SCIENCE IN THE CINEMA

UPCOMING PROGRAMS

GLOBAL WARMING

          GENERAL INFORMATION

          ARCHIVE

          CONTACT INFORMATION

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GLOBAL WARMING

The GLOBAL WARMING Science in the Cinema is part of the Scientific Library environmental program titled, WHAT CAN I DO? - AN ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS CAMPAIGN, which continues throughout 2008.

PART ONE: MOVIE

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH - This documentary offers a passionate and inspirational look at one man's fervent crusade to halt global warming's deadly progress in its tracks by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it. It focuses on former United States Vice President Al Gore and his travels in support of his efforts to educate the public about the severity of the climate crisis.

This 2006 documentary, which is rated PG and runs 1 hour and 40 minutes, will be shown in its entirety on two days: Tuesday, May 6, and Monday, May 12, beginning each day at 12:00 p.m. in the Auditorium of the Conference Center in Building 549.

PART TWO - INVITED SPEAKER

Dr. John Beutler, Staff Scientist in the Molecular Targets Development Program, will be our Invited Speaker. Dr. Beutler will discuss the impact of global warming on the research at NCI-Frederick, as it relates to the testing of organisms from around the world to find viable treatments for disease.

Dr. Beutler will speak on Wednesday, May 14, beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the Auditorium of the Conference Center in Building 549.

CONTACT INFORMATION

If you have questions, or need more information on this program, please call x5840 or email the Public Services Librarian.

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GENERAL INFORMATION

Science in the Cinema, a program sponsored by the staff of the Scientific Library, is held at different times throughout the year. The program combines a movie with audience discussion, both involving a scientific or medical theme. During the program a feature-length movie is shown to the audience. Following the movie, a guest speaker with interest or expertise in the film's subject gives an informal talk about the movie's theme. This 15-20 minute talk usually focuses on the science that is in the movie, whether or not it is realistic, how the science may have changed since the movie was made, and other interesting facts or opinions that the speaker wishes to convey. After the speaker's short presentation, the audience is encouraged to ask questions and offer comments.

Attending Science in the Cinema programs will allow audience members to gain a deeper understanding of how relevant and important science is in our lives. Attendees can learn how science affects so many different facets of our lives, and have fun at the same time!

ARCHIVE

We videotape the Science in the Cinema speakers, purchase videotapes or DVDs of the movies, package them together, and add them to the Scientific Library's circulating audiovisual collection, so that Library barcode holders may check them out to view at home.

Here is an alphabetic list of previous Science in the Cinema programs available from the Library.

• ALEX: THE LIFE OF A CHILD - cystic fibrosis
  This inspiring, 1986 made-for-TV movie starring Craig T. Nelson and Bonnie Bedelia, is based on Frank Deford's book.
  REWARDS: a Multi-Part Learning Program is co-sponsored by Occupational Health Services (OHS), the Frederick Employee Diversity Team, and the Scientific Library.
  BOOK: ALEX: THE LIFE OF A CHILD by Frank Deford; Call Number: WI 8920 .D315 (10 copies)
  SPEAKERS: Dr. Mike Dean, Chief, and Dr. Bert Gold, senior staff scientist and licensed genetic counselor, both in the Human Genetics Section, Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, NCI-Frederick
  Bibliography

• AND THE BAND PLAYED ON - AIDS
  This 1993 movie offers a historical look at the history of AIDS, from the early days in 1978 when gay men in San Francisco began dying from a mysterious illness, to the identification of the HIV virus. The multi-star cast includes Matthew Modine, Alan Alda, Lily Tomlin, Richard Gere, Anjelica Huston, Steve Martin, Ian McKellen, and Charles Martin Smith. The movie is based on the 1987 book AND THE BAND PLAYED ON: POLITICS, PEOPLE, AND THE AIDS EPIDEMIC, written by Randy Shilts.
  SPEAKER: Dr. Larry Arthur, Head of the Retroviral Vaccine Section, Associate Director of the AIDS Vaccine Program of NCI-Frederick, and Principal Investigator of Operations and Technical Support of SAIC-Frederick, Inc.
  Bibliography
  SLIDES (NCIF only)

• A BEAUTIFUL MIND - schizophrenia
  Russell Crowe plays John Nash, the brilliant mathematician who suffered from schizophrenia but eventually overcame it and won a Nobel Prize. Jennifer Connelly plays Mrs. Nash in this Academy Award-winning film.
  SPEAKER: Dr. Amar Klar, Section Head, Gene Regulation & Chromosome Biology Laboratory, NCI-Frederick
  Bibliography

