EVOLUTION (2001) PBS NOVA

Evolution, Show 4: The Evolutionary Arms Race

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Video Description

Show 4: The Evolutionary Arms Race

Survival of the fittest: Raw competition? Intense cooperation? Both are essential. Interactions between and within species are among the most powerful evolutionary forces on Earth, and understanding them may be a key to our own survival.

Chapter 1. Prologue (2:23)
Introduction to the show's theme: the "arms race" between predator and prey as a driving force in evolution.
* Example where a microbe is predator, humans are prey
* Russian prisons have spawned a deadly microbe
* If we harness evolution, can we reach a truce with this enemy?

Chapter 2. Newts, Snakes, and Co-Evolution (7:33)
Biological forces driving species' evolution
* Why is the rough-skinned newt so poisonous?
* Garter snakes' high resistance to toxicity and the evolutionary benefits and costs
* Predators evolving to defeat prey, and prey evolving to evade predators

Chapter 3. Microscopic Predators (3:02)
Infectious diseases and the invention of antibiotics
* Disease-causing microorganisms are m... (read more)

Documentary Description

EVOLUTION (2001)

Series Overview
Evolution determines who lives, who dies, and who passes traits on to the next generation. The process plays a critical role in our daily lives, yet it is one of the most overlooked -- and misunderstood -- concepts ever described.

The Evolution project's eight-hour television miniseries travels the world to examine evolutionary science and the profound effect it has had on society and culture. From the genius and torment of Charles Darwin to the scientific revolution that spawned the tree of life, from the power of sex to drive evolutionary change to the importance of mass extinctions in the birth of new species, the Evolution series brings this fascinating process to life. The series also explores the emergence of consciousness, the origin and success of humans, and the perceived conflict between science and religion in understanding life on Earth.

The Evolution series' goals are to heighten public understanding of evolution and how it works, to dispel... (read more)

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