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...
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: How a long-forgotten virus could help us solve the antibiotics crisis | Alexander Belcredi
Viruses have a bad reputation -- but some of them could one day save your life, says biotech entrepreneur Alexander Belcredi. In this fascinating talk, he introduces us to phages, naturally-occurring viruses that hunt and kill harmful...
TED Talks
Jay Bradner: Open-source cancer research
How does cancer know it's cancer? At Jay Bradner's lab, they found a molecule that might hold the answer, JQ1. But instead of patenting it and reaping the profits (as many other labs have done) -- they published their findings and mailed...
SciShow
The Most Venomous Animals in the World
There are a lot of ways to kill and be killed in the animal kingdom, but only a lucky few use the powers of venom. Not all are closely related, so how did they acquire the same defenses, where did venom come from, and how does it work?...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What causes yeast infections, and how do you get rid of them? | Liesbeth Demuyser
The vagina harbors hundreds of different kinds of microorganisms. Candida yeasts are usually present in small quantities and most of the time, these fungi are harmless. But, under certain conditions, Candida yeasts can cause infections....
SciShow
The Many Functions of Fungi | Compilation
There’s no denying that fungus is all around us all the time. And not all of it is helpful, but neither is all of it harmful. Here are some of the many functions of fungi.
TED Talks
Deborah Rhodes: A test that finds 3x more breast tumors, and why it's not available to you
Working with a team of physicists, Dr. Deborah Rhodes developed a new tool for tumor detection that's 3 times as effective as traditional mammograms for women with dense breast tissue. The life-saving implications are stunning. So why...
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.
TED Talks
Maryn McKenna: What do we do when antibiotics don't work any more?
Penicillin changed everything. Infections that had previously killed were suddenly quickly curable. Yet as Maryn McKenna shares in this sobering talk, we've squandered the advantages afforded us by that and later antibiotics....
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: How augmented reality could change the future of surgery | Nadine Hachach-Haram
If you're undergoing surgery, you want the best surgical team to collaborate on your case, no matter where they are. Surgeon and entrepreneur Nadine Hachach-Haram is developing a new system that helps surgeons operate together and train...
Be Smart
What's the Deadliest Animal in the World?
The world's deadliest animal may be closer than you think.
TED Talks
Cynthia Kenyon: Experiments that hint of longer lives
What controls aging? Biochemist Cynthia Kenyon has found a simple genetic mutation that can double the lifespan of a simple worm, C. elegans. The lessons from that discovery, and others, are pointing to how we might one day significantly...
TED Talks
Boghuma Kabisen Titanji: Ethical riddles in HIV research
A woman in sub-Saharan Africa is part of a cutting-edge HIV clinical trial -- but she can't afford a bus ticket to her health clinic, let alone the life-saving antiretrovirals she'll need. Boghuma Kabisen Titanji asks an important...
SciShow
Will Humans Ever Be Able to Hibernate?
Do you ever feel so tired that you want to sleep for a few months? Scientists are searching for ways to cause human hibernation.
SciShow
Pain-Killing Hunger and Superpowered Diabetic Fish
Animals that eat things are at the forefront of this week’s news, from mice with pain-killing hunger to fish with signs of diabetes.
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
Editing Genes Inside the Human Body
We talk a lot about CRISPR and "designer babies" but the science of editing genes is varied and complex. This month, an adult man received billions of gene-editing viruses via an IV in an effort to treat a rare disease.
TED Talks
Philip K. Howard: Four ways to fix a broken legal system
The land of the free has become a legal minefield, says Philip K. Howard -- especially for teachers and doctors, whose work has been paralyzed by fear of suits. What's the answer? A lawyer himself, Howard has four propositions for...
TED Talks
Mina Bissell: Experiments that point to a new understanding of cancer
For decades, researcher Mina Bissell pursued a revolutionary idea -- that a cancer cell doesn't automatically become a tumor, but rather, depends on surrounding cells (its microenvironment) for cues on how to develop. She shares the two...
SciShow
SciShow Quiz Show with Phil Plait
Hank squares off against Crash Course Astronomy host Phil Plait in our special Valentine’s/Old Timey Medicine edition of SciShow Quiz Show!
TED Talks
Edward Tenner: Unintended consequences
Every new invention changes the world -- in ways both intentional and unexpected. Historian Edward Tenner tells stories that illustrate the under-appreciated gap between our ability to innovate and our ability to foresee the consequences.
TED Talks
TED: What the sugar coating on your cells is trying to tell you | Carolyn Bertozzi
Your cells are coated with sugars that store information and speak a secret language. What are they trying to tell us? Your blood type, for one -- and, potentially, that you have cancer. Chemical biologist Carolyn Bertozzi researches how...