Crop physiologist Guntur V. Subbarao and his team have developed an antibiotic-infused strain of wheat that naturally combats harmful, fertilizer-eating bacteria -- a "monster" contributor to climate change. Learn more about how this breakthrough could once again revolutionize agriculture, increasing crop yields and protecting our planet at the ...
In this prophetic 2003 talk -- just days before Dolly the sheep was stuffed -- biotech ethicist Gregory Stock looked forward to new, more meaningful (and controversial) technologies, like customizable babies, whose adoption might drive human evolution.
What if diseases could be treated with a patient's own cells, precisely and on demand? Biotech entrepreneur Nabiha Saklayen explains how we could harness advances in biology, machine learning and lasers to create personalized stem cell banks -- and develop medicine uniquely designed for each of our bodies.
What if AI could help connect you with the right medical care, exactly when you need it? Health systems entrepreneur, surgeon and TED Fellow Mohamed Aburawi explores how his digital health platform, Speetar, uses AI to bridge the healthcare gap in underserved regions, like his native Libya, by connecting patients with doctors who truly understan...
Whether she’s inventing satellite radio, developing life-saving drugs or digitizing the human mind, Martine Rothblatt has a knack for turning visionary ideas into commonplace technology.
Many diseases are driven by metabolites -- small molecules in your body like fat, glucose and cholesterol -- but we don't know exactly what they are or how they work. Biotech entrepreneur and TED Fellow Leila Pirhaji shares her plan to build an AI-based network to characterize metabolite patterns, better understand how disease develops -- and di...
For millennia, we have debated the mind, body, spirit connection. But today, it sounds trite, #selfcare. In this special series on the TED Radio Hour, we explore fresh ideas on how we think, move and feel. Up first: the mind. In this segment, neurotech entrepreneur Tom Oxley joins host Manoush Zomorodi to talk about an implantable brain-computer...
From improving vaccines to modifying crops to solving crimes, DNA technology has transformed our world. Now, for the first time in history, anyone can experiment with DNA at home, in their kitchen, using a device smaller than a shoebox. We are living in a personal DNA revolution, says biotech entrepreneur Sebastian Kraves, where the secrets buri...
Viruses have a bad reputation -- but some of them could one day save your life, says biotech entrepreneur Alexander Belcredi. In this fascinating talk, he introduces us to phages, naturally-occurring viruses that hunt and kill harmful bacteria with deadly precision, and shows how these once-forgotten organisms could provide new hope against the ...
We have personal computing -- why not personal biotech? That's the question biologist Ellen Jorgensen and her colleagues asked themselves before opening Genspace, a nonprofit DIY bio lab in Brooklyn devoted to citizen science, where amateurs can go and tinker with biotechnology. Far from being a sinister Frankenstein's lab (as some imagined it),...
Along with a crew of technologists and scientists, Jorge Soto is developing a simple, noninvasive, open-source test that looks for early signs of multiple forms of cancer. Onstage at TEDGlobal 2014, he demonstrates a working prototype of the mobile platform for the first time.
The age of bioengineering is upon us, with scientists' understanding of how to engineer cells, tissues and organs improving at a rapid pace. Here, how this could affect the future of our physical bodies.
(This virtual conversation, hosted by TED technology curator Simone Ross, was recorded March 12, 2021.) Biotech entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw shares lessons learned from the global effort to develop COVID-19 vaccines: namely, the power of collaboration and the importance of equitable access to health care. Learn more about the innovative part...
Biochemist Jennifer Doudna won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for pioneering CRISPR, a revolutionary biotech tool that can edit DNA with unprecedented precision and ease. But how exactly does CRISPR work, and what consequences may arise from altering our internal makeup? She talks to Chris about the remarkable effects CRISPR can have on our l...
Paul Rothemund folds DNA into shapes and patterns. Which is a simple enough thing to say, but the process he has developed has vast implications for computing and manufacturing -- allowing us to create things we can now only dream of.
When Peter Buttigieg was elected mayor of South Bend, Indiana, his constituents wanted to know: What was his plan for their city? Was it the next biotech capital, or maybe an arts and culture destination? To shape the city's future, he started by looking to its past. Pulling from sources across the historical spectrum from South Bend's pioneerin...
Operating at the intersection of design, nature and technology, Natsai Audrey Chieza is an internationally recognized leader in the rapidly emerging field of biodesign.
Dr. Gregory Stock's levelheaded look at the hotpoints where tech and ethics connect (or short circuit) have made him a popular guest on TV and radio. He directs the Program on Science, Technology, and Society at UCLA.
With Freeman Dyson's astonishing forecasts for the future, it was hard to tell where science ended and science fiction began. But far from being a wild-eyed visionary, Dyson was a clear and sober thinker -- and one not afraid of controversy or heresy.
Barry Schuler's multimedia firm Medior built key interactive technologies for AOL, helping millions connect to the Internet through a simple, accessible interface. Now, through venture capital (and wine appreciation), he wants to do the same for genomics.