The Nature of Things
Season 40
The Nature of Things is a Canadian television series of documentary programs. It debuted on CBC Television on November 6, 1960. Many of the programs document nature and the effect that humans have on it. The program was one of the first to explore environmental issues, such as clear-cut logging.
The series is named after an epic poem by Roman philosopher Lucretius: "Dē Rērum Nātūrā" — On the Nature of Things.
The series is named after an epic poem by Roman philosopher Lucretius: "Dē Rērum Nātūrā" — On the Nature of Things.
Where to Watch The Nature of Things • Season 40
15 Episodes
- The Hidden Killer: Portrait of an EpidemicE2
The Hidden Killer: Portrait of an EpidemicImagine if a new disease suddenly began to kill off some of the healthiest young people in your community. Starting with flu-like symptoms, it soon escalates and kills its victims within hours. People literally drown as their lungs fill with fluid. In the spring of 1993, a young Navajo couple and their infant son were just beginning their life together when unexpectedly and unannounced, tragedy struck. - Parkinson's: Lynda's StoryE3
Parkinson's: Lynda's StoryDespite astonishing advances in many areas of modern medicine, the treatment of Parkinson's disease has changed very little since drug therapy was introduced nearly 40 years ago. Today however, doctors are gaining new insights into this complex disabling disease through the use of experimental surgery. Lynda MacKenzie has waited two years for experimental brain surgery for Parkinson's disease. - Designing for Dignity: Engineering Body PartsE5
Designing for Dignity: Engineering Body PartsA baby perfect in every detail. Every one of the billions of cells in this baby carry all of the genetic information needed to produce every part of the body. But what happens if this genetic information is incomplete, the design modified, the function altered or destroyed by trauma or disease or a body part simply wears out? Engineers world wide are working with plastics, metals and living tissues. Trying to mimic Mother Nature and return the damaged body to function and dignity. - Race for the FutureE6
Race for the FutureWhen David Suzuki was born 1936, there were two billion human beings. In his lifetime, our population has tripled. And in that time, virtually all of the modern things that we take for granted, the birth control pill, computers, jet planes, satellites -- you name it, have become a part of our daily lives. When you add all of that together, our numbers, our consumption, our technology, our economy -- we have become something never seen before on this Earth. A species so powerful we are changing the biological and physical features of the planet. - Race for the Future, Part 2E7
Race for the Future, Part 2In our previous program, we saw how science and technology have presented us with a paradox -- a world in which we are increasingly powerful yet increasingly vulnerable at the same time. We looked at the consequences of our ever- increasing consumption of the earth's resources, at the growth of environmental consciousness. A world where it sometimes seemed that we had little sense of our real goals. Tonight, the stakes get higher as we travel into the future. - The Sleep FamineE8
The Sleep FamineA nuclear power plant whether Chernobyl or this one near Toronto, is not a place you want run by people who are half asleep. But from all over, from surgeons, police, parents, you hear the same complaint -- they're tired. They can't get enough sleep. It's been called a sleep famine. Part of the price we pay for a non-stop 24 hour a day lifestyle. Life goes on around the clock. And in our 24 hour a day, seven day a week society, one of the major victims has been sleep. - Silent SentinelsE10
Silent SentinelsMass bleaching of coral has swept the world's tropical oceans, in places leaving hundreds of miles of coral coastline severely damaged. This program examines the issues associated with damage to corals: rising temperatures, and acidification due to increasing amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. - Humans: Who are We, Part 1 – The Birth of The Human MindE12
Humans: Who are We, Part 1 – The Birth of The Human MindThe Birth of The Human Mind takes viewers on an amazing journey back in time, exploring the use of language, tools and how our distant ancestors came to walk. Contrary to long-accepted belief, scientists now believe that Homo sapiens did not evolve from Neanderthals, but shared the earth with them for thousands of years. Our ancestors, the Homo sapiens, are the youngest members on the human family tree, about 150,000 years old. Homo erectus goes back 1.8 million years and Neanderthals about 200,000 years. - Humans: Who Are We?, Part 2 – The Human InvasionE13
Humans: Who Are We?, Part 2 – The Human InvasionPaleoanthropologists, linguists, archeologists and other scientists offer the latest interpretations of fossil findings and genetic studies and posit intriguing theories on how Homo sapiens became the only existing human species. Did we kill off our cousins, interbreed and merge with them, or did they just die out? It took five million years for an upright ape to evolve into an agile, quick-thinking and inventive human being. But once our ancestors emerged in Africa, were we destined to dominate the globe? - Weather: Dragons of ChaosE14
Weather: Dragons of ChaosThe nature of weather is so complex that it is really a system of chaos. Weather is often benign, but occasionally the chaos spawns fierce dragons. Severe weather - violent storms, floods and droughts - is largely beyond human control, and can be cruel. Few need reminding of the 1987 tornado that killed 27 people in Edmonton, the flooding of the Saguenay region in 1996 and the Red River in 1997, and the 1998 ice storm in Quebec. - The Green ZoneE15
The Green ZoneThe strip of vegetation along a waterway is called the riparian zone, the 'green zone.' This program shows that protecting a stream or restoring a river often means repairing this green riparian zone, which scientists say is as important to the river's ecosystem as the water itself.