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We've all learned it takes 24 hours for the Earth to rotate once on its axis but that isn't the whole story at all. There's much more to it.____________________Sources:Why Are There 24 Hours In A Day?:http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2011/11/15/3364432.htm“While each country has (in broad terms) historically had distinct measurements for distance, weights etc the method of splitting the day into 24 hours, one hour into 60 mins and one minute into 60 seconds seems to be the only one in use, and indeed to me the only one I know of. "Keeping Time: Why 60 Minutes?:https://www.livescience.com/44964-why-60-minutes-in-an-hour.html“How did we come to divide the hour into 60 minutes and the minute into 60 seconds? These smaller divisions of time have been in practical use for only about 400 years, but they were vital to the advent of modern science."Why Is A Minute Divided Into 60 Seconds, An Hour Into 60 Minutes, Yet There Are Only 24 Hours In A Day?:https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-time-divis

Noise and sound are not the same thing… Noise is more than just an annoyance, it's messing with our heads, literally. Too much noise can actually affect how we evolve, but just the write amount of noise makes us more productive! In this episode with Trace Dominguez, and special guest Mike Rugnetta (Reasonably Sound, CrashCourse) explores how exactly noise impacts our lives. ____________________Sources:How Sound Shaped The Evolution Of Your Brainhttps://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/09/10/436342537/how-sound-shaped-the-evolution-of-your-brain The World Now Sounds Different to How it Did a Century Agohttp://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20161110-the-world-now-sounds-different-to-how-it-did-a-century-ago Owls use 'stealth technology' to help capture preyhttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/17/owls-use-stealth-technology-to-help-capture-prey   ____________________Follow Trace on twitter: http://twitter.com/tracedominguezFollow Seeker on twitter: http://twitter.com/seekerAnd, subscribe on YouT

Earth has shaped the way humans look and behave. How will future generations in space evolve under radiation and little gravity?Sources:How Many People Can Earth Support?:https://www.livescience.com/16493-people-planet-earth-support.html"The power of population is so superior to the power of the Earth to produce subsistence for man, that premature death must in some shape or other visit the human race."AFTER EARTH: WHY, WHERE, HOW, AND WHEN WE MIGHT LEAVE OUR HOME PLANET:https://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-02/after-earth-why-where-how-and-when-we-might-leave-our-home-planet"Earth won't always be fit for occupation. We know that in two billion years or so, an expanding sun will boil away our oceans, leaving our home in the universe uninhabitable-unless, that is, we haven't already been wiped out by the Andromeda galaxy, which is on a multibillion-year collision course with our Milky Way."____________________Follow Trace on twitter: http://twitter.com/tracedominguezFollow Seeker on twitter: http://twitt

We're excited to share the first episode of our new podcast BAD SCIENCE. If you'd like to subscribe, be sure to find the show on Apple Podcasts or find us wherever you discovery and listen to podcasts. Calling all padawans! For Bad Science: Episode I, Ethan sits down with Reggie Watts for an epic conversation with Emily Manor-Chapman, a NASA Systems Engineer, to break down the science of STAR WARS: EPISODE V - THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.We learn about gas giants like Bespin, the body warmth of dead Tauntauns, communicating at the speed of light, and a whole lot more.Shoot us an email at BadScience@Seeker.com.Check out Emily's Inisght Mission (to Mars!) which launches May 5th. https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/More on Reggie at reggiewatts.com - see him nightly on THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN, and check out his new show TASKMASTER, Fridays at 11pm on Comedy Central.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Coming May 1st, a new weekly show by Seeker that puts popular films under the microscope, breaking down the science with the help of a comedian and a scientist.Be sure to subscribe and join us next week as we launch our first episode with Reggie Watts, dissecting Star Wars with a Nasa Systems Engineer. Find it on iTunes or listen here.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blood is the red liquid that flows through your body and each of us have about 9-12 pints in us. Today we're taking a deep dive into the science of blood: what it's made of, what it does, and why it's so bloody important.____________________Sources:Blood Facts And Statisticshttps://www.redcrossblood.org/content/redcrossblood/en/donate-blood/how-to-donate/how-blood-donations-help/blood-needs-blood-supply.html Researchers closer to being able to change blood types https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150429132926.htmInnate immunity: the first line of defence https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/lab-rat/innate-immunity-the-first-line-of-defence/ ____________________Follow Trace on twitter: http://twitter.com/tracedominguezFollow Seeker on twitter: http://twitter.com/seekerAnd, subscribe on YouTube too: http://youtube.com/seekerSeeker inspires us to see the world through the lens of science and evokes a sense of curiosity, optimism and adventure.Visit the Seeker website for more science coveragehttps://w

