Slave codes were a method of protecting the investment of white enslavers in the Colonies by restricting the lives of enslaved people in almost every imaginable way. The codes restricted enslaved people’s ability to move around, or...

Unlike most living things, there are species of bacteria that can harness electrons directly and even shuttle them around from place to place like living wires.

How counting in Ternary can solve a variant of the Tower's of Hanoi puzzle, and how this gives rise to a beautiful connection to Sierpinski's triangle.

What's the awesomest place in the world? Scientists can think of at least 137, the newly released list of the most biologically important places on Earth. Hank explains how ecologists arrived at this list, and takes you on a tour of four...

Towering 85 meters above the Norwegian countryside, Mjøstårnet is the world's tallest wooden building, made almost entirely from the trees of neighboring forests. But as recently as the end of the 20th century, engineers thought it was...

South African investment banker Euvin Naidoo explains why investing in Africa can make great business sense.

Today, we're recapping some of the International Institute for Species Exploration's Top 10 New Species of 2016, and talking about some tiny flying robots that can stick to things using electricity!

Scottish funnyman Rory Bremner convenes a historic council on the TEDGlobal stage -- as he lampoons Gordon Brown, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and a cast of other world leaders with his hilarious impressions and biting commentary. See if...

In a world deeply divided, how do we have hard conversations with nuance, curiosity, respect? Veteran reporter Eve Pearlman introduces "dialogue journalism": a project where journalists go to the heart of social and political divides to...

Rob Knight is a pioneer in studying human microbes, the community of tiny single-cell organisms living inside our bodies that have a huge — and largely unexplored — role in our health. “The three pounds of microbes that you carry around...

Tornadoes are the most violent storms on Earth, with wind velocities that can exceed 200 miles per hour. How do these terrifying cyclones form? Meteorologist James Spann sheds light on the lifespan of tornadoes as they go from supercell...

We used to believe that our ancestors had clear roles: Men hunt, women gather. But new evidence suggests that some of the earliest big game hunters were women.

We know a lot about dinosaurs but there's one question that has plagued paleontologists for decades: what color were they?

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?!

This week, scientists discover something in a fish fossil that might give us a hand in finding our earliest land-dwelling ancestors.

Michael Aranda relays the latest in science news, including an archaeological discovery about the earliest days of Buddhism, a new species of Brazilian wildcat, and new insights into the effects of fecal transplants.

Building and launching rockets to learn about other worlds hasn't been great for Earth, but environmental engineers are working on changing that legacy.

In some cartoons, the one with a bigger brain is often described as "smart," but is it true in real life?

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...

Clint Smith teaches you about one of the most famous writers, orators, and advocates of the 19th century, Frederick Douglass. Douglass was born in slavery, escaped to the North, and became one of the most influential people of his time....

Every environment on the planet -- from forested mountaintops to scorching deserts and even the human gut -- has a microbiome that keeps it healthy and balanced. Ecologist Steven Allison explores how these extraordinarily adaptable,...

Energy poverty, or the lack of access to electricity and other basic energy services, affects nearly two-thirds of Sub-Saharan Africa. As the region's population continues to increase, so will the need to build a new energy system to...

"Confidence is the necessary spark before everything that follows," says educator and activist Brittany Packnett. In an inspiring talk, she shares three ways to crack the code of confidence -- and her dream for a world where...

Don't believe predictions that say the future is trending towards city living. urbanization is actually reaching the end of its cycle, says logistics expert Julio Gil, and soon more people will be choosing to live (and work) in the...