MinuteEarth

What's The Fewest People That Could Repopulate Earth?

23. Juli 2026

If nuclear blasts, asteroids, or alien lasers killed off almost all humans on Earth, how many people would be needed to rebuild a genetically sustainable human population? LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Gene Pool: The total collection of different genes within a population. A larger gene pool means more genetic diversity. - Genetic Diversity: Having a wide variety of different genes within a population. - Inbreeding Depression: The reduced biological fitness caused by loss of genetic diversity as a result of inbreeding, or mating between closely related individuals within a species. - Recessive Genes: Genes that only cause a trait or disease when two copies are present (one from each parent). SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: store.dftba.com/me - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Cameron Duke | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Arcadi Garcia i Rius | Storyboard Artist Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Chaudhary, V., & Oli, M. K. (2020). A critical appraisal of population viability analysis. Conservation Biology, 34(1), 26–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13414 Gutiérrez, D. (2002). The importance of unprotected habitats for the persistence of a metapopulation of the dingy skipper butterfly (Erynnis tages) in a fragmented landscape. Conservation Biology, 16(3). https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2002.00553.x Hu, W., Hao, Z., Du, P., Di Vincenzo, F., Manzi, G., Cui, J., Fu, Y.-X., Pan, Y.-H., & Li, H. (2023). Genomic inference of a severe human bottleneck during the Early to Middle Pleistocene transition. Science, 381(6661), 979–984. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abq7487 Marin, F., & Beluffi, C. (2018). Computing the minimal crew for a multi-generational space journey towards Proxima Centauri b. Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, 71(2), 430–437. Mills, L. S. (2013). Conservation of wildlife populations: Demography, genetics, and management (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. Rai, U. K. (2003). Minimum sizes for viable population and conservation biology. Our Nature, 1(1), 3–9. https://doi.org/10.3126/on.v1i1.297 Reed, D. H., O'Grady, J. J., Brook, B. W., Ballou, J. D., & Frankham, R. (2003). Estimates of minimum viable population sizes for vertebrates and factors influencing those estimates. Biological Conservation, 113(1), 23–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3207(02)00346-4 Sano, S. (2022). Cultural evolution and minimal crew size to maintain culture level during interstellar travel. Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, 75(4), 118–126. Sano, S. (2023). Minimal crew size and sensitive reproductive parameters on multigenerational interstellar travel. Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, 76(8), 288–296. https://doi.org/10.59332/jbis-076-08-0288 Schiffels, S., & Durbin, R. (2014). Inferring human population size and separation history from multiple genome sequences. Nature Genetics, 46(8), 919–925. https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.3015 Smith, C. M. (2014). Estimation of a genetically viable population for multigenerational interstellar voyaging: Review and data for project Hyperion. Acta Astronautica, 97, 16–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2013.12.013 Traill, L. W., Brook, B. W., Frankham, R. R., & Bradshaw, C. J. A. (2010). Pragmatic population viability targets in a rapidly changing world. Biological Conservation, 143(1), 28–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2009.09.001 Waples, R. S. (2025). The idiot's guide to effective population size. Molecular Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17670 Yampolskiy, R. V. (2018). Minimum viable human population with intelligent interventions [Unpublished manuscript]. University of Louisville.

ALL THE APES, EXPLAINED 🦍🦧🚶‍♂️‍➡️

9. Juli 2026

🦍 Get your ape poster at https://store.dftba.com/products/minuteearth-ape-poster 🐶 🐱 🦍 Save 20% when you buy the Cat, Dog and Ape Posters as a bundle: https://store.dftba.com/products/taxonomy-poster-bundle 🐶 🐱 🦍 The ape family is a hugely diverse group of gibbons, gorillas, orangutans, chimps, and - yes - humans. MinuteEarth explains who they are and how they’re related. SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: store.dftba.com/me - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* David Goldenberg | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Leonardo Souza | Video Editing Sarah Berman | Illustration & Video Editing Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OTHER CREDITS ***************** Photograph of Dr Birute Galdikas by Simon Fraser University https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dr_Birute_Galdikas.jpg Photograph of Dian Fossey by Redwood City Tribune https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dian_Fossey_Redwood_City_Tribune_10-31-68.jpg OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176

MinuteEarth Explains: Microbes

30. Juni 2026

Find out the surprising ways microbes, fungi, plankton and other tiny organisms shape our planet and our lives in this collection of MinuteEarth videos. EPISODES IN THIS COMPILATION: ************** 0:00 Intro 0:19 Why Do We Eat Spoiled Food? 3:36 Is Soil Alive? 6:24 Mushroom Wars 8:56 How Mushrooms Make It Rain 10:00 Where Do Our Drugs Come From? 12:29 The Bacteria That Made Life Possible Are Now Killing Us 15:31 These tiny shells know how much ice there is on Earth 18:07 The Plankton Paradox 21:25 What’s Eating The Titanic? 24:33 The Truth About Petri Dishes LEARN MORE ************** If you liked this week’s video, you might also like: 4 Great Science Stories | MinuteEarth Directors' Picks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI-weq8T-5A MinuteEarth Explains: Solar Eclipses https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wshkH64xDac SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Lizah van der Aart | Writer & Host Leonardo Souza | Video Editor Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida ADDITIONAL CREDITS ***************** Emily Elert, Julián Gómez, Jesse Agar OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176

How High Can Birds Fly?

19. Juni 2026

Get started with Brilliant's tutor for free and get 20% off an annual subscription at https://brilliant.org/minuteearth In 1973, an airliner struck a bird called a Rüppell's griffon vulture – which, on its own, isn't that weird; planes hit birds pretty regularly during takeoffs and landings. But this collision happened at a cruising height of over 11,000 meters – WAY above the height at which most birds fly – which makes us wonder: what is the highest a bird can actually fly? LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Lift Coefficient: A dimensionless number that represents how effectively a wing generates lift based on its shape and angle. The higher the coefficient, the more lift produced. - Square Cube Law: A principle stating that as an object increases in size, its volume grows much faster than its surface area. This affects heat loss/gain and strength, impacting flight feasibility. SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Cameron Duke | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Arcadi Garcia i Rius | Storyboard Artist Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Special thanks to Dr. Maria Stager and Dr. Bret Tobalkse Grubb, B.R. (1983). Allometric relations of cardiovascular function in birds. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.1983.245.4.H567 Bishop, C.M. (1999). Heart mass and the maximum cardiac output of birds and mammals: implications for estimating the maximum aerobic power input of flying animals. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1999.0919 Hawkes, L.A., et al (2011). The trans-Himalayan flights of bar-headed geese (Anser indicus). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1017295108 Hawkes, L.A., et al (2013). The paradox of extreme high-altitude migration in bar-headed geese Anser indicus. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.2114 Tennekes, H. (2009). The Simple Science of Flight: From Insects to Jumbo Jets (revised and expanded ed.). MIT Press. ISBN: 9780262700658 Senner, N.R., et al (2018). High-altitude shorebird migration in the absence of topographical barriers: avoiding high air temperatures and searching for profitable winds. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.0569 McKechnie, A.E. & Swanson, D.L. (2010). Sources and significance of variation in basal, summit and maximal metabolic rates in birds. https://doi.org/10.1093/czoolo/56.6.741 Tucker, V.A. (1968). Respiratory physiology of house sparrows in relation to high-altitude flight. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.48.1.55 Shyy, W., Aono, H., Kang, C., & Liu, H. (2013). An Introduction to Flapping Wing Aerodynamics. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139583916 Scott, G.R., et al (2015). How bar-headed geese fly over the Himalayas. https://doi.org/10.1152/physiol.00050.2014 Meir, J.U., et al (2019). Reduced metabolism supports hypoxic flight in the high-flying bar-headed goose (Anser indicus). https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.44986 Scott, G.R. (2011). Elevated performance: the unique physiology of birds that fly at high altitudes. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.052548 Weber, R.E., Hiebl, I., & Braunitzer, G. (1988). High-altitude and hemoglobin function in the vultures Gyps rueppellii and Aegypius monachus. Biological Chemistry Hoppe-Seyler, 369(4), 233–240. PMID: 3401328 Butler, P.J., et al (2000). Heart rate and rate of oxygen consumption during flight of the barnacle goose, Branta leucopsis. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1095-6433(00)00221-X Butler, P.J. (2016). The physiological basis of bird flight. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0384 Scott, G.R., et al (2009). Evolution of muscle phenotype for extreme high altitude flight in the bar-headed goose. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2009.0947 Bernstein, M.H., Duran, H.L., & Pinshow, B. (1984). Extrapulmonary gas exchange enhances brain oxygen in pigeons. Science, 226(4674), 564–566. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.6436975

