Dig into some of the most fascinating and important scientific advancements in recent years. Unexpected, consequential, and often counterintuitive, 12 Revolutionary Discoveries That Could Change Everything offers an inspiring introduction to science in the 21st century.
12 Revolutionary Discoveries That Could Change Everything
Investigate the world around us with the mind of a scientist in 12 compelling lectures on recent scientific discoveries.
Overview
About
Laura Helmuth is the editor in chief of Scientific American. She earned a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of California, Berkeley, and a graduate certificate in Science Communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has served in various editorial positions, including for The Washington Post, Smithsonian magazine, and Science. She is a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Standing Committee on Advancing Science Communication and was previously president of the National Association of Science Writers.
Trailer
01: Why the Sea Can Glow the Color of Milk
The course opens on the sea at night, where, for generations, sailors have encountered the eerie phenomenon of bioluminescence. Discover how advances in satellite technology shifted our understanding of “milky seas” from a quasi-mythical encounter to a biological fact.
20 min
02: The True Colors of Dinosaurs
For decades, scientists assumed pigments rarely survived the fossilization process, so dinosaur reconstructions were left to artists’ and moviemakers’ imaginations. Thanks to a recent discovery under an electron microscope, scientists have found a way to bring dinosaur bones into modern Technicolor glory.
20 min
03: How Textiles Gave Viking Women Power
Until recently, our understanding of Viking culture has been woefully incomplete. Because early archaeologists focused on tools of hunting and war, women received little attention. Here, trace the work of several groundbreaking archaeologists and their discoveries around textiles—and the powerful women who made them.
25 min
04: New Truths about Lichens
Shift your attention to modern-day British Columbia to meet Trevor Goward, one of the world’s experts on lichens. Despite lacking formal credentials, Goward is a naturalist in the tradition of Darwin, and his inquiry into the nature of lichens has rocked the world of biology in recent years.
23 min
05: The Quantum Nature of Bird Migration
We’re all familiar with the seasonal migration of birds, but how do they find their way? How do they know which way is south or north? Delve into the astonishing world of quantum effects and magnetic fields to understand the newly discovered mechanisms of bird navigation.
20 min
06: Unexpected Smashups in the Solar System
In the old view of the solar system’s creation, a dance of particles and gases gradually coalesced. Thanks to the study of meteorites and radioactive metals, evidence now shows the solar system formed much quicker than anyone understood, with dynamic planetary bodies slamming together. Rethink your view of the cosmos in this breathtaking lecture.
18 min
07: Why Exercise Doesn’t Help You Lose Weight
An adage of public health states that “you can’t outrun a bad diet.” Now, thanks to anthropological research into the calories humans burn by engaging in various physical activities, scientists see more clearly than ever that exercise—while hugely beneficial—has little impact on weight loss. Learn the latest on human physiology here.
18 min
08: How Parents’ Trauma Affects Future Children
Is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) inheritable? If you’re exposed to trauma, can you pass that along to your children? In this lecture, researchers study traumas ranging from the Holocaust to 9/11 and examine cortisol levels in children. It turns out: We can feel environmental stress in our genes.
23 min
09: The Breakthrough in Messenger RNA Therapies
In the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic, citizens around the world learned about messenger RNA therapies—specifically, the COVID-19 vaccine. But this technology has been around for years and has a wealth of untapped potential. Discover the future of medicine in this information-rich lecture.
6 min
10: You Really Can Learn in Your Sleep
Everyone knows we learn better when we’re well rested, but is it possible to learn while we’re resting? With brain imaging technology, memory reactivation techniques, and other scientific processes, scientists are gaining an entirely new perspective on self-improvement—making possible what once seemed like science fiction.
12 min
11: How Your Brain Constructs the World
In this mind-bending lecture, you’ll investigate how the brain maps the world, creating the experience of consciousness. You’ll think like a neural scientist as you reflect on the brain’s relationship to the world, the blank slate theory of experience, and how brains learn through self-organization.
20 min
12: Why Black Holes Turn Inside Out
Black holes are some of the most intriguing objects in the universe, lighting up the imagination of the public and confounding scientists for decades. After a survey of quantum theory and black holes, dive into the latest research involving spacetime, event horizons, wormholes, and much more.
21 min
