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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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  • Saturday · 13 min

    Is There Life on Earth?

    I mean… how do you really know? SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ If we lived light years from Earth, how would we know there’s life here? Let’s take a look at the search for extraterrestrial life on habitable exoplanets, and discover what biosignatures would show someone else that we’re here. REFERENCES: http://exoplanet.eu/ Kaltenegger, Lisa. “How to Characterize Habitable Worlds and Signs of Life.” Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics 55, no. 1 (August 18, 2017): 433–85. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-astro-082214-122238. Sagan, Carl. “Is There Life On Earth?” Engineering and Science 35, no. 4 (1972): 16–19. Sagan, Carl, W. Reid Thompson, Robert Carlson, Donald Gurnett, and Charles Hord. “A Search for Life on Earth from the Galileo Spacecraft.” Nature 365 (October 21, 1993): 715. Schwieterman, Edward W., Nancy Y. Kiang, Mary N. Parenteau, Chester E. Harman, Shiladitya DasSarma, Theresa M. Fisher, Giada N. Arney, et al. “Exoplanet Biosignatures: A Review of Remotely Detectable Signs of Life.” Astrobiology 18, no. 6 (June 2018): 663–708. https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2017.1729. Seager, Sara, and Drake Deming. “Exoplanet Atmospheres.” Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics 48, no. 1 (August 2010): 631–72. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-astro-081309-130837. ----------- FOLLOW US: Twitter: @DrJoeHanson @okaytobesmart Instagram: @DrJoeHanson Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart 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: Joe Hanson Creative Director: David Schulte Editors/animators: Derek Borsheim and Sara Roma 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

  • Saturday · 9 min

    How The Toilet Revolutionized History

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate This video was supported by Bill and Melinda Gates. You can check out the Gates Annual Letter here: http://b-gat.es/2lhhtmJ. ↓ More info and sources below ↓ We’re proud to collaborate with Bill and Melinda Gates for this week’s video! It may sometimes seem like things are getting worse, but there’s lots of reasons to be optimistic about the future. More people have access to toilets and sanitation than ever before. Thanks to public health improvements like this, since 1990, 122 million children’s lives have been saved. Diseases like polio are nearing eradication. Women have more access to health care and education than ever before. But our work is not done. How can YOU help make the future better for the world’s poorest? SPECIAL THANKS: Bill and Melinda Gates Francisco de los Reyes (watch his TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/francis_de_los_reyes_sanitation_is_a_basic_human_right#t-303612) ----------- LEARN MORE: George, Rose. “The Big Necessity: The unmentionable world of human waste and why it matters.” 2008. Perdew, Laura. “How the Toilet Changed History” 2016. Ferriman, A. (2007). BMJ readers choose the “sanitary revolution” as greatest medical advance since 1840. BMJ : British Medical Journal, 334(7585), 111. http://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39097.611806.DB CDC Global WASH statistics: https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/global/wash_statistics.html WHO Toilet/Sanitation Fact Sheet: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs392/en/ WaterAid “We Can’t Wait”: http://www.wateraid.org/what-we-do/our-approach/research-and-publications/view-publication?id=a5ab0a96-1574-4225-a16a-75d5e5ec4232 Unilever “Toilets for Health” https://www.unilever.com/Images/sd_toilets-for-health-141113_tcm13-387337_tcm244-409783_1_en.pdf ----------- 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 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

  • Saturday · 10 min

    Could You Ever Be Immune To EVERY Disease? Your Immune System, Explained!

    You can learn more at https://curiositystream.com/smart Don’t miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ **We said 30 days free, but CuriosityStream is feeling extra generous and is giving our viewers the first 60 days free!!** Do you remember having a cold in 5th grade? Or the flu a couple years ago? Your immune system does. Our bodies hold many levels of immune defense.Physical barriers like skin, the innate immune system, and our body’s most powerful defender, the adaptive immune system. Millions of B cells and T cells and antibodies are constantly on patrol for germs and antigen invaders. As scientists learn more about how this system works and how to engineer it, could we ever actually be immune to everything? Special thanks to Dr. James Crowe (Vanderbilt University) http://www.crowelab.com/ ----------- 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: Sarah Keartes 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

  • Saturday · 12 min

    When Science FICTION Becomes Science ACTUAL!

