TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why do people have seasonal allergies? - Eleanor Nelsen
Ah, spring. Grass growing, flowers blooming, trees budding. For those with allergies, though, this explosion of new life probably inspires more dread than joy. So what's behind this annual onslaught of mucus? Eleanor Nelsen explains what...
TED-Ed
What causes cavities? - Mel Rosenberg
When a team of archeologists recently came across some 15,000-year-old human remains, they made an interesting discovery: the teeth of those ancient humans were riddled with holes. So what causes cavities, and how can we avoid them? Mel...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: You are your microbes - Jessica Green and Karen Guillemin
From the microbes in our stomachs to the ones on our teeth, we are homes to millions of unique and diverse communities which help our bodies function. Jessica Green and Karen Guillemin emphasize the importance of understanding the many...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The surprising cause of stomach ulcers - Rusha Modi
It's a common misconception that stomach ulcers are caused by emotional upset, psychological distress, or spicy food. Yet no convincing study has ever demonstrated that these factors directly cause ulcer disease. So what does cause...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Got seeds? Now add bleach, acid and sandpaper - Mary Koga
For a seed to start growing, its embryo must emerge from its hard coat. In nature the embryo is aided by frost and animal digestion -- but humans can help too. Nicking, filing, and soaking the seed in hot water or acid are all forms of...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Why do animals have such different lifespans? - Joao Pedro de Magalhaes
For the microscopic lab worm C. elegans, life equates to just a few short weeks on Earth. The bowhead whale, on the other hand, can live over two hundred years. Why are these lifespans so different? And what does it really mean to 'age'...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Rosalind Franklin: DNA's unsung hero - Claudio L. Guerra
The discovery of the structure of DNA was one of the most important scientific achievements in human history. The now-famous double helix is almost synonymous with Watson and Crick, two of the scientists who won the Nobel prize for...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The 2,400-year search for the atom - Theresa Doud
How do we know what matter is made of? The quest for the atom has been a long one, beginning 2,400 years ago with the work of a Greek philosopher and later continued by a Quaker and a few Nobel Prize-winning scientists. Theresa Doud...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Meet the tardigrade, the toughest animal on Earth - Thomas Boothby
Without water, a human can only survive for about 100 hours. But there's a creature so resilient that it can go without it for decades. This 1-millimeter animal can survive both the hottest and coldest environments on earth, and can even...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Who's at risk for colon cancer? - Amit H. Sachdev and Frank G. Gress
Colon cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer and cancer death in the world. It is also one of the most preventable types of cancer, as it often takes about ten years for a small polyp to grow and develop into a cancerous one. So...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Why are blue whales so enormous? - Asha de Vos
Blue whales are the largest animals on the planet, but what helps them grow to the length of a basketball court? Asha de Vos explains why the size of krill make them the ideal food for the blue whale -- it's as if the blue whale was made...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: If superpowers were real: Invisibility - Joy Lin
What if invisibility wasn't just the stuff of epic comic book stories? Is it scientifically possible to be invisible? In this series, Joy Lin tackles six superpowers and reveals just how scientifically realistic they can be to us mere...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: A curable condition that causes blindness - Andrew Bastawrous
An estimated 20 million cases of blindness worldwide are caused by cataracts, a curable condition affecting the lens that focuses images onto the eye's retina. But how are cataracts formed, and how can we prevent them? Andrew Bastawrous...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The game-changing amniotic egg - April Tucker
350 million years ago, eggs could not survive far from water, therefore animals were water-bound. That is, until the amniotic egg, which allowed animals to live a fully terrestrial life. April Tucker peels back each layer of the amniotic...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How do cancer cells behave differently from healthy ones? - George Zaidan
How do cancer cells grow? How does chemotherapy fight cancer (and cause negative side effects)? The answers lie in cell division. George Zaidan explains how rapid cell division is cancer's "strength" -- and also its weakness.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What is fat? - George Zaidan
As the narrative goes, fat is bad. Well, it's actually more nuanced than that. The type of fat you eat is more impactful on your health than the quantity. George Zaidan examines triglycerides, the varied molecules that make up fat, and...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: What does the pancreas do? - Emma Bryce
Beneath your ribs, you'll find, among other things, the pancreas -- an organ that works a lot like a personal health coach. Emma Bryce explains how this organ controls your sugar levels and produces a special juice that releases the...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How squids outsmart their predators - Carly Anne York
There are about 500 species of squid, and they live in all the world's oceans, making them a reliable food source for whales, dolphins, sharks, seabirds, fish - and even other squid. As a result, the squid's most extraordinary...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The weird and wonderful metamorphosis of the butterfly - Franziska Bauer
In order to become a butterfly, a caterpillar's body dissolves almost completely and is rebuilt from its own juices. Butterflies are just a few of the 800,000 insect species that transition from larvae to adults through complete...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Could a blind eye regenerate? - David Davila
We tend to think of blindness as something you're born with, but with certain genetic diseases, it can actually develop when you're a kid, or even when you're an adult. But could blind eyes possibly regenerate? David Davila explains how...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The science of static electricity - Anuradha Bhagwat
We've all had the experience: you're walking across a soft carpet, you reach for the doorknob and - ZAP. But what causes this trademark jolt of static electricity? Anuradha Bhagwat sheds light on the phenomenon by examining the nature of...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How does the thyroid manage your metabolism? - Emma Bryce
Nestled in the tissues of your neck is a small, unassuming organ that wields enormous power over your body: the thyroid. Emma Bryce explains how the thyroid, like the operations manager in a company, is tasked with making sure that all...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The sexual deception of orchids - Anne Gaskett
Check out the fascinating ways orchids trick insects into pollinating, using sexual deception, pheromones and mimicking the shapes of other plants. -- Nearly 28,000 species of orchid grow all around the world, bearing every imaginable...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How does asthma work? - Christopher E. Gaw
More than 300 million people around the world suffer from asthma, and around 250,000 people die from it each year. But why do people get asthma, and how can this disease be deadly? Christopher E. Gaw describes the main symptoms and...