Life Sciences
Making sense of how life fits together
Lesson duration 04:53
From something as miniscule as a cell to the biosphere we all call home, living things fit...
Search results for biology
TED-Ed Lessons
Science & Technology
What happens when continents collide?
Lesson duration 04:58
Tens of millions of years ago, plate tectonics set North and South America on an unavoidable...
Science & Technology
Why the octopus brain is so extraordinary
Lesson duration 04:17
Octopuses have the ability to solve puzzles, learn through observation, and even use tools – just...
Life Sciences
The wacky history of cell theory
Lesson duration 06:12
Scientific discovery isn't as simple as one good experiment. The weird and wonderful history of...
Philosophy
Are you a body with a mind or a mind with a body?
Lesson duration 06:10
Our bodies – the physical, biological parts of us — and our minds — the thinking, conscious...
Health
Why daylight is the secret to great sleep - Christine Blume
Lesson duration 10:03
Does the type and amount of light you’re exposed to during the day change how well you sleep at...
Life Sciences
The evolution of animal genitalia
Lesson duration 05:36
Genitals are the fastest-evolving organs in the animal kingdom. But why is this so? And what’s...
Life Sciences
The three different ways mammals give birth
Lesson duration 04:50
All mammals share certain characteristics, like warm blood and backbones. But despite their...
Psychology
Why is being scared so fun?
Lesson duration 04:29
At this very moment, people are lining up somewhere to scare themselves, be it with a...
Life Sciences
Grief and love in the animal kingdom - Barbara J. King
Lesson duration 14:43
Scientists debate whether animals feel love and express grief for each other. In recent years,...
Science & Technology
Why fish are better at breathing than you are
Lesson duration 05:21
Recent studies found that elite runners can take in twice as much oxygen as non-runners. And it’s...
Anthropology
What can you learn from ancient skeletons?
Lesson duration 04:08
Ancient skeletons can tell us a great deal about the past, including the age, gender and even...
Engineering
Self-assembly: The power of organizing the unorganized
Lesson duration 03:42
From something as familiar as our bodies to things vast as the formation of galaxies, we can...
History
Why do we kiss under mistletoe?
Lesson duration 04:42
The sight of mistletoe may either send you scurrying or, if you have your eye on someone,...
Health
Can steroids save your life?
Lesson duration 05:32
Steroids: they’re infamous for their use in sports, but they’re also found in inhalers, creams to...
Life Sciences
Jellyfish predate dinosaurs. How have they survived so long?
Lesson duration 05:26
Some are longer than a blue whale. Others are barely larger than a grain of sand. One species...
Science & Technology
How close are we to uploading our minds?
Lesson duration 05:06
Imagine a future where nobody dies— instead, our minds are uploaded to a digital world. There...
Health
Why are human bodies asymmetrical?
Lesson duration 04:19
Symmetry is everywhere in nature. And we usually associate it with beauty: a perfectly shaped...
Nature of Science
Mary's Room: A philosophical thought experiment
Lesson duration 04:52
Imagine a neuroscientist who has only ever seen black and white things, but she is an expert in...
Science & Technology
Axolotls: The salamanders that snack on each other (but don't die)
Lesson duration 05:22
Axolotls are one of science’s most studied animals. Why, you ask? These extraordinary salamanders...
Health
Why do women have periods?
Lesson duration 04:46
A handful of species on Earth share a seemingly mysterious trait: a menstrual cycle. We’re one...
Science & Technology
The electrical blueprints that orchestrate life - Michael Levin
Lesson duration 19:41
DNA isn't the only builder in the biological world — there's also a mysterious bioelectric layer...
Science & Technology
What happens if an engineered virus escapes the lab?
Lesson duration 05:42
Since the 1970s, researchers have engineered superbugs. While this research could help us prepare...
Life Sciences
How do drugs affect the brain?
Lesson duration 05:05
Most people will take a pill, receive an injection, or otherwise take some kind of medicine...
TED-Ed's Best of Web
Self-assembly: The power of organizing the unorganized - Skylar Tibbits
Lesson duration 03:42
From something as familiar as our bodies to things vast as the formation of galaxies, we can...
What are animals thinking and feeling? - Carl Safina
Lesson duration 19:27
What's going on inside the brains of animals? Can we know what, or if, they're thinking and...
Life Sciences
Why parrots can talk like humans
Lesson duration 04:22
Monkeys are our closest biological relatives, and they can't speak. But parrots don’t seem to...
Physical Science
Molybdenum - Periodic Table of Videos
Lesson duration 00:57
The team at periodicvideos has created a TED-Ed Lesson for every element of the periodic table....
Science & Technology
How laser tattoo removal works
Lesson duration 09:39
SmarterEveryDay explains the laser removal process for tattoos. As it turns out, the painful,...
What are you?
Lesson duration 06:28
Are you your body? And if so, how exactly does this work? Kurzgesagt takes on the challenge of...
Why beef is the worst food for the climate
Lesson duration 04:38
Our consumption habits emit billions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Our diets...
Environmental Science
What is chromatography?
Lesson duration 04:24
It's true that the cooler weather is a good indication that the seasons are changing, but there's...
The miracle of marine snow
Lesson duration 01:17
Marine snow is the organic debris that floats slowly from the surface, down into the ocean's...
Consciousness, Sensation and Perception
Does my dog know what I'm thinking?
Lesson duration 06:02
Do you ever talk to your dog? Do they ever talk back? Humans and dogs have a truly amazing...
