TED-Ed

The US consumes 25% of the world's oil -- but as energy tycoon T. Boone Pickens points out onstage, the country has no energy policy to prepare for the inevitable. Is alternative energy our bridge to an oil-free future? After losing $150 million investing in wind energy, Pickens suggests it isn't, not yet. What might get us there? Natural gas. After the talk, watch for a lively Q&A with TED Curato...

When you're getting medical treatment, or taking part in medical testing, privacy is important; strict laws limit what researchers can see and know about you. But what if your medical data could be used -- anonymously -- by anyone seeking to test a hypothesis? John Wilbanks wonders if the desire to protect our privacy is slowing research, and if opening up medical data could lead to a wave of heal...

Dig into the delicate balancing act of how power grids supply energy to the world and how renewable energy factors into this process.--In 1967, Homer Loutzenheuser flipped a switch and connected the power grids of the United States, forming one interconnected machine. Today, the US power grid is the world’s largest machine, containing more than 7,300 electricity-generating plants. So how exactly d...

Dig into the Attica Prison Rebellion, where prisoners took control of the facility in response to inhumane living conditions, and the violent retaking that followed.--On September 9th 1971, a spontaneous uprising began in a New York State prison. A group of prisoners overpowered guards, broke windows, started fires, and captured supplies, sparking the Attica Rebellion. Soon, over 1,200 prisoners h...

Art history is far from set in stone. Engineer Maurizio Seracini spent 30 years searching for Leonardo da Vinci's lost fresco "The Battle of Anghiari," and in the process discovered that many paintings have layers of history hidden underneath. Should they be part of the viewing experience too? Talk by Maurizio Seracini. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore how economic inequality can be measured and how it is impacted by different governmental policy choices.--Income and wealth inequality are not new. In fact, economists and historians who have charted economic inequality throughout history haven’t found a single society without it. Which raises a bleak question: is inequality … inevitable? Explore how economic inequality can be measured and...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/mysteries-of-vernacular-inaugurate-jessica-oreckFrom avian omens to the beginning of a new policy or the reign of a new politician, Jessica Oreck follows the flight path of the word inaugurate. Lesson and animation by Jessica Oreck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Taylor Wilson believes nuclear fusion is a solution to our future energy needs, and that kids can change the world. And he knows something about both of those: When he was 14, he built a working fusion reactor in his parents' garage. Now 17, he takes the TED stage at short notice to tell (the short version of) his story. Talk by Taylor Wilson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...

Explore how the ancient Egyptians built the Great Pyramid, a tomb created for Pharaoh Khufu which took over 20 years to complete.--As soon as Pharaoh Khufu ascended the throne circa 2575 BCE, work on his eternal resting place began. The structure’s architect, Hemiunu, determined he would need 20 years to finish the royal tomb. But what he could not predict was that this monument would remain the w...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/a-cinematic-journey-through-visual-effects-don-levyIt's been 110 years since Georges Méliès sent a spaceship slamming into the eye of the man on the moon. So how far have visual effects come since then? Working closely with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Don Levy takes us on a visual journey through special effects, from the fakery of e...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/reasons-for-the-seasons-rebecca-kaplanWhy do some regions experience full-time heat while others are reckoning with frigid temperatures and snow? And why are the seasons reversed in the two hemispheres? Rebecca Kaplan explains how the shape of the Earth's orbit around the Sun and the Earth's tilt on its axis affect the amount of sunlight each region rece...

Explore the probability of a future pandemic and the steps we can take to reduce its destructiveness.--We tend to think of pandemics as unlikely events, but disease outbreaks are surprisingly common. Over the past 400 years, the longest stretch of time without a documented outbreak was just four years. So, what’s the probability of experiencing another world-changing pandemic in your lifetime? Exp...

