The Nature of Things

The revolutionary new understanding of the brain's functional and structural capacities.

The Suzuki Diaries is a road trip, a travelogue, an adventure. The legendary David Suzuki and his youngest daughter Sarika, a university student about to start her own career in the sciences, are full of hope as they travel to Europe to see what sustainability truly looks like. In Germany, Denmark, France and Spain, they set out to meet the people working to restore the equilibrium between human needs and planetary limits. They find a renewable energy expert, a biodynamic farmer and writer, a blogging bike enthusiast, two meticulous industrial designers, and a political powerhouse in the green movement. What they discover is that sustainability can be built into the fabric of contemporary life, not just by environmentalists but by anyone, across the full spectrum of society. The idea, innovations and inspiring individuals David and Sarika encounter prove that sustainability does not mean sacrificing quality of life. The Suzuki Diaries illustrates what is truly possible if humans have the will.

We’ve come a long way since the first “horseless carriages” began to transform not just how we get from one place to another, but also how we think about transportation, urbanization, city-planning and personal mobility in general. With rising fuel prices and growing environmental concerns, never before has it been so urgent to imagine what next year’s model might look like. But there is hope. All over the world there are people trying to figure out how to build an environmentally and socially sound version of the car. Join engineering professor Brian Fleck on a quest to meet the engineers, designers and even students working on new technologies to make this possible. From hydrogen-powered family sedans to high end fully-electric powered sports cars, and even cars that drive themselves, you'll find plenty of surprises. Perhaps the future is not so far off as we might think — the technology that will transform our societies tomorrow is being developed today. The question is, are we ready?

Study of brain cells, how research has helped the understanding of learning and memory. Filmed at the Montreal Neurological Institute, with Dr. Wilder Penfield and Dr. Herbert Jasper

Professor Donald Ivey probes the attitudes and working habits of scientists

Series consultant Lister Sinclair is host on season's opener on which he explains how scientists approach their work and how The Nature of Things will present scientific items.

British psychaitrist Dr William Sargeant discusses and illustrates various brainwashing techniques such as weakening of mind.

Hosts Dr Patterson Hume and Dr Donald Ivey of University of Toronto talk about electronics age brought about by vacuum tube and transistor.

An examination of personality and achievement of Albert Einstein. Dr Jacob Bronowski of Salk Institute for Advanced Biological Studies at La Jolla, California.

Scientist and broadcaster William Whitehead and Dr WE Swinton, Director of Royal Ontario Museum discuss how size differences in animal kingdom are result of their environment and their habits.

Universal standards of measurements are explained in laymen's terms by Dr Patterson Hume and Dr Donald Ivey of University of Toronto.

The problem of survival in extreme climatic conditions is examined by Dr. William Whitehead.

A series studying animal kingdom, and man's place in it, through comparisons of anatomy, function, and behavior.

How animals get from place to place, including burrowing, crawling, climbing trees, running,.

"Animals In The Water" studies fish, crocodiles, seals and whales.

An examination of sun from various points of view. Includes discussion with illustrative film footage of: archeological remains.

The famous Niagara Falls had their origins at Queenston 12,000 years ago. Since then.

This program explores serious problem of pollution, which results when more waste materials are poured into air and water than these elements have capacity to deal with.

"Retreat to the Rockies" with an especial look at bighorn sheep.

A study of the rare and beautiful trumpeter swan, which was nearly extinct but has now returned to a reasonably healthy population of about 2,000 through efforts of federal and provincial conservation agencies.

The authentic sights and sounds of wildlife activity in the Arctic during the summer. Animals seen include polar bears and seals.

Thomas Edison wasn't merely a lone inventful genius. He invented modern research team makes possible technology shaping our world.

A review of history of man's oldest materials: wood, stone, iron, bronze and glass.

Part a six-part series on pollution. This program shows how comparatively new science of ecology has shown fate of life on earth lies in balance.

Part two of a six-part series on pollution. The ways man has succeeded, and failed, to duplicate in his cities checks and balances of natural environment.

The third program in a six-part series about pollution. This program shows how water is distributed.

The first in a four-part series entitled The Last Stand. The series looks at a variety of areas in the world set aside as specially protected areas of wilderness and natural wildlife. The first program is about western mountain parks and the work being done by biologists and scientists to save mountain wildlife.

The Everglades, unique in the world, are dependent entirely on water. But the beautiful birds and animals in the park are threatened by land development and a new airport, whose drainage policies are drying up the area.

The third in a four-part series entitled "The Last Stand." Point Pelee is a tiny peninsula in southwestern Ontario, jutting into Lake Erie, which contains a fresh water marsh full of wildlife of all kinds. It is also the last stronghold of the southern deciduous forest in Canada and contains southern species of plants and animals not found anywhere else in the country.

Season opener: The Nature of Things looks at discovery of insulin by Dr Frederick Banting and Dr Charles Best and deals with current Canadian research into diabetes.

Chances of recovery by a cancer patient in Canada are examined. Guests: Dr James Till, Toronto's Princess Margaret Hospital, and Dr Robert Taylor of National Cancer Institute.

A look at research which may bring hope to sufferers of a crippling disorder that affects those on the older side of the generation gap. Guests include Dr. Oleh Hornykiewicz, a pioneer in the discovery of the drug L-DOPA.

The Lacandons, last surviving descendants of Mayas, live in rain forest of southern Mexico.

Examines male and female roles in society and presents a scientific study of the known biological facts about sex differences in humans.

This program looks at hormonal changes during puberty, and the socially originated attitudes leading to differences between the sexes.

This, was filmed on Great Island, off east coast of Newfoundland, site of puffins' nesting grounds in North America.

This group of thinkers, Club of Rome, thinks western society is on verge of chaos, social and political.

On Ellesmere Island, located 600 miles from North Pole, oil has been discovered. Island inhabitants, new and old, are seen in this half-hour film.

A documentary showing the behaviour of killer whales in the wild, in the waters off Vancouver Island.[194]

Story of a child's stay in Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children.

A film on volcanic eruption off south coast of Iceland in 1973.

Season Debut: A two-part film about the ease in which little children learn languages.

Severely deaf children learn to speak like normal children with the aid of powerfully sensitive hearing aids and teaching techniques being used by dedicated teachers.

A look at Sable Island, about 100 miles off Nova Scotia, where the wildlife has had an unusual evolution because it is separated from the mainland.

The work of a group of naturalists who are attempting to create a refuge for biblical animals by restocking a park with species inhabited land in Bible times.

Through the use of micro-photography, viewers are afforded a look at the unique way in which a reef is formed through a complex system of natural recycling.

A study of the capabilities that are innate to a newborn baby in the first week after birth.

The series' 18th season starts with "The People You Never See," a report on victims of cerebral palsy.

Pedestrian malls, car-free zones and multipurpose subway systems are examined in a study of urban planning and urban renewal.

Visit to marshes of Regina where Canada Geese spend winter on open water.

Season premiere: Anthropologist Richard Leakey discusses his work in Africa, and explains the latest techniques by which scientists measure time and age of subjects.

The phenomenon of man's changing concepts of the world is explored in relation to his desire to measure time more accurately.

A series of people of varying ages, professions and experiences express their innermost feelings on subjects ranging from dateless Saturday nights to fear of death.