All Souls' Day

TED MED is off and running. At $4000 a pop, tickets weren't exactly feasible for everyone, but that hasn't stopped the buzz on Twitter, in the media, and--our personal favorite--in the blogosphere. Outsiders are eager for updates, and insiders are excited to share. One Twitter user wrote "Blown away by #TEDMED. Growing body parts, synthetic bacteria that digests waste and robotic arms are just the beginning. Sekou opened it up."

One attendee representing Med Gadget recounted the events of Day 1 here, giving the rundown from Sekou Andrews' poem on health care to lectures on synthetic biology and regenerative medicine.

The Huffington Post recapped yesterday's events as well, particularly the speech by Bill Davenhall (the global marketing manager for Health & Human Services Solutions, ESRI), declaring it the "most compelling and immediately applicable" information of Day 1. Davenhall stressed a health risk factor that often goes unexamined: environment. As HuffPo concisely reviewed, Davenhall says that doctors should be asking not only about our family history and what we're consuming, but also about our lifestyles--where we're living, what risks we face daily.

And, of course, twitpics have been circulating to give us all a glimpse into the forward-thinking mecca that is TED MED. Check them out here, here, and here.

Today's speakers are:

Jill Sobule, Dean Ornish & Deepak Chopra, Keith Black, Peter Diamandis, Kary Mullis, Andrew Weil, Peter Menzel & Faith D'Alusio, Alexander Tsiaras, Laura Ziskin, Bart Kamen, Steve Cole, Donna Karan, Jesse Dylan, Eric Mead, Aimee Mullins,  Dean Kamen, Collin Angle, and Rick Satava.