Looking to make yourself smarter this week? We have compiled a list of 11 thought provoking TED talks on science with topics ranging across Dark Matter, Aliens, Dreams and Artifical Intelligence.

Dark Matter – What We’re Really Made Of | Michelle Thaller

Assistant director for science communication and higher education, NASA Sciences and Exploration Directorate, and specialist in the lifecycles of stars, Michelle Thaller explores dark matter and what we are really made of.

Questions No One Knows the Answers to | Chris Anderson

In this TED-Ed series, TED Curator Chris Anderson shares his boyhood obsession with quirky questions that seem to have no answers.

Your kids might live on Mars. Here’s how they’ll survive | Stephen Petranek

It sounds like science fiction, but journalist Stephen Petranek considers it fact: within 20 years, humans will live on Mars. In this provocative talk, Petranek makes the case that humans will become a spacefaring species and describes in fascinating detail how we’ll make Mars our next home. “Humans will survive no matter what happens on Earth,” Petranek says. “We will never be the last of our kind.”

Understanding Artificial Intelligence and Its Future | Neil Nie 

Neil Nie demonstrates how artificial intelligence–and particularly, object recognition–works and how it will effect the future.

“Learning to Code is Not Just for Coders” | Ali Partovi

Co-founder of Code.org Ali Partovi says “Every child in America deserves access to Computer Science.” and explores why learning to code benefits everyone, in concurrent with the Steve Jobs quote “Computer Science is a liberal art”.

Computer science is for everyone | Hadi Partovi

This persuasive talk shows how essential and easy it is to gain a basic understanding of computer science learning principles. Our world increasingly driven by technology and software, so we all need to know the creative, problem-solving power of computer science. This is especially important to students who will lead the way in our shared future.

When science meets art | Fabian Oefner

Fabian Oefner is a talented photographer based in Switzerland whose work marries visual aesthetics and science. He works from his photo studio on assignments for various industries and releases free projects. Most of his work has to do with bringing science and art together. He often uses natural phenomena that appear in our daily lives, being its sound waves, or iridescence, responsible for the stunning colours in soap bubbles. The main aim of his work is to show these phenomena in previously unseen and poetic ways, encouraging viewers to pause for a moment and appreciate the magic that constantly surrounds us.

Quantum Physics for 7 Year Olds |Dominic Walliman

In this lighthearted talk Dominic Walliman gives us four guiding principles for easy science communication and unravels the myth that quantum physics is difficult to understand, it’s all in how it’s explained.

Why do we dream? | Amy Adkins

In the 3rd millennium BCE, Mesopotamian kings recorded and interpreted their dreams on wax tablets. In the years since, we haven’t paused in our quest to understand why we dream. And while we still don’t have any definitive answers, we have some theories. Amy Adkins reveals the top seven reasons why we might dream.

Why is our universe fine-tuned for life? | Brian Greene

At the heart of modern cosmology is a mystery: Why does our universe appear so exquisitely tuned to create the conditions necessary for life? In this tour de force tour of some of science’s biggest new discoveries, Brian Greene shows how the mind-boggling idea of a multiverse may hold the answer to the riddle.

Where are all the aliens? | Stephen Webb

The universe is incredibly old, astoundingly vast and populated by trillions of planets — so where are all the aliens? Astronomer Stephen Webb has an explanation: we’re alone in the universe. In a mind-expanding talk, he spells out the remarkable barriers a planet would need to clear in order to host an extraterrestrial civilization — and makes a case for the beauty of our potential cosmic loneliness. “The silence of the universe is shouting, ‘We’re the creatures who got lucky,'” Webb says

Did you like our list of 11 Ted Talks on science topics? What are some other science videos you would recommend to watch?

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Extra reading: check out our posts on 12 popular science myths debunked and our blog on 11 best science fiction books for kids.