TED Talks
TED: CRISPR's next advance is bigger than you think | Jennifer Doudna
You've probably heard of CRISPR, the revolutionary technology that allows us to edit the DNA in living organisms. Biochemist and 2023 Audacious Project grantee Jennifer Doudna earned the Nobel Prize for her groundbreaking work in this...
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....
TED Talks
TED: Why are we making pizza boxes out of endangered trees? | Nicole Rycroft
If we're going to solve the climate crisis, we need to talk about supply chains, says biodiversity champion and 2023 Audacious Project grantee Nicole Rycroft. Her organization, Canopy, partners with key industry leaders to overhaul their...
SciShow
Why Are Saturn’s Rings Younger Than Saturn?
Saturn's rings are younger than Saturn, and the most spectacular sight in the Solar System is also disappearing. How do we know? By running our finger through some cosmic dust.
SciShow
We’re Wrong About How Mountains Form
We think we know how mountains form. Plate tectonics causes rock to be pushed up at fault boundaries. Except that model is hard to prove, and a new study suggests it might actually be a lot more complicated.
SciShow
Your Fridge Isn’t Green, but It Could Be
Refrigeration and air conditioning are among the largest sources of carbon, and the refrigerants we use are greenhouse gases, too. But green refrigerants are on the way, from elastocaloric cooling to a method a bit like salting an icy road.
SciShow
Why Are Craters Always Round?
If you take a look at all the impact craters in our solar system, the vast majority are nice, neat circles. But why? Meteorites and asteroids strike planets and moons at all sorts of angles. Where are all the elliptical craters?
SciShow
Why Aliens Might Love Their Frozen Home
In the hunt for life beyond Earth, scientists shouldn't skip over frozen planets. In some cases, ice might actually help life evolve!
SciShow
Most Planets Don't Orbit Stars!?
Hunting for rogue planets is like hunting for an invisible needle in a haystack. But we're getting a much clearer view thanks to gravitational microlensing surveys. And it looks like there are a LOT more of them out there than we thought.
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
There's Water on...the Sun?
With an effective surface temperature of roughly 5,500 degrees Celsius, you might think water couldn't survive on the Sun. Well, scientists debated whether or not it was there for nearly a century, and it turns out, it can!
SciShow
Our Solar System Might Have TWO Hidden Planets
After Pluto's demotion to dwarf planet in 2006, our solar system went from having nine planets to eight. But about a decade later, some astronomers proposed there was another planet, larger than Earth, hiding in the Kuiper Belt. And in...
MinuteEarth
Why Continents Are High
Lots of geological forces need to come together for continents to form, but they all require one ingredient: water.
MinuteEarth
When Tree Planting Goes Wrong
Trees are a super-efficient way to sequester carbon, but since planting the wrong trees in the wrong place can do more harm than good, we need to go about tree planting more carefully.
MinuteEarth
Why It's Impossible To Win a Nuclear War
Nuclear war is a terrifying existential threat, but we shouldn't only fear the blasts because the ensuing smoke is the real killer.
MinutePhysics
Geosynchronous Orbits are WEIRD
This video is about the physics of geosynchronous and geostationary orbits, why they exist, when they don't, when they're useful for communication/satellite TV, etc.
SciShow
Coriolis Effect: IDTIMWYTIM
Does your toilet water drain differently than in the other hemisphere? Is it because of the Coriolis effect? Hank has some things to clarify about these questions, and more in this edition of I Don't Think It Means What You Think It Means.
SciShow
Whale Poop Helps Cool Our Planet
You might not think of a sea creature as helpful in the prevention of climate change, but sperm whales have been doing their part to cool the planet by doing what most animals do best: pooping.
SciShow
This Diagram of Earth Is a Lie
When you learned about the Earth’s interior in school, you were probably shown a diagram that looked like a perfect layer cake. But we've known for a long time that that diagram is... inaccurate at best, and leaves out information that...
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
Earth's Not-So-Juicy Center
Hank takes us on a journey to center of the Earth to explain both how the solid core formed and why it is so important for life as we know it.
SciShow
The Carbon Impact of the World’s Largest Mass Migration
Thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and their research and technology partner MBARI for partnering with us on this episode of SciShow. They worked together on an exhibition, “Into The Deep: Exploring Our Undiscovered Ocean,” to give...
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!