TED-Ed

Dig into two testing techniques for viruses: PCR tests to diagnose an infection and immunoassays to detect antibodies. --A new virus emerges and spreads like wildfire. In order to contain it, researchers must first collect data about who’s been infected. Two main viral testing techniques are critical: one tells you if you have the virus and the other shows if you’ve already had it. So, how exactly...

The shape, contents and future of the universe are all intricately related. We know that it's mostly flat; we know that it's made up of baryonic matter (like stars and planets), but mostly dark matter and dark energy; and we know that it's expanding constantly, so that all stars will eventually burn out into a cold nothingness. But is there any beauty in this dark ending? Animation by Giant Animat...

Practice more problem-solving at https://brilliant.org/TedEd/--The evil wizard MoldeVort has been trying to kill you for years, and today it looks like he’s going to succeed. But your friends are on their way, and if you can survive until they arrive, they should be able to help stop him. Can you keep MoldeVort trapped long enough for help to arrive? Dan Finkel shows how. Lesson by Dan Finkel, dir...

Follow two astronauts into outer space to explore time dilation and Einstein’s theory of relativity through the Twin Paradox thought experiment. --On their 20th birthday, identical twin astronauts volunteer for an experiment. Terra will remain on Earth, while Stella will board a spaceship. Stella’s ship will travel to visit a star that is 10 light-years away, then return to Earth. As they prepare...

At Camp Diva, Angela Patton works to help girls and fathers stay connected and in each others' lives. But what about girls whose fathers can't be there -- because they're in jail? Patton tells the story of a very special father-daughter dance. (Filmed at TEDxWomen)Talk by Angela Patton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A skyrocketing demand for food means that agriculture has become the largest driver of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental destruction. At TEDxTC Jonathan Foley shows why we desperately need to begin "terraculture" -- farming for the whole planet. (Filmed at TEDxTC.)Talk by Jonathan Foley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The adventure begins! Episode 1: Ethic awakens in a mysterious cell. Can she and robot Hedge solve the programming puzzles blocking their escape?--This is episode 1 of our animated series “Think Like A Coder.” This 10-episode narrative follows a girl, Ethic, and her robot companion, Hedge, as they attempt to save the world. The two embark on a quest to collect three artifacts and must solve their...

Take a journey into the respiratory system to see how ventilators bypass constricted airways and help damaged lungs send oxygen to the body. --In the 16th century, physician Andreas Vesalius described how a suffocating animal could be kept alive by inserting a tube into its trachea and blowing air to inflate its lungs. Today, Vesalius’s treatise is recognized as the first description of mechanical...

When Sue Austin got a power chair 16 years ago, she felt a tremendous sense of freedom -- yet others looked at her as though she had lost something. In her art, she aims to convey the spirit of wonder she feels wheeling through the world. Includes thrilling footage of an underwater wheelchair that lets her explore ocean beds, drifting through schools of fish, floating free in 360 degrees. (Filmed...

Dig into the historic injustice of Japanese American incarceration camps, also known as internment camps, during World War II. --On December 7, 1941, 16 year-old Aki Kurose shared in the horror of millions of Americans when Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor. Unbeknownst to her, this shared experience would soon leave her family and over 120,000 Japanese Americans alienated from their country,...

In the 20th century we added an unprecedented number of years to our lifespans, but is the quality of life as good? Surprisingly, yes! At TEDxWomen psychologist Laura Carstensen shows research that demonstrates that as people get older they become happier, more content, and have a more positive outlook on the world. (Filmed at TEDxWomen.)Talk by Laura Carstensen. Learn more about your ad choices....

When photographed under a 3D microscope, grains of sand appear like colorful pieces of candy and the stamens in a flower become like fantastical spires at an amusement park. Gary Greenberg reveals the thrilling details of the micro world. (Filmed at TEDxMaui.) Talk by Gary Greenberg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dive into Herman Melville’s classic novel “Moby Dick,” the story of Captain Ahab’s hunt for revenge against the white whale who bit off his leg. --A mountain separating two lakes. A room papered floor to ceiling with bridal satins. The lid of an immense snuffbox. These seemingly unrelated images take us on a tour of a sperm whale’s head in Herman Melville’s "Moby Dick." Though the book features pi...

