Science

Good, bad, or ugly, most living creatures are aware of everything they experience throughout life (we think). But at what point did life forms become self-aware? Kurzgesagt digs into the puzzling nature of consciousness, and what makes sentience even a thing.

This DNA test kit provides you with info about your genetics, providing pesonalized guidance on the best nutritional and exercise plans for you, along with data on your global ancestry. Plus, Vitagene won’t sell or publish personal information. Save 30% in The Awesomer Shop.

Dogs are known for their impressive olfactory systems, and their ability to suss out all kinds of minute scents. In this clip from Deep Look, we learn how researchers are working with rescue dogs to better understand how their scent tracking abilities really work.

Have you ever noticed that while wolves have pointy, upright ears, most pet dogs have soft, floppy ears? Skunk Bear explores the fascinating and puzzling evolutionary biology of wild versus domesticated animals that created these distinctions among others.

It’s been drilled into our heads that the majority of Earth is covered in water, but just how much is there? Wren of Corridor Crew provides some great visualizations to give us a better idea of the volume of H2O, and when packed into a sphere, its size is surprising.

Here’s a little life hack – if you drop an alkaline battery on its end, it should bounce higher if its depleted than when charged. Warped Perception decided to test this out in front of his slow-motion camera, to see how differently-charged batteries behave.

Apeel Sciences’ revolutionary coating slows down oxidation and water loss in fruits and vegetables, making food stay fresh for far longer. The non-toxic coating is made from a mixture of pulp, peels, and seeds that is dissolved in water then applied to the skin of produce.

xkcd creator Randall Munroe’s latest book offers solutions to real-world problems. But don’t expect to get advice you can actually use. Instead, you’ll receive overly-complicated and impractical methods, in what he calls “world’s least useful self-help book.” Drops 9/3/19.

Whether on a sammie with bacon, chicken and cheese, or in a spicy guac, we delight in our delicious avocados. But this tasty and nutritious natural treat might not even exist today if it weren’t for some prehistoric farmers who saved them from extinction. SciShow explains.

Captain Disillusion investigates those videos that show what appears to be water frozen in time, and demonstrating something known in science as “laminar flow.” It doesn’t take the Cap’n long to replicate the effect himself, but is it real or fake?

You might think your bathroom would be the place in your house with the most germs and bacteria, but you’d be wrong. Science Insider explores some far more populous places to be when it comes to microscopic organisms – and how one of them is inescapable.

To show how easy it is to visualize magnetic fields, Magnetic Games tossed a super-strong neodymium magnet into a pile of magnetite sand sitting on an impromptu trampoline. As the magnet and particles fly through the air, the patterns emerge.

Despite our fascination with Mars, the red planet isn’t exactly the most hospitable place. Kurzgesagt looks at some of the many challenges we’d face if we ever wanted to colonize Mars. Humans can’t breathe there, it’s freezing cold, and Martian dust is poisonous.

How much more black could this be? and the answer is none. None more black. This desktop curiosity is made using a carbon nanotube array to absorb 99.% of visible light, so when you look into it up close, it’s the darkest void you’ve ever seen. Available in 2.5cm and 4cm sizes.

The Backyard Scientist doesn’t have a volcano around his house, but still wanted to play around with some molten lava. So he got to simulating the stuff by melting down some lava rock and then poured it into his parent’s swimming pool to see how it would behave.

Using computer modeling and robotics, scientists are attempting to replicate the movements of creatures who have long been extinct. Nature video shows us how they brought back the Orobates pabsti – a crocodile-like animal who lived before the dinosaurs.

The Slow Mo Guys introduce their new YouTube series Planet Slow Mo by heading to Iceland and flying one of their pricey Phantom Flex high speed cameras over a geyser, strapped to an industrial-strength drone. The color of the water as the geyser blows is stunning.

As George Carlin once taught us, there are no blue foods. It’s Okay To Be Smart explores the why there is so little naturally-occuring blue pigment in animals, plants, insects, and other organic matter. Oh, and those Morpho butterflies aren’t actually blue. Minds blown.

Gavin and Dan of The Slow Mo Guys turn their attention inwards, capturing detailed macro footage that shows how the pupil of a human eye reacts to light. Gav used one of those unique Laowa macro probe lenses to get right up to Dan’s peepers.

2046 Design offers a variety of prints inspired by space, science, science fiction, and nature. The prints come in a variety of art styles, and many are limited editions. They also offer apparel and accessories. Touch of Modern has a limited number of designs on sale.

Have you ever wondered why insects, birds, fish, and bats gather together into huge and coordinated groups? TED-Ed’s Maria R. D’Orsogna explores the fascinating science behind this behavior, which drives many species as a method of survival and group productivity.

Science fiction is loaded with depictions of artificial intelligence – usually becoming sentient and running off the rails. BuzzFeed’s Professionals Review asked an AI scientist for her take on the on-screen tech, and how far away we are from such realities.

A simple, but fascinating construction that demonstrates the energy transfer that occurs when two pendulums are placed along the same string. Each one almost completely stops as its momentum moves to the other one like some kind of a seductive dance. (Thanks Kate!)

While we’re most familiar with planets which are bound to a solar system, there are countless rogue planets out there which float in the darkness of space. It turns out that those frozen conditions might actually provide a home to lifeforms. Kurzgesagt explains.

Have you ever wondered how its possible for animals to rest for months on end without eating, drinking, or doing their business? Well it’s because sleep and hibernation are completely different things. TED-Ed presenter Sheena Lee Faherty explains.

A hypnotic video of a martini glass filled with some kind of black fluid that is both thick and viscous, and exhibits elastic properties as well. This unspillable gunk looks like the lifeblood of some sort of demonic creature.

Most fire is orange, or maybe shades of yellow, white or blue. But it turns out if you spray sodium salts and ethanol into a flame and then view it in front of a sodium vapor lamp, it looks black. Natasha Simons of The Royal Institution explains the science behind this phenomenon.

No, Kurzgesagt’s latest video isn’t about building a fancy vacuum cleaner. Instead, it’s an explanation of how we might go about creating a megastructure in space, capable of harnessing the power of a star, by containing it. Basically, it would be the largest task every undertaken.

The Slow Mo Guys decided to see if they could determine the speed at which glass shatters. With the help of some specially-marked sheets of glass and a super slow-motion camera, they were able to answer the question at hand, while also revealing the way in which it cracks.

Meet Arnold, the king of animated hypotheticals is here to explore what might happen to us if we actually could cure aging, and live at least 10 times longer we can today. The result isn’t all butterflies and lollipops. Also, nice segue to the sponsorship, guys.