Could an algorithm replace contraceptives? | Elina Berglund | TEDxStockholm

NOTE FROM TED: Please do not look to this talk for medical advice and please discuss use of this contraceptive with a medical professional. While this contraceptive method has been approved by the FDA in the United States, the Advertising Standards Authority has placed restrictions on their marketing communications due to overstatement of its effectiveness in past campaigns and a number of scientists have called into question the effectiveness of its approach. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/t... A journey about a female scientist who entered a world filled with prejudices and strict regulations and how she despite of that found a key to how big data could help millions of women to avoid unwanted pregnancies. Dr. Elina Berglund is the CTO and co-founder of Natural Cycles – the fertility app which allows women to help prevent, plan and monitor pregnancies. As a top physicist, Elina was part of the team that discovered the Higgs boson at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland. Following this success, Elina and her husband were looking for an effective natural contraceptive. With a desire to avoid the side effects of the pill, Elina decided to apply her mathematical skills from particle physics to create a unique algorithm that could accurately pinpoint when a woman was fertile – and this was turned into an app so all couples could benefit from the innovation. Elina will explain how deeper understanding and data study not only can lead to discoveries in scientific research, but also empower individuals. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx