Drawing on a range of disciplines, this provocative program looked at how discoveries in areas like fundamental physics, anthropology, and genomics are influencing our understanding of uniquely human characteristics.

Ever wondered how many neurons are in the human brain? Meet Suzana Herculano-Houzel, a professor at Vanderbilt University whose pioneering “brain soup” technique made it possible to accurately count the …

Does your dog really think and feel like a human? Do our closest primate relatives have brains and emotions similar to ours? What about the storied intelligence of dolphins and singing humpback whales? And do other species hold surprises for us if we’re willing to look closely?

Food scientist Amanda Kinchla’s innovation happens in the lab…and in the kitchen as she uses science to create new and nutritional foods and food safety solutions. Episode filmed live at …

What if we could peer into a brain and see guilt or innocence? Brain scanning technology is trying to break its way into the courtroom, but can we—and should we—determine criminal fate based on high-tech images of the brain?

In the future, a woman with a spinal cord injury could make a full recovery; a baby with a weak heart could pump his own blood. How close are we today to the bold promise of bionics—and could this technology be used to improve normal human functions, as well as to repair us?