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The Worst Episodes of NOVA scienceNOW

Every episode of NOVA scienceNOW ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of NOVA scienceNOW!

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NOVA scienceNOW is a News magazine version of the long-running and venerable PBS science program Nova. Premiering on January 25, 2005, the series was originally hosted by Robert Krulwich, who described it as an experiment

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  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    NOVA scienceNOW Season 1 Episode 1 - Mirror Neurons, Hurricanes, Sand Dunes
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #1 - Mirror Neurons, Hurricanes, Sand Dunes

    S1:E1

    Topics include: Getting worked up over mirror neurons, new tools for predicting hurricanes, the sounds that sand dunes make, and a profile of MIT robot designer James McLurkin.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. NOVA scienceNOW Season 1 Episode 2 - 3-Foot Humans, T. Rex, Stem Cells
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #2 - 3-Foot Humans, T. Rex, Stem Cells

    S1:E2

    Featured segments include: the discovered remains of three-foot-tall humans on the island of Flores, a look at how T. Rex got to be so big, a profile of nanotechnologist Naomi Halas, the issues surrounding stem cells, and the yearly freeze and thaw cycle of the common wood frog.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. NOVA scienceNOW Season 1 Episode 3 - Hydrogen Cars, Petunias, Glaciers
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #3 - Hydrogen Cars, Petunias, Glaciers

    S1:E3

    Featured segments include: the future of hydrogen fuel cell cars, the discovery of medical potential within a petunia, a fast moving glacier and what it says about global warming, and a profile of brothers and mathematicians Gregory and David Chudnovsky.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. NOVA scienceNOW Season 1 Episode 4 - Life in the Lab, Lightning, Fish Surgery
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #4 - Life in the Lab, Lightning, Fish Surgery

    S1:E4

    Featured segments include: scientists making life in the lab, lightning that may be triggered by cosmic rays, a profile of neuroscientist Erich Jarvis, the advances of fish surgery, the too human appearance of Hollywood aliens, and an update on Hurricane Katrina.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. NOVA scienceNOW Season 1 Episode 5 - Tenth Planet, Twin Primes, Bird Flu
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #5 - Tenth Planet, Twin Primes, Bird Flu

    S1:E5

    Featured segments include: a possible tenth planet in our solar system, the twin prime conjecture, a possible reappearance of the ivory-billed woodpecker, a look at the bird flu and whether it will move to people, the growing of meat in a laboratory culture, an update on stem cells, the link between hurricanes and global warming, and a profile of cancer researcher Tyler Curiel.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. NOVA scienceNOW Season 2 Episode 1 - Asteroid
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #6 - Asteroid

    S2:E1

    The Apophis asteroid, the size of a football stadium, is headed towards Earth and should arrive in 2036.Island of Stability: The long road to creating element 114.Obesity: The biology of eating.Profile: Karl Iagnemma: A look at MIT roboticist and fiction writer Karl Iagnemma.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. NOVA scienceNOW Season 2 Episode 2 - Mass Extinction
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #7 - Mass Extinction

    S2:E2

    What caused the greatest mass extinction nearly 250 million years ago?1918 Flu: The 1918 flu virus is revived and decoded in the hopes that we can learn from it before the next pandemic.Profile: Cynthia Breazeal: A look at MIT social roboticist Cynthia Breazeal.Papyrus: Can we use space-age technology to read papyri fragments that are almost 2,000 years old?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. NOVA scienceNOW Season 2 Episode 3 - Aging
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #8 - Aging

    S2:E3

    A look at recent research on the aging process, and how we might slow it down.Space Elevator: The possible creation of a "space elevator" made from nanotubes, and a NASA contest designed to fuel innovation behind this idea.Maya: The use of a new NASA satellite technique to find lost Maya ruins.Profile: Bonnie Bassler: A look at Princeton molecular biologist Bonnie Bassler and her research on bacteria communication.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. NOVA scienceNOW Season 2 Episode 4 - Sleep
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #9 - Sleep

    S2:E4

    Sleep may play an important role in strengthening memories.CERN: The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) nears completion at the international particle physics lab in Geneva, Switzerland.Emergence: Scientists try to understand a phenomenon called emergence, which allows a flock of birds or a school of fish to maintain such impressive order.Profile: Julie Schablitsky: A profile of University of Oregon archaeologist Julie Schablitsky, whose research is helping to rewrite the history of the Old West.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. NOVA scienceNOW Season 2 Episode 5 - Dino Blood?
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #10 - Dino Blood?

