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NOVA: WONDERS, SEASON 1

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If you are looking to be amazed, this is the DVD to watch! It is interesting, educational and simply amazing. Each episode answers a scientific question. There are two discs and the questions they address are: What are animals saying? Can we build a brain? What's living in you? Are we alone? Can we make life? What's the Universe made of? Such interesting questions and the answers will mesmerize you. There are three main scientists featured in the series, but there are many other people involved in all the various research and studies. There is even someone who studies the sex life of spiders. My favorite (maybe it is because I am such the animal lover) is the episode, "What are animals saying?" It takes such a fresh approach to language and it's not about whether or not animals can learn our language but can we understand their language. I learned that in many ways, we can understand their language and it is not all vocal or verbal language, but there is a lot of nonverbal communication. Just from one episode, I learned so much about chimpanzees, whales, dogs, spiders and bats! Did you know that spiders mate only once or that a whale's song can last from 5 to 30 minutes? These are only two of the amazing facts I learned. I give this series 5 stars out of 5 stars and highly recommend it for ages 11 to 18, as well as adults. Reviewed by Denise B., KIDS FIRST! Adult Juror.

NOVA: WONDERS is a fresh, lively series that makes complicated concepts accessible while taking a deep dive into the scientific process. Each episode poses a big scientific question and takes viewers along on a journey to explore how far we've come in our quest for answers, and how we've managed to get here. Among the intriguing topics pondered are the secret language of animals, what's hidden in the human body, the artificial intelligence technologies that could rival and surpass the abilities of the human mind, the controversial power to engineer life in a lab, and the mysteries of the universe.

The program travels to some unexpected places to look for answers -- including deep underwater, where humpback whales are essentially playing a game of "telephone" across the world, with pods teaching each other new songs; deep beneath our skin, where trillions of microbes are living in our bodies; deep below the earth, in mines where researchers are trying to detect elusive dark matter particles; deep into space, where astrophysicists are hunting for signs of extra-terrestrial life, and more.

Three young scientists serve as enthusiastic guides and science communicators. Talithia Williams is a mathematician and statistician who also applies data models to the human body and the environment. She is joined by co-hosts Rana el Kaliouby, a computer scientist developing emotion recognition technology used in artificial intelligence, and André Fenton, a neuroscientist studying the biology of memory. All three set-up the inquiry, demonstrate key aspects of the challenges facing scientists, and ask provocative questions about research carried out on the winding paths of uncertainty and the unknown.