Synopsis
Science and stories about our awesome planet-- in just a few minutes!
Episodes
-
Are Plastics Too Strong?
20/03/2025 Duration: 03minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Polymer: A substance whose molecular structure consists of large numbers of similar units covalently bonded together Covalent bond: A strong type of bond in which adjacent atoms share electrons. Backbone chain: A long series of covalently bonded atoms that create the continuous chain of the molecule. Bioplastic: A type of plastic, usually biodegradable, made from biological substances. Scission: The breakage of a backbone chain at the bond level. Microbial biodegradation: The use of microbes to break molecules into smaller and less harmful forms. MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Buy our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Buy our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read
-
How Much Food Is There On Earth?
19/03/2025 Duration: 03minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Food stock: the total amount of any particular food existing at any point in time Strategic reserve: food intentionally kept on reserve to be sold when supplies otherwise become low Stock to use ratio: the amount of stock of any given food at any point in time as a fraction of the total annual consumption of the commodity MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Buy our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Buy our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
Is It Safe To Get Your DNA Tested?
18/03/2025 Duration: 03minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Personal Genetic Analysis: Direct-to-consumer DNA testing, usually through mail-in saliva samples. Single Nucleotide Polymorphism: A variation at a single spot on the genome that is present in some part of the population. Genotyping chip: A microarray that allows genetic testing companies to test a DNA sample for hundreds of thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms. Health Care Fraud: A crime that usually involves misrepresenting medical information in order to make money. Targeted Advertising: The practice of placing ads based on consumer demographics or behavior. Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act: A 2008 American law that prohibits health insurers and employers from using genetic information when making coverage or hiring decisions. MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Buy our merc
-
Why Electroshock Therapy Is Back
17/03/2025 Duration: 02minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Electroshock therapy: the original name for treating severe depression with a series of brief electrical shocks to the brain Electroconvulsive therapy: the current name for electroshock therapy Deep brain stimulation: a treatment for advanced Parkinson’s that uses pulsed electrical signals to targeted brain regions MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Buy our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Buy our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
Animal Behavior
16/03/2025 Duration: 01minMinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Buy our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Buy our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
Colliding Plates
15/03/2025 Duration: 01minMinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Buy our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Buy our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
Why Our Favorite Crops Live Fast and Die Young
14/03/2025 Duration: 02minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Annual: a plant that typically lives for a year or less Biennial: a plant that typically lives for two years Perennial: a plant that typically lives for multiple years MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Buy our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Buy our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
A Disease's Guide to World Domination
13/03/2025 Duration: 03minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Direct transmission: occurs when a pathogen is transmitted to a new host by physical or close contact Virulence: the degree of damage a pathogen causes its host MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Buy our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Buy our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
Why Do Birds Migrate Like This?
12/03/2025 Duration: 02minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Migration: The seasonal movement of a population of animals from one area to another. Prevailing winds: Winds in a particular area that blow in a particular direction. Thermal: An upward current of warm air. Lift: A force that counteracts the weight of an object and holds it in the air. Flyway: A route regularly used by lots of migrating birds. MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Buy our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Buy our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
Are "Acts of God" Disappearing?
11/03/2025 Duration: 03minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Act of God: A natural disaster that is outside of human influence or control, such that no one will be held responsible for the resulting damages. Reasonable precautions: The ordinary or usual precautions that a person would take to prevent damage from a natural disaster. MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Buy our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Buy our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
Why Pets Have Surprisingly Small Brains
10/03/2025 Duration: 02minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Domesticated animal: a species of animal bred by humans over generations to become nonreactive and gain characteristics suitable for life as a farm animal or pet Tame animal: an individual animal raised in a way that it has become less dangerous and frightened of people Feral animal: an animal that escapes from captivity or domestication (& regains some similar & some different characteristics compared to its pre-domesticated state) "Fight or flight": an instinctive physiological response to a threatening situation that readies a creature to either to resist forcibly or escape Limbic system: the brain’s “panic button” - a system of nerves and networks near the bottom of the cortex that controls basic emotions (e.g. fear, pleasure, anger) and drives (e.g. hunger, sex, dominance) Telencephalon: the most developed and anterior part of the forebrain, consisting chiefly of the cerebral hemispheres, and the brain region that shrinks most
-
Tongue Tanning
09/03/2025 Duration: 01minMinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Buy our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Buy our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
Leather Making
08/03/2025 Duration: 01minMinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Buy our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Buy our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
Why Do Some Animals Get Gigantic?
07/03/2025 Duration: 03minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Spiracles: External respiratory openings on insects Carboniferous Period: The time period from 359-299 million years ago when the Earth’s oxygen levels increased rapidly. Square-Cube Law: A mathematical principle that describes the relationship between area and volume. Buoyancy: An upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of an immersed object. Phytoplankton: Microscopic plants eaten by krill and other zooplankton. Baleen: A filter-feeding system inside the mouth of some whales. MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Buy our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Buy our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap
-
Why Bird Penises Are So Weird
06/03/2025 Duration: 03minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Sex chromosome: A chromosome involved in determining the sex of an individual. Cloaca: A posterior orifice that serves as the only exit for the gastrointestinal, urinary and genital tracts. Mutation: An alteration in the DNA sequence that makes up a gene. Sexually-selected Trait: A trait based on a mutation that confers a reproductive advantage. BMP4: A protein whose presence halts the growth of bird penises in the egg. MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Buy our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Buy our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
Where Do Our Drugs Come From?
05/03/2025 Duration: 03minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Bioprospecting: the systematic search for and development of new sources of chemical compounds, genes, micro-organisms, macro-organisms, and other valuable products from nature. MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Buy our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Buy our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
Why Do Female Hyenas Have Pseudo-Penises?!
04/03/2025 Duration: 03minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Pseudopenis: a structure that resembles a penis but is developmentally (and functionally) different Masculinization: the process by which female genitalia is made to appear more like male genitalia MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Buy our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Buy our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
Why Farming is Broken (And Always Has Been)
03/03/2025 Duration: 03minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Annual plant: living for a year or less, perpetuating itself by seed Perennial plant: living for several years Polyculture: the simultaneous cultivation or exploitation of several crops or kinds of animals Natural systems agriculture: cropping systems based on processes found in nature Agroforestry: land use management that combines the cultivation of trees/shrubs with crops/pasture to create more productive and sustainable land-use systems Alley cropping: planting agricultural crops between rows of trees or shrubs MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Buy our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Buy our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) Learn more about your
-
Avoid Tannins
02/03/2025 Duration: 01minMinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Buy our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Buy our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
Rabbit Poop
01/03/2025 Duration: 01minMinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Buy our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Buy our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices