Be Smart
Does Evolution Have a Point? 12 Days of Evolution #12
Some of the biggest evolution questions finally answered.
TED Talks
Jane Fonda: Why I protest for climate justice
At age 81, actor and activist Jane Fonda is putting herself on the line for the planet -- literally. In a video interview with TEDWomen curator Pat Mitchell, Fonda speaks about getting arrested multiple times during Fire Drill Fridays,...
SciShow
The History, and Future, of Space Suits
Reid Reimers explains one of the often-overlooked technologies that humans need to live in, and explore, space: space suits. Learn about the hundred-year history of the pressurized suit, and see what the future of space couture might...
TED Talks
David Wallace-Wells: How we could change the planet's climate future
The climate crisis is too vast and complicated to solve with a silver bullet, says author David Wallace-Wells. What we need is a shift in how we live. Follow along as he lays out some of the dramatic actions we could take to build a...
TED Talks
Natalie Jeremijenko: The art of the eco-mindshift
Natalie Jeremijenko's unusual lab puts art to work, and addresses environmental woes by combining engineering know-how with public art and a team of volunteers. These real-life experiments include: Walking tadpoles, texting "fish,"...
SciShow
Could Dinosaurs Have Been Warm-Blooded?
For a long time, scientists have debated whether dinosaurs were warm-blooded or cold-blooded. Turns out, they were probably somewhere in between.
TED Talks
Jessica Green: We're covered in germs. Let's design for that.
Our bodies and homes are covered in microbes -- some good for us, some bad for us. As we learn more about the germs and microbes who share our living spaces, TED Fellow Jessica Green asks: Can we design buildings that encourage happy,...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How we can detect pretty much anything | Hélène Morlon and Anna Papadopoulou
Scientists have been staking out a forest in Montana for an animal that's notoriously tricky to find. Camera traps haven't offered definitive evidence, and experts can't identify its tracks with certainty. But within the past decades,...
MinuteEarth
Our Best View Of Bacteria Is...From Space?!
Observing the effects of microbes using satellites can give us all sorts of useful information about life on Earth ... and other planets too.
TED Talks
TED: 10 years to transform the future of humanity -- or destabilize the planet | Johan Rockström
For the first time, we are forced to consider the real risk of destabilizing the entire planet, says climate impact scholar Johan Rockström. In a talk backed by vivid animations of the climate crisis, he shows how nine out of the 15 big...
SciShow
Darwin's Darlings: Meat-Eating Plants
SciShow describes the fascinating science of Darwin's little darlings: meat-eating plants. Learn about their many different types, how they catch and eat their prey, and how scientists think they evolved.
TED Talks
TED: How to transform the chemical industry -- one reaction at a time | Miguel A. Modestino
Chemical plants create many of the materials found in everyday items, from the shoes you wear to the car you drive to the cell phone in your pocket. But the massive carbon footprint from chemical manufacturing is leading to climate...
TED Talks
TED: How to decarbonize the grid and electrify everything | John Doerr and Hal Harvey
The good news is it's now clearly cheaper to save the planet than to ruin it, says engineer and investor John Doerr. "The bad news is: we are fast running out of time." In this conversation with climate policy expert Hal Harvey, the two...
SciShow
What If All Viruses Vanished?
In the past couple years, you may have found yourself wishing that all the viruses in the world just disappear. But be careful what you wish for...
TED Talks
TED: The blind spots of the green energy transition | Olivia Lazard
The world needs clean power, but decarbonization calls for a massive increase in the mining and extraction of minerals like lithium, graphite and cobalt. Environmental peacemaking expert Olivia Lazard sheds light on the scramble for...
TED Talks
TED: How is your city tackling the climate crisis? | Marvin Rees
If we can unlock the full potential of our cities, we can minimize the price the planet pays for hosting us in our growing numbers, says Marvin Rees, the Mayor of Bristol, UK, who understands deeply how cities can help (or hurt) the...
TED Talks
Amory Lovins: Winning the oil endgame
In this energizing talk, Amory Lovins lays out his simple plan for weaning the US off oil and revitalizing the economy.
TED Talks
TED: How human noise affects ocean habitats | Kate Stafford
Oceanographer Kate Stafford lowers us into the sonically rich depths of the Arctic Ocean, where ice groans, whales sing to communicate over vast distances -- and climate change and human noise threaten to alter the environment in ways we...
SciShow
The Most Venomous Animals in the World
There are a lot of ways to kill and be killed in the animal kingdom, but only a lucky few use the powers of venom. Not all are closely related, so how did they acquire the same defenses, where did venom come from, and how does it work?...
TED Talks
TED: What ants teach us about the brain, cancer and the Internet | Deborah Gordon
Ecologist Deborah Gordon studies ants wherever she can find them -- in the desert, in the tropics, in her kitchen ... In this fascinating talk, she explains her obsession with insects most of us would happily swat away without a second...
TED Talks
TED: How ancient Arctic carbon threatens everyone on the planet | Sue Natali
What will happen to the planet if climate change melts what's left of Arctic permafrost? Shedding light on this overlooked threat, Arctic geologist Sue Natali reveals the true danger of heating up the iciest place on the planet: the...
SciShow
This is Weird but...COVID Decreased Lightning Strikes
The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t just affected us. It’s also affected the weather. And this turns out to be a lucky natural experiment to help us understand how much we influence the world around us.
TED Talks
TED: If trees could speak | Elif Shafak
How do we tell stories of humanity and nature at a time when our planet is burning? Novelist Elif Shafak invites us to listen to the trees, whose experience of time, stillness and impermanence is utterly different from our own. "Hidden...
TED Talks
Bilal Bomani: Plant fuels that could power a jet
Algae plus salt water equals ... fuel? At TEDxNASA@SiliconValley, Bilal Bomani reveals a self-sustaining ecosystem that produces biofuels -- without wasting arable land or fresh water.