This video is about Simpson's paradox, a statistical paradox and ecological fallacy where seemingly contradictory results are implied by a single set of data depending on how it's grouped. The paradox can arise in medical...

Near the end of 2020, we got some puzzling but good news: COVID-19 fatality rates have been dropping. Here are a few factors that might help explain why we’re seeing this trend.

Before soldiers are sent into combat, they're trained on how to function in an immensely dangerous environment. But they also need training on how to return from the battlefield to civilian life, says psychologist Hector Garcia. Applying...

In August 2015, Jimmy Carter announced that he had a form of cancer that spread to his liver and brain. A few months later he reported the cancer was gone. How?

Has a doctor ever told you that you just have too much blood? Probably not, but there are a handful of conditions where being a little low might be good for you.

It will probably be at least a year before we have a vaccine for COVID-19. But in March, the WHO launched a megatrial tolook at four treatment options for the virus.

The opposite of depression is not happiness, but vitality, and it was vitality that seemed to seep away from me in that moment. In a talk equal parts eloquent and devastating, writer Andrew Solomon takes you to the darkest corners of his...

The IPCC has released a special report assessing how the world’s ice and oceans are faring under our changing climate, and scientists may be one step closer to a cure for the common cold!

Besides abstaining from alcohol altogether, most of the medical advice for avoiding hangovers is to use common sense before you start drinking. But what about all those “cures” people seem to tout?

There are a lot of stereotypes and stigma surrounding alcohol that prevent both understanding and adequate care, and the spectrum of symptoms that alcohol use disorder can include is a lot more complicated than you might think.

In ancient Greece, the best-known remedy for a long-standing headache was to drill a small hole in the skull to drain supposedly infected blood. Fortunately, doctors today don't resort to power tools to cure headaches, but we still have...

Cancer treatment is hard on the whole body, but a promising treatment is looking to target cancer's appetite and leave the rest of our cells alone.

We’ve made a lot of progress recently in curing two deadly diseases that have been difficult to treat!

In the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, we might be able to find new treatments by looking at some of the world’s most venomous snakes.

The bad backs, elbow pain, and creaky knees so common in older people often aren't just "old age." In fact, the source of this stiffness plagues many young people as well. The culprit is arthritis: a condition that affects over 90...

Freud is one of the most famous psychologists ever, but a lot of the things he taught are just… well, wrong. So why do we still spend so much time talking about this dude in psychology classes?

Dealing with depression is not easy, and the most common treatments don’t work for everyone. Could biomarkers be the key to finding more treatment options?

(NOTE: This talk was given in 2010, and this field of science has developed quickly since then. Enjoy it as a piece of science history but not as the last word on this topic. Read "Criticisms & updates" below for more details.) William...

Scientists are working to develop personalized cancer treatments, but one obstacle in the way is figuring out how different cells react to one another.

In this short talk, psychologist Dan Ariely tells two personal stories that explore scientific conflict of interest: How the pursuit of knowledge and insight can be affected, consciously or not, by shortsighted personal goals. When we're...

The FDA has approved a whole new class of antidepressant, and ultrasounds might be far more useful than we thought.

Depression is the leading cause of disability in the world; in the United States, close to ten percent of adults struggle with the disease. But because it's a mental illness, it can be a lot harder to understand than, say, high...

Fibromyalgia is not a well-understood malady, but scientists are making breakthroughs that could eventually help pin down both the causes and the cures.

After a terminal cancer diagnosis upended 12 years of remission, all Elaine Fong's mother wanted was a peaceful end of life. What she received instead became a fight for the right to decide when. Fong shares the heart-rending journey to...