
And Man Created the Cow
★ 6.5 · 2016 · Documentary
10,000 years ago, the European forests were inhabited by huge cattle with protruding horns: the aurochs. Then man began to domesticate them and created the cow. By crossing species, he adapted the animals over time so that they increasingly met his needs and desires. Industrial livestock farming was born. From then on, beef cattle and dairy cows such as the Holstein cow were bred. Milk production tripled within a few decades. Today, the cow of the future is produced by artificial insemination. By selecting a few breeding bulls that are considered to be top bulls, rapid genetic progress is ensured.
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The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey
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Inheriting Your Physical Traits
1970
This educational film from 1970 traces the inheritance of traits such as sex, eye color, height, and weight, showing the role of chromosomes and genes in determining their development.
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What Darwin Never Knew
2009 · ★ 9
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The Scientist, The Imposter and Stalin: How to Feed the People
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The documentary tells two very different human fates in the 1920s Soviet Union. Nikolai Vavilov was a botanical genius, Trofim Lyssenko was an agronomist who made great promises and fake inventions. Each of them tried to solve the country's nutritional problem, but only one succeeded.
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A Dangerous Idea
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