1. Daniel Kraft invents a better way to harvest bone marrow

An expert in stem cells and regenerative medicine with over 20 years of experience to his name, Daniel Kraft provides a demonstration of his Marrow Miner invention. Pulling from his extensive research in bone marrow transplants, the device harvests this life-saving tissue in a more efficient, less painful, and significantly safer manner than previous procedures. Rather than collecting bone marrow through the spine, Kraft’s technological marvel instead bypasses such sensitive and delicate nerve endings in favor of the hip. Doing so not only streamlines and reduces the risks involved in the transplant process, but renders it far easier for healthcare professionals to harvest adult stem cells for the treatment of many other terminal diseases.

2. Bonnie Bassler on how bacteria “talk”

Princeton molecular biology professor Bonnie Bassler earned numerous awards and accolades when she discovered the ways in which bacteria communicate with one another using specific chemical signals. These seemingly simple single-celled organisms actually utilize a complex system of correspondence that may be necessary for a human body to function – or hold the potential to destroy it utterly. Bassler’s research into the bioluminescent bacteria Vibrio fischeri and its symbiotic relationship with the Hawaiian bobtail squid revealed their intricate interactions with one another and how they eventually work in tandem to achieve a collective goal. Her startling glimpses into the helpful and harmless bacteria may very well prove the key to unlocking how to stave off the negative impact of the dangerous and deadly.

3. Catherine Mohr: Surgery’s past, present and robotic future

Explore the history of how humanity reacts to and attempts to treat everything from minor injuries to life-threatening conditions with surgeon and inventor of the LapCap, Catherine Mohr. Her eloquent lecture carries with it the underlying theme of how a patient must unfortunately experience pain and physical trauma (even while under anesthetic) if he or she ever hopes to recover. In order to fully understand where medical science may go, it is integral to understand where it has been. Mohr delves deeply into 10,000 years of medical and surgical history and discusses how every development builds upon those preceding it. This eventually culminates in an explanation of and demonstrates in how advances in robotics will revolutionize surgical procedures in the near future.

4. Kary Mullis’ next-gen cure for killer infections

Nobel Prize winner in chemistry Kary Mullis applies his research in DNA structures to bacteriology. New strains emerge every year that prove immune to the drugs necessary to saving lives, and Mullis devotes his time, resources, energy, and intellect to combating dangerous (if not outright deadly) bacteria from establishing this resistance. Here, he demonstrates a revolutionary potential cure for fatal bacterial infections that links antibodies to alpha-Gal epitopes using a DNA aptamer. This can act as a homing device to zero in on certain harmful strains and destroy them before they have a chance to evolve and grow beyond the effects of medications.

5. Laurie Garrett on lessons from the 1918 flu

Even in times of lowered public concern over pandemic and epidemic diseases, medical science still needs to keep itself alert when it comes to understanding the hows and whys behind the spread. In studying intensely the ways in which dangerous conditions rocket through civilizations, the healthcare community can figure out strategies on how to slow – even prevent – the devastating effects of communicable diseases. Pulitzer Prize winning writer and public health researcher Laurie Garrett narrows her focus to the influenza epidemic of 1918. Her lecture explores the sociopolitical and socioeconomic imperatives behind these preventative measures, linking the medical field with overarching political and social structures.

6. Marvin Minsky on health and the human mind

Revolutionary cognitive scientist and expert on artificial intelligence Marvin Minsky believes that infections, epidemics, and education are the three most integral issues that require addressing. With a cheeky sense of humor, he offers up suggestions that make quite a bit of sense – even if lacking in practicality. Sadly, overpopulation accounts for the spread of numerous infectious diseases. While he refrains from eliciting chuckles from more Swiftian solutions, many of the ideas he posits to curb the issue of too many people and too few resources unfortunately exist as science fiction in the current era. Much of what he discusses involves discarding current cognitive protocols in the creation of artificial intelligence systems and focusing on making them more humanlike and capable of emulating emotions.

