Heatwaves are increasing in frequency, duration and intensity. How can we protect ourselves against extreme heat in the future? What management strategies are there? Cities, in particular, face enormous challenges. This film examines scientific answers and visits “hotspots” in Europe.
What was motherhood like in prehistoric times? Recent archaeological findings prove that the cooperative support of mothers within a community became a successful reproductive strategy. This scientific film also offers insights into evolutionary biology by examining the communal way young white-tufted marmosets are reared.
A few years ago, everyone was talking about declining bee populations, but today beekeeping is booming. There are now so many farmed bees in Swiss cities that they are taking away food from rare wild bees and other insects. This is a problem for biodiversity. Conservationists are now campaigning for the regulation of beekeeping.
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.
Our blue planet is running out of drinking water. Researchers around the world are trying to find ways to save drinking water. New technologies, ideas inspired by nature and prehistoric knowledge give us hope. The journey takes us from Swiss alpine glaciers and the seabed off Malta to Peru, where Incan knowledge about water is being rediscovered.
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.
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.
Have you ever wondered what the world would look like if we stopped eating animals? The End of Meat is a groundbreaking documentary film envisioning a future where meat consumption belongs to the past.
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.
