This mind-bending new science might explain life’s biggest questions

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This week on TED.com August 29, 2015

Talk of the week Jim Al-Khalili: How quantum biology might explain life’s biggest questions 16:09 minutes · Filmed Jun 2015 · Posted Aug 2015 · TEDGlobalLondon How does a robin know to fly south? The answer might be weirder than you think: Quantum physics may be involved. Jim Al-Khalili rounds up the extremely new, extremely strange world of quantum biology, where something Einstein once called "spooky action at a distance" helps birds navigate, and quantum effects might explain the origin of life itself. Watch now »

Playlist of the week Talks that prove you already live in the future That crazy, sci-fi future we all imagine? It’s here. Watch » 9 TED Talks • Total run time 1:50:41

More from TED.com When disaster strikes, who's first on the scene? More and more, it’s a robot. In her lab, Robin Murphy builds robots that fly, tunnel, swim and crawl through disaster scenes, helping firefighters and rescue workers save more lives safely -- and help communities return to normal up to three years faster. Watch » Modern work -- from waiting tables to crunching numbers to designing products -- is about solving brand-new problems every day, flexibly and collaboratively. But as Yves Morieux shows in this insightful talk, too often, an overload of rules, processes and metrics keeps us from doing our best work together. Meet the new frontier of productivity: cooperation. Watch » How do insects reproduce? In some of the wildest ways imaginable. In this enlightening, very funny talk, biologist Marlene Zuk shares some of the ways that insects are astonishing -- not least for the creative ways they have sex. Watch » Too often, we wait for a deadly disease outbreak before we get serious about making a vaccine for it -- while the medical industry is busy dreaming up treatments such life-threatening issues as hair loss. Seth Berkley lays out the market realities and unbalanced risks behind why we aren't making vaccines for the world's killer diseases. Watch »

read more about ideas on ted.com Education: Three principles for leading a strong school » Requirements: Thick skin, tough attitude -- and fierce love   Response: Rich Benjamin's thoughtful response to comments on his talk » ... after some commenters questioned his right to talk about white-only communities   Art: Don't try to understand it -- just enjoy this complex, mesmerizing art » Dustin Yellin's multi-layered masterworks

Quote of the Week “ I've spent more than three decades trying to get my head around quantum mechanics. One of the founders of quantum mechanics, Niels Bohr, said, If you're not astonished by it, then you haven't understood it." Jim Al-Khalili How quantum biology might explain life’s biggest questions

Join the Conversation On the TED Blog: Great advice from a young TED speaker: Start a TED-Ed Club at your school. The music of sign language, a computer of water drops: At the TED Fellows Retreat, 21 speakers share ideas that swim against the tide. Read the best quotes. #blacklivesmatter: A playlist of powerful StoryCorps interviews that tell stories of the African-American experience then and now. Got 20 minutes to see some jaw-dropping talks? Use our magical playlist generator to build a perfect playlist just for you. Just click Surprise Me.

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