks at copper atoms using a Scanning Tunnelling Microscope connected to a computer. Several demonstrations of combustion include burning firecrackers under water. Lesson two shows combustion of an industrial diamond. Thermite reaction produces iron metal from iron oxide.  
     
  Blood Blood is a fluid with amazing properties. In this program, we learn that blood acts virtually like an organ and fulfills a host of complex tasks within the organism, from oxygen transport to defending against infection. The crucial importance of blood in maintaining physical equilibrium has led to the development of numerous technologies dealing with its classification, preservation, and transfusion.  
     
  Bonding Between Molecules In this program, bonding is explained in terms of dipole-dipole bonding for polar molecules, and dispersion forces for both polar and nonpolar molecules. Changes of state for water are examined, and the decreased density of ice when compared with liquid water is explained in terms of intermolecular bonding.  
     
   Bonding in Metals This program begins with an examination of atomic structure—presented in terms of protons, neutrons, and electrons—and the idea that bonding is related to the filling of electron shells to create more stable particles. Examples of metals and their usefulness are presented, and the relationship between properties and structure is examined.  
     
  Bonding in Molecules This program considers the bonds formed when atoms share electrons (covalent bonding). The idea of filling electron shells to reach a more stable state is used to explain the formation of simple molecules such as water and methane. Shapes of molecules are explained by considering the repulsion between molecular orbitals.  
     
  Bones and Joints The topic of bones and joints is explored in this program with Dr. Lyle Micheli at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Micheli runs the world’s leading orthopedic clinic for young athletes, where the most common types of sports injuries, such as acute impact damage, are treated. The structure and function of the knee are clearly illustrated as we follow the diagnosis and treatment of injuries suffered by the Harvard University football team.  
     
  Brain and Nervous System: Your Information Superhighway This program explores the brain and nervous system, using the analogy of computers and the Internet. Topics discussed include electrical impulses and how nerve messages travel; parts of the brain and their functions; how the brain and spinal cord are protected; the senses; and diseases, drugs, and their effects on the brain and nervous system.   
     
  Breathing This program begins by looking at a typical day in the life of a cystic fibrosis sufferer. The structure and function of the lungs are seen through a mixture of computer graphics and real-life video. The problems encountered with cystic fibrosis are compared with the functioning of a normal healthy lung.  
     
  Cancer and Metastasis This program studies the biological processes by which the body reproduces cancerous tumors, and summarizes the results of current research. The various steps of metastasis are clearly demonstrated in film and computer animation. A film segment of real human tissue shows tumor cells moving in a regulated manner under the direction of "leader cells."  
     
  Catalysis This program provides a simple explanation of heterogeneous catalysis, starting with a simple example of the oxidation of gas on a hot platinum surface, and ending with an explanation of the Haber process, including footage of the industrial version. The program emphasizes the importance of energy saving resulting from catalytic processes, and discusses the protection of the environment by catalysts in car exhaust systems.  
     
  Cell City Cell City is an innovative multimedia CD-ROM that helps users understand the operation of a cell by revealing its similarities to a city. Concepts such as energy generation and supply, manufacturing, communications, waste disposal, and recycling are all clarified using this technique. The program includes animations, videos, microscopic photography, and interactive puzzles.  
     
  Chemical Bonding This four-part series provides a comprehensive introduction to the chemical bonding processes. Using computer-generated models and examples from everyday life, each program illustrates the principles of bonding relevant to high school and college chemistry courses.  
     
  Chemical Equations and Atomic and Molecular Mass Can a barbershop quartet introduce the subject of stoichiometry? They do in this program, which in section one presents the Law of Conservation of Mass and how to balance equations. Section two explains the difference between the mass number and atomic mass, what an isotope is, and how to work with atomic mass units to find the average atomic mass.  
     
  Chemistry Experiments and Processes 11-part series.  
     
  Continuity of Life The Continuity of Life CD-ROM concentrates on the subject of reproductive processes. It begins with a survey of cell components and cell reproduction, and includes information on DNA, RNA, and the formation of tumors. Human reproduction is the focus of lesson two with sections on meiosis, human sexuality, fertilization, and birth control.  
     
  Digestion This program provides a thorough introduction to the structure and functions of the digestive tract. Using modern body-imaging techniques, the program explores where fat is located and how its distribution within the body differs from person to person. The program also explains how dietary fat is digested and assimilated by the body, how food becomes body fat, and how our lifestyles dictate both our body shape and our overall health.  
     
