Welcome to the companion Web site to "Life's Greatest Miracle," originally broadcast on November 20, 2001. A sequel to the most popular NOVA of all time, "Miracle of Life," the program once again uses the extraordinary microimagery of Swedish photographer Lennart Nilsson to track human development from embryo to newborn. Here's what you'll find online:
Watch the Program
If you missed the television broadcast of the Emmy award-winning program "Life's Greatest Miracle," you can watch it in its entirety here. Note: This program is rated TV-14,S. Viewer discretion is advised. (Available in QuickTime or RealVideo)
Great Expectations: A Woman's Journal
In this daily journal, follow along as a mother-to-be describes the joys and hopes, the trials and tribulations, of undergoing pregnancy and giving birth.
Windows on the Womb
Doctors today have myriad techniques for tracking the growth and health of a baby throughout pregnancy. Here, explore a bevy of currently available diagnostic and screening techniques, which are changing the nature of both pregnancy and parenthood.
The Stem-Cell Debate
In this essay drawn from his new book, Dartmouth ethicist Ronald Green, a one-time member of the National Institutes of Health's Human Embryo Research Panel, brings clarity, balance, and insight to the controversial issue of using human stem cells in biomedical research.
How Cells Divide (Hot Science)
Most of the time, when a cell in our bodies divides, each new cell carries a complete set of chromosomes. The cells involved with reproduction, however, carry only half after division occurs. In this step-by-step explanation, learn about mitosis and meiosis, the two types of cell division.
How Is Sex Determined? (Hot Science)
The sex of an egg cell is set as soon as it is fertilized, but what happens to that cell and the cells it divides into to make a baby boy or girl? Find out here.
Not sure if anyone already put it up.. but this is a site with info and a video on how the thyroid gland secretes thryoxine and its various reactions with other cells.
This quiz tests you on the glands of the endocrine system and what they produce. It gives you options to choose from and corrects the quiz for you. (click score test, not correct it!)
This give a basic explanation of the endocrine system and the glands of the human body as well as a diagram. It is informative enough without giving an overwhelming amount of detail.
(Note: the endocrine system starts at 1:08) This video does a good job of explaining the different parts of the endocrine system including hormones, the hypothalamus, the pineal gland, the thyroid gland, the parathyroid glands, the thymus gland, the pituitary gland, the adrenal glands, and the pancreas.
this video is goes into detail about how the endocrine system works, maintains homeostasis and other factors such as the different hormones and glands.
* credits go until 15seconds
This video easily explains the function of the endocrine system. It tells you the six major types of glands that secrete hormones. Hormones are secreted into the capillaries that run through each major endocrine gland. It shows red blood cells moving through the capillaries. You can not see the hormones running through them though because they are in the solution in the blood plasma. Hormones can travel freely through the capillary walls and only influence specific target cells. Target cells have specific chemical receptors that can be on the surface or inside of the cell.
This website gives a great introduction to the Endocrine System works. You are then able to navigate throughout the site by clicking the different glands shown in the beginning , or the pictures link which shows which parts of the body work in the system. Really good website to find cetain details about specific glands.