Each father and mother pass down traits to their children, who inherit combinations of their dominant or recessive alleles. But how do we know so much about genetics today? Hortensia Jiménez Díaz explains how studying pea plants revealed why you may have blue eyes. [Directed by Johan Sonestedt and Veronica Wallenberg, narrated by Rose Eveleth].

At the Simons Foundation, Wendy Chung is working to characterize behavior, brain structure and function in people with genetic variations that may relate to autism.

What if we could use the power of DNA to create a sustainable, circular economy? In a talk about breakthrough science, synthetic biologist Jason W. Chin describes his team's work rewriting the genetic blueprint of cells to create a virus-resistant organism -- the largest synthetic genome ever made and a first step towards reimagining what life c...

What can we learn from people with the genetics to get sick — who don't? With most inherited diseases, only some family members will develop the disease, while others who carry the same genetic risks dodge it. Stephen Friend suggests we start studying those family members who stay healthy. Hear about the Resilience Project, a massive effort to c...

Peter Donnelly is an expert in probability theory who applies statistical methods to genetic data -- spurring advances in disease treatment and insight on our evolution. He's also an expert on DNA analysis, and an advocate for sensible statistical analysis in the courtroom.

If you could guarantee that your child would avoid inheriting a serious condition, such as blindness, would you do it? Alastair O'Neill describes the wrenching decisions people have made now that science can pre-screen healthy embryos.

Nobel laureate James Watson took part in one of the most important scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century: the discovery of the structure of DNA. More than 50 years later, he continues to investigate biology's deepest secrets.

Moshe Szyf's research is focused on understanding the broad implications of epigenetic mechanisms in human behavior, health and disease.

David Epstein obsesses over mistranslations of scientific research, and tries to temper the misconceptions that follow them.

In the past 3,000 years, many populations have evolved genetic adaptations to their local environments. People in Siberia and the high arctic are uniquely adapted to survive extreme cold. The Bajau people can dive 70 meters and stay underwater for almost 15 minutes. So what are other recent changes? And will our technological innovations impact ...

Your DNA makes you, you -- but how does it work? These talks explore what we know about the genome, the unique genetic sequence that makes up life as we know it.

Beauty is about more than the body you inhabit -- it's a way of being that goes beyond genetics or societal ideals. Aboriginal writer and former model Sasha Sarago invites you to decolonize beauty, moving away from the monolithic Eurocentric archetype and towards a more essential, authentic understanding of self that belongs to everyone.

We can evolve bacteria, plants and animals -- futurist Juan Enriquez asks: Is it ethical to evolve the human body? In a visionary talk that ranges from medieval prosthetics to present day neuroengineering and genetics, Enriquez sorts out the ethics associated with evolving humans and imagines the ways we'll have to transform our own bodies if we...

Paul Knoepfler is a biomedical scientist and writer focusing on stem cells and genetics.

Biodiversity warrior Cary Fowler wants to save the world from agricultural collapse, one seed at a time.

Alice Dreger studies history and anatomy, and acts as a patient advocate.

Danny Hills makes a case for the next frontier of cancer research: proteomics, the study of proteins in the body. As Hillis explains it, genomics shows us a list of the ingredients of the body -- while proteomics shows us what those ingredients produce. Understanding what's going on in your body at the protein level may lead to a new understandi...

Spencer Wells studies human diversity -- the process by which humanity, which springs from a single common source, has become so astonishingly diverse and widespread.

Try on these talks about the traits that make you who you are.

From something as small and complex as a chromosome to something as seemingly simple as the weather, sex determination systems vary significantly across the animal kingdom. Biologist and teacher Aaron Reedy shows us the amazing differences between species when it comes to determination of gender. [Directed by Buzzco Associates, Inc., narrated by...

Your belly and your brain speak to each other, says obesity researcher Mads Tang-Christensen. Offering scientific proof that obesity is a disease influenced by genetics and the environment, he introduces a molecule discovered in both the brain and gut that helps control appetite -- and which could be engineered to promote healthy weight loss for...

A key player in the US' new brain-mapping project, Francis Collins is director of the National Institutes of Health.

Veerle Provoost studies genetic and social parenthood in the context of donor conception.

Embracing both genetically improved seed and ecologically based farming methods, Pamela Ronald aims to enhance sustainable agriculture.

Emma Teeling, Director of the Centre for Irish Bat Research, thinks we have a lot to learn from the biology of bats.

Pamela Ronald studies the genes that make plants more resistant to disease and stress. In an eye-opening talk, she describes her decade-long quest to isolate a gene that allows rice to survive prolonged flooding. She shows how the genetic improvement of seeds saved the Hawaiian papaya crop in the 1990s — and makes the case that modern genetics i...

Tania Simoncelli advises the White House on science and technology policy.

When it comes to aging well, having “good genes” (or rather, mutant ones) is key, says Cynthia Kenyon. She unlocked the genetic secret of longevity in roundworms — and now she’s working to do the same for humans.

Elizabeth Murchison studies a mysterious (and contagious) cancer that threatens to wipe out Tasmanian devils.

The founder of the Innovative Genomics Institute, Jennifer Doudna earned the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her work developing the groundbreaking genome-engineering technology CRISPR-Cas9.