7. Nancy Etcoff on the surprising science of happiness

All patients run the risk of suffering from depression due to their physical conditions, even if they harbor no prior history of mental illness. Because of this, medical professionals working outside the field of cognitive science and psychology still ought to learn how happiness can both improve and erode overall health. Nancy Etcoff with Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital has dedicated her research to perusing the mysteries of happiness and finding viable, long-term, and scientific solutions to the problem. With depression rates increasing steadily each year, it is integral for the medical community to find ways to curb it that do not involve dependence on prescription pills before far too many individuals must take disability leave for their mental illness. Etcoff explores the anatomical and physiological roots of how even those with seemingly everything in life can still battle against emotional distresses.

8. Eva Vertes looks to the future of medicine

Eva Vertes was only 19 years old when TED recorded this brilliant and insightful lecture, which poses a number of compelling questions on the nature of cancer and Alzheimer’s – many of which may prove powerful allies in the fight against these diseases. She discusses how her International Science Fair project involved a purine derivative by the name of guanidine and its role in cell growth and death. From there, Vertes began questioning whether or not an accelerated increase in brain cells could successfully stave off the onset of Alzheimer’s. In addition, she also looks into the relationship between cancer and stem cells. One of the more jarring but revolutionary suggestions involves the theory that cancer may be the body’s botched response to injury – and perhaps stem cells may hold the key to repairing damages and staving off (if not outright) destroying this devastating and tragic condition.

9. David Bolinsky animates a cell

Discover the intricate inner workings of one of the very building blocks of life with medical animator David Bolinsky. With impressive detail and painstakingly sculptural illustrations, he blurs the lines between art and science and how both disciplines reveal to humanity truths and aesthetics alike. The resulting animation of scientifically accurate molecules and cells for BioVisions at Harvard University stands as a triumph of biology and art – challenging viewers to consider the beauty inherent in the natural and necessary processes of everyday existence.

10. Joe DeRisi solves medical mysteries

Molecular biologist and biochemist Joe DeRisi analyzes and researches diseases at the genomic level. This lecture focuses mainly on viruses, advances in their diagnosis, and how to best comprehend the nature of particularly malevolent strains. Evolution, structure, and conservation all factor into his exploration of their relationship to the human body and how DNA may play a role in shutting down harmful infections. Using the rhinovirus (the common cold in popular parlance) as an example, he illustrates how each of the 102 known strains plays host to their own unique internal structure and pattern of behavior. The technology he invented to map out and categorize all the viruses medical science is aware of greatly aids in the formation of proper diagnoses and a heightened awareness of any new or emerging strains that may stand as grounds for future concern.

11. Emily Oster flips our thinking on AIDS in Africa

Emily Oster, an economist at the University of Chicago, enjoys challenging preconceived perceptions and providing unconventional but ultimately factual solutions to many sociological and scientific inquiries. Here, she lectures on the AIDS epidemic in Africa and how even some of the well-educated assumptions regarding the disease ultimately prove wrong. Though not focusing the majority of her discussion economics, Oster still applies many of the concepts and theories to the situation at hand as well as tracing their relationship. AIDS and HIV require drastic lifestyle shifts in order to prevent further spread – changes that the populace appears reluctant to make due to sexual relations being a hardwired aspect of human behavior. However, in regions where malaria and high infant mortality rates threaten daily life, the citizenry is more open and willing to adapt to the habits necessary for survival. One of the many potentially controversial suggestions she offers involves focusing aid efforts and resources on other diseases first before slowly introducing the very same concepts and responses to curbing AIDS.

12. Nathan Wolfe’s jungle search for viruses

As with many of the other featured lecturers, Nathan Wolfe concerns himself with preventing viral pandemic and epidemic outbreaks. His research has taken him deep into the jungle hotbeds themselves, and he was an instrumental figure in proving that viruses are more than capable of transitioning from animals to humans. Having deftly probed the natural habitats of AIDS, HIV, and other deadly viruses, Wolfe concludes that many of these devastating illnesses present in humans initially had animalian origins. AIDS and HIV, for example, actually ravaged Africa prior to the Great Depression in America due to the hunting of carrier monkeys as a food source. He shares his experience and observations from the field and makes a compelling case for better tracking and cataloging the millions of viruses in order to better quell their spread and swath of registration.