• THE CARTOON MEDICINE SHOW: ANIMATED CARTOONS FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE - medical cartoons
  This unique DVD features a rich sampling of rarely screened animated medical cartoons from the 1940s to the 1960s. From the silent era to the present, physicians, health professionals, governmental agencies, like the U.S. Public Health Service, and voluntary associations, such as the American Cancer Society, have sought to use motion pictures to advance medical science, train doctors and nurses, and educate the public. The DVD presents a variety of medical themes and genres, including dental hygiene, physical fitness, physiology, venereal disease, tuberculosis, cancer, and radiation safety, in 10 to 15 short animated medical cartoons.
  SPEAKERS: Dr. Michael Sappol and Dr. David Cantor, historians at the National Library of Medicine
  Bibliography

• CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY - "The Science of Chocolate"
  This 1971 movie stars Gene Wilder as a very unusual candy maker, who gives a poor boy the prize of a lifetime: a tour of the most wonderful candy factory in the world.
  SPEAKERS: Dr. David A. Stuart, Director, Nutrition & Natural Products, The Hershey Company and Dr. Debra L. Miller, Senior Nutrition Scientist, Nutrition & Natural Products, The Hershey Company
  COMPANION DOCUMENTARY: AMERICAN EATS: CHOCOLATE
  ADDITIONAL MOVIE: WILLIE WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
  Bibliography

• CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD - deafness
  William Hurt plays a newly-hired teacher at a school for deaf children, where he meets the deaf janitor, played by Marlee Matlin. While trying to teach deaf students how to speak, Hurt also reaches out to the withdrawn, antisocial Matlin.
  REWARDS: a Multi-Part Learning Program is co-sponsored by Occupational Health Services (OHS), the Frederick Employee Diversity Team, and the Scientific Library.
  BOOK: IN THIS SIGN by Joanne Greenberg; CALL NUMBER: PS 3557.R3784 .G795 1984 (10 copies)
  SPEAKERS: Ms. Lisa Houck and Ms. Louise Hansch, Itinerant Teachers for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Frederick County Public Schools
  NOTE: No speaker video is available for this topic.
  Bibliography

• THE CURE - children with AIDS
  An 11-year-old boy with AIDS is befriended by a neighbor boy. Together the two boys plan to build a raft and float down the Mississippi River to get to Mexico, where they have heard there is a cure for AIDS.
  SPEAKER: Dr. Katherine Luzuriaga, Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Medicine and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Immunology, Infectious Diseases, and Rheumatology, University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS)
  Bibliography

• THE DAY LINCOLN WAS SHOT- Civil War Medicine
  This 1998 made-for-TV movie, starring Rob Morrow and Lance Henriksen, is based on the book by Jim Bishop. The movie is a thrilling and detailed chronicle of the plot, murder, and manhunt that changed America forever.
  REWARDS: a Multi-Part Learning Program is co-sponsored by Occupational Health Services (OHS), the Frederick Employee Diversity Team, and the Scientific Library.
  BOOK: MANHUNT: The 12-DAY Chase For Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson; CALL NUMBER: E 457.5 .S972 2006 (10 copies)
  SPEAKER: Mr. Jason Grabill, a Civil War Surgeon re-enactor and historian, and a docent with the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, Frederick, MD
  Bibliography

• DESK SET - libraries & librarians
  Katharine Hepburn, head of the research department, or library, of a TV network, clashes with Spencer Tracey, a systems engineer who is hired to computerize the entire company, including Hepburn's library.
  SPEAKER: Ms. M. J. Tooey, Deputy Director, Health Sciences and Human Services Library at the University of Maryland, Baltimore
  Bibliography

• THE DOCTOR - physician/patient relationships
  Successful surgeon Jack McKee (William Hurt), businesslike and aloof with his patients, finds his entire life changing when he is diagnosed with throat cancer. Christine Lahti plays his supporting and understanding wife.
  SPEAKER: Ms. Kathleen Higinbotham, Technology Development Administrative Specialist, Technology Transfer Branch, NCI, NIH
  Bibliography

• DOOR TO DOOR - cerebral palsy
  This inspirational movie tells the true story of Bill Porter (William H. Macy), a man who suffers from cerebral palsy. In spite of his physical limitations, Mr. Porter became a very successful door-to-door salesman, while also making a difference in the lives of his customers. Helen Mirren and Kyra Sedgwick also star.
  SPEAKER: Mr. Michael Aronin, comedian, motivational speaker, advocate for cerebral palsy patients. More information about Mr. Aronin may be found on his web site RISING ABOVE.
  Bibliography

