TED Talks Science and Medicine

Are life-saving medicines hiding in the world's coldest places? | Normand Voyer

25 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Could the next wonder drug be somewhere in Canada's snowy north? Take a trip to this beautiful, frigid landscape as chemist Normand Voyer explores the...

What to do when there's a polar bear in your backyard | Alysa McCall

11 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As Arctic ice melts, polar bears are being forced on land -- and they're hungry. With the apex predators frequently turning to human junkyards for a s...

The fantastically weird world of photosynthetic sea slugs | Michael Middlebrooks

06 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Meet the fantastically colorful and astonishingly adaptable sea slugs that found a way to photosynthesize (or create energy from sunlight) like plants...

Where does your sense of self come from? A scientific look | Anil Ananthaswamy

19 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our memories and bodies give us clues about who we are, but what happens when this guidance shifts? In this mind-bending talk, science writer Anil Ana...

Can we feed ourselves without devouring the planet? | George Monbiot

18 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Farming is the worst thing humanity has ever done to the planet, says journalist George Monbiot. What's more: the global food system could be heading ...

How to harness the ancient partnership between forests and fungi | Colin Averill

06 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If we want to better understand the environment and combat climate change, we need to look deep underground, where diverse microscopic fungal networks...

The wheat field that could change the world | Guntur V. Subbarao

14 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Crop physiologist Guntur V. Subbarao and his team have developed an antibiotic-infused strain of wheat that naturally combats harmful, fertilizer-eati...

A virus-resistant organism -- and what it could mean for the future | Jason W. Chin

28 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What if we could use the power of DNA to create a sustainable, circular economy? In a talk about breakthrough science, synthetic biologist Jason W. Ch...

How green hydrogen could end the fossil fuel era | Vaitea Cowan

08 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As climate change accelerates, finding clean alternatives to fossil fuels is more urgent than ever. Social entrepreneur Vaitea Cowan believes green hy...

A giant Jurassic sea dragon, unearthed | Dean R. Lomax

06 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Among the dinosaurs, giant sea dragons roamed the ancient ocean. Millions of years later, paleontologist Dean R. Lomax and his team freed the remains ...

How we're reverse engineering the human brain in the lab | Sergiu P. Pasca

24 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Neuroscientist Sergiu P. Pasca has made it his life's work to understand how the human brain builds itself -- and what makes it susceptible to disease...

The future of fashion -- made from mushrooms | Dan Widmaier

25 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Your closet is likely full of all kinds of materials -- leather, cotton, nylon and polyester, to name a few -- that contribute to fashion's sustainabi...

The search for the invisible matter that shapes the universe | Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

11 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The universe that we know, with its luminous stars and orbiting planets, is largely made up of elements we can't actually see -- like dark energy and ...

The brain science (and benefits) of ASMR | Craig Richard

07 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A curious, quiet revolution of sound has taken over the internet. Physiologist Craig Richard explains the soothing brain science of Autonomous Sensory...

Humanity's search for cosmic truth and poetic beauty | Maria Popova

23 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Linking together the histories of Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Edwin Hubble and Tracy K. Smith, poet and thinker Maria Popova crafts an astonishing story o...

How mRNA medicine will change the world | Melissa J. Moore

27 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The secret behind medicine that uses messenger RNA (or mRNA) is that it "teaches" our bodies how to fight diseases on our own, leading to groundbreak...

We can make COVID-19 the last pandemic | Bill Gates

22 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Building a pandemic-free future won't be easy, but Bill Gates believes that we have the tools and strategies to make it possible -- now we just have t...

5 promising factors propelling climate action | Gabriel Kra

06 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Given the scale of the challenge, the conversation around climate change is often tinged with doom and gloom. But climate tech investor Gabriel Kra th...

The deep sea's medicinal secrets | Sam Afoullouss

17 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Under the sea, untold wonders await in the form of untapped medicinal potential. Chemist Sam Afoullouss dives into the science behind natural remedies...

What seaweed and cow burps have to do with climate change | Ermias Kebreab

03 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists have long known that cows are a huge source of the greenhouse gas methane, contributing up to four percent of emissions globally. But could...

