SciShow
Why Can’t We Have Unicorns?
Unicorns may be mythical creatures, but they're very plausible-seeming ones. So why hasn't evolution gifted us with magical horses with horns? Let's take a look at the genetics and developmental biology of headgear in ruminants and other...
SciShow
The Best Fonts, According to Science
We all know our favorite fonts, but did you ever think about why some fonts are just clearer than others? Well there's a surprising amount of research into just what makes certain fonts better, and there's a case to be made for that...
SciShow
Why the Oldest Fish in the World Lives in a Desert
The longest-living group of freshwater fish has been discovered... in a desert. Thanks to humans stocking artificial lakes, and to some awesome citizen scientists, we've learned that buffalofish can easily live to a hundred years old.
SciShow
Can Cats Live Twice As Long?
In a viral story, one researcher claims to be able to double the lifespan of our feline friends by curing chronic kidney disease. We don't know if he can make cats live twice as long, but we do know the science - and the upcoming...
SciShow
The Hallucinogenic Fungi That May Treat Alzheimer’s
If you've ever heard of ergot fungi, you've likely heard of the nasty side effects of eating them, including convulsions and hallucinations. But like many a toxic substance, scientists have figured out ways to use ergot for good....
SciShow
Your Best Friend Probably Smells Like You
The microbes that crawl all over us give us our unique scents. And research shows that not only do we prefer our own, but we tend to choose friends with a similar smell.
MinuteEarth
Ancient Humans Made Millions Of These - We Don’t Know Why
The Acheulean handaxe was the most common tool of early humans, but we still don’t know what the heck they used it for.
SciShow
The OTHER Genome Project That’s Transforming Medicine
You've heard of the Human Genome Project, and how having all that info about our genes could help us treat /tons/ of diseases. But a newer project wants to zoom out a little and use different genetic information to help us solve our...
SciShow
The Implant That Literally Freezes Away Pain
It's no secret that cold can help treat a source of pain, like a sprained ankle or even a burn. But new technology might be able to take that principle and apply it /directly/ onto your nerves!
SciShow
What Took Down These Three Ancient Civilizations?
When it comes to piecing together what happened to civilizations that no longer exist, it can be challenging to solve the mystery. But research into Angkor, the Akkadian Empire, and even the Norse of Greenland, is helping us see that...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How to make smart decisions more easily | TED-Ed
Everything our bodies do— whether physical or mental— uses energy. Studies have found that many individuals seem to have a daily threshold for making decisions, and an extended period of decision-making can lead to cognitive exhaustion....
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How to overcome your mistakes | TED-Ed
People often describe failure as a teachable moment— a necessary stumble on our way to improvement. But learning from our mistakes isn't always easy, especially when those failures are demoralizing, overwhelming, or just downright...
SciShow
Have an Autoimmune Disease? Blame the Black Death
The bubonic plague killed so many people in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa that that natural selection event is still rippling through our genomes today. But the same genes that helped your ancestors survive the Black Death...
SciShow
The Ice Bucket Challenge Actually Worked
The Ice Bucket Challenge raised millions of dollars for research into treatments for ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. Where did that money go? Into characterizing new genes that we may be able to target with chemotherapy drugs like paclitaxel!
SciShow
You Have Four Ages
A person's chronological age doesn't tell us much about the health of their body's various systems. That's why scientists are beginning to study biological ages, and it turns out there may be a lot of them.
SciShow
The Nuclear Bunker Full of Cannibal Ants
There's an abandoned Soviet nuclear bunker in Poland full of cannibal ants. And weird as it sounds, it's helping us learn more about the behavior of social insects.
SciShow
Octopuses Have a Favorite Arm
Most humans might be right-handed, but plenty of other animals have a preferred hand (or whatever they've got instead of hands) too. The more general term is lateralization, and it's found in everything from kangaroos to octopuses.
SciShow
How We Get Sick in Space and How to Recover | Compilation
No one likes being sick, but can you imagine catching a bug while hurling through space? Turns out, this is an issue that many space agencies have worked to study and mitigate.
SciShow
What Will It Be Like To Live on the Moon? | Compilation
The Moon is pretty prime real estate once you get past the lack of oxygen, resources, and general mobility, but if quality of life isn't what you're after, here's how we might make it all work.
SciShow
Great Minds: Conny Aerts, the Starquake Professor
While doing some light reading of data from a telescope, Conny Aerts made a breakthrough that allowed her to lead the charge in the field of asteroseismology and win her the 2022 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics.
SciShow
We Don’t Know Why Astronauts Get Motion Sick
A majority of modern astronauts experience any one of a suite of symptoms scientists collectively call Space Motion Sickness, or SMS. But despite knowing about it for nearly as long as humans have gone into space, we still don't know...
SciShow
Fighting Carbon With Carbon
To reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, some researchers are taking carbon capture technology to the source(s) — for example, slurping up CO2 before it ever leaves the power plant that made it. But that's not all! Some...
SciShow
No One Knows Where These Gems Came From
Montana sapphires come in a beautiful array of colors found in a few other places in the world. But geologists have no idea where they originated.
SciShow
The Sexually Transmitted ... Sandwich?
When you're enjoying an intimate moment with that special someone, the peanut butter and jelly sandwich you ate for lunch is probably the last thing on your mind. But sexually transmitted allergens are a thing, and nut allergies aren't...