How To Kill A Volcano

28. Mai 2026

Volcanoes are one of the most powerful forces on Earth; their lava can destroy cities and their ash clouds can blot out the sun. And there is basically nothing we can do to make sure a volcano will never erupt again – except wait for it to die. So while we wait, what is it, exactly, that kills a volcano? LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Conduit: A channel or passageway through which magma travels from a magma chamber to the surface. - Hotspot: A location on Earth's surface where molten rock rises from deep within the mantle, creating volcanoes independent of plate boundaries. - Plume: A column of rising, hot air or gas, often associated with volcanic activity or hot spots. SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Cameron Duke | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Lizah van der Aart | Storyboard Artist Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music Special thanks to Dr. Mike Cassidy of the University of Birmingham and Dr. David Kitchen of the University of Richmond MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Adam Mickiewicz Institute. (2021, May 12). Poland's little-known land of dormant volcanoes. Culture.pl. https://culture.pl/en/article/polands-little-known-land-of-dormant-volcanoes Earle, S. (n.d.). Physical geology. BCcampus Open Education. https://ia801206.us.archive.org/30/items/PhysicalGeology/Physical-Geology.pdf Earle, S. (2019). Physical geology (2nd ed., Chapter 4: Volcanism). BCcampus Open Education. https://opentextbc.ca/physicalgeology2ed/wp-content/uploads/sites/298/2019/08/Physical-Geology-2nd-Edition-Chapter-4-Volcanism.pdf Global Volcanism Program. (n.d.). Uturuncu [Volcano profile, No. 355838]. Smithsonian Institution. https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=355838 Melosh, H. J. (2011). Volcanism. In Planetary surface processes (Cambridge Planetary Science, pp. 168–224). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511977848.006 Mucek, A. E., et al (2017). Post-supereruption recovery at Toba Caldera. Nature Communications, 8, Article 15248. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms15248 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2010, March 1). How did the Hawaiian Islands form? National Ocean Service. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/hawaii.html National Park Service. (n.d.). How the tower formed. Devils Tower National Monument. https://www.nps.gov/deto/learn/nature/tower-formation.htm Ferrante, G., et al (2024). Spatio-temporal evolution of rift volcanism controlled top-down by a deepening graben, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Volume 629, 2024, 118593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2024.118593 U.S. Geological Survey. (n.d.). Evolution of Hawaiian volcanoes. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/evolution-hawaiian-volcanoes Uniwersytet Wrocławski. (2024, April 3). The Land of Extinct Volcanoes as a UNESCO World Geopark! https://uwr.edu.pl/en/the-land-of-extinct-volcanoes-as-a-unesco-world-geopark/

The Weird Reason Rabies Is So Deadly

14. Mai 2026

Rabies is the one of the deadliest diseases we know of; if you don’t get treatment soon after getting exposed, you’re almost certain to die. But rabies’ intent isn’t actually to kill – it's to control. LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Neurotropic: infects nerve tissue - Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP): preventative medical treatment started after exposure to a pathogen SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Kate Yoshida | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Arcadi Garcia i Rius | Storyboard Artist Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Bastos, V., Pacheco, V., Rodrigues, É. D., et al. (2023). Neuroimmunology of rabies: New insights into an ancient disease. Journal of Medical Virology, 95(10), e29042. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.29042 Brookes, V. J., Dürr, S., & Ward, M. P. (2019). Rabies-induced behavioural changes are key to rabies persistence in dog populations: Investigation using a network-based model. PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 13(9), e0007739. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007739 Fu, Z. F., & Jackson, A. A. C. (2005). Neuronal dysfunction and death in rabies virus infection. Journal of neurovirology, 11(1), 101-106. https://doi.org/10.1080/13550280590900445 Hueffer, K., Khatri, S., Rideout, et al. (2017). Rabies virus modifies host behaviour through a snake-toxin like region of its glycoprotein that inhibits neurotransmitter receptors in the CNS. Scientific reports, 7(1), 12818. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-12726-4 Jackson, A. C. (2016). Diabolical effects of rabies encephalitis. Journal of neurovirology, 22(1), 8-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13365-015-0351-1 Lafon, M. (2011). Evasive strategies in rabies virus infection. In Advances in virus research (Vol. 79, pp. 33-53). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-387040-7.00003-2

Why Don't Blue Whales Eat Fish?

30. Apr. 2026

The most massive land animals in the world all eat little stuff: grass and leaves. And almost all of the most massive aquatic animals also eat something itty bitty: tiny crustaceans called krill. Why do such big things eat such small things? LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Jarman-Bell Principle: As herbivore species get bigger in size, they tend to eat less nutritious food, but more of it, thanks to increased gut efficiency. - Kleiber’s Law: As an animal gets bigger, it needs less energy per unit mass. (Specifically, an animal's basal metabolic rate scales to the 3/4 power of the animal's mass.) - Phytoplankton: A diverse group of small organisms that float on water and photosynthesize. SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* David Goldenberg | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Lizah van der Aart | Storyboard Artist Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Cooke, R., Gearty, W., Chapman, A.S.A. et al. Anthropogenic disruptions to longstanding patterns of trophic-size structure in vertebrates. Nat Ecol Evol 6, 684–692 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01726-x Belovsky, G.E. Optimal foraging and community structure: the allometry of herbivore food selection and competition. Evol Ecol 11, 641–672 (1997). https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1018430201230 Biomes Group, Biology 1B, UC Berkeley. The grassland biome. University of California Museum of Paleontology (1996, reformatted 2007). https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/grasslands.php Greenfieldboyce, N. The biggest whales can eat the equivalent of 80,000 Big Macs in one day. NPR (2021, November 3). https://www.npr.org/2021/11/03/1051650199/the-biggest-whales-can-eat-the-equivalent-of-80-000-big-macs-in-one-day Stokstad, E. Rootin', poopin' African elephants help keep soil fertile. Science (2022, October 26). https://www.science.org/content/article/rootin-poopin-african-elephants-help-keep-soil-fertile Thompson, J. How Antarctic krill coordinate the biggest swarms in the world. Sci Am (2022, July 1). https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-antarctic-krill-coordinate-the-biggest-swarms-in-the-world/