At what age are you smartest? Dig into how your brain development affects your skills at different stages of your life.--Tomorrow is the annual Brain Clash — a decathlon of mental challenges, trivia competitions, and puzzles. Amir needs a smart and capable teammate and must choose between three people; all of different ages and talents. So, who should Amir choose for the contest? Shannon Odell bre...

How do we make sure that development and aid money actually goes to the people who most need it? Sanjay Pradhan of the World Bank Institute lays out three guidelines to help relief efforts make the most impact -- while curbing corruption. One key: connecting the players who are working to change broken systems with the data they need. Talk by Sanjay Pradhan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Explore how oysters use calcium carbonate to create pearls, and how this chemical compound creates a vast array of other materials.--Despite their iridescent colors and smooth shapes, pearls are actually made of the exact same material as the craggy shell that surrounds them. Pearls, urchin spines, the shells of mussels, snails and clams, even coral— all these structures are made out of the same c...

When Colin Stokes' 3-year-old son caught a glimpse of Star Wars, he was instantly obsessed. But what messages did he absorb from the sci-fi classic? Stokes asks for more movies that send positive messages to boys: that cooperation is heroic, and respecting women is as manly as defeating the villain. (Filmed at TEDxBeaconStreet.) Talk by Colin Stokes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho...

Discover how scientists are using crowdsourced DNA to find the causes of untreatable diseases, and developing new drug treatments for them.--When scientists don't know the cause of a medical condition, developing a drug treatment takes significant trial and error, and lots of money— which is why we only have drugs for a small proportion of diseases. Researchers are hoping to change this using crow...

Dig into the two main ways we fight the viruses that cause the common cold, and find out if it’s possible to create a cure. --On average, adults catch more than 150 colds throughout their lives. Even with similar symptoms, the cause could be different each time. Common colds are caused by at least 8 different families of virus, each of which can have its own subtypes. How can so many different vir...

David Binder is a major Broadway producer, but last summer he found himself in a small Australian neighborhood, watching locals dance and perform on their lawns -- and loving it. He shows us the new face of arts festivals, which break the boundary between audience and performer and help cities express themselves. Talk by David Binder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore the psychology of social identity and in-group bias and discover the conditions that cause people to turn against one another.--One day a pair of brothers working together as shoemakers had an explosive fight that split the family business in two. Over the coming years, this disagreement divided their town— residents and businesses chose sides. Could such a serious divide really be about s...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-fat-george-zaidanAs the narrative goes, fat is bad. Well, it's actually more nuanced than that. The type of fat you eat is more impactful on your health than the quantity. George Zaidan examines triglycerides, the varied molecules that make up fat, and how to identify which types of fat you are consuming. Lesson by George Zaidan, animation by Igo...

Each of our bodies is utterly unique, which is a lovely thought until it comes to treating an illness -- when every body reacts differently, often unpredictably, to standard treatment. Tissue engineer Nina Tandon talks about a possible solution: Using pluripotent stem cells to make personalized models of organs on which to test new drugs and treatments, and storing them on computer chips. (Call it...

Download a free audiobook version of “The Midnight Library“ and support TED-Ed's nonprofit mission: https://www.audible.com/ted-ed--Mumbling fantastical gibberish; devouring blocks of cheese in the nude; peeing in places that aren’t toilets; and jumping out of windows. These are all things people have reportedly done while sleepwalking, a behavior that can be dangerous in some cases. It’s estimate...

Master a variety of communication skills with TED’s official public speaking course. This course will teach you how to identify, develop and share your best ideas with the world. This video - the first in the series - is available for free. If you'd like to continue on this learning journey, you can purchase the full 11-lesson course. All proceeds support TED-Ed's nonprofit mission to develop and...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/pruney-fingers-a-gripping-story-mark-changiziWhy do fingers become pruney when they get wet? Likely, for the same reasons that tires have treads. Mark Changizi examines the evolutionary reasons for pruney fingers, while exploring natural and manmade phenomena, like river networks, that operate similarly. Lesson by Mark Changizi, animation by Lippy. Learn...