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
The Evolution of the Modern Milky Way Galaxy
When we scan the heavens with giant telescopes we see galactic cannibalism everywhere. We see moments that appear frozen on the human timescale, but are really snapshots of the incredibly violent process of galaxy formation. This is how...
PBS
What If Dark Matter Is Just Black Holes?
It may be that for every star in the universe there are billions of microscopic black holes streaming through the solar system, the planet, even our bodies every second. Sounds horrible - but hey, at least we’d have explained dark matter.
PBS
The Alchemy of Neutron Star Collisions
Carl Sagan’s famous words: “We are star stuff” refers to a mind-blowing idea – that most atomic nuclei in our bodies were created in the nuclear furnace and the explosive deaths of stars that lived in the ancient universe. In recent...
PBS
Why Quantum Computing Requires Quantum Cryptography
Quantum computing is cool, but you know what would be extra awesome - a quantum internet. In fact if we want the first we’ll need the latter. And the first step to the quantum internet is quantum cryptography.
PBS
Were These Monsters Inspired by Fossils? (w/ Monstrum!)
People have been discovering the traces and remains of prehistoric creatures for thousands of years. And they’ve also probably been telling stories about fantastic beasts since language became a thing. So, is it possible that the...
PBS
When the Earth Suddenly Stopped Warming
For decades, scientists have been studying the cause of the Younger Dryas, and trying to figure out if something like it could happen again. And it turns out that what caused this event is the subject of a heated debate.
PBS
When a Billion Years Disappeared
In some places, the rocks below the Great Unconformity are about 1.2 billion years older than those above it. This missing chapter in Earth’s history might be linked to a fracturing supercontinent, out-of-control glaciers, and maybe the...
PBS
How Blood Evolved (Many Times)
Blood is one of the most revolutionary features in our evolutionary history. Over hundreds of millions of years, the way in which blood does its job has changed over and over again. As a result, we animals have our familiar red blood....
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...
PBS
Social media companies criticized as Israel-Hamas war misinformation spreads rampantly
The world is watching much of the violence between Israel and Hamas through traditional media and broadcasts. But millions also are getting their information through social media. Many posts are spreading misinformation or outright lies...
PBS
What can be done to prevent gun suicides as U.S. rate hits all-time high
Firearms are involved in more than half of suicides in the U.S. The gun suicide rate has reached an all-time high, and for the first time, the rate is higher among Black kids and teens than white ones, according to a recent analysis by...
PBS
Why sunscreen in the United States is behind the rest of the world
According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, everyone older than six months should use sunscreen every day to decrease the risk of skin cancer. But today’s sunblock is full of ingredients that are decades old and increasingly obsolete. Dr....
PBS
Gene study links Africans to higher risk of Parkinson’s
One million Americans live with Parkinson’s disease, a progressive condition that causes problems with body movement. New research has identified a genetic variant that increases the risk of Parkinson’s in people of African descent, and...
PBS
Study shows costly weight loss drug may also cut risks of heart attacks
The nation’s obesity epidemic is growing. Nearly 42 percent of all American adults are considered obese. Now, new findings about the FDA-approved weight-loss drug Wegovy may lead to even more demand for a medication that can be both...
PBS
Palestinians in West Bank struggle to recover after intense Israeli military operation
The secretary-general of the United Nations denounced what he called "an excessive use of force" by Israel on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Israel said the two-day operation targeted Palestinian militants. Elsewhere,...
PBS
Inside the African American studies class praised by some and fiercely opposed by others
The school year is coming to a close and with it, the first year of Advanced Placement African American studies, an interdisciplinary class by the College Board that has attracted praise from professors and also fierce opposition from...
PBS
Is Pluto a Planet?
You know what a planet is, right? A big round thing that orbits a star. Uh, not so fast. The surprisingly vicious debate over the planetary status of Pluto has given us a fascinating glimpse into what a scientific definition really is....
PBS
What Happened Before the Big Bang?
We actually have a pretty good idea of what might have happened before the Big Bang. That is, as long as we define the Big Bang as the extremely hot, dense, rapidly expanding universe that is described by Einstein’s equations. That...
PBS
The Quantum Internet
When we finally have a quantum internet you’ll be able to simultaneously like and dislike this video. But we don’t. So I hope you like it. The world is widely regarded as being well and truly into the digital age, also called the...
PBS
Thorium and the Future of Nuclear Energy
Energy too cheap to meter - that was the promise of nuclear power in the 1950s, at least according to Lewis Strauss chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. That promise has not come to pass - but with some incredible new technologies,...
PBS
No Dark Matter = Proof of Dark Matter?
We’ve been failing to detect dark matter for decades. Finally, the latest failure to detect dark matter may have actually proved its existence. One of these is true: either most of the matter in the universe is invisible and formed of...
PBS
The Edge of an Infinite Universe
Have you ever asked “what is beyond the edge of the universe?” And have you ever been told that an infinite universe that has no edge? You were told wrong. In a sense. We can define a boundary to an infinite universe, at least...
PBS
Will You Travel to Space?
The private space-race has been on for a while now. The attention has been on Space-X and Blue Origin with their reusable rockets. But there’s one private space program that’s been doing things a little differently. Richard Branson’s...