MinuteEarth
How To Name A Disease (Like COVID-19)
We’ve changed - and standardized - the way diseases get named because the old way was often stigmatizing and confusing.
SciShow
We're Probably Going to Cure MS
You've probably heard of multiple sclerosis, especially if you're a fan of The West Wing. But can we ever cure MS? Yes. But also, no. But also, probably? It's complicated.
SciShow
The First CRISPR Gene Therapy Is Here
CRISPR is a powerful gene editing tool, but its uses have been purely scientific until now. In 2023, US and UK drug regulators including the FDA approved Casgevy, a CRISPR/Cas9-based therapy for sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia....
SciShow
Does COVID Cause Cancer?
There's a troubling link between COVID and certain cancers, but as always, it's complicated.
TED Talks
TED: How to stop the next pandemic? Stop deforestation | Neil Vora
Clearing tropical forests isn't just dangerous to the natural world — it's also a threat to human health and wellbeing, says physician Neil Vora. Tracing how environmental devastation led to deadly epidemics like Ebola, he presents three...
SciShow
The Woman Who Saved the World
On her way to winning the 2023 Nobel Prize for her pioneering work on mRNA vaccines, Katalin Karikó lived a life made for the big screen.
PBS
Can Viruses Travel Between Planets?
With the global pandemic of Covid 19 still encompassing the world, we are generally not big fans of viruses right now. But we sure are thinking about them a lot. That’s right, even astrophysicists are pondering these bizarre little...
PBS
How the Egg Came First
The story of the egg spans millions of years, from the first vertebrates that dared to venture onto land to today’s mammals, including the platypus, and of course birds. Like chickens? We’re here to tell you: The egg came first.
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
The Two Viruses That We’ve Had For Millions of Years
There’s one kind of herpesvirus that’s specific to one species of primate, and each virus split off from the herpesvirus family tree when the primate split off from its own tree. But of course, humans are a special kind of primate.
PBS
The Pandemic That Lasted 15 Million Years
Our DNA holds evidence of a huge, ancient pandemic, one that touched many different species, spanned the globe, and lasted for more than 15 million years.
Be Smart
Inside the Lab That Invented the COVID-19 Vaccine
Here we are, just a year after the first news of the coronavirus we now call SARS-CoV-2 and the global pandemic known as COVID-19… and scientists have already developed more than one safe & effective vaccine. How did they do that so...
Be Smart
The Reason COVID-19 Is Our Perfect Enemy (and Why We’ll Beat It)
SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 are nasty enemies. Invisible, mysterious, and deadly, they have spread around the world and caused much of humanity to hide away. Germs like these only succeed and spread because of our social evolution, and our...
Be Smart
Why Deadly Viral Pandemics Are Becoming More Common
Viruses keep jumping out of nature and into humans and getting us very sick in the process. So why do zoonotic spillovers like SARS-CoV-2 happen, and why are they becoming more frequent? We asked an expert.
Be Smart
Here's What I Learned From Getting COVID
I’m vaccinated. I’m boosted. And I still got infected with the omicron variant of COVID-19. Here’s what I learned, and what it means for the possible end of this pandemic.
Be Smart
Using a Bunch of Mousetraps to Explain How Pandemics Work (feat. @theslowmoguys)
Since the start of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, the term “herd immunity” has been all over the news. But what does it really mean? One thing most people don’t realize about vaccines is that they aren’t just to protect the person...
SciShow
How Does Chickenpox Turn Into Shingles?
You might know that chickenpox and shingles are both caused by the same virus, varicella zoster. Here's why the symptoms, and even the vaccines, are different the second time around.
SciShow
Why HPV Is Cancer In One Convenient Package
HPV isn't the only virus that causes cancer, but it's one of the best at it. Here's what we've learned about this supervillain of a pathogen, and how to stop it.
SciShow
Why We Stopped Making Progress on Malaria
After decades of improvement, the number of malaria deaths is on the rise again. So scientists are experimenting with a new kind of mosquito control, and it's not an insecticide.
SciShow
Does COVID Mess With Your DNA?
As more and more are infected with COVID-19, there's a growing group of people who have what's called Long COVID, meaning they still have symptoms for weeks or months after getting sick. While we still don't know for sure the cause of...
SciShow
The Virus Eaters
Viruses are really tiny, so you might think nothing could survive on a virus-based diet. But, according to a growing body of research, the right kind of microorganism can!
SciShow
We Skipped Flu Season. That's Bad
Some experts feared we were in for a "twindemic" during the 2020-2021 flu season. That didn't happen, which might mean that there will be more people susceptible to getting sick this year.
SciShow
We May Have a COVID Vaccine in 2021, But Not Without Taking Risks
Right now, experts say a vaccine for COVID-19 is a year or more away. But as far away as it sounds, it’s only within the realm of possibility because scientists are speeding up the vaccine development process in surprising ways.
SciShow
We Can Cure Ebola! (Mostly—Which Is Better Than Rarely) | SciShow News
We’ve made a lot of progress recently in curing two deadly diseases that have been difficult to treat!