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  • How Curiosity Took Us to Mars - Bobak Ferdowsi

    View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-curiosity-got-us-to-mars-bobak-ferdowsi

    In August 2012, the Curiosity rover landed on Mars. The landing itself was a huge achievement and required a lot of forethought and planning by a very smart team. In this TED Youth 2012 Talk, Bobak Ferdowsi, the mohawked member of that team, outlines various aspects of a Mars landing, including the Seven Minutes of Terror.

    Talk by Bobak Ferdowsi.

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    8 min
  • Is this the most treasured thing in the ocean? - David Biello

    Dig into what makes whale poop so vitally important to ocean health, and how it helps support countless other marine life forms.

    --

    Whales frequently surface to take in air and let out massive plumes of waste. And while this slurry might seem disgusting, whale poop is much more desirable than it may seem. In fact, it may be one of the most important substances in the ocean — and the world. So, what makes whale poop so vital to our ecosystems? David Biello shares the surprising benefits of whale excrement.

    Lesson by David Biello, directed by Joseph Clark, Oh Studio.

    This video made possible in collaboration with Speed & Scale
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    View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/is-this-the-most-valuable-thing-in-the-ocean-david-biello
    Dig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/is-this-the-most-valuable-thing-in-the-ocean-david-biello/digdeeper

    Animator's website: https://www.ohstudio.co.uk
    Music: https://soundgoods.tv
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    Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Jennifer Heald, Megulo Abebe, isolwi, Kate Sem, Ujjwal Dasu, Angel Alberici, Minh Quan Dinh, Sylvain, Terran Gimpel, Talia Sari, Katie McDowell, Allen, Mahina Knuckles, Charmaine Hanson, Thawsitt, Jezabel, Abdullah Abdulaziz, Xiao Yu, Melissa Suarez, Brian A. Dunn, Francisco Amaya, Daisuke Goto, Matt Switzler, Peng, Tzu-Hsiang, Bethany Connor, Jeremy Shimanek, Mark Byers, Avinash Amarnath, Xuebicoco, Rayo, Po Foon Kwong, Boffin, Jesse Jurman, Scott Markley, Elija Peterson, Ovidiu Mrd, paul g mohney, Steven Razey, Nathan Giusti, Helen Lee, Anthony Benedict, Karthik Balsubramanian, Annastasshia Ames, Amy Lopez, Vinh-Thuy Nguyen, Liz Candee, Ugur Doga Sezgin, Karmi Nguyen, John C. Vesey and Yelena Baykova.

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    8 min
  • The sneakiest tricksters of the animal kingdom - Eldridge Adams

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    Uploaded 18-12-18

    --

    A male firefly emits a series of enticing flashes. He hopes a female will respond and mate with him. A female from a different species mimics his patterns: by tricking the male, she lures him in -- and turns him into a meal. Where else do we see this kind of trickery in the animal kingdom? Eldridge Adams details the surprising complexity of how animals manipulate predators, prey and their rivals.

    Lesson by Eldridge Adams, directed by The Duke and the Duck.

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    View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/can-animals-be-deceptive-eldridge-adams
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    Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Mary Sawyer, David Rosario, Samuel Doerle, Susan Herder, Prasanth Mathialagan, Yanira Santamaria, Dawn Jordan, Constantin Salagor, Kevin Wong, Umar Farooq, Goh Xiang Ting Diana, Cristóbal Medina Moenne, MJ Tan Mingjie, Yansong Li, Jason A Saslow, Henry Li, Kyle Nguyen, Taylor Hunter, Noa Shore, Lex Azevedo, Merit Gamertsfelder, Bev Millar, Rishi Pasham, Jhuval , SookKwan Loong, Daniel Day, Nick Johnson, Bruno Pinho, Javier Aldavaz, Marc Veale, Boytsov Ilya, maxi kobi einy, Misaki Sato, Andrew Bosco, Nik Maier, Mark Morris, Tamás Drávai, Adi V, Peter Liu, Leora Allen, Hiroshi Uchiyama, Julie Cummings-Debrot, Gilly, Ka-Hei Law, Maya Toll, Aleksandar Srbinovski, Ricardo Rendon Cepeda, Renhe Ji, Andrés Melo Gámez and Tim Leistikow.



