TED-Ed

Why do medical implants like insulin pumps and prosthetic knees need replacement? Explore how the immune system fights implants and how new devices are trying to help. --Insulin pumps improve the lives of millions of people with diabetes around the world by monitoring blood sugar, delivering insulin, and preventing the need for constant finger-pricking. But there’s a catch: they’re temporary. And...

What controls aging? Biochemist Cynthia Kenyon has found a simple genetic mutation that can double the lifespan of a simple worm, C. elegans. The lessons from that discovery, and others, are pointing to how we might one day significantly extend youthful human life. Talk by Cynthia Kenyon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/from-the-top-of-the-food-chain-down-rewilding-our-world-george-monbiot Our planet was once populated by megafauna, big top-of-the-food-chain predators that played their part in balancing our ecosystems. When those megafauna disappear, the result is a "trophic cascade," where every part of the ecosystem reacts to the loss. How can we stay in balance? Geor...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/jonathan-driori-the-beautiful-tricks-of-flowersIn this visually dazzling talk, Jonathan Drori shows the extraordinary ways flowering plants -- over a quarter million species -- have evolved to attract insects to spread their pollen: growing 'landing-strips' to guide the insects in, shining in ultraviolet, building elaborate traps, and even mimicking othe...

The adventure continues! Episode 7: Ethic and Hedge find themselves in a massive tower. Can they make it past the energy streams to reach the Node of Creation? --This is episode 7 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 mu...

What makes crystals grow into their signature shapes? Dig into the atomic patterns and unique properties of crystals. --Many crystals have signature shapes— like the cascade of pointed quartz or a pile of galena cubes. Every crystal’s atoms have a defining feature: their organized, repeating pattern. The pattern isn't restricted to minerals- sand, ice, metals and DNA also have crystalline structur...

Dive into the Egyptian myth of Isis, a powerful goddess protecting her son from her murderous brother with the help of seven scorpions. --A woman in rags emerged from a swamp flanked by seven giant scorpions and approached a magnificent mansion to beg for food. But the mistress of the house took one look at her grimy clothes and unusual companions and slammed the door in her face. Little did the m...

Travel into the brain to see how its network of neurons transmit your thoughts and what factors determine how quickly you think.--Your mortal enemy has captured you and hooked you up to a bizarre experiment. He’s extended your nervous system with one very long neuron to a target about 70 meters away. At some point, he’s going to fire an arrow. If you can then think a thought to the target before t...

Ancient monuments give us clues to astonishing past civilizations -- but they're under threat from pollution, war, neglect. Ben Kacyra, who invented a groundbreaking 3D scanning system, is using his invention to scan and preserve the world's heritage in archival detail. (Watch to the end for a little demo.) Talk by Ben Kacyra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How can we begin to understand the way the brain works? The same way we begin to understand a city: by making a map. In this visually stunning talk, Allan Jones shows how his team is mapping which genes are turned on in each tiny region, and how it all connects up. Talk by Allan Jones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-science-of-spiciness-rose-evelethWhen you take a bite of a hot pepper, your body reacts as if your mouth is on fire -- because that's essentially what you've told your brain! Rose Eveleth details the science and history behind spicy foods, giving insights into why some people continue to pay the painful price for a little spice. Lesson by Rose Evelet...

Discover what happens in your body when you have a fever and why its role in our immune response remains a mystery to scientists. --There are many mysteries around fever, but we do know that all mammals, some birds and even a few invertebrate and plant species feel fever’s heat. It has persisted for over 600 million years of evolution. But it has a significant cost: for every degree increase in te...

Is there extraterrestrial life in our solar system? Or are we alone? Take a journey to the ocean worlds on Jupiter and Saturn to investigate the possibility. --Deep in our solar system, a new era of exploration is unfolding. Beneath the thick ice of Europa; in the vapor plumes on Enceladus; and within the methane lakes of Titan, scientists are hunting for extraterrestrial life. These moons are ‘oc...

What if Andy Warhol had it wrong, and instead of being famous for 15 minutes, we're only anonymous for that long? In this short talk, Juan Enriquez looks at the surprisingly permanent effects of digital sharing on our personal privacy. He shares insight from the ancient Greeks to help us deal with our new "digital tattoos." Talk by Juan Enriquez. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.f...

As machines take on more jobs, many find themselves out of work or with raises indefinitely postponed. Is this the end of growth? No, says Erik Brynjolfsson -- it's simply the growing pains of a radically reorganized economy. A riveting case for why big innovations are ahead of us ... if we think of computers as our teammates. Be sure to watch the opposing viewpoint from Robert Gordon. Talk by Eri...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/is-there-a-difference-between-art-and-craft-laura-morelliWas da Vinci an artistic genius? Sure, but he was also born in the right place at the right time -- pre-Renaissance, Western artists got little individual credit for their work. And in many non-Western cultures, traditional forms have always been prized over innovation. So, where do we get our noti...

Dig in to the history of the Roman Empire’s staged gladiatorial naval battles and how they flooded the Colosseum to reenact famous battles.--Starting in 80 CE, residents of Rome and visitors from across the Roman Empire would fill the stands of the Colosseum to see gladiators duel, animals fight and chariots race around the arena. And for the grand finale, water poured into the arena basin, submer...

Practice more problem-solving at https://brilliant.org/TedEd/ --After many adventures in Wonderland, Alice has once again found herself in the court of the temperamental Queen of Hearts. She’s about to pass through the garden undetected, when she overhears the king and queen arguing that 64 is the same as 65. Can Alice prove the queen wrong and escape unscathed? Alex Gendler shows how. Lesson by A...

Practice more problem-solving at https://brilliant.org/TedEd/ --The night before the Death Race across the Wastelands is set to begin, your uncle, the great inventor Slate Kanoli, got kidnapped by the ruthless No-Side gang. The only way to get him back is to race his Coil Runner against the gang yourself. Win and they’ll give back your uncle. Lose and you’ll forfeit the Coil Runner and all his oth...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-motion-of-the-ocean-the-concentration-gradient-sasha-wrightThe constant motion of our oceans represents a vast and complicated system involving many different drivers. Sasha Wright explains the physics behind one of those drivers -- the concentration gradient -- and illustrates how our oceans are continually engaging in a universal struggle for space...

Does texting mean the death of good writing skills? John McWhorter posits that there's much more to texting -- linguistically, culturally -- than it seems, and it's all good news. Talk by John McWhorter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, “Hamlet,” a play about conspiracy, deception and the tragic consequences of indecision.--“Who’s there?” Whispered in the dark, this question begins a tale of conspiracy, deception and moral ambiguity. And in a play where everyone has something to hide, its answer is far from simple. Written by William Shakespeare, “Hamlet” depicts its titular characte...

Neuroscientist Daniel Wolpert starts from a surprising premise: the brain evolved, not to think or feel, but to control movement. In this entertaining, data-rich talk he gives us a glimpse into how the brain creates the grace and agility of human motion. Talk by Daniel Wolpert. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore how pneumonia attacks the tiny air sacs in your lungs and how your immune system works to fight off the infection.--Every time you breathe, air travels down the trachea, through a series of channels, and then reaches little clusters of air sacs in the lungs. These tiny sacs facilitate a crucial exchange: allowing oxygen from the air we breathe into the bloodstream and clearing out carbon d...

Explore the environmental impact of three types of bags— plastic, paper, and cloth— to find out how they’re made, used and disposed of. --You’ve filled up your cart and made it to the front of the grocery line when you’re confronted with yet another choice: what kind of bag should you use? It might seem obvious that plastic is bad for the environment, and that a paper bag or a cotton tote would be...