EducationScienceNatural Sciences

Be Smart.

Joe Hanson

We give you deep answers to simple questions about science and the rest of the universe. And also dad jokes. Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, PhD. He's a molecular biologist and an award-winning science communicator and journalist

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Today · 13 min
How We Finally Solved the Monarch Butterfly Migration Mystery
PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateOKAY ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Uploaded 09-04-19 Follow me to Atlas Obscura to learn about the discovery of this place: https://youtu.be/mXc1ZeRlOe0 Grab a headset and experience the monarch forest in VR180: https://youtu.be/fSa605IfTiE The monarch butterfly migration is one of nature’s greatest events. This orange-winged wonder travels up to 4,500 km from all over North America to spend the winter hanging from oyamel fir trees in central Mexico’s mountain forests. I got to go there. Seeing tens of millions of butterflies dangling from the treetops is a truly breathtaking sight. But how does an animal with a brain the size of a poppy seed navigate to this one special place, especially since the last monarchs to make the trip lived 4 or 5 generations earlier? Get ready for an amazing story of science, instinct, and navigation. #nature #monarchbutterfly #migration Special thanks to: Dr. Steven Reppert - UMass Medical School Atlas Obscura: @atlasobscura Jason Goldman: @jgold85 Phil Torres: @phil_torres Filmed on location at: La Reserva de Biosfera de la Mariposa Monarca - Michoacán, Mexico Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - Austin, Texas SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ----------- REFERENCES: Guerra, P. A., and Reppert, S. M. (2013). Coldness triggers northward flight in remigrant monarch butterflies. Current Biology, 23(5), 419-423. Reppert, S. M., Zhu, H., and White, R. H. (2004). Polarized light helps monarch butterflies navigate. Current Biology, 14(2), 155-158. Reppert, S. M., Guerra, P. A., and Merlin, C. (2016). Neurobiology of monarch butterfly migration. Annual review of entomology, 61, 25-42. Reppert, S. M., and de Roode, J. C. (2018). Demystifying monarch butterfly migration. Current Biology, 28(17), R1009-R1022. ----------- FOLLOW US for more curiosity: Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Books from our episodes: http://smart-books.tumblr.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 6 min
Visiting the Most Massive Bat Colony on Earth!
Check out the largest gathering of mammals on Earth! Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Subscribe to It's Okay To Be Smart ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Visit Bat Conservation International to learn more about these amazing species and what we can do to protect them: http://batcon.org/ Thanks to Dr. Sharon Swartz and Dr Kenny Breuer from Brown University for use of their wind tunnel footage: http://www.brown.edu/Departments/EEB/EML/ Mexican free-tailed bats hunt at higher altitudes than any other bat: http://bit.ly/10e5Zpe Doppler radar shows bats intercepting the moth invasion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvENxTke4Sc Dr. Aaron Corcoran's research on moths jamming bat echolocation (plus VIDEOS!) http://www.sonarjamming.com/ Rainforest regrowth and seed dispersal by bats: http://bit.ly/1nzOBpN Some bats are able to create lift more efficiently than birds: http://www.livescience.com/1245-bats-efficient-flyers-birds.html White nose syndrome: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_nose_syndrome Produced for PBS Digital Studios Joe Hanson - Host and writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer Katie Graham - Director of Photography Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics John Knudsen - Gaffer Dalton Allen - Post-production Intern Theme music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Stock images via Shutterstock ----------- Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 18 min
How Blind People See With Sound… with @MollyBurkeOfficial!
PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateOKAY ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Uploaded 10-08-19 Come see me on Molly’s channel! https://youtu.be/MOmRQb7h5lw SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub I met Molly Burke a few months ago. She’s awesome. I absolutely love what she’s done on YouTube to bring awareness to living with disability, and turning it into ability. And her guide dog Gallop is awesome too! When Molly and I first met, we started talking about how she navigates the world, because I’m a nerd and I always steer the conversation toward science. I was not prepared for what she told me. She said she uses echolocation! Molly’s brain has adapted to listen to sounds in her environment in ways that most of us sighted people can’t even imagine. I went to meet her in LA and brought a special surprise, to see if my brain could learn what hers has. #echolocation #blind For audio descriptions, go to Settings - Audio Track - English Descriptive. Special thanks to Brian Bushway, Daniel Kish, Molly Burke and Gallop! Learn more about Brian Bushway and echolocation at https://visioneers.org Descriptive Audio and Captions provided by The Described and Captioned Media Program References: https://sites.google.com/view/echolcation-molly-burke/home ----------- FOLLOW US for more curiosity: Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Books from our episodes: http://smart-books.tumblr.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 8 min
Is Your Eye Color Real?
PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateOKAY ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Uploaded 18-05-19 Check out Say It Loud from PBSDS ►► https://www.youtube.com/SayItLoudPBS SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub The eyes are often the first thing we see when we look at someone. And when you look at them up close, everyone’s eye color is a kaleidoscope of shapes and hues. How does eye color work? The answer involves some very cool physics, and probably isn’t what you were taught in school. And you’ve probably wondered how is eye color inherited, or why some people have blue eyes even if their parents’ eyes are brown? Get ready for a long look deep into the genetics and physics of eye color. #eyes #eyecolor #blueeyes REFERENCES: Genetics of human iris colour and patterns - Richard A. Sturm, Mats Larsson https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1755-148X.2009.00606.x Iris Color Classification Scales https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5729215/ GWAS Findings for Human Iris Patterns: Associations with Variants in Genes that Influence Normal Neuronal Pattern Development https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3155193/ Characterization of melanin in human iridal and choroidal melanocytes from eyes with various colored irides. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18353148 Can blue eyed parents produce brown eyed children? - Richard A. Sturm https://bioenv.gu.se/digitalAssets/1571/1571499_eyecoloureng.pdf ----------- FOLLOW US for more curiosity: Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/i... Facebook http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Books from our episodes: http://smart-books.tumblr.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 7 min
Extreme Deep Sea Creatures Are Eating The Titanic!
Life, uh… finds a way Don’t miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Uploaded 30-01-18 What have we learned from exploring Earth’s harshest locations? That pretty everywhere we look for life, we find it. From smoking hot hydrothermal vents to icy deserts, up in clouds and inside rocks, extremophiles have found a way to survive. These survivors and adapters are not only teaching us about life on Earth, but expanding the possibilities of where life can exist elsewhere. READ MORE: Horikoshi, K., Antranikian, G., Bull, A. T., Robb, F. T., and Stetter, K. O. (Eds.). (2010). Extremophiles handbook. Springer Science and Business Media. Schulze-Makuch, D., Airo, A., and Schirmack, J. (2017). The Adaptability of Life on Earth and the Diversity of Planetary Habitats. Frontiers in microbiology, 8, 2011. ----------- FOLLOW US: Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter:@DrJoeHanson @okaytobesmart Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Instagram: @DrJoeHanson ----------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Director: Joe Nicolosi Writer: Shaena Montanari, Ph.D. Producer/editor/animator: Jordan Husmann Producer: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 13 min
If We Plant 1 TRILLION Trees Can We Stop Climate Change?
PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateOKAY ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Uploaded 11-02-20 SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub We’re on PATREON now! Join the community ►► https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Can trees really save us from climate change? For eons, nature has relied on photosynthesis as a big way to keep carbon dioxide levels from getting out of control. But as we have put more carbon into the air, we’ve also cut down many of the forests we need to suck that carbon up. So big tree-planting initiatives like #TeamTrees to the rescue, right? Actually, we need to think bigger. Here’s three ways trees really can help us solve climate change, from a guy who wants to plant a TRILLION trees, to how we might save the forests we’ve got, to scientists hacking biology to make trees even better. References: https://sites.google.com/view/3waystreescansavetheclimate/home Aspect Science: Team Trees Explained https://youtu.be/SLHCA-hHx4Y Special thanks to Felix Finkbeiner https://www.plant-for-the-planet.org/en/home Special thanks to our Brain Trust Patrons: AlecZero Bob Rosset Brent M. Diego Lombeida Ron Kakar ----------- Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 5 min
What's The Loudest Sound That Could Exist?
Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate It's definitely higher than "11" Subscribe: http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Twitter: @okaytobesmart ↓ More info and sources below ↓ What is the loudest possible sound? What about the quietest thing we can hear? And what do decibels measure, anyway? In this video you'll learn what makes sound The loudest sound on Earth (the we know of anyway), great story by Aatish Bhatia: http://nautil.us/blog/the-sound-so-loud-that-it-circled-the-earth-four-times Video of the Papua New Guinea volcano eruption from YouTuber bacobjee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUREX8aFbMs Calculation of the shock wave from teleportation: http://www.quora.com/Teleportation/If-you-were-to-disappear-suddenly-how-loud-would-be-the-noise-of-the-air-filling-up-the-vacuum-youve-left The sometimes-painful effects of different sound pressure levels: http://www.makeitlouder.com/Decibel%20Level%20Chart.txt How loud are rocket launches? http://testtube.com/dnews/how-loud-are-space-shuttle-launches/ NASA's sound suppression water system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LehY5avJUM Can a sound be loud enough to kill you? http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2298/can-a-noise-be-loud-enough-to-kill-you ----------------- It's Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D Follow me on Twitter/Instagram: @DrJoeHanson @okaytobesmart Email me: itsokaytobesmart AT gmail DOT com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart For more awesome science, check out: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Produced by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios Joe Hanson - Creator/Host/Writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer Jen Piper/Arts+Labor - Editing/Motion Graphics/Animation Katie Graham - Director of Photography John Knudsen - Gaffer Theme music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Other music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock, stock footage from Videoblocks French subtitles by Alessandro Dal Cero Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 18 min
Using a Bunch of Mousetraps to Explain How Pandemics Work (feat. @theslowmoguys)
PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateOKAY ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Uploaded 04-02-21 More vaccine info here: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/default.htm Special thanks to @theslowmoguys ! https://www.youtube.com/user/theslowmoguys Thanks to Gates Notes for Supporting PBS. Since the start of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, the term “herd immunity” has been all over the news. But what does it really mean? One thing most people don’t realize about vaccines is that they aren’t just to protect the person who gets the shot. They also protect the population as a whole… even people who didn’t get the shot. In this video, we use lots and lots of mousetraps and ping-pong balls to show you how that works. #coronavirus #vaccines We’re on PATREON! Join the community ►► https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub References: https://sites.google.com/view/mousetrap-herd-immunity/home ----------- Special thanks to our Brain Trust Patrons: dani bowman David Johnston Ahmed Elkhanany Zenimal Salih Arslan Baerbel Winkler Denzel Holmes Robert Young Amy Sowada Benjamin Teinby Eric Meer Jay Stephens Peter Ehrnstrom Dustin Marcus Tuepker Karen Haskell AlecZero Diego Lombeida Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 9 min
Where Did Zika Arise?
Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Get your Audible trial here: http://audible.com/ok Tweet this video ⇒ http://bit.ly/OKTBSzika1 Share on FB ⇒ http://bit.ly/OKTBSzikaFB ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Get yourself an awesome IOTBS shirt! http://dftba.com/besmart Follow the latest news on Zika: https://www.cdc.gov/zika/ http://www.who.int/emergencies/zika-virus/en/ Special thanks to the following for personal interviews about Zika outbreak: Dr. Peter Hotez - Baylor College of Medicine Dr. Scott Weaver - UT Medical Branch, Galveston Dr. Nikos Vasilakis - UT Medical Branch, Galveston Dr. Dahotra Sarkar - University of Texas at Austin Dr. Alex Wild - University of Texas at Austin Mustapha Debboun - Harris County Mosquito Control References/further reading: Malaria and Rome: A History of Malaria in Ancient Italy - Robert Sallares http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/50747841 Sallares, Robert, and Susan Gomzi. "Biomolecular archaeology of malaria."Ancient Biomolecules 3.3 (2001): 195-213. Sallares, Robert, Abigail Bouwman, and Cecilia Anderung. "The spread of malaria to southern Europe in antiquity: new approaches to old problems."Medical history 48.03 (2004): 311-328. Hotez, Peter J. "Neglected Tropical Diseases in the Anthropocene: The Cases of Zika, Ebola, and Other Infections." PLoS Negl Trop Dis 10.4 (2016): e0004648. Hotez, Peter J. "Blue marble health redux: Neglected tropical diseases and human development in the Group of 20 (G20) nations and Nigeria." PLoS Negl Trop Dis 9.7 (2015): e0003672. Thumbnail image credits: Aedes aegypti mosquito: CDC/ Prof. Frank Hadley Collins, Dir., Cntr. for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, Univ. of Notre Dame Zika virus capsid: Manuel Almagro Rivas, Wikimedia Commons ---- Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment or check us out at the links below! Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/okaytobesmart http://twitter.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Follow on Instagram: http://instagram.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Snapchat: YoDrJoe ----------------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Follow me on Twitter: @jtotheizzoe Produced by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios Music via APM Stock images from SciencePhoto http://www.sciencephoto.com/ and Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Stock footage from Videoblocks (unless otherwise noted) http://www.videoblocks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 7 min
Why Do We Itch?
