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Dawn of the Modern Age of Genetics

Season 1 Episode 1 | 1hr 54m 09s

Part One interweaves the present-day story of the Rosens, a young family on an odyssey to find a cure for their four-year-old daughter’s rare genetic disease, with stories of the exciting discoveries of the early pioneers in genetics. This episode also tracks the dark period in human history when a little genetic knowledge was used to justify terrifying human experiments.

Aired: 04/06/20 | Expires: 05/05/20
Funding for KEN BURNS PRESENTS THE GENE: AN INTIMATE HISTORY has been provided by Genentech, 23andMe, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Gray Foundation, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) & Conquer Cancer Foundation, Judy and Peter Blum Kovler Foundation, Craig and Susan McCaw Foundation, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The Outreach and Education Partner is National Institutes of Health, National Human Genome Research Institute. Outreach support is provided by Foundation Medicine.
Extras
What terrifying things go on inside of chrysalis, and what dark role do genes play?
What goes on in our DNA to make us grow grey hair, wrinkles and less than healthy DNA?
How do viruses work? Sort of like an alien invasion that replaces our cell’s genetic code.
Humans are indeed genetically related to bananas (as well as slugs), but how exactly?
In this episode, we delve into the difficulties of resurrecting extinct animals.
Part Two begins with the signature scientific achievement of our time.
The science, history & personal stories of the human genome.
How DNA's mysterious instructions buried in a gene become the actual nose on a face.
If you're curious about the origin of boys, look no further than the Y chromosome.
See what happens if DNA code gets deleted, put in the wrong place, or switched.
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Part Two begins with the signature scientific achievement of our time.