All New AETN Exploration Wednesday!

Posted on 30 Oct 2012

Tune in for another AETN Exploration Wednesday chock full of great new episodes with "Nature: Racoon Nation" at 7 p.m., “NOVA: The Ghosts of Machu Picchu” at 8 p.m. and “NOVA scienceNOW: Can I Eat That?” at 9 p.m.

Ever wondered if those fuzzy bandits trashing your garbage cans are smarter than you are? They might not have been when you first encountered each, but “Nature” questions whether our efforts to outwit raccoons are actually helping them! Explore to see if people are unwittingly contributing to the raccoon nation’s evolutionary success by creating complex obstacles in fast-paced environments.  Scientists follow a family of urban raccoons as they navigate a major city to find out.

Mysteriously abandoned on its mountaintop perch more than four centuries ago, Machu Picchu is the western hemisphere’s most famous archeological ruin. But why was this iconic symbol of Incan power and engineering prowess abandoned? It’s a question that has plagued us since Hiram Bingham discovered the “Lost City of the Incas” in 1911. “NOVA” joins a new generation of archeologists as they search for answers, probing areas of the architectural wonder that haven’t been disturbed since the Incan people built the sacred site.

Why are some treats – like chocolate chip cookies – delectable while others – like cookies made from mealworms – disgusting? We might think we know, but “NOVA scienceNOW” invites us to taste a much more complicated truth in “Can I Eat That?”. Join David Pogue and venture into labs and kitchens where everything from apple pie and Thanksgiving turkey to juicy grasshoppers is diced, sliced, dissected and examined to uncover what helps us enjoy our food more. Is there a secret that could let us find the secret to enjoying our favorites without packing on the pounds?

Get the answers to all of these questions and more when you tune in!

TUNE IN:

“Nature: Raccoon Nation,” 7 p.m.
“NOVA: Ghosts of Machu Picchu,” 8 p.m.
“NOVA scienceNOW: Can I Eat That?” 9 p.m.