    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 ↓ Why is some science fiction so good at predicting actual science? Don’t miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Do Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Jules Verne, Philip K. Dick, Hugo Gernsback, Robert Heinlein, or Isaac Asimov hold a candle to H.G. Wells when it comes to correctly predicting the future of science via science fiction? And why does some science fiction do such a good job of predicting the future in the first place? Check out these other great H.G. Wells-inspired videos from our PBS friends: PBS Idea Channel: "What Is Fiction?" PBS Digital Studios/James W. Griffiths: "A Solitary World" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWJKLYcypz8 Fun links to dig deeper: Arthur C. Clarke's 1945 article "Extra Terrestrial Relays" http://lakdiva.org/clarke/1945ww/ Isaac Asimov's 1964 World's Fair predictions: http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/23/lifetimes/asi-v-fair.html Mouse memory "implantation": http://wapo.st/Md1gN3 Ray Bradbury hanging with Arthur C. Clarke and Carl Sagan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyst-D-1ssk Isaac Asimov talks to Bill Moyers Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CwUuU6C4pk Isaac Asimov talks to Bill Moyers Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJAIERgWhZQ Music: "Ourobouros" by Kevin MacLeod "Opening Theme A" by Kevin MacLeod Joe Hanson - Host and writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer Katie Graham - Director of Photography Andrew Matthews - Editor and motion graphics John Knudsen - Gaffer Isaac Hammons - Sound Produced for PBS Digital Studios ----------- 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

  • Saturday · 25 min

    This Is Where New Ideas ACTUALLY Arise

    Check out Hungry Planet on @pbsterra https://youtu.be/uH2jWc9TEVM ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ The idea of the lone genius creating everything isn’t just misleading. It’s harmful and wrong. Innovation thrives when people work together, and rather than nice linear paths, new ideas come from chance events and unexpected connections. This video tells the story of one such invention, and offers a new idea about how new ideas are really born. 0:00 I've got a gripe 1:30 How innovation stories usually go 2:28 The last time this happened, things got weird 2:51 Stabbing sick people in Olde London 4:23 A heroic cow named Blossom 5:05 Why Napoleon hated swamps 6:22 The preacher, sparks, and a fortuitous explosion 7:08 Who's "in charge" here? 8:26 Bubbles, for your health! 9:33 Putting the club in soda 10:13 Needles and drugs 11:01 A tower in Paris 11:58 Quantum bros 12:53 Very VERY tiny things 13:37 This physicist hates cats 14:20 Mr. Helix and the messengers 15:18 It's all coming together 16:08 The best part of the story 17:35 Extras 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 ----------- High fives to all our Brain Trust Patrons: Charles Horton, Jr Holly, Brett, and Ashe Bullion Jaap Westera Millennial Glacier Mehdi Damou Barbora Bei Burt Humburg dani bowman David Johnston Baerbel Winkler Robert Young Eric Meer Karen Haskell 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​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Saturday · 5 min

    The Science of GOAT!

    Yep. Goats! ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Who are those people in the intro? Say hi to Joe Nicolosi (director) and Katie Graham (camera)! Goat field of vision: http://blogs.lifeandscience.org/keepers/tag/pupil/ Goat pupil shape: http://www.journalofvision.org/content/13/9/607.short Radiolab story about a goat on a cow: http://www.radiolab.org/story/224292-behind-goat/ "Fainting goat" syndrome: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myotonia_congenita Goats have "accents": http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2012/02/16/study-goats-have-accents.html Goat tastebuds: http://bit.ly/1zFxhiY Goat diet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goat#Diet How goats climb so well: http://www.asknature.org/strategy/719058a39eea5af7f763bacda7c64ab4#.U_KPLbxdWm8 Billy Whiskers: http://www.childrensbooksonline.org/Billy_Whiskers/pages/001_Billy_Whiskers.htm In case you're curious, the star cluster in the thumbnail is Messier 30, which is in the Capricorn constellation, because goats. Joe Hanson - Host and writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer Katie Graham - Camera Editing/Motion Graphics - Andrew Matthews Gaffer - John Knudsen/Philip Sheldon Theme music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Stock images via Shutterstock Produced for PBS Digital Studios ----------- 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

