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A relative of jellyfish, the rice-sized freshwater creatures known as hydra are, at first glance, rather basic – all tentacles and mouth, with lives dedicated to nabbing passing prey. But, as scientists have gradually been discovering over centuries, these simple organisms have such a unique capacity for regeneration that they’re considered biologically immortal. As this video from the science documentary series Deep Look explores, the hydra’s ability to rebuild itself is so powerful that the animal can even reform after being essentially blended at a cellular level. Providing astonishing high-definition glimpses of its microscopic world, this short details why the secret to the hydra’s invincibility is in its stem cells, and how scientists hope to harness its qualities to benefit humans.
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Evolution
How – and how not – to think about the role randomness plays in evolution
60 minutes
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Physics
The rhythms of a star system inspire a pianist’s transfixing performance
5 minutes
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Art
Watch as Japan’s surplus trees are transformed into forest-tinted crayons
4 minutes
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Biology
A spectacular, close-up look at the starfish with a ‘hands-on’ approach to parenting
5 minutes
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Technology and the self
A filmmaker finds a tactile beauty in the creation of her prosthetic leg
11 minutes
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Knowledge
An Indigenous myth and a geological survey elicit two ways of knowing one place
4 minutes
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Biology
Beetles take flight at 6,000 frames per second in this perspective-shifting short
9 minutes
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War and peace
A war meteorologist’s riveting account of how the Allies averted a D-Day disaster
6 minutes
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Physics
What does it look like to hunt for dark matter? Scenes from one frontier in the search
7 minutes