The Curious Backstory of Thanksgiving Foods

Why Do Fireflies Have Blinky Bottoms?

Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Try CuriosityStream: http://curiositystream.com/smart Want even more illuminating ideas? SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Nearly all life on Earth is ultimately powered by light. But many creatures have learned how to make their own. This week we investigate the beautiful phenomenon of bioluminescence. From blinking fireflies on summer nights to glowing deep sea monsters, prepare to learn about the chemistry of living light. REFERENCES: Eisner, Thomas, et al. "Firefly “femmes fatales” acquire defensive steroids (lucibufagins) from their firefly prey." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 94.18 (1997): 9723-9728. Martini, Séverine, and Steven HD Haddock. "Quantification of bioluminescence from the surface to the deep sea demonstrates its predominance as an ecological trait." Scientific Reports 7 (2017). ----------- FOLLOW US: Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter: @okaytobesmart @DrJoeHanson Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Instagram: @DrJoeHanson @okaytobesmart ----------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Director: Joe Nicolosi Writer: Joe Hanson Producer/editor/animator: Andrew Matthews Producer: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Spit: Everything You Never Sought To Know

Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Warning: May contain the “m-word”… Tweet this video ⇒ http://bit.ly/OKTBSspit Share on FB ⇒ http://bit.ly/OKTBSspitFB ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Get yourself an awesome IOTBS shirt! http://dftba.com/besmart References/further reading: “Gulp” by Mary Roach: A great read about the odd science of the digestive system http://amzn.to/1U4i2N7 (Public library: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/811599508) Carpenter, Guy H. "The secretion, components, and properties of saliva."Annual review of food science and technology 4 (2013): 267-276. Perry, George H., et al. "Diet and the evolution of human amylase gene copy number variation." Nature genetics 39.10 (2007): 1256-1260. ---- Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment or check us out at the links below! Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/okaytobesmart http://twitter.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Follow on Instagram: http://instagram.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Snapchat: YoDrJoe ----------------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Follow me on Twitter: @jtotheizzoe Produced by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios Music via APM Stock images from SciencePhoto http://www.sciencephoto.com/ and Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Stock footage from Videoblocks (unless otherwise noted) http://www.videoblocks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

How The Placebo Effect Influences Your Brain

Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate This episode is brought to you by Dropbox https://www.dropbox.com/ Tweet ⇒ http://bit.ly/OKTBSplacebos Share on FB ⇒ http://bit.ly/OKTBSplaceboFB ↓ More info and sources below ↓ How does the placebo effect work? Here's how your brain tricks itself when it comes to medicine Follow me to Reactions to learn what is (and isn’t) in those vitamin supplements: https://youtu.be/9gQoG0AT3kY We’ve got t-shirts! Get yours here: http://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart References: Niemi, M. B. (2009). Placebo Effect: A Cure in the Mind: Scientific American.Placebo Effect: A Cure in the Mind: Scientific American. Price, D. D., Finniss, D. G., & Benedetti, F. (2008). A comprehensive review of the placebo effect: recent advances and current thought. Annu. Rev. Psychol.,59, 565-590. Finniss, D. G., Kaptchuk, T. J., Miller, F., & Benedetti, F. (2010). Biological, clinical, and ethical advances of placebo effects. The Lancet, 375(9715), 686-695. Marchant, J. (2015). Strong placebo response thwarts painkiller trials. Nature News http://www.nature.com/news/strong-placebo-response-thwarts-painkiller-trials-1.18511 Dr. Ben Goldacre's book "Bad Science" http://amzn.to/1TZ5WUE Harold Pashler "Encyclopedia of the Mind" http://amzn.to/1HT7RJ4 Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment or check us out at the links below! Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/okaytobesmart http://twitter.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Follow on Instagram: http://instagram.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Snapchat: YoDrJoe ----------------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Follow me on Twitter: @jtotheizzoe Email me: itsokaytobesmart AT gmail DOT com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart For more awesome science, check out: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Produced by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios Joe Hanson - Creator/Host/Writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen Inc. Kate Eads - Producer Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics/Animation Katie Graham - Camera John Knudsen - Gaffer Theme music: “Ouroboros” by Kevin MacLeod Other music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock, stock footage from Videoblocks (unless otherwise noted) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

How Many Species Are Out There?

Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate How do we protect what we don’t know exists? Don’t miss the next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓ More info and sources below ↓ How many species are there on Earth? In biology, this is one of a fundamental question that we still don’t have a very good answer for. Imagine if chemists didn’t know all the elements of the periodic table, or if physicists didn’t know all of the particles of the standard model. Knowing how many different species there are is information we need to know in order to protect the environment, but it’s a lot harder than you think! Check out last week’s video, where we find a weird caterpillar in the Peruvian Amazon and ask “How do you discover a new species?” LEARN MORE: Costello, Mark J., Robert M. May, and Nigel E. Stork. "Can we name Earth's species before they go extinct?." Science 339.6118 (2013): 413-416. Locey, Kenneth J., and Jay T. Lennon. "Scaling laws predict global microbial diversity." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2016): 201521291. May, Robert M. "The future of biological diversity in a crowded world." Current Science 82.11 (2002): 1325-1330. May, Robert M. "How many species inhabit the earth." Scientific American 267.4 (1992): 42-48. Mora, Camilo, et al. "How many species are there on Earth and in the ocean?." PLoS Biol 9.8 (2011): e1001127. Stork, Nigel E. "How many species are there?." Biodiversity and Conservation 2.3 (1993): 215-232. FOLLOW US: It’s Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Director: Joe Nicolosi Editor/animator/producer: Andrew Matthews Producer: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter: @okaytobesmart @DrJoeHanson Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Instagram: @DrJoeHanson Snapchat: YoDrJoe Produced by PBS Digital Studios Music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

How Do Hot Air Balloons Float?

Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate This episode is brought to you by Dropbox https://www.dropbox.com/ Tweet ⇒ http://bit.ly/OKTBShotair Share on FB ⇒ http://bit.ly/OKTBShotairFB ↓ More info and sources below ↓ We uploaded another version of this video on 11/9 but it had a big mistake in it. So we fixed it. This version is full of 100% real science! Sorry for the error. In the interest of transparency, if you want to watch that wrong version and see what I was wrong about, here's the link: https://youtu.be/qR9hucj02u0 We’ve got t-shirts! Get yours here: http://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Special thanks to: The 2015 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta http://www.balloonfiesta.com/ Pilot Doug Gantt and the Ham-let balloon team http://www.whenpigsfly.bz/ Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment or check us out at the links below! Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/okaytobesmart http://twitter.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Tumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Follow on Instagram: http://instagram.com/jtotheizzoe Follow on Snapchat: YoDrJoe ----------------- It’s Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Follow me on Twitter: @jtotheizzoe Email me: itsokaytobesmart AT gmail DOT com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart For more awesome science, check out: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Produced by PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios Joe Hanson - Creator/Host/Writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen Inc. Kate Eads - Producer Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics/Animation Katie Graham - Camera John Knudsen - Gaffer Theme music: “Ouroboros” by Kevin MacLeod Other music via APM Stock images from Shutterstock, stock footage from Videoblocks (unless otherwise noted) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]