PBS
How Ancient Microbes Rode Bug Bits Out to Sea
New ReviewTiny exoskeleton fragments may have allowed some of the most important microbes in the planet’s history to set sail out into the open ocean and change the world forever.
SciShow
Why On Earth Did We Think Urine Was Sterile?
You've probably heard that urine is sterile. And we're only just learning that's not true. Understanding the urinary microbiome could help us find new ways to treat kidney stones, UTIs, and even bladder cancer. Hosted by: Niba...
SciShow
The Rock That's Helping Us Find the Origin of Life
Epidote might just look like a pretty little crystal, but it has a secret. thanks to the high-pressure circumstances where it forms, we can use it to help us uncover the origins of life on our planet, and maybe even find signs of life on...
SciShow
Growing Bacteria in Space Stations | Compilation
Bacteria is enormously resourceful and will find a way to grow just about anywhere it can, and that includes space stations. Here's a compilation of how that's happened in the past and how we've handled it!
SciShow
How We Get Sick in Space and How to Recover | Compilation
No one likes being sick, but can you imagine catching a bug while hurling through space? Turns out, this is an issue that many space agencies have worked to study and mitigate.
SciShow
Early Earth Microbes May Have Eaten Raw Meteorites
Is it possible that life on earth began with an out of this world rock buffet?
PBS
Venus May Have Life!
If you rank the most habitable places in our solar system Venus lands pretty low, with surface temperatures hot enough to melt lead and sulphuric acid rain. And yet it may have just jumped to the front of the pack. In fact, we may have...
PBS
The 40 Million-Year-Old Ecosystem In Your Mouth
The hardened residue scraped off your teeth at the dentist is called your dental calculus, and your dental calculus is the only part of your body that actually fossilizes while you’re alive! And scientists have figured out how to study &...
PBS
How We Figured Out Fermentation
Thanks to a recent adaptation, instead of getting sick from the boozy, fermented fruits, one of our primate ancestors could digest them safely, and get more calories at the same time. This new superpower would open up a whole new...
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
Are We All Actually Archaea?
The unexpected discovery of an entirely new domain of life was pretty huge and surprising - even if archaea do just look like bacteria. But, in recent years, it’s been their connection to us that's turned out to be particularly full of...
TED Talks
TED: CRISPR's next advance is bigger than you think | Jennifer Doudna
You've probably heard of CRISPR, the revolutionary technology that allows us to edit the DNA in living organisms. Biochemist and 2023 Audacious Project grantee Jennifer Doudna earned the Nobel Prize for her groundbreaking work in this...
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
It's Raining Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria
Bacteria are everywhere, including clouds, and the rain that falls from them. Not only can they survive the harsh environment and hitchhike across continents, they can share their genes, too. Including the ones that make them resistant...
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...
SciShow
These 100-Million-Year-Old Microbes Are Still Alive!
Researchers have found ancient communities of microbes that have been buried deep, for a hundred million years! This discovery might be the oldest living thing on Earth, and could even expand the search for life on other planets.
SciShow
The Tiny Reasons This Island Is Shrinking
Hoboro Island off the coast of Japan may soon be an island of the past, and it’s primarily due to one unsuspecting isopod.
SciShow
The Plants That Live on Artificial Light (and Why That’s Bad)
Plants are finding their ways into caves, and it's all our fault.
SciShow
The Climate Crisis Is Changing the Circle of Life
When you think about the impact of climate change on the circle of life, you likely picture polar bears or Bengal tigers struggling in new conditions. But the impacts on the world go all the way down to the tiniest creatures who do some...
SciShow
Microbes Might Survive on Mars | SciShow News
We’re all excited about the Mars rover Perseverance this week, but scientists are also working on some other exciting things!
SciShow
Hospitals are Hotspots for Antibiotic-resistant Germs
While antibiotics have saved millions of lives, misusing them can speed up how fast bacteria evolve to resist them. And it turns out that one of the biggest hotspots for these antibiotic-resistant bacteria…is hospitals.
SciShow
Nature’s Secret Weapon Against Microbes: Squid Skin
There's a compound found in squid skin that they use to change color and protect their cells, but it could also help us fight some of the most common disease-causing microbes out there.
SciShow
Do Zombies Float or Sink?
If you’re trying to figure out where to plan on sheltering during the zombie apocalypse, it’s essential to know whether zombies sink or float!
SciShow
A Giant Underground Lake on Mars! | Breaking News
Scientists have discovered an underground lake of liquid water on Mars! While this isn’t itself evidence for life on Mars, it does raise some new possibilities.