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The Next Einstein Forum begins

The Next Einstein Forum begins

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Why did Albert Einstein have such a unique scientific mind? Because he came from a disadvantaged background, says TED Prize winner Neil Turok. “When new cultures enter science, especially disadvantaged cultures, transformation can happen,” he said today in his opening remarks at the Next Einstein Forum Global Gathering 2016. “I believe that the entrance of []

What happens in the brain when we hear stories? Uri Hasson at TED2016

What happens in the brain when we hear stories? Uri Hasson at TED2016

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We may, as Joan Didion once wrote, tell ourselves stories in order to live—but Uri Hasson is looking for a few more reasons. The neuroscientist based at Princeton University researches the neurological basis of human communication and storytelling, and in session 11 at TED2016, he shows off some surprising findings. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) []

Are we gods now? Jennifer Kahn talks CRISPR at TED2016

Are we gods now? Jennifer Kahn talks CRISPR at TED2016

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Something huge is coming, and it sounds like an ad for a bag of potato chips. CRISPR, which makes gene editing so cheap and easy a talented high schooler could do it, is the latest technology that promises to radically change the world. But what exactly can it do, and what are the potential dangers? []

TED Talks Live: Six nights of talks on Broadway

TED Talks Live: Six nights of talks on Broadway

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TED is coming to Broadway. And curious minds of all kinds are invited. “TED Talks Live” will bring six nights of talks to The Town Hall Theater in New York City’s Theater district this November. The program will focus on three topics: The Education Revolution, War & Peace and Science & Wonder. Each night will []

TED Fellow Tal Danino programs bacteria to detect and treat cancer – and make art

TED Fellow Tal Danino programs bacteria to detect and treat cancer – and make art

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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’s TED talk posted just yesterday, he []

TED scientists get the LEGO treatment

TED scientists get the LEGO treatment

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LEGOs are for building spaceships, crafting castles and getting lost in your couch. But what if they could be used not just to dream of lands long ago and times far away, but to inspire future scientists? That’s what writer Maia Weinstock had in mind when she made these STEM scientist action figures. Weinstock has []

7 things learned from a day spent watching TEDxCERN

7 things learned from a day spent watching TEDxCERN

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Wednesday marked the second-ever TEDxCERN, the event organized by the folks at CERN, the famed particle physics research center in Geneva, Switzerland, responsible for bringing us the World Wide Web, the Large Hadron Collider, and confirmation of the existence of the Higgs boson. You know, just a few minor things. TEDxCERN brought together a mix []

You found a planet!: Robert Simpson crowdsources scientific research and accelerates discovery at Zooniverse

You found a planet!: Robert Simpson crowdsources scientific research and accelerates discovery at Zooniverse

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  Scientific research is generating far more data than the average researcher can get through. Meanwhile, modern computing has yet to catch up with the superior discernment of the human eye. The solution? Enlist the help of citizen scientists. British astronomer and web developer Robert Simpson is part of the online platform Zooniverse, which lets more than one []

Deep and faint in the night sky: Andrew Connolly at TED2014

Deep and faint in the night sky: Andrew Connolly at TED2014

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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 new planets, almost doubled []

Lighting up the world of fireflies: Sara Lewis at TED2014

Lighting up the world of fireflies: Sara Lewis at TED2014

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Sara Lewis has managed to put herself in the center of a world of wonder by becoming a world expert on fireflies. Her obsession began in grad school, sitting in a backyard in North Carolina and watching the sparks light up around her. She wondered, “How do these creatures make light? Are they talking to each []

The hard problem of consciousness: David Chalmers at TED2014

The hard problem of consciousness: David Chalmers at TED2014

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“Right now you have a movie playing inside your head,” says philosopher David Chalmers. It’s an amazing movie, with 3D, smell, taste, touch, a sense of body, pain, hunger, emotions, memories, and a constant voice-over narrative. “At the heart of this movie is you, experiencing this, directly. This movie is your stream of consciousness, experience []