Connect with us

Science & Technology

The Food That Fertilizes Itself | Giles E.D. Oldroyd | TED

Could the key to a sustainable food system already be growing in the world’s farms? Plant scientist Giles E.D. Oldroyd explores how a special quirk of soybean plants allows them to naturally partner with networks of fungi and bacteria to access essential nutrients in the air and soil — eliminating the need for synthetic fertilizers.…

Published

on

Could the key to a sustainable food system already be growing in the world’s farms? Plant scientist Giles E.D. Oldroyd explores how a special quirk of soybean plants allows them to naturally partner with networks of fungi and bacteria to access essential nutrients in the air and soil — eliminating the need for synthetic fertilizers. He shows how harnessing these microscopic powerhouses could help scientists rewire crops to make their own fertilizer, reducing pollution, increasing yields and improving livelihoods for smallholder farmers. (Recorded at TED Countdown Dilemma Series: Food on June 6, 2024)

If you love watching TED Talks like this one, become a TED Member to support our mission of spreading ideas:

Follow TED!
X:
Instagram:
Facebook:
LinkedIn:
TikTok:

The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world’s leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

Watch more:

TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at

#TED #TEDTalks #food

Continue Reading
Advertisement
27 Comments

27 Comments

  1. @Sant_ci

    March 10, 2025 at 7:02 am

    Am I the first person

  2. @happymaker3

    March 10, 2025 at 7:08 am

    Am I second

  3. @okeogbonna1378

    March 10, 2025 at 7:08 am

    I’m d 2nd person and 1st.❤

  4. @preethijose1466

    March 10, 2025 at 7:11 am

    I am whatever comes after you guys !

  5. @sooma-ai

    March 10, 2025 at 7:11 am

    Plant scientist Giles Oldroyd explores how soybean plants naturally partner with fungi and bacteria to access nutrients, eliminating the need for synthetic fertilizers. He discusses efforts to transfer this ability to cereal crops, potentially revolutionizing sustainable agriculture.

  6. @thilinihewadewage

    March 10, 2025 at 7:11 am

    2nd 👋

  7. @lelyanra

    March 10, 2025 at 7:12 am

    For me it is amazing how simple knowledge from one country can become a TED talk in another. Any legume can and IS used for the purpose this dude is talking with the right adjustments, and it has been used extensively in multiple countries of latin america.

    • @MikeHodge9000

      March 11, 2025 at 2:18 am

      You didn’t watch the whole video? He’s talking about developing nitrogen fixing cereals, which has never been done.

    • @JimJonesBeverageCo

      March 11, 2025 at 8:15 pm

      He’s talking about the coregulation of genes that results in the phenotype that legumes have and how it isn’t actually a novel biological process. That means that through genomic manipulation, we can make cereal crops and other crops be able to have the same association with bacteria that legumes have. It could even mean in some cases that it could be as easy as manipulating the placement of the genes, promoters/manipulating expression levels, or even just epigenetic manipulation.

  8. @SamsonFernendez

    March 10, 2025 at 7:29 am

    Yes, ALL PROTEINS ORIGINATE FROM PLANTS THOUGH BACTERIA.

  9. @CoRoTEzzz

    March 10, 2025 at 7:36 am

    if you are intrested in this subject, search for “Embrapa Brasil”…this tecnology is older then you can imagine in Brasil. There are several articles about this, from several institutioons. Congratulations for this video

  10. @Snotkoglen

    March 10, 2025 at 9:07 am

    Nice research. Will be very useful on the Moon and Mars. Now we need to solve the excessive use of animal based fertilizers. We cant all live on tofu alone, you know.

    • @Bythirteen

      March 10, 2025 at 11:21 pm

      ah, but we CAN all live completely without meat consumption…. ::shrug::

  11. @jodi2820

    March 10, 2025 at 9:50 am

    Thank you,great info😊

  12. @ronkirk5099

    March 10, 2025 at 10:41 am

    Fun fact: In the industrial agriculture practiced around the world, and particularly in western countries, nearly half of the Nitrogen fertilizer applied to fields is not taken up by plants and ends up polluting surface and ground water. Increasing the number of food/fiber plant species that fix their own Nitrogen and most of the Phosphorus would go a long way toward eliminating the pollution problem.

  13. @Debbie-henri

    March 10, 2025 at 12:01 pm

    Maybe it’s not do much the grnes that are present/switched on that allow the bacteria to interact with legumes, but those genes that are misding/switched off that ‘allow’ the bacteria to ‘invade’ these nodules.

  14. @paulsoutham2454

    March 10, 2025 at 12:03 pm

    So he’s advocating GMO of crops to add nitrogen nodules? But with a lot of waffle to hide the GMO aspect. No thanks! Just inter-crop legumes with other plants using regenerative agriculture! No GMO required!

