What mammal has the social life of an insect, the cold-bloodedness of a reptile, and the metabolism of a plant? Bald and buck-toothed, naked mole rats may not be pretty, but they are extraordinary. Thomas Park explains how mole rats'...

In this episode, we looked at food engineering. We explored how food’s capacity to spoil makes it a unique challenge from an engineering viewpoint. We saw how many branches of engineering come into play to process ingredients, ensure...

Scientists studying Comets 67P and Lovejoy have discovered oxygen, alcohol, and the building block of sugar. Sounds like a regular Friday night on earth, but it’s the first time we’ve found any of these things on a comet.

What exactly makes sugary syrups so sticky, when neither water nor sugar is very sticky on its own?

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Script...

If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Parents blaming their kids' active behavior on sugar. But is it true? Hank gives you sweet-and-lowdown on the extent to which sugar can and can't affect behavior, in kids and...

Paul Andersen explains how a respirometer can be used to measure the respiration rate in peas, germinating peas and the worm. KOH is used to solidify CO2 produced by a respiring organism.

Paul Andersen explains how populations experience exponential. He begins by address the major players; N (population size) and r (growth rate). He models population growth in rabbits through four generations. He then shows you how to...

In this week's news, Hank explains how earthworms are doing nanotechnology for us, Americans will soon be eating genetically modified salmon, the Russians are going back to space, and another reason to drink less soda.

If you're like us, you love the sound of a brunch buffet. But not everything you eat at that glorious buffet is going to be turned into energy. Your body has to work with different forms of food in different ways. In this episode...

Rates of appendicitis vary around the world, likely due to the forces of modernization.



**Appendix** - There are many other unforeseen health changes that seem to be related to the forces of...

Bees, they're important and amazing creatures, and with spring on the way we thought we'd share another round of our favorite bee episodes.

Why are babies cute? Why is cake sweet? Philosopher Dan Dennett has answers you wouldn't expect, as he shares evolution's counterintuitive reasoning on cute, sweet and sexy things (plus a new theory from Matthew Hurley on why jokes are...

When you poop sugar, clone yourself and give birth to pregnant babies, you know your survival skills are off the hook...and that you must be an aphid.

Aphids can reproduce incredibly fast: they can make 20 new generations within a single season. And that means lots of poop. Some aphid populations can produce hundreds of kilograms of poop per acre— making them some of the most prolific...

Jessi and Squeaks learn all about crystallization while they make some yummy rock candy!



Second Grade Next Generation Science

Standards

Disc

iplinary Core Ideas:

PS1.A: Structure and Properties...

There are a few reasons that modern humans have to brush our teeth to stay healthy, even though our primate cousins don’t. Grab your floss and find the answers inside!

Sugar, honey, listen up. Humans love the sweet taste of sweetness, but have you ever wondered why? What's the evolutionary purpose behind our love for sweets? Why can we taste sweet anyway? What are those sugar substitutes really made...

This week scientists invented futuristic technologies that sound made up by Hollywood’s spy movies, and we might be able to have infrared supervision without goggles...soon.

Measles, mumps, and polio are things we can prevent with vaccines, but scientists are looking to add a surprising entry to that list: Type 1 diabetes.

Every summer it seems like there’s that one person who always gets a lot of mosquito bites. But what makes people mosquito magnets?

If you watched a lot of cartoons as a kid, chances are you picked up some common animal stereotypes like "cats love milk!" or "bears can't get enough of that sweet, sweet honey!" What if we told you that everything cartoons taught you is...

This video is about how life arose and what its main function or purpose in the universe seems to be. Thanks to Sean Carroll for collaborating on it!



This video is about how life arose and...

Your cells are coated with sugars that store information and speak a secret language. What are they trying to tell us? Your blood type, for one -- and, potentially, that you have cancer. Chemical biologist Carolyn Bertozzi researches how...

When we think of Yogurt, we think of a tangy and sweet treat that's good at any time! But there's a tiny little ingredient in there that helps to make it what it is!