+
Instructional Video6:48
SciShow

The Gems That Solved a Himalayan Mystery

12th - Higher Ed
January babies, rejoice! This month's SciShow Rocks Box video is the story of garnets, and how these fabulous gemstones help us solve geological mysteries, from the Italian Alps to the Himalayas.
+
Instructional Video7:10
SciShow

Finding True North Is Harder Than You Think

12th - Higher Ed
Sure, you can point to the geographic north pole on a globe. But getting there, even with fancy equipment like GPS, isn't so straightforward. So scientists are looking into a navigation tool some animals use naturally.
+
Instructional Video7:33
SciShow

Does Evolution Happen Gradually or Suddenly?

12th - Higher Ed
Do new traits in evolution happen slowly, or all at once? Two new studies in the journal Science may finally help us solve this mystery.
+
Instructional Video7:00
SciShow

The Arctic Is Drowning in Plastic

12th - Higher Ed
Many people picture the Arctic as a pristine icy wilderness. But when it comes to microplastics, it's one of the most polluted places on Eart
+
Instructional Video6:11
SciShow

How Ancient Babylonians Predicted Eclipses

12th - Higher Ed
There's an eclipse coming up in April of 2024! You'd think it takes a lot of modern technology for us to know about it, but it turns out that humans have been able to predict eclipses for nearly three thousand years. And we've been using...
+
Instructional Video8:11
SciShow

Why Volcanologists Hate the Dark

12th - Higher Ed
You might have heard of the ongoing volcanic eruptions near Grindavík, Iceland. You might not have heard that it's hard to monitor a volcano in the dark. We'll talk about why an Icelandic winter is the worst time for monitoring equipment...
+
Instructional Video12:40
SciShow

The First CRISPR Gene Therapy Is Here

12th - Higher Ed
CRISPR is a powerful gene editing tool, but its uses have been purely scientific until now. In 2023, US and UK drug regulators including the FDA approved Casgevy, a CRISPR/Cas9-based therapy for sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia....
+
Instructional Video15:02
SciShow

The Last Living Thing Won't Be a Cockroach

12th - Higher Ed
There are several ways the world could end, and scientists have given a lot of thought to what the last living thing will be.
+
Instructional Video6:41
SciShow

How Long Have We Been Playing with Fire?

12th - Higher Ed
So we know that humans are pretty good at making fires, but how long have we been barbecue pit masters? Turns out the evidence is hardly a smoking gun.
+
Instructional Video9:10
SciShow

I Had Chemo and My Hair Came Back Curly!

12th - Higher Ed
Many patients experience changes to hair texture after chemotherapy known as "chemo curls." But why do they happen, and how many people get chemo curls? This episode will explain.
+
Instructional Video8:43
SciShow

$1 Placebo vs $10,000 Placebo (It Matters)

12th - Higher Ed
Some placebos are far more effective than others, and they can lead to real chemical changes in the body.
+
Instructional Video11:38
SciShow

Cosmic Tails (That Aren’t From Comets)

12th - Higher Ed
Comets are famous for having space tails. But they're not the only ones! Asteroids, planets, and even stars can rock tails of their own.
+
Instructional Video8:15
SciShow

What Does My Cancer Diagnosis ACTUALLY Mean?

12th - Higher Ed
You've probably heard of cancers having stages, but what do all those stages really mean? This video is a 101 to explain cancer diagnosis and decode the jargon for you. And even if you've heard of the numerical stages, you might not know...
+
Instructional Video14:17
SciShow

Actually Understand Type 2 Diabetes

12th - Higher Ed
Type 2 diabetes affects over 400 million people. It can be confusing and difficult to manage, so in this video we'll answer all your questions about type 2 diabetes, including what to eat, what affects your risk, and is there a cure.
+
Instructional Video11:00
SciShow

I’m A Genetic Engineer. I’m Also a Fish.

12th - Higher Ed
Horizontal gene transfer might not be the flashiest of names, but animals are using it to create genetic hybrids without a human in sight. Like frogs rocking the DNA snippets of snakes, and fish sharing antifreeze superpowers.
+
Instructional Video10:01
SciShow

Why We'll Never Build a Perfect Clock

12th - Higher Ed
We can make clocks that keep accurate time for millions of years. We can also make clocks with such high resolution they tick one billion billion times per second. So why can't we make a clock that does both?
+
Instructional Video8:40
SciShow

The Rarest Objects in The Solar System Are from...Elsewhere...

12th - Higher Ed
In 2017, astronomers discovered 'Oumuamua — the first definitive interstellar visitor to our solar system. But definitive evidence of space rocks that don't just visit but join our solar system is a little more elusive.
+
Instructional Video7:20
SciShow

Attempting De-Extinction

12th - Higher Ed
There's a group trying to save the functionally extinct northern white rhino using in vitro fertilization. But the ethics around using assisted reproductive technologies to save endangered animals are far from simple.
+
Instructional Video8:07
SciShow

How Do We Figure Out The Sex ... Of A Fossil?

12th - Higher Ed
We know a lot about fossils, but there's one thing about all those long-dead organisms that's hard to figure out -- their sex. So let's talk about the ways we can try to determine whether those T. rex bones came from a male or a female,...
+
Instructional Video13:30
SciShow

Inbreeding with Yourself

12th - Higher Ed
*At the time this video was made, it had been reported that Charlotte the round ray was pregnant. However, new information has come out that she was never pregnant with parthenotes, and in fact had a reproductive disorder, which is a...
+
Instructional Video9:23
SciShow

Four Weird Ways to Make Electricity

12th - Higher Ed
When you think of newer ways to make electricity, solar cells and wind turbines may come to mind. But scientists can make the stuff from just about anything. And they're working on some truly bizarre ways to generate power.
+
Instructional Video9:47
SciShow

Crying is Extremely Weird

12th - Higher Ed
If you want to learn more about how our brain reacts to other people’s emotions, start your college journey with Study Hall! Take a college course that starts on YouTube and earn credit before you even apply to college. Go to...
+
Instructional Video11:59
SciShow

The Alien Storm That Ate Itself

12th - Higher Ed
From cyclones to snowstorms, Earth is home to some spectacular weather events. But they're nothing compared to what you can find on the other planets in our solar system. Magnetic tornadoes? Ammonia mushballs? Let's (not literally) dive...
+
Instructional Video12:58
SciShow

How These Animals Lost Their Heads (And Bodies, and Butts)

12th - Higher Ed
You'd think that there are some features that, once an animal group evolved to have them, could never really go away, right? Well, Stefan is joined today by hosts from PBS Eons, Journey To The Microcosmos, and Bizarre Beasts to break...