    • @JimJonesBeverageCo

      March 11, 2025 at 8:18 pm

      Technically, this would not be GMO. That’s the whole point of the finding.

  15. @LineageCider

    March 10, 2025 at 1:37 pm

    @kisorganics

  16. @RumanYt-5

    March 10, 2025 at 5:37 pm

    Which country is this from?

  17. @littleresearch6664

    March 10, 2025 at 8:34 pm

    Congratulations, Prof.! You are indeed a hope for a sustainable future and a lot of headaches for fertilizer companies!

  18. @Picci25021973

    March 11, 2025 at 6:43 am

    Ancient cultures did it for centuries. China and India farm this way since 40 centuries ago without exhausting the soil. We, western supertechnological farmers, have thrown away this millenial wisdom to embrace oil based fertilizer and agriculture. In less than 70 yeasr we have devastated our soils, watersheds and atmosphere. Time to go back to school: more biology and less technology!

  19. @varunbaker

    March 11, 2025 at 10:37 am

    Why not just plant the legumes alongside the grain crops? Why is it necessary to try to replicate this phenomenon in the grain crops if what is important is the soil?

    • @philiptaylor7902

      March 11, 2025 at 11:58 am

      Exactly, it’s called crop rotation (alternate three or four crops, including a legume like beans or clover). It’s been common agricultural practice for centuries.

    • @JimJonesBeverageCo

      March 11, 2025 at 8:22 pm

      The association is inside the roots, not the soil. To get the levels of fertilizer for all crops at the level we need to reach to stop world hunger once and for all, we need to manipulate the genomes of plants. Lucky for us, this proves that the biological process isn’t novel and we can just easily modify existing genomes of plants, bypassing the need to create GMOs, and can have all crops habs the same root association. The phenotype of root nodules is very important in this case. That is where the association of the mycorrhiza and bacteria actually happen. The bacteria make that gall shape via secretions.

  20. @philiptaylor7902

    March 11, 2025 at 11:59 am

    Farmers have known this for centuries. It’s called Crop Rotation.

  21. @fritagonia

    March 11, 2025 at 1:51 pm

    Microbial evolution, wow sounds amazing.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Science & Technology

Why Artisan still ‘loves hiring humans’ despite ‘Stop Hiring Humans’ billboards l Build Mode

Surviving the early days as an AI startup isn’t just about making the technology work, it’s about hiring the right people, avoiding costly mistakes, and standing out in a crowded market. This week on Build Mode, Isabelle Johannessen sits down with Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, founder and CEO of Artisan, a fast-growing AI startup building AI employees…

Published

on

Surviving the early days as an AI startup isn’t just about making the technology work, it’s about hiring the right people, avoiding costly mistakes, and standing out in a crowded market.

This week on Build Mode, Isabelle Johannessen sits down with Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, founder and CEO of Artisan, a fast-growing AI startup building AI employees for sales. Best known for its viral “Stop Hiring Humans” campaign, Artisan is rethinking outbound sales with AI, while still betting on hiring exceptional human talent.

In this episode, they break down what it really takes to build and scale a venture-backed AI company, from Y Combinator to rapid growth.

This conversation covers:
→ Startup hiring mistakes every founder should avoid
→ Lessons on firing, team building, and company culture in early-stage startups
→ The strategy behind bold, controversial marketing that drives growth
→ How AI is transforming sales, hiring, and the future of work
→ What founders get wrong about the necessary roles needed for a scaling startup

This conversation gets to the heart of building a startup: making the right hires early or paying for it later.

Apply to Startup Battlefield: We are looking for early-stage companies that have an MVP. So nominate a founder (or yourself): techcrunch.com/apply. Be sure to say you heard about Startup Battlefield from the Build Mode podcast.
TechCrunch Disrupt: If you’re thinking about applying to Startup Battlefield, then October 13 to 15 in San Francisco, we’re back for TechCrunch Disrupt, where the Startup Battlefield 200 takes the stage. So if you want to cheer them on, or just network with 1000s of founders, VCs, and tech enthusiasts, then grab your tickets.
Use code buildmode15 for 15% off any ticket type.

Chapters:
00:00 — “Stop Hiring Humans?” The Reality Behind the Campaign
01:33 — What Artisan Actually Does (AI Employees Explained)
02:38 — Early Growth: From Idea to Massive Market Pull
04:27 — Bold Marketing: Why Controversy Drove Growth
06:49 — 100 Hires, 40 Left: Brutal Hiring Lessons
07:26 — Startup Hiring Mistakes to Avoid (Logo Shopping, Overhiring)
10:25 — When to Fire: The Hardest Founder Decision
22:59 — Why Overhiring Slows Growth (And What to Do Instead)

New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday. Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.

