PBS
When Crocs Thrived in the Seas
While dinosaurs were dominating the land, the metriorhynchids were thriving in the seas. But taking that plunge wasn’t easy because it takes a very special set of traits to fully dedicate yourself to life at sea.
PBS
When a Giant Pterosaur Ruled the European Islands
The ecological niche of apex predators was empty on Hateg Island, waiting to be occupied by something large, mobile, and powerful enough to fill it.
PBS
The Curious Case of the Cave Lion
A mysterious, large feline roamed Eurasia during the last ice age. Its fossils have been found across the continent, and it’s been the subject of ancient artwork. So what exactly were these big cats?
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 Whale Evolution Kind Of Sucked
Mystacodon is the earliest known mysticete, the group that, today, we call the baleen whales. But if this was a baleen whale, where was its baleen? Where did baleen come from? And how did it live without it?
PBS
How Pterosaurs Got Their Wings
When pterosaurs first took flight, you could say that it marked the beginning of the end for the winged reptiles. Because, strangely enough, the power of flight -- and the changes that it led to -- may have ultimately led to their downfall.
PBS
How Dinosaurs Coupled Up
Dinosaur mating behavior has been the subject of a lot of speculation, but what can we actually say about it from the fossil record?
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
When Trees Took Over the World
420 million years ago, the forest floor of what's now New York was covered with a plant that didn’t look like a tree at all, except its roots were made of wood. Instead of looking up to learn about the evolution of trees, it turns out...
PBS
The Rise and Fall of the Tallest Mammal to Walk the Earth
It arose from rhino ancestors that were a lot smaller, but Paraceratherium would take a different evolutionary path. Believe it or not, it actually became so big that it probably got close to what scientists think might be the actual...
PBS
The Hellacious Lives of the "Hell Pigs"
Despite the name, we don’t know where the so-called “hell pigs” belong in the mammalian family tree. They walked on hooves, like pigs do, but had longer legs, almost like deer. They had hunched backs, a bit like rhinos or bison. But as...
PBS
The Fuzzy Origins of the Giant Panda
How does a bear -- which is a member of the order Carnivora -- evolve into an herbivore? Despite how it looks, nothing about the history of the giant panda is black and white.
PBS
The Creature That Stumped Darwin
Toxodon was one of the last members of a lineage that vanished 11,000 years ago after thriving in isolation for millions of years. And its fossils would inspire a revolutionary thinker to tackle a bigger mystery than Toxodon itself:...
PBS
How the Walrus Got Its Tusks
The rise and fall of ancient walruses, and how modern ones got their tusks, is a story that spans almost 20 million years. And while there are parts of the story that we’re still trying to figure out, it looks like tusks didn’t have...
PBS
How Plate Tectonics Gave Us Seahorses
How did seahorses — one of the ocean’s worst swimmers — spread around the globe? And where did they come from in the first place?
PBS
These Fossils Were Supposed To Be Impossible
Hidden in rocks once thought too old to contain complex life we may have found the animal kingdom’s oldest known predator.
PBS
Nautiloids Thrived For 500 Million Years Until These Guys Showed Up
Around 30 million years ago, a new group of predators began to push nautiloids from their former global range into a single remaining refuge. But who were these predators?
PBS
Families with transgender children struggle to navigate wave of anti-trans politics
Texas is the largest state in the country to ban transition-related medical care for minors, joining 19 other states that have restricted access. Laura Barrón-López recently spent time in Texas to learn more about the law and spoke with...
TED Talks
TED: Why I built my own time machine | Lucas Rizzotto
Experiential artist Lucas Rizzotto was going through a tough breakup, so he did what anyone would do: he built a personal time machine. In a playful talk, he shares how his free-ranging experimentation led to various delightful,...
TED Talks
TED: Why change is so scary -- and how to unlock its potential | Maya Shankar
Unexpected change like an accident, an illness or a relationship that suddenly ends is inevitable -- and disorienting. With a heartfelt and optimistic take on life's curveballs, cognitive scientist Maya Shankar shares how these...
TED Talks
TED: The magic of a creative career | Michael Sheen
The city of Port Talbot in South Wales is known for a few things: a steel mill, a proudly working class population and a passionate commitment to the arts that produced Hollywood superstars Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins. In this...
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 Teeth Make The Best Fossils
Teeth are so well preserved in the fossil record that they make the best, most informative fossils we can find, from phylogenetic studies to learning about the evolution of the human brain.
SciShow
What Do Parrots Think They’re Saying?
You ever see a parrot mimicking humans words, and wonder if they really get what they're talking about? They're smarter than they look - there's a lot of meaning in every squawk and chirp that parrots make. Not bad for a bird brain.