  • Saturday · 8 min

    The Remarkable Roots of Thanksgiving Foods

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate I’m thankful for science. And also pie. SUBSCRIBE! http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Want to wear your love for science? We’ve got merch: http://dftba.com/besmart References/Learn More: How turkeys got so big: https://www.wired.com/2008/11/turkeytech/ Benjamin Franklin’s 1784 letter to Sarah Bache about turkeys: http://franklinpapers.org/franklin/framedVolumes.jsp?vol=41&page=281 Ames, Mercedes, and David M. Spooner. "DNA from herbarium specimens settles a controversy about origins of the European potato." American Journal of Botany 95.2 (2008): 252-257. Doebley, John. "The genetics of maize evolution." Annu. Rev. Genet. 38 (2004): 37-59. Grun, Paul. "The evolution of cultivated potatoes." Economic Botany 44.3 (1990): 39-55. McWilliams, James. The Pecan: A history of America's native nut. University of Texas Press, 2013. Nee, Michael. "The domestication of cucurbita (Cucurbitaceae)." Economic Botany 44.3 (1990): 56-68. Polashock, James, et al. "The American cranberry: first insights into the whole genome of a species adapted to bog habitat." BMC plant biology 14.1 (2014): 1 Speller, Camilla F., et al. "Ancient mitochondrial DNA analysis reveals complexity of indigenous North American turkey domestication." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107.7 (2010): 2807-2812. ---------------- 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: @okaytobesmart @DrJoeHanson Instagram: @DrJoeHanson Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from SciencePhoto http://www.sciencephoto.com/ and Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Saturday · 8 min

    How Science Specifies A Year

    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 ↓ It's been one (tropical/sidereal/anomalous) year since I uploaded the very first It's Okay To Be Smart. Here's everything that's happened since! Thank you to everyone who's helped make this possible, and for letting me have the best job in the world. More: CGP Grey - What is a leap year? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX96xng7sAE MinutePhysics - What are years? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53glKEPzElA Bad Astronomy - http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/01/01/happy-new-year-again/#.UtbGr2RDtVM Check out the highlights of my arm wrestling match with Derek from Veritasium courtesy of Hank Green (cameos from Mike Rugnetta and Emily Eifler): https://twitter.com/hankgreen/status/388553085653901312 Joe Hanson - Host and writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen Inc Kate Eads - Associate Producer Katie Graham - Director of Photography Andrew Matthews - Editor and motion graphics Produced for PBS Digital Studios ----------- 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

  • Saturday · 8 min

    The Far Tomorrow of the Universe

    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 ↓ SPOILERS: It doesn't end well. Special thanks to Ethan Siegel and Sean Carroll for help with this episode: http://preposterousuniverse.com/ https://medium.com/starts-with-a-bang/ More interesting things that will happen in the future: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140105-timeline-of-the-far-future This episode was a part of a collaboration with several other PBS Digital Studios shows, all talking about THE FUTURE!! Check out the other episodes! Learn about the Collab Here: http://youtu.be/ygmD5lz6rd8 Idea Channel: The Future of Fandoms http://youtu.be/eJ3EBR1hlbI Game/Show: The Future of Games http://youtu.be/oON6S4fXS4k Crafts For Kids: DIY Robot Masks http://youtu.be/PtETQ_aIz8s Indie Alaska: Augmented Reality http://youtu.be/8Elu87SfL98 Bon Appétempt: Post-Apocalyptic Pantry Cooking http://youtu.be/xzsyop6XZn8 Shanks FX: Holograms http://youtu.be/P8Uj9uHgCQY Makin' Friends With Ryan Miller: Bruce Duncan and Bina48 http://youtu.be/3e-JuaSc7B0 24 Frames: The Future: 3D Printing http://youtu.be/l__1P1PCGZM Coma Niddy: Future Rap http://youtu.be/OUpPaEZHITI BBQ With Franklin: The Future of BBQ http://youtu.be/gbR7Tu2TqKk Joe Hanson - Host and writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer Katie Graham - Director of Photography Andrew Matthews - Editor and motion graphics John Knudsen - Gaffer Music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Produced for PBS Digital Studios ----------- 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

