Arts & Culture

NOVA scienceNOW: Can We Live Forever?

Published January 24, 2011 at 10:13 AM PST

A hibernating 13-lined ground squirrel. They’ve been called medical miracles: People submerged in icy water, or buried in snow, with no breath or heartbeat. They seem dead, yet a fortunate few are revived—thanks to the cold. Now, across the country, ER doctors are intentionally chilling their patients into hypothermia; meanwhile, scientists are hoping that a cocktail of drugs inspired by hibernating animals could one day perform the same "miracles" on demand.

Hosted by renowned astrophysicist, author and director of the Hayden Planetarium, Neil deGrasse Tyson, NOVA scienceNOW covers four timely science and technology stories per one-hour episode. Each episode of the upcoming season of NOVA scienceNOW explores one of six “big” science questions: can we live forever?; how smart are animals?; where did I come from?; how does the brain work?; what’s the next big thing?; and can we live in space?

This provocative episode of NOVA scienceNOW examines whether we can slow down the aging process, looks at the latest on human hibernation, and checks in with bioengineers and a computer scientist inventing ways to keep us "going forever." Neil deGrasse Tyson also takes a lighthearted look at whether the tricks that have kept a 1966 Volvo running for 2.7 million miles can also help the human body go the extra mile.

Why do our bodies fall apart over time? Is there any way to stop the process? How well can we build body parts and organs to replace ones that get damaged? Neil deGrasse Tyson hosts "NOVA scienceNOW: Can We Live Forever?"

NOVA scienceNOW: Can We Live Forever?

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