We chose not to give a numerical value for how many characteristics of life there are, because we do not want to imply that what we are listing must be a specific order, or that it cannot be expanded upon or include exceptions....

We tend to think of COVID-19 as a lung infection, but there's more evidence that it might also be affecting the hearts of healthy athletes without them even knowing it.

Hank uses a favorite subject of the YouTube community - the potato gun - to teach us about the principles of pneumatics, which use the potential energy of compressed gas to do work in lots of useful machines every day.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi asks, "What makes a life worth living?" Noting that money cannot make us happy, he looks to those who find pleasure and lasting satisfaction in activities that bring about a state of "flow."

Can we, as adults, grow new neurons? Neuroscientist Sandrine Thuret says that we can, and she offers research and practical advice on how we can help our brains better perform neurogenesis—improving mood, increasing memory formation and...

Our hard-wired stress response is designed to give us the quick burst of heightened alertness and energy needed to perform our best. But stress isn't all good. When activated too long or too often, stress can damage virtually every part...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how disturbances to a reversible reaction at equilibrium affect the equilibrium constant and the reaction quotient. For example if the concentration is changed the reaction will move to reestablish...

We've known about global warming for 50 years and done little about it, says Google.org director Larry Brilliant. In spite of this and other depressing trends, he's optimistic and tells us why. From Skoll World Forum, Oxford, UK,...

The modern hard drive is an object that can likely hold more information than your local library. But how does it store so much information in such a small space? Kanawat Senanan details the generations of engineers, material scientists,...

If gulls just stole some of your chips while you were out trying to enjoy your lunch, you should feel lucky, because one species has recently developed a taste for live mammal meat!

Two new versions of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the UK and South African variants, were announced in December. They've spread quickly in their countries of origin, and have begun popping up around the world. Join us to find out...

So, a mantis shrimp's claws are pretty strong... so strong that they can produce a bubble that's about as hot as the sun and collapses with a flash of light when they snap... and scientists aren't quite sure how they do it!

In this video Paul Andersen describes some of the properties of waves. He starts be identifying particles and waves as the only phenomenon that can transfer energy from place to place. He identifies the defining characteristics of...

Most of us can probably think of a time when we were enjoying a video game and then suddenly...it's 2 am. And that may not be entirely your fault! Video games are designed with elements that suck you in and put you in a state of flow,...

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic rocked economies worldwide. Millions of people lost their jobs, and many businesses struggled to survive or shut down. Governments responded with some of the largest economic relief packages in...

The Sun is getting brighter and the planets in our solar system that are habitable are changing.

You've heard of E=mc2... but you probably haven't heard the whole story.

Old adages can be pretty hit or miss—especially when it comes to medical advice—but it turns out there may actually be some truth to the saying, "feed a cold, starve a fever."

In this video Paul Andersen explains why light is important in probing matter. Light travels in photons and the energy of individual photons is determined by Planck's equation. Infrared spectroscopy is useful in detecting the...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how the gravitational mass is a measure of the force on an object in a gravitational field. The gravitational mass is based on the amount of material in an object and can be measured to a standard kg...

There are many mysteries around fever, but we do know that all mammals, some birds and even a few invertebrate and plant species feel fever's heat. It has persisted for over 600 million years of evolution. But it has a significant cost:...

Think back to a really vivid memory. Got it? Now try to remember what you had for lunch three weeks ago. That second memory probably isn't as strong-but why not? Why do we remember some things, and not others? And why do memories...

Why can you usually stay healthy while you’re going through a stressful situation, but then you get sick right after?

In 1996, a British Airways plane flew from New York to London in a record-breaking two hours and fifty-three minutes. Today, however, passengers flying the same route can expect to spend no less than six hours in the air — twice as long....