We humans thing we are pretty special creatures within the animal kingdom, but as scientists try to understand what makes us different from other animals, they keep running into what makes us the same. We share most of our DNA with chimps, nearly as much with mice, and a good proportion with non-mammals, such as bees and birds. Researchers examine these similarities and differences to leanr more about the human race.
For more info: Beyond Human

This program looks at the debates surrounding genetically modified food. Some say manipulating genes in plants and animals is the solution to world hunger; others say it's not safe to eat or grow. The Enviropig, for example, developed by researchers in Guelph, Ontario. The pig is genetically modified to produce less phosphorus, and might one day make pig farming less harmful to the environment. The program also travels to India to explore rice genetically fortified with beta-carotene to ward of diseases that come from Vitamin A deficiency.
For more info: Designing the Garden: Food in the Age of Biotechnology

This program may just change the way you think about memory and learning. And it won't just affect your mind; it'll change your brain -- literally. Researchers today are grappling with the interplay between the inner mind and the outer world and looking at how the brain a person is born with changes in response to the cultural, social, personal, and physical environments we live in.
For more info: Minding the Brain

At first, geneticists thought studies of genes and inheritance held the answers to both the cause and treatment of disease. Now they realize that genes do not act alone and that environment -- from our cells to our neighborhoods -- works in concert with or genetics. Researchers are connecting just how the minute genetic variations among people influence why some are more sensitive to air pollution or react badly to some medications, or -- as producer Vicki Monks finds in her travels betwee Arizona and Mexico to compare obesity rate of Pima Indian communities -- how the variations in our living conditions can change health of a molecular level.
For more info: Rewriting Heredity: Environment and the Genome

Evolution is an ongoing process and as the Earth becomes warmer, we are seeing changes in migration patterns of birds, insects, and even in the microbial life of the oceans. Here we look at how scientists track these changes, how organisms can adapt or not, and what this means for the health of the planet. Producer Adam Burke journeys to Hawaii and through Australia -- the jungles to the Great Barrier Reef -- to find out how living things are affected by warming trends.
For more info: The Heat Is On: Evolution in Action