Hank's news this week informs us on a couple of crazy science experiments, updates us on some earlier topics (dangerous asteroids and ancient phallic rock art), and briefs us on a new study that seeks to find the evolutionary origins of...

Climate action has historically had a gender-neutral lens, but this lack of intentionality allows underlying biases to sneak in and negatively impact women, says gender and climate researcher Zineb Sqalli. Using Vienna, Austria's...

What's online doesn't necessarily last forever. Content on the Internet is revised and deleted all the time. Hyperlinks "rot," and with them goes history, lost in space. With that in mind, Brewster Kahle set out to develop the Internet...

Despite increasingly dire assessments about the outlook for climate change, it can be difficult to remain mindful of our environment’s health on a daily basis. Jeffrey Brown traveled to the Bay Area to meet Rosten Woo, a Los...

Oregon photographer Christopher Burkett is best known for producing large-format film prints of American landscapes, some of the highest resolution color photographs ever created without computer technology. But he only has a limited...

In the Gaza Strip, 97 percent of freshwater is unsuitable for human consumption, and raw sewage pours into the Mediterranean Sea. Facilities for desalinating and treating water function on only a limited basis, as Israel controls the...

The American barn is a cultural icon, but one that is quickly disappearing. In Port Austin, Michigan, an art project aims to draw attention to these structures -- and maybe even save some of them along the way. Jeffrey Brown reports as...

Oysters were once abundant in New York City, but decades of over-harvesting and pollution led to their near-extinction there. Now, an education initiative called the Billion Oyster Project teaches public school students how to help bring...

Renowned African-American writers Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham discuss their joint project, 'The African-American National Biography'.

At the age of 59, ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov is still dancing. He recently opened the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City, which provides space and support for creating art.

Backed by Theodore Roosevelt, Edward Curtis set out in 1900 to document the lives of Native Americans. Over the next 30 years, he took more than 40,000 pictures and 10,000 audio recordings. Jeffrey Brown talks to Pulitzer Prize winner...

It’s one of the largest public art collections in the country and it’s not where you might expect to see it. Artwork in New York hospitals aims to heal patients and healers. Jeffrey Brown continues his occasional look at the intersection...

In 2004, construction began on a new building in Dubai, promising a revolutionary design that would dwarf the rest of the world's skyscrapers. Five years later, the 828-meter Burj Khalifa was complete, surpassing the previous...

Using wikis and digital fabrication tools, TED Fellow Marcin Jakubowski is open-sourcing the blueprints for 50 farm machines, allowing anyone to build their own tractor or harvester from scratch. And that's only the first step in a...

Africa needs new energy sources to fuel its development, but the continent should invest in renewable energy instead of cheap, polluting alternatives like coal, says climate inclusion activist Chibeze Ezekiel. He tells the story of how...

Historian George Dyson tells stories from the birth of the modern computer -- from its 17th-century origins to the hilarious notebooks of some early computer engineers.

Craig Venter and team make a historic announcement: they've created the first fully functioning, reproducing cell controlled by synthetic DNA. He explains how they did it and why the achievement marks the beginning of a new era for science.

Taking inspiration from nature, architect Ma Yansong designs breathtaking buildings that break free from the boxy symmetry of so many modern cities. His exuberant and graceful work -- from a pair of curvy skyscrapers that "dance" with...

Christian Benimana wants to build a network of architects who can help Africa's booming cities flourish in sustainable, equitable ways -- balancing growth with values that are uniquely African. From Nigeria to Burkina Faso and beyond, he...

In 1944, amateur astronomer Hisako Koyama's latest endeavor was sketching the sun's shifting surface. She spent weeks angling her telescope towards the sun and tracking every change she saw with drawings. Little did she know, these...

How can architects build a new world of sustainable beauty? By learning from nature. Michael Pawlyn describes three habits of nature that could transform architecture and society: radical resource efficiency, closed loops, and drawing...

The professional astronomer or astrophysicist is a pretty recent phenomenon. In the past, astronomy was often performed by nobility and extremely enthusiastic amateurs. Although it seems like the scientific exploration of our universe is...

Ray Kurzweil's latest graphs show that technology's breakneck advances will only accelerate -- recession or not. He unveils his new project, Singularity University, to study oncoming tech and guide it to benefit humanity.

What can we learn from people with the genetics to get sick — who don't? With most inherited diseases, only some family members will develop the disease, while others who carry the same genetic risks dodge it. Stephen Friend suggests we...