A machine that builds itself? Adrian Bowyer, leading researcher at the University of Bath, shows us that this seemingly fantastic idea is not far from becoming reality. The self-replicating rapid prototyper, or “RepRap,” could have dramatic effects on people in developing countries.

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Dr. Louann Brizendine, founder of the Women’s Mood and Hormone Clinic and author of the bestselling book, The Female Brain, tells us why the brain is not a unisex organ. She offers compelling insight into how these differences explain distinct emotional and behavioral patterns between genders.

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Toy designer Caleb Chung—famous for creating 1998’s hot toy of the year, “Furby” — provides a playful peak into his wild creative process. He reveals that his recipe for success is to blend the uniquely human qualities of artistry and empathy with the science of technology.

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The cofounder of Kiva.org, the first peer-to-peer microloan website, demonstrates how the Internet can facilitate meaningful, positive connections between lenders and entrepreneurs in the developing world and even help us all become microfinanciers.

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Agricultural impresario Cary Fowler is kind of a latter-day Superman: his mission is to protect life on Earth, and he even operates out of an arctic fortress. While Dr. Fowler can’t fly or leap tall buildings, his work has captured the world’s imagination, and he’s safeguarding mankind’s future with a practical solution: seeds.

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Robert Freling has set his sights on the ambitious goal of providing clean, sustainable solar energy to the world’s two billion people who currently go without. As the executive director of the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF), he works toward his goal with projects that range from powering schools and health clinics to providing access to clean water through solar-powered pumps.

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In a stirring performance, slam poet and visual artist Vanessa German imagines the things she could accomplish if her hands were two shooting stars or a raucous jazz quintet.

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Why haven’t we rallied our collective power to solve global warning? Join best-selling author Dan Gilbert as he explores our capricious reaction to different threats—from tooth decay to anthrax to climate change.

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Equal parts artist, writer and joke teller, Jessica Hagy describes her work as “a little project that helps me make fun of some things and sense of others.” Watch how the creator of the wildly popular blog, Indexed, injects humanity, humor and a modern sensibility into her medium—the 3 × 5-inch index card.

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Simply put, Victoria Hale’s organization has saved thousands of lives. Join the founder of OneWorld Health—the first nonprofit pharmaceutical company in the US—as she shares her vision of bringing an end to what she calls the "diseases of poverty."

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On Web stories: Jonathan Harris is redefining the idea of what it means to tell a story. Take a ride through an arctic whale hunt and plunge headfirst into the feelings Harris finds running rampant in cyberspace as he describes what he calls “storytelling platforms.”

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In this busy, hectic world, speed often trumps quality of life. Best-selling author and Slow Movement purveyor Carl Honoré urges us to slow down and alter our culture of speed and its negative effect on our happiness.

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A green revolution: Activist Van Jones is tackling two of our biggest problems—urban poverty and environmental peril—with a fresh, dynamic plan. His vision for providing America’s poor with “green jobs instead of jails” touts a Green Revolution that includes everyone.

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Running the numbers: Artist Chris Jordan brings the enormous scale of our mass consumption into high-resolution. He shares Running the Numbers, composite photographs of discarded cell phones, computers, aluminum cans and other modern detritus, urging us to consider the consequences of our consumer culture while insisting that each of us has the power to make a difference.

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Possibilities for global health: Through a series of chemical reactions and a re-imagining of intellectual property practices, Jay Keasling and his partners at One World Health expect to have effective, affordable malaria pills in the hands of African children in a few years. Inspired? There’s more. Watch as Keasling describes the boundless possibilities of metabolic engineering and non-profit biotechnology.

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Canadian-born cellist Zoë Keating layers the sounds of her cello with live electronic sampling, as if she were an entire string ensemble condensed into one woman. Watch and listen to her infuse the Camden Opera House with wave after wave of beautiful and diverse rhythms.

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Most of us wouldn’t see anything remarkable about a cell phone battery, a dishwasher switch and the light from a crosswalk signal. But Sheila Kennedy reveals how the combination of these common items can create something groundbreaking: portable, durable, reliable lighting for the third world.

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Five-time Grammy award-winner John Legend will move you and motivate you. He weaves stories from his Show Me Campaign—a movement he launched to help eradicate extreme global poverty—in between each soulful song.

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Renewable bamboo, coconut waste and sawdust aren’t usually used as fuels for factories, but in the northeast Brazilian Atlantic rainforest, ecological expert Stefano Merlin is pushing local factories to do just that. Leading a major fuel-switching initiative that blends social and environmental responsibilities with emission reductions, Merlin hopes that his most recent work will create what he calls in this address "a long-term biomass supply for the future."

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Christian Nold thinks we should pay more attention to how our environment shapes our emotional and physiological states. His work with Bio Mapping—which measures people’s responses to their environment and connects those feelings to their physical location—suggests that a map of emotional landscapes represents a powerful tool for analyzing the relationship between place and broader social issues.

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Ecologist and leading biodiversity conservationist Dr. Sarah Otterstrom illustrates the power of collaboration to combat climate change. Through partnerships, employment generation and environmental education in Nicaragua, Otterstrom finds ways to rebuild native forest, benefiting wildlife and people alike.

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With roots in folk and country-blues, Kelly Joe Phelps serves up music the Washington Post says is brimming with “poignancy, passion and spirituality.” Live on the Pop!Tech stage, the distinctive singer-songwriter coaxes satin-smooth melodies from his guitar, while his raw, honest voice delivers heartfelt lyrics.

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Provocateur Daniel Pink has built a career on his keen insights into business, technology and the economy. Engaging, enlightening and funny, the best-selling author heralds a new job market—one that devalues the logical and rule-based in favor of the artistic, empathic and inventive.

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Alleviating poverty, simply: From his extensive experiences working with the poor of the developing world, Paul Polak has learned a lot about effective market-based approaches to alleviating poverty. He argues that in order to be successful, solutions must be simple, inexpensive, easy to reproduce, and most important, respond to the expressed needs of the people they are meant to benefit.

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The creator of FOUND magazine digs up some of his best finds, ranging from unusual “To do” lists to surprising flyers and discarded notes.

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Watch pioneering marine ecologist and Scripps Institution professor Enric Sala build a time machine to the 16th century – exposing a pristine coral reef few human eyes have ever glimpsed. He also explains how 99.9% of the world’s coral reef research has been flawed and posits tourism as a way to save these endangered, natural wonders.

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Zainab Salbi, co-founder and president of Women for Women International, gives a voice to what she calls the “backline” of war—the often unheard and ignored experiences of women and their efforts to survive the terrifying consequences of the frontline.

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Bill Shannon dances — on four legs. Born with a bilateral hip deformity, this ingenious performance artist’s work will challenge your notions of disability.

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