ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Uri Alon - Systems biologist
Uri Alon studies how cells work, using an array of tools (including improv theater) to understand the biological circuits that perform the functions of life.

Why you should listen

First trained as a physicist, Uri Alon found a passion for biological systems. At the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, he and his lab investigate the protein circuits within a cell (they focus on E. coli), looking for basic interaction patterns that recur throughout biological networks. It's a field full of cross-disciplinary thinking habits and interesting problems. And in fact, Alon is the author of a classic paper on lab behavior called "How to Choose a Good Scientiﬁc Problem," which takes a step back from the rush to get grants and publish papers to ask: How can a good lab foster growth and self-motivated research?

In Alon's lab, students use tools from physics, neurobiology and computer science -- and concepts from improv theatre -- to study basic principles of interactions. Using a theater practice called the "mirror game," they showed that two people can create complex novel motion together without a designated leader or follower. He also works on an addicting site called BioNumbers -- all the measurements you need to know about biology. The characteristic heart rate of a pond mussel? Why it's 4-6 beats per minute.

More profile about the speaker
Uri Alon | Speaker | TED.com

TEDGlobal 2013

Uri Alon: Why science demands a leap into the unknown

Filmed: 2013-06-13

Readability: 4.3

1,123,668 views

While studying for his PhD in physics, Uri Alon thought he was a failure because all his research paths led to dead ends. But, with the help of improv theater, he came to realize that there could be joy in getting lost. A call for scientists to stop thinking of research as a direct line from question to answer, but as something more creative. It's a message that will resonate, no matter what your field.

Uri Alon - Systems biologist
Uri Alon studies how cells work, using an array of tools (including improv theater) to understand the biological circuits that perform the functions of life. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12

In the middle of my Ph.D.,

0

325

2063

00:14

I was hopelessly stuck.

1

2388

3462

00:17

Every research direction that I tried

2

5850

1780

00:19

led to a dead end.

3

7630

1616

00:21

It seemed like my basic assumptions

4

9246

1902

00:23

just stopped working.

5

11148

1928

00:25

I felt like a pilot flying through the mist,

6

13076

2999

00:28

and I lost all sense of direction.

7

16075

2795

00:30

I stopped shaving.

8

18870

1481

00:32

I couldn't get out of bed in the morning.

9

20351

2741

00:35

I felt unworthy

10

23092

1733

00:36

of stepping across the gates of the university,

11

24825

3153

00:39

because I wasn't like Einstein or Newton

12

27978

2148

00:42

or any other scientist whose results

13

30126

2153

00:44

I had learned about, because in science,

14

32279

1531

00:45

we just learn about the results, not the process.

15

33810

3382

00:49

And so obviously, I couldn't be a scientist.

16

37192

4701

00:53

But I had enough support

17

41893

1664

00:55

and I made it through

18

43557

1397

00:56

and discovered something new about nature.

19

44954

2220

00:59

This is an amazing feeling of calmness,

20

47174

2743

01:01

being the only person in the world

21

49917

1332

01:03

who knows a new law of nature.

22

51249

2225

01:05

And I started the second project in my Ph.D,

23

53474

3042

01:08

and it happened again.

24

56516

1364

01:09

I got stuck and I made it through.

25

57880

2289

01:12

And I started thinking,

26

60169

1386

01:13

maybe there's a pattern here.

27

61555

1157

01:14

I asked the other graduate students, and they said,

28

62712

1841

01:16

"Yeah, that's exactly what happened to us,

29

64553

2043

01:18

except nobody told us about it."

30

66596

2349

01:20

We'd all studied science as if it's a series

31

68945

1950

01:22

of logical steps between question and answer,

32

70895

3576

01:26

but doing research is nothing like that.

33

74471

2746

01:29

At the same time, I was also studying

34

77217

2334

01:31

to be an improvisation theater actor.

35

79551

2087

01:33

So physics by day,

36

81638

1434

01:35

and by night, laughing, jumping, singing,

37

83072

2018

01:37

playing my guitar.

38

85090

1312

01:38

Improvisation theater,

39

86402

1479

01:39

just like science, goes into the unknown,

40

87881

3009

01:42

because you have to make a scene onstage

41

90890

1412

01:44

without a director, without a script,

42

92302

1703

01:46

without having any idea what you'll portray

43

94005

2278

01:48

or what the other characters will do.

