PBS
How Earth's First, Unkillable Animals Saved the World
They have survived every catastrophe and every mass extinction event that nature has thrown at them. And by being the little, filter-feeding, water-cleaning creatures that they are, sponges may have saved the world.
PBS
Where Did Water Come From?
Mercury, Venus, and Mars are all super low on water – so where did ours come from and why do we have so much of it? We think our water came from a few unlikely sources: meteorites, space dust, and even the sun.
PBS
The World Before Plate Tectonics
There was a time in Earth’s history that was so stable, geologists once called it the Boring Billion. But the fact is, this period was anything but boring. In fact, it set the stage for our modern version of plate tectonics - and...
PBS
How Plants Caused the First Mass Extinction
In the middle of the Cambrian, life on land was about to get a little more crowded. And those newcomers would end up changing the world. The arrival of plants on land would make the world colder, drain much of the oxygen out of the...
PBS
How Blood Evolved (Many Times)
Blood is one of the most revolutionary features in our evolutionary history. Over hundreds of millions of years, the way in which blood does its job has changed over and over again. As a result, we animals have our familiar red blood....
TED Talks
TED: What's it like to be a giant sequoia tree? | Ersin Han Ersin
Artist Ersin Han Ersin invites us to step inside a giant sequoia tree, peering through the bark into the tapestry of life within. Discover how his multisensory installations explore the concept of "umwelt," or the unique sensory...
SciShow
The Future Of Trees Is Liquid
We love trees, but the main problem is that they aren't exactly travel-sized. However, new technology wants to bring the fresh-air benefits of trees to places that the real deal just can't thrive, like dense urban areas!
SciShow
This Fungus Has A Drinking Problem
The strange, sooty fungus growing on distillery walls has long been considered part of the process of making barrel-aged boozy beverages. And this fungus has a lot of tricks up its sleeve to make the most out of ethanol, which to most...
SciShow
Why Are Snorkels So Short?
Have you ever longed to swim while wielding a longer snorkel? Well, there are a few reasons why they might be shorter than you'd like.
SciShow
Could a Perfume Ingredient Save ER Patients?
Sometimes, major injury causes blood loss that results in improper clotting, or coagulopathy. Some researchers think a compound used in perfume to create jasmine fragrances could help save these patients.
SciShow
5 Animals That Have Bone Skin
From the long extinct Stegosaurus, to tiny modern mice, all sorts of animals grow bits of bones inside their skin. These structures are called osteoderms, and they're often more than just a suit of armor.
SciShow
The Earth's "Boring Billion" Years Were Anything But
About 1.8–0.8 billion ago, the Earth went through a period known as the Boring Billion, where not a lot changed in terms of geology, evolution, or even the number of hours in a day. Some scientists call it “the dullest period in Earth’s...
SciShow
Burn Your Waste With... Water?
Supercritical water produces fire without flames, which is great for making clean drinking water from our waste in space or breaking down forever chemicals here on Earth.
MinuteEarth
How We Learned That Water Isn't An Element
For thousands of years, water was thought to be an element. That is, until some of the greatest chemists in the world managed to crack it open.
MinutePhysics
3 Simple Ways to Time Travel (& 3 Complicated Ones)
One Minute Physics provides an energetic and entertaining view of old and new problems in physics -- all in one minute!
SciShow
Meet Our Nitrogen-Breathing Bacterial Relative
Oxygen is pretty great stuff, but this recently discovered organism couldn’t care less about oxygen. It breathes nitrogen and may offer a window into how the types of cells in OUR bodies may have evolved billions of years ago.
SciShow
Visual Illusions: Why You See Things That Aren't There
Visual Illusions: Why You See Things That Aren't There
SciShow
These 100-Million-Year-Old Microbes Are Still Alive!
Researchers have found ancient communities of microbes that have been buried deep, for a hundred million years! This discovery might be the oldest living thing on Earth, and could even expand the search for life on other planets.
SciShow
The Key to an Artificial Heart ... and Open-Heart Surgery
Scientists have been trying to pull blood out of the body and put it back in again since the early 1800s, but bypass machines haven't been easy to get right.
SciShow
Four Creatures That Glow
Fireflies, crustaceans, jellyfish -- lots of living things glow, and they do it for all kinds of reasons, some of which we haven’t even discovered yet.
SciShow
Everest Doesn’t Always Feel Like the Tallest Mountain
Mount Everest is unquestionably the highest point on earth, but it doesn't always feel that way.
SciShow
Microbes Might Survive on Mars | SciShow News
We’re all excited about the Mars rover Perseverance this week, but scientists are also working on some other exciting things!
SciShow
How Earth's Rotation Affects Our Oxygen | SciShow News
Oxygen is crucial for life as we know it, but before it could build up in our atmosphere, earth had to slow down.
SciShow
How Does Cold Medicine Work?
The cold medicine you picked up at the store involves some cool chemistry to treat your symptoms. *Correction: This episode was written by Alison Caldwell.