Why Bees Mostly Ignore The Waggle Dance

15. Apr. 2026

You've probably heard that bees use a complex series of movements – often called the "waggle dance" – to tell other worker bees where to find new sources of nectar…it’s a super clever and sophisticated system. But it turns out that bees almost never immediately jump up to follow the directions they just got, which, weirdly, is also super-clever and sophisticated. LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Choreography: The sequence of steps and movements in a dance or other performance. SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Cameron Duke | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Lizah van der Aart | Storyboard Artist Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Couvillon, Margaret J., et al. “Honey Bee Foraging Distance Depends on Month and Forage Type.” Apidologie, vol. 46, no. 1, 26 June 2014, pp. 61–70, link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs13592-014-0302-5, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-014-0302-5 Dormagen, David M, et al. “Machine Learning Reveals the Waggle Drift’s Role in the Honey Bee Dance Communication System.” PNAS Nexus, vol. 2, no. 9, 25 Aug. 2023, https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad275 Grüter, Christoph, et al. “Informational Conflicts Created by the Waggle Dance.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 275, no. 1640, 10 Mar. 2008, pp. 1321–1327, https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.0186 I’Anson Price, R., et al. “Honeybees Forage More Successfully without the “Dance Language” in Challenging Environments.” Science Advances, vol. 5, no. 2, Feb. 2019, p. eaat0450, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aat0450 Palmer, Joseph, et al. “Foraging Distance Distributions Reveal How Honeybee Waggle Dance Recruitment Varies with Landscape.” Communications Biology, vol. 7, no. 1, 11 Oct. 2024, https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06987-9 Special thanks to Dr. Robbie L'Anson Price

There’s Really Only One Way To Die

1. Apr. 2026

Even though there are a lot of causes of death out there, they all actually boil down to one thing. LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Adenosine triphosphate (ATP): the principal molecule for storing and transferring energy in cells SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Kate Yoshida | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Arcadi Garcia i Rius | Storyboard Artist Ever Salazar | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info Fiscal Sponsorship provided by the International Documentary Association. OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Choi, H. J., Nguyen, T., Park, K. S., Cha, K. C., Kim, H., Lee, K. H., & Hwang, S. O. (2013). Effect of cardiopulmonary resuscitation on restoration of myocardial ATP in prolonged ventricular fibrillation. Resuscitation, 84(1), 108-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2012.06.006 Eze, M. O. (2006). The oxygen paradox and the place of oxygen in our understanding of life, aging, and death. Ultimate reality and meaning, 29(1-2), 46-61. https://doi.org/10.3138/uram.29.1-2.46 Nuland, S. B. (1995). How we die: Reflections on life’s final chapter. Vintage Books. Parish, D. C., Goyal, H., & Dane, F. C. (2018). Mechanism of death: there’s more to it than sudden cardiac arrest. Journal of thoracic disease, 10(5), 3081. https://doi.org/10.21037/jtd.2018.04.113

Could This Thing *Really* Fly?

11. März 2026

Help stop the worst parts of factory farming: https://www.farmkind.giving/minute-earth?promo=minute_earth The Quetzalcoatlus – one of the largest pterosaurs that ever lived – was able to fly even though it was the size of a giraffe! How on Earth did this giant manage to fly? LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Pterosaurs: are an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order Pterosauria and are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight. - Quetzalcoatlus: is a genus of azhdarchid pterosaur. Quetzalcoatlus northropi has gained fame as a candidate for the largest flying animal ever discovered. - Deltopectoral crest: is a forward directed bony flange on the upper part of the humerus. It provided insertion surfaces for muscles of the shoulder and chest. - Postcranial pneumaticity: is the presence of air-filled cavities inside bones of the body (everything except the skull) that are connected to the respiratory system. - Quad Launch (also Quadrupedal launch): is a takeoff method where an animal launches into the air using all four limbs—both the hind legs and the forelimbs. If you liked this week’s video, you might also like: Our friends at @Howtown recently made a video about the Quetzalcoatlus and it's great! (They even got to chat with Mark Witton!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vea06e6x_E Fascinating in-depth video about everything we know about Quetzalcoatlus, by @YourDinosaursAreWrong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCdOVC7CcXk SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Ever Salazar | Script Writer, Narrator, Illustrator, Video Editor, Animator and Director Dr. Krishma Singal (Postdoctoral Researcher - Rice University) | Storyboard Artist Cony Pérez https://www.instagram.com/con0mmm/ | Storyboard Artist Sarah Berman | Illustrator, Video Editor, and Animator Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OTHER CREDITS ***************** Rhamphorhynchus Fossil In Berlin Photo by: Uwe Jelting OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Hone, David W.E., (2023). The anatomy and diversity of the pterosaurian sternum. Palaeontologia Electronica. https://doi.org/10.26879/1261 Padian, K., et al (2021) Functional morphology of Quetzalcoatlus Lawson 1975, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2020.1780247 Witton, M. (2018). "Why we think giant pterosaurs could fly". Mark P. Witton's blog. https://markwitton-com.blogspot.com/2018/05/why-we-think-giant-pterosaurs-could-fly.html Sullivan, T., et al (2017). Extreme lightweight structures: Avian feathers and bones. Materials Today. 20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mattod.2017.02.004 Martin, E. G., & Palmer, C. (2014) Air Space Proportion in Pterosaur Limb Bones Using Computed Tomography and Its Implications for Previous Estimates of Pneumaticity. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0097159 D.T. Ksepka (2014). Flight performance of the largest volant bird, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 111 (29) 10624-10629, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1320297111 Claessens LPAM, O'Connor PM, Unwin DM (2009) Respiratory Evolution Facilitated the Origin of Pterosaur Flight and Aerial Gigantism. PLOS ONE 4(2): e4497. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0004497 Witton M, Naish D (2008). A Reappraisal of Azhdarchid Pterosaur Functional Morphology and Paleoecology. PLOS ONE 3(5): e2271. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0002271 Witton, M. (2008). A new approach to determining pterosaur body mass and its implications for pterosaur flight. Zitteliana Reihe B: Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Staatssammlung fur Palaontologie und Geologie. B28. 143-158. S. Christopher Bennett, 2003. "Morphological evolution of the pectoral girdle of pterosaurs: myology and function", Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs. https://doi.org/10.1144/gsl.sp.2003.217.01.12

When Does It Make Sense To Kill Your Sibling?

