Science probably isn’t the first thing that pops into your head when you think about Alaska, but it has a lot to offer when it comes to learning about the world, from cold corals to our behavior.

Based on what we think we know about the universe these stars really shouldn't exist, but they do!

They call you the human cannonball. Your act involves flying through rings of fire, bouncing through a trampoline course, and catching the trapezist in the grand finale. Today's pre-flight test fails dramatically, and upon inspection,...

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...

In 19 BC, the Roman poet Virgil suffered heatstroke and died on his journey back to Italy. On his deathbed, he thought about the manuscript he had been working on for over ten years, an epic poem called the "Aeneid." Unsatisfied with the...

To look at the evolution of modern bird feathers, we must start a long time ago, with the dinosaurs from whence they came. We see early incarnations of feathers on dinosaur fossils, and remnants of dinosaurs in a bird's wish bone. Carl...

You’re a bank robber trying to escape from jail. Can you solve the riddle to get past the fence to freedom? -- Your timing made you and your partner infamous bank robbers. Now, you need to use that timing to break out of jail. Your...

Our hard-wired stress response is designed to give us the quick burst of heightened alertness and energy needed to perform our best. But stress isn't all good. When activated too long or too often, stress can damage virtually every part...

Sounds that animals make can be really different, and it turns out that there's a reason why some species communicate with certain sounds.

Over the next 200 years, we can expect all of the Earth's glaciers to disappear -- unless we act now, says writer Andri Snær Magnason. Telling the story of the Okjökull glacier in Iceland, the first glacier lost to climate change,...

We can’t find evidence of the Sun’s family, or how it might have formed, but we do have some pretty good theories.

Hank brings the answer into focus.

It's easy to assume that every trait - including stubby arms on a terrifying predator - must be beneficial, but the forces of evolution don't really work like that.

Spacebit is sending crawling, jumping, mini-robots to the moon, and researchers have witnessed a pulsar emit a very cool combination of traits in its most recent flare.

They're slippery. They're slithery. And while they totally look like underwater snakes, eels are, in fact, unique fish that can breathe through their skin and even survive out of water. James Prosek tracks the life journey of Eli the...

With the invention of the atomic bomb, humanity gained the power to destroy itself for the first time in our history. Since then, our risk of either extinction or the collapse of civilization has steadily increased. Just how likely are...

In 1948, Spanish ophthalmologist Jose Ignacio Barraquer Moner was fed up with glasses. He wanted a solution for blurry vision that fixed the eye itself, without relying on external aids. The surgery he eventually devised was called...

In September 2015, scientists witnessed something never seen before: two black holes colliding. Both about 30 times as big as our Sun, they had been orbiting each other for millions of years. A fraction of a second before the crash, they...

Sometimes, studying uncommon maladies can reveal larger insights into how our bodies work!<br/>
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Investors tend to think in daily and quarterly numbers, leading to a system that can harm the future health of the economy and planet. Michelle Greene explains how the Long-Term Stock Exchange is reimagining public markets by holding...

A hearty bowl of cereal gives you the energy to start your day, but how exactly did that energy make its way into your bowl? It all begins with photosynthesis, the process that converts the air we breathe into energizing glucose. Cathy...

A clever mechanical proof of Snell's law.

Sometimes, it makes sense for critters across the animal kingdom to chow down on their own young.

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FYI: We try to leave jargon out of...

Imagine the hottest day you've ever experienced. Now imagine it's six, 10 or 12 degrees hotter. According to climate researcher Alice Bows-Larkin, that's the type of future in store for us if we don't significantly cut our greenhouse gas...