  • Saturday · 7 min

    Ask Joe Matters #2

    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 ↓ You have questions, I have answers! Richard Feynman - Fun To Imagine (playlist): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3pYRn5j7oI&list=PL2D30B1DEFFDA0310 Mapping a zombie apocalypse to model disease outbreaks: https://medium.com/the-physics-arxiv-blog/61661d6ae9c People can't tell the difference between smell of Parmesan and vomit: http://www.rachelherz.com/uploads/Odor_Illusions.pdf Check out Ask Joe #1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkSpmTvCRJA Joe Hanson - Host and writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer Katie Graham - Director of Photography Andrew Matthews - Editor and motion graphics Produced for PBS Digital Studios ----------- 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

  • Saturday · 9 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 ↓ 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

  • Saturday · 8 min

    The SCIENCE of BREWING!!!

    Is beer the perfect beverage? Let's see what science says... 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 Big thank you to Jester King Brewery in Austin, TX: http://jesterkingbrewery.com/ The chemistry of beer flavors: http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/07/10/beerchemicals/ Uncorking the past, a history of alcoholic beverages: http://www.economist.com/node/883706 Domestication of grain in near east: http://www.nature.com/nrg/journal/v3/n6/abs/nrg817.html Alcohol and social complexity in ancient western Asia: http://alexanderjoffe.net/alcohol.pdf Finally, a weird Dutch Heineken ad from the 1950's about sending beer to the moon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I03AxY5gA8I Joe Hanson - Host and writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer Katie Graham - Director of Photography Editing/Motion Graphics - Andrew Matthews Gaffer - John Knudsen Post-production intern - Dalton Allen 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

  • Friday · 8 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 ↓↓↓ 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

  • Friday · 16 min

    This Is How Astronauts Drink Coffee In Space!

    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 ↓ You can learn more at https://curiositystream.com/smart SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub I love coffee. Like, a lot. You know who else loves coffee? Astronauts! And also the people who help them do awesome things in space (I think NASA might be powered by coffee). But how do astronauts actually drink coffee in space, aboard the International Space Station, in microgravity? I visited astronaut Don Pettit to learn about his invention for having a cup o’ Joe in orbit. This is some awesome science. #space #coffee #nasa Special thanks to Don Pettit and NASA! Don’s collaborator on this research is Mark Weislogel from Portland State University. Learn more about Mark’s research here: https://www.pdx.edu/profile/mark-weislogel ----------- 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Friday · 9 min

    How Do Glaciers Move?

    This video is so cool, it's ICE COLD Don’t miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Glacier ice is weird. It’s solid. Solid things aren’t supposed to flow. But glacier ice flows like a liquid, and it does that without melting! How is this possible? I traveled to Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska to find out. Special thanks to Josh Cassidy from KQED’s Deep Look for joining me in Alaska and shooting this episode! ► https://www.youtube.com/user/KQEDDeepLook Filmed under a Special Use Permit on the Juneau Ranger District, Tongass National Forest Archival glacier image: Glacier Photograph Collection - National Snow and Ice Data Center ----------- READ MORE: Paterson, William Stanley Bryce. “The Physics of Glaciers.” Elsevier, 2016. ----------- 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/Josh Cassidy Writer: Sarah Keartes Cinematography: Josh Cassidy Producer/editor/animator: Anastasiya Bulavkina 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

  • Friday · 9 min

    Why Don't Other Animals Use Glasses?

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Check out The Great Courses Plus: http://ow.ly/OE9y301cRfI Don’t miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Get yourself an awesome IOTBS shirt! http://dftba.com/besmart This is a cool old movie from 1941 about how the eye works: https://archive.org/details/0586_How_the_Eye_Functions_E00456_04_22_16_00 Dive deeper into the physics of vision correction with Michel van Biezen: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX2gX-ftPVXXf2ZaG_1SXAYbVcifI6gvr Myopia boom in modern times: http://www.nature.com/news/the-myopia-boom-1.17120 Limits to human vision: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11019869 ---- 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

