TED-Ed
The dark history of arsenic | Neil Bradbury
No substance has been as constant an ally to insidious scheming as arsenic, the so-called “king of poisons.” In its chemically pure form, it isn’t much of a threat because our bodies don’t absorb it well; it’s when arsenic combines with...
TED-Ed
One of the most controversial medical procedures in history | Jenell Johnson
In 1935, researchers found that after removing the frontal lobes of two chimps, they no longer experienced frustration or anxiety. Neurologist Egas Moniz believed that replicating this in humans could cure mental illness— leading to one...
TED-Ed
What actually causes high cholesterol? | Hei Man Chan
In 1968, the American Heart Association made an announcement that would influence people’s diets for decades: they recommended that people avoid eating more than three eggs a week. Their reasoning was that the cholesterol packed into egg...
TED-Ed
Can you "see" images in your mind? Some people can't | Adam Zeman
When reading "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," most readers visualize the queen’s croquet game play out in their heads. A few might see the scene in vivid detail. However, a small fraction of readers have a drastically different...
TED-Ed
How are microchips made? | George Zaidan and Sajan Saini
Globally, we produce more than a trillion computer chips every year. Which means about 20 trillion transistors are built every second— and this process is done in fewer than 500 fabrication plants. How do we build so many tiny,...
TED-Ed
This is the most common way to get head lice | Nazzy Pakpour
For as long as humans have had lice, we’ve fought hard to get rid of them. Nit combs, the fine-tooth brushes used to remove lice and their sticky eggs, have been found among the ancient remains of cultures across the globe. Today it’s...
TED-Ed
5 signs you’re a good driver | Iseult Gillespie
As one of the agency’s best employees, you’ve been selected as a finalist to take on a new top-secret mission. You’ve already shown your aptitude for surveillance and disguise, but the agency’s looking to test one last critical skill:...
TED-Ed
Why you feel stuck — and how to get motivated | Shannon Odell
Many of us have experienced feeling stuck. People often report feeling highly motivated at the start and end of a project, but the middle can feel untethered. It can happen when tackling something as simple as a term paper or as...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How to manage your stress more effectively | Shannon Odell
An upcoming project deadline, a fight with a family member, or even an embarrassing moment can easily trigger our body’s stress response. While we can’t always control what life throws at us, there are ways to better prepare for...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How do kidney transplants work? | Alexander H. Toledo
In 1954, Joseph Murray attempted a type of kidney swap that no doctor had tried before. The surgery was a success, and the patient would go on to live with the transplanted organ thanks to one key factor: it came from his identical twin....
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The real reason polio is so dangerous | Dan Kwartler
In 1952, polio was everywhere: killing or paralyzing roughly half a million people annually. Yet just 10 years later, paralytic polio cases in the US dropped by 96% and we were on track to get rid of polio for good. But in recent years,...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: 3 reasons why medications are so expensive in the US | Kiah Williams
A century after its discovery, insulin remain essential in treating diabetes, and has a relatively low production cost, with a vial generally costing less than $6 to make. But those in the US pay on average 10 times more than those in...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why don’t companies want you to repair your stuff? | Aaron Perzanowski
Today, some companies are working hard to prevent consumers from repairing products on their own. In many cases, repair can only be done by the original manufacturer, if at all. With limited repair options available, we end up buying new...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: This mushroom will kill you before you know what’s happening | Michael Beug
Humans have known about the toxicity of death cap mushrooms for millennia. Yet they continue to pose a significant threat to unsuspecting foragers and mushroom hunters throughout the world. Today, death caps are responsible for more than...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why is Alzheimer’s disease so difficult to treat? | Krishna Sudhir
Around the world, millions of people have Alzheimer’s disease, a debilitating brain disorder that gradually destroys a person’s memory and other cognitive abilities. While doctors have studied Alzheimer’s for decades, conducting hundreds...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What staying up all night does to your brain | Anna Rothschild
You’re just one history final away from a relaxing spring break. But you still have so much to study! You decide to follow in the footsteps of many students before you, and pull an all-nighter. So, what happens to your brain when you...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Can you solve the basketball robot riddle? | Dan Katz
You’ve spent months creating a basketball-playing robot, the Dunk-O-Matic, and you’re excited to demonstrate its capabilities. Until you read an advertisement: “See the Dunk-O-Matic face human players and automatically adjust its skill...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Could AI predict the future? | Thomas Hofweber
A couple has been considering getting engaged, but they’re worried about divorce statistics. An AI-based model was just released that can predict your likelihood of divorce with 95% accuracy. The only catch is the model doesn’t offer any...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How do doctors determine what stage of cancer you have? | Hyunsoo Joshua No and Trudy Wu
Each year, approximately 20 million people receive a cancer diagnosis. At that time, a patient usually learns their cancer’s stage, which is typically a number ranging from one to four. While staging is designed, in part, to help...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Can you transplant a head to another body? | Max G. Levy
In 1970, neurosurgeon Robert White and his team carted two monkeys into an operating room to conduct an ambitious experiment. The objective was to connect the head of Monkey A to the body of Monkey B, in what he considered a whole-body...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Could we build a miniature sun on Earth? | George Zaidan
Stars have cores hot and dense enough to force atomic nuclei together, forming larger, heavier nuclei in a process known as fusion. In this process, the mass of the end products is slightly less than the mass of the initial atoms. But...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: These animals can hear everything | Jakob Christensen-Dalsgaard
The world is always abuzz with sounds, many of which human ears simply can’t hear. However, other species have extraordinary adaptations that grant them access to realms of sonic extremes. And some of them don’t even have ears— at least,...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The diseases that changed humanity forever | Dan Kwartler
Since humanity’s earliest days, we’ve been plagued by countless disease-causing pathogens. Invisible and persistent, these microorganisms and the illnesses they incur have killed more humans than anything else in history. But which...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The gory history of barber surgeons | Stephanie Honchell Smith
It’s a cold morning in 15th century France and you’re off to the barber for a shave and haircut. You hear the familiar sound of singing inside and eye a bowl of blood in the window. You grab a cup of ale and examine the array of teeth...