13. Dean Ornish says your genes are not your fate

Preventative Medicine Research Institute and passionate advocate for proper diet and exercise as integral to a happy lifestyle Dean Ornish lectures on how these habits can positively effect individuals on a genetic level. Happy people tend to have increased blood flow and oxygen intake, causing the brain to get bigger and promoting higher alertness. While de-stressing, loving, exercising, and eating well do not necessarily prevent all diseases, of course, it provides an always-appreciated boost to the immune system to assist in overall good health and positive well-being. Good habits result in the activation of good genes, he claims, and the reverse is also true.

14. Paul Ewald asks, Can we domesticate germs?

Though a commonplace and easily treated symptom in highly industrialized nations, diarrhea may actually kill victims in parts of the world with limited healthcare resources. Scientific Renaissance man and director of the evolutionary medicine program at the University of Louisville Paul Ewald uses it as the cornerstone of his lecture on germs and their behavior patterns. He traces how unsanitary conditions allow for diarrheal bacteria and viruses to travel from person to person with ruthless efficiency. In addition, Ewald posits that it may be possible to manipulate the evolution and activity of certain viruses as a means of better keeping their influence as contained as possible. Some of the findings he presents prove that medical science could find ways to alter their very structure and nature over time in order to dilute their potentially deadly potency.

15. Michael Milken on activism

Once known as the “junk-bond king” and imprisoned for securities fraud, Michael Milken has embarked on a philanthropic atonement of sorts by promoting cancer research through the Milken Family Foundation and Prostate Cancer Foundation. He applies his background in business and finance to finding ways to best sponsor life-saving research and promote a general awareness of the issues at hand. With their intensive training in the theory and practice of medicine, doctors are in a unique position to apply their expansive knowledge to the overall improvement of human civilization. Milken discusses extensively the projects he involves himself with, and his words serve as a sort of call to action for doctors and other professionals alike to wield their talents as a weapon against disease and social injustice.

16. Thulasiraj Ravilla: How low-cost eye care can be world-class

The life of a blind individual is fraught with hardships and setbacks making it very difficult to secure a job and safely navigate everyday life. Thulasiraj Ravilla – director of the Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology, chair of the Southeast Asian branch of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, and head of Vision 2020: The Right to Sight – offers up the heart-wrenching stories of individuals stigmatized for their disabilities. The real tragedy of his work (and, of course, the work of his diligent contemporaries) is that simple eye surgery or corrective lenses will help alleviate the suffering of millions around the world. Although cost is understandably a concern when it comes to healthcare, Ravilla addresses options both affordable and capable of providing quality service to a frequently marginalized group.

17. Dr. Seyi Oyesola tours a hospital in Nigeria

Thousands of African citizens every year tragically pass on due to easily cured diseases and conditions. The lack of organized health care and medical resources on the continent inspired Dr. Seyi Oyesola to create the “Hospital in a Box” – an ingenious invention containing the basic equipment necessary for anesthesia and surgery and capable of powering itself using solar energy. It can be dropped into isolated zones by helicopter, making it an indispensible device for treating illness and injury almost anywhere. With a passion for activism, Oyesola offers a walkthrough of a teaching hospital in Lagos, Nigeria to highlight the challenges that doctors there face. Relying solely on donated equipment and outdated technology, these medical professionals must apply their creativity and training to quell physical suffering in Nigeria. Oyesola makes a compelling case for those working in the healthcare industry to pool their resources and cooperate in order to prevent more Africans from dying of diseases and injuries with relatively simple solutions.

