A Science Odyssey – Origins (1998)
- /// Biology / Environment
- /// Runtime: 200 Minutes
Watch A Science Odyssey – Origins (1998) Documentary Online
Origins charts the quest for beginnings — of our planet, our species, and life itself. How and when did the Earth form? What monumental forces could set entire continents in motion, build mountains, and trigger earthquakes?
How could life have begun on a lifeless planet? From planetessimals to plate tectonics, Darwin to DNA, “Lucy” to “Eve,” Origins explores the myriad, earth-shattering, and often mind-boggling discoveries of geologists, biologists, paleoanthropologists, and others that have led to some of the most contentious — and exciting — theories of modern science.
The earthquake that shatters San Francisco in 1906 opens a century of explosive discoveries and debates in the earth sciences. See the Earth through the eyes of Alfred Wegener, who struggles to convince the scientific establishment that continents move. Watch as radiodating techniques increase Earth’s estimated age – sometimes inspiring skepticism if not outrage. Meanwhile, a parallel upheaval rumbles the life sciences, where new evidence of our primate ancestors and the discovery of DNA’s structure stir up controversies of their own. Ancient fossils and living cells give up their secrets to change our view of our species and the mechanics of life.
Highlights include: Age and origins of the Earth. Volcanoes. Earthquakes. Alfred Wegener. Continental drift. Harry Hess. Plate tectonics. The Himalayas. The formation of mountains. Religion, myth, and science. Human origins. The Scopes trial. The legacy of Charles Darwin. Mutation and adaptation. Paleoanthropology. Louis and Mary Leakey. Donald Johanson and “Lucy.” Primordial soup. DNA. Origins of life.
Watch A Science Odyssey – Episode 1
Watch A Science Odyssey – Episode 2
