We live on and from it, and yet we know very little about the soil beneath our feet. What is our soil made of? How can we use and preserve it as sustainably as possible? Scientists take a look below the surface of the earth and delve deeply into the DNA of soil.
Dyslexia is a complex condition whose causes are still not fully understood. At least 5% of all children and adolescents worldwide have difficulty reading and spelling. This film looks at the psychologically stressful situation these children face. It showcases success stories and finds out how researchers are searching for causes and treatments.
They are the unsung heroes of crime investigation – forensic scientists. We meet Europe’s leading experts in forensics. We learn about the newest methods in their profession, what made them choose their path, how they became involved with law enforcement, and we take a closer look at their most exciting cases.
Friend or foe? In less than half a second, our brains form an opinion about a person based on their expressions and voice. But AI technology can also interpret our emotions, health and personality more and more accurately on the basis of increasing volumes of data. This film offers us an insight into the latest scientific findings.
mRNA vaccines are the beacon of hope in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. But their potential goes far beyond this. Over 150 different mRNA-based therapies and vaccines are currently being developed around the world. But what is the true potential of mRNA technology? Where are the risks? Is mRNA technology the new game-changer in medicine – or is it just hype?
Our oceans are drowning in plastic. Much of this waste ends up in the sea via rivers, including European rivers. This is the sad conclusion film-maker Steffen Krones comes to when he discovers waste from Germany on Norway’s Lofoten Islands. To find out more, Steffen and a friend build a GPS buoy to follow the waste’s journey all the way to the Arctic.
The social behaviour of chimpanzees and bonobos is similar to that of humans in many ways. Today we know that chimpanzees can feel compassion, wage war and reconcile afterwards. Can studying them shed light on the origins of human emotions? In this film, international behavioural scientists provide insights into this fascinating field of research.
Physical contact defines our entire life. It makes us social beings and affects how we perceive stress or pain, whom we trust, whom we love. In times of social distancing, researchers examine the processes triggered by human touch – and they look at what happens when there is a lack of physical contact.
The film tells of the discovery of the world’s oldest medical manual. Georg Ebers, a German Egyptologist, came upon the 3,500-year-old work in Luxor in the late nineteenth century and carried it back with him to Saxony in a spectacular manner.
What is consciousness? Is it in all living beings? Why are we predisposed for mystical experience? And what happens when we die? AWARE follows six brilliant researchers approaching the mystery from radically different perspectives, opening as a science film but emerging beyond the explicable.
In a digitalised world, multitasking is considered a major challenge and for many even unavoidable. The film takes a scientific look at the myth about effective multitasking and exposes it as a major misconception: humans can multitask only to a limited extent.
ME/CFS is a debilitating condition that affects millions of people throughout the world. And yet little research has been carried out into the disease to date. Recently, things have started happening – because the long-term effects of Covid-19 are similar to the typical symptoms of ME/CFS. Scientists are now trying to get to the bottom of this mysterious disease.
