Scientists are turning wastewater into fuel, using special bacteria, and other scientists have unveiled bionic mushrooms that can produce electricity!

Freud is one of the most famous psychologists ever, but a lot of the things he taught are just… well, wrong. So why do we still spend so much time talking about this dude in psychology classes?

(NOTE: This talk was given in 2010, and this field of science has developed quickly since then. Enjoy it as a piece of science history but not as the last word on this topic. Read "Criticisms & updates" below for more details.) William...

The medical industry has developed countless methods and tools for diagnosing the myriad of illnesses that can befall us. This, as you might guess, includes cancer. But it took a research team five months to diagnose this specific cancer...

Living under the constant threat of violence has a lasting effect -- even after you escape from danger, says writer and refugee advocate Zarlasht Halaimzai. One of the millions of people worldwide who have been forcibly displaced by...

A complete microbiome lives inside us, and believe it or not, that's a good thing.

Tissue engineer and TED Fellow Nina Tandon is growing artificial hearts and bones. To do that, she needs new ways of caring for artificially grown cells -- techniques she's developed by the simple but powerful method of copying their...

How do we consume data? At TED@SXSWi, technologist JP Rangaswami muses on our relationship to information, and offers a surprising and sharp insight: we treat it like food.

At night, your mouth becomes the perfect home for growing bacteria. Forgive us if we don't talk to you until after you brush your teeth.

Our food systems have not been designed to adapt to major disruptions like climate change, says environmental journalist Amanda Little. In this eye-opening talk, she shows how the climate crisis could devastate our food supply -- and...

Despite how easy it looks in movies, growing plants on other planets is trickier than you might imagine.

Join Jessi and Squeaks to learn about a few animals with extreme teeth!

In the 13th century, Genghis Khan embarked on a mission to take over Eurasia, swiftly conquering countries and drawing them into his empire. But, legend has it that there was one obstacle that even he couldn't overcome: a towering wall...

Many economists think that an eternally growing economy is necessary to keep improving people's lives, and that if the global economy stops growing, people would fight more over the fixed amount of value that exists, rather than working...

Paul Andersen explains the niche. He gives three different pronunciations and two different definitions. He then discusses the competitive exclusion principle and the idea that a niche cannot be shared by two species.

Gráinne, princess of Tara and bride-to-be, was furious. She had thought she was betrothed to a young soldier, bold and brilliant enough to be her equal. Yet it soon became clear she was expected to marry Fionn, a warrior far past his...

Hair can be so many different colors, but why do so many adults have gray hair?

Astronomers have gotten pretty good at calculating how fast the universe is expanding, but new measurements don’t line up with the predictions of well-tested laws of physics. Now scientists have a new question to ponder: Why are these...

Jessi and Squeaks just did a really cool and easy experiment: they put a special kind of soap in the microwave and made it grow! Now they want to do it again to check their results and figure out how it happened!

Jessi and Squeaks just spent the day hiking and sketching evergreen trees in their field journals! A lot of evergreen trees look pretty similar, but Jessi knows some fun ways to tell them apart. Join us to find out how!

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...

Can you guess how tall the tallest tree is? Neither could we! Tag along with Jessi and Squeaks to learn all about the world’s tallest tree!

Blogger Courtney E. Martin examines the perennially loaded word "feminism" in this personal and heartfelt talk. She talks through the three essential paradoxes of her generation's quest to define the term for themselves.

Hank describes mitosis and cytokinesis - the series of processes our cells go through to divide into two identical copies.