  Digestive System: Your Personal Power Plant This program examines the processes by which the digestive system acts as a power plant for the body by turning food into energy. Topics discussed include the process of energy conversion; the structure and function of the organs of the digestive system; the role of enzymes; and maintaining a healthy digestive system.  
     
  Electric Current This investigation employs a 100-watt incandescent bulb, nichrome wire, and a variac; electric wire, a dry cell, and a compass; an ammeter; an induction coil; argon, helium, neon, and mercury and a discharge tube; a string of lights on a Christmas tree.  
     
  Equilibrium of Forces Using a frog in free fall; a laser; a fixed pulley, spring balance, and scale; balancing toys; a model of a bridge; a coffee can; a Cartesian diver; and a goldfish, this program teaches equilibrium of forces.  
     
  F = ma: Physical Science Concepts This series provides a fresh look at Force, Mass, and Acceleration, the elements which make up Newton’s Second Law (F=ma). Using inventive animation, graphics, video, and narration, each program explores a variable in the equation: force, mass, and acceleration. These concepts, along with related topics like velocity and inertia, are defined, applied to real-world examples, and demonstrated using basic calculations.  
     
  Feet on Ground, Head in Clouds: The History of Man This program traces human evolution from its source in the primeval soup, through the appearance of Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and Homo sapiens. We learn about the cosmic events that sparked the beginning of life, and speculate about how future contact with extraterrestrial intelligence may initiate further evolution. Scientific controversies over how Homo sapiens evolved include the mitochondrial Eve theory, which postulates that all humans evolved from a common group in Africa.  
     
  Free Radicals Free radicals are an important weapon in the immune system, but they can also cause chemical reactions that lead to damage of fatty acids, DNA mutation, and protein destruction. This program examines how the most important radicals are created, and how they work. The relationship between chain reactions of radicals within the body and conditions such as arteriosclerosis is examined.  
     
  Gases and States of Matter In part one of this program, chemistry authorities, including "Helium Man" and two janitors, lay down the law—Boyle’s Law, Graham’s Law, and Dalton’s Law. They also present the Kinetic Molecular Theory and the Ideal Gas Equation and elaborate on partial pressures and the difference between diffusion and effusion. Part two investigates kinetic energy; ion-dipole, dipole-dipole, and London dispersion forces; hydrogen bonds; phase diagrams; and vapor pressure.  
     
  Heat When a werewolf stalks hyperactive teens in Hawaii, only the concept of phase changes can save them. This program outlines the mechanics of heat transference within isolated systems, including specific heat capacity; the relationship between latent heat and changes of state; the processes of conduction, convection, and radiation; and the theory behind the work produced by an internal combustion engine.  
     
  Homeostasis In order to understand homeostasis in a natural setting, this program observes what happens to the body during a marathon race. By monitoring the various physiological responses of one of the runners, we show the many changes and adjustments being made in the body as the race progresses. The data obtained from the runner are used to explain in detail how the body regulates temperature, blood oxygen, blood glucose, water balance, heart rate, breathing rate, and hormone levels.  
     
  Human Health This CD-ROM program completes the Applied Biology/Chemistry series and begins with a look at various health concerns, including heart disease, cancer, and autoimmune deficiencies. Current health care procedures relating to these diseases are also examined. Lesson two surveys other health concerns such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, and allergies. Major health threats such as cultural, mental health, environmental, and industrial risks are explored in lesson three.  
     
  Humans and Bacteria This program presents the human body as a complex ecosystem of bacteria, then examines each portion of the body, which bacteria live there, and why. The three major bacterial groups—sphere-shaped cocci, rods, and helical spirochetes and spirilla—are examined. Their behavior when interacting within the body is explored.  
     
  Innovations and Novelty This program presents the three basic divisions of living things—eubacteria, archaebacteria, and eukaryotes—and their particular evolutionary processes. The slow evolutionary pace of the horseshoe crab is compared to the relatively quick pace of animals such as the dog. A fascinating look at several evolutionary processes in action includes fish that evolved into amphibians, and then into birds and mammals.  
     
  Intermediate H.N.M.R. Spectroscopy This program takes over where the program Interpreting Infrared and N.M.R. Spectra leaves off, covering shift reagents, deuterium exchange and decoupling, then proceeding to the splitting patterns observed in rigid molecules where the Karplus equation is of importance.  
     
  Interpreting Infrared and N.M.R. Spectra An explanation of the theory of infrared absorption is followed by showing a series of spectra demonstrating the major absorption peaks. Shifts within the carbonyl group, and their explanation, are discussed. The N.M.R. portion of the program covers the ideas of integration, chemical shift, and splitting in proton spectra in a logical process of development of the subject.  
     