44

96283

2406

01:50

But unlike science,

45

98689

1849

01:52

in improvisation theater, they tell you from day one

46

100538

3023

01:55

what's going to happen to
you when you get onstage.

47

103561

2215

01:57

You're going to fail miserably.

48

105776

2772

02:00

You're going to get stuck.

49

108548

1177

02:01

And we would practice staying creative

50

109725

2118

02:03

inside that stuck place.

51

111843

1203

02:05

For example, we had an exercise

52

113046

1905

02:06

where we all stood in a circle,

53

114951

1142

02:08

and each person had to do
the world's worst tap dance,

54

116093

2965

02:11

and everybody else applauded

55

119058

1586

02:12

and cheered you on,

56

120644

1242

02:13

supporting you onstage.

57

121886

2763

02:16

When I became a professor

58

124649

1908

02:18

and had to guide my own students

59

126557

1381

02:19

through their research projects,

60

127938

1973

02:21

I realized again,

61

129911

1367

02:23

I don't know what to do.

62

131278

1712

02:24

I'd studied thousands of hours of physics,

63

132990

1994

02:26

biology, chemistry,

64

134984

1614

02:28

but not one hour, not one concept

65

136598

2372

02:30

on how to mentor, how to guide someone

66

138970

2586

02:33

to go together into the unknown,

67

141556

1737

02:35

about motivation.

68

143293

1921

02:37

So I turned to improvisation theater,

69

145214

1930

02:39

and I told my students from day one

70

147144

2173

02:41

what's going to happen when you start research,

71

149317

2901

02:44

and this has to do with our mental schema

72

152218

1726

02:45

of what research will be like.

73

153944

2012

02:47

Because you see, whenever people do anything,

74

155956

2278

02:50

for example if I want to touch this blackboard,

75

158234

2642

02:52

my brain first builds up a schema,

76

160876

1660

02:54

a prediction of exactly what my muscles will do

77

162536

1859

02:56

before I even start moving my hand,

78

164395

2156

02:58

and if I get blocked,

79

166551

1848

03:00

if my schema doesn't match reality,

80

168399

1875

03:02

that causes extra stress called cognitive dissonance.

81

170274

2284

03:04

That's why your schemas had better match reality.

82

172558

2909

03:07

But if you believe the way science is taught,

83

175467

3155

03:10

and if you believe textbooks, you're liable

84

178622

1897

03:12

to have the following schema of research.

85

180519

6294

03:18

If A is the question,

86

186813

3318

03:22

and B is the answer,

87

190131

3400

03:25

then research is a direct path.

88

193531

4593

03:30

The problem is that if an experiment doesn't work,

89

198127

3115

03:33

or a student gets depressed,

90

201242

3662

03:36

it's perceived as something utterly wrong

91

204904

2086

03:38

and causes tremendous stress.

92

206990

3030

03:42

And that's why I teach my students

93

210020

1783

03:43

a more realistic schema.

94

211803

3862

03:50

Here's an example

95

218860

1524

03:52

where things don't match your schema.

96

220384

3136

03:58

(Laughter)

97

226379

3262

04:01

(Applause)

98

229641

3199

04:13

So I teach my students a different schema.

99

241564

3446

04:17

If A is the question,

100

245010

2194

04:19

B is the answer,

101

247204

2181

04:25

stay creative in the cloud,

102

253320

1535

04:26

and you start going,

103

254855

1975

04:28

and experiments don't work, experiments don't work,

104

256830

2363

04:31

experiments don't work, experiments don't work,

105

259193

2535

04:33

until you reach a place linked
with negative emotions

106

261728

2676

04:36

where it seems like your basic assumptions

107

264404

2278

04:38

have stopped making sense,

108

266682

1116

04:39

like somebody yanked the carpet beneath your feet.

109

267798

3055

04:42

And I call this place the cloud.

110

270853

3328

04:59

Now you can be lost in the cloud

111

287685

2678

05:02

for a day, a week, a month, a year,

112

290363

2508

05:04

a whole career,

113

292871

1498

05:06

but sometimes, if you're lucky enough

114

294369

2162

05:08

and you have enough support,

115

296531

1856

05:10

you can see in the materials at hand,

116

298387

1990

05:12

or perhaps meditating on the shape of the cloud,

117

300377

3248

05:15

a new answer,

118

303625

2002

05:19

C, and you decide to go for it.

