TED Talks Science and Medicine

Latest episodes

• Are life-saving medicines hiding in the world's coldest places? | Normand Voyer

  May 25, 2023 · 12 min

  Could the next wonder drug be somewhere in Canada's snowy north? Take a trip to this beautiful, frigid landscape as chemist Normand Voyer explores the mysterious molecular treasures found in plants thriving in the cold. These scarcely…

• What to do when there's a polar bear in your backyard | Alysa McCall

  April 11, 2023 · 11 min

  As Arctic ice melts, polar bears are being forced on land -- and they're hungry. With the apex predators frequently turning to human junkyards for a snack, northern towns have had to get creative in order to keep both their people and…

• The fantastically weird world of photosynthetic sea slugs | Michael Middlebrooks

  March 6, 2023 · 13 min

  Meet the fantastically colorful and astonishingly adaptable sea slugs that found a way to photosynthesize (or create energy from sunlight) like plants. Diving deep into these often overlooked creatures, invertebrate zoologist Michael…

• Where does your sense of self come from? A scientific look | Anil Ananthaswamy

  January 19, 2023 · 13 min

  Our memories and bodies give us clues about who we are, but what happens when this guidance shifts? In this mind-bending talk, science writer Anil Ananthaswamy shares how the experiences of "altered selves" -- resulting from schizophrenia…

• Can we feed ourselves without devouring the planet? | George Monbiot

  January 18, 2023 · 16 min

  Farming is the worst thing humanity has ever done to the planet, says journalist George Monbiot. What's more: the global food system could be heading toward collapse. Detailing the technological solutions we need to radically reshape food…

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