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“ the Thread of Life " Part 2 (1960)

1960 · Short film · 26 min

  • Documentary
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Synopsis

The Thread of Life” dates to 1960 and was part of the Bell Science Series of films. The film is about heredity, genetics, DNA and how it works. The screenplay was by Rowland Barber, a writer perhaps best known for the 1960 novel The Night They Raided Minsky's. Owen Crump directed; Robert McKimson directed the animation. This part of the show discusses natural and artificial mutations in genes and how these mutations can have positive and negative effects. This is shown particularly through how cells exposed to radiation reproduce. This is followed by an explanation of the discovery of DNA, which Dr. Baxter shows in detail with a model and animations of how DNA reproduces. 0:34 a lactose intolerant baby, 1:03 people on a monitor speaking to Dr. Baxter, 1:41 animation of the chromosomes determining the sex of a baby, 3:06 an animation with chromosomes highlighting why men are more likely to be colorblind, 3:40 Dr. Baxter speaking to the camera and people in monitors, 5:57 animation of how camels have changed, 6:31 mice with gene mutations, 6:58 goldfish with different mutations, 7:13 Dr. Baxter speaking to his audience, 7:41 a new strain of wheat, 7:57 hybrid corn varieties, 8:16 different examples of improved genetics including animals, rice, trees, and seedless watermelons, 9:17 Dr. Hermann J. Muller and his laboratory, 9:43 abnormal fruit flies after being exposed to radiation, 10:31 comparison between regular and radiation exposed cells dividing under a microscope, 11:46…

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Details

Running time
26 minutes
Collection
Ephemeral Films

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