Articles from Best of the Best (trending on the web)

"Music for Wood and Strings" | Sō Percussion

Sō Percussion creates adventurous compositions with new, unconventional instruments. Performing "Music for Wood and Strings" by Bryce Dessner of The National, the quartet plays custom-made dulcimer-like instruments that combine the sound of an electric guitar with the percussionist's toolkit to create a hypnotic effect.

How early life experience is written into DNA | Moshe Szyf

Moshe Szyf is a pioneer in the field of epigenetics, the study of how living things reprogram their genome in response to social factors like stress and lack of food. His research suggests that biochemical signals passed from mothers to offspring tell the child what kind of world they're going to live in, changing the expression of genes. "DNA isn't just a sequence of letters; it's not just a script." Szyf says. "DNA is a dynamic movie in which our experiences are being written."

Addiction is a disease. We should treat it like one | Michael Botticelli

Only one in nine people in the United States gets the care and treatment they need for addiction and substance abuse. A former Director of National Drug Control Policy, Michael Botticelli is working to end this epidemic and treat people with addictions with kindness, compassion and fairness. In a personal, thoughtful talk, he encourages the millions of Americans in recovery today to make their voices heard and confront the stigma associated with substance use disorders.

What we don't know about mother's milk | Katie Hinde

Breast milk grows babies' bodies, fuels neurodevelopment, provides essential immunofactors and safeguards against famine and disease -- why, then, does science know more about tomatoes than mother's milk? Katie Hinde shares insights into this complex, life-giving substance and discusses the major gaps scientific research still needs to fill so we can better understand it.

A young inventor's plan to recycle Styrofoam | Ashton Cofer

From packing peanuts to disposable coffee cups, each year the US alone produces some two billion pounds of Styrofoam -- none of which can be recycled. Frustrated by this waste of resources and landfill space, Ashton Cofer and his science fair teammates developed a heating treatment to break down used Styrofoam into something useful. Check out their original design, which won the Scientific American Innovator Award from Google Science Fair.

3 ways to spot a bad statistic | Mona Chalabi

Polls that predict political candidates' chances to two decimal places are a problem. But we shouldn't count out stats altogether ... instead, we should learn to look behind them. In this delightful, hilarious talk, data journalist Mona Chalabi shares handy tips to help question, interpret and truly understand what the numbers are saying.

How would the rest of the world vote in your country's election? | Simon Anholt

To make the world work, we need leaders who consider the needs of every man, woman, child and animal on the planet -- not just their own voters. With the Global Vote, an online platform that lets anybody, anywhere in the world vote in the election of any country on earth, policy advisor Simon Anholt hopes to fill the gap between the few people who elect the world's most powerful leaders ... and the rest of us.

Why civilians suffer more once a war is over | Margaret Bourdeaux

War doesn't just kill people; it destroys the institutions that keep society running, like utilities, banks and hospitals. Physician and global health policy analyst Margaret Bourdeaux proposes a bold approach to post-conflict recovery that focuses on building strong, resilient health systems that protect vulnerable populations.

Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness | Michele L. Sullivan

We all go through challenges -- some you can see, most you can't, says Michele L. Sullivan. In a talk about perspective, Sullivan shares stories full of wit and wisdom and reminds us that we're all part of each other's support systems. "The only shoes you can walk in are your own," she says. "With compassion, courage and understanding, we can walk together, side by side."

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