  Introduction to Matter, the Elements, and Units of Measure Elements and compounds, accuracy and precision, liters and moles and joules—what does it all mean? After introducing the states, properties, and types of matter, this program proceeds to the periodic table of elements and the qualities of atoms, compounds, and molecules. An investigation of the metric system, SI units, uncertainty in measurement, and dimensional analysis wrap up this engaging educational resource.  
     
  Investigations in Chemistry: Experiments and Observations This series brings a full range of laboratory experiments into the classroom. Detailed, easy-to-follow narration and close-up shots illustrate the steps in experiments and demonstrations that are a part of any core curriculum. Each program features three lessons that cover related content. Some of the experiments—too dangerous to conduct in many labs—allow teachers the advantage of illustrating processes students might not otherwise experience.  
     
  Investigations in Physics: Experiments and Observations Designed for basic physics labs, this series offers an extensive collection of demonstrations and experiments essential to any core physics curriculum. Each program features three related lessons that are supported by table-top close-ups, computer graphics and animation, re-creations of famous experiments using replicas of original equipment, and simple, concise narration.  
     
Ionic Bonding This program uses the idea of filling electron shells to explain the formation of cations and anions. Electrostatic forces are then used to explain lattice formation, and the relationship between properties and structure is examined. Ionic bonding is introduced by comparing the malleability of silver with the brittleness of rock salt.
     
  Ions Lesson one demonstrates the circumstances under which common materials, such as sugar and table salt, conduct electricity. The process of electrolysis is demonstrated in the making of metallic leaves. In investigating the movement of ions, permanganate ions spread toward the anode side of a liquid chamber when electricity is applied.  
     
  Laws of Chemical Change and Heat Flow The first lesson provides examples of the Law of Conservation and Mass and the Law of Definite Proportions. Recycling of elements is examined. In lesson two, exothermic and endothermic reactions are demonstrated by an experiment that uses the chemical contents of a pocket warmer and dry ice.  
     
  Life Cycles The life cycles of plants, animals, and humans are studied close-up in this outstanding biology program. Narrated film action scenes show plant and animal reproduction, then show the budding of leaves, and the emergence of baby chicks from their shell. The growth stage depicts a caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a butterfly, and a tadpole’s emergence as a frog.  
     
  Magnetism and Static Electricity Using a bar magnet and compass; a neodymium magnet, soft iron, and a dumbbell; a ferrite magnet crushed into small pieces; a magnetized and broken knife blade; nails and a plastic plate with layers of aluminum, copper, and iron in-between; an iron bar, enamel wire, and a battery; and an ebonite bar, a wool cloth, and a leaf electroscope, this program investigates the following concepts:  magnetic field, poles, and lines of force, Curie temperature, electromagnets, static electricity, Thompson’s water droplet, experiment, like and unlike charges.  
     
  Mass Spectrometry An explanation of how a mass spectrometer works is followed by a demonstration of a mass spectrometer in action. The analysis of simple mass spectra is discussed—simple splitting of hydrocarbons, the effect on splitting of heteroatoms in alcohols and ethers, and the McLafferty rearrangement.  
     
  Matter and Change In lesson one of this program, experiments are conducted on five white "mystery" powders to determine chemical content and reaction. Salt is fused into a solid block. By feeding gaseous oxygen into a plastic bag of liquid nitrogen, we observe the resulting changes in gases; argon condenses into liquid, then turns to gas upon being removed from liquid nitrogen.  
     
  Molecular Biology This program shows the various types of gene reproduction and examines the gene responsible for blood clotting. The production of coded proteins is clearly demonstrated. The processes of gel filtration, protein sequence analysis, isolation of mRNA, DNA synthesis and reproduction, production and screening of a DNA bank, and hybridization, along with other demonstrations, are re-created through highly sophisticated computer animation.  
     
  Molecular Geometry and Bonding Theories Why is the acronym VSEPR pronounced "vesper"? The answer to that question is the only thing not revealed in part one of this program, which takes a look at the VSEPR theory, non-bonding electron pairs, polarity, and dipoles. In part two, a "cow-chicken" and other experts elucidate the theories of hybrid orbital and molecular orbital overlap and illustrate how to determine bond order.  
     
