Astronomer Andrew Connolly begins by telling us that in 1781, English composer, technologist and composer  Sir William Herschel noticed something unusual, a little bit of data that was wrong. This was the discovery of a new planet, Uranus. ("A name that has entertained countelss generations of children.") Just last week NASA announced 517 ne...

Onstage at TED2011, physicist Janna Levin talked about how gravitational wave detectors are about to produce revolution in astronomy and cosmology: instead of simply seeing the universe, we'll now be able to hear it as well, the ripples of spacetime itself. In addition to being a groundbreaking cosmologist, she's a novelist, memoirist and ar...

The successful dot-coms of the late ‘90s and early ‘00s had a few things in common: they all vowed to “change the world”, had crazy-high valuations, and were wildly unprofitable. Here’s a look at one company’s rapid rise and fall -- and the bubble’s lasting impact, from internet historian Brian McCullough. If you were looking for a single compa...

Astrophysicist, educator, and humanitarian Hakeem Oluseyi trounced race and class to become an important contributor to computer technology and space research. Back on Earth, he's doing all he can to give young and underfunded scientists a chance to reach for the stars. Yours is an extraordinary story. You grew up impoverished -- moving frequ...

The neutrino has been called "the ghost particle," due to its otherworldly ability to pass through solid objects, including you and me. Researchers in Antarctica are trying to catch them, hoping they might reveal the most energetic areas of the universe. Neutrinos: you can’t feel them, you can’t see them, but they’re everywhere. They’re constan...

Did you know that bacteria can be programmed as though they were computers? Bioengineer and artist Tal Danino is working out how to instruct bacteria to enter cancerous tumors -- where it can detect and treat the disease noninvasively. And when Danino isn't tinkering with bacteria's healing potential, he makes artwork with it. With Danino...

Science catalyzes progress. It allows us to explore our biggest questions, generate new ideas and seek out solutions. At TED@NAS, 19 speakers and performers explored how science is igniting change and fueling our way forward -- through radical collaboration, quantum leaps and bold thinking. The event: TED@NAS, for which The National Acade...