119

307285

3684

05:22

And experiments don't work, experiments don't work,

120

310969

2369

05:25

but you get there,

121

313338

1469

05:26

and then you tell everyone about it

122

314807

1220

05:28

by publishing a paper that reads A arrow C,

123

316027

3502

05:31

which is a great way to communicate,

124

319529

1959

05:33

but as long as you don't forget the path

125

321488

2344

05:35

that brought you there.

126

323832

1799

05:37

Now this cloud is an inherent part

127

325631

1975

05:39

of research, an inherent part of our craft,

128

327606

2604

05:42

because the cloud stands guard at the boundary.

129

330210

3210

05:49

It stands guard at the boundary

130

337721

2269

05:51

between the known

131

339990

2972

05:57

and the unknown,

132

345795

3604

06:05

because in order to discover something truly new,

133

353110

2275

06:07

at least one of your basic
assumptions has to change,

134

355385

3577

06:10

and that means that in science,

135

358962

1254

06:12

we do something quite heroic.

136

360216

1962

06:14

Every day, we try to bring ourselves

137

362178

1821

06:15

to the boundary between
the known and the unknown

138

363999

1812

06:17

and face the cloud.

139

365811

1821

06:19

Now notice that I put B

140

367632

1705

06:21

in the land of the known,

141

369337

743

06:22

because we knew about it in the beginning,

142

370080

1811

06:23

but C is always more interesting

143

371891

3649

06:27

and more important than B.

144

375540

2723

06:30

So B is essential in order to get going,

145

378263

2193

06:32

but C is much more profound,

146

380456

1818

06:34

and that's the amazing thing about resesarch.

147

382274

4497

06:38

Now just knowing that word, the cloud,

148

386771

2188

06:40

has been transformational in my research group,

149

388959

2555

06:43

because students come to me and say,

150

391514

1870

06:45

"Uri, I'm in the cloud,"

151

393384

1598

06:46

and I say, "Great, you must be feeling miserable."

152

394982

3166

06:50

(Laughter)

153

398148

2142

06:52

But I'm kind of happy,

154

400290

1913

06:54

because we might be close to the boundary

155

402203

1678

06:55

between the known and the unknown,

156

403881

1896

06:57

and we stand a chance of discovering

157

405777

1546

06:59

something truly new,

158

407323

1861

07:01

since the way our mind works,

159

409184

1342

07:02

it's just knowing that the cloud

160

410526

3148

07:05

is normal, it's essential,

161

413674

4426

07:10

and in fact beautiful,

162

418100

1205

07:11

we can join the Cloud Appreciation Society,

163

419305

3623

07:14

and it detoxifies the feeling that something

164

422928

1918

07:16

is deeply wrong with me.

165

424846

2562

07:19

And as a mentor, I know what to do,

166

427408

2450

07:21

which is to step up my support for the student,

167

429858

2202

07:24

because research in psychology shows

168

432060

1481

07:25

that if you're feeling fear and despair,

169

433541

3559

07:29

your mind narrows down

170

437100

997

07:30

to very safe and conservative ways of thinking.

171

438097

2831

07:32

If you'd like to explore the risky paths

172

440928

1575

07:34

needed to get out of the cloud,

173

442503

1388

07:35

you need other emotions --

174

443891

1761

07:37

solidarity, support, hope —

175

445652

2201

07:39

that come with your connection from somebody else,

176

447853

1737

07:41

so like in improvisation theater,

177

449590

1550

07:43

in science, it's best to walk into the unknown

178

451140

2301

07:45

together.

179

453441

1969

07:47

So knowing about the cloud,

180

455410

2442

07:49

you also learn from improvisation theater

181

457852

3324

07:53

a very effective way to have conversations

182

461176

2602

07:55

inside the cloud.

183

463778

1760

07:57

It's based on the central principle

184

465538

1977

07:59

of improvisation theater,

185

467515

1767

08:01

so here improvisation theater

186

469282

1093

08:02

came to my help again.

187

470375

1296

08:03

It's called saying "Yes, and"

188

471671

2291

08:05

to the offers made by other actors.

189

473962

3465

08:16

That means accepting the offers

190

484297

2894

08:19

and building on them, saying, "Yes, and."

191

487191

2511

08:21

For example, if one actor says,

192

489702

1239

08:22

"Here is a pool of water,"

193

490941

1155

08:24

and the other actor says,

194

492096

1045

08:25

"No, that's just a stage,"

195

493141

1869

08:27

the improvisation is over.

196

495010

1738

08:28

It's dead, and everybody feels frustrated.