Design, Engineering & Technology
Fellows in the field: Skylar Tibbits
Lesson duration 02:40
Skylar Tibbits and his team at MIT's Self Assembly Lab are working on materials to create 4-D...
Health
The most extreme births in the animal kingdom
Lesson duration 03:46
There is no human mom in this world who would say giving birth is easy peasy. But Science Insider...
The wild sex lives of marine creatures - Luka Seamus Wright
Lesson duration 05:16
On a reef in the Pacific Ocean, 17,000 camouflage groupers dart about in the cloudy water. It is,...
Health
Why do we get goose bumps?
Lesson duration 05:22
BrainCraft explains the weird and wonderful science behind goose bumps.
Life Sciences
Your body's real age
Lesson duration 03:09
Do all of your cells get switched out for new ones every seven years or so? Does anything remain...
Science & Technology
The army ants of Africa
Lesson duration 05:00
Civilization is typically characterized by intellectual, cultural, and material development. Do...
How a single-celled organism almost wiped out life on Earth - Anusuya Willis
Lesson duration 04:14
There’s an organism that changed the world. It caused the first mass extinction in Earth’s...
Science & Technology
The taxonomy of candy
Lesson duration 06:32
Wow! There are a lot of organisms on Earth! How are these organisms sorted, grouped and...
Life Sciences
Axolotls are masters of regeneration
Lesson duration 04:56
People axolotl questions about the axolotl. What exactly is an axolotl? This unique and...
Global Economics
Re-thinking progress: The circular economy
Lesson duration 03:49
There's a world of opportunity to re-think and re-design the way we make stuff. 'Re-Thinking...
Science & Technology
Learn about the universe (that's everything, right?)
Lesson duration 02:41
The universe: is it everything, things we can see, or things that have existed and will one day...
Psychology
The importance of a breakdown
Lesson duration 05:51
Having a nervous breakdown could seem like the ultimate calamity. Far from it. The School of Life...
Social Studies
Why are we the only humans left?
Lesson duration 07:32
Just 50,000-100,000 years ago, Earth was home to three or four separate human species, including...
How to protect the oceans - Sylvia Earle
Lesson duration 18:17
Legendary ocean researcher Sylvia Earle shares astonishing images of the ocean — and shocking...
TED-Ed Blog
How one AP Biology teacher uses TED-Ed Lessons
Paul Andersen, creator of the “The Five Fingers of Evolution” and a seasoned AP Biology teacher...
A guide for using TED-Ed in your chemistry classroom
TED-Ed producers, animators and educators are curious about how video content is used in the...
How are humans and animals similar? Two students across an ocean discuss
As we begin to round out the spring semester of TED-Ed Clubs, we have seen students present on...
Watch: A cellular biologist animates the life cycle of HIV in this hypnotic video
Animated and narrated by Janet Iwasa (Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah) ...
11 electrifying facts about jellyfish
Some jellyfish are longer than a blue whale. Others are barely larger than a grain of sand. And...
Photos: the most beautiful bacteria you’ll ever see
Synthetic biologist Tal Danino manipulates microorganisms in his lab to create eye-catching,...
Redesigning instruction and addressing inequities: 6 TED-Ed Innovative Educators share their learnings
Earlier this year, alumni of the TED-Ed Innovative Educator (TIE) program embarked on their...
Humans are made to be touched — so what happens when we aren’t?
Our bodies are designed to respond to touch, and not just to sense the environment around us. We...
Making science fun: A science teacher’s top five favorite TED-Ed lessons
Kim Preshoff, longtime science educator and enthusiast at Williamsville North High School located...
Here’s why you get gloomy in the winter — and what you can do about it
If the darkening evenings and turning leaves induce a mild sense of dread in you every year,...
The science of skin color (in TED-Ed GIFs)
When ultraviolet sunlight hits our skin, it affects each of us a little differently. Depending on...
Top 10 most popular TED-Ed Lessons of 2012
Shakespearean insults, mind-boggling numbers, universal mysteries,...
School may be suspended, but sleep schedules shouldn’t be
These days, the school bell isn’t ringing for most of our kids, and it’s up to parents to ensure...
TED-ED Clubs asks: How do you talk about depression?
I grew up in love with stories. There were days when I’d refuse to go outside or come to...
The five senses of attraction (in TED-Ed GIFs)
Romantic chemistry is all about warm, gooey feelings that gush from the deepest depths of the...
How to connect teachers in international schools
“Teachers tend to work in islands, with few opportunities for professional development,” says...
How to change your relationship with food
Here are three common-sense tips to help you feed your hunger and not your emotions, from...
How to use TED-Ed in your chemistry classroom
Highland Park High School teacher Gordon Williamson uses TED-Ed Lessons extensively in his...
The 10 most popular TED-Ed Animations of 2021
In 2021, our YouTube audience spent over 36 million hours watching TED-Ed Animations (that’s...
The mystery of left-handedness: The making of a TED-Ed Lesson
Today, about one-tenth of the world’s population is left-handed — and...
Most popular TED-Ed Lessons of 2013 (Staff Edition)
As 2013 draws to a close, we asked the TED-Ed staff to share their favorite TED-Ed Lesson of the...
Why you should think about being a good ancestor
Yes, we know it takes plenty of time and energy to be a good person in the here and now. But due...
What teens really want to know about sex
On the first day of the high school Sexuality and Society class that I teach, I don’t pass around...
Is it really hotter now than any time in 100,000 years?
As scorching heat grips large swaths of the Earth, a lot of people are trying to put...