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. 

Ecogeeks : Untamed Science Video Podcast

Crazy Animal Births

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. 

When is Acceleration the Greatest in Skydiving?

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. 

World Water Day

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. 

Chemistry of Love

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. 

Hibernation: A Wintery Slumber

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. 

Why is the turkey called a 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. 

The Chemistry of the Stinkiest Fruit Ever!

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. 

Why do Animals Strand on Beaches

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. 

Dirt to Dinosaur: Paleontology 101

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. 

Sampling so it doesn't take FOREVER!

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. 

How Lakes Cycle

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. 

Basics of Fracking

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. 

Lab Grown Meat?

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. 

Why Leaves Change Color in the Fall

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. 

The Biology of Zombies

A science video podcast that explains science topics in a fun and exciting way. Not only is it great for science teachers to download to show in the classroom, but its an ideal podcast for the nature lover. Videos are linked to informational pages on our new site untamedscience.com.