Episode 1: Locusts
Tuesday, September 30 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
Biologist Claire Rind takes a locust to the movies by showing it the action sequences from blockbuster Star Wars. Observing its neural responses to fast-moving X-wing fighters, Dr. Rind discovers the secret of locust flight and its amazing ability to avoid mid-air collisions.
This bizarre experiment inspires scientists around the world to replicate the locust's anti-collision abilities in computers, robots, even automobiles. And thousands of lives could be saved on America's roads thanks to one locust that loves the movies.
Episode 2: How Sticky is Your Gecko?
Tuesday, September 30 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT
In this episode of Weird Connections we reveal how geckos will soon save lives. These sticky lizards are among the best climbers in the natural world. And they could be the key to every-day heroes one day climbing like Spiderman.
And what kick starts it all? An undergrad student pulling geckos off walls. Unbelievable maybe, but in just five steps we lead you on a journey through the fascinating worlds of geckos, robotics and nano-technology. We reveal the unusual science behind making people go where they have only dreamed of going.
Episode 3: The Fly
Tuesday, October 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
Meet a scientist who likes to play video games with flies. Professor Michael Dickinson has unlocked the mystery of insect flight. With this discovery he starts a chain reaction of experiments, which take us on a robotic roller coaster, ride from California to the mountains of Switzerland.
The humble fly is transformed before our very eyes into a robo-fly, a man made machine that can be sent into a disaster zone to search for survivors without the risk to human life.
Episode 4: Honey, My Frog is Flying
Tuesday, October 7 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT
In 1996 physicist Andre Geim took a frog and made it float. For the first time in history a living creature was levitated using the power of magnetism. Neither the physicist, nor the frog had any idea that they would set off a chain of weird connections that could change the future of mankind.
The frog, along with cutting edge NASA research, could solve one of the greatest problems for astronauts - how to survive long term missions, without catastrophic health problems.
Episode 5: Great Balls of Fire
Tuesday, October 14 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
Amateur scientist Bob Golka has been attempting to make ball lightning for the past 50 years. He wired 28 submarine batteries to a tub full of water in an attempt to create this strange form of energy in his own home.
This is just the start of a series of weird connections from his back yard, to the most groundbreaking experiments with Plasma being carried out today. Could this strange substance hold the answer to a future of fusion power?
Episode 6: The Roachmobile
Tuesday, October 14 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT
Scientists have put a roach in the driving seat of an electric powered vehicle and sent it on a road trip around their laboratory. This bizarre experiment is no joke - it could be the first step in creating a new, seamless interface between living brains and machine.
Mind-controlled typwriters, rat brains flying fighter planes and the world's first cyborg - part human…part machine. This is not science fiction: it's our future.
