Ecogeeks : Untamed Science Video Podcast

It's spring and that means many animals are having babies. When most of us think of animals having and raising young though, what do we imagine? We raise this rhetorical question to help remind you that there is lots of diversity in the ways animals have and raise their young. In this Untamed Science weekly video we touch on a half dozen crazy animal births in the animal kingdom. For more information, check out our Youtube Page.

Think about this question for a second - when is acceleration the greatest in skydiving? Is it when you jump out, right before you open your shoot, after you open your shoot, or when you get to the ground? The concept seems simple enough but many people get it wrong. For more information, check out our Youtube Page.

Yep, that's right. It's time to think about water again. This video isn't about how to take shorter showers though. We're just here to celebrate the day. Last month we took a trip down the Colorado River - all 225 miles of it. It was a grueling trip and it made us think about water in a whole new way! For more information, check out our Youtube Page.

With Valentines Day upon us once again, we decided it was a good time to bring up these famous love chemicals - dopamine, serotonine, and adrenaline. Jonas and Louise spent some time on this topic a few years back during their Chemistry Calendar work, and we thought it was worthy enough to touch on once more. For more information, check out our Youtube Page.

Did you know that bears don't hibernate like other animals? It's true. In fact, some bear biologists call them superhibernators. We're back to podcasting this spring, and wanted to start off with a nice winter theme for this first video. If you're having problems watching this video watch it on Youtube.

Did you know that the turkey was in fact named after the country Turkey? In Turkey though, the name refers to coming from India. In India, it refers to Peru. In Arabic, it’s called Greek Chicken. In French, it’s Indian Chicken. So how did the turkey get it’s name? In this short Untamed Science video, the crew looks at not only the name, but also what Benjamin Franklin had to say about the bird, and the basics of turkey behavior. For more information, check out our web page on the wild turkey.

Here in the United States we are accustomed to eating only a handful of fruits such as apples, oranges and bananas. Yet, there are a lot of fruits that are extremely common in other places of the world. In this weekly video, Jonas takes a look at durian, a fruit called the "king of fruits" in SE Asia. Durian has one of the strongest smells, and is actually illegal to carry on all forms of public transportation. To understand why, Jonas opens up some of the basic chemistry of this incredible fruit. For more information, check out our web page on the Durian fruit.

In the news this year there have been a lot of animals that have ended up on beaches. In fact, this last month Massachusetts had nearly 100 turtles end up on beaches. New Zealand had several dozen whales strand. So why is it happening? Truth be told it's probably a result of a lot of factors. But, that's why we made this video! If you have a problem watching this video you can subscribe to our YouTube Channel here.

If you've ever watched a hollywood movie, like Jurrasic Park, you probably think paleontologists go out looking for beautifully preserved fossil skeletons. Truth be told, that's not exactly what paleontologists are likely to find in the field. In this video, Rob went to the NC Museum of Natural Sciences to meet up with Dr. Lindsay Zanno. If you have a problem watching this video you can subscribe to our YouTube Channel here.

Sampling is a technique used by ecologists so they can get an understanding of a population without having to count every individual in the population. There are different methods of sampling. A common method used by ecologists involve quadrates. An advanced technique used by scientists that count deer is known as distance sampling. If you have a problem watching this video you can subscribe to our YouTube Channel here.

In this short episode, Rob describes the basic zones of a lake. He also explains the diversity of lakes. Lakes you see, come in all shapes and sizes. There are tropical lakes and temperate lakes. Temperate lakes cycle year after year. If you want to learn more about the lake biome, you can read more about it on our lakes biome page here.

I must admit, we're not making this video to champion fracking as an activity. Yet, we've found that both the anti-oil types and the pro-drilling types sometimes don't understand how it all works. They make their decisions without even a basic understanding of the processes at work. This video is an introduction, hopefully unbiased, about hydraulic fracturing. Watch the video on our YouTube Channel here and see links to the extended interviews.

Did you know that with some high-tech lab techniques it is actually possible to grow muscle tissue in the lab – hence the topic “Lab Grown Meat”. As it turns out, later this year Mark Post and fellow Dutch researchers are planning a big release of their lab grown hamburger. It’s a bit like culturing yogurt – well, sort of. A few cells could go a long ways, but what does this mean? Will this technology help improve the environment? Will people want to eat meat grown in the lab? These are just a few questions you may find yourself asking. Fortunately, it’s the topic of this week’s Untamed Science video. Haley helps explain exactly what this is and how it’s done. Hopefully, it helps spur a great deal of conversation in the classroom and beyond. Watch the video on our YouTube Channel here.

Why do leaves change color in the fall. Turns out, not many people really know the answer to this. You might think it is simply because the green color of the chlorophyll masks the other pigments. That's only part of the story though. Turns out, anthocyanins are produced in the plant in the fall. Learn more about the science of leaf change here.

With Halloween right around the corner, we're all picking our costumes. Did you know that many of the creepy characters, like vampires, werewolves, witches and zombies likely all come from stories with a biological basis to them? Turns out, the Zombies we know from Hollywood horror films have a very real biological basis. It's all about the potions used by the witch doctors. In short, it all stems from the country of Haiti, where Zombies are ingrained in their cultural beliefs. Their mystery was finally unlocked by Wade Davis, an ethnobotanist in the early 1980's when he got his hands on a handful of "zombie potions". Learn more about the Biology of Zombies here.

