A window on the womb

The PBS science show NOVA uses the latest technology to update its look at the development of human life in Life's Greatest Miracle.

By Times staff
© St. Petersburg Times,
published November 20, 2001

[Photos: Lennart Nilsson] At 6 weeks, the embryo is already developing fingers.

The egg cell awaits the sperm.

The winning sperm -- one of 500-million vying to reach the egg -- enters the egg cell.

NOVA provides an inside-the-womb peek at human life in Life's Greatest Miracle, which debuts at 8 tonight on WEDU-Ch. 3. A remake of Lennart Nilsson's famous film Miracle of Life, the production uses microscopy and medical imaging to reveal stages from conception to birth.

New sequences shot by Nilsson include the journey of sperm to the egg. Often painted as determined warriors racing to be first, sperm are largely controlled by the woman's body. Her muscular contractions, for example, pull the sperm forward, the photography shows.

Additional highlights include budding brain cells and the creation of a network of blood vessels.

Nilsson, a science and wildlife photographer who pioneered the use of endoscopic photography, published striking still photos of embryos in utero in Life magazine in 1965. His film Miracle of Life won an Emmy and numerous other awards in 1983. Life's Greatest Miracle updates it with 21st century technology.

Visit the show's Web site, www.pbs.org/nova/miracle, for more information on amniocentesis, ultrasound and other techniques used to monitor a developing fetus. Visitors can read the journal of a woman going through pregnancy and interact with a virtual baby.

NOVA is seen in more than 100 countries and is the most-watched science television series in the world.

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