Nonpartisan science advice in the US Congress? A newly opened online archive shows that it was possible — and stimulates a call to re-open the Office of Technology Assessment as an advisor to Congress. The OTA’s archive of 700+ scientific reports on topics ranging from addiction to terrorism to “personal rapid transit” spans the lifetime […]
As Jacqueline Novogratz says in her 2005 TEDTalk: “You can’t talk about poverty today without talking about malaria bednets.” Yesterday, the Guardian UK reported on a massive new study of malaria prevention — which found several alarming gaps in the global drive to wipe out this disease, especially in the poorest countries. Read the study’s […]
Linking two TEDTalks fascinations — language and fish — is this report from today’s Science. While studying midshipman fish that grunt and hum, two neurobiologists have found the basic brain wiring that, they think, evolved into human speech. It points to a common ancestor among all of us vertebrates who vocalize. From Science Now: Andrew […]
Stew‘s brilliant musical Passing Strange closes this weekend on Broadway — and Spike Lee will film the final Saturday shows. On July 19, cameras will follow the matinee and evening performance; the show will also be filmed later without an audience. Read Stew’s thoughts about this — and the whole Broadway/Tony Awards/The View experience — […]
Today, Edge 250 publishes a new short story by science historian George Dyson. A born storyteller (watch his TEDTalks on Project Orion and the earliest digital computers), he uses the short story as a persuasive tool — or so Stewart Brand suggests in his foreword: How does one come to a new understanding? The standard […]
If you were inspired by Neil Gershenfeld’s TEDTalk on the FabLab — where you can build just about anything you can dream of — read on: Larry Sass, from MIT’s department of architecture, is leading a team that’s building a digitally fabricated house in a vacant lot next to the Museum of Modern Art in […]
To reach Edward O. Wilson’s office on the Harvard campus, one must first push through a door with a sign warning the public not to enter. Then, enter a creaky old elevator and press two buttons simultaneously. This counterintuitive procedure transports one into a strange realm. It is a space that holds the world’s largest […]
Listen to a 22-minute audio interview with TED Prize winner Karen Armstrong, as she talks with Joan Brown Campbell: As part of her recent TED Prize, she is in the midst of writing a Charter of Compassion in a collaborative effort; this document, based on the principle of The Golden Rule, will be written and […]
From the TED Prize blog: More AIMS Student Talks: Be inspired by the stories of current and former AIMS students — young Africans whose lives have been changed through access to a top-notch scientific education at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences. Every two weeks, the TED Prize team uploads three talks from the May […]
The TED2008 Gift Bag was the first product from a brand-new company, Rickshaw Bagworks. Made in San Francisco with sustainable fabrics and thoughtful details, the TED bags became a bit of a cult item — not least because they weren’t available for retail sale at the time of the ’08 conference. This week Rickshaw opens […]
The “happiest man in the world,” Matthieu Ricard balances his Buddhist contemplation of happiness (watch his TEDTalk on the habits of happiness) with an active life as a humanitarian in the Himalayas. Learn more about his projects — and get involved — at the new website for his Karuna-Shechen foundation. Karuna-Shechen brings medical help and […]
British multi-entrepreneur and TEDster Richard Branson (watch his TEDtalk) may be in a pretty bad business when it comes to pollution — airlines, among others — but he is an eco-convert. On Tuesday he told the Global Humanitarian Forum‘s first gathering in Geneva, Switzerland, that he favors “polluter-pay” policies and that the climate crisis should […]
Sometime towards the end of August or possibly early September, the world’s biggest and most ambitious scientific experiment will go live: the LHC, or Large Hadron Collider will be started up at CERN in Geneva. Particle physicist and TED favorite Brian Cox (watch his TED talk) has written a must-read essay explaining the science of […]
Isabel Allende writes novels about self-reliant women who thrive in the midst of political turmoil. In her passionate TEDTalk, Allende praises women whose grit and selflessness transform the meaning of modern feminism — mentioning, in particular, three women of rare courage: Wangari Maathai, Somaly Mam and Rose Mapendo. Watch Isabel Allende’s TEDTalk, then read what […]
This week, Sir Ken Robinson was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Medal by the UK’s RSA (the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce). At the ceremony, he gave a lecture on education and creativity — followed by a lively Q&A where he made several new and bold suggestions. You can download audio […]
The Methuselah Foundation and TED speaker Aubrey de Grey (watch his TEDGLOBAL 2005 speech) will host next week in Los Angeles “Aging: The Disease, The Cure, The Implications”, a symposium featuring world-renowned scientists and advocates of stem cell and regenerative medicine research. The symposium will highlight the scientific prospects for using regenerative medicine to eliminate […]