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"Highly Recommended! This program charts a major
archaeological discovery, as a group of British and Arab "dinosaur hunters"
broaden our understanding of the great animals. The audio and video
qualities of this documentary are excellent, and appropriate graphics
enhance the information and provide suitable context for the program. It is
suitable for Jr. and Sr. High school instruction, college and junior college
science, paleontology, natural and physical science courses, and anyone who
loves learning about dinosaurs." -EMRO Review This program charts a major archaeological discovery, as a group of British and Arab "dinosaur hunters" broaden our understanding of the great animals. Professor Dick Moody of England's Natural History Museum heads a team of scientists, who include other members of the museum, the Geological Society and the Arab City of Science; together they search the Tunisian Sahara to discover some of the most exciting archaeological finds of modern times. Moody feels the Tataouine Mountains could produce a complete dinosaur skeleton. On their first expedition they not only find fossil trees and ferns, but also the vertebra of a Spinosaurus vertebra, a dinosaur believed to have been forty feet long. On their second expedition they find a tooth of a Spinosaurus, along with fossils of a lungfish and a shark, sparking the debate whether this area once was a channel of rivers or a marine environment. Produced by OR Media Productions. 07DR JSCA 50 min. |
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Biology: Corn - The Miracle Crop |
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Two carefully researched programs that show what a miracle
crop corn truly is. Produced by Iowa State University. 07DR IJSCA
"Special Box Set Savings" - 2 Programs in a 1-DVD Box Set! Also
available on 2 DVDs, Videos or Digital Files. 1. The Miracle of Corn CINE Golden Eagle Award This award-winning program combines time-lapse sequences, cinematography, and clear footage in a descriptive introduction to seed germination, pollination, photosynthesis, and plant maturation. 10 min. 2. The Hybrid Corn Miracle CINE Golden Eagle Award Excellent animation and infield demonstrations explain the genetics and techniques of inbreeding, chronicling the development of hybrid seed corn and its role in the productivity of the modern corn plant. 10 min. |
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"Highly Recommended. Classification systems used to
identify specific plants or animals, to diagnose medical conditions, or to
trouble shoot computer malfunctions are all examples of dichotomous keys.
The chapter points of the DVD allows viewers to go through each example;
also it includes a thorough glossary of descriptive terms to compliment the
key." -NAMTC/NMM Review This program thoroughly explains how to use a dichotomous key. It discusses the difficulty of identifying living things and shows how a systematic identification chart makes this job possible; also it offers three types of keys: the flow chart, split outline, and straight outline key formats. Produced by Eric Stavney. 08DR IJSC 10 min. |
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Cert. of Merit -Chicago IFF Merit Award -Palo Alto Film Festival Dowsing, or "water witching," dates back to the earliest cave paintings and continues to confound science. This program documents a factual account of a community of people who strive to keep dowsing alive. Produced by Frank Simeone. 08DR/CL IJSCA 30 min. |
| When the Japanese researcher Masaru Emoto first published the book, Messages From Water, his life changed forever. His theory, that human thoughts (or prayers or music) directed at water before it is frozen can affect the images of the resulting water crystals, caught the interest of many. Most scientists do not take his claim seriously, since there has been no peer review in academic journals, nor has Emoto ever followed any double-blind procedures to substantiate his theory; however, that has not slackened the growing interest of millions who are concerned about the quality of water. Today, Emoto, who has written a number of additional books, including The Hidden Messages in Water and Love Thyself - the Message from Water, travels around the world constantly giving lectures. This program introduces viewers to Emoto and his theories. Here we see beautiful, harmonious crystals that express vitality, while polluted or lifeless water does not form well-arranged crystals. We learn that one also does not have to be a chemist or a physicist to observe the quality of water. Anyone can become aware of water's vitality by observing the beauty of its crystals and opening his or her heart to their fascination. This is probably the reason for Emoto's wide-ranging success. He has studied the waters of aqueducts, lakes, rivers, springs, as well as curative and holy waters with surprising results. He has also examined the impact of cell phones and computers, as well as music and even our own emotions: water, he believes, "feels" the subtle vibrations by forming particular crystals; thus "we affect water, which in turn affects us, because we are 75% water." This documentary unfolds like an easy and fascinating journey into a world still unknown to many of us, a world of incredibly beautiful crystals. Interviews are held with Emoto and Joan Davis, a former professor at the Federal Polytechnic in Zurich, Switzerland. And what are their conclusions? We must protect water, nature and ourselves by living in harmony and utilizing technologies, which are based on life. Water is a source of life and its lessons for us are many. Produced by TSI, Inc. 2008 JSCA 30 min. |
| Kohler Illumination - Demonstrates the set-up and use of Kohler illumination in microscopy; Streak Plate Techniques - Discusses and demonstrates streak plating and dilution, two indirect methods of separating microorganisms; The Simple Stain - A demonstration of the procedures for cleaning a glass microscope slide, preparing a smear from a growth on an agar surface, and staining with methylene blue dye. Produced by Michigan State University. 08DR/CL SCA 30 min. |
