What happens when technology knows more about us than we do? Poppy Crum studies how we express emotions -- and she suggests the end of the poker face is near, as new tech makes it easy to see the signals that give away how we're feeling....

Around a quarter of a million years after the Big Bang, the very first molecule, helium hydride was formed. Now scientists have confirmed that molecule is still being made, and they found it with some help from a high flying airplane.

It may be an impossible questions, but we can at least get close.

On average, adults catch more than 150 colds throughout their lives. Even with similar symptoms, the cause could be different each time. Common colds are caused by at least 8 different families of virus, each of which can have its own...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how the electric field between oppositely and equally charged plates is uniform as long as you are far from the edge. The strength of the electric field can be determined by either the charge of the...

TeD Resident Fawn Qiu designs fun, low-cost projects that use familiar materials like paper and fabric to introduce engineering to kids. In this quick, clever talk, she shares how nontraditional workshops like hers can change the...

Erik Johansson creates realistic photos of impossible scenes -- capturing ideas, not moments. In this witty how-to, the Photoshop wizard describes the principles he uses to make these fantastical scenarios come to life, while keeping...

Imagine a neuroscientist who has only ever seen black and white things, but she is an expert in color vision and knows everything about its physics and biology. If, one day, she sees color, does she learn anything new? Is there anything...

TED Fellow Alicia Eggert takes us on a visual tour of her work -- from a giant sculpture on an uninhabited island in Maine to an installation that inflates only when people hold hands to complete an electric current. Her work explores...

The extreme mass of neutron stars leads to enormous gravitational pulls, resulting in nearly perfect spheres. But those imperfections, or mountains, might be able to help us spot more neutron stars in the future! And back on Venus, more...

Love is a tool for revolutionary change and a path toward inclusivity and understanding for the LGBTQ+ community. Married activists Tiq and Kim Katrin Milan have imagined their marriage -- as a transgender man and cis woman -- a model of...

How to Turn Sound Into Light: Sonoluminescence

India's big cities have some of the worst air quality in the world. How can we fix this public health crisis? In an actionable talk, social entrepreneur Arunabha Ghosh lays out a five-step plan to put India on the path to cleaner, safer...

Alwar Balasubramaniam's sculpture plays with time, shape, shadow, perspective: four tricky sensations that can reveal -- or conceal -- what's really out there. At TEDIndia, the artist shows slides of his extraordinary installations.

In this video Paul Andersen explains how stimulated emission can be used to create coherent light. When an atom absorbs a photon it moves to a higher energy level through stimulated absorption. It may then release a photon and moves to...

After a terminal cancer diagnosis upended 12 years of remission, all Elaine Fong's mother wanted was a peaceful end of life. What she received instead became a fight for the right to decide when. Fong shares the heart-rending journey to...

You're a biologist on a mission to keep the rare honeybee Apis Trifecta from going extinct. The last 60 bees of the species are in your terrarium. You've already constructed wire frames of the appropriate size and shape. Now you need to...

Could human civilization eventually spread across the whole Milky Way galaxy? Could we move beyond our small, blue planet to establish colonies in the multitude of star systems out there? These questions are pretty daunting, but their...

John Legend is on a mission to transform America's criminal justice system. Through his Free America campaign, he's encouraging rehabilitation and healing in our prisons, jails and detention centers -- and giving hope to those who want...

Forget home economics and standardized tests, education visionary Trish Millines Dziko has a much more engaging and fulfilling way for students to develop real-world skills. Get schooled by Dziko as she shares how project-based learning...

Artificial intelligence is getting smarter by leaps and bounds -- within this century, research suggests, a computer AI could be as "smart" as a human being. And then, says Nick Bostrom, it will overtake us: "Machine intelligence is the...

How did the periodic table of elements revolutionize our understanding of the world? What scientists contributed to the table we have today? Eric Rosado discusses the key people and discoveries that have molded our understanding of...

The LXD (the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers) electrify the TED stage with an emerging global street-dance culture, revved up by the Internet. Directed by Jon M. Chu, this astonishing troupe of dancers and musicians show off their...

Meet the friendly robot that could deliver your next burrito. Ali Kashani introduces us to Postmates' autonomous delivery robot and explains how it could help reduce carbon emissions and free up valuable real estate in cities everywhere....