MinuteEarth
Why It’s HARD To Bring A New Apple To Market
Fruit trees are unpredictable and grow slowly, and consumer tastes are fickle, so successful new varieties of fruit are rare
MinuteEarth
The Secret Global Sewer System
Ditches and drain pipes help crops survive but can negatively impact the broader landscape.
Bozeman Science
Energy Concepts
In this video Paul Andersen explains the different forms and units for energy. A discussion of the laws of thermodynamics is also included. Sample conversion problems using dimensional analysis is also included.
MinuteEarth
Why Are Adults Bad At New Languages?
Learning a new language as an adult is harder than doing so as a child because adults usually aren’t as invested and often use the wrong strategies.
MinuteEarth
Are Plastics Too Strong?
The same chemistry that makes plastic tough, light and flexible also makes it nearly impossible to get rid of, because it’s hard to break those resilient chemical bonds.
TED-Ed
TED-ED: What's so great about the Great Lakes? - Cheri Dobbs and Jennifer Gabrys
The North American Great Lakes - Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior - are so big that they border 8 states and contain 23 quadrillion liters of water. They span forest, grassland, and wetland habitats, supporting a region...
Bozeman Science
Environmental Economics
In this video Paul Andersen explains how economic models, like supply and demand, can be applied to environmental systems. The market forces will not protect environmental services until proper valuation and externalities are...
MinuteEarth
Why Hardwoods Are The Softest Woods
Not all hardwood trees have hard wood and softwoods soft wood, because these terms denote their taxonomic ancestry, not the wood's actual hardness.
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How squids outsmart their predators - Carly Anne York
There are about 500 species of squid, and they live in all the world's oceans, making them a reliable food source for whales, dolphins, sharks, seabirds, fish - and even other squid. As a result, the squid's most extraordinary...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The weird and wonderful metamorphosis of the butterfly - Franziska Bauer
In order to become a butterfly, a caterpillar's body dissolves almost completely and is rebuilt from its own juices. Butterflies are just a few of the 800,000 insect species that transition from larvae to adults through complete...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Biofuels and bioprospecting for beginners - Craig A. Kohn
Biofuels can provide energy without the reliance on environmentally harmful fossils fuels -- but scientists are still searching for a plentiful source. Craig A. Kohn demonstrates how cellulose, the naturally abundant tough walls of plant...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The science of static electricity - Anuradha Bhagwat
We've all had the experience: you're walking across a soft carpet, you reach for the doorknob and - ZAP. But what causes this trademark jolt of static electricity? Anuradha Bhagwat sheds light on the phenomenon by examining the nature of...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How does asthma work? - Christopher E. Gaw
More than 300 million people around the world suffer from asthma, and around 250,000 people die from it each year. But why do people get asthma, and how can this disease be deadly? Christopher E. Gaw describes the main symptoms and...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How do animals see in the dark? - Anna Stockl
To human eyes, the world at night is a formless canvas of grey. Many nocturnal animals, on the other hand, experience a rich and varied world, bursting with details, shapes, and colors. What is it, then, that separates moths from men?...
Bozeman Science
Agriculture
In this video Paul Andersen describes the pros and cons of industrial agriculture including: monocropping, irrigation, and the use of pesticides, fertilizers, and GMOs.
MinuteEarth
Why You Can't Build A Clone Army... (Yet)
Because of the way genetic reprogramming works, it’s hard to make one clone based on an adult cell, and it’s almost impossible to make a second-generation one.
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How long will human impacts last? - David Biello
Imagine aliens land on Earth a million years from now. What will these curious searchers find of us? They will find what geologists, scientists, and other experts are increasingly calling the Anthropocene, or new age of mankind. David...
MinuteEarth
Is There A Better Way To Power Airplanes?
It’s hard to replace jet fuel because the alternatives aren’t energetic enough, are too dangerous, or aren’t yet being made at scale.
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Do we really need pesticides? - Fernan Perez-Galvez
Annually, we shower over 5 billion pounds of pesticides across the Earth to control insects, unwanted weeds, funguses, rodents, and bacteria that may threaten our food supply. But is it worth it, knowing what we do about the associated...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How do nuclear power plants work? - M. V. Ramana and Sajan Saini
Our ability to mine great amounts of energy from uranium nuclei has led some to bill nuclear power as a plentiful, utopian source of electricity. But rather than dominate the global electricity market, nuclear power has declined from a...
MinuteEarth
The Super Secrets of Sewage
In 2020, many cities started monitoring wastewater for viruses, and there are a lot of non-virus reasons to keep doing it.
Bozeman Science
Biogeochemical Cycles
In this video Paul Andersen explains how biogeochemical cycles move required nutrients through the abiotic and biotic spheres on our planet. Matter on the Earth is conserved so producers must receive required nutrients through the water...
Bozeman Science
Air Pollution
In this video Paul Andersen explains how air pollution is any chemicals in the atmosphere that negatively affect human health. Primary pollutants (like CO, VOCs, NOx, SO2, PM, and Lead) as well as secondary pollutants (like Ozone, nitric...
MinuteEarth
Extreme Weather | MinuteEarth Explains
In this collection of classic MinuteEarth videos, we take a look at some of the most extreme weather on Earth and its consequences.