Teachers and parents: scroll down to check out the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for this episode!<br/>

Today, chilis are the most widely cultivated spice crop in the world - grown everywhere from their native home in the Americas to Europe, Africa, and Asia. But how and why did chilis evolve this weird, fiery trick in the first place? And...

Fentanyl has become a primary cause of the opioid overdose epidemic in the past decade. But what is it about this drug that's so dangerous? There's more to the story than meets the eye.



If you’re ever in the position...

Turns out doing the crossword is only one way you can keep your head healthy because mushrooms can help your brain cells grow!

Neurons often get all the credit for running the brain, but the work done by Ben Barres at Stanford University proved that glial cells are far more crucial to brain functioning than we had previously realized.

Is there actually a cure for cancer? A universal cure would be a truly historic achievement in medicine, and it seems that scientists may have found it... by accident. Watch this new episode of SciShow and find out more! Hosted by: Hank...

Venomous snakes produce some of the world’s deadliest substances, so they have to be pretty careful about how they use it. But what happens if they accidentally inject themselves with their own harmful cocktail?

There’s still a lot of work to be done before HIV is cured, but this week scientists reported the second-ever case of full HIV remission in a patient.

While you might not think about quantum mechanics being part of your everyday life, it turns out that it might play a role in some of the most familiar things, from the sunlight in the trees to the nose on your face!

Mosquitoes transmit a number of terrible diseases like malaria, West Nile virus, and the Zika virus, but why not the flu?

You might expect to find these fish at the core of an ancient, distant asteroid, but we find them instead on Earth. That doesn’t mean they aren’t special, though. In fact, their immune systems may be the key to unlocking a new treatment...

We have a powerful way to study how brains work thanks to a relatively new technology called chemogenetics. With chemogenetics, scientists can give an injection to mice that turns specific parts of their brains on or off!

In space we can finally get away from pesky flies landing in our drinks! But before we can live off-Earth full time, sending flies into orbit is helping us study how space affects our human hearts and immune systems.

Why does alcohol cause that burning sensation on its way down?

What controls aging? Biochemist Cynthia Kenyon has found a simple genetic mutation that can double the lifespan of a simple worm, C. elegans. The lessons from that discovery, and others, are pointing to how we might one day significantly...

Modern psychiatric drugs treat the chemistry of the whole brain, but neurobiologist David Anderson has a more nuanced view of how the brain functions. He shares new research that could lead to targeted psychiatric medications -- that...

If you’re lucky enough to witness a panda applying a ripe layer of horse poop body paint to itself, you might assume it is a similar behavior to a dog frolicking in the stink of a dead animal. But in actuality, these pandas are reducing...

At any moment, there is an electrical storm coursing through your body. Discover how chemical reactions create an electric current that drives our responses to everything from hot pans to a mother's caress.

There is a chemical so bitter you can taste it in an Olympic-sized swimming pool and you probably have it in your home without even knowing it.

While you might not think about quantum mechanics being part of your everyday life, it turns out that it might play a role in some of the most familiar things, from the sunlight in the trees to the nose on your face! Chapters View all...

Explore cell signaling with the Amoeba Sisters! This introductory video describes vocabulary such as ligand and receptor. It includes the stages of cell signaling (reception, transduction, and response) and different types of signaling...

Researchers think the virus behind COVID-19 may have multiple ways into cells—which could help us understand how it behaves.

There’s a lot of confusion about tear gases—what they are, what they do, and whether they can cause long-term harm. Here's what we know.

Catnip! Cats roll in it, rub their cheeks on it and paw at it... but what is it about this stuff that gets our feline friends caught up in such a frenzy?