Today we're diving into everything you’re ever going to need to know about the tiny bricks that power all the devices on (and in) your person.  We'll talk about some of the best batteries in the world, the oldest batteries ever found, what batteries actually are (they’re not what you think), and we even have a special guest to talk about the atomic movement of batteries!We're digging deep into the physics and chemistry, design and possible future of these ubiquitous pieces of modern technology. It’s going to be shocking. Get it?____________________Sources:Unlocking the Potential of Cation-Disordered Oxides for Rechargeable Lithium Batterieshttp://science.sciencemag.org/content/343/6170/519 The Configurational Space of Rocksalt‐Type Oxides for High‐Capacity Lithium Battery Electrodeshttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/aenm.201400478 Solid electrolytes open doors to solid-state batterieshttps://phys.org/news/2016-03-solid-electrolytes-doors-solid-state-batteries.html ____________

The red planet has captured our imaginations since it was first spotted in the sky, but is it really the only hope for human survival? Make sure you gear up, because today, we're diving into everything Mars! ____________________Sources:Mars Could Have Supported Life, NASA Sayshttps://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/13/science/space/mars-could-have-supported-life-nasa-says.html?_r=0 Why Thousands Of People Are Willing To Die On Marshttps://www.popsci.com/article/science/why-thousands-people-are-willing-die-mars India's Mission To Mars Could Cost Less Than the Movie 'Gravity' https://www.vox.com/2014/9/24/6838079/india-mars-mangalyaan____________________Follow Trace on twitter: http://twitter.com/tracedominguezFollow Seeker on twitter: http://twitter.com/seekerAnd, subscribe on YouTube too: http://youtube.com/seekerSeeker inspires us to see the world through the lens of science and evokes a sense of curiosity, optimism and adventure.Visit the Seeker website for more science coveragehttps://www.seeker.com/ Learn mo

Today, we find our funny bone. Not literally. Instead, we're going to breakdown the science of humor.  We'll cover what happens in our brains when we find something funny, how a sense of humor evolved, what makes something not funny at all, and even if we can teach robots and A.I. to be funny!____________________Sources:The Biology Of Humor: In Search Of The Cerebral Funny Bonehttp://discovermagazine.com/2002/may/featbiologyIs there a scientific formula for funny?https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/formula-for-funny2.htm Scientists Discovered What Makes Something Funnyhttp://www.businessinsider.com/bob-mankoff-science-of-funny-humor-new-yorker-cartoon-2014-12 ____________________Follow Trace on twitter: http://twitter.com/tracedominguezFollow Matt Lieberman on twitter: http://twitter.com/mattliebermanFollow Seeker on twitter: http://twitter.com/seekerAnd, subscribe on YouTube too: http://youtube.com/seekerSeeker inspires us to see the world through the lens of science and e

