Plot Synopsis

Hosted by mathematician/statistician Talithia Williams, computer scientist Rana el Kaliouby, and neuroscientist Andre Fenton, NOVA WONDERS WONDERS is a six-episode, one-hour series that follows remarkable researchers who are tackling the biggest unanswered questions about life and the cosmos, and pushing the boundaries of understanding in ways that could transform our world and the future. Each week, an 60-minute episode poses a single big scientific question and takes viewers along on a journey to explore how far scientists have come in our quest for answers, and how they've managed to get there. Among the intriguing topics pondered are the secret language of animals, what's hidden in the human body, the artificial intelligence technologies that could rival and surpass the abilities of the human mind, the controversial power to engineer life in a lab, and the mysteries of the universe. The series travels to some unexpected places to look for answers -- including deep underwater, where humpback whales are essentially playing a game of "telephone" across the world, with pods teaching each other new songs; deep beneath our skin, where trillions of microbes are living in our bodies; deep below the earth, in mines where researchers are trying to detect elusive dark matter particles; deep into space, where astrophysicists are hunting for signs of extra-terrestrial life, and more.

The series opener, "What Are Animals Saying?," reveals a world filled with the exotic sounds of our fellow creatures -- from singing whales and squeaking bats to thumping spiders and clicking dolphins. What are they saying? People might like to think language sets humans apart, but some animals demonstrate they can learn languages -- like Chaser the dog, who recognizes hundreds of words, and Kanzi the chimpanzee, who understands some English spoken in context. But can we decode their own communications? NOVA WONDERS follows researchers around the globe who are deciphering an amazing array of clues that reveal how animals share information critical to their survival. Will we one day be able to write the bat dictionary or decode the hidden sign language of chimps? And what can these findings tell us about the roots of our own language?

Other episodes in Season 1 are as follows (program order is subject to change): "What's Living In You?"; "Are We Alone?"; "Can We Build A Brain?"; "Can We Make Life?"; "What's The Universe Made Of?"