Is she smiling? Uncover the optical illusions and surprising science behind the Mona Lisa. Why does the Mona Lisa’s smile seem to vanish? Discover how Leonardo da Vinci mastered the science of human perception to create his greatest illusion. Watch the full documentary, “Decoding da Vinci” https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/decoding-da-vinci/ 📰 Stay up […]
Brent Minchew could have a plan to stop Thwaites Glacier, AKA the “Doomsday Glacier”, cold in its tracks. That’s good news because if this one glacier slips into the sea, it could flood coasts across the planet. The Caltech glaciologist covers what makes the “Doomsday Glacier” the single biggest wild […]
A cosmic experiment tests the fabric of the universe. This video was originally produced in 2019. Physicists have long debated the reality of “spooky action at a distance,” otherwise known as quantum entanglement. Albert Einstein believed that physical properties, like position or momentum, were definitive and did not change whether […]
Physics says the center of the universe is everywhere and nowhere at once. But a controversial cosmic alignment has scientists asking difficult questions. Is Earth the center of the universe? Is there a center of the universe at all? Physics relies on the idea that there isn’t – but some […]
Watch as the New Horizons spacecraft captures our first clear view of Pluto’s icy surface. (Aired July 15, 2015) Official Website: https://to.pbs.org/3Uju9za | #novapbs https://to.pbs.org/3Uju9za On July 14, 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft, one of the most advanced ever built, is scheduled to fly by Pluto to take the very […]
Jordan Ellenberg tells Hakeem that math isn’t just about numbers. It’s about everything. The mathematician and bestselling author shares how AI models are trained through trial and error, why geometry secretly governs everything from family trees to statistical correlation, and why uncertainty, not certainty, is the true language of the […]
Why your brain can’t always trust its own senses. And no, we don’t live in a matrix. Pain, color, and awareness—is any of it truly real? Explore the science of illusions and blindsight to uncover how your brain stitches together sensory data to build a complex, sometimes deceptive, simulation of […]
A falling cat seems to break the rules of motion — but the real explanation is even stranger than it looks. Hosted by Athena Brensberger @astroathens 💫 For centuries, scientists have been baffled by how cats land on their feet. Figuring it out took several theories, calculations, and dropped cats. […]
When in Antarctica, meeting penguins is an absolute must. But it’s not always easy. Originally published in 2020 on @pbsterra 🇦🇶 Finding — and filming — penguins was hosts Caitlin Saks and Arlo Pérez’s top priority during their month-long stay at McMurdo Station. With four species of penguin living in […]
What if Homo sapiens weren’t the only humans? Paleoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi joins Hakeem to explore a lost world where Homo sapiens once shared the planet with at least seven other human species. They dig into Neanderthal culture, the mysterious Denisovans, and the ancient DNA discoveries rewriting the story of who […]
