Topics › Life Sciences, Mind & Health

Best Biology & biotechnology videos, as recommended on Hacker News

72 videos about biology & biotechnology that Hacker News commenters keep recommending, mentioned between 2013 and 2026. Mostly explainer, talk, demo. Channels that come up most: Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell, The Thought Emporium, Veritasium, TED. Sorted by how consistently HN recommended them over the years.

The most recommended is What Bodies Think About: Bioelectric Computation Outside the Nervous System - NeurIPS 2018: HN regularly calls it mind-blowing and recommends it as an introduction to Levin's work on bioelectricity and regeneration.

• talkWhat Bodies Think About: Bioelectric Computation Outside the Nervous System - NeurIPS 2018The Artificial Intelligence Channel · 12 HN recommenders · 2018–2024
• podcastJoe Rogan Experience #1035 - Paul StametsPowerfulJRE · 10 HN recommenders · 2017–2025
• talkDEF CON 25 - John Sotos - Genetic Diseases to Guide Digital Hacks of the Human GenomeDEFCONConference · 11 HN recommenders · 2017–2023
• otherDNA animation (2002-2014) by Drew Berry and Etsuko Uno wehi.tv #ScienceArtWEHImovies · 9 HN recommenders · 2020–2026
• demoI Genetically Engineered *MYSELF* to Fix Lactose IntoleranceThe Thought Emporium · 8 HN recommenders · 2018–2026
• explainermRNA Translation (Advanced)DNA Learning Center · 4 HN recommenders · 2014–2025
• talkAnimations of unseeable biology | Drew Berry | TEDTED · 7 HN recommenders · 2017–2025
• talkMichael Levin: The electrical blueprints that orchestrate life | TEDTED · 7 HN recommenders · 2021–2026
• lectureJack Szostak (Harvard/HHMI) Part 1: The Origin of Cellular Life on EarthScience Communication Lab · 6 HN recommenders · 2016–2021
• demoThe Inner Life of the Cell AnimationXVIVO Scientific Animation · 5 HN recommenders · 2017–2024
• podcastBret Weinstein on "The Portal" (w/ host Eric Weinstein), Ep. #019 - The Prediction and the DISC.Eric Weinstein · 5 HN recommenders · 2020–2023
• demoThe Evolution of Bacteria on a “Mega-Plate” Petri Dish (Kishony Lab)Harvard Medical School · 6 HN recommenders · 2016–2026
• podcastBret Weinstein and Yuri Deigin: Did Covid-19 leak From a Lab?Bret Weinstein · 7 HN recommenders · 2020–2021
• talkThe Roots of Your Profits - Dr Elaine Ingham, Soil Microbiologist, Founder of Soil Foodweb IncOxford Real Farming Conference · 2 HN recommenders · 2015–2024
• musicEvo-Devo (Despacito Biology Parody) | A Capella Scienceacapellascience · 6 HN recommenders · 2017–2026
• talk6 ways mushrooms can save the world | Paul Stamets | TEDTED · 4 HN recommenders · 2018–2022
• talk"We Really Don't Know How to Compute!" - Gerald Sussman (2011)Strange Loop Conference · 5 HN recommenders · 2022–2026
• lectureElectron transport chainHarvard Online · 6 HN recommenders · 2020–2024
• talkMatt Might - Winning the War on Error Solving the Halting Problem and Curing CancerCurry On! · 3 HN recommenders · 2017–2019
• lectureProf. Thomas Seyfried - 'Cancer as a Metabolic Disease: Implications for Novel Therapies'Low Carb Down Under · 1 HN recommender · 2020–2023
• talkGeoffrey West on COMPLEXITYFQxI · 3 HN recommenders · 2014–2018
• explainerThe Deadliest Being on Planet Earth – The BacteriophageKurzgesagt – In a Nutshell · 4 HN recommenders · 2018–2026
• interviewMichael Levin: Consciousness, Biology, Universal Mind, Emergence, Cancer ResearchCurt Jaimungal · 3 HN recommenders · 2025–2026
• explainerWhere Do Trees Get Their Mass?Veritasium · 3 HN recommenders · 2015–2021
• lectureCOVID-19 Vaccines: MODERNA | PFIZER/BIONTECH | ASTRAZENECANinja Nerd · 4 HN recommenders · 2020–2021
• musicNanobot (Havana Parody) | A Capella Science ft. Dorothy Andrusiakacapellascience · 4 HN recommenders · 2024–2025
• lectureMichael Levin: Anatomical decision-making by cellular collectivesThomas Ouldridge · 3 HN recommenders · 2021–2023
• podcastLee Cronin: Origin of Life, Aliens, Complexity, and Consciousness | Lex Fridman Podcast #269Lex Fridman · 2 HN recommenders · 2022–2022
• explainerAm I still lactose tolerant? - Lactose Gene Therapy UpdateThe Thought Emporium · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2026
• demoGrowing Living Rat Neurons To Play... DOOM? | Part 1The Thought Emporium · 3 HN recommenders · 2023–2026
• lectureRon Vale (UCSF, HHMI) 1: Molecular Motor ProteinsScience Communication Lab · 3 HN recommenders · 2016–2024
• explainerHomochirality: Why Nature Never Makes Mirror MoleculesSteve Mould · 3 HN recommenders · 2021–2022
