When a ship sinks, lots of factors, like the ship’s materials, the water quality, and the depth of the seafloor all play a role in determining how long the ship will last down there - as a result, the Titanic will be gone in fifty years,...

The Limb of the Sun

Alaska has the most volcanoes out of all the US states, but researchers think they don't have enough. Here's the weird science behind looking for Alaska's volcanoes, and what we've learned about volcanism along the way.

Fossils can provide clues to the conditions that ancient species lived in, like what their environments felt like, how deep in the water some species lived, or even how long the Sun was out!

Why do shell building living creatures live near the surface of the ocean? Learn how chemistry creates a dissolving depth for calcium and determines where shell builders can live.

It's late, pitch dark and a self-driving car winds down a narrow country road. Suddenly, three hazards appear at the same time. With no human at the wheel, the car uses smart eyes, sensors that'll resolve these details all in a...

Fossils can provide clues to the conditions that ancient species lived in, like what their environments felt like, how deep in the water some species lived, or even how long the Sun was out!

We’ve probed some 250 kilometers into Jupiter’s atmosphere, and that’s raised some new questions about the mysterious planet. And we’ve taken another important step in looking for life on Mars by using a common chemistry process for the...

Why would a fish throw up its stomach? What makes a scuba diver develop painful microbubbles in their joints? Neosha S Kashef details the basics of barotrauma, shedding light on how humans and fish alike are influenced by laws of physics...

Within each of us are two selves, suggests David Brooks in this meditative short talk: the self who craves success, who builds a r_sum_, and the self who seeks connection, community, love -- the values that make for a great eulogy....

Whales have a surprising and important job, says marine biologist Asha de Vos: these massive creatures are ecosystem engineers, keeping the oceans healthy and stable by ... well, by pooping, for a start. Learn from de Vos, a TED Fellow,...

Hank fills us in on the four exploratory missions to space that he is most excited about - New Horizons is going to Pluto and the Kuiper belt; Juno is on it's way to Jupiter; Dawn is exploring two large asteroids; Rosetta will land on a...

Lice don’t just thrive in the biomes of body hair and fur, they can also live in a place that seems like it should be bug-free: the oceans.

If you've ever tried to make out something that was really far away, odds are you squinted while doing it. It's basically involuntary! But does narrowing your field of vision really help you see things better?

When most people think of fishing, we imagine relaxing in a boat and patiently reeling in the day's catch. But modern industrial fishing -- the kind that stocks our grocery shelves -- looks more like warfare. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and...

Through treating everything from strokes to car accident traumas, neurosurgeon Jocelyne Bloch knows the brain's inability to repair itself all too well. But now, she suggests, she and her colleagues may have found the key to neural...

You’d never tell just by staring out from a sandy beach, but the coasts are gradually getting darker, and the effects of this darkening are only beginning to be understood.

The hashtag, so simple and ubiquitous, raises the image from mere photo to a new complex entity.

We're living in a brief window of time where our planet isn't frozen underneath a giant layer of glaciers. How much longer will the moderate climate that we've come to know as "normal" continue? This episode looks at how the changes in...

Optical illusions are a fun way to play with the way your brain interprets what your eyes see, but if some of them don't work for you, it might be because of where you live.

Plants need light to survive. But apparently, that doesn't have to be sunlight.

Within each of us are two selves, suggests David Brooks in this meditative short talk: the self who craves success, who builds a résumé, and the self who seeks connection, community, love -- the values that make for a great eulogy....

The Limb of the Sun

Stretching 227 meters tall, two towers were assembled to support California's Golden Gate Bridge. They were just one of the challenges facing engineers Charles Ellis and Joseph Strauss. Even before construction began, many thought the...