The incredible cancer-detecting potential of photoacoustic imaging | Lei Li

02 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Could we use the energy from light and sound to detect disease? TED Fellow Lei Li shares the exciting promise of photoacoustic imaging: an affordable,...

Could we treat Alzheimer's with light and sound? | Li-Huei Tsai

24 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What if we could use brain waves to treat Alzheimer's? Professor and neuroscientist Li-Huei Tsai details a promising new approach to artificially stim...

How biochar removes CO2 from the air -- and helps farmers thrive | Axel Reinaud

10 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Biochar is a kind of charcoal that removes CO2 from the atmosphere, helping yield healthy crops and even producing abundant renewable energy in the fo...

A king cobra bite -- and a scientific discovery | Gowri Shankar

17 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A king cobra has enough venom to kill 10 people in a single bite. Recounting his near-death experience after being bitten by one of these majestic yet...

The science of extreme weather — and how to reduce the harm | Al Roker, Al Gore, David Biello and Latif Nasser

23 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Floods, droughts, heat waves and cold blasts -- why is the weather becoming more extreme? Environmentalist and "America's weatherman" Al Roker discuss...

The problem of vaccine spoilage -- and a smart sensor to help | Nithya Ramanathan

03 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Refrigerators do much more than store your groceries -- they're also vital to preserving and distributing vaccines. Illustrating the realities of (and...

How we could eat real meat without harming animals | Isha Datar

19 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What if you could eat chicken nuggets without harming a chicken? It's possible through "cellular agriculture," says Isha Datar. In a talk about cuttin...

The brain science of obesity | Mads Tang-Christensen

06 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Your belly and your brain speak to each other, says obesity researcher Mads Tang-Christensen. Offering scientific proof that obesity is a disease infl...

Planet City -- a sci-fi vision of an astonishing regenerative future | Liam Young

20 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Get transported on a stunningly rendered, sci-fi safari through Planet City: an imaginary metropolis of 10 billion people, from the brain of director ...

A sci-fi vision of life in 2041 | Chen Qiufan

08 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Sci-fi writer Chen Qiufan doesn't fear a dystopian future. Instead, he believes developments in artificial intelligence will make all of our lives bet...

Meet the scientist couple driving an mRNA vaccine revolution | Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci

03 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As COVID-19 spread, BioNTech cofounders Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci had one goal: to make a safe, effective vaccine faster than ever before. In th...

The missing 96 percent of the universe | Claire Malone

14 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We've misplaced the building blocks of the cosmos -- and particle physicists like Claire Malone are on a mission to find them. Despite scientists hitt...

The death of the universe -- and what it means for life | Katie Mack

24 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The universe started with a bang -- but how will it end? With astonishing visuals, cosmologist and TED Fellow Katie Mack takes us to the theoretical e...

The search for microscopic aliens | Sarah Rugheimer

24 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Astrophysicist and TED Fellow Sarah Rugheimer searches for aliens -- but not the cartoony green kind. She's looking for extraterrestrial microbes by s...

How COVID-19 transformed the future of medicine | Daniel Kraft

10 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The pandemic forced the world to work together like never before and, with unprecedented speed, bore a new age of health and medical innovation. Physi...

How your memory works -- and why forgetting is totally OK | Lisa Genova

21 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever misplaced something you were just holding? Completely blanked on a famous actor's name? Walked into a room and immediately forgot why? N...

The electrical blueprints that orchestrate life | Michael Levin

31 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

DNA isn't the only builder in the biological world -- there's also a mysterious bioelectric layer directing cells to work together to grow organs, sys...

The hidden history found in your teeth | Carolyn Freiwald

12 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Your teeth carry secrets: centuries of history about your ancestors, from where they lived to what they ate and where they traveled. Bioarchaeologist ...

The promise of quantum computers | Matt Langione

09 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What if tiny microparticles could help us solve the world's biggest problems in a matter of minutes? That's the promise -- and magic -- of quantum com...

