Texas' Power Grid Trouble is Far From Over
What did we learn from the Texas power grid crisis earlier this year and how can we build more resilient energy systems?
The Big Lie about Monarch Butterflies
Discover a piece of false information about monarch butterflies and Mexico’s Indigenous Purépecha community, and why tourism may be partly to blame.
Origins of Misinformation and How it Spreads
Watch as a piece of false information about llamas spreads across social media and gets disproved, only to have the story continue to circulate.
Looking for Life on Mars Preview
Follow along as NASA launches the Mars 2020 Mission, perhaps the most ambitious hunt yet for signs of ancient life on Mars. In February 2021, the spacecraft will blaze into the Martian atmosphere at some 12,000 miles per hour and attempt to lower the Perseverance Rover into the rocky Jezero Crater, home to a dried-up river delta scientists think could have harbored life.
This NASA Scientist Helps Prevent Mars from Contamination
The spacecraft has to be extremely clean. The entire spacecraft—that includes the rover, the heat shield, the descent stage, and back shell—must contain less than 500,000 bacterial endospores, or spores. Just to give you an idea, a teaspoon of seawater has ten times more bacteria.
Why NASA is Back on Mars
This NASA rover landed on Mars, more than 130 million miles from Earth. It’s task? To continue the search for past life on the red planet.
Feast Your Eyes on the First-Ever Mars 2020 Mission Videos
Get a guided tour of the first Mars rover landing captured on video from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer Ian Clark.
How Mask-Wearing Misinformation Became a Reality
NOVA Producer Alex Clark traces misinformation on mask-wearing from internet circles, to social media influencers, and back to the CDC in the NOVA Education video series.
Dream Hacking: Decisions, Addictions, and Sleep
Neuroscience is beginning to demystify such feelings. Our agency and decisions, it turns out, can be measurably influenced by events that evade the conscious part of our brains. We’ll see three groundbreaking experiments that illustrate that influences we are unaware of in our waking life, during dreamless sleep, or even in our dreams can impact our memory and behavior.
Growing Simple Cells with the Help of... Soap?
In the days of proto-life, less-stable membranes built out of simple molecules, like those in soap, may have been an advantage.
Beyond the Elements: Life Preview
Without the chemistry of photosynthesis, ozone, and a molecule called Rubisco, none of us would be here. So how did we get so lucky? To find out, host David Pogue investigates the surprising molecules that allowed life on Earth to begin, and ultimately thrive. Along the way, he finds out what we’re all made of—literally.
Meet the Enzyme Driving Photosynthesis
RUBISCO, which helps make photosynthesis happen, is the most plentiful enzyme on the planet. But it's not the most efficient. Can a team of researchers give it a boost?
Why Misinformation Matters
Learn the science behind misinformation–how it’s shared, why it's believed, and what we can do to address it.
Beyond the Elements: Indestructible Preview
Glass so strong you can jump on it, rubber so tough it protects a clay pot dropped from 50 feet, endless varieties of plastic. Scientists and engineers have created virtually indestructible versions of common materials by manipulating the chains of interlocking atoms that give them strength—but have they made them too tough? Host David Pogue explores the fantastic chemistry behind the everyday.
Plastics: Durable, Diverse, and Indestructible
Through a series of lab experiments, "Beyond the Elements" host David Pogue learns that there are tens of thousands of grades of plastics, each tailored for a specific purpose. What do we do with them when their job is finished?
Lingering Symptoms from COVID-19 are “Unprecedented”
The number of COVID long-haulers is unknown, but experts estimate that millions of Americans could be affected by lingering symptoms of the disease.
New COVID-19 Variants Spread More Easily
Discover how new coronavirus variants formed around the world, and whether personal protective equipment and the new vaccines will successfully work against them.
Beyond the Elements: Reactions Preview
Just about every solid, liquid, or gas in the world as we know it begins with reactions between individual atoms and molecules. Host David Pogue dives into the transformative world of chemical reactions, from the complex formula that produces cement to the single reaction that’s allowed farmers to feed a global population by the billions—a reaction that when reversed, unleashes high explosives.
What Gives Hot Peppers Their Heat?
When you eat peppers, the chemical capsaicin fits into the heat pain receptors in your mouth, sending a false signal that’s identical to the one your brain would receive if you ate something literally burning hot.
How Killer Snail Venom Plays a Key Role in Drug Development
Scientists explore how the powerful peptides found in marine cone snail venom can be used for medicinal and therapeutic purposes.
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