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Pollination: it's vital to life on Earth but largely unseen by the human eye. Filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg shows us the intricate world of pollen and pollinators with gorgeous high-speed images from his film "Wings of Life," inspired by the vanishing of one of nature's primary pollinators, the honeybee.

Toward the end of his EPA career, Hudnell led a nine-agency effort to address fresh-water algal blooms, he said. The Interagency Symposium on Cyanobacteria Harmful Algal Blooms printed an 885-page report, now hosted at EPA.gov. The report linked algae growth to an increase in nutrient pollution and temperatures and the decline of algae-eating organisms.

In 2007, "that's when I decided, 'The agency's not going to do anything about this,' and I decided I could do better without the agency," he said. "At the time, I decided the best thing out there was the solar-powered circulators."

Circulation technology, he believes, is the most promising idea among the "in-lake" approaches. By cycling water up from the depths, he said, many municipalities have managed to kill off algae blooms, even in heavily affected sewage ponds.

The tactic may work by confusing the algae about its depth in the water, Hudnell said, or by making them more vulnerable to algae-attacking viruses. In either case, he said, he has seen results.

The United States is launching an effort to save some of its busiest workers: honey bees.
President Barack Obama created a task force comprising various agencies to address the issue of rapidly diminishing honey bees and other pollinators.
Honey bees pollinate fruit, nuts and vegetables, and are crucial for the nation's food industry.

Maddie reveals just how much we depend on bees, and how close we are to facing that reality!

Photosynthesis is an essential part of the exchange between humans and plants. Amanda Ooten walks us through the process of photosynthesis, also discussing the relationship between photosynthesis and carbohydrates, starch, and fiber -- and how the air we breathe is related to the food we ingest.

Photosynthesis Animation for Kids
This introductory, animated video explains the process of photosynthesis by which plants take in sunlight, carbon dioxide and water to produce their foodand Oxygen. Suitable for learners/kids new to the concept.

When you picture the lowest levels of the food chain, you might imagine herbivores happily munching on lush, living green plants. But this idyllic image leaves out a huge (and slightly less appetizing) source of nourishment: dead stuff. John C. Moore details the "brown food chain," explaining how such unlikely delicacies as pond scum and animal poop contribute enormous amounts of energy to our ecosystems

Photosynthesis is an essential part of the exchange between humans and plants. Amanda Ooten walks us through the process of photosynthesis, also discussing the relationship between photosynthesis and carbohydrates, starch, and fiber -- and how the air we breathe is related to the food we ingest.

This video goes over the structures and functions of flowers and how they produce fruit.

Another month, another carbon dioxide record. This time the record extends beyond the rocky slopes of Mauna Loa, Hawaii, home to the most storied carbon dioxide record, and includes 39 other sites around the globe to paint a troubling picture of a greenhouse gas rise with no signs of slowing down.

A video talking about the need for the Doomsday seed vault. Also documents the process used to collect the seeds and store the seeds.

Creature Eats and Becomes Fish Tongue. One of the more bizarre animals roaming around our oceans, this parasitic crustacean not only eats the tongues of fish but also then replaces it. It's chilling to think about, but surprising the fish endures and often resumes a somewhat normal life. Come learn a bit about the Tongue-Eating Louse.

Gross science: This parasite crawls into a fish's mouth and replaces its tongue. Enough said.

Note: In this video, we refer to the parasites as "protoandritic." The real word is "protandric." We take accuracy very seriously and we apologize for the error. Thank you to the viewer who pointed this out.

Symbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between different biological species.

The definition of symbiosis is controversial among scientists. Some believe symbiosis should only refer to persistent mutualisms, while others believe it should apply to all types of persistent biological interactions (i.e. mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasitic).

In this video we show how you can simply visualize all three.

A nice collection of video links about the three types of symbiosis -- mutualism, parasitism and commensalism.

And that's why it's not great news that bees haven't been doing so well in recent years. Last year, the United States lost 40 percent of its honeybee population, a devastating loss. No one is exactly sure what's causing the collapse, but climate change, pesticide use, disease, and habitat loss are all suspect. And other countries around the world are having the same difficulties. In Norway, which also noticed declines in bee populations, people are creating a 'bee highway' that gives bees a safe haven in the middle of the country's capital city.

ees pollinate a third of everything we eat and play a vital role in sustaining the planet's ecosystems. Some 84% of the crops grown for human consumption - around 400 different types of plants - need bees and other insects to pollinate them to increase their yields and quality. These include most fruits and vegetables, many nuts, and plants such as rapeseed and sunflowers that are turned into oil, as well as cocoa beans, coffee and tea. Crops grown as fodder for dairy cows and other livestock are also pollinated by bees. And it's not only food crops that rely on bee pollination, cotton does as well. As a result, annual global crop pollination by bees is estimated to be worth $170bn.