Five creative ways people are using ChatGPT
Internet users are getting creative with OpenAI’s new chatbot, ChatGPT, using it to plot movies, write menus, and more.
Bacteria breakthrough could create brand new cheese flavors
A new set of experiments has shown for the first time how the unique flavors of different cheeses can be linked to specific types of bacteria.
Latest Videos
Series | Hard Reset Gift Guide
4 gift ideas from the future 7:58 From a VR headset to full body motion capture suit, here are 4 items making the metaverse a reality.
Series | Hard Reset Gift Guide
LEGO, Mark Rober class & CRISPR kit: 5 futuristic gifts from Hard Reset 9:12 The LEGO BOOST toolbox, a Mark Rober Arduino course, and more — here are 5 great gifts for lifelong learners.
Series | Hard Reset Gift Guide
6 futuristic food gifts from Hard Reset 12:25 Give smarter gifts to food lovers with these 6 amazing items — indoor vertical farming kit, distilling kit, and more.
Can schools teach antifragility with spirituality? 8:28
Kids want to know the meaning of life. Should schools help them find it?
In partnership with the Fetzer Institute
Series | Just Might Work
Men are finally getting birth control options 10:05 Big Pharma won’t invest in male birth control. Meet the scientists doing it themselves.
Series | Hard Reset
A $75k fantasy house you can build yourself in weeks 9:47 Could bringing back ancient pyramid-building techniques make carbon-negative housing a reality?
An open source tool to unlock cures 6:01
There are 37 trillion cells in your body. This discovery platform lets scientists map them.
In partnership with Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Series | Just Might Work
The sex workers taking on Mastercard, Visa, and PayPal 6:30 Big banks are blocking sex work payments. Is crypto the answer?
Open-source maps are saving the rainforest—and the world 7:36
Meet the techno-optimists saving rainforests – and making their solution open source.
In partnership with Skoll Foundation
“Adaptive WiFi” wants to learn your habits 5:52
You’re already living in a smart home – but there’s one thing missing.
In partnership with Plume
Inside Dubai’s solar megaplant 5:53
Dubai built the world’s largest single-site solar plant – and it’s just getting started.
In partnership with Dubai Future Foundation
New to Freethink?
We focus on solutions: the smartest people, the biggest ideas, and the most groundbreaking technology shaping our future.
Building a Solarpunk Future
Quantum computer designs heat-radiating window coating
Notre Dame researchers have used quantum computing to design a transparent window coating that reflects heat into the atmosphere.
Molten salt reactors could save nuclear power
Molten salt reactors, a type of nuclear reactor first explored in the 1950s, could be the future of clean energy.
NASA detects 50+ methane “super-emitters” from space
A new instrument aboard the International Space Station has been used to identify more than 50 “super-emitters” of methane.
This amphibious electric tricycle (and camper) costs $14,600
Latvian startup BeTRITON’s amphibious electric tricycle will take you from the road to the water to the campsite.
Feature
Magnets pull these tiny medical robots deep into the brain
They can deliver chemo drugs, perform surgical procedures, and more.
Advancing the Space Frontier
NASA’s Orion spacecraft sends back first images
NASA has shared the first images from its Orion spacecraft, which is expected to do a lunar flyby on November 21.
ISS experiment will 3D print a body part in microgravity
An International Space Station experiment to test 3D-printing in microgravity could help end the organ shortage on Earth.
Chernobyl fungus could shield astronauts from cosmic radiation
A recent study tested how well the fungi species Cladosporium sphaerospermum blocked cosmic radiation aboard the International Space Station.
Original Series
Meet the people whose bold ideas might sound crazy… but also Just Might Work.
Freethink Favorites
Stories focused on interesting solutions to big problems.
Prev
Next
Series | Just Might Work
Biohackers take aim at big pharma’s stranglehold on insulin 5:55 These biohackers plan to give away their instructions for how to make insulin for free.
Farming robot kills 200,000 weeds per hour with lasers
Carbon Robotics’ LaserWeeder is a smart farming robot that identifies weeds and then kills them using high-power lasers.
Supercentenarians’ DNA reveals clues to human longevity
A human longevity study involving people over the age of 105 has found that genetic variants linked to DNA repair appear to contribute to a longer life.
Series | Just Might Work
How robots could end animal captivity in zoos and marine parks 7:45 Could robotic dolphins help marine parks become more humane spaces where people can learn about and connect with nature?
Twisty nuclear fusion reactor gets twice as hot as the sun
Physicists optimized a nuclear fusion reactor to overcome a problem that causes heat loss and prevents the device from sustaining fusion.
Series | Coded
Tractor-hacking farmers take on John Deere 5:46 Tractor hacking is a fast-growing trend in the farming community — but it’s not outsiders breaking in.
Japan breaks world record for fastest internet speed
Engineers in Japan have set a new world record for fastest internet speed — 319 Tb/s — using a specially developed fiber-optic cable.
Sophia the Robot will be mass-produced this year
Hanson Robotics is going to begin mass-producing Sophia the robot in 2021, making the social robot available to help combat the pandemic.
Series | Challengers
This DIY laptop is challenging tech giants like Apple & Microsoft 6:01 Disposable tech is part of big tech’s business model. This engineer is fighting back by creating a DIY laptop anyone can repair on their own.
Prisoners will get a $2,750 check when they leave prison
A non-profit is experimenting with providing prisoners a $2,750 check when they leave prison. The goal is to reduce recidivism and help people get a fresh start.
Series | Hard Reset
How mirrors could power the planet… and prevent wars 09:28 If adopted globally, concentrated solar power could make major waves in manufacturing, not to mention prevent wars over oil and mitigate climate change.