A stellar history of modern astronomy | Emily Levesque

04 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Astronomers once gazed upon the night sky and counted every star in the galaxy by hand. The process has evolved since then, but the thirst for celesti...

How COVID-19 human challenge trials work -- and why I volunteered | Sophie Rose

20 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In April 2020, epidemiologist-in-training Sophie Rose volunteered to be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. As a young, healthy adult, she's...

Could we treat spinal cord injuries with asparagus? | Andrew Pelling

20 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Take a mind-blowing trip to the lab as TED Senior Fellow Andrew Pelling shares his research on how we could use fruits, vegetables and plants to regen...

The power of venom -- and how it could one day save your life | Mandë Holford

29 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Venom can kill ... or it can cure. In this fascinating talk, marine chemical biologist Mandë Holford shares her research into animal venom, from kill...

A concrete idea to reduce carbon emissions | Karen Scrivener

10 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Concrete is the second most-used substance on Earth (behind water), and it's responsible for eight percent of the world's carbon footprint. Cement res...

How animals and plants are evolving in cities | Menno Schilthuizen

24 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In cities, evolution occurs constantly, as countless plants, animals and insects adapt to human-made habitats in spectacular ways. Evolutionary biolog...

Can light stop the coronavirus? | David Brenner

24 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Far-UVC light is a type of ultraviolet light that kills microbes and viruses and, crucially, seems to be safe to use around humans. Radiation scientis...

The case to infect volunteers with COVID-19 to accelerate vaccine testing | Nir Eyal

25 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Conventional vaccine testing is a slow, years-long process. As thousands of people continue to die each day from COVID-19, bioethicist Nir Eyal propos...

The new science of personalized vaccines | Ofer Levy

18 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

At the intersection of precision medicine and vaccinology lies a revolutionary scientific pursuit: personalized vaccines. Infectious disease specialis...

Let's make the world wild again | Kristine McDivitt Tompkins

26 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Earth, humanity and nature are inextricably interconnected. To restore us all back to health, we need to "rewild" the world, says environmental activi...

An ER doctor on triaging your "crazy busy" life | Darria Long

13 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How do doctors in the emergency room stay calm and focused amidst the chaos? Drawing on years of experience, ER doctor Darria Long shares a straightfo...

The wonders of the molecular world, animated | Janet Iwasa

13 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Some biological structures are so small that scientists can't see them with even the most powerful microscopes. That's where molecular animator and TE...

The galactic recipe for a living planet | Karin Öberg

10 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Did you know that one of the most notorious poisons is also a key ingredient for life as we know it? Join space chemist Karin Öberg and learn how she...

A history of Indigenous languages -- and how to revitalize them | Lindsay Morcom

07 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Indigenous languages across North America are under threat of extinction due to the colonial legacy of cultural erasure, says linguist Lindsay Morcom....

How you can help save the monarch butterfly -- and the planet | Mary Ellen Hannibal

01 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Monarch butterflies are dying at an alarming rate around the world -- a looming extinction that could also put human life at risk. But we have just th...

Indigenous knowledge meets science to take on climate change | Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim

27 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

To tackle a problem as large as climate change, we need both science and Indigenous wisdom, says environmental activist Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim. In thi...

The weird history of the "sex chromosomes" | Molly Webster

23 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The common thinking on biological sex goes like this: females have two X chromosomes in their cells, while males have one X and one Y. In this myth-bu...

How we could change the planet's climate future | David Wallace-Wells

13 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The climate crisis is too vast and complicated to solve with a silver bullet, says author David Wallace-Wells. What we need is a shift in how we live....

The dangers of a noisy ocean -- and how we can quiet it down | Nicola Jones

11 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The ocean is a naturally noisy place full of singing whales, grunting fish, snapping shrimp, cracking ice, wind and rain. But human-made sounds -- fro...

How a miniaturized atomic clock could revolutionize space exploration | Jill Seubert

05 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Ask any deep space navigator like Jill Seubert what makes steering a spacecraft difficult, and they'll tell you it's all about the timing; a split-sec...

What a nun can teach a scientist about ecology | Victoria Gill

12 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

To save the achoque -- an exotic (and adorable) salamander found in a lake in northern Mexico -- scientists teamed up with an unexpected research part...

