Ever wonder how a flimsy-feeling plastic soda bottle can withstand high pressure, stay lightweight, and still keep your drink fizzy for months? In this video, EngineerGuy Bill Hammack breaks down the genius behind the design of the humble two-liter PET bottle. Watch as he walks us through the bottle’s journey — from a simple plastic […]
If you’ve ever looked at a pond and thought, “Why is that bug breakdancing on the water?”, you’re not alone. In the latest episode of True Facts, Ze Frank returns with a fun look into the lives of insects that defy both gravity and good taste. These bugs don’t just walk, they row across ponds […]
Alones/Shutterstock Samuel McKee, Manchester Metropolitan University A field known as synthetic biology has become one of the most highly anticipated in science. Its outputs range from golden rice, which is genetically engineered to provide vitamin A, to advances stemming from the Human Genome Project, which successfully mapped the entire human genome. Prominent voices in biotechnology […]
James Hague, The Open University Lab-grown meat causes heated debates. Proponents see benefits for the climate and animal welfare. Opponents worry about a Frankenstein food they regard as risky and unnatural. Whatever your opinion, the technology underpinning cultivated meat is moving fast to create large pieces of muscle tissue. The fact that artificial meat starts […]
If you’re stranded at sea, surrounded by water, drinking it seems like a no-brainer, right? Wrong! Seawater is four times saltier than your blood, and drinking it will dehydrate you faster than the sun beating down on that lifeboat. But if we can’t drink it, how do we turn it into freshwater? Humans have been […]
Chewing gum: great for fresh breath, fun for blowing bubbles, and… oh yeah… apparently a solid source of microplastics. Scientists just discovered that every stick you chew releases hundreds to thousands of tiny plastic particles straight into your saliva. And before you get smug about your “natural” gum, turns out, it’s just as bad. At […]
For as long as humans have had hair, we’ve had company—tiny, bloodsucking freeloaders called head lice. These sesame seed-sized pests have been a part of human history for at least 10,000 years, and despite our best efforts, they just won’t go away. Lice don’t jump, fly, or hitchhike on hats as much as people think. […]
Puttachat Kumkrong/Shutterstock Cathy Moore, University of Westminster Tobacco kills 8 million people worldwide every year, but imagine if it could be used to make medicine. The idea isn’t unheard of – tobacco has been used as a herbal medicine in the past. But now, in the age of genetic engineering, tobacco may well be the […]