Learn · TED

Talk5 min

Why is lead so dangerous to humans?

Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner · TED

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About

Lead is a metallic element that’s distributed across Earth’s crust. When it enters the human body, it can disrupt many critical processes that span various systems, producing a diverse set of symptoms. So, just how bad is lead for human health? And if it’s really that dangerous, how did it get into so many products? Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner dig into the lethal history of lead. [Directed by Tim Rauch, narrated by Christina Greer, music by Salil Bhayani, cAMP Studio].

The talk

  1. Why is lead so dangerous to humans? 5 min · TED's player

Credits and licence

Institution
TED
Department
TED-Ed
Speaker
Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner
Year
2025
Level
For everyone
Language
English
Subjects
Biology, Medicine and health, History, Teaching and learning
Source
TED
Licence
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, as TED states it. Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions. TED's terms
Attribution
TED Talks are licensed by TED under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International and are shown here in TED's own player, as TED's usage policy asks.
Who can watch
TED gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Teens profiles and older, judged from what the source says about it. How courses are placed