TED-Ed
TED-ED: Secrets of the X chromosome - Robin Ball
The sequence of DNA that we inherit from our parents encodes directions for making our cells and giving us specific traits. Identical twins have the same DNA sequence, so how can one twin end up with a genetic disorder while the other...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Will there ever be a mile-high skyscraper? - Stefan Al
Would a mile-high skyscraper ever be possible? Explore the physics behind some of the tallest buildings and megastructures in the world. -- In 1956, architect Frank Lloyd Wright proposed a mile-high skyscraper, a building five times as...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Eye vs. camera - Michael Mauser
Your eyes don’t always capture the world exactly as a video camera would. But the eyes are remarkably efficient organs, the result of hundreds of millions of years of coevolution with our brains. Michael Mauser outlines the similarities...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The World Machine | Think Like A Coder, Ep 10 | Alex Rosenthal
This is episode 10 of our animated series "Think Like A Coder." This 10-episode narrative follows a girl, Ethic, and her robot companion, Hedge, as they attempt to save the world. The two embark on a quest to collect three artifacts and...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How does heart transplant surgery work? | Roni Shanoada
Your heart beats more than 100,000 times a day. In just a minute, it pumps over five liters of blood throughout your body. But unlike skin and bones, the heart has a limited ability to repair itself. So if this organ is severely damaged,...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Alex Gendler: How languages evolve
Over the course of human history thousands of languages have developed from what was once a much smaller number. How did we end up with so many? And how do we keep track of them all? Alex Gendler explains how linguists group languages...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The breathtaking courage of Harriet Tubman - Janell Hobson
Escaping slavery; risking everything to save her family; leading a military raid; championing the cause of women's suffrage; these are just a handful of the accomplishments of one of America's most courageous heroes. Janell Hobson...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Why the insect brain is so incredible - Anna St_ckl
The human brain is one of the most sophisticated organs in the world, a supercomputer made of billions of neurons that control all of our senses, thoughts, and actions. But there was something Charles Darwin found even more impressive:...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What is the universe made of? - Dennis Wildfogel
The atoms around you have existed for billions of years -- and most originated in the flaming, gaseous core of a star. Dennis Wildfogel tells the captivating tale of these atoms' long journeys from the Big Bang to the molecules they form...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Sugar: Hiding in plain sight - Robert Lustig
While sugar is easy to spot in candy, soft drinks and ice cream, it also hides out in foods you might not expect -- including peanut butter, pasta sauce and even bologna! Robert Lustig decodes confusing labels and sugar's many aliases to...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What are stem cells? - Craig A. Kohn
Is personalized medicine for individual bodies in our future? Possibly -- with the use of stem cells, undifferentiated cells with the power to become any tissue in our bodies. Craig A. Kohn describes the role of these incredible,...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The race to decode a mysterious language | Susan Lupack
In the early 1900s, archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans uncovered nearly 3,000 tablets inscribed with strange symbols. He thought the script, dubbed Linear B, represented the Minoan language, while others came up with their own theories. Was...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Are ghost ships real? - Peter B. Campbell
In 1884, the British steamer “Rumney” crashed into the French ship “Frigorifique.” Seeing their ship filling with water, the French crew climbed aboard the “Rumney.” But as they sailed towards port, a silent form emerged from the fog –...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Can you solve the frog riddle? - Derek Abbott
You're stranded in a rainforest, and you've eaten a poisonous mushroom. To save your life, you need an antidote excreted by a certain species of frog. Unfortunately, only the female frog produces the antidote. The male and female look...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why do cats have vertical pupils? | Emma Bryce
Peering into the eyes of different animals, you'll see some extraordinarily shaped pupils. House cats, for one, are twilight hunters with vertically elongated pupils. Many grazing animals, like goats, have rectangular pupils. Other...
TED-Ed
What causes dandruff, and how do you get rid of it? | Thomas L. Dawson
On top of our heads, there is a type of yeast that lives and dines on all of our scalps. Feasting constantly, it's in paradise. And in about half of the human population, its activity causes dandruff. So, why do some people have more...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How do animals experience pain? - Robyn J. Crook
Humans know the surprising prick of a needle, the searing pain of a stubbed toe, and the throbbing of a toothache. We can identify many types of pain and have multiple ways of treating it - but what about other species? How do the...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Bird migration, a perilous journey - Alyssa Klavans
Nearly 200 species of songbirds migrate south for winter, some traveling up to 7,000 miles. No easy task, the annual journey is dangerous to birds due to landscape change -- so much so, that only half the birds that migrate south will...
TED-Ed
Why do we, like, hesitate when we, um, speak? | Lorenzo García-Amaya
For as long as we've had language, some people have tried to control it. And some of the most frequent targets of this communication regulation are the ums, ers, and likes that pepper our conversations. These linguistic fillers occur...
TED-Ed
How does artificial intelligence learn? | Briana Brownell
Today, artificial intelligence helps doctors diagnose patients, pilots fly commercial aircraft, and city planners predict traffic. These AIs are often self-taught, working off a simple set of instructions to create a unique array of...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why should you read "Don Quixote"? - Ilan Stavans
Mounting his skinny steed, Don Quixote charges an army of giants. It is his duty to vanquish these behemoths in the name of his beloved lady, Dulcinea. There's only one problem: the giants are merely windmills. What is it about this tale...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: History vs. Cleopatra - Alex Gendler
She was the most notorious woman in ancient history, a queen who enraptured not one but two of Rome's greatest generals. But was she just a skilled seductress or a great ruler in her own right? Alex Gendler puts this controversial figure...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The psychology of post-traumatic stress disorder - Joelle Maletis
Many of us will experience some kind of trauma during our lifetime. Sometimes, we escape with no long-term effects. But for millions of people, those experiences linger, causing symptoms like flashbacks, nightmares, and negative thoughts...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: What can you learn from ancient skeletons? - Farnaz Khatibi
Ancient skeletons can tell us a great deal about the past, including the age, gender and even the social status of its former owner. But how can we know all of these details simply by examining some old, soil-caked bones? Farnaz Khatibi...