| Gram Stain Procedure - This demonstration utilizes the Kopeloff modification of the gram stain emphasizing the four fundamental steps of the procedure; Calibration of the Ocular Micrometer - A demonstration of the set-up and use of the ocular micrometer in microscopy; Enrichment and Differential Culture Techniques - Shows examples of each class of enrichment and differential media and demonstrates techniques for enriching and differentiating microorganisms. Produced by Michigan State University. 08DR/CL SCA 30 min. |
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The neotropics is defined as the bio-geographic are of the
Americas that stretches southward from the Tropic of Cancer and includes
southern Florida, as well as southern Mexico, Central and South America, and
the West Indies. In this program, author and filmmaker Carlo Ferraro
combines over a decade of research with expert cinematography to reveal 150
species of birds that can be found in this area of the world. Here he
captures the essence of the avian world, including their eating habits and
various behaviors, such as getting food from water sources, communication,
reproduction, parenthood, as well as their contact with humans. Produced by
Ferraro Nature Films, Inc. 08DR JSCA 50 min. Associated Programs: Birding and Birds 1 - 6 and Digital Encyclopedia of Birds 1 & 2 |
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"Highly Recommended. State Standards approved, this
program discusses the scientific efforts to detect gravity waves; its
content is current, accurate and scholarly. Viewers will be able to express
an understanding of what gravity waves are; describe the efforts made by the
scientific community to detect gravity waves; discuss Einstein's predictions
and theory of general relativity; also explain why detection of gravity
waves is important." - California Learning Resource Network (CLRN) "Recommended. This program presents a clear and interesting overview of efforts to detect gravity waves, ripples through space-time caused by moving objects. Gravity waves are predicted by Einstein’s general relativity theory. The production values are excellent with particularly good simulation graphics. The film discusses in detail the plan to build the Australian International Gravitational Observatory (AIGO). In combination with other laser interferometer installations in other countries, scientists hope to finally detect the elusive gravity waves. The background and importance of this detection effort is described in easily understood terms." -EMRO Review Just north of Perth, Australia, is a new kind of observatory, called AIGO (the Australian International Gravitational Observatory), which could revolutionize our understanding of the universe. AIGO is trying to detect gravity waves, which are ripples through space-time caused by moving objects. They were predicted by Albert Einstein in his theory of general relativity, but have never been detected. If we can detect gravity waves, astronomers will no longer be limited by how far they can see into space. They will be able to hear gravity waves generated by huge masses such as pairs of neutron stars or the formation of black holes. It may be many years before AIGO is capable of detecting gravity waves, but scientists involved believe it will be worth the wait. Produced by ABC International, Inc. 08DR/CC Closed-Captioned SCA 30 min. |
| A synchrotron is a complex machine that produces highly specialized light. Scientists in a number of emerging fields can use this light, known as synchrotron radiation. This program gives a well-illustrated introduction to this fascinating machine under the following headings: Applications, Basic design, Synchrotron radiation, and Interaction with materials. The physics behind the machine, including: electromagnetic radiation, diffraction, x-ray scattering and basic equations such as F = evB and Bragg's law are clearly introduced in plain English with graphics and visual metaphors. Produced by VEA Productions, Inc. 07DR SCA 30 min. |
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"Highly Recommended! This program does a superb job of
documenting the hard work, intense preparation, collaborative nature, and
disappointments of high level scientific research. It is the best program
this reviewer has ever seen in conveying what is really involved in research
efforts. It follows University of New South Wales superconductor researchers
from Sydney to Tokyo to New Mexico as they design and test an experiment to
measure superconductivity in ultra-high magnetic fields. It culminates in an
experiment at Los Alamos National Laboratory using high explosives involving
Australian, Japanese, and Russian researchers. The experiment lasted all of
one-millionth of a second as the entire apparatus was detonated. Production
values were excellent with the human side of the scientific enterprise
presented in a very engaging manner." -EMRO Review This program documents a multi-national experiment on the cutting edge of science. Research scientists traveled to New Mexico, Sydney and Tokyo in the pursuit of a new theory of basic physics. The theory is about using magnetism to produce a new form of superconductivity - the ability of a material to conduct electricity without any electrical resistance whatsoever. Using a mixture of American and Russian equipment the scientists managed to generate a huge magnetic field lasting all of one-millionth of a second before the whole thing blew apart. Although the testing was bizarre, experimental physics at its finest, getting any data at all was a real achievement. Produced by ABC International, Inc. 07DR/CC Closed-Captioned JSCA 30 min. |
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"Recommended. What is nice about this program is that it
shows professionals, graduate students, undergraduates and high school
students all working together at the University of Houston Science Center to
learn more about superconductors...it is well-made and will help its
audience consider a career in the chemical, physical, or engineering
fields." -EMRO Review Introduces the basic science topics of atomic structure, molecular bonding, electron interaction, current, resistivity, voltage, and, ultimately, superconductivity. Produced by New Masters, Inc. 07DR SCA 30 min. |
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"Offers good visual answers to some puzzling
questions." -California ITC Why is the sky blue? How did the Vikings navigate the Atlantic during the 9th century? Professor Frank Blatt answers these and other questions by demonstrating the scattering of light process. Produced by Michigan State University. 08DR/CL JSCA 15 min. |