Today, we’re going to break down the science of humans going to space. We'll cover how we get to space, how astronauts train for it, the dangers of space shuttles, and, of course, the future of space travel!____________________Sources:A Brief History of Space Explorationhttp://www.aerospace.org/education/stem-outreach/space-primer/a-brief-history-of-space-exploration/ NASA: Astronaut Selection and Traininghttps://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/606877main_FS-2011-11-057-JSC-astro_trng.pdf Nuclear fusion could power NASA spacecrafthttps://www.newscientist.com/article/dn3294-nuclear-fusion-could-power-nasa-spacecraft/#.VZsNORNVhHw ____________________Follow Trace on twitter: http://twitter.com/tracedominguezFollow Seeker on twitter: http://twitter.com/seekerAnd, subscribe on YouTube too: http://youtube.com/seekerSeeker inspires us to see the world through the lens of science and evokes a sense of curiosity, optimism and adventure.Visit the Seeker website for more science coveragehttps://www.seek

Today, we’re going to break down the science of Internet Addiction or as we like to call it: Information Obsession. New technologies are always met with skepticism, and yet much of the skepticism we're hearing today dates back hundreds of years. Join SeekerPlus as we explore: where this obsession came from, why it has such a grip on us, how people use our phones to take advantage of our biology, and what we can do about it.We are warned about the effects of long hours in front of screens, but what if the internet is actually a better way to experience reality? ____________________Sources:Some See 'Physiological Changes' After Using Internethttp://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-40117312“Both heart rate and blood pressure increased in those who admitted extended time online - along with reported anxiety levels. There was no such changes for those with no internet-usage problems.”Meet the tech company that wants to make you even more addicted to your phonehttps://techcrunch.com/2017/09/08/meet-the-te

Cockroaches can survive decapitation, nuclear explosions and they save our forests. Yes, they're gross, but they're actually kinda cool!____________________Sources:"Cockroaches have been around for a very long time - since before the dinosaurs - and they have not changed very much. One can only conclude that they are doing something right!"Evolution Saves Cockroaches From Taking The Bait:https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/05/23/186359665/evolution-saves-cockroaches-from-taking-the-bait"Most of us are used to thinking that the evolution of living organisms takes millions of years. But in the case of cockroaches, scientists say the resilient pests have developed a fast-forward mechanism to save their own exoskeleton."How Pesticides Pushed Cockroaches Into Rapid Evolution:https://io9.gizmodo.com/how-pesticides-pushed-cockroaches-into-rapid-evolution-509398746"In the 1980s, manufactures began making cockroach baits that combined sweet glucose with deadly insecticides. By 1993, many cockroach populations

It's a common goal of propaganda to promote a biased opinion, and while many may resist, propaganda actually has the ability to save lives!____________________Sources:A Very Brief History of Propaganda in Times Past:https://www.physics.smu.edu/pseudo/Propaganda/history.html"Propaganda has been around for a long time, going back to ancient Greece. Chapter 2 of Jowett & O'Donnell provides an excellent historical background. In there you will find numerous examples of historical propaganda campaigns. "The Story of Propaganda:https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/gi-roundtable-series/pamphlets/what-is-propaganda/the-story-of-propaganda"The American Historical Association produced the G.I. Roundtable Series to help win World War II. Or so they were led to believe. In fact the U.S. Army sought the pamphlets as part of a larger effort to prepare for the transition to the postwar world, and represent a novel effort at social control."From stamps to social media, the history

Matter Makes Up Everything, So What Makes Up Matter? ____________________Sources:Discovery of the Electron http://www.pbs.org/transistor/science/events/electron.html“Scientists worked with electricity long before they understood that current was made of electrons. The cathode tube was a prime example, no one knew how it worked. Some thought the rays were a wave traveling through a mysterious "ether" which they thought permeated all space.”Who was Democritus? https://www.universetoday.com/60058/democritus-atom/“One such person is Democritus, an ancient Greek philosopher who is viewed by many as being the ‘father of modern science.’ This is due to his theory of universe that is made up of tiny ‘atoms’, which bears a striking resemblance to modern atomic theory.”Thales of Miletushttp://www.iep.utm.edu/thales/“The ancient Greek philosopher Thales was born in Miletus in Greek Ionia. Aristotle, the major source for Thales's philosophy and science, identified Thales as the first person to investigate the basic princ

