# The tiny balls of fat that could revolutionize medicine

- Institution: TED
- Department: TEDMonterey
- Speaker: Kathryn A. Whitehead
- Year: 2021
- Level: For everyone
- Language: English
- Subjects: Medicine and health
- Source: [TED](https://www.ted.com/talks/kathryn_a_whitehead_the_tiny_balls_of_fat_that_could_revolutionize_medicine)
- Licence: [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) (Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions.)
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (sources give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the source's own words)

What if you were holding life-saving medicine ... but had no way to administer it? Zoom down to the nano level with engineer Kathryn A. Whitehead as she gives a breakdown of the little fatty balls (called lipid nanoparticles) perfectly designed to ferry cutting-edge medicines into your body's cells. Learn how her work is already powering mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines and forging the path for future therapies that could treat Ebola, HIV and even cancer.

## Lectures

1. [The tiny balls of fat that could revolutionize medicine](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/ted/kathryn_a_whitehead_the_tiny_balls_of_fat_that_could_revolutionize_medicine/5eb876fa3aff), 13 min (TED's player)