Be Smart
Unraveling the Great Butterfly Migration Mystery
The monarch butterfly migration is one of nature’s greatest events. This orange-winged wonder travels up to 4,500 km from all over North America to spend the winter hanging from oyamel fir trees in central Mexico’s mountain forests. I...
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The Unbelievable Story of Earth’s Most Epic Flood
One day around 15,000 years ago, a wall of ice 2,000 feet tall and 30 miles wide suddenly broke wide open, and it unleashed the largest flood that we know of in the history of Earth. Come and hit the road with me as we search for the...
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How Did Giant Pterosaurs Fly?
The largest pterosaurs like Quetzalcoatlus were closer in size to airplanes than birds. No flying animal alive today comes close to their huge size. So did giant pterosaurs actually fly? I went to see the fossil bones of the largest...
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How Ancient Ice Proves Climate Change Is Real
Earth’s climate is changing in a big way, and it’s because there's more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than at any point in our species’ history. But Earth’s climate has changed before. How do we know that this time we’re the cause? We...
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Evolution FAILS in the Human Body
If you were taking an engineering class in school and you turned in the human body for your final exam… you would get like, a C+. Or maybe a B- at best. That’s because the human body is full of design flaws. Except they aren’t really...
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Could You Be a Chimera?
Ever feel like you aren't totally yourself? Well, maybe you aren't. In this video, we explore the idea of human chimeras. In mythology, the "Chimaera" was a beast made from different animals combined into one. But in biology, a chimera...
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If We Plant 1 TRILLION Trees Can We Stop Climate Change?
Can trees really save us from climate change? For eons, nature has relied on photosynthesis as a big way to keep carbon dioxide levels from getting out of control. But as we have put more carbon into the air, we’ve also cut down many of...
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7 Scientific Urban Legends Debunked!
It sounds like such an incredible fact. “Our own cells are outnumbered by our microbes 10 to 1!” I don’t remember where I first heard it. But I read it in science papers and articles by journalists, so I believed it without question. I...
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Do Other Planets Have Seasons Too?
Earth has seasons, but what about the rest of the planets in the solar system? Let’s take a tour from Mercury to Pluto and see what seasons would be like on all our planetary neighbors. Bring a sweater!
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Are You Afraid of Holes?
Honeycomb. Strawberries. Flower pods. Some people find these things incredibly scary. We call this extreme fear trypophobia. But why does it exist?
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How Blind People See With Sound… with @MollyBurkeOfficial!
I met Molly Burke a few months ago. She’s awesome. I absolutely love what she’s done on YouTube to bring awareness to living with disability, and turning it into ability. And her guide dog Gallop is awesome too! When Molly and I first...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Can alligators survive this apex predator? | Kenny Coogan
Despite alligators ruling the swamplands of the Everglades for millennia, the last 500 years have brought deadly new predators that challenge their reign. And the origins of these international invaders are just as unexpected as their...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The one thing stopping jellyfish from taking over | Mariela Pajuelo and Javier Antonio Quinones
Over the past two decades, jellyfish have begun to overwhelm our oceans. If things stay on their current trajectory, we could be headed for a future where the entire ocean is thick with jellyfish. So, is there anything that can keep...
TED Talks
TED: The first-ever cargo ship powered by green fuel | Morten Bo Christiansen
The shipping industry is vital to the global economy, but it's also a huge contributor to the climate crisis. Morten Bo Christiansen, a leader of the energy transition for the global shipping company A.P. Moller – Maersk, talks to TED's...
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...
TED Talks
TED: The tree-growing movement restoring Africa's vital landscapes | Wanjira Mathai
2023 Audacious Project grantee Wanjira Mathai is at the forefront of re-greening the planet. Through the forest restoration initiative Restore Local, she's working to help both Africa's people and its landscapes flourish. Learn more...
TED Talks
TED: Why rivals are working together to transform shipping | Bo Cerup-Simonsen
What would it take to make global supply chains cleaner and greener? Bo Cerup-Simonsen -- who's helping decarbonize the maritime industry as CEO of the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping -- discusses why tenacious...
TED Talks
TED: Climate action is on the cusp of exponential growth | Simon Stiell
Climate action is speeding up -- and we each have the power to push that transformation forward. As the head of the UNFCCC, the UN's entity supporting the global response to climate change, Simon Stiell points to clear social and...
TED Talks
TED: Could an orca give a TED Talk? | Karen Bakker
What if we could hear nature's ultrasonic communication -- and talk back? From a bat's shrill speech to a peacock's infrasound mating call, conservation technology researcher Karen Bakker takes us through a sound bath of animal noises...
TED Talks
TED: The growing megafire crisis -- and how to contain it | George T. Whitesides
Megafires, or fires that burn more than 100,000 acres, are becoming more frequent worldwide, wreaking havoc on landscapes and communities -- and fire experts say the problem is only going to get worse. George T. Whitesides is focused on...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How the water you flush becomes the water you drink | Francis de los Reyes
In 2003, Singapore's national water agency launched an unprecedented program to provide more than 50% of their nation's water supply by recycling wastewater. The program had been planned for decades to ensure the island nation never ran...
TED Talks
TED: An extreme weather report from America's weatherman | Al Roker
It's not just you: the weather is getting worse. And if there's one person who would know, it's "America's weatherman," Al Roker, who's spent decades reporting live from some of the worst storms and natural disasters in history. He...
TED Talks
TED: How AI art could enhance humanity's collective memory | Refik Anadol
With data as his paintbrush, media artist Refik Anadol trains AI algorithms to visualize the disappearing wonders of nature. He gives a beautiful tour of his recent work -- imagery of artificial coral reefs, flowers, rainforests -- and...
TED Talks
TED: How life on Earth adapts to you and me | Shane Campbell-Staton
We tend to think of evolution as a slow, gradual process playing out over millions of years. But evolutionary biologist Shane Campbell-Staton says nature is now changing at breakneck speed to keep up with the world humanity has built....