Scratch that itch and SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Check out our friends from Above the Noise: http://bit.ly/2KMBMG3 ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Uploaded 08-05-18 It’s one of the most annoying sensations our bodies can feel, but does anything feel better than when you scratch an itch? Ok, maybe *some* things. But itching and scratching are up there. How does this weird sensation work? And what is itching for? References: http://bit.ly/2IiIqWn ----------- FOLLOW US: Twitter: @DrJoeHanson @okaytobesmart Instagram: @DrJoeHanson Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart SEND US STUFF: It’s Okay To Be Smart PO Box 303356 Austin, TX 78703 USA BOOKS WE’VE FEATURED: http://smart-books.tumblr.com/ ----------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Director: Joe Nicolosi Writer: Kimberly McCoy Creative Director: David Schulte Editor/animator: Karl Boettcher and Derek Borsheim Producers: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 7 min
Why Are There As Many Males As Females?
Evolution doesn’t pick a side! Don’t miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Uploaded 22-02-18 In almost every animal species on Earth, equal numbers of males and females are conceived. Why is that? Especially in populations like lions or elephant seals, where most males don’t get to mate? That’s survival of the laziest, not survival of the fittest. It turns out that in most cases, an equal balance of the sexes is the evolutionary stable strategy. From Charles Darwin to Ronald Fisher to W.D. Hamilton to Richard Dawkins, the question of why there’s as many males as females has fascinated biologists. Today, we’ll explain why that is the way it is. READ MORE: Fisher, R. A. “The genetical theory of natural selection” Dawkins, Richard “The Selfish Gene” http://amzn.to/2omkuFr Hamilton, W. D. (1967). Extraordinary sex ratios. Science, 156(3774), 477-488. ----------- FOLLOW US: Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter:@DrJoeHanson @okaytobesmart Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Instagram: @DrJoeHanson ----------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Director: Joe Nicolosi Writer: Stephanie Keep Creative Director: David Schulte Editor/animator: Karl Boettcher and Derek Borsheim Producer: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com ------ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 6 min
Clarifying Lunar Eclipses and the SUPER BLOOD MOON!
Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate This episode is brought to you by Dropbox https://www.dropbox.com/ Don’t miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓ More info and sources below ↓ We’ve got t-shirts! Get yours here: http://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Special thanks to: Rob Pettengill, Ph.D. http://www.robpettengill.org and the Austin Astronomical Society http://www.austinastro.org/ for helping me photograph the lunar eclipse timelapse Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment or check us out at the links below! Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/okaytobesmart http://twitter.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Follow on Instagram: http://instagram.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Snapchat: YoDrJoe ----------------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Follow me on Twitter: @jtotheizzoe Email me: itsokaytobesmart AT gmail DOT com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart For more awesome science, check out: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Produced by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios Joe Hanson - Creator/Host/Writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen Inc. Kate Eads - Producer Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics/Animation Katie Graham - Camera John Knudsen - Gaffer Theme music: “Ouroboros” by Kevin MacLeod Other music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock, stock footage from Videoblocks (unless otherwise noted) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 6 min
Can Coral Reefs Adapt to Climate Change?
