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We’ve gone way beyond fitness trackers to collect information about our bodies’ physiological processes. Wearables are being designed to detect early signs of Crohn’s disease and other inflammatory diseases, identify signals of insulin resistance, and warn of blood pressure changes that could signal pregnancy complications. Some devices don’t even have to be attached to th...
Can the data collected through smartphones, wearable sensors, and passive monitoring devices be turned into actionable knowledge about the environmental impacts on our health? Meet three innovative researchers who are using these technologies to unlock the mysteries of Crohn’s disease and more. Presented by the Helmsley Charitable Trust.
For more than 130 years, the National Geographic Society has pushed the boundaries of science by engaging the average citizen in a deeper understanding of the planet. Join two Nat Geo Fellows, Joel Sartore, renowned animal photographer, and Scott Loarie, director of a plant and animal identification app, to learn about the tools and strategies they're using to connect peop...
Just 33 million miles away, and yet still so far. From Galileo to Carl Sagan, the quest for life on Mars has an extensive history that reflects not only our scientific ambitions but our deepest yearnings to find that we are not alone. In this conversation, planetary environments researcher Sarah Stewart Johnson talks about her own search for life on Mars, from working on N...
The #MeToo movement has inspired a sister movement called #USToo, designed to expose and eliminate sexual harassment in the sciences. A sweeping new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine looks at the extent to which women in these fields are harassed on campuses, research labs, medical centers and other academic environments. The chillin...
Brain development during a child’s first five years forms the basis for lifelong learning and physical health, making enriched environments critical to success. Hospitals and clinics represent an untapped opportunity to contribute in this pivotal period. From a newborn’s first day of life to the many subsequent well-child and sick-care visits, the health care milieu offers...
For health researchers, space is proving to be a unique laboratory to explore stem cells, pharmaceuticals, 3D bioprinting, food science, and more. TRISH's Dorit Donoviel, an Aspen Ideas: Health 2023 speaker, explains how collaboration and open science can help advance these "out-of-this-world" discoveries for all mankind.
Vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell are the five human senses most of us are fortunate enough to know intimately. We like to say that intuition is our sixth sense, but Emma Young, an award-winning journalist who writes extensively about science and health, delves into research that has uncovered many others. In Super Senses: The Science of Your 32 Senses and How to Us...
When it is complete, the Human Cell Atlas will be a comprehensive searchable map of our cells — a “Google map for the human body.” By combining elegant science and painstaking work in the trenches, the Atlas will portray the basic unit of life in all its staggering diversity, including every cellular subtype, how one type of cell can become another type, which genes are sw...
Universal access to health care means many things in many nations. Taxes support a single-payer system in the United Kingdom, and health care providers are reimbursed directly by the government; patients pay nothing at the point of service. In the Netherlands, the government defines a basic benefit package and regulates private insurers; everyone is required to buy coverag...
Anyone who has ever had a pet understands how deeply connected human beings are to the animals who serve as our companions, lessen our stress, and perhaps offer a buffer against cognitive decline. Puppy play date, anyone? Honeybees help to protect our food supply, vision-impaired people rely not only on seeing-eye dogs but also on seeing-eye horses, and animal research has...
Despite all of the scientific advances in genomic sequencing, genetic testing, and gene editing, science writer Carl Zimmer suggests we lack a rich understanding of what heredity means and how traits travel from one generation to the next. Cultural and environmental conditions have complex and nuanced influences on human biology, personal and family characteristics are not...
Few drugs are as powerful as the human immune system. By generating an acute inflammatory response, it allows the body to defend against microbial invaders, cancer-causing cells, and environmental toxins, and helps heal injuries and infections. But there are also cracks in the system that can turn the body against itself, triggering autoimmune diseases. How do we tamp down...
Since 2014, Aspen Ideas: Health has welcomed over 700 inspiring women leaders to our stages to share their bold approaches to better health. In honor of Women's History Month, we're taking a look back at some of the many highlights. From medical researchers and clinicians to entrepreneurs and activists, meet 12 change makers who are breaking barriers to reimagine a healthi...
Physicist Brian Greene explains the Higgs boson particle, also known as the "God Particle," and why you should care about it. This energetic and delightful talk will make you wish your high school physics teacher taught like this. Greene says the feat of finding such a particle is akin to "trying to hear a tiny, delicate whisper over the massive thundering, deafening din o...
Rick Doblin wants to be a legally licensed psychedelic therapist. Learn about his work using MDMA, or ecstasy, to help people suffering from PTSD.
Strategic Advisor for Environmental and Science Journalism, National Geographic Society