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Innovation
Curing blindness by implanting electrodes directly into the brain? Reading
the minds of accused criminals? Building skyscrapers that reach half
a mile into the air? Such examples may sound like the stuff of science
fiction, but they're rapidly becoming science fact. Across the
country, researchers are developing all kinds of cutting-edge technologies
with the power to change lives.The eight-part Innovation series tells the dramatic stories
behind some of today's most exciting breakthroughs, delving beyond
the "wow" of technology and into the personalities, politics,
inspirations and serendipity that take them from concept to reality.
Said executive producer Beth Hoppe, "With Innovation, we're
not only exploring some of the scientific advances that are shaping
our lives; we're taking it a step further by looking at the stories
behind these intellectual adventures - the real-life human drive
to solve problems and the factors along the way that contribute to the
success or failure of any breakthrough."
Innovation's episodes spotlight technological advances
in aircraft design, the emerging field of stem cells and regenerative
medicine, espionage, bionics, fiber optics, skyscrapers, weaponry and
lie detection. To ensure accurate and timely content for each episode,
the producers worked with a prestigious advisory panel composed of academics,
scientists and journalists. "The series looks not only at the advancements
themselves, but also at the people who make them happen or are most
affected by them," said series producer Jared Lipworth. "This
helps viewers connect with the programs - they're not just
learning about impersonal or abstract ideas, they're witnessing
real people with compelling stories, problems and passions."
Meet Karen Grisdale, a blind woman who has gone to Portugal for a risky
brain implant surgery that she hopes will restore some of her sight.
Also meet Tony and Jonna Mendez, retired CIA "masters of disguise,"
who recount tales from their spying days during the Cold War and go
undercover to help train FBI agents in anti-terror surveillance. Follow
a new stem cell treatment for heart attacks and learn about Joy Veron,
a Texan paraplegic who is being treated with a stem cell therapy that
may restore feeling and utility in her lower body. Veron was injured
when she threw herself under her SUV as it began rolling towards a cliff
with her children inside.
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