MinuteEarth

By Minute EarthScience Earth Sciences

MinuteEarth episodes

May 29, 2025 How to Work From Home as a Team
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6 min
May 28, 2025How To Name A Disease (Like COVID-19)
To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:
Coronaviruses (CoV): a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as COVID-19.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): an infectious disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus that was discovered in 2019 and named a pandemic in 2020.

2009 H1N1 Flu: a pandemic disease that emerged in 2009 caused by the H1N1)pdm09 virus, which was different from any other influenza strain circulating at the time.

World Health Organization (WHO): an organization that directs and coordinates international health within the United Nations system.

1918 Flu: often referred to as the “Spanish flu,” the 1918 influenza pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history and caused by an H1N1 virus. There are competing theories for its place of origin, but public health experts agree it did not actually originate in Spain.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS): a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It was first named “gay-related immunodeficiency disease (GRID),” despite the fact anyone, regardless of sexuality, is susceptible.

Stigma: a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person.

Pandemic: the worldwide spread of a new disease.
MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://neptunestudios.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
If you like what we do, you can help us!
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4 min
May 27, 2025Why Don't More Animals Eat Wood?
To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:
Xylophagy: the eating of wood

Lignin: a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of vascular plants and help make wood rigid.

Cellulose: a polysaccharide consisting of chains of glucose monomers, which is the main constituent of plant cell walls.

Lignin oxidation: a depolymerization method to break bonds in lignin molecules such as ether or carbon–carbon bonds by applying an oxidant such as oxygen.

Depolymerization: the process of breaking down a polymer, such as lignin, into simpler monomers

Trichonympha agilis: a specialized protist that lives in the hindguts of many termite species that breaks down the cellulose in the wood they eat and may contribute to the lignin oxidation process.
MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://neptunestudios.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
If you like what we do, you can help us!
- Become our patron: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
- Buy our merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://dftba.com/minuteearth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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4 min
May 26, 2025Where Does One Ocean End And Another Begin?
To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:
IHO: International Hydrographic Organization
MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://neptunestudios.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
If you like what we do, you can help us!
- Become our patron: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
- Buy our merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://dftba.com/minuteearth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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4 min
May 25, 2025 Categorize Marsupials
MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://neptunestudios.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
If you like what we do, you can help us!
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2 min
May 24, 2025 Vulture Food
MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://neptunestudios.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
If you like what we do, you can help us!
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2 min
May 23, 2025How This River Made Chimps Violent
To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:
Chimpanzee: A great ape native to tropical Africa that is one of humanity’s closest living relatives.

Bonobo: A slightly smaller great ape native to tropical Africa that is one of humanity’s closest living relatives.

Speciation: A lineage-splitting event in which a population of the same species becomes two different species.

Allopatric speciation: Speciation that occurs when populations of the same species get isolated geographically.

Hominini: The taxonomical classification that includes humans, chimps, and bonobos.

Pan: The taxonomical classification that includes chimps and bonobos.

Chimpobo: A name we just made up to identify the common ancestor of the chimpanzee and bonobo.

Congo river: The deepest river in the world and the second largest (behind the Amazon) in discharge volume.

G-G Rubbing: A form of genital to genital contact bonobos sometimes use to form social bonds.
MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://neptunestudios.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
If you like what we do, you can help us!
- Become our patron: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
- Buy our merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://dftba.com/minuteearth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
- Buy our book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://minuteearth.com/books⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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4 min
May 22, 2025The Fastest-Growing Plant In The World
To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:
Rhizome: a continuously growing horizontal underground stem which puts out lateral shoots and roots at intervals

Vacuole: an organelle within the cytoplasm of a cell, enclosed by a membrane and typically containing fluid, whose main purpose in plants is to maintain pressure against the cell wall

Microfibrils: fiber-like strands consisting of glycoproteins and cellulose that make up the cell wall structure

Auxin: a plant hormone which causes the elongation of cells in shoots and is involved in regulating plant growth
MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://neptunestudios.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
If you like what we do, you can help us!
- Become our patron: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
- Buy our merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://dftba.com/minuteearth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
- Buy our book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://minuteearth.com/books⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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3 min
May 21, 2025How To Turn Poop Into Power
To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:
Anaerobic digestion: a sequence of processes by which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen

Methanogens: a methane-producing bacterium, especially an archaean which reduces carbon dioxide to methane

Wastewater treatment: a process used to remove contaminants from wastewater or sewage and convert it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle with minimum impact on the environment, or directly reused

Biogas: the mixture of gases produced by anaerobic digestion of organic matter, primarily consisting of methane and carbon dioxide, which can be used as a renewable energy source
MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://neptunestudios.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
If you like what we do, you can help us!
- Become our patron: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
- Buy our merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://dftba.com/minuteearth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
- Buy our book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://minuteearth.com/books⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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4 min
May 20, 2025You Have More Bones Than You Think
To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:
Cartilage: The flexible connective tissue that is turned to bone by osteoblasts.

Osteoblasts: Cells that control calcium and mineral deposition to turn cartilage into bone.

Sesamoids: Bones embedded in tendons or muscles.

Fabella: A large sesamoid bone occasionally found behind the knee joint.

Coccyx: The small set of semi-fused triangular bones at the end of the vertebral column.
MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://neptunestudios.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
If you like what we do, you can help us!
- Become our patron: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
- Buy our merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://dftba.com/minuteearth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
- Buy our book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://minuteearth.com/books⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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4 min

About MinuteEarth

From the publisher's feed

From the creators of the popular science show with millions of YouTube subscribers comes the MinuteEarth podcast. Every episode of the show dives deep into a science question you might not even know…