    S2:E5

    A paleobiologist has discovered preserved blood vessels and red blood cells in a 68-million-year-old dinosaur bone.Epigenetics: It seems that diet and lifestyle actually change the expression of our genes.Kryptos: A sculpture called Kryptos in the courtyard of CIA headquarters, contains a code that has yet to be fully broken.Profile: Arlie Petters: A look at Duke University Professor of Mathematics and Physics, and his research in the field of gravitational lensing.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. NOVA scienceNOW Season 3 Episode 1 - Dark Matter, Mice, Crowd Wisdom
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #11 - Dark Matter, Mice, Crowd Wisdom

    S3:E1

    Dark Matter - Turns out most of the universe is held together by a mysterious, invisible substance. Of Mice and Memory - Mice placed in enriched environments can recover lost memories, giving hope to those who study Alzheimer's. Profile: Hany Farid - This self-proclaimed "accidental scientist" is a digital detective inventing new ways to tell if photos have been faked. Wisdom of the Crowds - Ask enough people to estimate something, and their combined guesses will get you surprisingly close to the right answer.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. NOVA scienceNOW Season 3 Episode 2 - Personal Genome; Digital Art Authentication; Carbon Sequestration; Pardis Sabeti Profile
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #12 - Personal Genome; Digital Art Authentication; Carbon Sequestration; Pardis Sabeti Profile

    S3:E2

    Personal DNA Testing - Genetic testing to assess risk factors for a handful of serious illnesses is now commercially available. But is it a good idea? Art Authentication - See how clever computer algorithms can distinguish a master fake from a masterpiece. Capturing Carbon - An eighth-grader's science fair project prompts her scientist father to develop a new way to pull excess carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Profile: Pardis Sabeti - By night she's a rocker. By day, she's a Harvard geneticist tracking the evolution of the human genome.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. NOVA scienceNOW Season 3 Episode 3 - Saving Hubble, First Primates, Iraqibacter
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #13 - Saving Hubble, First Primates, Iraqibacter

    S3:E3

    Saving Hubble - Two teams of spacewalkers take on the risky mission of reviving the ailing Space Telescope. First Primates - Our most distant primate ancestors, which lived about 55 million years ago, were tree-dwellers the size of mice. Profile: Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa - He jumped the fence from Mexico to work as a farmhand and ended up a leading brain surgeon. Killer Microbe - A relatively benign bug becomes a highly lethal pathogen, known to U.S. soldiers as Iraqibacter.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. NOVA scienceNOW Season 3 Episode 4 - Bird Brains, Space Storms, Smart Bridges
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #14 - Bird Brains, Space Storms, Smart Bridges

    S3:E4

    Bird Brains - Clues to the origins of human language are turning up in the brains of birds. Space Storms - Behind the dazzling display of the aurora borealis are space storms that could turn the lights off here on Earth. Profile: Yoky Matsuoka - A former tennis prodigy aims to create advanced prosthetic limbs controlled by human thought. Smart Bridges - Can we engineer bridges that tell us what's wrong with them before it's too late?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. NOVA scienceNOW Season 3 Episode 5 - Leeches; SETI; Stem Cells; Edith Widder
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #15 - Leeches; SETI; Stem Cells; Edith Widder

    S3:E5

    Leeches - A century after falling out of favor, medicinal leeches are back in hospitals, sucking away on patients' wounds. SETI - Astronomers have their radio telescopes tuned to receive signals from alien worlds. But is anybody out there? Stem Cells Breakthrough - Three separate teams overcome a biomedical hurdle—creating stem cells without the use of human embryos. Profile: Edith Widder - Meet a marine biologist and explorer who has engineered new ways to spy on deep-sea creatures.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. NOVA scienceNOW Season 3 Episode 7 - Aging, Space Elevator, Maya from Space
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #16 - Aging, Space Elevator, Maya from Space

    S3:E7

    Aging - Will research into "longevity genes" help us live longer and healthier lives? Space Elevator - Can we build a 22,000-mile-high cable to transport cargo and people into space? Maya - NASA archeologists use satellites to pinpoint ancient ruins buried deep in the jungle. Profile: Bonnie Bassler - Her insight into how bacteria "talk" has launched a revolution in biological and medical research.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. NOVA scienceNOW Season 3 Episode 8 - Mass Extinction, 1918 Flu, Papyrus
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #17 - Mass Extinction, 1918 Flu, Papyrus

