Ideas worth spreading

Playlist

The future of medicine

Explore the world of trailblazing health tech that's turning texts into thoughts, 3D printing bionic limbs — and even growing human brains inside a lab. From precision medicine to the intriguing marriage between your mind and wearables, these talks may change the way you think about your health.

Jennifer Doudna

CRISPR's next advance is bigger than you think

You've probably heard of CRISPR, the revolutionary technology that allows us to edit the DNA in living organisms. Biochemist and 2023 Audacious Project grantee Jennifer Doudna earned the Nobel Prize for her groundbreaking work in this field -- and now she's here to tell us about its next world-changing advancement. She explains how her team at the Innovative Genomics Institute is pioneering a brand new field of science -- precision microbiome editing -- that uses CRISPR in an effort to solve seemingly insurmountable problems like asthma, Alzheimer's and climate change. (This ambitious idea is part of the Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change.)

How to hack your brain when you're in pain

Have we misunderstood pain? Researcher and physician Amy Baxter unravels the symphony of connections that send pain from your body to your brain, explaining practical neuroscience hacks to quickly block those signals. Her groundbreaking research offers alternatives for immediate pain relief -- without the need for addictive opioids. (Followed by a Q&A with TED current affairs curator Whitney Pennington Rodgers)

Sergiu P. Pasca

How we're reverse engineering the human brain in the lab

Neuroscientist Sergiu P. Pasca has made it his life's work to understand how the human brain builds itself -- and what makes it susceptible to disease. In a mind-blowing talk laden with breakthrough science, he shows how his team figured out how to grow "organoids" and what they call brain "assembloids" -- self-organizing clumps of neural tissue derived from stem cells that have shown the ability to form circuits -- and explains how these miniature parts of the nervous system are bringing us closer to demystifying the brain.

The affordable, 3D-printed bionics of the future

Creating functional prosthetics at a fraction of the cost of imported tech, bionic innovator and TED Fellow Enzo Romero shares a groundbreaking model for designing 3D-printed assistive technology sourced from recycled materials -- built in and for his native Peru. Hear how Luke Skywalker's bionic hand in Star Wars inspired Romero to pursue mechatronics engineering and help people with disabilities and limited resources fully live again.

Conor Russomanno

A powerful new neurotech tool for augmenting your mind

In an astonishing talk and tech demo, neurotechnologist Conor Russomanno shares his work building brain-computer interfaces that could enable us to control the external world with our minds. He discusses the quickly advancing possibilities of this field -- including the promise of a "closed-loop system" that could both record and stimulate brain activity -- and invites neurohacker Christian Bayerlein onto the TED stage to fly a mind-controlled drone by using a biosensing headset.

The world's rarest diseases — and how they impact everyone

Physician-scientist Anna Greka investigates the world's rarest genetic diseases, decoding the secrets of our cells through "molecular detective work." She explains how her team is using new, advanced technology to solve decades-old medical mysteries — and shows how this work could help develop precision treatments for millions of people across the globe.

A brain implant that turns your thoughts into text

What if you could control digital devices using just the power of thought? That's the incredible promise behind the Stentrode -- an implantable brain-computer interface that collects and wirelessly transmits information directly from the brain, without the need for open surgery. Neurotech entrepreneur Tom Oxley describes the intricacies of this breakthrough technology, which is currently enrolling participants in human trials, as well as how it could help restore dignity to those with disabilities -- and transform the future of communication.

Are life-saving medicines hiding in the world's coldest places?

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 investigated organisms could hold immense medical promise, he says – so long as we work quickly enough to discover them.

The life-changing power of assistive technologies

"This chair is my legs -- this chair is my life," says accessibility champion Jane Velkovski, who uses a wheelchair after being diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). With clarity and poise, he shares how his first motorized wheelchair empowered him with independence and ability -- and why assistive technology should be available to anyone who needs it. "Freedom of movement, no matter on legs or on wheels, is a human right," he says.

Melissa J. Moore

How mRNA medicine will change the world

The secret behind medicine that uses messenger RNA (or mRNA) is that it "teaches" our bodies how to fight diseases on our own, leading to groundbreaking treatments for COVID-19 and, potentially one day, cancer, the flu and other ailments that have haunted humanity for millennia. RNA researcher Melissa J. Moore -- Moderna's chief scientific officer and one of the many people responsible for the rapid creation and deployment of their COVID-19 vaccine -- takes us down to the molecular level, unraveling how mRNA helps our bodies' proteins maintain health, prevent disease and correct errors in our genetic code. "We have entered an entirely new era of medicine," Moore says.

Electronic pills that could transform how we treat disease

Could a small jolt of electricity to your gut help treat chronic diseases? Medical hacker and TED Fellow Khalil Ramadi is developing a new, noninvasive therapy that could treat diseases like diabetes, obesity, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's with an electronic pill. More targeted than a traditional pill and less invasive than surgery, these micro-devices contain electronics that deliver "bionudges" -- bursts of electrical or chemical stimuli -- to the gut, potentially helping control appetite, aid digestion, regulate hormones -- and even stimulate happiness in the brain.