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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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!
SciShow
Why Do People Like the Smell of Gasoline?
Why do we love the smell of something like gasoline that provides no clear evolutionary adaptation for us? Here are the psychological and chemical reasons that some researchers have suggested.
SciShow
Is There A Wrong Way To Sit?
Sometimes called "W-sitting," this popular way for kids to plop in front of the TV has been stigmatized for decades. For most people, research indicates it's just fine. But a small percentage of W-sitters do have a problem.
SciShow
7 Butterflies That Could Beat You in a Fight
If there's one animal you'd think you can beat in a no-holds-barred cage match, it'd be a butterfly, right? Here are 7+ reasons you'd be wrong.
SciShow
Why Are Snorkels So Short?
Have you ever longed to swim while wielding a longer snorkel? Well, there are a few reasons why they might be shorter than you'd like.
SciShow
Most Planets Don't Orbit Stars!?
Hunting for rogue planets is like hunting for an invisible needle in a haystack. But we're getting a much clearer view thanks to gravitational microlensing surveys. And it looks like there are a LOT more of them out there than we thought.
SciShow
How PET Scans See Cancer
When someone gets a PET scan to detect tumors and how far a cancer has spread, that machine is actually detecting sugar. Because cancer has a sweet tooth, and this phenomenon, called the Warburg effect, may help us develop new cancer...
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Why Are Champagne Bubbles So Tidy?
Have you ever noticed that the bubbles in your glass of Champagne are just.... fancier than other sparkling drinks? They form those lovely little columns of bubbles in a way that nothing else does - and it turns out there's some neat...
SciShow
Can Gray Hair Be Reversed?
Researchers have identified the processes that cause gray hair and have done experiments to reverse it. And believe it or not, we've had some of these options for decades.
SciShow
Were Long Necks Also Tall Necks?
Long-necked sauropod dinosaurs are some of the most striking animals that ever lived. But we don't know what they used their long necks for, and whether they held them high in the air or parallel to the ground. Here's what we do know.
SciShow
How to See Really Tiny Things Without Killing Them
Where would biology be without microscopes? But for a long time, in order to see the smallest bits of life, that life had to be dead. Then along came Atomic Force Microscopy, which let us observe things like DNA and proteins moving...
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Are We Making More Bermuda Triangles?
One reason the Bermuda Triangle has scared people for generations is the seaweed. And thanks to eutrophication and other human causes, that Sargassum seaweed is starting to travel the world. Here's how we're accidentally making more of...
SciShow
Why Can't I Grow More Teeth?
How come sharks get to have endlessly regrowing teeth when humans only get one set our entire lives? And how come some other mammals get to cheat the system? From elephants to baboons, we'll learn why teeth don't grow back.
SciShow
The Hunt For Green Helium
Despite being a noble gas, helium has a carbon footprint. We haven't managed to find any helium reservoirs that don't also contain natural gas. But must they? Scientists and startups alike are on the hunt.