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Science in Action - The Gene Hunters debuts on Discovery Feb. 13, 2001

January 01, 2001

Winter, 2001: They are visionaries, pioneers, explorers of the new genetic frontier. The Gene Hunters are working to eradicate disease, solve historical mysteries and save endangered species.

From a lonely Pacific island to the shores of the Caspian Sea, from Venezuela to the icy wastes of Labrador, The Gene Hunters series seeks out the people who are exploring and putting into practice revolutionary new genetic science. Innovative, exciting and accessible, The Gene Hunters is science in action.

Genetic science affects the food we eat, the diseases we cure, the energy we produce and the crimes we solve. Gene Hunters are explorers in this new era, navigating uncharted territory and the controversy that comes with it, particularly around issues such as genetic engineering and cloning.

“The series shows that genetic science is no longer the province of a lab-based white-coated elite,” says series producer Chris Lett. “Scientists now use it in the field as an everyday tool in a huge range of applications. Genetic science is coming down off the mountain and to a neighborhood near you.”

The Gene Hunters series goes to a new location each week to reveal a fascinating story in which scientists are using gene technology to solve a difficult puzzle. Each of the 13 half-hour episodes features a different field that new genetics tools are revolutionizing, including archeology, paleontology, forensics, microbiology, marine biology, and conservation.

The series opener introduces cave-climber and amateur scientist Michael Ray Taylor. He’s on the hunt for a controversial microbe known as nanobacteria. If nanobacteria can be proven to exist, the tiny microbes (10 times smaller than the any previously known) may provide a new template for the most basic form of life. This could change the definition of what constitutes life – and not just life on earth, but throughout the entire universe.

Episode two features Betsy Dresser, an animal physiologist at the Audubon Center for Species Survival. Her mission is to collect and freeze embryos, eggs, and sperm from endangered mammals. This genetic material can then be used to clone endangered species. In the future, genetic scientists may be able to use this DNA to bring back extinct species. Of course, Dresser’s approach to saving endangered animals in the laboratory is not popular with those who would rather see time and money spent on protecting the animals’ natural habitats.