Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

Viruses are everywhere, and have been for a long time, but do we know their origins? Well, truthfully, the origin of viruses is a mystery, because how can something that needs victims to make more of itself emerge in the first place? Still, there are many ideas. Viruses may have been essential steps in the emergence of life, or maybe they started out as escaped DNA from cells that became really good at making copies of themselves. Maybe they are the descendants of truly lazy parasites that let others do all the work for them? The current thinking is that viruses probably emerged multiple times from different origins, but we simply don’t know for sure yet. Whatever the truth is, viruses are the most successful beings on this planet. There are an estimated 10,000 billion, billion, billion viruses on earth. In fact, if we put them all next to each other they would stretch for 100 million light years – 500 Milky Way galaxies wide.

3 days ago | [YT] | 11,085

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

We have the perfect gifts for the curious birbs in your life. Discover one-of-a-kind sciencey gifts and cozy styles that don’t just look spectacular, but spark imagination and inspire creativity all year round.
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⭐ Get your sciencey gifts in time for the holidays! ⭐
Head to the kurzgesagt shop’s shipping page to check your country’s last order date.

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1 week ago | [YT] | 2,519

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

There are countless species that roamed the Earth in the past, and although we can't travel to the past to see them, we can still learn about them with the help of paleontology, which studies the history of life with the help of fossils.
Fossils are any sort of remains preserved from past geological ages. Those can be bones or shells, remains or imprints, or a big variety of things preserved in amber. The totality of all fossils on earth is called the fossil record and it is the most important window on the past we’ll ever have.
Still, we also need some luck. For a dead animal to fossilize a number of things must go just right: the right environment, timing and conditions. And then the fossil needs to survive for millions or hundreds of millions of years and then get back to the surface, where we have to discover it before natural processes dissolve it.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 10,086

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

The Black Hole Week Deals are here! 🖤✨ shop.kgs.link/BlackHoleWeek

Save up to 60% on your favorite products before the black hole devours them.
Last chance: Some products are unfortunately leaving us for good. Don’t miss out – get them while you still can!

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2 weeks ago | [YT] | 3,561

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

If you look up at the night sky, you might assume it will be there forever. Stars are born and die again in a cycle that feels endless. But it is not. Take the Milky Way: up to 200,000 light-years in diameter, containing some 100 to 400 billion stars. How many stars do you think are born here each year? Thousands? Millions?

The answer is around three. Three new stars per year. 95% of all the stars that will ever exist in the universe have already been born, and we live at the tail end of the age of star formation. We are at the beginning of the end of the universe as we know it. And the formation of new stars will continue to slow down.

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 19,197

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

Meet the fresh and new kurzgesagt Health Journal!
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Improve your health – with science: We’ve collected all the latest health science and designed a framework to help you figure out how to improve your fitness, nutrition, and mental health effectively.
Step by step, we'll guide you in building a routine that works for you and your individual needs and goals.
Like everything we do at kurzgesagt, it’s backed by science, developed by experts, and illustrated with love.
To keep you inspired and motivated, we also designed some exclusive Health Club merch. Check them out on our shop.

Let’s Get Started!

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1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 3,640

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

Think of your parents. As a child, you spend basically every day with them. However, your time spent together begins to decline as you become a teenager and fight to develop your own identity. But even as a teenager, you still probably see them regularly, which changes as you enter your twenties, when most people move out.

Even if you make an effort to be with your parents for two full weeks each year for the rest of their lives, which covers the main holidays, birthdays and a bit extra, you’ve already spent more than 90% of the time you will ever spend with them, even if they grow pretty old.

The time you have with the people you love is precious. So make sure to call and see them as often as you can.

1 month ago | [YT] | 95,675

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

Venus is by far the hottest planet in the Solar System with a surface temperature of 460°C, hot enough to melt lead. This heat is due to the most extreme greenhouse effect in the Solar System. CO2 is great at trapping heat – even a rise from 0.03% to 0.04% in the Earth's atmosphere is heating up our planet right now. Venus's atmosphere is 97% CO2.

On top of that, Venus's atmosphere is 93 times denser than Earth’s. Standing on Venus’s surface would feel like taking a dive about 900 meters deep into the ocean. The pressure would kill you instantly.

1 month ago | [YT] | 10,586

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

✨ We might have made the best calendar ever – again! ✨
It's been only a few weeks since the 12,026 Human Era Calendar dropped, but we’ve already received so many positive comments, reviews, and love. Thank you so much!

Check out more reviews and the calendar here: shop.kgs.link/Calendar26

For so many of you, this isn’t just a calendar anymore, it’s a yearly tradition. Reading your stories about unboxing each edition or gifting it to friends and family truly means the world to us. Thank you for being a part of this special tradition ❤️🦆

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1 month ago | [YT] | 4,413

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

When you battle an infection and there are too many enemies, your macrophages call for reinforcements. Hundreds of thousands of neutrophils pick up their signals and move to the battlefield.
Neutrophils are intense warriors that only live to kill. In fact, they are so enthusiastic about killing that they even destroy themselves a few days after birth so they don’t have time to accidentally harm your own from the inside. As soon as neutrophils arrive, they begin vomiting deadly chemicals at bacteria or devour them. They are so careless in their attacks, that they cause real damage to your own cells as well. Still, collateral damage is not really their concern. Some neutrophils go so far as to push their self-destruct button and explode, casting wide and toxic nets made from their own DNA, filled with deadly chemicals which trap and kill bacteria. Sometimes they can continue fighting even after that, even though they are sort of dead already. This is how much fun they have killing.

1 month ago | [YT] | 13,354