Our lizard friend the Gila monster probably has no idea that a chemical in its spit inspired one of the most important medical advancements of the 21st century. But this story is really about something bigger. Something deeper, beneath...

It's no secret that humans have big brains, especially compared to the rest of the animal world. But big brains require big energy to power them, and shifting around all our calories to fuel our massive brains was no small feat. From...

Duncan Keegan doesn't consider himself a poet, but this deeply beautiful talk shows otherwise. With simple grace and quiet eloquence, he celebrates family, connection and togetherness, often most called for at the hardest of times.

“Being on a voyage forces you to unplug,” says TED Fellow and third-generation captain Lehua Kamalu. Sharing ancient knowledge from traditional Hawaiian ocean voyaging, she reflects on the transformational power of seafaring journeys —...

Louise Mabulo grew up on seemingly strange farming tips from her parents and grandparents — like planting crops during a full moon or burying a rock beneath them. Now a farmer and climate activist herself, she sees how these practical...

What would Latin America look like if colonization hadn't interrupted its ancient civilizations? Imagining a future where ancestral knowledge intertwines with modern aesthetics, designer Catalina Lotero shows how "pre-Columbian futurism"...

The eruption of Mt Vesuvius buried the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and one ancient library was burned to a crisp. However, scientists are now using machine learning and AI to decipher the writing on them and recover lost works of...

A 2006 study took a class of surgical residents and split them into two groups. Each received the same study materials, but one group was told to use specific study methods. When tested a month later, this group performed significantly...

Quantum mechanics forbids us from measuring the universe beyond a certain level of precision. But that doesn’t stop us from trying. And in some cases succeeding, by squeezing the Heisenberg uncertainty principle to its breaking point.

It sounds like such an incredible fact. “Our own cells are outnumbered by our microbes 10 to 1!” I don’t remember where I first heard it. But I read it in science papers and articles by journalists, so I believed it without question. I...

Scientists have developed a new AI that can teach itself how to be the master of an ancient board game.

Plants have their own interconnected networks that allow them to communicate with each other, sometimes over considerable distances!

The Islamic Golden Age of Science is largely to thank for our scientific developments today. Around 750-1250 CE, the Islamic empire made incredible scientific advancements that changed the course of history! Join Michael Aranda for a...

Conservation champion and TED Fellow Adjany Costa is on a mission to empower Indigenous communities. Instead of imposing pre-designed policy and plans on local people, she says, conservation efforts should center those who know the land...

How do we make historically exclusive fields like classical music, fine arts or academic research more accessible to everyone? Education equalizer and violist Matthew Garcia thinks one way to remove barriers is to create free, virtual...

TED curator Chris Anderson shares his obsession with questions that no one (yet) knows the answers to. A short intro leads into two questions: Why can't we see evidence of alien life? And how many universes are there?

In this video Paul Andersen describes the new AP Biology Exam. This exam will be given for the first time in May of 2013 and will be different from all previous exams. In this video Paul Andersen describes the scoring and the two parts...

Paul Andersen explains how to formulate questions to guide discussions and investigations. He starts by describing the proper type of questions that should be asked in an AP Biology classroom. He gives four examples of questions that...

This week on Crash Course Mythology, Mike is teaching you about the archetypes that are often associated with male divinities. We're going to talk about Fathers & Sons, Kings & Judges, Saviors & Sages, Shamans, Tricksters, and Lords of...

In this video Paul Andersen attempts to explain the age old questions - What is Energy? Even though it comes in many forms one of the defining characteristics of energy is that it is conserved over time. He then explains that all...

What if we could better understand the world's biggest challenges simply by looking at a map? Jack Dangermond, a pioneer in geographic information system (GIS) technology that powers the digital maps people around the world use every...

Kids get so excited to meet their favorite characters in real life, but studies show they might not really believe the the princess they met at a theme park is actually the cartoon character.

TED talks about what should humans take to space (and leave behind)?

SciShow heads to Washington D.C. to join the March for Science and interview people about why they feel science is important to them.