18. Kristen Ashburn’s photos of AIDS

Kristen Ashburn devotes her photography and documentary filmmaking skills to chronicling the heartbreaking suffering many people around the world must face on a daily basis. One of her many humanitarian projects involves compiling harrowing images of AIDS victims in Zimbabwe, and this brief lecture features a few pieces from the collection. It is almost impossible to view them without tearing up as Ashburn accompanies each photograph with the victim’s life story. Many who never bear witness to the horrors of AIDS and HIV occasionally have a tendency to view those suffering from the conditions as faceless statistics. Ashburn humanizes the often anonymous victims, opening the world up to the stories behind the agony.

19. Paul Stamets on 6 ways mushrooms can save the world

Most people tend to think of mushrooms as either poisonous parasites peppering the lawn or an earthy, delicious accompaniment to a meat, soup, or salad. But these versatile fungi have much more to offer humanity in the way of both ecology and pharmacology. Impassioned mycologist Paul Stamets outlines 6 different benefits that mushrooms provide for their planet-mates. Beyond the expected environmental advantages, medical professionals will find much to appreciate when it comes to discovering new and life-altering antibodies. Stamets discusses in depth the way mycelium has both adapted to and influenced terrestrial life forms for billions of years, and the myriad ways in which their structures and resistance to many bacteria strains may very well pave the road towards stronger medications that save lives and curb suffering.

20. Ernest Madu on world-class health care

Founder of the three Heart Institute of the Caribbean locations in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, Dr. Ernest Mandu has provided almost $1 million USD worth of free or discounted cardiovascular care to impoverished individuals – a vision which he hopes to extend to Nigeria as well. It comes as no surprise, then, that on a broader scale Mandu stands as an advocate for affordable, effective healthcare worldwide. In this lecture, he compares and contrasts the systems in the United States and Africa, making particular note of heart disease statistics since it kills a significant number of both populations every year. Mandu outlines the methods necessary to create an effective, safe, and sustainable system of medical care that benefits the citizenry of a developing nation.

21. Alan Russell on regenerating our bodies

Founder and director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Alan Russell fuses surgery, biology, and chemical engineering as a means of taking medical science to bold new levels. He relishes the idea of bioengineering cells and tissues in order to regrow damaged body parts, reduce scarring, and any number of other practical applications. In this lecture, Russell dives headfirst into talking about the emerging field of regenerative medicine and details many of the discoveries credited to his foundation. Without such research, he claims, an aging and ailing population will require more care than a nation may be able to afford – in essence, the very financial fabric of the healthcare system may very well rest on the ability to create viable tissues in a laboratory.

22. Dean Ornish on Healing

Dean Ornish’s other lecture for the TED Talks series also involves his dedication to promoting an overall sense of happiness and health in an individual. He takes advantage of the human body’s desire to physically heal itself and uses that phenomenon as a starting point to prove that it also seeks mental and emotional equilibrium as well. As ease and affordability stand as near-universal concerns for anyone hoping to find reliable ways to care for themselves, Ornish is careful to only suggest simple, cost-effective, and low-tech options. This ensures his methods reach the broadest audience possible, allowing anyone who pines for healing and happiness a fair chance.

23. Jill Bolte Taylor’s stroke of insight

Jill Bolte Taylor’s life story is an absolutely fascinating one. A brain researcher, she found herself in a very unique position to study how one of the body’s most essential organs operates during a stroke when a blood vessel ruptured one morning. Because of this, she was granted a rare first-person perspective on how the brain shuts itself down – only to slowly rebuild itself over time. Her amazing lecture recounting the 8-year trial provides an amazing and entirely necessary glimpse into the nature of strokes and the myriad ways they come to affect their victims.

24. Christopher deCharms looks inside the brain

For cognitive and neuroscientists as well as those in the psychological field, Christopher deCharms’s revolutionary innovations using non-invasive rtfMRI technology will prove quite useful when it comes to understanding human thoughts and emotions. With the ability to watch the brain’s functions as they happen, it is possible to map out activities in order to look for any specific patterns or abnormalities. In addition, it provides a far clearer picture into the nature of how humans experience pain as well. This technological marvel carries with it numerous beneficial applications that will greatly assist in forging a better life for anxious patients.

