SciShow
The Sun Is Green
The Sun is green, actually. We'll go into why the blackbody effect means the Sun emits more green visible light than any other color, and why evolution and color perception mean it's ok to see it as yellow, anyway.
SciShow
Why Is ChatGPT Bad At Math?
Sometimes, you ask ChatGPT to do a math problem that an arithmetically-inclined grade schooler can do with ease. And sometimes, ChatGPT can confidently state the wrong answer. It's all due to its nature as a large language model, and the...
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
The Sun Isn't Normal. This Telescope Learned the Hard Way.
The Kepler mission did a great job at showing just how abundant planets are beyond our solar system, but its hunt for Earth 2.0 orbiting Sun 2.0 was a lot less successful. That's partly because the scientists who designed the telescope...
SciShow
Why Aliens Might Love Their Frozen Home
In the hunt for life beyond Earth, scientists shouldn't skip over frozen planets. In some cases, ice might actually help life evolve!
SciShow
This Parasite Needs To Ruin Three Lives
Why do so many parasites, especially helminths aka flatworms, jump around as many as THREE hosts to complete their life cycle? Why isn't one host good enough for them? We'll find out why parasites evolve complex life cycles that don't...
SciShow
Is Mifepristone Safer Than Viagra? Yes*
Mifepristone, a drug used for medical abortions, is under fire in the United States, with critics claiming it isn't safe to use. Abortion rights advocates often revert to a funny talking point to argue for its safety, but how accurate is...
SciShow
The Return of Thalidomide
Thalidomide is the infamous drug at the heart of one of the world's worst drug safety catastrophes in modern medicine. And yet, more recent research is finding that thalidomide is still worth using, despite the risks. So what makes this...
SciShow
Can We Treat Alzheimer's With Period Blood?
From diabetes to Alzheimer's, there's a lot that we hope to be able to treat using stem cell therapies. But the stem cells we use tend to be hard to come by. But it turns out there's a new source of stem cells that has researchers...
SciShow
Is That “New Car Smell” Dangerous?
Some of us can't get enough of that new car smell. But certain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that help create this aroma are linked to cancer. While this doesn't mean new car smell definitely increases your chance of getting cancer,...
SciShow
What Are We REALLY Using Space Lasers For?
Ever since we started launching stuff into space, we've communicated with spacecraft (and astronauts) using radio waves. But over the past few decades, scientists have experimented with a new technique that could make things a lot more...
SciShow
The Wildest Noises in Wildlife… and Dunes
Nature can be pretty noisy, but there's some stuff that's just quiet all the time - right? Well, thanks to advances in audio equipment, researchers are finding out that everything from plants to bacteria have a lot more to say that we...
SciShow
Do Polar Bears Have Fiber Optic Fur?
Humans may use fiber optic technology to make everything from novelty desk toys to high speed internet cables, but Nature has its own ideas. For decades, scientists have debated to what extent polar bears may use the optical properties...
SciShow
The Future Of Trees Is Liquid
We love trees, but the main problem is that they aren't exactly travel-sized. However, new technology wants to bring the fresh-air benefits of trees to places that the real deal just can't thrive, like dense urban areas!
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
Fentanyl is Very Deadly… Here's Why
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 where you think...
SciShow
Salmon Can Turn on Night Vision. Why Can’t We?
Most of us can only see certain wavelengths of light our entire lives. So why can salmon switch on night vision? We'll learn how they can reshape their eyes to see into the infrared.
SciShow
Why These Animals Eat Sh*t
Of all the food options in the world, you'd think that feces would be low on anyone's preference list. But for these animals, eating poop can be anything from a delicacy to a health food - and yes, humans are on the list too.
SciShow
Can Sponges “Think” Using Light?
Sponges might not look like particularly complex animals, but they've had billions of years to evolve their own special systems. And one of those systems might involve sending messages through their body in the form of light.
SciShow
The Giant of Nanoscience
Mildred Dresselhaus was a giant in the field of nanoscience. She didn't invent anything you have in your home right now, but she made it possible for us to have self-charging phones, smarter refrigerators, and more.
SciShow
It's Raining Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria
Bacteria are everywhere, including clouds, and the rain that falls from them. Not only can they survive the harsh environment and hitchhike across continents, they can share their genes, too. Including the ones that make them resistant...
SciShow
This Fungus Has A Drinking Problem
The strange, sooty fungus growing on distillery walls has long been considered part of the process of making barrel-aged boozy beverages. And this fungus has a lot of tricks up its sleeve to make the most out of ethanol, which to most...
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.
SciShow
Why You Have to Blink to Walk
When we picture the first tetrapods, or land vertebrates, crawling out of the ocean, we probably imagine they need legs. But evolution also had to bestow another important adaptation before they could leave the water: blinking!