TED@NAS
Science catalyzes progress. It allows us to explore our biggest questions, generate new ideas, and seek out solutions. In 2019, TED partnered with The National Academy of Sciences, The Kavli Foundation, and the Simons Foundation to bring to life an exciting day of original TED Talks from within our shared knowledge networks. Held at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., TED@NAS brought together diverse perspectives, sparking insights that affect our everyday lives. This inaugural event celebrated science –– through radical collaboration, quantum leaps, and bold thinking, science is the powerful tool that ignites change and fuels our way forward. Learn more about the TED Institute.
Oceanographer Bethanie Edwards studies oxylipin -- a chemical "language" spoken by phytoplankton in the ocean and, amazingly, the immune cells in our bodies. By investigating how this language works, Edwards shows how we can gain a deeper understanding of the planet -- and ourselves.
We are all connected by the spectacular birth, death and rebirth of stars, says astrophysicist Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz. Journey through the cosmic history of the universe as Ramirez-Ruiz explains how supernovas forged the elements of life to create everything from the air you breathe to the very atoms that make you.
To save the achoque -- an exotic (and adorable) salamander found in a lake in northern Mexico -- scientists teamed up with an unexpected research partner: a group of nuns called the Sisters of the Immaculate Health. In this delightful talk, science journalist Victoria Gill shares the story of how this unusual collaboration saved the achoque from extinction -- and demonstrates how local and indigenous people could hold the secret to saving our planet's weird, wonderful and most threatened species.
Could the strange orbits of small, distant objects in our solar system lead us to a big discovery? Planetary astronomer Mike Brown proposes the existence of a new, giant planet lurking in the far reaches of our solar system -- and shows us how traces of its presence might already be staring us in the face.
When the ocean changes, the planet changes -- and it all starts with microbes, says biological oceanographer Angelicque White. Backed by decades of data, White shares how scientists use these ancient microorganisms as a crucial barometer of ocean health -- and how we might rejuvenate them as marine temperatures steadily rise.
Roughly 85 percent of mass in the universe is "dark matter" -- mysterious material that can't be directly observed but has an immense influence on the cosmos. What exactly is this strange stuff, and what does it have to do with our existence? Astrophysicist Risa Wechsler explores why dark matter may be the key to understanding how the universe formed -- and shares how physicists in labs around the world are coming up with creative ways to study it.
Ever gaze up at the starry night sky? This stunning view is at risk of disappearing -- unless we act now, says astrophysicist Kelsey Johnson. In this fascinating, unexpectedly funny talk, she explains how light pollution affects almost every species on earth (including us) and shares five "stupidly simple" things you can do to help solve the problem.
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.