197

496748

3772

08:32

That's called blocking.

198

500520

1348

08:33

If you're not mindful of communications,

199

501868

1607

08:35

scientific conversations can have a lot of blocking.

200

503475

2937

08:38

Saying "Yes, and" sounds like this.

201

506412

2236

08:40

"Here is a pool of water."
"Yeah, let's jump in."

202

508648

2508

08:43

"Look, there's a whale! Let's grab it by its tail.

203

511156

3009

08:46

It's pulling us to the moon!"

204

514165

2101

08:48

So saying "Yes, and" bypasses our inner critic.

205

516266

3020

08:51

We all have an inner critic

206

519286

1694

08:52

that kind of guards what we say,

207

520980

1241

08:54

so people don't think that we're obscene

208

522221

1923

08:56

or crazy or unoriginal,

209

524144

1115

08:57

and science is full of the fear

210

525259

1260

08:58

of appearing unoriginal.

211

526519

1557

09:00

Saying "Yes, and" bypasses the critic

212

528076

2167

09:02

and unlocks hidden voices of creativity

213

530243

2612

09:04

you didn't even know that you had,

214

532855

1525

09:06

and they often carry the answer

215

534380

2030

09:08

about the cloud.

216

536410

2405

09:10

So you see, knowing about the cloud

217

538815

2601

09:13

and about saying "Yes, and"

218

541416

1404

09:14

made my lab very creative.

219

542820

2859

09:17

Students started playing off of each others' ideas,

220

545679

2528

09:20

and we made surprising discoveries

221

548207

2114

09:22

in the interface between physics and biology.

222

550321

2869

09:25

For example, we were stuck for a year

223

553190

2950

09:28

trying to understand the intricate

224

556140

1149

09:29

biochemical networks inside our cells,

225

557289

2693

09:31

and we said, "We are deeply in the cloud,"

226

559982

2457

09:34

and we had a playful conversation

227

562439

1980

09:36

where my student Shai Shen Orr said,

228

564419

1788

09:38

"Let's just draw this on a
piece of paper, this network,"

229

566207

2843

09:41

and instead of saying,

230

569050

1453

09:42

"But we've done that so many times

231

570503

2151

09:44

and it doesn't work,"

232

572654

1034

09:45

I said, "Yes, and

233

573688

2943

09:48

let's use a very big piece of paper,"

234

576631

2041

09:50

and then Ron Milo said,

235

578672

1092

09:51

"Let's use a gigantic architect's

236

579764

2220

09:53

blueprint kind of paper, and I know where to print it,"

237

581984

1796

09:55

and we printed out the network and looked at it,

238

583780

2500

09:58

and that's where we made
our most important discovery,

239

586280

2509

10:00

that this complicated network is just made

240

588789

2201

10:02

of a handful of simple, repeating interaction patterns

241

590990

3463

10:06

like motifs in a stained glass window.

242

594453

3163

10:09

We call them network motifs,

243

597616

2048

10:11

and they're the elementary circuits

244

599664

2152

10:13

that help us understand

245

601816

1385

10:15

the logic of the way cells make decisions

246

603201

2700

10:17

in all organisms, including our body.

247

605901

2849

10:20

Soon enough, after this,

248

608750

1925

10:22

I started being invited to give talks

249

610675

1620

10:24

to thousands of scientists across the world,

250

612295

3011

10:27

but the knowledge about the cloud

251

615306

1833

10:29

and saying "Yes, and"

252

617139

1132

10:30

just stayed within my own lab,

253

618271

1839

10:32

because you see, in science,
we don't talk about the process,

254

620110

2131

10:34

anything subjective or emotional.

255

622241

2433

10:36

We talk about the results.

256

624674

1863

10:38

So there was no way to talk about it in conferences.

257

626537

2069

10:40

That was unthinkable.

258

628606

1924

10:42

And I saw scientists in other groups get stuck

259

630530

2076

10:44

without even having a word to describe

260

632606

1774

10:46

what they're seeing,

261

634380

1321

10:47

and their ways of thinking

262

635701

1355

10:49

narrowed down to very safe paths,

263

637056

1528

10:50

their science didn't reach its full potential,

264

638584

1660

10:52

and they were miserable.

265

640244

1753

10:53

I thought, that's the way it is.

266

641997

1939

10:55

I'll try to make my lab as creative as possible,

267

643936

2021

10:57

and if everybody else does the same,

268

645957

1680

10:59

science will eventually become

269

647637

2190

11:01

more and more better and better.

