Is DNA the future of data storage? - Leo Bear-McGuinness
AdultsGeneticsScienceBiology...In the event of a nuclear fallout, every piece of digital and written information could all be lost. Luckily, there is a way that all of human history could be recorded and safely stored beyond the civilization's end. And the key ingredient is inside all of us: our DNA. Leo Bear-McGuinness explains.
6 scientific tricks for falling asleep
AdultsHumanPsychologyScience...Can't sleep? Don't just lie there in bed and stress about it. These tricks will have you snoozing in no time.
How aspirin was discovered - Krishna Sudhir
AdultsHistoryScience4000 years ago, the ancient Sumerians made a surprising discovery: if they scraped the bark off a particular kind of tree and ate it, their pain disappeared. Little did they know that what they'd found was destined to influence the future course of medicine. Krishna Sudhir traces the history of aspirin.
An Asteroid Didn't Kill the Dinosaurs, Here's a New Theory About What Did
AdultsAnimalsGlobal WarmingHistory...A new scientific model has discovered what actually happened to the earth after the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs.
What Are The Chances You'll Die In A Plane Crash?
AdultsLifeTransportationTravel...Planes are incredibly safe, so these are the reasons you shouldn't worry next time you fly.
Why do we harvest horseshoe crab blood? - Elizabeth Cox
AdultsAnimalsNatureScience...During the warmer months, especially at night during the full moon, horseshoe crabs emerge from the sea to spawn. Waiting for them are teams of lab workers, who capture the horseshoe crabs by the hundreds of thousands, take them to labs, harvest their cerulean blood, then return them to the sea. Why? Elizabeth Cox illuminates the incredible properties of horseshoe crab blood.
Do You Really Have Two Brains?
AdultsBiologyHumanNeuroscience...Are you a left-brained person or a right-brained person? Spoiler: You're neither. Each of us uses both sides of our brain for most of what we do. But still, there are a number of brain functions that do show lateralization, where they are localized to one side or another. Why is this? And how does it influence our definition of consciousness? People with "split brains" can help us figure it out.
Are you a body with a mind or a mind with a body? - Maryam Alimardani
AdultsPsychologySciencePhilosophy...Our bodies - the physical, biological parts of us - and our minds - the thinking, conscious aspects - have a complicated, tangled relationship. Which one primarily defines you or your self? Are you a body with a mind or a mind with a body? Maryam Alimardani investigates.
Is Reality Real? The Simulation Argument
AdultsHumanSciencePhilosophy...What if we are not creators, but creations?
Myths and Facts About Superintelligent AI
AdultsArtificial IntelligenceScienceTechnologyWe live in an era of self driving cars, autonomous drones, deep learning algorithms, computers that beat humans at chess and go, and so on. So it's natural to ask, will artificial superintelligence replace humans, take our jobs, and destroy human civilization? Or will AI just become tools like regular computers. AI researcher Max Tegmark helps explain the myths and facts about superintelligence, the impending machine takeover, etc.
Is it possible to create a perfect vacuum? - Rolf Landua and Anais Rassat
AdultsScienceTechnologyPhysicsThe universe is bustling with matter and energy. Even in the vast, apparent emptiness of intergalactic space, there's one hydrogen atom per cubic meter. But is there such thing as a total absence of everything? Is it possible to make a completely empty space? Rolf Landua and Anais Rassat explain the science behind vacuums.
This Biomimetic Tech Could Mean Fewer Trips to the Dentist (You're Welcome)
AdultsBiotechnologyHealthScienceA new material inspired by mussels may be the key to fillings and crowns that never break or fall out.
Chocolate's newest color
AdultsCreativityFoodScienceThere's milk, dark, white, and now, ruby chocolate. It's made naturally from ruby cocoa beans and tastes sour.
DNA Doesn't Look Like What You Think!
AdultsBiologyGeneticsScienceBiology textbooks are full of drawings of DNA, but none of those show what DNA actually looks like. Sure, they're good models for understanding how DNA works, but inside of real cells, it's a whole lot more interesting. Learn why we can't look directly at DNA, and find out how DNA is actually packed inside cells.
Most hurricanes that hit the US come from the same exact spot in the world
AdultsEcologyNatureWorld...As Hurricane Irma bears down on the East coast, Floridians may be wondering where all the hurricanes come from, and why they all follow a similar course. In fact, Irma, Harvey, and Jose were all born on the other side of the Atlantic, off the coast of Africa, and the Sahara desert may be to blame.
Why do we dream? - Amy Adkins
AdultsHumanPsychologyScienceIn the 3rd millennium BCE, Mesopotamian kings recorded and interpreted their dreams on wax tablets. In the years since, we haven't paused in our quest to understand why we dream. And while we still don't have any definitive answers, we have some theories. Amy Adkins reveals the top seven reasons why we might dream.