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Peru’s Pacific coastline is suffering extreme drought. More than 3.5 million people have no access to clean water. It's delivered in tanks and sold at high prices. An engineer is now harvesting water from fog.
The kilogram used to be determined by a metal cylinder stored in a Parisian safe - but the cylinder has started to lose mass. Scientists are now using an ultra-precise electromechanical weighing machine.
This week's Tomorrow Today viewer question comes from Khalifa Keyz: What is an atom?
The Humboldt Current along the coast of Peru is bursting with life. With its nutrient-rich water from the depths, the ocean current discovered by Humboldt is vital for a huge ecosystem. But climate change is now disrupting it.
We head to Peru and the Pacific to take a look at the ocean current that bears Humboldt's name. The long coast of Peru is mainly desert, one of the driest regions in the world. Engineer Abel Cruz has developed a technique to harvest water from fog.
This week our series on Alexander von Humboldt's expedition to the Americas takes us to Peru and Ecuador, where we visit the Achuar people. Medical science looks for substances in plants that could prove to be of therapeutic value.
German scientist Alexander von Humboldt was intrigued by the way of life of indigenous peoples in South America. In that spirit we visit members of the Achuar people, who live in relative isolation deep in the Amazon forest.
Though they have been used for thousands of years, research into medicinal plants' effectiveness and mode of action is of growing importance. Plants not generally used for medicinal purposes may also contain substances of therapeutic value.
Our viewer question this week comes from María Luisa Gómez Prats in Mexico. She wants to know what nature-based medicine is all about.
AI is of growing importance in radiological diagnostics. Algorithms are being developed to help doctors even see tiny changes in tissue, which might indicate abnormalities that are signs of a stroke or a tumor.
Have you ever wondered why tattoos don't go away? Scientists in France believe they may have uncovered the reason. As it turns out, our immune system plays an important role.
This week's question comes from Rahul Saini in India.
The Berlin Natural History Museum houses some 30 million artefacts. Among them are objects that Alexander von Humboldt brought home from his travels. Museum director Johannes Vogel shows you around and describes the significance of the collection.
When Alexander von Humboldt traveled to Ecuador, he found dozens of volcanoes. The discovery prompted him to dub the area the "Avenue of the Volcanoes," and to this day, 17 of them remain active. DW went to see them.
We head to Ecuador's ‘Avenue of the Volcanoes’ in the footsteps of the naturalist Alexander von Humboldt. Closer to home, we visit Berlin's Natural History Museum, where Humboldt's parrot has found a home; and we delve into the science of tattoos.
Latin America's first licensed female mountain guide takes you up 'Humboldt's volcano', Chimborazo.
Alexander von Humboldt's five-year Americas expedition made him world famous. On his 250th birthday we ask how relevant the German explorer, scientist and humanist still is today. Also: new methods to find minerals, and why bats sleep upside down.
This week's viewer question comes from Ngwa Somutah Valentine in Cameroon.
Alexander von Humboldt once studied at the Mining Academy in Freiberg. Today researchers there are looking for new ways of obtaining mineral resources, such as high-tech drones and environmentally friendly methods of separating minerals from rock.
Humboldt's Tableau Physique, shows the distribution of mountain vegetation as a function of altitude. Today scientists use the data to investigate changes due to global warming. But there are discrepancies, as Pierre Moret and his team discovered.
Researchers at Munich’s Technical University are developing smart surgical glasses for operating theaters. Allowing for a 3D visual representation of the patient, Augmented Reality is set to revolutionize surgery.
Many people spend hours a day on social media. What makes it so addictive? Researchers are looking into the tricks used by the likes of Facebook to keep users scrolling on ... and on.
Plastic bottles are easy to buy, but hard to get to get rid of. They end up as trash on the street or in nature, are recycled into products like fleece clothing - and sometimes enter our food chain.
Are microplastics damaging our health? Some scientists say we shouldn't be jumping to conclusions. Also: why social media is so addictive, and how augmented reality is set to revolutionize surgery.
