SciShow
The Insect Nothing Messes With: Meet the Velvet Ant
Big or small, most creatures end up on something else's dinner menu. But the velvet ant combines a ton of defenses into one very unappetizing package.
MinuteEarth
Why It Sucks to Be a Male Hyena
Thanks to spotted hyenas’ unusual social structure, males experience a tough life of solitude, harassment, and deprivation. ___________________________________________ If you want to learn more about this topic, start your googling with...
SciShow
Why Do Animals Have Sex for Pleasure?
Seeking pleasure comes naturally to us humans, and we experience it in various ways, including sex. But it turns out plenty of other organisms also seek out the feeling of sexual pleasure, even outside mating purposes.
SciShow
We've Been Ignoring Female Birdsong for Centuries
Birdsong has historically been described as a male trait to compete for female mates, but there's a good chance that you've never learned about female birdsong, and they do indeed sing!
SciShow
Killing Mosquitoes With a Flip of a Gene
Eliminating certain species of mosquitoes could make summertime more enjoyable and cut down on the transmission of certain diseases. And scientists are looking into doing this by manipulating a single gene!
Bozeman Science
Evolution Continues
Paul Andersen explains how life has evolved and continues to evolve today. A brief discussion of artificial, natural and sexual selection is included. The beak of the finch is used to explain how directional selection is achieved.
SciShow
Why Did the Rooster Lose Its Penis?
Why did so many birds ditch penises? Maybe it was natural or sexual selection, an accident, or in exchange for something way more useful to them. Whatever the reason, penis loss goes to show that internal fertilization doesn’t require a...
TED Talks
Hadyn Parry: Re-engineering mosquitos to fight disease
In a single year, there are 200-300 million cases of malaria and 50-100 million cases of dengue fever worldwide. So: Why haven't we found a way to effectively kill mosquitos yet? Hadyn Parry presents a fascinating solution: genetically...
SciShow
Why These Weird Carnivores Smell Like Popcorn
If it smells like delicious buttered popcorn when you are in a middle of the forest, it’s not because there’s a movie theater nearby, but Binturongs, arboreal carnivore, might be.
SciShow
The Absolute Worst Thing About Butterflies
Who doesn’t love to gaze at a beautiful butterfly fluttering by? Aesthetically speaking, they are simply wonderful to watch. Wonderful, that is, unless you are getting a rare glimpse of pheromone laced coremata.
TED Talks
TED: It's time for "The Talk" | Julia Sweeney
Despite her best efforts, comedian Julia Sweeney is forced to tell a little white lie when her 8-year-old begins learning about frog reproduction -- and starts to ask some very smart questions.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Inside the killer whale matriarchy - Darren Croft
Pods of killer whales inhabit the waters of every major ocean on Earth. Each family is able to survive thanks mainly to one member, its most knowledgeable hunter: the grandmother. These matriarchs can live 80 years or more and their...
SciShow
This Fish Has a Serious Case of the Blues
There are a lot of brightly colored fish in the world, but lingcod, which are usually brown and white, can sometimes end up quite blue, and not just on the outside.
SciShow
Why These 7 Fish Are So U.G.L.Y.
Some fish will never win any beauty pageants, but they still deserve our admiration, respect, and love, especially since their “ugly” traits are actually incredible examples of evolutionary innovation.
SciShow
Using Genetics (and Sugar) to Control Malaria
Mosquitos might not be everyone’s favorite bug, but there’s a way we might at least be able to more comfortably coexist with these agitating arthropods.
TED Talks
TED: The loves and lies of fireflies | Sara Lewis
Biologist Sara Lewis has spent the past 20 years getting to the bottom of the magic and wonder of fireflies. In this charming talk, she tells us how and why the beetles produce their silent sparks, what happens when two fireflies have...
SciShow
7 Real-Life Unicorns
Unicorns may not exist on this planet, but Earth does have plenty of one-horned creatures that are just as remarkable, if not quite as majestic. Chapters NARWHALS 0:34 RHINOCEROS BEETLES 4:19 ASIAN RHINOCEROS BEETLE RHINOCEROS HORNBILLS...
SciShow
For These 7 Species, Sex Changes Everything
Animals and plants come in an amazing variety of shapes, sizes and colors. And in some species, they take it pretty extreme to deal with the battles within and between sexes.
SciShow
Why Y Chromosomes Won’t Be Around Forever
We're generally taught that chromosomes determine an animal's sex, but it is way more nuanced than that.
SciShow
Why Echidnas Are Evolutionary Misfits
It’s pretty well known that Australia is home to some strange animals, but echidnas are especially weird evolutionary misfits.
TED Talks
TED: The birds and the bees are just the beginning | Carin Bondar
Think you know a thing or two about sex? Think again. In this fascinating talk, biologist Carin Bondar lays out the surprising science behind how animals get it on. (This talk describes explicit and aggressive sexual content.)
SciShow Kids
All About Anglerfish
Learn all about the anglerfish! A creepy-looking, deep-sea-dwelling creature that glows!
SciShow
How Neanderthals Ended Up With Human Chromosomes
This week we learned that the Neanderthal/Denisovan/Human family tree is pretty complicated, thanks to a close look into some Neanderthals' Y chromosomes.