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Occasionally, internal or external factors change, allowing certain animals to become giant versions of themselves.

 

Thanks also to our supporters on https://www.patreon.com/MinuteEarth

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To learn more, start your googling with these keywords:

Spiracles: External respiratory openings on insects

Carboniferous Period: The time period from 359-299 million years ago when the Earth’s oxygen levels increased rapidly.

Square-Cube Law: A mathematical principle that describes the relationship between area and volume.

Buoyancy: An upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of an immersed object.

Phytoplankton: Microscopic plants eaten by krill and other zooplankton.

Baleen: A filter-feeding system inside the mouth of some whales.

 

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Credits (and Twitter handles):

Script Writer: David Goldenberg (@dgoldenberg)

Script Editor: Emily Elert (@eelert)

Video Illustrator: Ever Salazar (@eversalazar)

Video Director: Kate Yoshida (@KateYoshida)

Video Narrator: Kate Yoshida (@KateYoshida)

With Contributions From: Henry Reich, Alex Reich, Peter Reich

Music by: Nathaniel Schroeder: http://www.soundcloud.com/drschroeder

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References:

Kaiser, A., et al. (2007). Increase in tracheal investment with beetle size supports hypothesis of oxygen limitation on insect gigantism. 13198-13203. PNAS. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1941816/

 

Sander, P. Christian, et al. (2011). Biology of the sauropod dinosaurs:the evolution of gigantism. Biological Reviews. 86(1): 117–155. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3045712/

 

Taylor, M and Weder, M. (2013). Why sauropods had long necks; and why giraffes have short necks. PeerJ 1:e36. Retrieved from: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1209.5439.pdf.

 

Verberk, W. and Bilton, D. (2011). Can Oxygen Set Thermal Limits in an Insect and Drive Gigantism? PLOS One. 6(7): e22610. Retrieved from: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0022610

 

Slater, G., Goldbogen, J., Pyenson, N. (2017). Independent evolution of baleen whale gigantism linked to Plio-Pleistocene ocean dynamics. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 284: 20170546. Retrieved from: http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/284/1855/20170546.

Direct download: Why_Do_Some_Animals_Get_Gigantic_.mp4
Category:general -- posted at: 2:06pm EDT

This video was sponsored by "Robot-Proof", written by Northeastern University's President, Joseph E. Aoun. Learn more here: https://goo.gl/uF5Kx8

Thank you to our supporters on https://www.patreon.com/MinuteEarth

Even the parts of our brains that don't control physical movement show a lot of rhythm, and that might be integral to how our brains work.
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To learn more, start your googling with these keywords:

neural oscillation: better known as a "brainwave," a neural oscillation is repetitive, often rhythmic activity in the central nervous system. neurons can sync up with the help of pacemaker cells or structure, or through entrainment.

entrainment: the ability of tons and tons of neurons to quickly sync up is due to something called entrainment – here's a cool demo of essentially how that works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl2aYFv_978

central pattern generator: neural networks that produce rhythmic, patterned electrical outputs. CPGs are usually relatively simple neural circuits and are responsible for virtually all the rhythmic motions you see in nature, from jellyfish swimming to human breathing. while we often think of our brains as reaction machines – like, we touch something hot and quickly pull away – central pattern generators don't need any stimulus to work. you can pull them out of an animal and put them in a petri dish and the neurons will still fire with the same rhythms.

feature binding: when you see your cat and you know right away it's your cat...well, somehow, your brain is putting together all kinds of information about the object's shape, size, color, motion, position in your field of vision, and lots of other contextual clues to make that happen. neuroscientists call this "feature binding," and neural oscillations may be key to pulling it off.

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Subscribe to MinuteEarth on YouTube: http://goo.gl/EpIDGd
Support us on Patreon: https://goo.gl/ZVgLQZ
And visit our website: https://www.minuteearth.com/

Say hello on Facebook: http://goo.gl/FpAvo6
And Twitter: http://goo.gl/Y1aWVC

And download our videos on itunes: https://goo.gl/sfwS6n
___________________________________________

Credits (and Twitter handles):
Script Writer: Emily Elert (@eelert)
Script Editor: Kate Yoshida (@KateYoshida)
Video Illustrator: Ever Salazar (@eversalazar)
Video Director: Emily Elert (@eelert)
Video Narrator: Kate Yoshida (@KateYoshida)
With Contributions From: Henry Reich, Alex Reich, Peter Reich, David Goldenberg
Music by: Nathaniel Schroeder: http://www.soundcloud.com/drschroeder

Image Credits:

Snake Crawling - BigfootHD
https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-2582720-stock-footage-snake-crawling.html

Greyhound running - Objectivity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq_Oj6qzeIU

Hummingbird - Smarter Every Day
https://youtu.be/1VA8v1btKdQ?t=73

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References:

Buzsaki, G. Personal Communication, October 2017.

Buzsaki, G. (2006) Rhythms of the Brain. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gyorgy_Buzsaki/publication/223130267_Rhythms_of_The_Brain/links/00b4952bb0ae609ac9000000/Rhythms-of-The-Brain.pdf

Cabron, J. Personal Communcation, October 2017.

Engel, A.K. and Fries, P. and Singer, W. (2001) Dynamic predictions: Oscillations and synchrony in top–down processing. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2, pp 704-716. Retrieved from http://www.dankalia.com/science/neu127.pdf

Getting, P.A. (1989) Emerging Principles Governing the Operation of Neural Networks. Annual Review of Neuroscience. Vol. 12:185-204

Llinas, R. Personal Communication, October 2017.

Lisman, J. and Buzsaki, G. (2008) A Neural Coding Scheme Formed by the Combined Function of Gamma and Theta Oscillations. Schizophrenia Bulletin, Volume 34:5, pp 974–980. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/schizophreniabulletin/article/34/5/974/1881304

Lisman, J. Personal Communication, October 2017.

Marder, E and Calabrese, R.L. (1996) Principles of rhythmic motor pattern generation. Physiological Reviews, 76(3), pp 687-717. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1900/8ec50b0d0bcff24438c9a0eb57f9e33f7a85.pdf

Marder, E. Personal Communication, October 2017.

Singer, W. Personal Communication, October 2017.

Direct download: What_Are_Brain_Waves-.mp4
Category:general -- posted at: 3:03pm EDT

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