In his lab at Penn, Vijay Kumar and his team build flying quadrotors, small, agile robots that swarm, sense each other, and form ad hoc teams -- for construction, surveying disasters and far more.

How do they do it? Penguins standing on ice, not only for days, but their whole lives! And their feet don’t hurt like ours would. It has something to do with blood and an amazing twist that penguins have developed.

The human brain is visibly split into a left and right side. This structure has inspired one of the most pervasive ideas about the brain: that the left side controls logic and the right side controls creativity. And yet, this is a myth,...

It’s hard to study dreams because it’s not like you can communicate back and forth with someone while they’re asleep...at least you couldn’t, until now!

In this fascinating, hilarious and ever-so-slightly creepy talk, science writer Ed Yong tells the story of his favorite parasites -- animals and organisms that live on the bodies (and brains!) of other organisms, causing them to do their...

Invasive species destroying ecosystems are a huge problem, but there’s hope that we can help mitigate the damage.

Artist Nathalie Miebach takes weather data from massive storms and turns it into complex sculptures that embody the forces of nature and time. These sculptures then become musical scores for a string quartet to play.

This week we are looking at your parasympathetic division, which is the "resting and digesting" unit. Unfortunately, learning about this de-stressing division also involves a whole lot of memorization. Don't worry, though - we've...

Get to know the unique properties of quantum computers and the obstacles that have prevented this theoretical technology from becoming a reality. -- Quantum computers could eventually outstrip the computational limits of classical...

What would you do if your hand seemed to develop a mind of its own, beyond your control?

Tan Le's astonishing new computer interface reads its user's brainwaves, making it possible to control virtual objects, and even physical electronics, with mere thoughts (and a little concentration). She demos the headset, and talks...

Renowned classical Indian dancer Ananda Shankar Jayant was diagnosed with cancer in 2008. She tells her personal story of not only facing the disease but dancing through it, and gives a performance revealing the metaphor of strength that...

Sir Ken Robinson outlines 3 principles crucial for the human mind to flourish -- and how current education culture works against them. In a funny, stirring talk he tells us how to get out of the educational "death valley" we now face,...

SIR models for epidemics, showing how tweakign behavior can change an outbreak.

Learn why you may experience jumping in your sleep, and how you can prevent it!

When Jungian analyst Inge Missmahl visited Afghanistan, she saw the inner wounds of war -- widespread despair, trauma and depression. And yet, in this county of 30 million people, there were only two dozen psychiatrists. Missmahl talks...

Up to 100,000 people died in drug-related violence in Mexico in the last 6 years. We might think this has nothing to do with us, but in fact we are all complicit, says Yale professor Rodrigo Canales in this unflinching talk that turns...

At TED U, Gever Tulley, founder of the Tinkering School, spells out 5 dangerous things you should let your kids do -- and why a little danger is good for both kids and grownups.

What do we really know about mosquitoes? Fredros Okumu catches and studies these disease-carrying insects for a living -- with the hope of crashing their populations. Join Okumu for a tour of the frontlines of mosquito research, as he...

Invasion of the Yellow Crazy Ants!

Ever wonder if there's something about your scent that might be sending signals to the people around you? Well as it turns out, it's possible- but it winds up being a lot more complicated than you might think.

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Unexpectedly losing a job is hard, but it can also change you in the long term, setting off a cycle that may be hard to break out of, and leaving lasting effects on the way you see and interact with the world.

You're sitting on the couch, when you hear a knock on the door. The police have arrived to arrest your spouse— for murder. This accusation comes as a total shock, but their fingerprints were found on the murder weapon. Your spouse...

There are quite a few ways that humans influence the weather, and even on local levels, human activity can produce more rain. Whether by accident or on purpose, increasing rainfall isn't as far-fetched as it sounds.

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