20. Feb. 2026

Get your official 🐶Canine Poster🐶: https://store.dftba.com/products/minute-earth-canine-poster When a baby sand tiger shark hatches from its egg, it finds itself trapped inside its mom’s uterus, forced to eat its siblings, or be eaten. It’s super weird, but pitting your kids against each other can sometimes be a winning parental strategy. LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Siblicide: the killing of a sibling or siblings, as a behavior pattern typical in various animal groups. SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Cameron Duke | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Lizah van der Aart | Storyboard Artist Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Alcock, John. Animal Behavior : An Evolutionary Approach. 10th ed., Sunderland, Ma, Sinauer, Cop, 2013. Chapman, Demian D., et al. “The Behavioural and Genetic Mating System of the Sand Tiger Shark, Carcharias Taurus , an Intrauterine Cannibal.” Biology Letters, vol. 9, no. 3, 23 June 2013, p. 20130003, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2013.0003 Das, Shreyasi. Siblicide in Black Eagles. 1 Jan. 2024, pp. 1–6, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85493-5_2120-1 ROSENHEIM, JAY A., and DAVID HONGKHAM. “Clutch Size in an Obligately Siblicidal Parasitoid Wasp.” Animal Behaviour, vol. 51, no. 4, Apr. 1996, pp. 841–852, https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.1996.0088 Walsh, Jeffrey A., et al. “A Descriptive Analysis of Siblicide: Examining Ten Years of Incidents Reported in the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), 2013–2022.” Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, vol. 33, no. 12, 12 Nov. 2024, pp. 1458–1472, https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2024.2428796

40 Years Without A New Antibiotic. Why?

5. Feb. 2026

To learn more, check out www.scienceawarenessproject.org Most medical science moves at super-speed; researchers are constantly developing new medications, techniques, surgeries, you name it. Except for antibiotics: we haven’t gotten a single new type of antibiotic ready to give to patients in over 40 years. LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Antibiotics: a medicine (such as penicillin or its derivatives) that inhibits the growth of or destroys microorganisms. - Petri dish: a shallow, circular, transparent dish with a flat lid, used for the culture of microorganisms. If you liked this week’s video, you might also like: - The Antibiotic Apocalypse Explained - Kurzgesagt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZbcwi7SfZE - Antibiotic Resistance is SO COMPLICATED - SciShow : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkTalaQsRlw - Lizah’s favourite blog: https://smallthingsconsidered.blog/ SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Cameron Duke | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Lizah van der Aart | Storyboard Artist Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OTHER CREDITS ***************** We are grateful for the support of: Dr Bernhard Kepplinger, Zakład Mikrobiologii Molekularnej, Wydział Biotechnologii Dr Katherine Duncan, Biosciences Institute, University of Newcastle OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Lewis, K. (2020). The Science of Antibiotic Discovery. Cell, 181(1), 29–45. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.02.056 Jangra, M., Travin, D. Y., Aleksandrova, E. V, Kaur, M., Darwish, L., Koteva, K., … Wright, G. D. (2025). A broad-spectrum lasso peptide antibiotic targeting the bacterial ribosome. Nature, 640(8060), 1022–1030. http://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08723-7 Blin, K., Shaw, S., Kloosterman, A. M., Charlop-Powers, Z., van Wezel, G. P., Medema, M. H., & Weber, T. (2021). antiSMASH 6.0: improving cluster detection and comparison capabilities. Nucleic Acids Research, 49(W1), W29–W35. http://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkab335

Why Hives Turn Against Their Queens

22. Jan. 2026

Want to restore the planet’s ecosystems and see your impact in monthly videos? The first 100 people to join Planet Wild with our code MinuteEarth1 will get the first month for free on us: https://planetwild.com/r/minuteearth/join If you want to get to know them better first, check out their mission about the Monarch Butterflies in Mexico: https://planetwild.com/r/minuteearth/m26 A honeybee hive might seem like a peaceful utopia, but in reality, it’s buzzing with internal conflict between warring factions. And the biggest conflict is between the queen and the worker bees. LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Haplodiploidy: is a sex-determination system in which males develop from unfertilized eggs and are haploid, and females develop from fertilized eggs and are diploid. - Sex determination in honeybees: In honeybees, the drones (males) are entirely derived from the queen, their mother. The diploid queen has 32 chromosomes and the haploid drones have 16 chromosomes. Drones produce sperm cells that contain their entire genome, so the sperm are all genetically identical except for mutations. - Eusocial: showing an advanced level of social organization, in which a single female or caste produces offspring and nonreproductive individuals cooperate in caring for the young. - Fertilize: cause (an egg, female animal, or plant) to develop a new individual by introducing male reproductive material. - Genetics: the study of heredity and the variation of inherited characteristics. - Queen Bee: the single reproductive female in a hive or colony of honeybees. - Sterile: not able to produce children or young. SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Cameron Duke | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Arcadi Garcia i Rius | Storyboard Artist Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** BESHERS, S.N., et al. “Social Inhibition and the Regulation of Temporal Polyethism in Honey Bees.” Journal of Theoretical Biology, vol. 213, no. 3, Dec. 2001, pp. 461–479, https://doi.org/10.1006/jtbi.2001.2427 Flanders, Stanley E. “Caste in the Honey Bee.” Insectes Sociaux, vol. 7, no. 1, Mar. 1960, pp. 9–16, https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02225754 Page, Robert E., and Robert A. Metcalf. “A Population Investment Sex Ratio for the Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera L.).” The American Naturalist, vol. 124, no. 5, Nov. 1984, pp. 680–702, https://doi.org/10.1086/284306 Prendergast, Kit, et al. “Introduced Honey Bees (Apis Mellifera) Potentially Reduce Fitness of Cavity-Nesting Native Bees through a Male-Bias Sex Ratio, Brood Mortality and Reduced Reproduction.” Frontiers in Bee Science, vol. 3, 20 May 2025, https://doi.org/10.3389/frbee.2025.1508958. Remolina, Silvia C., and Kimberly A. Hughes. “Evolution and Mechanisms of Long Life and High Fertility in Queen Honey Bees.” AGE, vol. 30, no. 2-3, 22 June 2008, pp. 177–185, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-008-9061-4 Smith, Adam R., et al. “A Split Sex Ratio in Solitary and Social Nests of a Facultatively Social Bee.” Biology Letters, vol. 15, no. 4, Apr. 2019, p. 20180740, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0740. Sundström, Liselotte. “Sex Ratio Bias, Relatedness Asymmetry and Queen Mating Frequency in Ants.” Nature, vol. 367, no. 6460, Jan. 1994, pp. 266–268, https://doi.org/10.1038/367266a0 Trivers, R. L., and H. Hare. “Haploidploidy and the Evolution of the Social Insect.” Science (New York, N.Y.), vol. 191, no. 4224, 23 Jan. 1976, pp. 249–263, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1108197

Why Eagles are Overdubbed In Movies

9. Jan. 2026

This is Part 2 of Miranda Cosgrove's favorite episodes of Science Minute. We teamed up with Miranda Cosgrove to make Science Minute with MinuteEarth, an illustrated segment for her TV show: Mission Unstoppable. If you like this, there's a ton more over at @CBSUnstoppable or, if you're in the US, watch the new season on CBS on Saturday mornings! SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Miranda Cosgrove | Host & Narrator Cameron Duke | Script Writer, Narrator and Director David Goldenberg | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Sarah Berman | Illustrator, Video Editor and Animator Lizah van der Aart | Storyboard Artist Arcadi Garcia i Rius | Storyboard Artist Leonardo Souza | Video Editor Know Art Studios | Music Thank you to: Mission Unstoppable – HMPG, Lyda Hill Philantropies, If/Then, and Geena Davis Institute MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176

Why Haven't We Domesticated Monkeys?