• demoGrowing Human Neurons on a Home Made Electrode ArrayThe Thought Emporium · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2025
• documentaryCordyceps: attack of the killer fungi - Planet Earth Attenborough BBC wildlifeBBC Studios · 3 HN recommenders · 2017–2026
• explainerHow The Immune System ACTUALLY Works – IMMUNEKurzgesagt – In a Nutshell · 3 HN recommenders · 2021–2024
• demoKinesin protein walking on microtubuleem2134x · 3 HN recommenders · 2018–2023
• explainerYour Body Killed Cancer 5 Minutes AgoKurzgesagt – In a Nutshell · 3 HN recommenders · 2023–2024
• explainerThe Immune System Explained I – Bacteria InfectionKurzgesagt – In a Nutshell · 3 HN recommenders · 2015–2021
• explainerWhy Women Are StripeyVeritasium · 2 HN recommenders · 2015–2026
• talkMatter to Mind:Bioelectricity, Body Intelligence, Future of Regenerative Medicine- Dr. Michael LevinHarvard Extension Student Psychological Club · 2 HN recommenders · 2023–2024
• explainerYou Are Immune Against Every DiseaseKurzgesagt – In a Nutshell · 2 HN recommenders · 2021–2024
• podcastThe Scariest Episode Yet - Still Untitled: The Adam Savage Project - 10/30/18Adam Savage’s Tested · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2024
• explainerAlphaFold - The Most Useful Thing AI Has Ever DoneVeritasium · 2 HN recommenders · 2025–2026
• explainerDiatoms: Tiny Factories You Can See From SpaceJourney to the Microcosmos · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2024
• talkShawn Douglas - Nanoscale Instruments for Visualizing Small Proteins & Bret Victor - DynamiclandForesight Institute · 2 HN recommenders · 2022–2023
• explainerGenetic Engineering Will Change Everything Forever – CRISPRKurzgesagt – In a Nutshell · 2 HN recommenders · 2017–2020
• documentaryThe Man Who Took LSD and Changed The WorldVeritasium · 2 HN recommenders · 2024–2026
• talkWhat is the best diet for humans? | Eran Segal | TEDxRuppinTEDx Talks · 2 HN recommenders · 2018–2023
• demoCody's Algae PanelCody'sLab · 2 HN recommenders · 2022–2023
• explainerThe Physics of Life (ft. It's Okay to be Smart & PBS Eons!)PBS Space Time · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2023
• explainerWhat Is the RNA World Hypothesis?Stated Clearly · 2 HN recommenders · 2016–2021
• documentaryThe man who faked human cloningBobbyBroccoli · 2 HN recommenders · 2023–2023
• explainerGay Frogs: A Deep DiveOki's Weird Stories · 2 HN recommenders · 2021–2023
• podcastMichael Levin: Biology, Life, Aliens, Evolution, Embryogenesis & Xenobots | Lex Fridman Podcast #325Lex Fridman · 3 HN recommenders · 2022–2026
• lectureHow the Krebs cycle powers life and death – with Nick LaneThe Royal Institution · 2 HN recommenders · 2022–2026
• explainerMitochondria: the cell's powerhouseHarvard Online · 2 HN recommenders · 2021–2022
• podcastJoe Rogan Experience #1385 - Paul StametsPowerfulJRE · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2021
• lectureAnton: A Special-Purpose Machine That Achieves a Hundred-Fold Speedup in Biomolecular SimulationsNC State · 1 HN recommender · 2014–2025
• demoI Grew Real Spider Silk Using YeastThe Thought Emporium · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2022
• explainerWhat If Alien Life Were Silicon-Based?PBS Space Time · 1 HN recommender · 2023–2025
• tutorialSimple Bacteria Genetic EngineeringThe Thought Emporium · 1 HN recommender · 2023–2026
• explainerAncient Life as Old as the UniverseKurzgesagt – In a Nutshell · 1 HN recommender · 2023–2024
• demoWhite Blood Cell Chases BacteriaAdam Ryman · 1 HN recommender · 2013–2021
• talkMike Levin - Live ALife 2020 Keynote - Robot CancerALife 2020 Conference · 1 HN recommender · 2021–2023
• explainerGenetic Engineering and Diseases – Gene Drive & MalariaKurzgesagt – In a Nutshell · 1 HN recommender · 2016–2025
• explainerDNA Testing and Privacy (Behind the scenes at the 23andMe Lab) - Smarter Every Day 176SmarterEveryDay · 1 HN recommender · 2018–2019
• explainerYour Body's Molecular MachinesVeritasium · 1 HN recommender · 2022–2023
• lecture21. Chaos and ReductionismStanford · 1 HN recommender · 2017–2024
• explainerOverview of Illumina Sequencing by Synthesis Workflow | Standard SBS chemistryIllumina · 1 HN recommender · 2017–2019
• explainerATP synthase in actionHarvard Online · 2 HN recommenders · 2021–2025
• demoHow life emerges from a simple particle motion law: Introducing the Primordial Particle SystemArtificial Life Lab Graz · 1 HN recommender · 2019–2021
• podcastThe Problem with America’s Lab Mice and Why it Should Matter to YouJRE Clips · 1 HN recommender · 2020–2021