The science of friction -- and its surprising impact on our lives | Jennifer Vail

05 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tribology: it's a funny-sounding word you might not have heard before, but it could change how you see and interact with the physical world, says mech...

A new type of medicine, custom-made with tiny proteins | Christopher Bahl

28 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Some common life-saving medicines, such as insulin, are made of proteins so large and fragile that they need to be injected instead of ingested as pil...

What ocean microbes reveal about the changing climate | Angelicque White

24 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

When the ocean changes, the planet changes -- and it all starts with microbes, says biological oceanographer Angelicque White. Backed by decades of da...

Are indoor vertical farms the future of agriculture? | Stuart Oda

21 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

By 2050, the global population is projected to reach 9.8 billion. How are we going to feed everyone? Investment-banker-turned-farmer Stuart Oda points...

How designing brand-new enzymes could change the world | Adam Garske

21 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"If DNA is the blueprint of life, enzymes are the laborers that carry out its instructions," says chemical biologist Adam Garske. In this fun talk and...

Why are drug prices so high? Investigating the outdated US patent system | Priti Krishtel

16 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Between 2006 and 2016, the number of drug patents granted in the United States doubled -- but not because there was an explosion in invention or innov...

The urgent case for antibiotic-free animals | Leon Marchal

07 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The UN predicts that antimicrobial resistance will be our biggest killer by 2050. "That should really scare the hell out of all of us," says bioproces...

The search for dark matter -- and what we've found so far | Risa Wechsler

06 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Roughly 85 percent of mass in the universe is "dark matter" -- mysterious material that can't be directly observed but has an immense influence on the...

Your body was forged in the spectacular death of stars | Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz

17 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We are all connected by the spectacular birth, death and rebirth of stars, says astrophysicist Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz. Journey through the cosmic history...

The search for our solar system's ninth planet | Mike Brown

22 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Could the strange orbits of small, distant objects in our solar system lead us to a big discovery? Planetary astronomer Mike Brown proposes the existe...

What it's like to live on the International Space Station | Cady Coleman

13 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this quick, fun talk, astronaut Cady Coleman welcomes us aboard the International Space Station, where she spent nearly six months doing experiment...

Small rockets are the next space revolution | Peter Beck

12 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We're in the dawn of a new space revolution, says engineer Peter Beck: the revolution of the small. In a talk packed with insights into the state of t...

The next software revolution: programming biological cells | Sara-Jane Dunn

01 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The cells in your body are like computer software: they're "programmed" to carry out specific functions at specific times. If we can better understand...

The link between fishing cats and mangrove forest conservation | Ashwin Naidu

24 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Mangrove forests are crucial to the health of the planet, gobbling up CO2 from the atmosphere and providing a home for a diverse array of species. But...

A coral reef love story | Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

18 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Over the course of hundreds of scuba dives, marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson fell in love -- with a fish. In this ode to parrotfish, she share...

How a handful of fishing villages sparked a marine conservation revolution | Alasdair Harris

17 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We need a radically new approach to ocean conservation, says marine biologist and TED Fellow Alasdair Harris. In a visionary talk, he lays out a surpr...

What happens in your brain when you taste food | Camilla Arndal Andersen

03 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

With fascinating research and hilarious anecdotes, neuroscientist Camilla Arndal Andersen takes us into the lab where she studies people's sense of ta...

How community-led conservation can save wildlife | Moreangels Mbizah

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Conservationist and TED Fellow Moreangels Mbizah studied the famous Cecil the lion until he was shot by a trophy hunter in 2015. She wonders how thing...

How one tree grows 40 different kinds of fruit | Sam Van Aken

27 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Artist Sam Van Aken shares the breathtaking work behind the "Tree of 40 Fruit," an ongoing series of hybridized fruit trees that grow 40 different var...

Can seaweed help curb global warming? | Tim Flannery

23 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It's time for planetary-scale interventions to combat climate change -- and environmentalist Tim Flannery thinks seaweed can help. In a bold talk, he ...