  • Friday · 7 min

    How Artist Claude Monet Was Sort Of Like a Honeybee

    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 ↓ The famous painter who was half-honeybee Don’t miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Claude Monet had a very unique eye, and it can teach us a bit about the science of vision More reading: Monet's Eye at Download the Universe: http://www.downloadtheuniverse.com/dtu/2012/04/monets-ultraviolet-eye.html Simulation of Monet's Cataracts: http://archopht.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=418859#MONET More: http://petapixel.com/2012/04/17/the-human-eye-can-see-in-ultraviolet-when-the-lens-is-removed/ http://www.skepticalartist.com/2013/06/25/claude-monet-and-ultraviolet-light-did-the-master-impressionist-painter-have-uv-supervision/ Music: Johann Sebastian Bach - Goldberg Variations (From The Open Goldberg Variations, by Kimiko Ishizaka ----------------- Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment below! 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 Joe Hanson - Host and writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen Inc Kate Eads - Associate Producer Katie Graham - Director of Photography Andrew Matthews - Editor and motion graphics John Knudsen - Gaffer Produced for PBS Digital Studios ----------- Last week's video: The Science of Snowflakes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUot7XSX8uA More videos: The Universe In A Glass of Wine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3_n7TDL7lc Why We Cook: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpfwu__PF7Y Ghosts of Evolution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWW5OuxlKec​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Friday · 10 min

    Amazing Facts About Whales!

    Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Whales are INCREDIBLE! Check out #BigBlueLive: http://pbs.org/bigbluelive Tweet ⇒ http://bit.ly/OKTBSwhales Share on FB ⇒ http://bit.ly/OKTBSwhalesFB ↓ More info and sources below ↓ PBS and BBC are teaming up to bring you an incredible LIVE nature broadcast direct from Monterey Bay, California called BIG BLUE LIVE. In late summer, thousands and thousands of ocean animals come together here, in one of the richest ecosystems on Earth. We'll be bringing you a week of videos direct from Monterey Bay all about this incredible place and the biology it holds Big Blue Live airs nightly on PBS 8/31-9/2 at 8 PM ET Big Blue Live airs on BBC One 8/23 (7PM), 8/27 (8 PM), 8/30 (7 PM) More info here: pbs.org/bigbluelive facebook.com/PBS facebook.com/BBCBigBlueLive Follow Joe during Big Blue Live! Twitter/Periscope: @jtotheizzoe @okaytobesmart Snapchat: YoDrJoe Instagram: @jtotheizzoe Facebook: facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart (Whale illustrations by Nobu Tamura/CC-BY-3.0) 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.DFollow 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 IncKate 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

  • Friday · 8 min

    Do Fish Pee?

    You can learn more at https://curiositystream.com/smart SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ You know you’ve wondered. Do fish actually pee? And what does that make the ocean… one big toilet? ----------- 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: Sarah Keartes Creative Director: David Schulte Editor/animator: Derek Borsheim and Sara Roma 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

  • Friday · 5 min

    You Are A Topsy-Turvy Lobster

    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 ↓ Subscribe to It's Okay To Be Smart: http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub Here's why you aren't built like a lobster. Our bodies are mirror images of lobsters and other arthropods from back to belly. We've know since the early 19th century that our guts and nervous systems are inverted from theirs, but only recently has molecular biology shown us why. Here's the evolutionary tale about a worm doing the backstroke and why your guts are on your front. This is part 2 of 3 in my series about how our bodies evolved to look like they do. Check out the others: Part 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdNE4WygyAk Part 3 - Coming Friday! More info: Dorsoventral inversion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inversion_(evolutionary_biology) Geoffrey Saint-Hilaire: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89tienne_Geoffroy_Saint-Hilaire Common animal body plan between protostomes and deuterostomes: http://www.hhmi.ucla.edu/derobertis/EDR_MS/Evo-Devo_page/EVO-DEVO.html How we know that our body plan came later: http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2006/01/12/hemichordate-evodevo/ Step by step along the evolutionary tree: http://tolweb.org/Bilateria/2459 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilateria http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterostome http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protostome http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urochordata http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chordate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephalochordata http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craniate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnathostomata Evolutionary timeline of vertebrates: http://www.utexas.edu/news/2008/03/03/tree/ Joe Hanson - Host and writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer Katie Graham - Director of Photography Andrew Matthews - Editor and motion graphics John Knudsen - Gaffer Music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Stock images via Shutterstock Produced by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios ----------- 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

Showing 141–160 of 314 episodes