Did you know that your home likely has between 30 and 100 arthropod species living in it? This week, we went bug hunting with some researchers in Raleigh, NC. They are doing a project surveying the bugs in our homes. What they found might actually surprise you! If you're having a hard time viewing this video, visit it on our insect page.

Every winter the flu, also known as influenza, starts to spread across the US. The CDC estimates that 35,000 people die each year from it in the US alone. While most of those have weakened immune systems, it is still a dangerous viral infection. This is just a small introduction to the Vaccines, during this flu season. If you're having a hard time viewing this video, visit it on Youtube.

Millions of people watched Felix Baumgartner on October 14th 2012, break a few very impressive skydiving records. One of the most impressive was breaking the sound barrier. I noticed upon watching it though, that they kept the science pretty minimal. We thought we'd explore the science in a bit more detail. If you're having a hard time viewing this video, visit it on Youtube.

Ask anyone what alternative energy sources there are and they'll surely tell you about wind energy and solar energy. How many people would suggest energy from the ocean? Turns out, the first wave energy collection buoy was just deployed for commercial use in the US off the coast of Oregon. That's big news. But, what does this really mean for us? That's the topic for our weekly video! To learn more about this topic vista our basics of wave energy page.

Today, I'm here to explain that plants are pretty cool. I'm not talking this time about how they'll kill you or how you can get high. In fact, I felt it was important to start off with some basics- monocots vs dicots. You learned it in school, but why did you learn it? I'll admit, this might seem like a nerdy video, but it's important, and if you're into plants, I think you'll like this short. To learn more about this topic visit our monocots vs dicots page.

Lyme disease is caused by a spirochaete bacteria that is transferred to humans by ticks. Ticks aren't born with the pathogen, however. They have to take it up from an infected animal during one of their blood meals. To learn more about the disease visit our lyme disease page.

This isn't the start of a bad joke. In fact, it is a real question that researchers are figuring out at the Mpala research station in Kenya. We got the opportunity to visit the facility this summer with a group of researchers doing some cutting edge science. To learn more about the project visit our baboon research page.

If you think about it for a second, the majority of livable space on the planet is actually found in the deep sea. Recently, Rob and Haley were able to take a trip to the lightless zones of the ocean in a home-made sub. On the trip, they passed a drifting fishing net which was the inspiration for this week’s video on ocean conservation. Learn more about the deep sea here.

With all this talk of mining asteroids to get fuel from water, we want to show you a cool little experiment that’ll make you realize how easy this can be. Plus, it has a lot of practical applications. In this experiment, we’re going to hydrolyze water into hydrogen and oxygen! You don’t even need high-tech equipment. All you need are a few simple products that you can get at the electronics store.

Now that the weather has turned warmer and the days are getting longer, plants are starting to grow. The problem for us is that invasive plants often have a competitive edge over native plants. They’re growing out of control! Invasive plants like kudzu are overtaking the terrestrial environment while others like hydrila, water hyacinth, and giant salvinia threaten aquatic environments. In this video, Rob who has spent years documenting invasives, gives us a look at a few of the worst and explains the importance of really knowing your species so that you too can help fight these invaders.. Learn more about wicked plants and all that we're doing for the display here.

Recently a company made of billionaires (including Google execs and James Cameron), have decided its going to be a good idea to mine asteroids for their precious metals and water. What? Haley gives a quick overview of what's going on.

Earth day is one of the most popular holidays in the world. However, it seems that most people have little idea where it actually came from. To help us understand this holiday Rob gives us a 3 minute rundown. Learn more about earth day here.

Every so often the Untamed Science team gets together to do something kind of crazy. This year, we decided to cycle across Europe from Italy to Sweden. In doing so, we were able to see some amazing places. We also endured some difficulties. This is one of many trip updates we did for the trip that we thought you'd enjoy. To read more about the trip and see all the video updates visit our Cycling Europe page.

The first SpaceX mission to dock with the international space station, summarized in 3 minutes by Haley. Watch the video of about SpaceX on our Youtube Channel.

Brassica oleracea is a small plant known by many as kale, brussels sprouts, broccoli, and kohlrabi. While known by many names, they are all the same species. All of these came from a wild form - wild cabbage. In this episode, Rob and the Untamed Science crew head out to look for this wild form as they cycle across Europe. Learn more about wild cabbage here.

In this Untamed Science video, Rob Nelson explores the claims by looking to the researchers. He was able to get footage from a research expedition into the “Pacific Garbage Patch” to see just how much trash is out there. While it isn’t a thick floating mat of trash, what the researchers found will amaze you. Learn more about the garbage patch here.