This episode is brought to you by Dropbox https://www.dropbox.com/ ↓ More info and sources below ↓ We can’t afford to wait any longer to act on climate change. Check out #OursToLose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgOV1dYdYVk References/Links: Coral/Zooxanthellae symbiosis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zooxanthellae Global coral bleaching event is underway in 2015: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2015/100815-noaa-declares-third-ever-global-coral-bleaching-event.html Learn more about the effects and extent of coral bleaching: http://www.globalcoralbleaching.org/ Could we ever lose all our corals? http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/01/21/will-we-ever-lose-all-our-corals/ Coral reef ecosystem species density: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/ioc-oceans/priority-areas/rio-20-ocean/blueprint-for-the-future-we-want/marine-biodiversity/facts-and-figures-on-marine-biodiversity/ Oceans absorb half of global CO2: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0715_040715_oceancarbon.html Oceans absorb 90% of excess heat: http://e360.yale.edu/feature/how_long_can_oceans_continue_to_absorb_earths_excess_heat/2860/ Extent of coral loss: http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/blue_planet/coasts/coral_reefs/coral_facts/ Coral reef accelerated evolution: van Oppen, Madeleine JH, et al. "Building coral reef resilience through assisted evolution." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112.8 (2015): 2307-2313. http://www.pnas.org/content/112/8/2307.full Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment or check us out at the links below! Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/okaytobesmart Follow on Instagram: http://instagram.com/okaytbesmart ----------------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Joe Hanson - Creator/Host/Writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen Inc. Kate Eads - Producer Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics/Animation Katie Graham - Camera John Knudsen - Gaffer Theme music: “Ouroboros” by Kevin MacLeod Other music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock, stock footage from Videoblocks (unless otherwise noted) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 9 min
Your Microbiome: The Microscopic Creatures That Keep You Alive!
Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Try Audible today: http://www.audible.com/ok “I Contain Multitudes” by Ed Yong http://amzn.to/2aE5rlf ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Get yourself an awesome IOTBS shirt! http://dftba.com/besmart Learn more/references: Fujimura, Kei E., et al. "House dust exposure mediates gut microbiome Lactobacillus enrichment and airway immune defense against allergens and virus infection." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111.2 (2014): 805-810. Strachan, David P. "Family size, infection and atopy: the first decade of the 'hygiene hypothesis'." Thorax 55.Suppl 1 (2000): S2. Gerrard, J. W., et al. "Serum IgE levels in white and metis communities in Saskatchewan." Annals of allergy 37.2 (1976): 91-100. Kuleshov, Volodymyr, et al. "Synthetic long-read sequencing reveals intraspecies diversity in the human microbiome." Nature biotechnology 34.1 (2016): 64-69. Li, Junhua, et al. "An integrated catalog of reference genes in the human gut microbiome." Nature biotechnology 32.8 (2014): 834-841. Elahi, Shokrollah, et al. "Immunosuppressive CD71+ erythroid cells compromise neonatal host defence against infection." Nature 504.7478 (2013): 158-162. Gibbons, Deena, et al. "Interleukin-8 (CXCL8) production is a signatory T cell effector function of human newborn infants." Nature medicine 20.10 (2014): 1206-1210. German, J., et al. "Human milk oligosaccharides: evolution, structures and bioselectivity as substrates for intestinal bacteria." Personalized Nutrition for the Diverse Needs of Infants and Children. Vol. 62. Karger Publishers, 2008. 205-222. Sela, D. A., et al. "The genome sequence of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis reveals adaptations for milk utilization within the infant microbiome."Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105.48 (2008): 18964-18969. C-section statitics: http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/health-at-a-glance-2015_health_glance-2015-en Kroiss, Johannes, et al. "Symbiotic streptomycetes provide antibiotic combination prophylaxis for wasp offspring." Nature Chemical Biology 6.4 (2010): 261-263. Zaneveld, Jesse, et al. "Host-bacterial coevolution and the search for new drug targets." Current opinion in chemical biology 12.1 (2008): 109-114. ---------------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment or check us out at the links below! Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter: http://twitter.com/okaytobesmart http://twitter.com/jtotheizzoe Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Instagram: http://instagram.com/jtotheizzoe Snapchat: YoDrJoe Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from SciencePhoto http://www.sciencephoto.com/ and Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Stock footage from Videoblocks (unless otherwise noted) http://www.videoblocks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 10 min
Why Are We The Only Humans Surviving?
Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Try 23andMe at: http://www.23andme.com/okay Part 2 of our special series on Human Ancestry. Watch it all: http://bit.ly/OKTBSHuman ↓↓↓More info and sources below ↓↓↓ In part 2 of our special series on human ancestry, we ask why we are the only surviving branch on the human evolutionary tree. Just 50,000-100,000 years ago, Earth was home to three or four separate human species, including our most famous cousins: the Neanderthals. New research has shown that Neanderthals were not the brutish, unintelligent cavemen that cartoons make them out to be. They were creative, smart, social, and perhaps even had complex language. So why did they go extinct as soon as Homo sapiens moved into their territory? Does any trace of them live on today? Why don’t we have Neanderthal neighbors? ----------- REFERENCES: Papagianni, Dimitra, and Michael A. Morse. The Neanderthals Rediscovered: How Modern Science Is Rewriting Their Story. Thames & Hudson, 2015. http://amzn.to/2oov6GG (Library: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/923279213) Stringer, Chris. “Lone survivors: How we came to be the only humans on earth.” Macmillan, 2012. http://amzn.to/2oIFg3q (Library: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/855581724) Tattersall, Ian. “Masters of the planet: the search for our human origins.” Macmillan, 2012. http://amzn.to/2pOZrKS (Library: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/733231407) Walter, Chip. “Last ape standing: the seven-million-year story of how and why we survived.” Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2013. http://amzn.to/2pP2liy (Library: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/872121723) ----------- FOLLOW US: Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter: @okaytobesmart @DrJoeHanson Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Instagram: @DrJoeHanson Snapchat: YoDrJoe ----------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Director: Joe Nicolosi Writer: Joe Hanson Producer/editor/animator: Andrew Matthews Producer: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 9 min
The INCREDIBLE Ancient Engineering That Built the Pyramids
Try Skillshare at http://skl.sh/besmart Help us build something great and SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Uploaded 30-06-17 You asked for it, so here’s the follow-up! Just because something is difficult doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Over the past centuries, archaeologists, historians, and engineers have reconstructed a great deal of the technology and science used to build the Egyptian pyramids. This week we look at ancient Egyptian mathematics, building techniques, tools, and culture to reconstruct the Great Pyramid’s construction. REFERENCES: Fall, Abdoulaye, et al. "Sliding friction on wet and dry sand." Physical review letters 112.17 (2014): 175502. Lehner, M. (1997). The complete pyramids. Thames and Hudson. Parry, D. (2005). Engineering the pyramids. The History Press. Smith, Craig B., Zahi Hawass, and Mark Lehner. How the great pyramid was built. Harper Collins, 2006. Verner, M. (2003). The pyramids: their archaeology and history. Atlantic. Verner, M. (2007). The Pyramids: The Mystery, Culture, and Science of Egypt's Great Monuments. Grove/Atlantic, Inc.. ----------- FOLLOW US: Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter/Instagram: @okaytobesmart @DrJoeHanson Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com ----------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Director: Joe Nicolosi Writer: Joe Hanson Producer/editor/animator: Andrew Orsak Producer: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com ------ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 9 min
Asteroid Mining Will Change Everything About Our Future In Space
Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Uploaded 07-11-17 Don’t miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Read “Soonish” by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith! https://smbc-comics.com/soonish/ ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Try 23andMe at: http://www.23andme.com/okay Asteroid mining sounds like something out of a bad space movie, but harvesting materials from space rocks might be our ticket to building space colonies or living on Mars. Most of Earth’s precious and rare metals are locked too far in the crust for us to get at them, and launching them to space is too expensive for us to supply large colonies off Earth or explore far off worlds. How do we get our hands on the planetary resources inside asteroids? Let’s find out! Special thanks to Kelly and Zach Weinersmith for working with us on this video. Check out their new book “Soonish” for a hilarious and science-filled look at future technologies: https://smbc-comics.com/soonish/ SOURCES/EXTRAS: Badescu, Viorel, ed. Asteroids: Prospective energy and material resources. Springer Science and Business Media, 2013. Crawford, Ian A. "Asteroids in the service of humanity." arXiv preprint arXiv:1306.2678 (2013). Kleine, Thorsten. "Geoscience: Earth's patchy late veneer." Nature 477.7363 (2011): 168-169. ----------- FOLLOW US: Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter: @okaytobesmart @DrJoeHanson Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Instagram: @DrJoeHanson ----------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Director: Joe Nicolosi Writer: Dr. Shaena Montanari Editor/animator: Andrew Orsak Producer: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com ----------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 20 min
I Can't Believe We're Making Another COVID Video
Check out PBS Vitals ►► https://youtu.be/xus08qnUxPE We’re on PATREON! Join the community https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Uploaded 08-10-21 I guess we’re still doing this. References: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-xoLMZfumSmb1v7B3QmFD5pTC87GYeGEnlSXKg0bCk0/edit SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ----------- Special thanks to our Brain Trust Patrons: Joseph Spencer Barbora Bei Ken Board Clinger-Hamilton Family Attila Pix Burt Humburg DeliciousKashmiri Brian Chang Roy Lasris Javier Soto dani bowman David Johnston Salih Arslan Baerbel Winkler Robert Young Amy Sowada Eric Meer Dustin Marcus Tuepker Karen Haskell AlecZero Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 6 min
Are You Cleverer Than A Slime Mold?
