TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Five fingers of evolution - Paul Andersen
How can a "thumbs up" sign help us remember five processes that impact evolution? The story of the Five Fingers of Evolution gives us a clever way of understanding change in gene pools over time.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The science of milk - Jonathan J. O'Sullivan
The milk industry produces in excess of 840 million tons of products each year. Why do humans drink so much milk? And given that all mammals lactate, why do we favor certain types of milk over others? Jonathan J. O'Sullivan describes how...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why are some people left-handed? - Daniel M. Abrams
Today, about one-tenth of the world's population are southpaws. Why are such a small proportion of people left-handed -- and why does the trait exist in the first place? Daniel M. Abrams investigates how the uneven ratio of lefties and...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The power of the placebo effect - Emma Bryce
The placebo effect is an unexplained phenomenon wherein drugs, treatments, and therapies that aren't supposed to have an effect -- and are often fake -- miraculously make people feel better. What's going on? Emma Bryce dives into the...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why do we pass gas? - Purna Kashyap
Flatulence is a daily phenomenon. In fact, most human beings pass gas 10-20 times a day (yes, that includes you). Where does your bodily gas come from? Purna Kashyap takes us on a journey into the intestines, shedding light on how gas is...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How optical illusions trick your brain - Nathan S. Jacobs
Optical illusions are images that seem to trick our minds into seeing something different from what they actually are. But how do they work? Nathan S. Jacobs walks us through a few common optical illusions and explains what these tricks...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Questions no one knows the answers to - Chris Anderson
In the first of a new TED-Ed series designed to catalyze curiosity, TED Curator Chris Anderson shares his boyhood obsession with quirky questions that seem to have no answers.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why don't poisonous animals poison themselves? - Rebecca D. Tarvin
Thousands of animal species use toxic chemicals to defend themselves from predators. Snakes have blood clotting compounds in their fangs, the bombardier beetle has corrosive liquid in its abdomen and jellyfish have venomous, harpoon-like...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Are naked mole rats the strangest mammals? - Thomas Park
What mammal has the social life of an insect, the cold-bloodedness of a reptile, and the metabolism of a plant? Bald and buck-toothed, naked mole rats may not be pretty, but they are extraordinary. Thomas Park explains how mole rats'...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What is Alzheimer's disease? - Ivan Seah Yu Jun
Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, affecting over 40 million people worldwide. And though it was discovered over a century ago, scientists are still grappling for a cure. Ivan Seah Yu Jun describes how Alzheimer's...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The mystery of motion sickness - Rose Eveleth
Although one third of the population suffers from motion sickness, scientists aren't exactly sure what causes it. Like the common cold, it's a seemingly simple problem that's still without a cure. And if you think it's bad on a long...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How do pregnancy tests work? - Tien Nguyen
Over-the-counter pregnancy tests give potentially life-changing results with a pretty high rate of accuracy. But how do they work? Tien Nguyen explains how each test performs a scientifically rigorous, multi-stage experiment that goes...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why is biodiversity so important? - Kim Preshoff
Our planet's diverse, thriving ecosystems may seem like permanent fixtures, but they're actually vulnerable to collapse. Jungles can become deserts, and reefs can become lifeless rocks. What makes one ecosystem strong and another weak in...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How bees help plants have sex - Fernanda S. Valdovinos
Plants have a hard time finding mates -- their inability to get up and move around tends to inhibit them. Luckily for plants, bees and other pollinator species (including butterflies, moths and birds) help matchmake these lonely plants...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How turtle shells evolved... twice - Judy Cebra Thomas
Check out the fascinating science behind the evolution of the turtle shell, over 260 million years in the making. -- Modern turtle shells are almost as diverse as the turtles themselves. Sea turtles have flatter, lighter shells for...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Poison vs. venom: What's the difference? - Rose Eveleth
Would you rather be bitten by a venomous rattlesnake or touch a poisonous dart frog? While both of these animals are capable of doing some serious damage to the human body, they deliver their dangerous toxins in different ways. Rose...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Could comets be the source of life on Earth? - Justin Dowd
While comets were historically thought to be ill omens of war and famine, recent science has revealed that these celestial wonders actually contain amino acids, the building blocks of life on Earth. Justin Dowd explores the implications...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What did dogs teach humans about diabetes? - Duncan C. Ferguson
Diabetes has a history dating back to Ancient Greece. Our treatment of it, however, is more recent and was originally made possible with the help of man's best friend. Due to physiological traits shared with humans, dogs have saved...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Ancient Rome’s most notorious doctor - Ramon Glazov
Learn about the Greek physician and philosopher Galen of Pergamon, whose experiments and discoveries changed medicine. -- In the 16th century, an anatomist named Andreas Vesalius made a shocking discovery: the most famous human anatomy...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: History's deadliest colors - J. V. Maranto
When radium was first discovered, its luminous green color inspired people to add it into beauty products and jewelry. It wasn't until much later that we realized that radium's harmful effects outweighed its visual benefits....
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The microbial jungles all over the place (and you) - Scott Chimileski and Roberto Kolter
As we walk through our daily environments, we're surrounded by exotic creatures that are too small to see with the naked eye. We usually imagine these microscopic organisms, or microbes, as asocial cells that float around by themselves....
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The scientific origins of the Minotaur - Matt Kaplan
The myth of the Minotaur tells the story of an enraged beast forever wandering the corridors of a damp labyrinth, filled with a rage so intense that its deafening roar shakes the earth. But is this story just fiction, or an attempt of...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What if cracks in concrete could fix themselves? - Congrui Jin
Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world. It can be found in swathes of city pavements, bridges that span vast rivers and the tallest skyscrapers on earth. But it does have a weakness: it's prone to...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Insights into cell membranes via dish detergent - Ethan Perlstein
The cell membrane, like a good jacket, protects the cell from everything outside of it. How is it simultaneously sturdy, flexible, and capable of allowing the right things to pass through? Ethan Perlstein rediscovers the scientists and...