  Molecular Machines Go to Work  This program explores human engineering of the microscopic world. We visit the world’s great research universities and explore cutting-edge advances in micro-engineering that go far beyond the miniaturization used to create semiconductors. Parallels are drawn between the smallest man-made machines and the natural motors of viruses and proteins to illustrate how nature’s architecture is corollary to man’s.  
     
  Moles, Percent Composition, and the Empirical Formula When is a mole not a mole? Section one of this program demystifies concepts such as Avogadro’s Constant, molecular mass, and molar mass. In section two, the Percent Composition Formula is spotlighted, while section three addresses the Empirical Formula and its use in determining formula weight.  
     
  Motion of Bodies and Mechanical Energy This program details the movements of an amusement park’s waterchute boat and roller coaster; an ice skater; a diver; a rubber ball; a rocket; toy carts; a steel ball and loop; and a swinging church lamp.  
     
  Muscles The widespread nature of muscle tissue in the body is introduced as this program looks at the complex movements involved in the exercise of rowing. The nature of muscle itself is examined, from its gross structure to its detailed microstructure, where chemical energy is harnessed to produce movement.  
     
   Muscular System at Work: The Inner Athlete This program looks at the many roles played by muscle and skin in our everyday lives. Topics include muscles and movement; cardiac, smooth, and skeletal muscle; detailed structure of a skeletal muscle; types of muscle contraction and movement; muscles and posture; homeostasis; and the important roles played by skin, hair, nails, and glands.    
     
  Mushrooms and Fungi Mushrooms: an imprecise term that covers a range of shapes and sizes from truffles to toadstools, some perfumed delicately and others putrescent and attractive only to the vilest of insects, some growing wild and others cultivated, some beneficial and others harmful.  
     
  Nutrition Unit three in the series looks at nutrition and begins with the components of a healthy diet. Basic human requirements are outlined along with diet and basal metabolic rates, life cycle requirements, and diet requirements in animals.  
     
  Oncogenes This program discusses how the chemical alteration of oncogenes in human cells causes the growth of cancerous tumors. Toxic substances, radiation, viruses, and inherited genetic defects are examined as factors causing such alteration. The mechanisms by which the altered forms overrule normal cell regulation are illustrated through microscope views and computer animation.  
     
  Optics This investigation uses a candle placed between two mirrors; a laser and smoke lens; a water tank; a right-angle prism; a fiber-optic bundle; four planar mirrors; a convex lens; a coffee cup, a coin, and chopsticks; and a paraboloid mirror and a 3-D mouse.  
     
  Oxidation Oxidation and reduction are discussed in terms of electron transfer, leading to the idea of electrode potentials. Illustrations are provided using the space shuttle, the Breathalyzer, a cannon, and a more complex electron transfer experiment.  
     
  Pathology Examples in the Human Brain Neuropathologist Dr. Marco Rossi examines different human brain specimens and presents evidence of trauma or disease. Brains examined include that of a 59-year-old woman with dementia; an 82-year-old man who suffered a road accident; a young man with a shunting tube for hydrocephalus; an elderly man with Parkinson’s disease; an elderly female stroke victim; and a middle-aged woman with hemiplegia.  
     
  Physics in Action This series comprises an anthology of demonstrations and quantitative experiments taught in introductory physical science. The experiments selected are ones which are difficult or impossible to perform in most school laboratories.  
     
  Plant Defenses Animals can escape, bite, claw; plants, being rooted in one spot, have had to come up with a host of ingenious protective devices: spines and thorns that cause pain to those who would steal their fruits; insecticides; caffeine—whose purpose is not to keep humans awake but to ward off caterpillars; and chemicals that interfere with hormone-production in insects.  
     
  Plants and Insects: A Delicate Co-existence Plants and animals co-exist on sometimes precarious terms in the struggle to survive, and one creature’s food is another’s destruction. This program looks first at ants. Leaf-cutter ants can denude whole trees, whose leaf fragments they cart away to their hills and turn into compost; this provides food for mushrooms, which in turn feed the ants, who carry mushroom filaments with them when they emerge and thus help the mushroom to propagate—which is useful to the ants because the mushroom produces an antidote to the protective ant-poisons produced by the tree.  
     
  Plants in the Scheme of Things By way of introduction to the series, this program provides a quick overview of the history of life on earth: bacteria, the simplest plant life that arose in the still-warm volcanic waters; the progressively more complex forms of algae.  
     
  Playing with Fire In Physics, every action has a counter-action, and much the same is true in Ecology. Transplanting, cross-breeding, artificial pollination all seem like simple solutions to providing man with what he wants, or thinks he wants, but their side effects cannot be foreseen and inevitably turn out to be bad.  
     
