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A satellite's fiery reentry over Melbourne is a reminder of the danger of putting too much junk in space

Female snapping shrimps are more aggressive than males, frequently snapping their deadly claws at each other, a study has shown.

Researchers in the US had expected male shrimps - which brandish a larger snapping claw - to behave more aggressively.

But despite their smaller claw size, females snapped more often when defending their territory.

Interesting videos on science content.

Screencasting tool. Supposedly works in browser too.

"Carbon is the backbone of life on Earth. We are made of carbon, we eat carbon, and our civilizations-our economies, our homes, our means of transport-are built on carbon. We need carbon, but that need is also entwined with one of the most serious problems facing us today: global climate change."

Honeybees and wild bees are the most important pollinators of many of the fruits and vegetables we eat. Of 100 crop species that provide 90% of our global food supply, 71 are bee-pollinated. The value of pollination of food crops by bees in the U.S. alone is estimated at $16 billion and insect pollinators in general contribute $29 billion to U.S. farm income.
Fewer bees lead to lower availability and potentially higher prices of fruit and vegetables. Fewer bees mean no almonds, less coffee and less alfalfa hay available to feed dairy cows.

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.

Solar power is cheaper and more sustainable than our current coal-fueled power plants, so why haven't we made the switch? The real culprits here are the clouds, which make solar power difficult to control. Alexandros George Charalambides explains how solar towers and panels create electricity and how scientists are trying to create a system that can function even under cloud cover.

Later this year, Europe's Rosetta probe will orbit and land on comet 67P/Churyumov--Gerasimenko. New images of the comet show that it will be a lively place when Rosetta arrives.

This is an educational video "IMAX: The Earth", produced by the JPL and NASA. Uploaded for an introductory course on Astronomy. ASTR110 section 01, Ancilla College, Donaldson Indiana. Published under the Creative Commons License and in the Public Domain.

The groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. Produced in extensive consultation with NASA scientists, NOVA takes data from earth-observing satellites and transforms it into dazzling visual sequences, each one exposing the intricate and surprising web of forces that sustains life on earth.

The story of how the space missions evolved from the X-15 fighter jet in 1959 to get people into space is explained. The programs began with the Mercury missions: 7 men were selected to carry the first astronaut into space "on top of a rocket capsule". There was a rush because of competition with Russia: initially not much was known (a) whether the rockets would work, and (b) whether man could survive in space. At the beginning an ape called "Ham" was the first animal that flew. Eventually Alan Shepard was selected, BUT it is learned that the Soviet Union had been the first nation to put a man in space: Yuri Gagarin.

In this spell-binding series, Professor Brian Cox visits some of the most stunning locations on Earth to describe how the laws of nature have carved natural wonders across the Solar System.

Science expert Emerald Robinson explains what a solar eclipse is.To view over
15,000 other how-to, DIY, and advice videos on any topic, visit

Science expert Emerald Robinson explains what a lunar eclipse is and how it
happens.To view over 15,000 other how-to, DIY, and advice videos on any topic,

Discover one of the most unique hunters of the plant kingdom, and witness how the cobra lily (Darlingtonia californica) uses deception and patience to trick unsuspecting insect prey into its highly specialized pitcher traps.

A really neat livestream of the Katmai falls on the Brooks river in Alaska where a hundred brown bears gather each year to feed on salmon.

A collection of Nat Geo photos of galaxies.

A nice Nat Geo map showing the Milky Way Galaxy and our position inside of it.