SciShow
Evolution Can't Explain Your Grandma
There's a really interesting idea in anthropology called the grandmother hypothesis, that basically says the reason we have grandmas has to do with what makes us unique as a species. But there's a huge problem with the idea that it's...
SciShow
Did Dinosaurs Have Belly Buttons?
Belly buttons are, typically, a human's first scar. A sign that you used to feed through an umbilical cord that connected your tummy to a placenta. But it turns out you don't have to feed from a placenta to get a similar scar. It might...
SciShow
Animals Have Nepo Babies Too
Trust funds aren't just for humans. Animals pass on generational wealth too, meaning even the animal kingdom isn't free of nepo babies.
SciShow
Why the Oldest Fish in the World Lives in a Desert
The longest-living group of freshwater fish has been discovered... in a desert. Thanks to humans stocking artificial lakes, and to some awesome citizen scientists, we've learned that buffalofish can easily live to a hundred years old.
MinuteEarth
MinuteEarth Explains: Animal Winners and Losers
In this collection of classic MinuteEarth videos, we keep score on the winners and losers of the animal kingdom. 0:00 - Intro 0:10 - Why Only Some Monkeys Have Awesome Tails • Why Only Some Monkeys Have Awesome Tails 1:57 - Rise Of The...
MinuteEarth
Apparently tree FINGERPRINTS are a thing
Every species on Earth has a fingerprint - whether or not they have fingers at all.
MinuteEarth
How A Whale And A Bear Beat The System
While the rest of the world’s megafauna are still foundering in the anthropocene era, these two big animals have used little animal strategies to bounce back. Way back.
SciShow Kids
Weird and Wonderful Amphibians | SciShow Kids Compilation
In this SciShow Kids compilation, Jessi and the gang learn about axolotls, poison dart frogs, and an amphibian with a boomerang-shaped head.
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-Ed
TED-Ed: Surviving the coldest place on Earth | Nadia Frontier
The vast, white surface of Antarctica stretches for over 3 million square kilometers. On the coast of this expanse, just a few meters beneath the ice, lies a remarkably diverse realm that is home to over 8,000 species of sea denizens who...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Ethical dilemma: What makes life worth living? | Douglas MacLean
Life on your planet depends entirely on Nuronium for normal cognition. Unfortunately, its source has been compromised and you are now at risk of extinction. Scientists have found an alternate energy source, Polixate, but it can't sustain...
SciShow
Octopuses Have a Favorite Arm
Most humans might be right-handed, but plenty of other animals have a preferred hand (or whatever they've got instead of hands) too. The more general term is lateralization, and it's found in everything from kangaroos to octopuses.
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
The Snail We Misidentified More Than 100 Times
Everyone makes mistakes, but misidentifying a species more than 100 times? It happened. In this List Show, we tell the tale of the periwinkle snail and other creatures scientists confused for someone else.
PBS
How Did Our Most Famous Ancestor Really Die?
Did our most famous fossil ancestor, Lucy, die by falling out of a tall tree? The answer is part of a decades-long debate over how, exactly, our ancestors transitioned from life in the trees to life on the ground.
PBS
Why We Only Have Ten Toes (It's a Long Story)
Today, all mammals from humans to bats have five fingers or fewer. Yes, even whales, whose finger bones are hidden in their fins. Birds have four or fewer and amphibians get the best of both worlds, often having four digits on their...
PBS
When We Took Over the World
From our deepest origins in Africa all the way to the Americas, by looking at the fossils and archaeological materials we have been able to trace the path our ancestors took during the short window of time when we took over the world.
PBS
When We Tamed Fire
The ability to make and use fire has fundamentally changed the arc of our evolution. The bodies we have today were, in many ways, shaped by that time when we first tamed fire.
PBS
When We Met Other Human Species
We all belong to the only group of hominins on the planet today. But we weren’t always alone. 100,000 years ago, Eurasia was home to other hominin species, some of which we know our ancestors met, and spent some quality time with.
PBS
When Penguins Went From The Sky To The Sea
Today, we think of penguins as small-ish, waddling, tuxedo-birds. But they evolved from a flying ancestor, were actual giants for millions of years, and some of them were even dressed a little more casually.
PBS
When Mammals Only Went Out At Night
For decades, scientists believed dinosaurs were diurnal and tiny mammals were nocturnal. But as researchers have uncovered more mammalian fossils and studied the biology of different dinosaur species, they’ve found some surprising results.
PBS
When Lizards Took Over the World
Lizards are incredibly widespread and diverse but it took them a long time to get to where they are now. Because they used to face some pretty stiff competition from a group of lizard look-alikes.
PBS
When Ichthyosaurs Led a Revolution in the Seas
The marine reptiles Ichthyosaurs arose after The Great Dying, which wiped out at least 90 percent of life in the oceans, changing the seas forever and triggering a new evolutionary arms race between predator and prey.
PBS
When Hobbits Were Real
Its discoverers named it Homo floresiensis, but it’s often called “the hobbit” for its short stature and oddly proportioned feet. And it’s been at the center of a major controversy in the field ever since. Was it its own species? Or was...