Videos

You have probably already heard, or at least heard of, white noise. Maybe you grew up when televisions were still analog. If so, you might remember the shhh that accompanied “snow” on a cathode-ray tube screen. It lived in special place between the few channels on the dial that actually had programming. And in that snow, you could see—and hear—residual cosmic radiation born in the big bang.

Or maybe you grew up in the age of apps and downloaded one of the many designed for relaxation or helping people focus. Perhaps you have even purchased a white noise machine to lull your newborn—or yourself—to sleep.

But what is white noise, exactly? Why does it affect humans the way it seems to? And what, for that matter, is pink, violet, brown or blue noise? What does color even have to do with it at all? Watch this video, and you may find that the hues of noise are all around you—and that you never recognized what you were hearing.

Paul Romer, an expert in what’s known as endogenous growth theory and winner of the 2018 Nobel prize in economics, speaks to Scientific American about seeing economic growth as increased value, akin to when ingredients in a recipe are used to create a dish worth more than the original raw materials. His research concludes that investment in people, knowledge and innovation are primary growth factors.

Jennifer Doudna, winner of the 2018 Kavli Prize in Nanoscience, talks to Scientific American about what it’s like to work in perhaps the hottest research area in all of biology. She also discusses the challenges of the technology, as well as the ethical ramifications of the ability to make specific gene changes in organisms.

A. James Hudspeth, winner of the 2018 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience, spoke with Scientific American editor emerita Mariette DiChristina about his efforts to regenerate lost or damaged inner-ear cells that make hearing possible. They also discussed the cultural cohesion of the deaf community and why, for its members, the lack of aural communication is not a problem requiring a solution.

We take you inside a single fireworks shell to show you how it all works

Modern satellite imagery and three-dimensional modeling create a multimedia view of how Apollo 11 played out on the lunar surface

To learn more, read the story here.

Social insects such as ants and bees often have complex societies, but understanding the genetics behind their social interactions can be difficult due to their complex lifecycles. This lab in New York hopes to investigate the genetics of ant social behavior by focusing on an unusual species: the clonal raider ant.

This video was reproduced with permission and was first published on February 14, 2019. It is a Nature Video production.

How an animal moves can tell scientists a lot about how it lives. That is how researchers hope to learn more about an ancient crocodilelike creature called Orobates pabsti. Using scans of an Orobates fossil, fossilized footprints, and data from lizards and salamanders, researchers created a dynamic simulation of how Orobates moved, which they brought to life using a robot. 

To start your own investigation into Orobates’s movement, explore the free online tool here.

This video was reproduced with permission and was first published on January 16, 2019. It is a Nature Video production.

Is the “unique snowflake” just flake news? Mother Nature might never produce two identical snowflakes, thanks to the near-infinite variability of the conditions affecting ice crystal formation. But a Caltech scientist has developed a process for growing pairs of twin snowflakes.

The first direct air capture and storage plant in the world is powered by geothermal heat in Iceland. Is it enough to reach negative carbon emissions?

To learn more, read the story here.

Scientists at Ginkgo Bioworks have resurrected the smell of an extinct flower by putting together the pieces of its DNA.

To learn more, read the full story here.