TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How fast can a vaccine be made?
When a new pathogen emerges, our bodies and healthcare systems are left vulnerable. And when this pathogen causes the outbreak of a pandemic, there’s an urgent need for a vaccine to create widespread immunity with minimal loss of life....
TED Talks
TED: How to build synthetic DNA and send it across the internet | Dan Gibson
Biologist Dan Gibson edits and programs DNA, just like coders program a computer. But his "code" creates life, giving scientists the power to convert digital information into biological material like proteins and vaccines. Now he's on to...
SciShow
Seasonal Genes & The Science of Fear
This week on SciShow News, we explore how our genes change with the seasons! Plus, it turns out that even flies get scared sometimes.
TED Talks
TED: Is the pandemic actually over? It's complicated | Anthony Fauci
Be spreaders of facts and truths, says scientist and immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci. Having advised seven US presidents on various disease outbreaks including COVID-19, he shares insights on the present and future of pandemics, backed up...
SciShow
Why It Might Be Good to Have Herpes | Trained Immunity
While herpes viruses cause harmful or annoying afflictions like chickenpox and cold sores, there’s also evidence it can help your immune system fight unrelated attackers.
TED Talks
TED: The science of extreme weather -- and how to reduce the harm | Al Roker, Al Gore, David Biello and Latif Nasser
Floods, droughts, heat waves and cold blasts -- why is the weather becoming more extreme? Environmentalist and "America's weatherman" Al Roker discusses the link between climate change and disruptions to weather patterns worldwide,...
SciShow
How Do mRNA Vaccines Work?
Two of the vaccines we have for COVID-19 have the distinction of being the first mRNA vaccines to see widespread use in humans. But how do they work, and how are they different from the litany of immunizations you probably got as a kid?
TED Talks
TED: The tiny balls of fat that could revolutionize medicine | Kathryn A. Whitehead
What if you were holding life-saving medicine ... but had no way to administer it? Zoom down to the nano level with engineer Kathryn A. Whitehead as she gives a breakdown of the little fatty balls (called lipid nanoparticles) perfectly...
TED Talks
TED: How to provide cooling for everyone -- without warming the planet | Rachel Kyte
The way we cool things down is heating the planet even more, says sustainable development expert Rachel Kyte -- and the solutions go well beyond just fixing air-conditioning. She identifies four major areas with transformative solutions...
SciShow
Could an Old Vaccine Help Against COVID-19?
By studying population-level epidemiological trends, researchers have noticed that an old vaccine for tuberculosis may provide some protection against COVID-19.
SciShow
Why Only Some Vaccines Need Booster Shots
Vaccines teach your immune system to recognize pathogens, but sometimes your body needs a bit of a reminder.
TED Talks
TED: The key to a better malaria vaccine | Faith Osier
The malaria vaccine was invented more than a century ago -- yet each year, hundreds of thousands of people still die from the disease. How can we improve this vital vaccine? In this informative talk, immunologist and TED Fellow Faith...
SciShow
A Vaccine for Asthma? #inmice | SciShow News
A vaccination to protect against allergic asthma may be in sight, as scientists this week publish promising results in mice. Also, the California Condor is making a comeback, and its genome is looking great!
SciShow
Second COVID Vaccine Shot Side Effects
As Covid-19 vaccines make it into more and more people's arms, you may be hearing that the second dose can be a little rough. But, while it may be unpleasant, these intense side-effects are actually a sign that the vaccines are working....
TED Talks
TED: How COVID-19 human challenge trials work -- and why I volunteered | Sophie Rose
In April 2020, epidemiologist-in-training Sophie Rose volunteered to be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. As a young, healthy adult, she's offering to take part in a human challenge trial, a study where participants are...
SciShow
Why It Actually Took 50 Years to Make COVID mRNA Vaccines
The FDA recently approved two mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, but it was a challenge to make this type of vaccine work. And it took decades of research to get us to the point where scientists could make those vaccines as quickly as they did.
TED Talks
TED: The breakthrough science of mRNA medicine | Melissa J. Moore
The secret behind medicine that uses messenger RNA (or mRNA) is that it "teaches" our bodies how to fight diseases on our own, leading to groundbreaking treatments for COVID-19 and, potentially one day, cancer, the flu and other ailments...
TED Talks
Seth Berkley: HIV and flu -- the vaccine strategy
Seth Berkley explains how smart advances in vaccine design, production and distribution are bringing us closer than ever to eliminating a host of global threats -- from AIDS to malaria to flu pandemics.
SciShow
Could a Vaccine Prevent Type 1 Diabetes?
Measles, mumps, and polio are things we can prevent with vaccines, but scientists are looking to add a surprising entry to that list: Type 1 diabetes.
TED Talks
TED: Meet the scientist couple driving an mRNA vaccine revolution | Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci
As COVID-19 spread, BioNTech cofounders Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci had one goal: to make a safe, effective vaccine faster than ever before. In this illuminating conversation with head of TED Chris Anderson, the immunologists (and...
SciShow
The Truth About COVID Vaccines and Emergency Use Authorizations
The news of several promising COVID-19 vaccines over the past few weeks has been very exciting, but so far, none have received emergency authorization for general use in the US. We'll talk about what that means, and also, why these...
SciShow
What's Up With That Russian Vaccine? | SciShow News
You might be wondering what we know about Sputnik V, the world’s first vaccine for widespread use against COVID-19. Well, so is everyone. Many experts are skeptical as to whether the vaccine actually works, because it’s been tested in a...
TED Talks
Wendy Chung: Autism — what we know (and what we don't know yet)
In this factual talk, geneticist Wendy Chung shares what we know about autism spectrum disorder — for example, that autism has multiple, perhaps interlocking, causes. Looking beyond the worry and concern that can surround a diagnosis,...
SciShow
Will COVID-19 Go Away in the Summer?
COVID-19 has the potential to ebb and flow with the seasons, but because it's a novel pandemic, that doesn't mean we're off the hook this summer.