25. Mae Jemison on teaching arts and sciences together

Mae Jemison smashed through many racial and gender stereotypes by becoming the first female African-American astronaut – but her accomplishments stem way beyond that. She is also skilled in a wide variety of dance styles, including (but not limited to!) ballet, jazz, traditional African, and traditional Japanese and has even landed acting roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation and theatre productions of musicals such as West Side Story. After retiring, Jemison became an advocate for science education – though she steadfastly maintains that a foundation in the arts is also essential for professional success. This beautiful lecture shows how the arts and sciences actually complement one another in their contrasts, with one no more important or integral to a well-rounded academic experience than the other.

No matter a healthcare professional’s area of emphasis, whether it be nursing administration, master of public health, or advanced surgery, each of these lectures offer up challenges, insights, and ideas to help stimulate both logic and creativity. They inspire and insinuate and maybe even inflame – but everything they have to say remains entirely useful and potentially integral to mankind’s education and perpetuation.

• Read food labels carefully: It may be a pain, but you must read food labels to ensure that the food item does not contain products that you are allergic to. If you’re allergic to peanuts, check for all its related products. For example, some packages may contain peanut oil, so check carefully instead of just dismissing it by assuming it does not contain peanuts.

• Tell people about your condition: Don’t be shy to tell people what you’re allergic to, especially if you’re a guest at their place or if you’re invited for a meal. If you avoid telling them because you’re uncomfortable with your problem, you could be in a worse mess if you begin to suffer adverse reactions because you’re allergic to some ingredient in the food.

• Check ingredients at restaurants: When you eat out, ask the chef and the waiters for detailed ingredient lists so that you don’t take ill during or after the meal. Tell them why you’re asking so that they’ll be more open to giving you the right answer instead of assuming that you’re just a nosy parker.

• Keep your medicines close at hand: Always keep your medicines close by or in your person, within easy access. It’s preferable that the bottle or container holds instructions regarding dosage. If you’re alone and suffer an allergic reaction, it will allow people to help you out.

• Wear a tag: This is advisable if your reactions are extreme and you are prone to them often. It’s also useful if you’re allergic to certain medicines and may have to be taken to the hospital in emergencies. It helps doctors treat you effectively, especially when close family members who know your condition are not with you.

• When you overdo it: Too much of a good thing is not good; anything must be moderated in order to enjoy its full benefits. When you exercise too much or too often, you are not giving your body enough time to recover from the beating it takes when you run or get involve yourself in other kinds of intense physical activity. This results in the breakdown of your body – your bones, muscles and general health are affected. Exercise is generally good for your health; it strengthens your muscles and bones and keeps you young and fit. But when you overdo it, it has the opposite effect and becomes deleterious.

• When you’re injured: Injury and exercise do not go hand in hand, so you need to exercise caution and wisdom if you’re exercising when injured or hurt. Go according to your doctor’s advice or you risk aggravating your injury and making it worse than it is. There are some forms of injury that require you to stick to dedicated physical therapy programs in order to recover completely, and if that is the case, you must follow instructions and safety precautions to ensure that your exercise routine does not end up being harmful to you.

• When you’re addicted to it: There are some people who are exercise addicts – they feel intense guilt when they miss a single workout or if they do not perform as well as they are used to. They constantly push themselves to achieve faster speeds and greater endurance, little knowing or realizing that they are actually punishing their bodies. Exercising wisely involves knowing when to call a halt and say enough is enough. You need to listen to your body for warning signs and stop before you end up collapsing or hurting your joints or muscles.

• When you don’t eat the right food: Your body needs sustenance to keep it going, so when you exercise and fail to provide it with the necessary kind of fuel, it starts to break down and perform below par. You may be exercising to lose weight, but if you don’t give your body the nutrition it needs to remain healthy, no amount of exercise is going to be beneficial to you.

Those who achieve the best results from exercise are those who adapt to it gradually, build up to their peak and continue to exercise caution and common sense when they work out on a regular basis.