Instructional Video8:27
Be Smart

The Surprising Power of Sex in Evolution

12th - Higher Ed
We all know Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, right? Natural selection? But what about his lesser-know theory of evolution: sexual selection. Let’s talk about how animals like peacocks, whose eye-catching physical traits make them...
Instructional Video15:10
Be Smart

The Real (Weird) Way We See Numbers

12th - Higher Ed
Would it surprise you to learn that fish and birds count in pretty much the same way that we do? And that infants can do math? Our animal brains deal with quantities in very specific ways, from quick counts of a few dots to how we...
Instructional Video9:46
Be Smart

Why Trees Look Like Rivers and Also Blood Vessels and Also Lightning…

12th - Higher Ed
Why do the same, self-repeating patterns appear in trees, rivers, lightning, and even our bodies? Is there some essential, hidden rule of nature that makes these intricate designs appear all over the place? Let’s talk about fractals.
Instructional Video10:05
Be Smart

Why You See Faces in Things

12th - Higher Ed
Have you ever looked at a cloud and seen a face? Or the front of a car and seen a face? Or an electrical outlet and seen a face? You definitely have. We all see faces everywhere we look thanks to a fun quirk of the human brain called...
Instructional Video11:29
Be Smart

The Sun is Not the Center of the Solar System

12th - Higher Ed
Despite what you may have heard or learned in school, the sun is NOT in fact the center of the solar system. And it won’t be until 2027… But this being a science channel, you might be thinking “What the heck is this guy talking about? Of...
Instructional Video16:14
Be Smart

Why Do We Hate Certain Sounds

12th - Higher Ed
Ever wonder why certain sounds make us cringe or even feel sick? Join Joe as he reacts to some of the most hated sounds, from nails on a chalkboard to the infamous "moist," and explores the science of why these sounds are so unbearable...
Instructional Video12:28
Be Smart

The Paradox of Voting

12th - Higher Ed
Political scientist Don Green joins Joe to figure out the complex psychological and social factors that motivate us to vote - or not to. They discuss how and why this decision making process may be in conflict with certain scientific...
Instructional Video11:05
Be Smart

Why Don’t Humans Hibernate?

12th - Higher Ed
Nature has had to come up with some crazy ways to survive harsh winters. But none are weirder than hibernation. Turns out there is more than one kind of hibernation, and studying all these ways that life slows down in the cold might help...
Instructional Video11:06
Be Smart

Camouflage Isn't What It Appears To Be

12th - Higher Ed
Camouflage is nature’s ultimate game of hide-and-seek, and the secret to winning this game is all in the brain. By studying the masters of disguise, we can see how they trick the brain to make themselves invisible — and what this can...
Instructional Video12:04
Be Smart

How Scientists Cracked the Secret To Making Diamonds

12th - Higher Ed
For centuries, diamonds were one of the most mysterious materials on Earth. They were beautiful, indestructible, and completely unexplained. Today, we’re exploring how scientists unlocked their secrets, and how one lab recreates the...
Instructional Video14:24
Be Smart

Why Useless Knowledge Can Be So Useful

12th - Higher Ed
Our lizard friend the Gila monster probably has no idea that a chemical in its spit inspired one of the most important medical advancements of the 21st century. But this story is really about something bigger. Something deeper, beneath...
Instructional Video12:15
Be Smart

What Synesthesia Feels Like

12th - Higher Ed
Did you know some people 'see' letters in color or 'taste' music? In this video, we’ll talk about synesthesia, how it works in the brain, and why some people experience these fascinating sensory connections while most of us don’t.
Instructional Video10:53
Be Smart

The Weird Science That Lets Insects Fly in the Rain

12th - Higher Ed
Imagine the scale of raindrops if you were the size of a small bird. Or mosquito. Flying through a drizzle should be deadly! Like flying through falling cars and boulders. And yet it’s not, because nature has given them a...
Instructional Video16:27
Be Smart

What’s Inside the Oldest Rocks in the World?

12th - Higher Ed
The oldest rocks on Earth are more than just ancient—they’re time machines, holding clues to Earth’s missing history and revealing what happened in the unknown times after the Big Bang. We’ll work with our Adam and Joss from Howtown to...
Instructional Video16:37
Be Smart

Will Earth Run Out of Oxygen

12th - Higher Ed
Plants eat sunlight and air to make life. But the key enzyme behind it all, called RuBisCO, isn’t actually all that great at its job. Let’s talk about how photosynthesis really works, why oxygen isn’t coming from where you think, and...
Instructional Video15:54
Be Smart

How Feathered Dinosaurs Accidentally Invented Flight

12th - Higher Ed
How did dinosaurs become birds—and what good is half a wing? Join Joe and a few brave chickens as they recreate a brilliant experiment that helps solve one of evolution’s greatest mysteries: the origin of feathered flight.
Instructional Video16:07
Be Smart

Why Are Blood Types a Thing?

12th - Higher Ed
Across life on Earth, blood comes in red, blue, green, purple, even clear. But why? And what makes your blood different from mine? This video will teach you everything you need to know about the strange world of blood—what it does, why...
Instructional Video8:37
PBS

Why Paleontologists Can’t Stop Fighting About Spinosaurus

12th - Higher Ed
What does it mean to be a “semi-aquatic” dinosaur? Was it wading in the shallows, or could it have been a skilled swimmer? Each scenario paints a very different picture of Spinosaurus, and the discovery of new fossils has paleontologists...
Instructional Video12:37
Amoeba Sisters

Menstrual Cycle Walkthrough: Phases & Hormonal Regulation

12th - Higher Ed
In this menstrual cycle video, explore the ovarian cycle and uterine cycle with the Amoeba Sisters! This video will walk through major events in phases of the ovarian cycle (follicular phase and luteal phase) and phases of the uterine...
Instructional Video9:35
Amoeba Sisters

Intro to Cladograms and Phylogenetic Trees

12th - Higher Ed
Join the Amoeba Sisters as they introduce the basics about cladograms and phylogenetic trees. The Amoeba Sisters walk through the process of building a basic cladogram and mention vocabulary such as: shared ancestral character, shared...
Instructional Video7:57
Amoeba Sisters

Angiosperm (Flowering Plants) Reproduction

12th - Higher Ed
Join the Amoeba Sisters as they introduce angiosperms (flowering plants) before exploring flower parts, pollination, and double fertilization in angiosperms! This video also talks about the importance of pollinators.
Instructional Video10:55
Amoeba Sisters

Action Potential

12th - Higher Ed
Join the Amoeba Sisters as they explore the action potential. This video discusses resting membrane potential before going into the phases of the action potential including vocabulary such as depolarization, repolarization, and...
Instructional Video7:15
SciShow

The Lake Where Hundreds of People Died… Twice

12th - Higher Ed
India's Roopkund Lake, also known as Skeleton Lake, is the site of gruesome sculptures of human bones. Many causes of these deaths have been proposed, from hail to divine intervention. But scientists now think that whatever happened,...
Instructional Video11:05
SciShow

This Is The Best Predator Defense Of All Time

12th - Higher Ed
It's a hard world out there, especially for a little guy. So what's a soft-bodied animal to do? Turns out that marine invertebrates basically figured out the best defense system of all time, and nobody's a better demonstration of that...