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The Strange Science of the Placebo Effect
How do sugar pills really interact with our bodies?
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De-Extinction: A Mammoth Undertaking
De-extinction, or using the power of modern biotechnology to bring back extinct species like mammoths and dinosaurs, would be cool. But is it really as easy as the movies make it look? Or do the cruel hands of time make it impossible?...
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Illuminating the Universe: The History of Light
Beyond what we can touch, taste, smell, and hear, we experience the universe through light. But how did we come to discover light, and how did we learn light's true nature, as the fastest thing in the universe, an electromagnetic...
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Asteroids, Meteors, and Comets.... OH MY!!!
Learn about asteroids, meteors, and comets and how they can affect earth!
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Life by the Numbers
How successful are we compared to other species? It turns out that biomass, or what things weigh, can be more important than how many of something there are. Find out how our numbers stack up against everything from bugs to bacteria, and...
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We're Mainly Microbe: Meet Your Microbiome
Ever not felt completely like yourself? There's a good reason for that. Because a large part of you isn't actually you. Our bodies are home to ten times as many microbes as human cells. We are walking ecosystems, each of us home to...
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Which Life Form REALLY Dominates Earth?
Are humans really Earth's most dominant species? Let's put all of the planet's living things on a scale and see what has amassed the most mass. This week we break down the concept of "biomass" to judge Earth's living things from top to...
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The Surprising Origin of Thanksgiving Foods
Ever wonder where your favorite Thanksgiving foods come from? Well the truth may be closer to home than you think.
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The Science of Snowflakes
Snowflakes are infinitely beautiful, but are they infinitely unique? Here's all the science behind Earth's favorite cold crystal
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The Raisin Bran Effect
The bottom of the cereal box is a disappointing place. But at least now you know why. Where do you see the Brazil Nut Effect around you?
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Why Do Things Sound Scary?
Why are sounds scary? They're just vibrations. Blame your brain.
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Beavers: The Smartest Things in Fur Pants
Beavers have done more to shape North American landscapes than any animal beside humans. We don't notice them much today because there aren't many left, but before colonization, North America was home to hundreds of millions of these...
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Do Plants Think?
For the last 50 years we've wondered whether plants can think... Haven't we?
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How Big is the Solar System?
I took a trip to one of Austin's famous moontowers so I could put the enormity of our solar system into perspective. With the help of a grapefruit, and a lot of walking, you'll get an idea of just how tiny everything is out there!!
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Why Music Moves Us
How can simple sound waves cause so much emotion? I went from my comfy chair to the streets of Austin to investigate how it might be written into our neuroscience and evolution. Modern neuroscience says our brains may be wired to pick...
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The Romantic Lure of Moonlight
Organisms of all shapes and sizes synchronize their behaviors using biological clocks. Some keep pace with the daily rising and setting sun using circadian rhythms. Others use annual cycles or the changing seasons as their cue. But many...
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How Evolution Turned A Possum Into A Wolf
Until the early 20th century, Tasmania was home to a very weird wolf-like creature. Except that it wasn't a wolf. Even though it looked like a wolf. How did that happen? Here's the science of convergent evolution!
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Why Are The Bees Dying?
Bees, wild and domesticated, are in big trouble. Bee colonies are dying off at alarming rates, and the cause isn't clear. Pesticides, habitat loss, disease, there's a laundry list of likely culprits. We rely on these tiny pollinators for...
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The Delicious Science of CHEESE!
I am an absolute freak for cheese. Next to bread, it might be our oldest biotechnology! Here's some of the science about how it's made and where it comes from. Special thanks to Kara Chadbourne from Antonelli's Cheese in Austin, TX!!!...
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DNA Doesn’t Look Like What You Think!
DNA forms a double helix, but that is not what it looks like. A fact-filled video takes on this inaccuracy as part of an extensive playlist on biology. It shares the recent discoveries about what DNA looks like as well as the many...