Globalization is a complicated issue with pros and cons both for and against. But what would a world with complete globalization be like?Originally broadcast December 2015.____________________Sources:The Pros And Cons Of Globalization:https://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikecollins/2015/05/06/the-pros-and-cons-of-globalization/&refURL=https://www.youtube.com/&referrer=https://www.youtube.com/ “A story in the Washington Post said “20 years ago globalization was pitched as a strategy that would raise all boats in poor and rich countries alike. In the U.S. and Europe consumers would have their pick of inexpensive items made by people thousands of miles away whose pay was much lower than theirs."Nations Without Borders: The Gifts Of Folk Gone Abroad:https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/review-essay/1996-03-01/nations-without-borders-gifts-folk-gone-abroad“More than ever before, migration is a global phenomenon. In search of employment, higher wages, educational

Climate change is becoming increasingly difficult to deny. As people see changes happening all around us, we're all wondering whether or not humans are to blame.Originally broadcast August 2016.____________________Sources:NASA - What's the Difference Between Weather and Climate?:https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/noaa-n/climate/climate_weather.htmlEarth is Cooling... No It's Warming:https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/GISSTemperature/giss_temperature2.phpNational Health Statistics Reports:https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr076.pdfMass Extinctions:http://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/dino-directory/index.html____________________Follow Trace on twitter: http://twitter.com/tracedominguezFollow Seeker on twitter: http://twitter.com/seekerAnd, subscribe on YouTube too: http://youtube.com/seekerSeeker inspires us to see the world through the lens of science and evokes a sense of curiosity, optimism and adventure.Visit the Seeker website for more science coveragehttps://www.seeker.com/Learn more about your ad ch

Originally broadcast June 2015.We've been asking the question, "Are we alone?" for decades. Has math finally solved the question burning in all of our minds?____________________Sources:NASA: We'll Find Alien Life In 10 To 20 Years: http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-nasa-search-alien-life-20150407-story.htmlThe Drake Equation: https://www.seti.org/drakeequationThe Fermi Paradox: https://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/fermi-paradox.html____________________Follow Trace on twitter: http://twitter.com/tracedominguezFollow Seeker on twitter: http://twitter.com/seekerAnd, subscribe on YouTube too: http://youtube.com/seekerSeeker inspires us to see the world through the lens of science and evokes a sense of curiosity, optimism and adventure.Visit the Seeker websitehttps://www.seeker.com/videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eating meat has been part of the human identity for 2.5 million years, but according to science, what exactly is meat? Read More: What Gives Meat Its Color? https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/meat/INT-what-meat-color.html“Red, or dark meat is made up of muscles with fibers that are called slow-twitch. These muscles are used for extended periods of activity, such as standing or walking, and need a consistent energy source.” Will Meatless Meat Be The Future Of Food?https://www.seeker.com/will-meatless-meat-be-the-future-of-food-1968210074.html“Books, TV and film have given us many concepts of futuristic food over the years. Perhaps a pill that makes you full without having to eat anything else, or various liquid concoctions full of essential vitamins and minerals. In reality, the near future of food, particularly meat, actually looks... a lot like the meat we eat today, but for one major difference: it’s grown inside a lab.”Organic Farming Could Feed the World, but Only If People Consume Less Meat https://ww

Seeker+ is back! We'll be launching new episodes weekly starting Feb 1. Each week we'll continue breaking down big topics to make the world a bit more understandable. Look out for topics including:Ethics of meat consumptionAddiction to devices and the internet worldHow we could live foreverThe essence of matter itselfGot an idea for something we should cover? Tweet to us @Seeker.And don't worry, topics we've covered in the past aren't lost forever! We'll be bringing back episodes over the course of the new season.---------------Visit the Seeker websitehttps://www.seeker.com/videosLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices