Matt Ridley, rational optimist, hosts Session 5: Emerging Order, on July 13, during TEDGlobal 2011, July 11-15, 2011, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Photo: James Duncan Davidson / TED
Svante Paabo, geneticist: “Today, people living outside of Africa have 2.5% of their DNA from Neanderthals. We have always mixed — with other early humans, and with each other.” Photo: James Duncan Davidson / TED
Mark Pagel, evolutionary biologist: “Language really is the most potent trait that has ever evolved, and the most subversive tool we have. It allows you to implant a thought in someone else’s mind — without surgery.” Photo: James Duncan Davidson / TED
Elizabeth Murchison, cancer researcher, studies a horrifying new disease affecting Tasmanian devils: a contagious cancer, the first to threaten an entire species with extinction. Photo: James Duncan Davidson / TED
Cynthia Kenyon, biochemist and geneticist, doubled the lifespan of a worm in one experiment, shedding light on how genes control longevity in animals. Photo: James Duncan Davidson / TED
Joe Castillo, artist, creates live, animated stories with his fingers, sand and light. Photo: James Duncan Davidson / TED
Karol Boudreaux, poverty economist, demonstrates how community-run nature conservancies benefit pastoralists and sustain wildlife. Photo: James Duncan Davidson / TED