270

649827

2214

11:04

That way of thinking got turned on its head

271

652041

2920

11:06

when by chance I went to hear Evelyn Fox Keller

272

654961

2339

11:09

give a talk about her experiences

273

657300

1358

11:10

as a woman in science.

274

658658

1691

11:12

And she asked,

275

660349

1823

11:14

"Why is it that we don't talk about the subjective

276

662172

1948

11:16

and emotional aspects of doing science?

277

664120

2186

11:18

It's not by chance. It's a matter of values."

278

666306

3992

11:22

You see, science seeks knowledge

279

670298

2178

11:24

that's objective and rational.

280

672476

1795

11:26

That's the beautiful thing about science.

281

674271

2198

11:28

But we also have a cultural myth

282

676469

1956

11:30

that the doing of science,

283

678425

1254

11:31

what we do every day to get that knowledge,

284

679679

2300

11:33

is also only objective and rational,

285

681979

2440

11:36

like Mr. Spock.

286

684419

2432

11:38

And when you label something

287

686851

1414

11:40

as objective and rational,

288

688265

1813

11:42

automatically, the other side,

289

690078

1642

11:43

the subjective and emotional,

290

691720

1457

11:45

become labeled as non-science

291

693177

2102

11:47

or anti-science or threatening to science,

292

695279

1971

11:49

and we just don't talk about it.

293

697250

1811

11:51

And when I heard that,

294

699061

1954

11:53

that science has a culture,

295

701015

2167

11:55

everything clicked into place for me,

296

703182

1547

11:56

because if science has a culture,

297

704729

1664

11:58

culture can be changed,

298

706393

1256

11:59

and I can be a change agent

299

707649

1593

12:01

working to change the culture
of science wherever I could.

300

709242

2712

12:03

And so the very next lecture I gave in a conference,

301

711954

3069

12:07

I talked about my science,

302

715023

1612

12:08

and then I talked about the importance

303

716635

1512

12:10

of the subjective and emotional
aspects of doing science

304

718147

2182

12:12

and how we should talk about them,

305

720329

1120

12:13

and I looked at the audience,

306

721449

1234

12:14

and they were cold.

307

722683

2360

12:17

They couldn't hear what I was saying

308

725043

3291

12:20

in the context of a 10 back-to-back

309

728334

1251

12:21

PowerPoint presentation conference.

310

729585

1839

12:23

And I tried again and again,
conference after conference,

311

731424

2482

12:25

but I wasn't getting through.

312

733906

2373

12:28

I was in the cloud.

313

736279

2906

12:31

And eventually I managed to get out the cloud

314

739185

3514

12:34

using improvisation and music.

315

742699

2811

12:37

Since then, every conference I go to,

316

745510

2739

12:40

I give a science talk and a second, special talk

317

748249

2862

12:43

called "Love and fear in the lab,"

318

751111

1993

12:45

and I start it off by doing a song

319

753104

2217

12:47

about scientists' greatest fear,

320

755321

2572

12:49

which is that we work hard,

321

757893

2912

12:52

we discover something new,

322

760805

2342

12:55

and somebody else publishes it before we do.

323

763147

3357

12:58

We call it being scooped,

324

766504

2616

13:01

and being scooped feels horrible.

325

769120

3214

13:04

It makes us afraid to talk to each other,

326

772334

2213

13:06

which is no fun,

327

774547

833

13:07

because we came to science to share our ideas

328

775380

2760

13:10

and to learn from each other,

329

778140

1311

13:11

and so I do a blues song,

330

779451

3489

13:17

which — (Applause) —

331

785040

5504

13:22

called "Scooped Again,"

332

790544

3223

13:25

and I ask the audience to be my backup singers,

333

793767

2658

13:28

and I tell them, "Your text is 'Scoop, Scoop.'"

334

796425

3980

13:32

It sounds like this: "Scoop, scoop!"

335

800405

2645

13:35

Sounds like this.

336

803050

963

13:36

♪ I've been scooped again ♪

337

804013

2219

13:38

♪ Scoop! Scoop! ♪

338

806232

1743

13:39

And then we go for it.

