Lecture: DNA Explained

BBC Knowledge Explainer DNA from Territory

BBC Knowledge and Learning is exploring a wide variety of topics from social history to science in a series of three-minute online Explainer documentaries, and this short history of DNA really knocks it out of the park, both artistically and scientifically.

Territory Studio was commissioned to create the video in cooperation with writer Andrew S. Walsh and molecular biologist Matthew Adams.  The video walks through the fundamentals beginning with the basic chemistry.  Lead animator Will Samuel explains:

"We needed to find a graphic style to communicate the beauty and intricacy of DNA. We wanted to create nostalgia; taking the audience back to the days of textbook diagrams and old science documentaries, such as Carl Sagan's COSMOS and IBM’s POWER OF TEN (1977). Using the double helix circular theme as a core design we focused on form, movement and colour to create a consistent flow to the animation, drawing on references from nature, illustrating how DNA is the core to everything around us."

Lecture: What Most Schools Don't Teach

What most Schools don't Teach by CodeOrg

Learn about a new "superpower" that isn't being taught in in 90% of US schools.

Lecture: Surviving a Nuclear Attack

Surviving a nuclear attack - Irwin Redlener from TEDEducation

Lecture: Richard Dawkins on Morality and Science

Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins on Morality and Science

Who Says Science has Nothing to Say About Morality?

Lecture: The Network Transformation

Aaron Swartz - The Network Transformation by FrankyRP

Featured Site: Numberphile

4937775 - Numberphile

Numberphile is a website containing short videos (approx. 5-10 min.) about numbers and stuff. Mathematicians and physicists play around with the tools of their trade and explain things in simple, clear language. Learn things you didn't know you were interested in! Find out why 493-7775 is a pretty cool phone number! What's the significance of 42, anyway? What the heck is a vampire number? Why does Pac-Man have only 255 screens?

Suitable for viewing by everyone from intelligent and curious middle-schoolers to math-impaired adults. They also have a fantastic YouTube channel.

Lecture: Holland vs the Netherlands

The Difference Between The Netherlands and Holland

Lecture: The Chemistry of Snowflakes

The Chemistry of Snowflakes by BytesizeScience

The shape of a snowflake is due to the changing condition of the air through which it falls. Who knew?

Lecture: The Internet will Transform Government

How the Internet will (one day) transform government

In this TED talk, Clay Shirky explains  how democracies can take a lesson from the Internet both in terms of transparency as well as in drawing upon the knowledge of their citizens.  Shirky argues that the history of the modern world could be rendered as the history of ways of arguing, where changes in media change what sort of arguments are possible — with deep social and political implications.

Lecture: Can Science Save Us?

Can science save us? from UniversityOfBristol

An intriguing question and discussion from University of Bristol scientists. Mankind has utilized science and technology to both aid and hinder life on Earth. And in many areas, from poverty to climate change, we have the opportunity to make a real difference using the knowledge stored inside our collective brains.

Lecture: The Power of Outrospection

RSA Animate - The Power of Outrospection

Introspection is out, and outrospection is in. Philosopher and author Roman Krznaric explains how we can help drive social change by stepping outside ourselves.

The RSA is a 258 year-old charity devoted to creating social progress and spreading world-changing ideas. For more information about our research, RSA Animates, free events programme and 27,000 strong fellowship, visit thersa.org

Lecture: To Live Forever - or Die Trying

TEDxManitoba - Robert J. Sawyer: To Live Forever - or Die Trying

Lecture: What’s Missing from High School Physics

Open Letter to the President: Physics Education

Physics forms the backbone of our understanding of the universe, but our high school physics curriculum are more than a little lacking when it comes to things from the past 150 years.

Lecture: The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics

Serge Haroche and David Wineland were awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday. They share the prize for independently developing methods to study particles of light…without destroying that light, which is usually what happens when it is observed. (For the record, other particles are relevant as well, but let’s just keep it simple and suggest that we’re talking about photons.) Their invention is clever and interesting, but can be hard to grok for the non-scientist.

Lecture: Can We Have Brain-to-Brain Communication?

Can We Have Brain-to-Brain Communication

Some people think that the next big innovation in the coming decades is not going to involve the Internet because we can actually connect computers to the human mind. Therefore, Michio Kaku says this brain-to-brain communication would involve not just the exchange of information, but also the transmission of emotions and feelings, "because these are also part of the fabric of our thoughts."

Lecture: NASA's Mission to Save Earth from Asteroids

Neil deGrasse Tyson and NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations) explore what it takes to stop an asteroid from colliding with earth.

Lecture: The Biological Advantage of Being Awestruck

The Biological Advantage of Being Awestruck by Jason Silva

[...] our ability to awe was biologically selected for by evolution because it imbues our lives with sense of cosmic significance that has resulted in a species that works harder not just to survive but to flourish and thrive…

Lecture: String Theory in 26 Seconds

String Theory in 26 Seconds by George Musser

Looking for a more detailed explanation? Watch string theorist Brian Greene: The Universe On A String.

Lecture: Measurement

Paul Lockhart, author of the famous Mathematician's Lament, has a new book coming out called Measurement, which tries to discuss mathematics "as an artful way of thinking and living". Lockhart discusses his passion for math and motives for writing the book in this video.

Lecture: Infinite Reality

"Infinite Reality: Avatars, Eternal Life and New Worlds" by StanfordUniversity

Jeremy Bailenson shares his research on virtual reality, avatars, transformed social interaction, and related communication and psychological theories, as well as implications for citizens living in the digital age.