Mystery of Chinese supernova solved after 800 years
A new study explains where the mysterious “Chinese supernova” went after disappearing from the night sky more than 800 years ago.
Trial of opioid vaccine launches in US
An opioid vaccine that prevents people with opioid use disorder from feeling “high” when they take oxycodone is moving to human trials.
Latest Videos
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Challengers
The plant-based startup taking on food giants
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Kelp is a superfood that’s grown totally sustainable. But will people be willing to replace burgers with seaweed?
Beyond Sunday Service: How one Montgomery church is bringing health equity to their community
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A grassroots approach to vaccine education is happening in the heart of the civil rights movement in Alabama. Does this church hold the key to overcoming medical mistrust?
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Challengers
26-year-old builds $8,000 mind-controlled bionic arms
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Bionic arms used to cost $80,000. Now, a young engineer has lowered the cost by over 90%.
You deserve better news. Welcome to Freethink.
1:37
The world is changing. It’s time the news changed with it.
Ending world hunger: Can data pave the way?
7:33
The mission to end world hunger is one of today’s most pressing challenges. Here’s how big data is helping solve it.
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Hard Reset
The underdog challenging McDonald’s and Wall Street
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Everytable is scaling access to wealth through a healthy fast food revolution.
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Challengers
The startup turning human ashes into diamonds
6:35
By turning ashes into diamonds, Eterneva is creating a new way to carry the memory of our loved ones with us long after their death.
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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?
Door-to-door vaccination campaign reaches the most vulnerable
3:20
An equitable door-to-door vaccination campaign might be just what it takes to help the U.S.’s most vulnerable communities fight COVID-19.
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Hard Reset
What will the Disneyland of the future look like?
7:50
VR theme park experiences are adding a new dimension to an industry that’s long relied on 20th-century technology.
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Latest on COVID-19
Study: COVID-19 booster shots dramatically reduce infection risk
A large COVID-19 booster shot study in Israel found that a third dose significantly increased seniors’ protection against the coronavirus.
Building a Solarpunk Future
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 |
Challengers
The plant-based startup taking on food giants
6:22
Kelp is a superfood that’s grown totally sustainable. But will people be willing to replace burgers with seaweed?
Coexisting with AI
Facebook just made a huge upgrade to Oculus VR headsets
Here’s how the Oculus Quest 2 just became a player in augmented reality.
Bipedal robot completes 5K after learning to run
Agility Robotics’ Cassie just became the first bipedal robot to complete an outdoor 5K run, completing the jaunt on a single charge.
AI avatars bring deepfakes to the business world
A financial consulting firm has created AI avatars of its staff that can be used to quickly create deepfakes for presentations and more.
Feature
What if your ideas about strangers are all wrong?
The surprising benefits of talking to strangers.
What if your ideas about strangers are all wrong?
Hacking Biology
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.
Printing embedded tech in artificial skin just got easier
Stanford researchers present new chemical method for mass-producing stretchable transistor arrays that can be printed in artificial skin.
Original Series
A show about what’s really driving today’s entrepreneurs to shape our future.
Harnessing Psychedelics
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Just Might Work
Is DMT the best new treatment for depression?
7:08
Psychedelic therapy could bring the ancient healing powers of drugs like DMT into mental health clinics.
Yale study: magic mushrooms may grow connections between brain cells
A single dose of psilocybin caused increased growth in neuron-connecting dendritic spines in mice.
Ketamine infusion: What it's like and how it works
Ketamine infusion therapy takes the anesthetic from dance floors to depression clinics. But how does the drug work, and what is it like?
MDMA for PTSD just crushed its phase 3 trial
Results from the first phase 3 trial of using MDMA for PTSD along with talk therapy found the drug to be effective.
Long Reads
Stories focused on interesting solutions to big problems.
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Will these lab-made viruses prevent a pandemic?
Previously blacklisted gain-of-function mutation experiments are back, and they’re being used to fight the next major pandemic.
4 people in the world have a mysterious dementia. Could it hold a key to Alzheimer’s?
Alzheimer’s has proved difficult to treat. But solving the mystery of this ultra-rare frontotemporal dementia may unlock new understanding.
The construction robots building space colonies
Sending construction robots into outer space will help pave the way for human exploration, but there are some real challenges that lie ahead.
The next pandemic is out there. Is the private sector ready?
Johns Hopkins’ simulated, international catastrophe is helping business, government, and public health leaders improve global pandemic preparedness.
Should we genetically engineer carbon-hungry trees?
Genetically modified trees that are designed to grow faster and store more carbon could help reverse climate change.
Can seaweed save the planet?
A Maine startup is growing vast quantities of seaweed and then burying them at the bottom of the ocean to sequester carbon for carbon offsets.