A poet receives a card with a cryptic message from a third grader. What she uncovers is a perfect little moment of beauty. --An animated interpretation of Aracelis Girmay's poem "For Estefani, Third Grade, Who Made Me A Card"Watch an interview with the poet here: https://youtu.be/RkKZSJGCbyIThis animation is part of our series, "There's a Poem for That," which features animated interpretations of...

Literature has long been fascinated with fostered, adopted and orphaned children, from Moses to Cinderella to Oliver Twist to Harry Potter. So why do many parentless children feel compelled to hide their pasts? Poet and playwright Lemn Sissay tells his own moving story. (Filmed at TEDxHousesofParliament.)Talk by Lemn Sissay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At TEDxCambridge, Michael Norton shares fascinating research on how money can, indeed buy happiness -- when you don't spend it on yourself. Listen for surprising data on the many ways pro-social spending can benefit you, your work, and (of course) other people. (Filmed at TEDxCambridge.)Talk by Michael Norton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dive into the life of Henry Christophe, a former enslaved person and leader in the Haitian Revolution and the only king of Haiti. --The royal couple of Haiti rode into their coronation to thunderous applause. After receiving his ornate crown, Henry Christophe ascended his throne, towering 20 meters in the air. But little did the cheering onlookers know that the first king of Haiti would also be it...

Download a free audiobook version of "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" and support TED-Ed's nonprofit mission: https://www.audible.com/ted-ed Check out our full book recommendation: https://shop.ed.ted.com/collections/ted-ed-book-recommendations/products/astrophysics-for-people-in-a-hurry--You’re cruising down the highway when all of a sudden endless rows of brake lights appear ahead. There’s n...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/my-glacier-cave-discoveries-eddy-cartayaSnow Dragon. Pure Imagination. Frozen Minotaur. These are the names Eddy Cartaya and his climbing partner Brent McGregor gave three glacier caves that they were the first to explore, caves that are morphing constantly thanks to warm water and warm air. At TEDYouth, Cartaya takes us inside these magical spaces where...

You use paper towels to dry your hands every day, but chances are, you're doing it wrong. In this enlightening and funny short talk, Joe Smith reveals the trick to perfect paper towel technique. (Filmed at TEDxConcordiaUPortland.)Talk by Joe Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is our reality a detailed computer simulation? And how can we know for sure? Explore the scientific and philosophical theories surrounding this debate. --All life on Earth— living and inanimate, microscopic and cosmic— is governed by mathematical laws with apparently arbitrary constants. And this opens up a question: If the universe is completely governed by these laws, couldn’t a powerful enough...

Explore the three strategies governments and communities can use to contain and end a pandemic, and find out which method is best.--Consider the following scenario: a highly infectious, sometimes deadly respiratory virus infects humans for the first time. It spreads rapidly worldwide, and the WHO declares a pandemic. The death toll starts to rise and everyone is asking the same question: when will...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/from-dna-to-silly-putty-the-diverse-world-of-polymers-jan-mattinglyYou are made of polymers, and so are trees and telephones and toys. A polymer is a long chain of identical molecules (or monomers) with a range of useful properties, like toughness or stretchiness -- and it turns out, we just can't live without them. Polymers occur both naturally -- our D...

Explore Dante Alighieri’s epic poem, “Divine Comedy,” a 3-part narrative that follows Dante’s journey for salvation through Hell.--“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here…” Inscribed above the Gate of Hell, this prophecy sets into motion an epic journey for salvation. Written over 10 years, Dante Alighieri’s three-part narrative poem “Divine Comedy” is both an allegorical imagining of the soul’s jour...

It's never easy to get across the magnitude of complex tragedies -- so when Brenda Brathwite's daughter came home from school asking about slavery, she did what she does for a living -- she designed a game. At TEDxPhoenix she describes the surprising effectiveness of this game, and others, in helping the player really understand the story. (Filmed at TEDxPhoenix.)Talk by Brenda Braithwaite. Learn...