Imagine, for a moment, living in a world where getting a cut could be life-threatening. That’s exactly what would happen if our antibiotics lose their ability to treat bacterial infections. Learn more about antibiotic resistance in bacteria and what Jim Collins and his team at MIT are doing to identify effective new drugs.

Bacterial infections that are resistant to treatment by our existing antibiotics are a huge threat to human health — and an enormous challenge for medicine. Scientists are exploring one fascinating line of research: compounds modeled after those found in the blood of the fearsome Komodo dragon.

For decades, research into drugs like LSD, MDMA and psilocybin was banned. Now it’s time to shed our old fears and fully investigate their potential for treatments that could benefit people with PTSD, depression, substance abuse, and more, says psychedelics expert Rick Doblin.

Too many of us, too often, think of pain as something that needs to be eliminated, at any cost. But we — doctors, patients, drug makers, and all of us — can be part of a much-needed shift that questions this attitude, says bioethicist Travis Rieder.

What are your drugs trying to tell you? | ideas.ted.com

The label on the back of your medical pill box is important — and incomprehensible. Find out what Thomas Goetz, former executive editor at Wired, is doing to help you understand the dangers and common side-effects of your drugs.