  Pressure By featuring a water rocket; a syringe and a toy pig; balloons; a drum; a fountain made of a flask and tubes; oil and beer cans lowered into the depths of the ocean; and an expedition that transports a glass tube filled with mercury up Mt. Fuji to 12,388 feet above sea level, this program helps to illustrate the following content:  
     
  Properties of Solutions If chemical terms like miscibility, concentration, and osmosis are a mystery, this program provides the solution. They and other key concepts—including solubility, saturation, dilution, and electrolytes; mass percentage composition, mole fractions, molarity, and molality; and freezing-point depression and boiling-point elevation—are all carefully spelled out and applied.  
     
  Proteins Proteins, the essential biochemical foundation of the cell, fulfill a variety of tasks within the human body. This program provides insights into their structure and several of their functions, including their role in catalytic biochemical reaction and reproduction. How proteins recognize the "packaging" of smaller molecules is explored.  
     
  Pure Substances and Mixtures In lesson one, heat is used to distill ethanol. Iodine distilled from seaweed demonstrates the chemical phenomenon of sublimation. The principle of chromatography is explored by studying color pigments in water-base pens.  
     
  Reproduction: Designer Babies This program examines some of the issues raised by the potential uses and misuses of genetic technology. The program demonstrates the techniques of both ultrasound scanning and amniocentesis as well as explains genetic manipulation techniques and the potential applications of the knowledge gained from the human genome project.  
     
  Respiratory System: Intake and Exhaust Using the analogy of an automobile’s system of fuel intake and exhaust, this program explores the makeup and functions of the respiratory system.  
     
  Salt A trip to the salt mines shows how rock salt is mined and then crushed underground to be transported to the surface as a granular product. The study of a block of rock salt leads to a discussion of sphere packing as an aid to understanding simple crystal types, and treats the energy of formation of salt in terms of a Born-Haber cycle.  
     
  Science in the Saddle (Nitrogen) Professional sports are a high-stakes business and none higher than horse racing—which is why the temptation to use drugs often leads to the effort to avoid detection. Inherent in the increasingly sensitive and accurate testing for drugs is the danger that the scientific proof—the existence of drugs—will be correct but the logical deduction drawn therefrom will be incorrect, unjust, and harmful.  
     
  Skeletal System: The Infrastructure This program explores the skeletal system, with an emphasis on its importance in providing structure and support for the body.  
     
  Skin The topic of skin is introduced by viewing a typical collection of bodies on a sun-drenched beach. We are familiar with the sight of skin exposed to the sun, but do we know what is actually happening to the skin surface?  
     
  Solution Stoichiometry In this program, stoichiometry goes swimming. The topics of molarity, dilution, acid/base reactions, titration, limiting reagents, and yield—theoretical, actual, and percent—are all carefully examined.  
     
  Staring into the Abyss This program studies the origins of life on Earth by examining fossils. Morris shows how various fossils contained in materials such as amber and Burgess shale provide clues about the lives of the creatures who left the fossil record.  
     
  Survival Against the Odds Some of the astonishing ways by which plant life survives in seemingly unlivable places: an island newly created by a volcanic explosion becomes a botanical laboratory to show how plants are propagated and spread.  
     
  The Balance of Nature What happened to the ecology when five sailors, shipwrecked on an undiscovered island off New Zealand, left a bull, a cow, and a pair of rabbits behind when they were rescued.  
     
  The Brain This program opens in the emergency room of a large hospital where head injuries are an all-too-common problem. The importance of the brain is evident from the skill and technology employed in ensuring that any damage to it is minimized.  
     
  The Ecology of the Forest Forests produce more animal and plant biomass—more life—than all the oceans combined, while occupying only one-eighth the area. This program looks at the life of both the temperate and rain forests.  
     
  The Fossils Come Alive In this program, we learn how fossils form, and how they reveal information about the creatures they once were. Dinosaur fossils provide secrets about what dinosaurs ate, how they moved, and what illnesses afflicted them.  
     
  The Great Dyings: Life After Death This program focuses on geological causes of mass extinction—meteors, volcanoes, earthquakes—and the processes by which certain species survived and recovered.  
     
  The History in Our Bones: Stories of Evolution Each year, the Royal Institution of London selects one of the world’s most prominent scientists to deliver a series of Christmas Lectures. In this series, eminent paleontologist Simon Conway Morris traces the evolution of life from its beginning through the appearance of modern man.  
     
