Aeon Video has a monthly newsletter!
Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
The master-of-disguise creature whose whole life is an elaborate lie
From being born in eggs that resemble seeds, to spending its nymph stage disguised as an ant, to mimicking a leaf swaying in the breeze in its final, adult form, the Australian walking stick (Extatosoma tiaratum) spends its entire life undercover, although, ironically, never as a stick. Part of KQED’s science documentary series Deep Look, this short video traces the developmental stages in the life of this large species of stick insect endemic to Australia, to show how each of its disguises provides the shape-shifting creature with a unique evolutionary benefit.
Video by KQED Science
Producer and Writer: Mike Seely
Narrator and Writer: Laura Klivans
Cinematographers: Jordan Dean, Josh Cassidy
video
Ecology and environmental sciences
GPS tracking reveals stunning insights into the patterns of migratory birds
6 minutes
video
Space exploration
The rarely told story of the fruit flies, primates and canines that preceded us in space
12 minutes
video
Neuroscience
This intricate map of a fruit fly brain could signal a revolution in neuroscience
2 minutes
video
Computing and artificial intelligence
The ‘cloud’ requires heaps of energy to stay aloft. Could synthetic DNA be the answer?
12 minutes
video
Biology
Brilliant dots of colour form exquisite patterns in this close-up of butterfly wings
3 minutes
video
Genetics
Why it took a century to work out that humans interbred with Neanderthals
22 minutes
video
Evolution
How – and how not – to think about the role randomness plays in evolution
60 minutes
video
Physics
The rhythms of a star system inspire a pianist’s transfixing performance
5 minutes
video
Art
Watch as Japan’s surplus trees are transformed into forest-tinted crayons
4 minutes