We need to track the world's water like we track the weather | Sonaar Luthra

20 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We need a global weather service for water, says entrepreneur and TED Fellow Sonaar Luthra. In a talk about environmental accountability, Luthra shows...

How climate change could make our food less nutritious | Kristie Ebi

16 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Rising carbon levels in the atmosphere can make plants grow faster, but there's another hidden consequence: they rob plants of the nutrients and vitam...

A climate change solution that's right under our feet | Asmeret Asefaw Berhe

03 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

There's two times more carbon in the earth's soil than in all of its vegetation and the atmosphere -- combined. Biogeochemist Asmeret Asefaw Berhe div...

Emergency medicine for our climate fever | Kelly Wanser

28 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As we recklessly warm the planet by pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, some industrial emissions also produce particles that reflect sunshi...

How climate change affects your mental health | Britt Wray

27 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

"For all that's ever been said about climate change, we haven't heard nearly enough about the psychological impacts of living in a warming world," say...

What's at the bottom of the ocean -- and how we're getting there | Victor Vescovo

02 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Victor Vescovo is leading the first-ever manned expedition to the deepest point of each of the world's five oceans. In conversation with TED science c...

The fascinating (and dangerous) places scientists aren't exploring | Ella Al-Shamahi

15 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We're not doing frontline exploratory science in a huge portion of the world -- the places governments deem too hostile or disputed. What might we be ...

Grief and love in the animal kingdom | Barbara J. King

08 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

From mourning orcas to distressed elephants, biological anthropologist Barbara J. King has witnessed grief and love across the animal kingdom. In this...

5 challenges we could solve by designing new proteins | David Baker

17 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Proteins are remarkable molecular machines: they digest your food, fire your neurons, power your immune system and so much more. What if we could desi...

The mysterious microbes living deep inside the earth -- and how they could help humanity | Karen Lloyd

10 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The ground beneath your feet is home to a massive, mysterious world of microbes -- some of which have been in the earth's crust for hundreds of thousa...

The amazing brains and morphing skin of octopuses and other cephalopods | Roger Hanlon

31 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Octopus, squid and cuttlefish -- collectively known as cephalopods -- have strange, massive, distributed brains. What do they do with all that neural ...

These bacteria eat plastic | Morgan Vague

28 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Humans produce 300 million tons of new plastic each year -- yet, despite our best efforts, less than 10 percent of it ends up being recycled. Is there...

Sloths! The strange life of the world's slowest mammal | Lucy Cooke

21 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Sloths have been on this planet for more than 40 million years. What's the secret to their success? In a hilarious talk, zoologist Lucy Cooke takes us...

How supercharged plants could slow climate change | Joanne Chory

02 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Plants are amazing machines -- for millions of years, they've taken carbon dioxide out of the air and stored it underground, keeping a crucial check o...

A personal air-quality tracker that lets you know what you're breathing | Romain Lacombe

22 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How often do you think about the air you're breathing? Probably not enough, says entrepreneur and TED Fellow Romain Lacombe. He introduces Flow: a per...

Inside the black hole image that made history | Sheperd Doeleman

18 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

At the center of a galaxy more than 55 million light-years away, there's a supermassive black hole with the mass of several billion suns. And now, for...

Can we regenerate heart muscle with stem cells? | Chuck Murry

29 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The heart is one of the least regenerative organs in the human body -- a big factor in making heart failure the number one killer worldwide. What if w...

To detect diseases earlier, let's speak bacteria's secret language | Fatima AlZahra'a Alatraktchi

27 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Bacteria "talk" to each other, sending chemical information to coordinate attacks. What if we could listen to what they were saying? Nanophysicist Fat...

Why bees hold the key to our future | Noah Wilson-Rich

20 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Bees are dying off in record numbers, but ecologist Noah Wilson-Rich is interested in something else: Where are bees healthy and thriving? To find out...

The secret to scientific discoveries? Making mistakes | Phil Plait

18 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Phil Plait was on a Hubble Space Telescope team of astronomers who thought they may have captured the first direct photo of an exoplanet ever taken. B...