• GATTACA - genetics
  Vincent (Ethan Hawke) is an "In-Valid," a genetically imperfect person, who assumes the identity of a member of the genetically elite (Jude Law) to pursue his goal of traveling in space. Uma Thurman plays Vincent's love interest.
  This program was also offered as a PUBLIC Science in the Cinema, and was held at Hood College. PUBLIC Science in the Cinema programs are collaborations between the Scientific Library, the National Cancer Institute at Frederick, and Hood College.
  SPEAKER: Dr. Michael Dean, Chief, Human Genetics Section, Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, NCI-Frederick
  Bibliography

• HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE - "The Science of Harry Potter"
  In this movie we are introduced to the boy wizard and his amazing and magical life.
  This program was offered as a PUBLIC Science in the Cinema, and was held at Hood College. PUBLIC Science in the Cinema programs are collaborations between the Scientific Library, the National Cancer Institute at Frederick, and Hood College.
  SPEAKER: Dr. George Plitnik, Professor of Physics at Frostburg University, where he teaches a class "The Science of Harry Potter."
  Bibliography

• IQ - Albert Einstein
  In this romantic comedy, a young auto mechanic (Tim Robbins) is in love with an intelligent and beautiful scientist (Meg Ryan) who is engaged to another scientist. The mechanic seeks the assistance of the young woman's uncle (Walter Matthau), who just happens to be Albert Einstein!
  COMPANION DOCUMENTARIES: EINSTEIN REVEALED, EINSTEIN'S WIFE, EINSTEIN'S BIG IDEA
  Bibliography

• IRIS - Alzheimer's disease
  The movie is a tender, emotional depiction of novelist Iris Murdoch (Judy Dench and Kate Winslet) as she struggles with Alzheimer's Disease. It covers the period from just before her marriage to intellectual John Bayley (Jim Broadbent and Hugh Bonneville) until her death.
  REWARDS: a Multi-Part Learning Program is co-sponsored by Occupational Health Services (OHS), the Frederick Employee Diversity Team, and the Scientific Library.
  BOOK: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks; CALL NUMBER: PS 3569 .P363 .S736 2004 (10 copies)
  SPEAKER: Dr. Edward Feher, Frederick physician
  ADDITIONAL MOVIE: THE NOTEBOOK
  Bibliography

• A LIGHT IN THE JUNGLE: THE ALBERT SCHWEITZER STORY - medical outreach to Africa
  Malcolm McDowell portrays the humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize winner who established a hospital in Africa. Susan Strasberg plays Mrs. Schweitzer.
  SPEAKER: Mr. Philip G. Roessler, former Werner H. Kirsten Student Intern, NCI-Frederick, and co-founder of Outreach Kenya Development Volunteers (OKDV)
  Bibliography

• LORENZO'S OIL - adrenoleukodystrophy
  Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon play the parents of 5-year-old Lorenzo, who is diagnosed with adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD). They spend their lives searching for a cure to this usually fatal disease.
  SPEAKER: Dr. Michael Dean, Chief, Human Genetics Section, Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, NCI-Frederick
  Bibliography

• MADAME CURIE - women in medicine
  Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon play Marie and Pierre Curie, partners in life and in their efforts to isolate the radioactive element radium.
  SPEAKER: Dr. Sally Spence, Staff Scientist, Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, NCI-Frederick
  Bibliography

• MEDICINE MAN - medicinal plants as a cancer cure
  Sean Connery plays a brilliant but eccentric researcher seeking a cure for cancer among the plants of the Amazon rain forest. Lorraine Bracco plays a scientist who has come to the rain forest to be his assistant.
  SPEAKERS: Dr. Gordon Cragg and Dr. David Newman, Natural Products Branch, Developmental Therapeutics Program, NCI-Frederick
  Bibliography - UPDATED 05/10/04
  SLIDES (NCIF only)

• MRS. DOUBTFIRE - "Laugh For the Health of It!"
  This 1993 comedy stars Robin Williams, Sally Field, and Pierce Brosnan. After a bitter divorce, an actor disguises himself as a female housekeeper so he can spend time with his three children.
  REWARDS: a Multi-Part Learning Program is co-sponsored by Occupational Health Services (OHS), the Frederick Employee Diversity Team, and the Scientific Library.
  BOOK: Saturday Mornings by Mark Butt; CALL NUMBER: WM 90 .B988 2006 (2 copies)
  SPEAKER: Dr. Mark Butt, Frederick scientist/columnist/humorist
  COMPANION DOCUMENTARIES: HOW SERIOUS IS THIS?, HUMOR YOUR STRESS, THE JOY OF STRESS, LIFE IS NOT A STRESS REHEARSAL
  ADDITIONAL MOVIE: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
  Bibliography of Jokes

