PBS
How Ancient Microbes Rode Bug Bits Out to Sea
New ReviewTiny exoskeleton fragments may have allowed some of the most important microbes in the planet’s history to set sail out into the open ocean and change the world forever.
SciShow
Everyone Was Wrong About Ghengis Khan
There's an oft-quoted statistic that something like 5% of people are related to Genghis Khan. And the guy did have a lot of kids. But the truth is more complicated. Here's how we use Y chromosome analysis and small groups of genetic...
SciShow
Your Gorgeous Hair Evolved From Frog Toes
Frogs aren't known for their fabulous manes, but the claws of frogs are helping us learn why humans have hair -- thanks to a homeobox gene and a weird evolutionary shift. Hosted by: Hank Green (he/him)
SciShow
5 Ways CRISPR Is About to Change Everything
CRISPR-based gene therapies are already changing healthcare for things like sickle cell disease. But CRISPR is bigger than just medicine, and it could revolutionize everything from food and agriculture to green energy fuels to plastics....
Crash Course
Bacterial DNA & Genetics: Crash Course Biology #38
Bacteria often get a bad rap, but they’re some of our best partners in science and medicine! In this episode, we’ll explore what bacteria are doing with their DNA — including how they can trade it around. We’ll learn about chromosomes...
Crash Course
How Genes Express Themselves: Crash Course Biology #36
If nearly all your cells have the same DNA, why are muscle cells so different from skin cells? In this episode, we’ll learn how gene expression is regulated in eukaryotes, and how methylating DNA, modifying histones, and messing with...
MinuteEarth
Why There Are No King Bees
Beehives always have a queen, who is the mother of the entire hive. But have you ever wondered, what happened to the king, if there was ever any? Can a male bee become a king?
MinuteEarth
Why Do Butterflies Bother Being Caterpillars?
It seems wild that some animals basically trade in their bodies for new ones during their lifetime, but it's actually really common – and it makes a lot of sense.
MinuteEarth
The Species That Broke Evolution?
The ancestors of gars, horseshoe crabs and coelacanths looked almost the same as their modern relatives. Darwin called species like these “living fossils'' because they seem like they are evolutionarily frozen in time. But Darwin was wrong.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why animals help each other | Ashley Ward
Charles Darwin introduced the notion of “survival of the fittest,” where the fittest animals are those who can survive long enough to produce healthy offspring. The fittest animal can also be the most stealthy, resourceful, or even the...
MinuteEarth
Is It Safe To Get Your DNA Tested?
Once it’s out of your body, your genetic information is valuable to a variety of people, but you can keep it safe(ish) with a few simple steps. ___________________________________________ To learn more, start your googling with these...
SciShow
I’m A Genetic Engineer. I’m Also a Fish.
Horizontal gene transfer might not be the flashiest of names, but animals are using it to create genetic hybrids without a human in sight. Like frogs rocking the DNA snippets of snakes, and fish sharing antifreeze superpowers.
SciShow
Inbreeding with Yourself
*At the time this video was made, it had been reported that Charlotte the round ray was pregnant. However, new information has come out that she was never pregnant with parthenotes, and in fact had a reproductive disorder, which is a...
SciShow
How These Animals Lost Their Heads (And Bodies, and Butts)
You'd think that there are some features that, once an animal group evolved to have them, could never really go away, right? Well, Stefan is joined today by hosts from PBS Eons, Journey To The Microcosmos, and Bizarre Beasts to break...
SciShow
How We'll Beat Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is a shockingly common disease - as many as 13% of females may get it at some point in their lives. And there's a lot of confusing info out there about it, from hormones to BRCA genes to risks and treatments. So we're here...
SciShow
The 3 Species That Break Genetics
Scientists have discovered a group of three closely related flowers that seem to break the laws of genetics. These mountain beardtongues are pollinated by either bees or butterflies, but not both, and that's the key to an incredibly...
SciShow
Autoimmune Diseases Are Sexist. Here’s Why
Autoimmune diseases like lupus disproportionately affect women five to one. Researchers have finally pinpointed a unique silencing gene on the X chromosome that may help explain why. Women Get More AutoImmune Diseases. Here’s Why.
SciShow
Why Can’t We Have Unicorns?
Unicorns may be mythical creatures, but they're very plausible-seeming ones. So why hasn't evolution gifted us with magical horses with horns? Let's take a look at the genetics and developmental biology of headgear in ruminants and other...
SciShow
The OTHER Genome Project That’s Transforming Medicine
You've heard of the Human Genome Project, and how having all that info about our genes could help us treat /tons/ of diseases. But a newer project wants to zoom out a little and use different genetic information to help us solve our...
TED Talks
TED: Can we hack photosynthesis to feed the world? | Steve Long
Photosynthesis is one of the most important processes on the planet, helping produce the food we eat and the air we breathe. Crop scientist Steve Long thinks it could be more efficient — and he's intent on giving it a boost. He shows how...
SciShow
Have an Autoimmune Disease? Blame the Black Death
The bubonic plague killed so many people in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa that that natural selection event is still rippling through our genomes today. But the same genes that helped your ancestors survive the Black Death...
SciShow
Why Hairworms Don’t Have Hair
Hairworms, sometimes called horsehair or Gordian worms, are mind-controlling parasites with a twist. A genetic study found these nematomorph worms are missing 30% of their genome, and we don't understand how they live without genes for...
PBS
Can Viruses Travel Between Planets?
With the global pandemic of Covid 19 still encompassing the world, we are generally not big fans of viruses right now. But we sure are thinking about them a lot. That’s right, even astrophysicists are pondering these bizarre little...