  The Human Brain in Situ Professor of applied neurobiology Susan Standring conducts a basic anatomical examination of the human brain and its connections in the skull using museum specimens.  
     
  The Life Cycle of Plants Beginning with the oldest film ever made about plants, shot between 1898 and 1900 to show through accelerated images what the naked eye can’t see, the program shows how and why plants move.  
     
  The Molecular World of Reactions upon Water This three-part series demonstrates the structures and changes of state of the most important compound of all—water. Excellent computer animation illustrates and clarifies the processes and reactions.  
     
  The New Living Body How does the human body work? What advances have been made in medicine which enable us to understand the human body better? These programs provide a comprehensive answer to both questions in this ten-part series.  
     
  The Periodic Table and the Human Element A series of personal stories, told by working scientists, that provide the human perspective to the annals of chemistry. The programs demonstrate the chemical principles while showing the human properties of some of the boldest frontiersmen and women of chemistry.  
     
  The Scientific Method: Processes and Investigations Scientists conduct investigations for a wide variety of reasons. For example, they may wish to discover new aspects of the natural world, explain recently observed phenomena, or test the conclusions of prior investigations or the predictions of current theories.  
     
  The Senses This program examines the role that our senses play in providing us with information about the world around us. Our brain depends upon the information from all our senses being integrated so that the brain is provided with consistent data that it can use to direct our actions. The program demonstrates how the senses of sight and balance operate as well as how they interact with each other.  
     
  The World of Green From oaks to reeds, the plant world has its own rules, very different from those of animals. Age: trees can grow to extraordinary ages—the program shows a 2000-year-old oak; even when three-fourths of the branches are dead and only part of the trunk is alive, they continue to grow and grow viable seeds.  
     
  Thermochemistry This program heats things up with a concentrated analysis of thermochemistry, explaining precisely how temperature figures into chemical reactions.  
     
  Transition Metals A survey of transition metal chemistry begins with a simple introduction to the main properties of transition metal complexes, such as color, magnetism, and complexation, then proceeds to cover the acidity and exchange reactions of transition metal complexes.  
     
  Ultraviolet Spectroscopy A discussion of the importance of ultraviolet/visible absorption in color vision leads on to the fundamentals of absorption resulting from the shift of an electron from a bonding to an antibonding orbital. The importance of conjugation is stressed, and fluorescence is demonstrated.  
     
  Unlocking the Secrets of Life In this program, the chemical structures of life open up to the camera, photographed here often for the first time. Intricate body structures of microorganisms, insects, and lizards are investigated via exquisite electromagnetic photography.  
     
  Vines and Other Parasites The mistletoe, held sacred in Druid cultures, state flower of Oklahoma, beneath whose branches lovers kiss—a parasite, but an ingenious one: its life cycle closely attuned to the life of its host tree and various bird species, its seeds are glued to the host branch by some, ingested but not digested by others, broadcast and then pruned, while the host tree lures the vine with its sap, then produces tannin to kill or stunt the vine’s growth.  
     
  Volcanoes: Melting the Earth Volcanoes are among the most dramatic features of the earth, and a sure sign that the planet is alive. But what we see on land is only a small part of the story. In the middle of the oceans about 5 cubic miles of liquid rock is added to the sea floor every year to make new plates.  
     
  Water Unit five of the Applied Biology/Chemistry series examines the importance of water in various aspects of life. It begins with an introduction to the water cycle and continues with a discussion of its uses and chemical structure.  
     
  Water: A Molecular Substance Using computer-generated animations, this program clearly demonstrates the structures and changes of state in water—specifically in ice melting, in water evaporating, and in water boiling—all at the molecular level.  
     
  Water and Plant Life This program examines the water cycle in plants, focusing on ways they adapt to insufficient water or problems of water storage.  
     
  Water: Dissolving, Precipitation, and Complexation This program, divided into three parts, looks at the difference between melting and dissolving using the example of sodium chloride.  
     
  Waterworld Water is an essential ingredient of the earth, and without it we would not be here. Water reshapes our planet’s surface through erosion and chemical weathering; the position of the shoreline is one of the most changeable of all geological features. Although it may not feel like it, we are living in an ice age now.  
     
  Water: Ionic Equilibrium, Acid-Base, and Redox Chemistry This program, divided into three parts, gives several examples of reactions: potassium thiocyanate solution with iron (III) nitrate solution to explain ionic equilibrium; acid-base chemistry, using ethanoic acid as an acid, and ethanoate ion and ammonia as bases; and copper metal with silver nitrate solution to illustrate redox chemistry.