23. Dez. 2025

Help stop the worst parts of factory farming: https://www.farmkind.giving/minuteearth Monkeys seem like they would be great companions and even helpers, but they have a number of traits that make them terrible candidates for domestication. LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Domestication: The long term, multi-generational process of selectively breeding animals to modify their traits to make them more useful to humans. Zoonosis: An infection spread between animals and humans. Domestication, monkeys, capuchin, primate, zoonosis, pet monkey SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* David Goldenberg | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Arcadi Garcia i Rius | Storyboard Artist Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Conly, J., & Johnston, B. (2008). The infectious diseases consequences of monkey business. The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology, 19(1), 12–14. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1155/2008/970372 Rossin, J. (2021). When Comic Books Sold Live Monkeys. Mental Floss. Retrieved from: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/648321/when-comic-books-sold-live-monkeys

There’s no such thing as a fake feather

16. Dez. 2025

Every craft feather you can buy is from a real bird. LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Feather: the light, flat, and waterproof structure on a bird's body, essential for flight, insulation, and waterproofing. - Keratin: a tough, fibrous protein that is a key structural component of hair, nails, feathers, horns, and the outer layer of skin. - Plumage: the entire set of feathers covering a bird, including their color, pattern, and arrangement. SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Lizah van der Aart | Script Writer, Narrator, Illustrator Cameron Duke | Director Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OTHER CREDITS ***************** Lizah's Cosplay Photo by: @VisionVsSight (Instagram/Facebook) https://www.instagram.com/visionvssight/ OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Klara Katarina Nordén, Chad M Eliason and Mary Caswell Stoddard (2021) Evolution of brilliant iridescent feather nanostructures. eLife 10:e71179. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.71179 Benjamin S. Lazarus,. et al. (2021) Engineering with keratin: A functional material and a source of bioinspiration, iScience, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2021.102798 Ng, Chen Siang & Li, Wen-Hsiung. (2018). Genetic and Molecular Basis of Feather Diversity in Birds. Genome biology and evolution. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evy180 Lorna Gibson - Personal communication

Why is it always males that get eaten during sex?

4. Dez. 2025

Thinking about switching to tech? TripleTen helps people go from zero experience to real tech jobs. Book a free career call to find out which role fits you best: https://get.tripleten.com/kSXU In the middle of baby-making, a female praying mantis will sometimes chomp down on a male’s head, then devour him as she finishes mating with him. And mantises aren’t alone; many different species lunch on their lovers. But one thing is remarkably consistent: it’s almost always the females doing the eating. Why is it dudes that always end up as dinner? LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Sexual cannibalism: the practice of consuming a mate directly before, during, or after mating - Aggressive spillover: the idea that aggression that's favored for early in life can be maladaptive in a mating situation SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Kate Yoshida | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Arcadi Garcia i Rius | Storyboard Artist Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Brown WD, Barry KL (2016). Sexual cannibalism increases male material investment in offspring: quantifying terminal reproductive effort in a praying mantis. Proc Biol Sci 283(1833):20160656. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.0656 Burke N (2024). Sexual cannibalism as a female resistance trait: a new hypothesis, Evolution (78)4: 612–623, https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpae017 Hunter P (2023). Ultimate sacrifice or opportunistic foraging?: The selective forces behind sexual cannibalism: The selective forces behind sexual cannibalism. EMBO 24(2):e56764. https://doi.org/10.15252/embr.202356764 Sentenská L, Pekár S (2013). Mate with the young, kill the old: reversed sexual cannibalism and male mate choice in the spider Micaria sociabilis (Araneae: Gnaphosidae). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 67, 1131–1139. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-013-1538-1 Zuk M (2016). Mates with Benefits: When and How Sexual Cannibalism Is Adaptive. Current Biology 26(23):R1230-R1232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.10.017

ALL THE CATS, EXPLAINED

13. Nov. 2025

🐱 Get your feline poster at https://store.dftba.com/products/feline-poster 🐱 🐶 🐱 Save 15% when you buy the Cat and Dog Posters as a bundle: https://store.dftba.com/products/feline-poster-and-canine-poster-bundle 🐶 🐱 Sharp-eyed cat lovers might notice a small difference between the saber-toothed tiger on the poster and the one in the video. It turns out that most researchers now think that _Smilodon populator_ had a short tail rather than a long tail, but we didn’t catch that in time for the first poster print. We changed it for the video, and we’ll change it for future printings of the poster! The feline family is a hugely diverse group of lions, panthers, and –yes– kitties that have spread all over the world. MinuteEarth explains who they are and how they’re related. SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* David Goldenberg | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Leonardo Souza | Video Editing Sarah Berman | Illustration & Video Editing Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176

Why Don't Our Bones Keep Growing Forever?

31. Okt. 2025

Download the Tab For Animals browser extension at https://tabforanimals.org/minuteearth2 Fish, amphibians, and reptiles –actually, almost all vertebrates– get bigger throughout their lives; they generally keep on growing until they die. Then, there are humans, who, by the age of 20 or so, just stop getting bigger… or at least taller. Why do we stop growing partway through life? LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Cartilage: firm, whitish, flexible connective tissue found in various forms in the larynx and respiratory tract, in structures such as the external ear, and in the articulating surfaces of joints. It is more widespread in the infant skeleton, being replaced by bone during growth. - Estrogen: any of a group of steroid hormones that regulate sexual development and function. - Growth plate: areas of cartilage located at the ends of long bones in children and adolescents. - Indeterminate growth: a biological process where an organism continues to grow throughout its life, rather than stopping at a genetically predetermined size. If you liked this week’s video, you might also like: @SamWebster did a great and detailed video on the histology of the growth plate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QAXY1Jec04 SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Cameron Duke | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Ever Salazar | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OTHER CREDITS ****************** Robert Wadlow postcard (Public Domain) - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_Wadlow_postcard.jpg OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Ağırdil, Yücel. “The Growth Plate: A Physiologic Overview.” EFORT Open Reviews, vol. 5, no. 8, Aug. 2020, pp. 498–507, https://doi.org/10.1302/2058-5241.5.190088 Hariharan, Iswar K., et al. “Indeterminate Growth: Could It Represent the Ancestral Condition?” Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology, vol. 8, no. 2, 27 July 2015, p. a019174, https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a019174 Reno, Philip L, et al. “Growth Plate Formation and Development in Alligator and Mouse Metapodials: Evolutionary and Functional Implications.” Journal of Experimental Zoology. Part B, Molecular and Developmental Evolution, vol. 308, no. 3, Autumn 2007, pp. 283–96, https://doi.org/10.1002/jez.b.21148 Weise, M., et al. “Effects of Estrogen on Growth Plate Senescence and Epiphyseal Fusion.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 98, no. 12, 29 May 2001, pp. 6871–6876, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.121180498 Wikipedia Contributors. “Robert Wadlow.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Aug. 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Wadlow

Do Mushrooms Benefit from Being Hallucinogenic?