Continue Reading

CNET

Everything Announced at Google Cloud Next in Under 13 Minutes

Catch the top moments from the Google Cloud Next keynote presentation, featuring CEO Thomas Kurian on AI breakthroughs, along with key announcements and real-world applications. Read more about Google Cloud Next on CNET.com Google Cloud Pushes Hard on AI Agents and Hardcore Computing 0:00 Introduction to Gemini Enterprise & The Agentic Era 1:42 AI Video…

Published

on

Catch the top moments from the Google Cloud Next keynote presentation, featuring CEO Thomas Kurian on AI breakthroughs, along with key announcements and real-world applications.

Read more about Google Cloud Next on CNET.com
Google Cloud Pushes Hard on AI Agents and Hardcore Computing

0:00 Introduction to Gemini Enterprise & The Agentic Era
1:42 AI Video Analysis & 3D Pose Tracking
2:44 8th Generation TPUs Announcement
3:59 Google Cloud Axion ARM CPUs
4:29 Nvidia GPU Offerings
4:46 Agentic Workflows & Hidden Data Extraction
6:27 AI Security Graph Integration with Wiz
7:58 YouTube TV AI Voice Agent Demonstration
9:26 Google Workspace Intelligence & Ask Gemini
11:42 Open AI Ecosystem & Partner Network

Add CNET as a trusted news source
Never miss a deal again! See CNET’s browser extension 👉
Check out CNET’s Amazon Storefront:
Subscribe to CNET on YouTube:
Follow us on TikTok:
Follow us on Instagram:
Follow us on Bluesky:
Like us on Facebook:
CNET’s AI Atlas:
Follow us on X:
Visit CNET.com:

#googlecloud #gemini #googlecloudnext #artificialintelligence #enterpriseai #technews #cloudcomputing

Continue Reading

CNET

Apple Without Tim Cook at the Helm: What Comes Next?

Apple announces CEO Tim Cook is stepping down, with John Ternus taking over in September. CNET editors discuss what it means for the future of the iPhone maker and how it can shape the next era of Apple. Read more about Tim Cook’s move on CNET.com Apple CEO Tim Cook Steps Down, John Ternus Replaces…

Published

on

Apple announces CEO Tim Cook is stepping down, with John Ternus taking over in September. CNET editors discuss what it means for the future of the iPhone maker and how it can shape the next era of Apple.

Read more about Tim Cook’s move on CNET.com
Apple CEO Tim Cook Steps Down, John Ternus Replaces Him

0:00 Tim Cook steps down as Apple CEO
0:04 John Ternus to be Apple’s next CEO
0:14 CNET editors discuss Tim Cook moving on from Apple CEO role
0:31 When does Tim Cook step down as Apple CEO?
0:44 When will John Ternus become Apple CEO?
0:54 Tim Cook’s legacy as Apple CEO
1:14 Products and services of the Tim Cook Apple era
1:36 Apple gets political under Tim Cook
1:47 Apple and LGBTQ+ pride
1:58 Tim Cook is proud to be gay in 2014
2:16 Tim Cook gives Trump a gold statue
2:28 Tim Cook will contiinue to work with politicians for Apple
2:56 What change could come to Apple with new CEO?
3:00 Vision Pro and rumored Apple smart glasses
3:28 How will the new Apple CEO deal with AI?
3:40 Common chip set makes Apple products morph
3:59 Rumors of Apple folding iPhone
4:24 Tim Cook’s last WWDC as Apple CEO
4:32 Apple’s new Siri
4:34 Why Siri matters for Tim Cook
5:06 How will AI impact new Apple hardware under new CEO John Ternus
5:16 What Apple has figured out about folding phones
5:44 CNET editors share hopes for Apple Ternus era
5:48 AI assistants and Apple robots
6:03 John Ternus should make iPhones evolve
6:09 What Apple can learn from Chinese phone makers
6:25 Honor Robot Phone at Mobile World Congress
6:36 The reason iPhones are popular
6:45 Patrick Holland’s hopes for Apple’s new CEO John Ternus
7:08 Why Scott Stein is excited for John Ternus to become Apple’s next CEO
7:15 AI and Apple
7:30 Why Apple should make the products we already own do more
7:48 How Apple can transform the smart glasses landscape
8:12 A future wave of services and products from Apple
8:20 Tim Cook’s final WWDC before becoming Executive Chairman of the Board of Apple
8:29 Tim Cook replaces Art Levinson
8:38 Tim Cook’s legacy with health tech
8:51 A new era begins for Apple

Add CNET as a trusted news source
Never miss a deal again! See CNET’s browser extension 👉
Check out CNET’s Amazon Storefront:
Subscribe to CNET on YouTube:
Follow us on TikTok:
Follow us on Instagram:
Follow us on Bluesky:
Like us on Facebook:
CNET’s AI Atlas:
Follow us on X:
Visit CNET.com:

#apple #timcook #appleceo #ceo #applenews

Continue Reading

Trending