To celebrate the great naturalist Charles Darwin's 2009 bicentennial, and the 150th anniversary of the publication of "On the Origin of Species," this two-hour special that takes viewers to the frontiers of evolutionary science. The program leads viewers on an exploration of the living world Darwin knew and a world he could only have dreamed of: the genetic inner workings of natural selection. Over the last decade, an exciting field of biology has emerged to help explain how a small number of genes could be responsible for the vast variety of life we see in nature. This emerging field of evolutionary developmental biology, or "Evo-Devo," uses genetic methods to combine the study of evolution and biological development of single organisms and whole species. Using these methods, it appears that the same genes sculpt the bodies of everything from sea squirts to people, and that these ancient, seemingly immortal genes as well as what controls them may hold the secret of how evolution builds new species out of old ones.

Running Time: 55 mins

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