Slime molds are intelligent, but they are single-celled creatures with no brains. How is that possible? ↓ More info and sources below ↓ I really hope you guys check out Deep Look, it’s one of my favorite channels, full of great 4K, micro-world goodness! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt Many thanks to Prof. Andy Adamatzky (UWE Bristol) for slime mold culturing advice. Special thanks to the following for providing Dictyostelium microscope footage: Prof. John Bonner (Princeton) Prof. David Knecht (Univ. of Connecticut) Prof. Richard Firtel (UCSD) Prof. Jeremy Pickett-Heaps (Univ. of Melbourne) References/further reading: “Intelligence in Nature” by Jeremy Narby http://amzn.to/23HvtKG “The Social Amoebae - The Biology of Cellular Slime Molds” by John Bonner http://amzn.to/1MEmmCR Nakagaki, Toshiyuki. "Smart behavior of true slime mold in a labyrinth."Research in Microbiology 152.9 (2001): 767-770. Nakagaki, Toshiyuki, Hiroyasu Yamada, and Masahiko Hara. "Smart network solutions in an amoeboid organism." Biophysical chemistry 107.1 (2004): 1-5. Adamatzky, Andrew. Physarum machines: computers from slime mould. Vol. 74. World Scientific, 2010. Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment or check us out at the links below! Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/okaytobesmart http://twitter.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Follow on Instagram: http://instagram.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Snapchat: YoDrJoe ----------------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Follow me on Twitter: @jtotheizzoe Produced by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Stock footage from Videoblocks (unless otherwise noted) http://www.videoblocks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today · 9 min
Where Did Mankind Emerge From?
Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Ready to untangle the branches of the human family tree? Part 1 of our special series on Human Ancestry. Watch it all: http://bit.ly/OKTBSHuman ↓↓↓More info and sources below ↓↓↓ In part 1 of our special series on human ancestry, we tour through our family tree to meet our ancestors and distant cousins, and to find out what made us human along the way. The story of human ancestry is not a simple progression from primitive apes to us, with all the ape/human intermediates in between. The real human story is much richer and more complex, full of branches, gaps, and shadowy parts. A century and a half of fossil finds tells us perhaps two dozen human species lived on Earth between now and the time when our ancestors split from chimpanzee ancestors. The new era of DNA and genetics is upending that story yet again. ----------- REFERENCES: Stringer, Chris. “Lone survivors: How we came to be the only humans on earth.” Macmillan, 2012. http://amzn.to/2oIFg3q (Library: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/855581724) Stringer, Chris, and Peter Andrews. “The complete world of human evolution.” London: Thames & Hudson, 2005. http://amzn.to/2opOrlN (Library: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/953422224) Tattersall, Ian. “Masters of the planet: the search for our human origins.” Macmillan, 2012. http://amzn.to/2pOZrKS (Library: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/733231407) Walter, Chip. “Last ape standing: the seven-million-year story of how and why we survived.” Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2013. http://amzn.to/2pP2liy (Library: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/872121723) “Evolution: The Human Saga.” Scientific American 311.3 (2014): 4-100. Strait, David, Frederick E. Grine, and John G. Fleagle. "Analyzing Hominin Hominin Phylogeny: Cladistic Approach." Handbook of paleoanthropology. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2015. 1989-2014. Wood, Bernard, and Eve K Boyle. "Hominin taxic diversity: Fact or fantasy?." American journal of physical anthropology 159.S61 (2016): S37-S78. ----------- FOLLOW US: Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter: @okaytobesmart @DrJoeHanson Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Instagram: @DrJoeHanson Snapchat: YoDrJoe ----------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Director: Joe Nicolosi Writer: Joe Hanson Producer/editor/animator: Andrew Matthews Producer: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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