Fundraising special Stand Up to Cancer returns to primetime on Sept. 10 in a star-studded show co-hosted by Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer and Brian Williams.
The live show will air simultaneously from Los Angeles on ABC, CBS and NBC at 8 p.m. ET/PT and 7 p.m. CT. HBO, Discovery Health, E!, MLB Network and the Style Network also will carry the show, with other networks and cable channels expected to join the effort.
Viewers can donate through designated phone lines, as well as online at standup2cancer.org. One hundred percent of all public donations will go directly to cancer research.
The first Stand Up to Cancer special, in 2008, raised more than $100 million, and more than $83 million has since been committed to five multidisciplinary "Dream Teams" of researchers from more than 50 institutions. Its primary goal to raise funds for research to accelerate the delivery of new therapies to patients, getting them “from the bench to the bedside” as quickly as possible.
The show will feature live performances by legendary recording artists as well as stars from film, television and sports who will present content providing viewers with insights into cancer.
"For people struggling with this disease, or those who will be diagnosed, scientific breakthroughs can be a matter of life or death -- literally. We want everyone to know that they can make a difference in this fight," said Sherry Lansing, SU2C co-founder, who also established the Sherry Lansing Foundation and chairs the Entertainment Industry Foundation board of directors. "From the person who can give $5 to the philanthropist who can give millions, we are all connected to the devastation that cancer causes in our families, and together, we can Stand Up to end it."
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Scientist Dr. J. Craig Venter announced Thursday that he and his team at the J. Craig Venter Institute are the first in history to synthetically create a living, self-replicating cell, a breakthrough that holds potential for solutions to a host of global problems such as cleaning up pollution and generating new food sources.
What does this have to do with TV, you ask?
Science Channel cameras have been following Dr. Venter and his team for five years, and you can watch his road to success in “Creating Synthetic Life,” premiering Thursday, June 3, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Science recorded the breakthrough moments of Dr. Venter, Nobel laureate Hamilton Smith, Dr. Clyde Hutchison and other researchers.
Following the premiere of “Creating” will be a one-hour special that weighs the ethical and scientific implications of this discovery. “Creating Synthetic Life: Your Questions Answered” is an open-forum discussion bringing together Dr. Venter and leading bioethicists and scientists. Viewers can submit questions online through May 26 for potential inclusion in the show.
“Creating Synthetic Life” is produced by Compass Light Productions, with Rocky Collins and David Conover its executive producers. The followup special is produced by CBS Eye Too Productions.
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If that's not enough scary science for you, tune in to Animal Planet on June 9 for the second season of “Monsters Inside Me.”
