TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The science of milk - Jonathan J. O'Sullivan
The milk industry produces in excess of 840 million tons of products each year. Why do humans drink so much milk? And given that all mammals lactate, why do we favor certain types of milk over others? Jonathan J. O'Sullivan describes how...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Questions no one knows the answers to - Chris Anderson
In the first of a new TED-Ed series designed to catalyze curiosity, TED Curator Chris Anderson shares his boyhood obsession with quirky questions that seem to have no answers.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: History's deadliest colors - J. V. Maranto
When radium was first discovered, its luminous green color inspired people to add it into beauty products and jewelry. It wasn't until much later that we realized that radium's harmful effects outweighed its visual benefits....
TED-Ed
TED-ED: What are mini brains? - Madeline Lancaster
Shielded by our thick skulls and swaddled in layers of protective tissue, the human brain is extremely difficult to observe in action. Luckily, scientists can use brain organoids - pencil-eraser-sized masses of cells that function like...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How does your body process medicine? - Celine Valery
Have you ever wondered what happens to a painkiller, like ibuprofen, after you swallow it? Medicine that slides down your throat can help treat a headache, a sore back, or a throbbing sprained ankle. But how does it get where it needs to...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: What causes headaches? - Dan Kwartler
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...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Why do we harvest horseshoe crab blood? - Elizabeth Cox
During the warmer months, especially at night during the full moon, horseshoe crabs emerge from the sea to spawn. Waiting for them are teams of lab workers, who capture the horseshoe crabs by the hundreds of thousands, take them to labs,...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: What causes constipation? - Heba Shaheed
Visiting the bathroom is part of the daily human experience. But occasionally, constipation, a condition that causes a backup in your digestive system, strikes. In some especially uncomfortable cases, the food you eat can take several...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The treadmill's dark and twisted past - Conor Heffernan
The constant thud underneath your feet. The constrained space. The monotony of going nowhere fast. Running on a treadmill can certainly feel like torture, but did you know it was originally used for that very purpose? Conor Heffernan...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How to master your sense of smell - Alexandra Horowitz
Some perfumers can distinguish individual odors in a fragrance made of hundreds of scents; tea-experts have been known to sniff out the exact location of a particular tea; and the NYC Transit Authority once had a employee responsible...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How do we study living brains? - John Borghi and Elizabeth Waters
As far as we know, there's only one thing in our solar system sophisticated enough to study itself: the human brain. But this self-investigation is challenging because a living brain is shielded by skull, swaddled in tissue, and made up...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How do cigarettes affect the body? - Krishna Sudhir
Cigarettes aren't good for us. That's hardly news -- we've known about the dangers of smoking for decades. But how exactly do cigarettes harm us, and can our bodies recover if we stop? Krishna Sudhir details what happens when we smoke --...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What is dust made of? - Michael Marder
Less than a tenth the size of an ant, a dust mite's whole world is contained in the dusty film under a bed or in a forgotten corner. This realm is right under our noses, but from our perspective, the tiny specks of brilliant color blend...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What's the big deal with gluten? - William D. Chey
If you've been to a restaurant in the last few years, you've likely seen the words gluten-free written somewhere on the menu. But what exactly is gluten, and why can't some people process it? And why does it only seem to be a problem...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How do drugs affect the brain? - Sara Garofalo
Most people will take a pill, receive an injection, or otherwise take some kind of medicine during their lives. But most of us don't know anything about how these substances actually work. How can various compounds impact the way we...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why do we itch? - Emma Bryce
The average person experiences dozens of individual itches each day. We've all experienced the annoyance of an inconvenient itch - but have you ever pondered why we itch in the first place? Is there actually an evolutionary purpose to...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How does anesthesia work? - Steven Zheng
When under anesthesia, you can't move, form memories, or -- hopefully -- feel pain. And while it might just seem like you are asleep for that time, you actually aren't. What's going on? Steven Zheng explains what we know about the...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How do germs spread (and why do they make us sick)? - Yannay Khaikin and Nicole Mideo
Germs are found on almost every surface we come in contact with, which makes it incredibly common for our bodies to be exposed to them. But why are some of these germs relatively harmless, while others can be fatal? Yannay Khaikan and...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Cannibalism in the animal kingdom - Bill Schutt
Until recently, scientists thought cannibalism was a rare response to starvation or other extreme stress. Well-known cannibals like the praying mantis and black widow were considered bizarre exceptions. But now, we know they more or less...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why does your voice change as you get older? - Shaylin A. Schundler
The human voice is capable of incredible variety and range. As we age, our bodies undergo two major changes which explore that range. So how exactly does our voice box work, and what causes these shifts in speech? Shaylin A. Schundler...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How your digestive system works - Emma Bryce
Constantly churning inside of you, the digestive system performs a daily marvel: it transforms your food into the vital nutrients that sustain your body and ensure your survival. Emma Bryce traces food's nine-meter-long, 40-hour journey...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How does the immune system work? - Emma Bryce
Inside you, a daily battle is being waged and your immune system is at the frontline. Most of the time, you may not even notice it's there, but over the course of your life your immune system will guard you against hundreds of...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why sitting is bad for you - Murat Dalkilinc
Sitting down for brief periods can help us recover from stress or recuperate from exercise. But nowadays, our lifestyles make us sit much more than we move around. Are our bodies built for such a sedentary existence? Murat Dalkilin�c...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Why do you need to get a flu shot every year? - Melvin Sanicas
All year long, researchers at hospitals around the world collect samples from flu patients and send them to top virology experts with one goal: to design the vaccine for the next flu season. But why do we need a new one every year?...