San Antonio College Library

This engaging program explains the level of organization necessary for the structure and functioning of multicellular organisms, including cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems. Focusing on the nervous system of multicellular organisms, the video features dissections of a cane toad and a worm to illustrate the different forms and functions of both vertebrate and invertebrate nervous systems.

Venom scientists are in a race against time. Inside the bodies of many creatures, evolution has produced extreme toxic cocktails, all designed for one reason: to kill. It took millions of years to perfect these ultimate brews of proteins and peptides and we have only just begun to discover their potential. Now, the race is on to collect and study them before the animals that produce them disappear. But how does venom do its deadly work? NOVA reveals...

"With predation and carnivory as catalysts, the first known eye appeared in a trilobite during the Cambrian explosion approximately 543 million years ago. This period was a crucible of evolution and teemed with anatomic creativity although the journey to formed vision actually began billions of years before that. The Cambrian period, however, spawned nearly all morphologic forms of the eye, followed by descent over hundreds of millions of years providing...

How do animals take to the air? Each has its own special techniques. But they must all overcome one of the planet's most powerful and universal forces--gravity.

In this episode Brian Cox visits South East Asia's 'Ring of Fire'. Attending the annual Day of the Dead in the Philippine highlands, he explores the thin line between life and death, and raises the question: what is life? Brian explains the laws governing energy and reveals life to be a conduit through which energy passes. Visiting a volcano, he demonstrates how the first spark of life may have arisen through a source of energy created by chemical...

In a Turkish headquarters the world's top earthworm scientists concoct a plan to find and name their ultimate discovery. Nothing will stop them as they travel to all corners of the world with spades, GPS worm locators, and secret worm outing fluids to unearth their prize. But love turns savage when things don't go as planned and the worm gets the upper hand. An epic adventure into an underground science and an unstoppable passion.

In a South American jungle we will unravel the secrets of night time "hunt and evasion" flying, as bats and moths fight for the upper hand in one of the world's oldest arms races. And we will take the viewer inside a giant flock for the first time to unlock the secrets that keep half a million birds from colliding in the same air space.

Naturalist and 19th century painter, John James Audubon was one of the most remarkable men of early America. The program brings to life his timeless paintings with dazzling footage of the living birds he immortalized — and celebrates visually the natural world he described in his writings. Interviews reveal the man, explore his art, and put his groundbreaking work in modern perspective.

From the delicate membranes that encased the earliest animals to the leathery hides that protected the dinosaurs, this program looks at how skin has changed and adapted to practically any challenge it has faced over time.

The deadliest natural weapon employed in the animal kingdom has independently evolved in creatures as diverse as jellyfish, insects, snakes, and even mammals. In this program, scientists show how evolution has adapted venom to fit the needs of the animals who wield it.