Humans are known to carry a tune, but we're hardly the only animals that sing. In fact we've got five of nature's finest singers, and what makes them so unique.

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Some believe that increased carbon emissions could produce faster growing plants, but some scientists worry that it could mean more toxic and invasive species.

There are plenty of creatures out there with only one opening to handle both taking in food and getting rid of waste. But there’s at least one animal out there that doesn’t have a gut opening… at all. How does that even work?!

How can animation convey complex, intangible concepts? A visual metaphor, or an idea represented through imagery, can take an idea as massive as Big Data and tie it to the familiar depiction of a growing tree. TED-Ed animators explain...

Juan Enriquez challenges our definition of bioenergy. Oil, coal, gas and other hydrocarbons are not chemical but biological products, based on plant matter -- and thus, growable. Our whole approach to fuel, he argues, needs to change.

Hank loves science because it helps us appreciate the world more, but not everything that science does makes him happy - reports of poison fog on the West coast of the United States; dramatic decreases in sperm counts; and a lack of...

What gives the ocean its distinct, sometimes pungent smell? It turns out the answer is more than just dead fish or salt: it’s the scent of tons of phytoplankton being munched on!

From changing diapers to cleaning up vomit, human parents can have it tough, but at least they don't have to incubate their babies under their skin or liquify their own guts to feed their brood like these animal moms do! In honor of...

Asteroid strikes get all the coverage, but "Medea Hypothesis" author Peter Ward argues that most of Earth's mass extinctions were caused by lowly bacteria. The culprit, a poison called hydrogen sulfide, may have an interesting...

Long conflict can wreck a country, leaving behind poverty and chaos. But what's the right way to help war-torn countries rebuild? At TED@State, Paul Collier explains the problems with current post-conflict aid plans, and suggests 3 ideas...

When he was just 14 years old, Malawian inventor William Kamkwamba built his family an electricity-generating windmill from spare parts, working from rough plans he found in a library book.

We're heading for a world population of 10 billion people -- but what will we all eat? Lisa Dyson rediscovered an idea developed by NASA in the 1960s for deep-space travel, and it could be a key to reinventing how we grow food.

In the 1800s, Wilhelm Kuhne created an image of a window from the eyes of a rabbit. Was this technology applicable to humans?

You might not think of volcanoes as particularly musical, but they do actually generate infrasound! And scientists may be able to use that sound to help predict when a volcano is about to erupt.

As of 2018, there are around 2.5 billion smartphone users in the world. If we broke open all the newest phones and split them into their component parts, that would produce around 85,000 kg of gold, 875,000 of silver, and 40,000,000 of...

Many a joke has been made about scurvy and pirates, but it’s a serious disease caused by a lack of Vitamin C that still affects people around the world today. What’s wild, though, is that it shouldn’t exist - our distant ancestors used...

For some people, fava beans can be deadly. What is it about this little legume that makes it so?

Is there any better way to create new energy than to make it out of consumed energy sources?

A brown thrasher knows a thousand songs. A wood thrush can sing two pitches at once. A mockingbird can match the sounds around it - including car alarms. These are just a few of the 4,000 species of songbirds. How do these birds learn...

Paul Andersen answers the following question: How do organisms grow and develop?

For the first time ever we have visual confirmation that black holes actually exist and we got it with a telescope the size of our planet.

Hank delves into the scientific reasons behind why we are attracted to the people we're attracted to. It's complicated.

Sometimes your farts stink, and sometimes they don't—and it's not because of methane.

Unfortunately, we don’t know how to cure hangovers yet. However, we DO know a lot more about how to make sure you wake up with a hangover. Avoiding some of these behaviors could help you feel better the morning after.