TED Talks
Beyond the Stars: Embracing Curiosity and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life
Astrophysicist Avi Loeb believes we are likely not alone in the universe. He criticizes the approach of simply waiting for contact through radio signals, suggesting instead that we should actively search for evidence of other life. He...
SciShow
Can Rock and Roll Replace Your Insulin?
Could rock music one day replace your insulin injections? Scientists are pioneering music-controlled cells that could provide the perfect dose of insulin for type 1 or type 2 diabetes with just a bit of music. Specifically, Queen's "We...
SciShow
Does Evolution Happen Gradually or Suddenly?
Do new traits in evolution happen slowly, or all at once? Two new studies in the journal Science may finally help us solve this mystery.
SciShow
Why We'll Never Build a Perfect Clock
We can make clocks that keep accurate time for millions of years. We can also make clocks with such high resolution they tick one billion billion times per second. So why can't we make a clock that does both?
SciShow
Attempting De-Extinction
There's a group trying to save the functionally extinct northern white rhino using in vitro fertilization. But the ethics around using assisted reproductive technologies to save endangered animals are far from simple.
SciShow
This Video Game Software Helps Us Do Paleontology
The same technology that helps you rack up kills in your favorite FPS games also helps paleontologists solve million-year-old mysteries. Thanks to Dr. Anne Kort for helping us with this video!
TED Talks
TED: How to choose clothes for longevity, not the landfill | Diarra Bousso
Buying cheap clothing online can be satisfying, but it comes with not-so-hidden environmental costs. When designer Diarra Bousso was growing up in Senegal, her family bought and created new outfits for longevity rather than on impulse —...
SciShow
The World’s Biggest Aircraft Can Fly for a Week
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a... peach emoji? The Airlander 10 is the world's biggest currently operational aircraft, and though it won't be setting any speed records, it may hold the key to greener, more sustainable commercial and...
SciShow
Everyone Was Wrong About Avocados - Including Us
If you’re a fan of avocados, you might have heard that they only exist thanks to prehistoric creatures called giant ground sloths. In fact, you’ve probably heard that from us. But as it turns out, the real story is way more complicated -...
SciShow
This Element Doesn't Fit the Periodic Table
One of the most famous elements in the periodic table doesn't really belong anywhere chemists would like to put it.
MinuteEarth
The WEIRD Way Monkeys Got to America
Many of the greatest biological dispersal events in history likely happened because animals inadvertently traveled across the oceans on floating debris.
TED Talks
TED: Is technology our savior — or our slayer? | Ruha Benjamin
When it comes to technology, we're often presented with two contrasting visions of the future: one where technology fulfills all our desires, and another where it leads to chaos and conflict. Sociologist Ruha Benjamin is here with a more...
PBS
How Did Our Most Famous Ancestor Really Die?
Did our most famous fossil ancestor, Lucy, die by falling out of a tall tree? The answer is part of a decades-long debate over how, exactly, our ancestors transitioned from life in the trees to life on the ground.
Be Smart
Are We Running Out Of Food??
If you tried to sum up the last 150 years or so in one image, a chart of exponential growth would be a good place to start. It shows that some things change faster over time. You could apply it to life expectancy. Or compound interest....
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: Can the US and China take on climate change together? | Changhua Wu
Climate change doesn't care about ideological divides, says policy analyst and China expert Changhua Wu. Here's what she says the US can learn from the progress China has made on the clean energy revolution -- and why collaboration...
SciShow
You Suck at Skipping Rocks
Most of us are stoked if we can get a stone to skip more than 3 or 4 times. The world record holder at skipping stones has 88 skips. Here's why science says that number is way too low.
SciShow
How to See Really Tiny Things Without Killing Them
Where would biology be without microscopes? But for a long time, in order to see the smallest bits of life, that life had to be dead. Then along came Atomic Force Microscopy, which let us observe things like DNA and proteins moving...
SciShow
Animals Have Grammar Too - A Little Birdie Told Us
If you hear birds chirping in the trees, you might not think much of the different sounds you're hearing. But as it turns out, those tweets and chirps have a lot more in common with some of our complicated rules of grammar than you might...
SciShow
A Universal Cure for Snake Bites?
If you're bitten by a snake, you might need a horse to save your life. Researchers are searching for better antivenoms to treat illnesses like snake bite, and they're turning to monoclonal antibodies, made in a lab, to replace the...
TED Talks
TED: Your identity is your superpower | America Ferrera
A clip from America Ferrera's TED Talk "My identity is a superpower -- not an obstacle" from TED2019 Hollywood needs to stop resisting what the world actually looks like, says actor, director and activist America Ferrera. Tracing the...