Featured in the Premiere Edition

Super Green Rice
Rice is the single most important source of food for more than half the world's population and some countries are already experiencing rice shortages. Plant scientist Rod Wing is working with Chinese experts to develop a "super" rice, ensuring that generating food for people is compatible with the environment.

Hubble's Successor
Discoveries are not limited to the planet Earth. Space exploration is essential for discovering the origins of our universe and how we fit into the big picture. Astronomer Marcia Reike is working on an infrared camera that will be the eyes for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, looking further back in time than ever before.

Mosquito Control
Malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases are on the rise and already kill thousands of people each year. One of the more unique approaches in controlling mosquitoes may be to interfere with their blood feeding cycle. Molecular biophysicist Roger Miesfeld and his team are researching this important health concern.

Skin Cancer Prevention
Tucson ranks just behind Melbourne, Australia with the world's second highest rate of skin cancer. The efforts of the Jacobsons, a husband and wife research team, are close to paying off as they soon hope to find a drug that will prevent skin cancer.

Valley Fever Drug
When the desert is churned by bulldozers or the wind, spores in the soil can release an airborne fungus which may cause lung infections in humans and pets. The disease is called Valley Fever and Dr. John Galgiani has devoted his entire career to researching this potentially-fatal disease. Could a cure be close at hand?

The Genographic Project
Do you know where your ancestors came from? A major scientific study called The Genographic Project hopes to find out as researchers look at the migratory history of humans by analyzing DNA samples of hundreds of thousands of people. The Genographic Project is a collaborative effort between National Geographic Society and IBM, of which the University of Arizona’s Human Origins Genotyping Laboratory provides all public testing services. Visit nationalgeographic.com/genographic to find out more.