Howard Hughes Medical Institute invests $60 million for TV science documentaries

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which has supported Nova, scienceNOW and science reporting on the PBS NewsHour, has announced a $60 million documentary film initiative "that aims to bring high-quality, compelling science features to television," it says. This is the institute's first initiative for documentary films, according to Sean B. Carroll, vice president for science education. Its priority will be "to tell intriguing science stories that will grab the viewer," Carroll says. The Chevy Chase, Md.-based institute is a biomedical research organization that employs 380 scientists, including 13 Nobel Prize winners.