Tag: TED talks

TED talk notes: did you know humans have fewer genes than rice? (talks from John Lloyd, Andrew Hessel, Robert Full)

Every week, I share my notes from great TED talks. Here’s the complete list (pardon the load time, it’s a long page).

Here are 3 sets of brief notes: producer John Lloyd on what’s invisible, researcher Andrew Hessel on synthetic viruses, and biologist Robert Full on the secrets of animal movement.

* * * * *

What’s invisible? More than you think – John Lloyd

  • we can’t see gravity. it’s the weakest and least understood of our 4 fundamental forces
    • the other three are strong and weak, nuclear
    • me: interestingly gravity is the only one you “feel”
  • we can’t see consciousness
  • Sufi masters say they’re all telepaths
  • initially we thought there were 100K genes in the human genome, continually revised downward, now think only 20K genes
    • rice by comparison has 38K genes (!)
  • every cell in your body is replaced at some point, after 7 years all have been replaced
  • we can’t see beam of light, only what it hits
  • we think there are 100B galaxies but can only observe 5
    • me: one of may reasons why I think there MUST be alien life
  • Thomas Edison: “we don’t know one percent of one millionth about anything”

* * * * *

Synthetic virology | Andrew Hessel | TEDxDanubia

  • the Pink Army Movement is the exact opposite of a traditional pharma company:
    • not broad-use drugs, but narrow-based
    • not closed, but open-source
    • not for-profit, but non-profit
  • an oncolytic virus is a weak virus that can’t takeover a healthy cell, but can takeover a cancerous cell (which is by definition weaker); the cancer cell then makes copies of the oncolytic virus, the cell dies, and the virus goes on to infect other cancer cells
  • the cost of synthetically printing DNA has been dropping dramatically
  • pharma is the opposite of Moore’s Law
    • me: what a16z jokingly calls eroom’s law (‘Moore’ spelled backward, because the costs of development have risen dramatically while # of approved drugs has fallen dramatically)

* * * * *

Robert Full: Secrets of movement, from geckos and roaches

  • animals have an array of secrets to move faster, better, up walls, etc
  • gecko feet literally act like tape, they peel onto and away from surfaces, this is intermolecular forces alone (unlike ants whose feet have some of the behavioral properties but use a type of biological glue)
  • other animals have tiny hooks on their feet, like cockroaches, to get more traction
  • still others use their legs to act like a second/supporting foot, for more traction

* * * * *

Here’s the full list of TED notes!

TED talk notes: Thomas Piketty on why the US is more unequal than Europe, and Andrew Hessel on making cancer fighting viruses

Every week, I share notes from some of my favorite TED talks. Here’s the complete list (pardon the load time, it’s just a continuous, single page).

Thomas Piketty: New thoughts on capital in the twenty-first century

  • in the long-run, r > g (return on capital is greater than the return on economic growth), which leads to income inequality
  • in the last century, Europe and US have flipped: the US is now much more unequal
  • there are many reasons for this, including unequal access to skills, fast rise in top incomes
  • wealth inequality is always a lot higher than income inequality
  • wealth inequality is still less extreme than 1900
  • with r > g, initial inequalities are amplified at faster pace
  • there is always some level of dynamism and change (e.g., large families, poor investment decisions)
  • for most of history r > g (g was mostly 0 in agrarian society)
  • r > 0 was necessary for eventual labor diversification and societal evolution
  • both r and g have risen over time
  • long-run g is about 1-2%, we’ve seen unusually high g (3-4%) in post-war 20th century
  • long-run r is about 4-5%
  • r-g delta is caused by technology, savings rate, other factors
  • r > g particularly strong for billionaires; there are scale effects (e.g., portfolio management, financial instruments, tax evasion and lawyers and accountants)
  • main suggestion: increased financial transparency
  • if he were to rewrite the book today, he’d actually conclude that US income inequality higher than he reported

* * * * *

Andrew Hessel: Synthetic Virology

  • the Pink Army Movement is the exact opposite of a traditional pharma company:
    • focused not on broad, but narrow-based drugs
    • not a closed system, but open-source
    • not for-profit, but non-profit
  • an oncolytic virus is a weak virus that can’t takeover a healthy cell, but can takeover a cancerous cell (which is by definition weaker than a healthy cell); the cancer cell then makes copies of the oncolytic virus, the cancer cell dies and the virus goes on to infect other cancer cells
  • cost of synthetically printing DNA is dropping dramatically
  • pharma is the opposite of Moore’s Law, costs of development have risen dramatically while # of approved drugs has fallen dramatically (me: a16z  jokingly calls this eroom’s law)

* * * * *

Here’s the complete list of TED notes

TED talk notes: William Li on how to starve cancer, Marcel Dicke on why we should eat insects

Every week, I share notes from some of my favorite TED talks. Here’s the complete list (pardon the load time, it’s just a continuous, single page).

William Li: Can we eat to starve cancer?

