What if we could use the power of DNA to create a sustainable, circular economy? In a talk about breakthrough science, synthetic biologist Jason W. Chin describes his team's work rewriting the genetic blueprint of cells to create a virus-resistant organism -- the largest synthetic genome ever made and a first step towards reimagining what life c...

Each father and mother pass down traits to their children, who inherit combinations of their dominant or recessive alleles. But how do we know so much about genetics today? Hortensia Jiménez Díaz explains how studying pea plants revealed why you may have blue eyes. [Directed by Johan Sonestedt and Veronica Wallenberg, narrated by Rose Eveleth].

Peter Donnelly is an expert in probability theory who applies statistical methods to genetic data -- spurring advances in disease treatment and insight on our evolution. He's also an expert on DNA analysis, and an advocate for sensible statistical analysis in the courtroom.

Paul Knoepfler is a biomedical scientist and writer focusing on stem cells and genetics.

Dina Zielinski brings biological data to life, from decoding mutations in cancer to encoding data in DNA.

Brazilian-born biologist Juliana Machado Ferreira wants, simply, to save the world one bird at a time. She is a TED Senior Fellow.

From something as small and complex as a chromosome to something as seemingly simple as the weather, sex determination systems vary significantly across the animal kingdom. Biologist and teacher Aaron Reedy shows us the amazing differences between species when it comes to determination of gender. [Directed by Buzzco Associates, Inc., narrated by...

If you could guarantee that your child would avoid inheriting a serious condition, such as blindness, would you do it? Alastair O'Neill describes the wrenching decisions people have made now that science can pre-screen healthy embryos.

Thomas Thwaites is a designer "of a more speculative sort," he says.

Steve McCarroll is conducting groundbreaking research on the causes of mental illness.

Stephen Palumbi studies the way humanity and ocean life interact and intertwine. His insights into our codependence offer ideas for protecting both the ocean and ourselves.

Your DNA makes you, you -- but how does it work? These talks explore what we know about the genome, the unique genetic sequence that makes up life as we know it.

Danny Hills makes a case for the next frontier of cancer research: proteomics, the study of proteins in the body. As Hillis explains it, genomics shows us a list of the ingredients of the body -- while proteomics shows us what those ingredients produce. Understanding what's going on in your body at the protein level may lead to a new understandi...

Nicholas J. Leeper is a Professor of Surgery and the Chief of Vascular Medicine at Stanford University.

Russ Altman uses machine learning to better understand adverse effects of medication.

Daniel Streicker investigates how everyday killer pathogens can provide insight into future outbreaks of infectious disease.

Recognized as one of the greatest scientific innovators of our time, Joanne Chory studies the genetic codes of plants. Her goal: to use plants to help fight climate change.

Fascinated by exploration both on and off this planet, Nadia Drake writes and thinks about both the very big (astronomy) and the very small (spiders).

Moshe Szyf's research is focused on understanding the broad implications of epigenetic mechanisms in human behavior, health and disease.

At the Simons Foundation, Wendy Chung is working to characterize behavior, brain structure and function in people with genetic variations that may relate to autism.

Try on these talks about the traits that make you who you are.

James Flynn challenges our fundamental assumptions about intelligence.

Two sisters take the same DNA test. The results show that one sister is 10% French, the other 0%. Both sisters share the same two parents, and therefore the same set of ancestors. So how can one be 10% more French than the other? Tests like these rely on our DNA to answer questions about our ancestry, but DNA actually can't tell us everything. P...

Neuroscientist Yasmin Hurd researches nonaddictive, efficacious treatments that use cannabidiol (CDB) to address the opioid epidemic.

Stefano Mancuso is a founder of the study of plant neurobiology, which explores signaling and communication at all levels of biological organization, from genetics to molecules, cells and ecological communities.

TED Senior Fellow Edsel Salvana is studying the genetics of HIV, developing an affordable test for HIV drug resistance and fighting the spread of misinformation around vaccines and immunization.

Inside our cells, each of us has a second set of genes completely separate from our 23 pairs of chromosomes. And this isn't just true for humans— it's true of every animal, plant, and fungus on Earth. This second genome belongs to our mitochondria, an organelle inside our cells. So why are they so different from anything else in our bodies? Devi...