SciShow
How to Make a Dark Matter Planet
Dark Matter is the most abundant form of matter in the known universe, so what's keeping it from forming into planets?
PBS
How Pollination Got Going Twice
The world of the Jurassic was a lot like ours - similar interactions between plants and insects were happening, but the players have changed over time. Because it looks like pollination by insects actually got going twice.
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 Plants Became Carnivores
How and why does botanical carnivory keep evolving? It turns out that when any of the basic things that most plants need aren’t there, some plants can adapt in unexpected ways to make sure they thrive.
PBS
How Chilis Got Spicy (and Why We Love the Burn)
Today, chilis are the most widely cultivated spice crop in the world - grown everywhere from their native home in the Americas to Europe, Africa, and Asia. But how and why did chilis evolve this weird, fiery trick in the first place? And...
PBS
When Trees Took Over the World
420 million years ago, the forest floor of what's now New York was covered with a plant that didn’t look like a tree at all, except its roots were made of wood. Instead of looking up to learn about the evolution of trees, it turns out...
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-Ed
TED-Ed: Which is better for you: "Real" meat or "fake" meat? | Carolyn Beans
In 2021, a survey of over 1,000 Americans found that nearly two-thirds had eaten plant-based meat alternatives in the past year. Many cited potential health and environmental benefits as their motivation. But are these alternative meats...
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...
SciShow
Why Astronauts Need Farm-to-Table
Growing food in space will be necessary to support the future of space exploration. And it won't be monoculture, either. Here's why astronauts will be growing whole ecosystems in space.
SciShow
The Wildest Noises in Wildlife… and Dunes
Nature can be pretty noisy, but there's some stuff that's just quiet all the time - right? Well, thanks to advances in audio equipment, researchers are finding out that everything from plants to bacteria have a lot more to say that we...
SciShow
Even Locusts Hate Plagues of Locusts
Plagues of locusts have been documented since ancient times, and they affect the food supply of one in ten people today. How can we stop them? Well, computer models of locusts swarms tell us every locust is scared to death of its neighbors.
SciShow
How Can Microbes Protect Crops From Drought?
Solving food shortages caused by droughts is a big challenge that may benefit from a tiny ally. Turns out that the microbes living in the soil around plants can give them a boost when water's scarce, which means more food for us, which...
MinuteEarth
The Plant You Don’t Have To Water
Some plants can drink water from the air - and that has some weird effects on the forests where they live.
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.
SciShow
This Parasitic Plant Stole Over 100 Genes From Other Plants | SciShow News
Plants may not seem like they live the most exciting lives, but two new papers published this week point to different types of plants that are actually very cunning and manipulative. One, the parasitic dodder, steals both nutrients and...
SciShow
This Melon Builds a Whole Ecosystem in the Desert
The nara melon is as juicy as any other, so how is it able to grow in the hyper-arid Namib desert?
SciShow
The Real Reason Peppers are Spicy
SciShow’s hot take: Peppers don’t produce that spicy goodness for the reason you think!
SciShow
The Oversized Invasive Carrot That Can Give You Third Degree Burns
All plants get energy from the sun, but the giant hogweed gets another, dangerous superpower from the sun's light: the ability to burn skin with its sap.
SciShow
The Hardcore Crickets That Only Live on Bare Lava
Some animals live in pretty extreme places, but the lava cricket might be the most hardcore of them all. These crickets have only been observed right after volcanic eruptions, and scientists have questions, like “How does a flightless...
SciShow
The Fibonacci Sequence: Nature's Code
Hank introduces us to the most beautiful numbers in nature - the Fibonacci sequence.
SciShow
The Amazing Humanoid Diving Robot
Today on SciShow we bring you a cool humanoid diving robot and insight into the evolution of the venus flytrap.
SciShow
Not All Carnivores Eat Meat
The name of the order Carnivora means "meat-eaters," and while most of the members of Carnivora live up to that name, there is at least one cute and curious exception.
SciShow
Mistletoe: The Holiday Plant That Shouldn’t Exist
Mistletoe's ability to stay green through harsh, cold weather has made it a symbol of holiday romance for centuries. But it relies on some very strange (and occasionally disgusting) adaptations to stay vibrant and healthy all winter long.