Synopsis
Science and stories about our awesome planet-- in just a few minutes!
Episodes
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Why "Nothing" Matters in Science
11/07/2025 Duration: 03minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Null result: a result in a scientific study that doesn’t support the hypothesis Premature birth: also known as preterm birth, is a birth that occurs before the 37th week of pregnancy XENON1T: a highly sensitive experiment to search for direct interactions of dark matter particles. It’s located deep under Italy’s Gran Sasso mountain at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory. 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 com
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The Problem With Life Expectancy
10/07/2025 Duration: 04minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Life Expectancy At Birth: The average number of years a newborn in a particular group could expect to live. Life Expectancy After Babyhood: The average number of years a member of a particular group could expect to live given that they had survived their first year. Maximum Life Expectancy: The age at which the oldest known member of a particular group died. Mortality Rate: The frequency of occurrence of death within a particular group during a particular time period. Life Table: A table that shows the number of individuals within a group that survive from one year to the next until they are all dead. Survivorship Curve: A plot of the data in a particular life table that shows the years on the x-axis and the number or percent of survivors on the y-axis. MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our
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I found the BEST coronavirus depiction (+ explanation)
09/07/2025 Duration: 07minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Virus: a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. The study of viruses is known as virology. Virion: a complete virus particle, and consists of nucleic acid surrounded by a protective coat of protein called a capsid. Coronaviruses: a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal and include some cases of the common cold, SARS, MERS, and COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2: the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the respiratory illness responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Class I fusion proteins: resemble influenza virus hemagglutinin in their structure. Post-fusion, the active site has a trimer of α-helical coiled-coils MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like wh
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Dogs vs Cats: The Diversity Paradox
08/07/2025 Duration: 04minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: phenotypic diversity - the range of different observable traits in a certain organism - for example, size, color, strength, and friendliness. genetic diversity - the variation in the genetic information within and among individuals of a population or species artificial selection (or selective breeding) - a process used by humans to develop new organisms with desirable characteristics 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 the
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Four Reasons Our Brains Suck At Pandemics
07/07/2025 Duration: 03minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Pandemic: A disease outbreak that spreads across the world. Exponential Growth: Growth that occurs when a value increases in proportion to its current value. Exponential Growth Prediction Bias: An error in prediction that occurs when people underestimate how quickly numbers rise in an exponential system. Optimism Bias: An error that occurs when people underestimate their personal likelihood of experiencing a negative event. Hyperbolic Time Discounting Bias: An error that occurs when people choose smaller rewards in the present over larger awards in the future. Reactance Psychology: An unpleasant motivational state that occurs when a freedom is threatened with elimination. Individualism: The principle of being independent and self-reliant. Collectivism: The principle of giving a group priority over each individual in it. Disinformation: Deliberately false information designed to deceive. MinuteEarth is pro
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Gigantopithecus
06/07/2025 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
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Categorize Apes
05/07/2025 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
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How Firestorms Form
04/07/2025 Duration: 03minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Pyrocumulonimbus cloud - a type of cumulonimbus cloud that forms that forms above wildfires and even volcanic eruptions, which can create thunderstorms Virga - rain that evaporates before it hits the ground Updraft - upward moving air in a thunderstorm Downdraft - downward moving air in a thunderstorm 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
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Why Most New Species Are Discovered By Amateurs
03/07/2025 Duration: 03minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Taxonomy: The branch of science concerned with classifying organisms Taxonomic Impediment: The gaps in our taxonomic knowledge and the shortage of trained taxonomists and curators. Amateur Taxonomist: Someone who classifies organisms but is not paid to do so. Malacology: The study of mollusks, including snails and slugs. Type Specimen: The specimen used to officially describe a new species. 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
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Does It Pay To Cheat?
02/07/2025 Duration: 03minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Life history strategy: How organisms allocate energy usage to maximize offspring. Parental Investment: Any non-genetic contributions by parents to help their offspring survive. Brood Parasites: Organisms that rely on others to raise their young. Mafia Behavior: The practice of repeatedly visiting victims to make sure they are complying. Fecundity: The number of offspring produced by an individual over time. 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
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The Plant That’s Full Of Metal
01/07/2025 Duration: 03minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Hyperaccumulator: a plant capable of growing in metalliferous soils and to accumulate extraordinarily high amounts of heavy metals, far in excess of the levels found in the majority of species, without suffering toxic effects Phytoremediation: the treatment of pollutants or waste (as in contaminated soil or groundwater) by the use of green plants that remove, degrade, or stabilize the undesirable substances (such as toxic metals) Phytomining: the planting (and subsequent harvesting) of vegetation that will selectively concentrate specific metals from the soil into their tissues Euhalophytes: highly salt-tolerant plants capable of diluting salt within their succulent leaves or stems Active transport: the process of transferring substances against a concentration gradient into, out of, and between cells, using energy MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info I
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The Best Pokémon (According to Science)
30/06/2025 Duration: 04minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Convergent evolution: the process whereby organisms not closely related (not monophyletic), independently evolve similar traits as a result of having to adapt to similar environments or ecological niches. 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
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Cow Fences
29/06/2025 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
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Wolf Fences
28/06/2025 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
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Dangerous Marshmallows?!
27/06/2025 Duration: 04minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Chemical reaction: a process that involves rearrangement of the molecular or ionic structure of a substance Exothermic reaction: a reaction that releases energy Stoichiometry: a section of chemistry that involves using relationships between reactants and/or products in a chemical reaction to determine desired quantitative data Reaction rate or rate of reaction: the speed at which a chemical reaction takes place 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 (
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The Science of Roadkill
26/06/2025 Duration: 03minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Roadkill: The remains of animals killed by motor vehicles. Road ecology: The study of how roads impact the surrounding environment and its inhabitants. Invasive species: Non-native animals that outcompete local animals for resources. Fieldwork: The collection of data outside of a laboratory setting. Confounder: A variable (like animal reaction to oncoming cars) that influences the outcome when comparing a dependent variable (like number of animals) to the outcome (number of roadkill carcasses of said animal). 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: h
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Why Doesn't All Thunder Sound The Same?
25/06/2025 Duration: 03minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Shock wave: a sharp change of pressure in a narrow region traveling through a medium, especially air, caused by explosion or by a body moving faster than sound 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
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Can Pregnancy Tests Help Beat COVID-19?
24/06/2025 Duration: 03minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Early Pregnancy Test: A simple lateral flow assay that tests for the presence of a particular hormone in urine. Lateral Flow Assay: Simple tests in which a liquid sample is run along the surface of a pad using capillary action and colored antibodies to show a visual positive or negative result. Capillary Action: The movement of water-based liquids within small tubes due to the forces of cohesion, adhesion, and surface tension. Antibody: A blood protein produced by the immune system in response to a particular antigen. Antigen: A foreign substance which produces an immune response within the body. False positive: A result produced that falsely indicates a particular antigen is present. False negative: A result produced that falsely indicates that a particular antigen is absent. MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can hel
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Why Hardwoods Are The Softest Woods
23/06/2025 Duration: 04minTo learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Angiosperm: a plant that has flowers and produces seeds enclosed within a carpel. Gymnosperm: a plant that has seeds unprotected by an ovary or fruit. 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
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Beehive Fences
22/06/2025 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