• NATIONAL TREASURE - Benjamin Franklin
  In this comedy adventure movie that includes many references to Ben Franklin, Nicolas Cage plays Benjamin Franklin Gates, a modern-day adventurer who follows cryptic clues in the search for a treasure hidden long ago by the Founding Fathers.
  COMPANION DVD: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE, AN ELECTRIC MIND
  Bibliography

• NEVER CRY WOLF - wolves and the environment
  Charles Martin Smith plays a young, inexperienced biologist who is sent to the Arctic to study wolves to determine why they are killing caribou. Brian Dennehy plays a wolf hunter who interferes with the research.
  SPEAKER: Mr. Mike Nickerson, Biologist, Laboratory of Immunobiology, NCI-Frederick
  Bibliography

• THE NOTEBOOK - Alzheimer's disease
  Based on the Nicholas Sparks book, the story unfolds as an older gentleman reads a story to an older woman in a nursing home. Through flashbacks we see the development of a love story as it is being told. The connection between the old and the young becomes clear as the older woman exhibits signs of Alzheimer's Disease.
  REWARDS: a Multi-Part Learning Program is co-sponsored by Occupational Health Services (OHS), the Frederick Employee Diversity Team, and the Scientific Library.
  BOOK: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks; CALL NUMBER: PS 3569 .P363 .S736 2004 (10 copies)
  SPEAKER: Dr. Edward Feher, Frederick physician
  ADDITIONAL MOVIE: IRIS
  Bibliography

• OUTBREAK - viruses
  Dustin Hoffman is an Army virologist trying to stave off a killer virus that is loose in California. Kevin Spacey, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, and Cuba Gooding Jr. also star.
  SPEAKER: Dr. David Franz, Colonel, U.S. Army Retired, Fort Detrick
  Bibliography

• PHILADELPHIA - AIDS
  Tom Hanks, a lawyer wrongfully terminated because he has AIDS, hires lawyer Denzel Washington to represent him in a lawsuit against the prestigious law firm that fired him.
  SPEAKER: Dr. John Coffin, Director, HIV Drug Resistance Program, NCI-Frederick
  Bibliography

• THE PRESTIGE - Nikola Tesla
  In this fascinating movie, scientist and inventor Nikola Tesla, played by David Bowie, appears in a small but pivotal role. Two accomplished magicians, played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, are long-time friends and partners who parted ways over a failed, and deadly, magic trick. Now, as enemies, they will stop at nothing to learn each other's secrets. Watch carefully, as nothing is as it seems! The movie also stars Michael Caine and Scarlett Johansson.
  COMPANION DVDs: NIKOLA TESLA: THE GENIUS WHO LIT THE WORLD, THE SECRET OF NIKOLA TESLA: THE MOVIE
  Bibliography

• RACE FOR THE DOUBLE HELIX - DNA structure
  This exciting movie depicts the story of James Watson and Francis Crick, the discoverers of the structure of DNA. Other scientists who were searching for the structure at the same time also appear in the movie.
  SPEAKER: Dr. Mary Carrington, Principal Investigator, Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, NCI-Frederick
  Bibliography
  SLIDES (NCI-F only)

• REGARDING HENRY - brain injuries
  Harrison Ford plays a ruthless lawyer whose life changes completely when he is shot in the head during a robbery. Annette Bening plays the wife who helps him recover from amnesia and physical disabilities.
  SPEAKER: Mr. Selden Cooper, Employee Assistance Coordinator, Occupational Health Services, NCI-Frederick
  Bibliography

• SILENT FALL - autism
  Richard Dreyfuss plays a psychiatrist who attempts to treat an autistic boy who witnessed his parents' murders. The child only communicates by imitating others.
  REWARDS: a Multi-Part Learning Program is co-sponsored by Occupational Health Services (OHS), the Frederick Employee Diversity Team, and the Scientific Library.
  BOOK: Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon; CALL NUMBER: WM 203.5 .H116 2003 (10 copies)
  SPEAKERS:
  1) Dr. Ralph McBee, Psy.D.,Co-Director of Services, Monocacy Neurodevelopmental Center, Frederick, MD
  2) Ms. Paula Mathis, Parent and Registered Nurse, Occupational Health Services, NCI-Frederick
  Bibliography

• SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE - heart disorders
  An older man (Jack Nicholson) suffers a heart attack at the home of his younger girlfriend's mother (Diane Keaton). Keanu Reeves plays the cardiac doctor caring for Nicholson.
  REWARDS: a Multi-Part Learning Program is co-sponsored by Occupational Health Services (OHS), the Frederick Employee Diversity Team, and the Scientific Library.
  BOOK: Taking on Heart Disease by Larry King; CALL NUMBER: WG 200 .K5356 2004 (10 copies)
  SPEAKER: Dr. John Vitarello, Frederick cardiologist
  Bibliography

• STEEL MAGNOLIAS - diabetes
  This 1989 movie stars Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Olympia Dukakis, Shirley MacLaine, and Daryl Hannah as a close-knit group of friends who share their lives in a small town in Louisiana. One member of the group has Type 1 diabetes, a situation that affects everyone in different ways.
  REWARDS: a Multi-Part Learning Program is co-sponsored by Occupational Health Services (OHS), the Frederick Employee Diversity Team, and the Scientific Library.
  BOOK: Going To The Sun by James McManus; CALL NUMBER: PZ 4 .M167 1996 (10 copies)
  SPEAKER: Ms. Linda Hicks, Registered Nurse and Certified Diabetes Educator with the FMH Diabetes Center
  Bibliography

• THE STORY OF LOUIS PASTEUR - "Fight the Flu...and Other Germs, Too!"
  This 1936 black & white videotape biography stars Paul Muni as the French chemist Louis Pasteur. Among his many accomplishments, Dr. Pasteur helped prove the germ theory of disease and its role in the spread of infection. Dr. Pasteur also discovered the vaccines for rabies and anthrax.
  COMPANION VIDEOTAPE: INFLUENZA 1918
  Bibliography

• WARM SPRINGS - "Polio: A Scientific Success Story"
  Following a promising early political career, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was stricken with polio in 1921 at the age of 39. This film follows his struggle with paralysis, the refuge he took in an obscure and run-down Georgia health spa, and the family pressure to return to public life and politics. The movie stars Kenneth Branagh, Cynthia Nixon, and Kathy Bates.
  COMPANION DVDs: IN SEARCH OF THE POLIO VACCINE, A PARALYZING FEAR: THE STORY OF POLIO IN AMERICA
  Bibliography

• WILLIE WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY - "The Science of Chocolate"
  In this 2005 "reinterpretation," Johnny Depp stars as Willie Wonka, and Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket, the finder of that very special Golden Ticket.
  SPEAKERS: Dr. David A. Stuart, Director, Nutrition & Natural Products, The Hershey Company and Dr. Debra L. Miller, Senior Nutrition Scientist, Nutrition & Natural Products, The Hershey Company
  COMPANION DOCUMENTARY: AMERICAN EATS: CHOCOLATE
  ADDITIONAL MOVIE: CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
  Bibliography

• WIT - ovarian cancer
  Emma Thompson plays a professor of English Literature who is diagnosed and treated for ovarian cancer. The movie is almost completely filmed in the hospital where the professor fights for her life.
  SPEAKER:Ms. Kathleen Nalewaik, N.P., Nurse Practitioner, Occupational Health Services, NCI-Frederick
  Bibliography

• YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN - "Laugh For the Health of It!"
  This 1974 Mel Brooks comedy stars Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, and Marty Feldman. Dr. Frankenstein's grandson, after years of living down the family reputation, inherits granddad's castle and repeats the experiments.
  REWARDS: a Multi-Part Learning Program is co-sponsored by Occupational Health Services (OHS), the Frederick Employee Diversity Team, and the Scientific Library.
  BOOK: Saturday Mornings by Mark Butt; CALL NUMBER: WM 90 .B988 2006 (2 copies)
  SPEAKER: Dr. Mark Butt, Frederick scientist/columnist/humorist
  COMPANION DOCUMENTARIES: HOW SERIOUS IS THIS?, HUMOR YOUR STRESS, THE JOY OF STRESS, LIFE IS NOT A STRESS REHEARSAL
  ADDITIONAL MOVIE: MRS. DOUBTFIRE
  Bibliography of Jokes

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CONTACT INFORMATION

The staff of the Scientific Library encourages suggestions for movies and speakers for our Science in the Cinema programs. Movies should be feature-length films with a science or health theme. We prefer our speakers to be personnel from NCI-Frederick, NIH, or Fort Detrick. If you have a suggestion for a movie or a speaker, or if you would like to volunteer to be a speaker for your favorite science-themed movie, please contact the Public Services Librarian.