Why Do You Forget Their Name?
AdultsNeuroscienceRelationshipsPsychology...Why is it so hard to remember someone's name?
Could We Clone Ourselves?
AdultsGeneticsHumanScience...Is the science of Orphan Black realistic? Could we clone humans, or engineer them to have customized traits? We take a look at today's genetic engineering technologies to find out if designer babies and human cloning is, or should be, a reality.
How the heart actually pumps blood
AdultsBiologyHealthHuman...For most of history, scientists weren't quite sure why our hearts were beating or even what purpose they served. Eventually, we realized that these thumping organs serve the vital task of pumping clean blood throughout the body. But how? Edmond Hui investigates how it all works by taking a closer look at the heart's highly efficient ventricle system.
Experiment Shows That All Of Us Are Naturally Altruistic
AdultsHumanPhilosophySociety...Put to work at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, Alan Alda finds out how children will help, and like it, while chimps are less inclined to offer enthusiastic assistance.
What Colour Is This Dress?
AdultsInternet CultureScienceSocial Media...Solved with science for the sake of the human race!!
How optical illusions trick your brain
AdultsVisual DesignSciencePsychology...Optical illusions are images that seem to trick our minds into seeing something different from what they actually are. But how do they work? Nathan S. Jacobs walks us through a few common optical illusions and explains what these tricks of the eye can tell us about how our brains assemble visual information into the 3D world we see around us.
If superpowers were real: Super speed
AdultsHumanPhysicsScience...What if super speed wasn't just the stuff of epic comic book stories? Is it scientifically possible to be super speedy? In this series, Joy Lin tackles six superpowers and reveals just how scientifically realistic they can be to us mere mortals.
Why is yawning contagious? - Claudia Aguirre
AdultsHumanSciencePsychology...*Yaaawwwwwn* Did just reading the word make you feel like yawning yourself? Known as contagious yawning, the reasons behind this phenomenon have been attributed to both the physiological and psychological. It's been observed in children as young as four and even in dogs! Claudia Aguirre visits the many intriguing theories that might explain contagious yawning.
Why are my ears ringing?
AdultsHealthScienceNeuroscience...A weekly show where we endeavor to answer one of your big questions. This week, Emma R. asks, "Why do I get that weird ringing noise in my ears?"
The science of stage fright (and how to overcome it)
AdultsBiologyPsychologyNeuroscience...Heart racing, palms sweating, labored breathing? No, you're not having a heart attack -- it's stage fright! If speaking in public makes you feel like you're fighting for your life, you're not alone. But the better you understand your body's reaction, the more likely you are to overcome it. Mikael Cho advises how to trick your brain and steal the show.
How a wound heals itself
AdultsBiologyHealthHuman...Our skin is the largest organ in our bodies, with a surface area of about 20 square feet in adults. When we are cut or wounded, our skin begins to repair itself through a complex, well-coordinated process. Sarthak Sinha takes us past the epidermis and into the dermis to investigate this regenerative response.
Why Your Brain Is In Your Head
AdultsBiologyHumanNeuroscience...Have you ever wondered why the brain is located where it is?
Why Music Moves Us
AdultsHumanMusicNeuroscience...Why does music make us feel happy or sad? Or angry or romantic? How can simple sound waves cause so much emotion? I went from my comfy chair to the streets of Austin to investigate how it might be written into our neuroscience and evolution. Modern neuroscience says our brains may be wired to pick certain emotions out of music because they remind us of how people move!
Life by the Numbers
AdultsAnimalsBiologyNature...There are now more than 7 billion human beings on Earth, and that got me wondering: How successful are we compared to other species? I take a look at out how our numbers stack up to some other domains of life. It turns out that biomass, or what things weigh, can be more important than how many of something there are. Find out how our numbers stack up against everything from bugs to bacteria, and get ready for some mind-blowing numbers!