17. Okt. 2025

Nobody knows why some mushrooms are psychedelic. I mean, we know that they contain a compound called psilocybin, which messes with the brain chemistry of lots of animals, including humans. But we don’t know why being psychedelic would be useful to mushrooms in the first place. Here are three of our best theories. LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Psilocybin: a hallucinogenic alkaloid, found in some toadstools. - Psychedelic: relating to or denoting drugs (especially LSD) that produce hallucinations and apparent expansion of consciousness. SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Cameron Duke | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Lizah van der Aart | Storyboard Artist Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Awan, Ali R., et al. Convergent Evolution of Psilocybin Biosynthesis by Psychedelic Mushrooms. 25 July 2018, www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/374199v2, https://doi.org/10.1101/374199 Bradshaw, Alexander J, et al. “Phylogenomics of the Psychoactive Mushroom Genus Psilocybe and Evolution of the Psilocybin Biosynthetic Gene Cluster.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 121, no. 3, 9 Jan. 2024, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2311245121 Meyer, Matthew, and Jason Slot. “The Evolution and Ecology of Psilocybin in Nature.” Fungal Genetics and Biology: FG & B, vol. 167, 1 June 2023, p. 103812, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fgb.2023.103812 Pollan, Michael. How to Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics. London, Penguin Books, 15 May 2018. Rodríguez Arce, José Manuel, and Michael James Winkelman. “Psychedelics, Sociality, and Human Evolution.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 12, 29 Sept. 2021, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.729425 Rokas, Antonis, et al. “Biosynthetic Gene Clusters and the Evolution of Fungal Chemodiversity.” Natural Product Reports, vol. 37, no. 7, 2020, pp. 868–878, https://doi.org/10.1039/c9np00045c

Three Specific Ways AI Could Kill Us All

2. Okt. 2025

Take action to prevent the AI apocalypse at: https://campaign.controlai.com/ Ok so “misaligned AI” is dangerous. But if it does decide to kill us, what SPECIFICALLY could it do? LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Superintelligence: Any intellect that greatly exceeds the cognitive performance of humans in virtually all domains of interest. - Misaligned AI: Artificial intelligence systems whose goals, behaviors, or outcomes do not match human intentions or ethical principles. - AI Value Alignment: The process of designing and developing Artificial Intelligence systems so their goals and actions are consistent with beneficial human values and ethical principles. SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* David Goldenberg | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Arcadi Garcia i Rius | Storyboard Artist Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Park, P. S., et al. (2024). AI deception: A survey of examples, risks, and potential solutions. Patterns (New York, N.Y.), 5(5), 100988. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patter.2024.100988 Vermeer, M. (2025) Could AI Really Kill Off Humans? Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/could-ai-really-kill-off-humans/ de Lima, R. C., et al. (2024). Artificial intelligence challenges in the face of biological threats: emerging catastrophic risks for public health. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence. Vol. 7. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/artificial-intelligence/articles/10.3389/frai.2024.1382356 Carlsmith, J. (2022). Is Power-Seeking AI an Existential Risk? arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2206.13353 Bucknall, B., Dori-hacohen, S. (2023). Current and Near-Term AI as a Potential Existential Risk Factor. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2209.10604 Bengio, Y., et al. (2024). Managing extreme AI risks amid rapid progress. Science (New York, N.Y.), 384(6698), 842–845. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adn0117 Kasirzadeh, A. (2024). Two Types of AI Existential Risk: Decisive and Accumulative. ArXiv, abs/2401.07836. https://arxiv.org/pdf/2401.07836.pdf. Lavazza, Andrea & Vilaça, Murilo. (2024). Human Extinction and AI: What We Can Learn from the Ultimate Threat. Philosophy & Technology. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13347-024-00706-2

How Deep Can Caves Get?

19. Sept. 2025

Go to https://ground.news/earth for a better way to stay informed. Subscribe for 40% off unlimited access to world-wide coverage through this link. CORRECTION: As some of you have pointed out, at 2:12 the narration should say "diamond-mesh coated rebar" not "diamond-coated rebar." It sounds awesome, but it doesn't make sense to reinforce the walls of a gold mine with minerals more expensive (and brittle) than gold. Krubera Cave, one of our planet’s deepest known caves, extends 2200 meters into the earth – that’s a depth of nearly six Empire State Buildings. Or at least, that's as far down as humans have been able to explore; there might be other undiscovered chambers that go down even farther. But the cave can't be that much deeper, because there's a limit – actually, three limits – to how deep caves on Earth can get. LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Karst: landscape underlain by limestone which has been eroded by dissolution, producing ridges, towers, fissures, sinkholes and other characteristic landforms. - Solutional cave: a cave usually formed in a soluble rock like limestone - Water table: the upper surface of the saturated zone underground, where all the pores and cracks in soil and rock are completely filled with water. SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Cameron Duke | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Arcadi Garcia i Rius | Storyboard Artist Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** “3D Model of Krubera (Voronja) Cave.” Archive.org, 2025, https://web.archive.org/web/20090401170048/www.network.speleogenesis.info/directory/exploration/krubera.php Ford, Derek C, and R O Ewers. “The Development of Limestone Cave Systems in the Dimensions of Length and Depth.” Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, vol. 15, no. 11, 1 Nov. 1978, pp. 1783–1798, https://doi.org/10.1139/e78-186 “Karst Hydrology and Physical Speleology : Bögli, Alfred, 1912- : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive.” Internet Archive, 2022, https://archive.org/details/karsthydrologyph0000bogl/page/148/mode/2up Kohn, Matt. How to Calculate Pressure in Earth’s Crust: Part 1 – Constant Density. https://youtu.be/u5n65OHEoRc?si=gUYFqwlRtxKFa60s “MatWeb - the Online Materials Information Resource.” https://www.matweb.com/search/datasheet.aspx “Speleology : The Study of Caves : Moore, George William, 1928- : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive.” Internet Archive, 2025, https://archive.org/details/speleologystudyo00moor/page/150/mode/2up

