How does your immune system work? - Emma Bryce
Adults BiologyThe immune system is a vast network of cells, tissues, and organs that coordinate your body's defenses against any threats to your health. Without it, you'd be exposed to billions of bacteria, viruses, and toxins that could make something as minor as a paper cut or a seasonal cold fatal. So how does it work? Emma Bryce takes you inside the body to find out.
What are mini brains? - Madeline Lancaster
Adults BiologyShielded by our thick skulls and swaddled in layers of protective tissue, the human brain is extremely difficult to observe in action. Luckily, scientists can use brain organoids - pencil eraser-sized masses of cells that function like human brains but aren't part of an organism - to look closer. How do they do it? And is it ethical? Madeline Lancaster shares how to make a brain in a lab.
Why Is Blue So Rare In Nature?
Adults BiologyAmong living things, the color blue is oddly rare. Blue rocks, blue sky, blue water, sure. But blue animals? They are few and far between. And the ones that do make blue? They make it in some very strange and special ways compared to other colors. In this video, we'll look at some very cool butterflies to help us learn how living things make blue, and why this beautiful hue is so rare in nature.
How do fish make electricity? - Eleanor Nelsen
Adults BiologyNearly 350 species of fish have specialized anatomical structures that generate and detect electrical signals. Underwater, where light is scarce, electrical signals offer ways to communicate, navigate, find, and sometimes stun prey. But how do these fish produce electricity? And why? Eleanor Nelsen illuminates the science behind electric fish.
Why is it so hard to cure cancer? - Kyuson Yun
Adults BiologyWe've harnessed electricity, sequenced the human genome, and eradicated smallpox. But after billions of dollars in research, we haven't found a solution for a disease that affects more than 14 million people and their families at any given time. Why is it so difficult to cure cancer? Kyuson Yun explains the challenges.
Is DNA the future of data storage? - Leo Bear-McGuinness
Adults BiologyIn 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.
Why do we harvest horseshoe crab blood? - Elizabeth Cox
Adults BiologyDuring 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?
Adults BiologyAre 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.
DNA Doesn't Look Like What You Think!
Adults BiologyBiology 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.
What makes muscles grow? - Jeffrey Siegel
Adults BiologyWe have over 600 muscles in our bodies that help bind us together, hold us up, and help us move. Your muscles also need your constant attention, because the way you treat them on a daily basis determines whether they will wither or grow. Jeffrey Siegel illustrates how a good mix of sleep, nutrition and exercise keep your muscles as big and strong as possible.
The amazing ways plants defend themselves - Valentin Hammoudi
Adults BiologyPlants are constantly under attack. They face threats ranging from microscopic fungi to small herbivores like caterpillars, up to large herbivores like elephants. But plants are ready, with a whole series of internal and external defenses that make them a less appealing meal - or even a deadly one. Valentin Hammoudi explains some of the fascinating ways that plants defend themselves.