This month, PBS is airing a documentary called The Gene Doctors that spotlights several emerging gene therapies, including Spark Therapeutics’ Luxturna, a treatment for a rare form of blindness that won a unanimous thumbs-up last week from an advisory panel to the FDA. In addition to tracing the history of Spark’s treatment, the film brings attention to gene therapies for cystic fibrosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and an ultra-rare neurologic disease called fatal familial insomnia.

It’s rare for a film to make one swell with pride about something he or she had no direct hand in, but “The Farthest” accomplishes that feat with aplomb. That said, it’s not exactly surprising that Emer Reynolds’ documentary pulls off such an exceptional deed, given that its subject is one of mankind’s greatest achievements: Voyager 1 and 2, the spacecraft that NASA launched in 1977 on a “grand tour” of our solar system’s remote planets, and the vast stretches of interstellar space that lay beyond.

For any believer in humankind’s instinct to transcend boundaries, the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probes, and the NASA team that produced them, inspire awe. “The Farthest,” a dazzling documentary written and directed by Emer Reynolds, illustrates why. 

You don’t have to be a science geek to love Emer Reynolds’ fascinating documentary about NASA’s landmark Voyager mission that launched two unmanned spacecraft to explore the outer reaches of the solar system. Being given a limited theatrical release in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of the 1977 launch, The Farthest should garner greater appreciative audiences when it airs later this month on PBS.

Launched in August and September 1977, NASA’s twin Voyager spacecraft have opened up new worlds for exploration, including Saturn (shown here), Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune.

A leaf that can fly. Bird droppings that walk. A bright flower that becomes a spider. These were just a few of the onscreen marvels at the Washington premiere of the IMAX movie "Amazon Adventure" this week. And for many of the middle and high school science teachers in the audience, the film provoked planning for a school field trip to the theater.