Why Grass Grows Better Under Trampolines

4. Sept. 2025

Rise up for a sun-powered planet on Sept. 21! Join us at https://www.sunday.earth/ If you’ve ever owned a backyard trampoline –or jumped on someone else’s– you might have noticed that the grass underneath it is longer and lusher than the grass in the rest of the yard. It’s not just that that grass isn’t getting mowed… in fact, when it does get mowed, you can see the weird effect even better! Instead there's something else –something shadier– going on here. LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Agrivoltaics: the process of agricultural production (such as growing crops and/or raising livestock) underneath or adjacent to solar panels SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Kate Yoshida | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Arcadi Garcia i Rius | Storyboard Artist Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OTHER CREDITS ***************** Trampoline Grass - by Tony G (@shatteredmedia on Tiktok). Used with permission. https://www.tiktok.com/@shatteredmedia/video/7111771274984082731 OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Barron-Gafford, G.A., Pavao-Zuckerman, M.A., Minor, R.L. et al. (2019) Agrivoltaics provide mutual benefits across the food–energy–water nexus in drylands. Nat Sustain 2, 848–855. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0364-5 Barron-Gafford, G.A., Murphy, P., Salazar, A. et al. (2025) Agrivoltaics as a climate-smart and resilient solution for midday depression in photosynthesis in dryland regions. npj Sustain. Agric. 3, 32. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-025-00073-1 Graham, M., Othman, N. F., & Sæbø, A. (2013) Partial shading by solar panels delays bloom, increases floral production, and improves fruit quality in tomato. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 92, 58–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2013.02.003 Hassanpour A.E., Selker J.S., Higgins C.W. (2018) Remarkable agrivoltaic influence on soil moisture, micrometeorology and water-use efficiency. PLoS ONE 13(11): e0203256. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0203256 Marrou, H., Guilioni, L., Dufour, L., Dupraz, C., Wery, J. (2013) Microclimate under agrivoltaic systems: Is crop growth rate affected in the partial shade of solar panels?. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 177, 117–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2013.04.012 Sá, J. C., & Silva, A. (2023). The agrivoltaic potential of Canada. Sustainability, 15(4), 3228. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043228 Sollazzo, L., Mangherini, G., Diolaiti, V., & Vincenzi, D. (2025). A Comprehensive Review of Agrivoltaics: Multifaceted Developments and the Potential of Luminescent Solar Concentrators and Semi-Transparent Photovoltaics. Sustainability, 17(5), 2206. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17052206 Weselek, A., Bauerle, A., Hartung, J. et al.(2021) Agrivoltaic system impacts on microclimate and yield of different crops within an organic crop rotation in a temperate climate. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 41, 59. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-021-00714-y Widmer, J, Christ, B., Grenz, J., Norgrove, L. (2024) Agrivoltaics, A Promising New Tool for Electricity and Food Production: A Systematic Review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 192, 114277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2023.114277

What Happens When Scientists Work With Unexpected Experts

27. Aug. 2025

In the 1960s, NASA’s engineers were building the Apollo spacecraft. But they ran into a major problem that almost prevented them from getting to the moon. To solve it, they brought in some unexpected help: expert weavers. LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Core Rope Memory: a type of read-only memory (ROM) that was used in the Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC). - Transdisciplinary: an approach that integrates knowledge and perspectives from various disciplines and sectors, including non-academic stakeholders, to address complex real-world problems. SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Cameron Duke | Script Writer & Narrator David Goldenberg | Director Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OTHER CREDITS ***************** Examples of lidar snapshot returns. Figure by Falk Feddersen, et. al. https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2023.40 Needleworker weaving core rope memory. Raytheon Public Relations, courtesy of the collection of David Meerman Scott. Core rope memory from the Apollo Guidance Computer. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Agc_rope.jpg OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Apollo Press Kit. https://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2017/01/102770254-05-01-acc.pdf Core Memory Weavers and Navajo Women Made the Apollo Missions Possible. 18 Feb. 2022, https://www.sciencenews.org/article/core-memory-weavers-navajo-apollo-raytheon-computer-nasa “From Dairy Cultures to Dazzling Technology | Harvard Medical School.” Hms.harvard.edu, 20 Oct. 2016, hms.harvard.edu/news/dairy-cultures-dazzling-technology. Ren, Jingjing, et al. “Dynamics and Characteristics of Interdisciplinary Research in Scientific Breakthroughs: Case Studies of Nobel-Winning Research in the Past 120 Years.” Scientometrics, vol. 128, no. 8, 22 June 2023, pp. 4383–4419, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-023-04762-x Romano, Noemi, et al. “Linguistic Traits as Heritable Units? Spatial Bayesian Clustering Reveals Swiss German Dialect Regions.” Journal of Linguistic Geography, vol. 10, no. 1, Apr. 2022, pp. 11–22, https://doi.org/10.1017/jlg.2021.12 Seeman, Jeffrey Ira, and Guillermo Restrepo. “The Mutation of the “Nobel Prize in Chemistry” into the “Nobel Prize in Chemistry or Life Sciences”: Several Decades of Transparent and Opaque Evidence of Change within the Nobel Prize Program.” Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 4 Dec. 2019, https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201906266 Sullivan, Bill. “Gene’s Addiction, or Why Ozzy Osbourne Is Still Alive.” Discover Magazine, https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/genes-addiction-or-why-ozzy-osbourne-is-still-alive Uzzi, B., et al. “Atypical Combinations and Scientific Impact.” Science, vol. 342, no. 6157, 24 Oct. 2013, pp. 468–472, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1240474

You've Been Misled About The Water Cycle

7. Aug. 2025

Join the team so we can raise $40M to bring clean water to 2 million people around the world. Donate here: https://teamwater.org 20% off "Hydrology and Its Discontents" By John Van Stan and Jack Simmons with Discount code SPRAUT through the month of August! Order here: https://link.springer.com/book/9783031497674 In school, you probably learned about the water cycle with a diagram. The problem is…it’s wrong – or at the very least, pretty misleading. LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Aquifer: a body of permeable rock which can contain or transmit groundwater. - Confined aquifer: an aquifer below the land surface that is saturated with water. Layers of impermeable material are both above and below the aquifer. - Freshwater: naturally occurring water that is not salty, and is suitable for consumption if clean or processed. SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Cameron Duke | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Arcadi Garcia i Rius | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** “1D Compaction Modeling of Subsidence in California’s San Joaquin Valley.” The Center for Groundwater Evaluation and Management, Stanford University, 2017, https://gemcenter.stanford.edu/1d-compaction-modeling-subsidence-californias-san-joaquin-valley Abbott, Benjamin W., et al. “Human Domination of the Global Water Cycle Absent from Depictions and Perceptions.” Nature Geoscience, vol. 12, no. 7, 10 June 2019, pp. 533–540, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0374-y “The Water Cycle (PNG) | U.S. Geological Survey.” https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/water-cycle-png US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “What Is Subsidence?” Noaa.gov, 2019, https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/subsidence.html Woessner, William W., and Eileen P. Poeter. “6.3 Confined Aquifers.” Books.gw-Project.org, 21 Aug. 2020, https://books.gw-project.org/hydrogeologic-properties-of-earth-materials-and-principles-of-groundwater-flow/chapter/confined-aquifers/ Special thanks to Dr. John van Stan and Dr. Travis Swanson.

