TED Talks
Craig Venter: Watch me unveil "synthetic life"
Craig Venter and team make a historic announcement: they've created the first fully functioning, reproducing cell controlled by synthetic DNA. He explains how they did it and why the achievement marks the beginning of a new era for science.
SciShow
What Can You Actually Learn from Your Genome?
Genetic tests can give you advice about what lifestyle, diet, and level of exercise are best for you. But you should take those suggestions with a grain of salt, because, when it comes to our bodies, our genes aren’t so much an open...
SciShow
The First Computer-Generated Bacterial Genome | SciShow News
In this week's news, scientists announce that they’d made the first entirely computer-generated bacterial genome, and a new surgical procedure that does away with cuts and scars.
TED Talks
Rob Reid: How synthetic biology could wipe out humanity -- and how we can stop it
The world-changing promise of synthetic biology and gene editing has a dark side. In this far-seeing talk, author and entrepreneur Rob Reid reviews the risks of a world where more and more people have access to the tools and tech needed...
SciShow
4 Ways CRISPR Is More Than Just Gene Editing
While it’s probably most famous for its role in gene editing, CRISPR does more than just that: its ability to precisely cut and alter DNA could lead to new antibiotics, faster diagnosis tools, and more. Chapters CREATING ANTIBIOTICS 1:07...
TED Talks
TED: On the verge of creating synthetic life | Craig Venter
Can we create new life out of our digital universe? Craig Venter asks. His answer is "yes" -- and pretty soon. He walks through his latest research and promises that we'll soon be able to build and boot up a synthetic chromosome. NOTE:...
SciShow
Creating Artificial Life
Scientists are working on creating organisms with designer genomes -- and someday, we might end up with bacteria manufacturing our jet fuel.
TED-Ed
These salamanders snack on each other (but don't die) | Luis Zambrano
Axolotls are one of science's most studied animals. Why, you ask? These extraordinary salamanders are masters of regeneration: they can flawlessly regenerate body parts ranging from amputated limbs and crushed spines to parts of their...
SciShow
3 Great Discoveries of 2013
Hank lays out three of the most awesome discoveries in science in 2013, from the fields of physics, space science and anthropology.
SciShow
The Virtually-Unkillable Virus That Makes Itself a Nucleus
In 2017, scientists discovered what appeared to be an unkillable virus that does something very un-virus-like... it builds its own nucleus inside its host's cells!
TED Talks
Svante Pääbo: DNA clues to our inner neanderthal
Sharing the results of a massive, worldwide study, geneticist Svante Pääbo shows the DNA proof that early humans mated with Neanderthals after we moved out of Africa. (Yes, many of us have Neanderthal DNA.) He also shows how a tiny bone...
SciShow
This Sturgeon-Paddlefish Hybrid Shouldn't Exist | SciShow News
Chromosome shenanigans have resulted in some unexpected hybrid fishes. Also, this record-breaking mouse lives at a ridiculous altitude.
TED Talks
Craig Venter: Sampling the ocean's DNA
Genomics pioneer Craig Venter takes a break from his epic round-the-world expedition to talk about the millions of genes his team has discovered so far in its quest to map the ocean's biodiversity.
SciShow
The Secret of Your "Junk," Revealed!
Hank brings us breaking news from a team of geneticists working on figuring out what all that "junk DNA" in the human genome really is - turns out it's not junk after all.
TED Talks
Harvey Fineberg: Are we ready for neo-evolution?
Medical ethicist Harvey Fineberg shows us three paths forward for the ever-evolving human species: to stop evolving completely, to evolve naturally -- or to control the next steps of human evolution, using genetic modification, to make...
SciShow
A Vaccine for Asthma? #inmice | SciShow News
A vaccination to protect against allergic asthma may be in sight, as scientists this week publish promising results in mice. Also, the California Condor is making a comeback, and its genome is looking great!
SciShow
Conservation Genomics and Kizmit the Porcupine: SciShow Talk Show
Brit Garner, host of SciShow Psych, talks about the research she's doing in conservation genetics/genomics, and Jessi from Animal Wonders shows off an African crested porcupine!
SciShow
4 Animals That Don’t Have Resident Gut Microbiomes
We humans couldn’t live without our gut microbes, but not all animals rely on microscopic digestive communities like we do. And understanding why these animals ditched their microbial partners can teach us a lot about the costs and...
Be Smart
Evolution: The Book Of Life
My friend Eric Schulze, awesome science guy and leader of Thirst DC helps me understand how genes and DNA write the book of life, and how reading that book has helped us learn that everything on Earth is descended from a common ancestor....
SciShow
Stop Saying Sharks Will Cure Cancer
It seems like every time scientists learn something new about sharks, people wonder whether this new information will finally show us how sharks will cure cancer. There’s no doubt about it, sharks are awesome, but is there a magic cure...
SciShow
What Neanderthal DNA Is Doing To Your Genome
Scientists estimate that about 2% of our DNA is from Neanderthals. In this week, the journal Cell showed what those Neanderthal DNA do to our genome.
TED Talks
TED: A simple new blood test that can catch cancer early | Jimmy Lin
Jimmy Lin is developing technologies to catch cancer months to years before current methods. He shares a breakthrough technique that looks for small signals of cancer's presence via a simple blood test, detecting the recurrence of some...
SciShow
Researchers Reverse Alzheimer’s Memory Loss (in Mice) | SciShow News
As many as 50 million people worldwide may live with Alzheimer's and similar forms of dementia, and while we still don't understand a lot about it, scientists may be one step closer to an effective treatment.
SciShow
The Insect That Thrives in Antarctica
It requires a certain attitude to brave the elements of Antarctica. Luckily, the Antarctic midge has a set of adaptations that fit the bill.