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    7 min
  • The El Sistema musical revolution - Jose Antonio Abreu

    View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-el-sistema-music-revolution-jose-antonio-abreu

    Jose Antonio Abreu is the charismatic founder of a youth orchestra system that has transformed thousands of kids' lives in Venezuela. Here he shares his amazing story and unveils a TED Prize wish that could have a big impact in the US and beyond.

    Talk by Jose Antonio Abreu.

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    23 min
  • Let's crowdsource the world's goals - Jamie Drummond

    In 2000, the UN laid out 8 goals to make the world better by reducing poverty and disease -- with a deadline of 2015. As that deadline approaches, Jamie Drummond of ONE.org runs down the surprising successes of the 8 Millennium Development Goals, and suggests a crowdsourced reboot for the next 15 years.

    Uploaded 28-06-13

    Talk by Jamie Drummond.



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    16 min
  • What does appendicitis pain feel like? - David R. Flum

    Explore what we know about the function of the appendix, what leads to appendicitis, and why the organ is so prone to bursting.

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    In 1961, an Antarctic expedition took a harrowing turn: Dr. Leonid Rogozov began feeling feverish, with an excruciating pain in his right side. It soon became clear that he had appendicitis. While Rogozov’s predicament was extreme, appendicitis is not uncommon; affecting roughly one in 12 people. So, what causes appendicitis? And why is this organ so prone to bursting? David R. Flum investigates.

    Lesson by David R. Flum, directed by Igor Ćorić, Artrake Studio.

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    View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-does-appendix-pain-feel-like-david-r-flum
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    Animator's website: https://www.artrake.com
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    Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Nevin Spoljaric, Sid Chanpuriya, Anoop Varghese, David Yastremski, Noah Webb, Roberto Chena, Oliver Koo, Luke Pisano, Andrea Gordon, Aleksandar Donev, Nicole Klau Ibarra, Jesse Lira, Ezekiel Raui, Petr Vacek, Dennis, Olivia Fu, Kari Teffeau, Cindy Lai, Rajath Durgada Manjunath, Dan Nguyen, Chin Beng Tan, Tom Boman, Karen Warner, Iryna Panasiuk, Aaron Torres, Eric Braun, Sonja Worzewski, Michael Clement, Adam Berry, Ghaith Tarawneh, Nathan Milford, Tomas Beckett, Alice Ice, Eric Berman, Kurt Paolo Sevillano, Jennifer Heald, Megulo Abebe, isolwi, Kate Sem, Ujjwal Dasu, Angel Alberici, Minh Quan Dinh, Sylvain, Terran Gimpel, Talia Sari, Katie McDowell, Allen, Mahina Knuckles, Charmaine Hanson and Thawsitt.

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    8 min
  • What do babies think? - Alison Gopnik

    "Babies and young children are like the R and D division of the human species," says psychologist Alison Gopnik. Her research explores the sophisticated intelligence-gathering and decision-making that babies are really doing when they play.

    Uploaded 09-08-13

    Talk by Alison Gopnik.



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    24 min
  • How bacteria "speak" - Bonnie Bassler

    View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-bacteria-talk-bonnie-bassler

    Bonnie Bassler discovered that bacteria "talk" to each other, using a chemical language that lets them coordinate defense and mount attacks. The find has stunning implications for medicine, industry -- and our understanding of ourselves.

    Talk by Bonnie Bassler.

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    23 min
  • Establishing the American presidency - Kenneth C. Davis

    View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/inventing-the-american-presidency-kenneth-c-davis

    When the founders of the United States gathered to create the foundations of the country, they decided on three branches of government, with a president central to the executive branch. Kenneth C. Davis explains why this decision was not necessarily inevitable and what variables were up for debate.

    Lesson by Kenneth C. Davis, animation by G. Melissa Graziano-Humphrey.

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    6 min
  • The Pangaea Pop-up - Michael Molina

    View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-pangaea-pop-up-michael-molina/

    Uploaded 03-02-14

    The supercontinent Pangaea, with its connected South America and Africa, broke apart 200 million years ago. But the continents haven't stopped shifting -- the tectonic plates beneath our feet (in Earth's two top layers, the lithosphere and the asthenosphere) are still traveling at about the rate your fingernails grow. Michael Molina discusses the catalysts and consequences of continental drift.

    Lesson by Michael Molina, animation by TED-Ed.



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    7 min

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TED-Ed’s mission is to create lessons worth sharing. Feed and expand your curiosity with our award-winning animated shorts - published on YouTube and available with supplemental learning materials on ed.ted.com.