Did you know that no other country in the world gets more tornadoes than we do right here in the United States of America? Because the cold air that comes over the Rockies meets the warm air in the plains, we have the perfect conditions for monster tornadoes. In fact, we get anywhere from 800 to 1,000 tornadoes a year! Very few of them are as devastating as the Joplin, MO tornado of last year. Others, like the small tornado that Rob and Haley got stuck in for this video, do minimal damage. So how do scientists classify tornadoes? If you guessed wind speed, you’re not exactly correct. Watch this week’s science video to find out! Learn more about Rob and Haley's tornado adventure here.

In this short video, Rob visits the US kayaking facility in Charlotte, NC to watch the kayaking team trials. His goal was to figure out how the kayakers use buoyancy to their advantage. Learn more about kayaking and buoyancy here.

Clouds are fun to look at, especially if you know what it is in the sky. While there are several ways to classify clouds, we've made it very simple and started with cirrus, stratus and cumulus. Learn more about the clue types here.

Have you ever wondered why certain athletes train at altitude? Is it because it helps their lungs, or their heart? Does altitude training really help all athletes? Learn more about about altitude training here.

The history of chemistry dates back to even before we called it chemistry. In this episode, Jonas and Louise take a look back at the year producing the International Year of Chemistry videos. They take a close look at Alfred Nobel and the history of the Nobel prize. They even visit the Swedish society in Stockholm where they give out the prize. Learn more about the International Year of Chemistry and the history of chemistry here.

We are all chemists! Every day we are doing chemistry in our own homes. When we eat and prepare food, we are actually doing chemistry. In the preparation of food, a lot of different chemical reactions are happening that create new and tasty molecules. We then eat these molecules and digestive reactions begin in our bodies. Yet, even before the food ends up in our kitchen, there is a lot of chemistry involved in the production and storage of the food. This month we investigated some of the different chemical reactions related to food. Learn more about the International Year of Chemistry and the chemistry of food here.

Simple Machines are a lot more fun to learn about when you have a music video. We put this short music video together as part of a longer series with Pearson Publishing. The idea is that music helps kids learn. While most of our pieces are for an older audience, we thought you might enjoy this short. Learn more about untamed science here.

The biomes of the world are determined by the dominant plants. Those plants are determined by the climate. This video is a short introduction to the causes of climate. What factors are involved in the different climates on Earth! Learn more about world biomes here.

The Water Cycle defines the flow of water through our lakes, streams, oceans, groundwater and in the air. In this episode we're taking a trip down the Colorado river in Canyonlands National Park as we show the path of water. Learn more about Untamed Science here.

Chemistry and our health. That statement should go hand in hand. Almost all of the drugs we've ever used are a result of breakthroughs in Chemistry. In this episode, Jonas and Louise are exploring the role of antibiotics, chemistry and health. Learn more about the International Year of Chemistry and the chemistry of health here.

Communication in our world has more to do with Chemistry than you might think. In fact, the term Silicon valley relates directly to the use of chemistry in the computer industry. Learn more about the International Year of Chemistry and the Chemistry of Communication here.

This summer Texas burnt because of a La Nina event. However, many people don't really know what a La Nina event really is and how it affects global climate patterns. In this current events podcast we attempt to answer just that. Learn more about this La Nina event.

The Chemistry of Sports is a story of the chemistry of our bodies. How can we use our knowledge in chemistry to help us do better in sports? In this episode, Jonas and Louise did a small experiment. They contrasted a period of inactivity with a period of high activity. They used chemistry to help them calculate exactly how much energy they will be using during that time. Learn more about the International Year of Chemistry topics here.

What is sustainable development anyhow? We hear the term a lot in today's society. In this episode, Jonas and Louise explore the new field of green chemistry and how it relates to sustainable development. Learn more about the International Year of Chemistry topics here.

The Chemistry of Water is interesting. Did you know that water is one of the few molecules that is its most dense not as a solid, but as a liquid at 4 degrees C! Jonas and Louise skydive and kayak to present this month's IYoC video. Learn more about the International Year of Chemistry topics here.

The American Black Bear is one of America's most misunderstood animals. It is largely vegetarian, and generally quite scared of humans. Recently we went to the Eastern Black Bear conference in NC to talk to the experts about the black bear! Learn more about Black Bear Biology here.

Did you know that falling in love has everything to do with Chemistry? In this episode we bring you the Chemistry of Love by explaining how the chemistry of your brain changes during the phases of love. After watching this video you might realize why it's not wise to make big decisions when under the influence of "love drugs". Learn more about the Chemistry of Love here.

There are lots of ways to save the ocean. We're just suggesting a few right here to help get you started. Recycle, use less plastic, eat sustainable fish, use less fertilizer - the list goes on and on. Learn more about saving the ocean here.

Cell Biology told via a music video? That's right. This segment of Untamed Science comes from our elementary series. It is one of 80 videos we created for this age group with Pearson Publishing. The videos will be available this fall and we're really excited about it. This is a small taste of what you can get with this program. To learn more about cell organelles and cell biology go here.

Why is the Ocean Blue? Several students have submitted this question to Untamed Science, so we've decided to take on the challenge of answering it. It all has to do with physics and the way light reflects off of objects and the way light is absorbed by water. Basically long red wavelengths are absorbed first in the water column. Learn more about why the ocean appears blue and watch more of our videos.