Social interactions are essential for the survival and success of many animals, including humans. But how does the brain adapt to support these interactions? By comparing solitary wild bees and those in complex societies, scientists are uncovering fundamental biological patterns that illuminate how the 'social brain' develops and evolves to create the diversity of social life on our planet.Sarah is an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics at Princeton University. She studies socially variable bees (solitary, social, and socially flexible) to understand the factors that shape the evolution of social behavior. Her lab integrates methods from many different areas of biology, from evolutionary and population genomics to neurobiology and field ecology.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