What I Learned on Monkey Island

24. Juli 2025

Secure your privacy with Surfshark! Enter coupon code MINUTEEARTH at https://surfshark.com/minuteearth Monkey Island is, perhaps unsurprisingly, home to thousands of monkeys. And when a major hurricane blew directly across the island, the researchers who study those monkeys thought that they were going to return to a scene of mass tragedy. But only two monkeys died during the storm. It wasn’t until long after the skies cleared that the bodies started piling up. CPRC is supported by the Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through Grant Number P40 OD012217. LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Excess mortality: deaths that occur above and beyond what would have been expected in the absence of the disaster, extending beyond the immediate impact of the event itself. SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* David Goldenberg | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Arcadi Garcia i Rius | Storyboard Artist & Video Editor Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OTHER CREDITS ***************** Filming access courtesy of the Caribbean Primate Research Center and University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Young, R., Hsiang, S. Mortality caused by tropical cyclones in the United States. Nature 635, 121–128 (2024). Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07945-5 Hayakawa M. Increase in disaster-related deaths: risks and social impacts of evacuation. Annals of the ICRP. 2016;45(2_suppl):123-128. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146645316666707 Fujimoto, M., & Nishiura, H. (2021). Predicting the cumulative number of disaster deaths during the early stage of earthquakes. Annals of translational medicine, 9(3), 241. https://doi.org/10.21037/atm-20-5784 Chu, L., Warren, J. L., Spatz, E. S., Lowe, S., Lu, Y., Ma, X., Ross, J. S., Krumholz, H. M., & Chen, K. (2025). Floods and cause-specific mortality in the United States applying a triply robust approach. Nature communications, 16(1), 2853. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58236-0 Kishore N, Marqués D, Mahmud A, Kiang MV, Rodriguez I, Fuller A, Ebner P, Sorensen C, Racy F, Lemery J, Maas L, Leaning J, Irizarry RA, Balsari S, Buckee CO. Mortality in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. N Engl J Med. 2018 Jul 12;379(2):162-170. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMsa1803972 Epub 2018 May 29. PMID: 29809109. Motes-Rodrigo, A., Albery, G. F., Negron-Del Valle, J. E., Philips, D., Cayo Biobank Research Unit, Platt, M. L., Brent, L. J. N., & Testard, C. (2025). A Natural Disaster Exacerbates and Redistributes Disease Risk Among Free-Ranging Macaques by Altering Social Structure. Ecology letters, 28(1), e70000. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70000 Testard, Camille et al. (2021). Rhesus macaques build new social connections after a natural disaster. Current Biology, Volume 31, Issue 11, 2299 - 2309.e7. https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00368-7?

ALL THE DOGS, EXPLAINED

10. Juli 2025

🐕 Get your canine poster at https://store.dftba.com/products/canine-poster 🐕 The canine family is a hugely diverse group of foxes, wolves, and –yes– doggos that have spread all over the world. MinuteEarth explains who they are and how they’re related. SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* David Goldenberg | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Leonardo Souza | Video editing Sarah Berman | Illustration and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176

Why Coyotes Are IMPOSSIBLE To Exterminate

27. Juni 2025

Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code MINUTEEARTH at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/MINUTEEARTH Despite the fact that we've been trying to exterminate coyotes for hundreds of years, the species is thriving because of a special trait that causes their population to grow whenever one gets killed. LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Pseudopregnancy: the development of signs of pregnancy without the presence of an implanted embryo or fetus SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Cameron Duke | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Arcadi Garcia i Rius | Storyboard Artist Ever Salazar | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Carlson, Debra A., and Eric M. Gese. “Reproductive Biology of the Coyote (Canis Latrans): Integration of Mating Behavior, Reproductive Hormones, and Vaginal Cytology.” Journal of Mammalogy, vol. 89, no. 3, 5 June 2008, pp. 654–664, https://doi.org/10.1644/06-MAMM-A-436R1.1 Carlson, Debra Anne. “Reproductive Biology of the Coyote (Canis Latrans): Integration of Behavior and Physiology.” DigitalCommons@USU, 2023, https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/104/ Moll, Remington J, et al. “People or Predators? Comparing Habitat‐Dependent Effects of Hunting and Large Carnivores on the Abundance of North America’s Top Mesocarnivore.” Ecography, 5 Nov. 2024, https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.07390 “North American Distribution | Urban Coyote Research.” https://urbancoyoteresearch.com/coyote-info/north-american-distribution

The Problem with Antivenom

12. Juni 2025

Discover who you are with MyHeritage. Get a 14-day free trial here: https://bit.ly/MinuteEarth2 Venomous snakes kill nearly 100,000 people a year. Which is weird, because we have a pretty effective treatment for venomous snake bites; it’s actually been around for more than a hundred years. So why are so many people still dying? LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Envenomation: The process by which venom is injected by a venomous animal. - Antivenom: Purified antibodies against specific venom components. - Tropical zone: The area of the Earth between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. - Toxicofera: The clade of snakes and lizards that first evolved venom more than 170 million years ago. If you liked this week’s video, you might also like: “How Horses Save Humans From Snakebites” by @veritasium https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ziWrneMYss SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* David Goldenberg | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Lizah van der Aart | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Alex Reich • Henry Reich • Peter Reich Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Global Snakebite Initiative. (2021) “Minutes To Die Documentary.” https://youtu.be/jKOSo_9kvtA Fry, B. (2020). Antivenom’s Fatal Flaw. The University of Queensland. https://uq.edu.au/research/impact/stories/antivenoms-fatal-flaw/AntivenomFatalFlaw.pdf Sachs, J. (2001). “Tropical Underdevelopment.” National Bureau of Economic Research. https://www.nber.org/papers/w8119 Afroz, A., Siddiquea, B. N., Chowdhury, H. A., Jackson, T. N., & Watt, A. D. (2024). Snakebite envenoming: A systematic review and meta-analysis of global morbidity and mortality. PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 18(4), e0012080. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012080 Wilcox, C. (2024). Powerful new antivenom raises hopes for a universal solution to lethal snakebites. https://www.science.org/content/article/powerful-new-antivenom-raises-hopes-universal-solution-lethal-snakebites

This Video Took Us 8 Years To Make

22. Mai 2025

Help us make well-researched science videos at https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth We want to tell important stories about our natural world, but some ideas that seem great initially end up being way too big to cover in a short video. LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Species concept: A methodology for determining whether two organisms are members of the same species. - Speciation: The evolutionary process by which new species arise. - Polyploid speciation: Speciation that occurs due to a change in the number of chromosomes. - Allopatric speciation: Speciation that occurs due to geographic isolation. SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* David Goldenberg | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Lizah van der Aart | Storyboard Artist Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Alex Reich • Henry Reich • Peter Reich Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Stankowski, S., & Ravinet, M. (2021). Quantifying the use of species concepts. Current biology : CB, 31(9), R428–R429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.03.060 K. de Queiroz (2005), Ernst Mayr and the modern concept of species, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 102 (suppl_1) 6600-6607. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0502030102 Shu-Jin Luo, Warren E. Johnson, James L. David Smith, Stephen J. O’Brien (2010). Chapter 3 - What Is a Tiger? Genetics and Phylogeography, Editor(s): Ronald Tilson, Philip J. Nyhus, In Noyes Series in Animal Behavior, Ecology, Conservation, and Management, Tigers of the World (Second Edition), William Andrew Publishing, Pages 35-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-8155-1570-8.00003-7 National Academies of Sciences, Medicine, Division on Earth, Life Studies, Board on Life Sciences, Committee on Assessing the Taxonomic Status of the Red Wolf, & the Mexican Gray Wolf. (2019). Evaluating the taxonomic status of the Mexican gray wolf and the red wolf. National Academies Press. https://books.google.cl/books?id=br2YDwAAQBAJ Rothfels, C. J., & Otto, S. P. (2016). Polyploid speciation. https://escholarship.org/content/qt0s7998kv/qt0s7998kv.pdf