  • angiogenesis is the creation or reduction of blood vessels
  • it occurs for many diseases, e.g., cancer; also injury, pregnancy (uterus and placenta)
  • otherwise, blood vessels are largely fixed from early in life
  • once angiogenesis happens, cancer is much harder to treat (the tipping point)
  • treat cancer by cutting off its blood supply, “anti-angiogenic therapy”
  • avastin is one example
  • your diet is 30-35% of the environmental causes of cancer (5-10% is genes)
  • what foods are naturally anti-angiogenic?
    • red grapes (resveratrol)
    • strawberries
    • green tea
    • men who consumed cooked tomatoes 2x/week, lower incidences of prostate cancer, cause: anti-angiogenesis
  • anti-angiogenesis may also have applications for obesity

* * * * *

Marcel Dicke: Why not eat insects?

  • 1/3 of fruit we eat is the result of insect pollination of plants
  • insects represent more biomass than humans
  • every processed food contains insects — tomato soup, peanut butter, chocolate
  • there are allowed FDA limits for insect material in foods
  • current meat supply has many problems:
    • animals cause diseases, e.g., pigs
  • insects are more efficient source of food — 10kg of feed produces 1kg of meat OR 9kg of insects
  • insects create less waste (e.g., manure for meat)
  • insects are more nutritious (me: need to research)
  • 70% of all agricultural land used for livestock
  • 80% of world already eats insects, 1000+ insect species

* * * * *

Here’s the complete list of TED notes

TED talk notes: Allan Pease on why you should speak with palms up, and Chris McDougall on humans as born runners

I love listening to TED talks, and take notes on most of them. Every week, I share notes from some of my favorites! Here’s the complete list (pardon the load time, it’s just a continuous, single page).

Allan Pease, Body language: the power is in the palm of your hands

  • in handshakes, whose hand is on top is usually dominating; to maximize appeal, go in at complete vertical and match pressure of other person
  • in a study where a speaker gave the same instructions to 3 different audiences:
    • palms up — highest retention and cooperation
    • palms down — medium
    • finger pointing — lowest
  • forming a bridge (touch your fingertips together) gives you confidence and poise

* * * * *

Christopher McDougall: Are we born to run?

  • Tarahumara — famous running tribe
  • unchanged for last 400 years
    • when the Spanish came, they hid in canyons (instead of being decimated like Aztecs and Incans)
    • they’re completely free of modern illness
  • arguably humans are DESIGNED for long-distance running, evidence:
    • women sprinters are much slower than male counterparts; gap MUCH smaller in long-distance, in ultra marathons top women are almost equal
    • also rare in long-distance running: 60-yos as fast as, if not faster than, 18-yos
    • humans are “hunting pack animal” – need women, elders to run long-distances too (so they’re not left behind)
    • we sweat really well, can run far on a hot day
    • our bodies are perfect for long distance running (long torso, short bipedal legs, head that can rotate side to side while running to watch for predators, obstacles)

* * * * *

Here’s the complete list of TED notes

TED notes: how sleep removes waste, and “a republic, if you can keep it”

Jeff Iliff: One more reason to get a good night’s sleep

  • why is sleep so restorative?
  • sleep is an elegant design for the brain’s waste removal
    • the circulatory system provides nutrients to every body cell
    • every cell creates waste; the lymphatic system removes this but there are no lymphatic cells in the brain
    • how does the brain clear its waste?
    • brain has cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) which removes waste
    • CSF moves along brain blood vessels
    • this only happens when sleeping
    • when the brain sleeps, brain cells shrink, which makes room for CSF to rush through brain and remove waste!
    • when awake, brain is busy, puts off waste removal process until sleep
  • what kinds of waste?
    • amyloid beta (AB) — Alzheimer’s is the accumulation of AB, but this doesn’t prove a lack of sleep is the cause
  • sleep literally “refreshes” the mind!

* * * * *

Lawrence Lessig: We the People, and the Republic we must reclaim

  • USA is an imaginary Lesterland — there’s a general election and a money (the Lester) election
    • in Lesterland only the funders get to vote
  • 0.26% gave $200 or more, 0.05% gave maximum <— the tiniest slice of 1%
  • 132 Americans gave 60% of all Super PAC $$$
  • Congress spends 30-70% of time raising money
    • they develop a “sixth sense” of what those funders want
    • not popular issues 1-10, but 11 to 1000
  • funders don’t do it for public but for PRIVATE interest
  • Republicans might want small government, but for example if they de-regulated Telecoms, response was (after Al Gore proposal): “if we de-regulate them, how in the hell are we going to raise money from them?”
  • an “economy of influence”, feeds on polarization
  • Henry David Thoreau: “there are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one striking at the root”
  • solution: single statute, for a citizen-funded election
    • more funders, smaller amounts, less time spent on fundraising
    • this would shrink K Street
    • political staffers, bureaucrats are a “farm league” for K Street
  • Ben Franklin: “A Republic, if you can keep it”

Here’s a growing list of TED notes (the page can take a few seconds to load).