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Native to central and southern Europe, the amphibious alpine newt breeds in shallow water, where its larvae are born, hatch and feed on plankton, before sprouting legs and moving to land. This timelapse video from the Dutch director Jan van IJken tracks the development of a single-celled zygote into the hatched larva of an alpine newt. Captured in stunning detail at microscopic scales, Becoming is a remarkable look at the process of cell division and differentiation, whence all animals – from newts to humans – come. For more awe-inspiring biology from van IJken, watch The Art of Flying.
Filmmaker, producer and editor: Jan van IJken
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Earth science and climate
A biologist on the sorrows of documenting the Great Salt Lake’s collapse
6 minutes
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Design and fashion
Household items are reborn in a ‘visual symphony of everyday objects’
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Music
As a pianist strikes a chord, visualisations of his notes appear in real time
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Thinkers and theories
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Quantum theory
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Space exploration
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Logic and probability
Chew over the prisoner’s dilemma and see if you can find the rational path out
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Architecture
The radically impractical 18th-century architect whose ideas on beauty endure
19 minutes
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Biology
The idea that life on Earth originated elsewhere is not as far out as it seems
6 minutes