In 2022, our science videos on YouTube were watched for over nine million hours (that's just over 1000 years worth of people learning about science all around the world!).
We looked at our audience's favourites to bring you the 10 most-watched videos of 2022.
PRO TIP: don't forget the Q&A for each talk is linked in the description. Expect lots of interesting quick-fire facts!
The other end of a black hole – with James Beacham
What would happen if you fell into a black hole? CERN physicist James Beacham returned to the Ri to explore what happens when the fabric of reality – physical or societal – gets twisted beyond recognition.
Getting older without getting old - with Andrew Steele
Ageing is not a biological inevitability. Scientists are studying every aspect of the body which could lead to treatments that could slow down, or even stop, the ageing process. In this talk by Andrew Steele, discover how understanding the scientific implications of ageing could lead to the greatest revolution in the history of medicine. One that has the potential to transform the human condition.
What's eating the universe? - with Paul Davies
What are the unexplained riddles of the universe? Award-winning physicist Paul Davies talks you through the strange enigmas that have preoccupied cosmologists from ancient Greece to the present day.
Solar system science from the James Webb Space Telescope – with Naomi Rowe-Gurney
What is the JWST, and what big science questions can it answer? NASA scientist Naomi discusses JWST images, along with her research into the ice giants, Uranus and Neptune, and the many other areas that this space telescope can help with.
Nuclear Fusion and the Race to Power the Planet - with Arthur Turrell
What is nuclear fusion, and could it really help combat the climate emergency? Arthur Turrell takes us on a thrilling tour of one of the greatest technological and scientific challenges humanity has ever undertaken: reproducing the power source of the stars on our own planet.
The invisible universe, from supernova to black holes – with Matthew Bothwell
Since the dawn of our species, people have gazed in awe at the night sky. But we can only see a tiny fraction of the Universe. Matthew Bothwell asks what the cosmos has in store for us beyond the phenomena we can see, from black holes to supernovas, and how different the invisible Universe look from the home we thought we knew.
Where did the Universe come from? – with Geraint Lewis
Modern physics is split in two. To explain the large-scale Universe, we talk of the curved and expanding spacetime of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity. For the small-scale, we talk about probabilities and uncertainties and the language of quantum mechanics. Whilst these two pillars of physics are both supremely accurate and immensely powerful theories, they are, at heart, incompatible. But to understand the past, present and future history of the universe, we must get these two theories to play nicely together.
Giant fishing dinosaurs: Uncovering Spinosaurus and Baryonyx – with David Hone
Spinosaurus and baryonyx were large dinosaurs with very big arms and claws. But what exactly do we know about them? What were they up to? How did they live? And what did they eat? Palaeontologist David Hone explores the latest discoveries about these fascinating fishing dinosaurs.
What Darwin won't tell you about evolution - with Jonathan Pettitt
How did the complexity of life evolve? Was it via finely-tuned natural selection, or a more messy process altogether? In this talk, Jonathan Pettitt explains how living systems tend to make simple mechanisms more complicated than they need to be. He will show how such ‘unnecessary complexity’ can both restrict and expand an organism’s evolutionary potential.
How the Krebs cycle powers life and death – with Nick Lane
What process animates cells and gives life to lifeless matter? What brings our own lives to an end? The Krebs cycle is the answer - and it could turn our picture of life on Earth upside down. Nick Lane takes us on a journey which turns the standard view upside down, capturing an extraordinary scientific renaissance that is hiding in plain sight.
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