MinuteEarth
Is It Safe To Get Your DNA Tested?
Once it’s out of your body, your genetic information is valuable to a variety of people, but you can keep it safe(ish) with a few simple steps. ___________________________________________ To learn more, start your googling with these...
SciShow
I’m A Genetic Engineer. I’m Also a Fish.
Horizontal gene transfer might not be the flashiest of names, but animals are using it to create genetic hybrids without a human in sight. Like frogs rocking the DNA snippets of snakes, and fish sharing antifreeze superpowers.
SciShow
Inbreeding with Yourself
*At the time this video was made, it had been reported that Charlotte the round ray was pregnant. However, new information has come out that she was never pregnant with parthenotes, and in fact had a reproductive disorder, which is a...
SciShow
How These Animals Lost Their Heads (And Bodies, and Butts)
You'd think that there are some features that, once an animal group evolved to have them, could never really go away, right? Well, Stefan is joined today by hosts from PBS Eons, Journey To The Microcosmos, and Bizarre Beasts to break...
SciShow
How We'll Beat Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is a shockingly common disease - as many as 13% of females may get it at some point in their lives. And there's a lot of confusing info out there about it, from hormones to BRCA genes to risks and treatments. So we're here...
SciShow
The 3 Species That Break Genetics
Scientists have discovered a group of three closely related flowers that seem to break the laws of genetics. These mountain beardtongues are pollinated by either bees or butterflies, but not both, and that's the key to an incredibly...
SciShow
Autoimmune Diseases Are Sexist. Here’s Why
Autoimmune diseases like lupus disproportionately affect women five to one. Researchers have finally pinpointed a unique silencing gene on the X chromosome that may help explain why. Women Get More AutoImmune Diseases. Here’s Why.
SciShow
Why Can’t We Have Unicorns?
Unicorns may be mythical creatures, but they're very plausible-seeming ones. So why hasn't evolution gifted us with magical horses with horns? Let's take a look at the genetics and developmental biology of headgear in ruminants and other...
SciShow
The OTHER Genome Project That’s Transforming Medicine
You've heard of the Human Genome Project, and how having all that info about our genes could help us treat /tons/ of diseases. But a newer project wants to zoom out a little and use different genetic information to help us solve our...
TED Talks
TED: Can we hack photosynthesis to feed the world? | Steve Long
Photosynthesis is one of the most important processes on the planet, helping produce the food we eat and the air we breathe. Crop scientist Steve Long thinks it could be more efficient — and he's intent on giving it a boost. He shows how...
SciShow
Have an Autoimmune Disease? Blame the Black Death
The bubonic plague killed so many people in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa that that natural selection event is still rippling through our genomes today. But the same genes that helped your ancestors survive the Black Death...
SciShow
Why Hairworms Don’t Have Hair
Hairworms, sometimes called horsehair or Gordian worms, are mind-controlling parasites with a twist. A genetic study found these nematomorph worms are missing 30% of their genome, and we don't understand how they live without genes for...
PBS
Can Viruses Travel Between Planets?
With the global pandemic of Covid 19 still encompassing the world, we are generally not big fans of viruses right now. But we sure are thinking about them a lot. That’s right, even astrophysicists are pondering these bizarre little...
PBS
How the Egg Came First
The story of the egg spans millions of years, from the first vertebrates that dared to venture onto land to today’s mammals, including the platypus, and of course birds. Like chickens? We’re here to tell you: The egg came first.
PBS
When Ancient People Changed Their Own DNA
Thank you to Rocket Money for sponsoring PBS. For more info check out http://rocketmoney.com/pbseons or scan the QR code on the screen to start managing your personal finances today.
PBS
We Can “Bring Back” The Woolly Mammoth. Should We?
In the quest to understand how evolution basically built the woolly mammoth, we may have found the blueprints for building them ourselves.
PBS
The Genes We Lost Along the Way
Our DNA holds thousands of dead genes and we’ve only just begun to unravel their stories. But one thing is already clear: we’re not just defined by the genes that we’ve gained over the course of our evolution, but also by the genes that...
PBS
Our “Junk DNA” Is More Important Than We Once Thought
In the search for the genes that make us human, some of the most important answers were hiding not in the genes themselves, but in what was once considered genomic junk.
Curated Video
How (Some) Plants Survived The K-Pg Extinction
Perhaps for plants in times of great stress and ecological upheaval, the more DNA the better.
PBS
Giant Viruses Blur The Line Between Alive and Not
In 2003, microbiologists made a huge discovery. One that would force us to reconsider a lot of what we thought we knew about the evolution of microbial life: giant viruses.
PBS
Why Sour May Be The Oldest Taste
While sour taste's original purpose was to warn vertebrates of danger, in a few animal groups, including us, its role has reversed. The taste of danger became something it was dangerous for us to avoid.
PBS
The Pandemic That Lasted 15 Million Years
Our DNA holds evidence of a huge, ancient pandemic, one that touched many different species, spanned the globe, and lasted for more than 15 million years.
PBS
The Ancient Human Species With A Missing Body
Only a handful of Denisovan fossils have been identified. In the absence of actual body fossils, it’s impossible for us to reconstruct their morphology, right?
PBS
The Island of the Last Surviving Mammoths
The Wrangel Island mammoths would end up being the final survivors of a once-widespread genus. In their final years, after having thrived in many parts of the world for millions of years, the very last mammoths that ever lived...