    S3:E8

    Mass Extinction - What caused the mother of all extinctions 250 million years ago? 1918 Flu - A virus that killed up to 50 million people is brought back to life to decipher its deadliness. Profile: Cynthia Breazeal - A daring engineer designs robots to communicate and interact the way people do. Papyrus - Scraps of writings from a garbage dump in ancient Egypt reveal what life was like 2,000 years ago.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. NOVA scienceNOW Season 3 Episode 9 - Asteroid, Island of Stability, Karl Iagnemma
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #18 - Asteroid, Island of Stability, Karl Iagnemma

    S3:E9

    Asteroid - Will a doomsday rock the size of the Rose Bowl hit Earth in 2036? Island of Stability - Follow the decades-long quest to create the elusive element 114. Obesity - Examine the biology behind the compulsion to eat. Profile: Karl Iagnemma - An innovative MIT roboticist is also an acclaimed fiction writer.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. NOVA scienceNOW Season 3 Episode 10 - T-Rex Blood, Epigenetics, Kryptos
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #19 - T-Rex Blood, Epigenetics, Kryptos

    S3:E10

    T-Rex Blood? - Preserved soft tissue, including possible blood vessels and red blood cells, are turning up in dinosaur fossils. Epigenetics - Our lifestyles can change the way our genes are expressed, leading even identical twins to become distinct as they age. Kryptos - A coded sculpture at CIA headquarters has yet to be fully broken. Profile: Arlie Petters - A boy from a rural village in Belize grows up to become a world-class mathematician and cosmologist.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. NOVA scienceNOW Season 4 Episode 2 - Hunt for Alien Earths / Art Authentication / Maydianne Andrade / Autism Genes
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #20 - Hunt for Alien Earths / Art Authentication / Maydianne Andrade / Autism Genes

    S4:E2

    Join astronomers hunting for Earth-like planets, see how computers distinguish authentic art from forgeries, meet a spider biologist who studies sexual cannibalism, and learn about genes that may be involved in causing autism.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. NOVA scienceNOW Season 4 Episode 3 - Marathon Mouse/Dinosaur Plague/Franklin Chang-Díaz/Space Storms
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #21 - Marathon Mouse/Dinosaur Plague/Franklin Chang-Díaz/Space Storms

    S4:E3

    Watch how an "exercise pill" turns couch-potato mice into athletes, explore a controversial new theory of what killed the dinosaurs, meet the first Latino-American astronaut, and find out why the beautiful northern lights signal a threat to our electronic society.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. NOVA scienceNOW Season 4 Episode 4 - Picky Eaters/Capturing Carbon/Sea Lions and Walruses/Sangeeta Bhatia
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Picky Eaters/Capturing Carbon/Sea Lions and Walruses/Sangeeta Bhatia

    S4:E4

    Discover why picky eaters may have a genetic excuse, learn about a new strategy for capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, see just how intelligent marine mammals can be, and meet a biomedical engineer who has figured out a way to make tiny livers in her lab.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. NOVA scienceNOW Season 4 Episode 5 - Moon Smasher/Secrets in the Salt/Bird Brains/Lonnie Thompson
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #23 - Moon Smasher/Secrets in the Salt/Bird Brains/Lonnie Thompson

    S4:E5

    Follow a NASA satellite looking for water on the moon, see what ancient salt deposits reveal about life 250 million years ago, learn how bird brains are remarkably similar to our own, and meet a climatologist who digs for clues to climate change in the world's highest glaciers.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. NOVA scienceNOW Season 4 Episode 6 - Public Genomes/Algae Fuel/Arctic Ocean Seafloor/Yoky Matsuoka
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #24 - Public Genomes/Algae Fuel/Arctic Ocean Seafloor/Yoky Matsuoka

    S4:E6

    Explore the controversies behind genetic testing and genome sequencing, learn about algae fuel, follow an expedition to the Arctic Ocean seafloor, and meet a woman engineer designing prosthetic limbs controlled by human thought.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. NOVA scienceNOW Season 4 Episode 7 - Saving Hubble Update/Gangster Birds/Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa/How Memory Works
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #25 - Saving Hubble Update/Gangster Birds/Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa/How Memory Works

    S4:E7

    Get an astronaut's view of the Hubble repair mission, find out why cowbirds are called "gangster birds," meet a Mexican immigrant farmworker-turned-brain surgeon, and learn how neuroscientists are finding ways to erase memories.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Mirror Neurons, Hurricanes, Sand Dunes" is the worst rated episode of "NOVA scienceNOW". It scored /10 based on 0 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 1/25/2005. This episode scored 0.0 points lower than the second lowest rated, "3-Foot Humans, T. Rex, Stem Cells".