339

807975

1278

13:41

♪ I've been scooped again ♪

340

809253

2045

13:43

♪ Scoop! Scoop! ♪

341

811298

1286

13:44

♪ I've been scooped again ♪

342

812584

1895

13:46

♪ Scoop! Scoop! ♪

343

814479

1306

13:47

♪ I've been scooped again ♪

344

815785

1783

13:49

♪ Scoop! Scoop! ♪

345

817568

1639

13:51

♪ I've been scooped again ♪

346

819207

1668

13:52

♪ Scoop! Scoop! ♪

347

820875

1762

13:54

♪ Oh mama, can't you feel my pain ♪

348

822637

3275

13:57

♪ Heavens help me, I've been scooped again ♪

349

825912

3786

14:02

(Applause)

350

830925

6391

14:09

Thank you.

351

837735

1230

14:10

Thank you for your backup singing.

352

838965

1499

14:12

So everybody starts laughing, starts breathing,

353

840464

2084

14:14

notices that there's other scientists around them

354

842548

2012

14:16

with shared issues,

355

844560

1307

14:17

and we start talking about the emotional

356

845867

1805

14:19

and subjective things that go on in research.

357

847672

1850

14:21

It feels like a huge taboo has been lifted.

358

849522

2184

14:23

Finally, we can talk about
this in a scientific conference.

359

851706

2799

14:26

And scientists have gone on to form peer groups

360

854505

2186

14:28

where they meet regularly

361

856691

1610

14:30

and create a space to talk about the emotional

362

858301

1629

14:31

and subjective things that
happen as they're mentoring,

363

859930

2301

14:34

as they're going into the unknown,

364

862231

1363

14:35

and even started courses

365

863594

1570

14:37

about the process of doing science,

366

865164

1675

14:38

about going into the unknown together,

367

866839

1895

14:40

and many other things.

368

868734

1416

14:42

So my vision is that,

369

870150

1334

14:43

just like every scientist knows the word "atom,"

370

871484

3462

14:46

that matter is made out of atoms,

371

874946

1967

14:48

every scientist would know the words

372

876913

1484

14:50

like "the cloud," saying "Yes, and,"

373

878397

2344

14:52

and science will become much more creative,

374

880741

3079

14:55

make many, many more unexpected discoveries

375

883820

3004

14:58

for the benefit of us all,

376

886824

2536

15:01

and would also be much more playful.

377

889360

2216

15:03

And what I might ask you to remember from this talk

378

891576

2590

15:06

is that next time you face

379

894166

2696

15:08

a problem you can't solve

380

896862

1726

15:10

in work or in life,

381

898588

2592

15:13

there's a word for what you're going to see:

382

901180

1876

15:15

the cloud.

383

903056

1177

15:16

And you can go through the cloud

384

904233

1533

15:17

not alone but together

385

905766

1408

15:19

with someone who is your source of support

386

907174

2038

15:21

to say "Yes, and" to your ideas,

387

909212

2048

15:23

to help you say "Yes, and" to your own ideas,

388

911260

2317

15:25

to increase the chance that,

389

913577

1887

15:27

through the wisps of the cloud,

390

915464

1726

15:29

you'll find that moment of calmness

391

917190

1498

15:30

where you get your first glimpse

392

918688

1803

15:32

of your unexpected discovery,

393

920491

3250

15:35

your C.

394

923741

2724

15:38

Thank you.

395

926465

2320

15:40

(Applause)

396

928785

4000

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Uri Alon - Systems biologist
Uri Alon studies how cells work, using an array of tools (including improv theater) to understand the biological circuits that perform the functions of life.

Why you should listen

First trained as a physicist, Uri Alon found a passion for biological systems. At the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, he and his lab investigate the protein circuits within a cell (they focus on E. coli), looking for basic interaction patterns that recur throughout biological networks. It's a field full of cross-disciplinary thinking habits and interesting problems. And in fact, Alon is the author of a classic paper on lab behavior called "How to Choose a Good Scientiﬁc Problem," which takes a step back from the rush to get grants and publish papers to ask: How can a good lab foster growth and self-motivated research?

In Alon's lab, students use tools from physics, neurobiology and computer science -- and concepts from improv theatre -- to study basic principles of interactions. Using a theater practice called the "mirror game," they showed that two people can create complex novel motion together without a designated leader or follower. He also works on an addicting site called BioNumbers -- all the measurements you need to know about biology. The characteristic heart rate of a pond mussel? Why it's 4-6 beats per minute.

More profile about the speaker
Uri Alon | Speaker | TED.com

THE ORIGINAL VIDEO ON TED.COM

Uri Alon: Why science demands a leap into the unknown | TED Talk | TED.com