How Digital DNA could help you make better health choices

At iCarbonX, Jun Wang aims to establish a big data platform for health management.

What if you could know exactly how food or medication would impact your health -- before you put it in your body? Genomics researcher Jun Wang is working to develop digital doppelgangers for real people; they start with genetic code, but they'll also factor in other kinds of data as well, from food intake to sleep to data collected by a "smart toilet." With all of this valuable information, Wang hopes to create an engine that will change the way we think about health, both on an individual level and as a collective.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference, and was featured by our editors on the home page.

What is TED

TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world.

TED is a global community, welcoming people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world. We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world. On TED.com, we're building a clearinghouse of free knowledge from the world's most inspired thinkers — and a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other, both online and at TED and TEDx events around the world, all year long.

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History of TED

How did a one-off conference about technology, entertainment and design become a viral video phenomenon and a worldwide community of passionate people?

TED was born in 1984 out of Richard Saul Wurman's observation of a powerful convergence among three fields: technology, entertainment and design. The first TED, which he co-founded with Harry Marks, included a demo of the compact disc, the e-book and cutting-edge 3D graphics from Lucasfilm, while mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot demonstrated how to map coastlines using his developing theory of fractal geometry.

But despite a stellar lineup, the event lost money, and it was six years before Wurman and Marks tried again. This time, in 1990, the world was ready. The TED Conference became an annual event in Monterey, California, attracting a growing and influential audience from many different disciplines united by their curiosity and open-mindedness -- and also by their shared discovery of an exciting secret.

Success of TED

In the fall of 2012, TED Talks celebrated its one billionth video view. As TED Talks continue to be watched around the world, with an average of 17 new page views a second, TED conferences and events continue to inspire, motivate and thrill attendees. In 2014, the annual TED Conference celebrated its 30th anniversary in Vancouver, Canada. The theme of this milestone conference: "The Next Chapter," both a reflection on developments of the past 30 years as well as a look at what's ahead.

Source : https://www.ted.com/talks/jun_wang_how_digital_dna_could_help_you_make_better_health_choices