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Who are you? That question has become ever more complicated over the last decade of scientific discovery. Our genomes show signs of ancestry from Neanderthals and other extinct hominins, not to mention the genetic fossils of ancient viruses. Our bodies are home to trillions of bacteria and other microbes that sculpt our organs, train our immune systems, digest our food, and influence our minds. Our brains are made up of about 80 billion neurons in 100 trillion connections. Scientists are mapping the brain in molecular detail, but their maps are raising more questions than answers. Join science writers Carl Zimmer and Ed Yong as they chat about what it even means to be an individual in the era of modern biology, while trying not to have an existential crisis on stage.
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Health
Soon, we may be able to visualize any biological process in the human body, at any scale, in real time. Here’s what it will take to get there. Presented by Chan Zuckerberg Ini...
Katie Keith is director of the Health Policy and the Law Initiative at Georgetown University Law Center, where she is adjunct professor of law. Keith’s analysis focuses on way...
Watch select daily livestreams and join the virtual #AspenIdeasHealth conversation from June 22-25!
Neurologist Anjan Chatterjee explains why humans evolved to enjoy beauty, how sociocultural contexts shape our aesthetic preferences, and the "beauty is good" stereotype.
Race, ethnicity, age, sex, environment, and other social determinants of health can all impact how different people respond to the same medicine or vaccine. This is why divers...
"My organization in Tulsa is making pregnancy tests, emergency contraception, and condoms available, but these solutions need to be scaled and distributed more broadly." Laura...
"As long as my existence as a Black physician is noteworthy, communities of underrepresented minorities’ health will suffer." Jabraan Pasha, a 2022 Aspen Healthy Communities F...
Meet Lea Masamo, a 2022 Aspen Ideas: Health Fellow who's building a movement of people living with sickle cell disease to advocate for programs and policies needed to improve...
Meet Kistein Monkhouse, a 2022 Aspen Ideas: Health Fellow who's bridging gaps in patient/provider communication with a storytelling app that empowers people to own the narrati...
Meet Neale Batra, a 2022 Aspen Ideas: Health Fellow who's on a mission make the field of epidemiology more efficient, collaborative, and equitable through open-source software...
Meet Lucy He, a 2022 Aspen Ideas: Health Fellow who's using technology and policy change to address critical delays in patient care caused by the "prior authorization" process...
Can the data collected through smartphones, wearable sensors, and passive monitoring devices be turned into actionable knowledge about the environmental impacts on our health?...
Hospitals and health systems have a critical role to play in turning health equity talk into action. Learn how the field is using strategic investments to drive innovative sol...
From blockchain to back to school and virus-hunting to bridging divides, speakers at the 2021 Aspen Ideas Festival addressed issues in a new kind of world—one touched, and cha...
Did you know that only 7% of the investments made within the $715 billion global impact investing market go toward health? Learn how Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures is leadi...
Two pioneering doctors are saving lives and making surgeries safer with new, innovative approaches. Presented by Mount Sinai Health System
