 The Brain Eater This fine collaborative effort between NOVA and the BBC is a fascinating, authoritative hour on the potential dangers of the deadly infection "mad cow disease," formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). At its best, the program humanizes the subject by focusing on what is believed to be a related form of the disease in humans, at one point using rare footage of tribal customs in New Guinea. More importantly, this NOVA program uses the series  hallmark technique -- building the story of science around the natural suspense of pure and applied research.