Biotech
Human history has been all but defined by death and disease, plague and pandemic. Advancements in 20th century medicine changed all of that. Now advancements in 21st century medicine promise to go even further. Could we bring about an end to disease? Reverse aging? Give hearing to the deaf and sight to the blind? The answer may be yes. And soon.
Featured
Inside a neuroscientist’s quest to cure coma
Thousands of Americans are trapped in disorders of consciousness. Neuroscientist Daniel Toker is searching for a way out.
This conservationist is trying to bring extinct species back to life
Ryan Phelan, co-founder of Revive & Restore, talks about the future of conservation at Freethink’s Great Progression event.
How consensus can undermine science
The main objective of consensus statements appears to be to reduce doubt, which may stifle scientific inquiry.
Psychedelics & Mental Health
Pac-Man turned 45 today. The surgeon general once warned that playing it could make kids violent.
Officials’ warnings about the impact of video games on kids were never proven true. They may be making the same mistake with social media.
Flexible brain implant takes major leap forward
The FDA’s clearance of Precision Neuroscience’s flexible electrode array pushes the startup ahead in the race to BCI commercialization.
The next era of psychedelics may be precision-designed states of consciousness
A look inside Mindstate Design Labs’ effort to design drugs that reliably produce specific states of consciousness.
Biohacking
Three founders look to the future at Freethink’s inaugural Great Progression event
The tech community came together for the launch of the Great Progression event series, curated by Peter Leyden and produced by Freethink.
We’re able to create new creatures through gene editing. What’s stopping us?
The question isn’t whether we can sculpt new life. The question is what comes next.
Boosted Breeding and beyond: 3 tech trends that could end world hunger
A world without hunger is possible, and the development and deployment of new farming technologies could be one key to manifesting it.
Ray Kurzweil explains how AI makes radical life extension possible
Life expectancy gains in developed countries have slowed in recent decades, but AI may be poised to transform medicine as we know it.
Vaccines
Personalized cancer vaccines are having a moment
Personalized cancer vaccines were a recurring theme at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in 2024.
The threat of avian flu — and what we can do to stop it
Avian flu is infecting cows on US dairy farms, and now a person has caught it — but new research could help us avoid a bird flu pandemic.
One shot recreates younger immune systems, in mice
An antibody treatment designed to revitalize an aging immune system delivers “surprising” results in elderly mice.
More
Bionic prosthetic grants amputee musician a rocking encore
How might your life change if you lost an arm? After losing his right arm in an electrical accident, Jason wasn’t…
Neuroscientists want to beam experiences directly into your brain
It’s a breakthrough for the blind and paralyzed, not the first step toward the Matrix. (Promise.)
Scientists want to rewrite the entire human genome, from scratch
What if we could rewrite our entire genetic code to make us invincible against viruses?
Glowing cancer cells could find hidden tumors (and replace mammograms)
A new pill can make cancer cells glow under infrared light, and it could eliminate for mammograms.
Unlike smoking, vaping won’t mess with your microbiome
Smoking kills off good bacteria and upsets the balance of power your gut.
Babies sometimes trigger preterm labor to escape infections
A new discovery upends what we thought we knew about premature births and could point the way to entirely new…
Scientists finally get a look at enzyme that protects DNA
We finally have a detailed picture of an enzyme that could play a key role in fighting both aging and cancer
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Superhuman
These doctors are performing brain surgery … using sound
Bonnie D’Ettorre suffers from a nerve disorder causing uncontrollable shaking. Doctors at Ohio State are about to “burn it out” using a thousand beams of ultrasound.
The ebola vaccine is still working 2 years later
The vaccine works great at preventing infection—let’s hope it can also prevent media panic too.
These bacteria-eating sewer viruses are saving lives
The world discovered phages before antibiotics, but these lowly sewer viruses are getting renewed attention in the…
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Superhuman
The world’s first bionic drummer
Jason Barnes lost his arm in a horrible accident. Then he became the fastest drummer in the world…
Linking genes to depression could revolutionize treatment
Saying something is “genetic” used to be a fatalistic diagnosis. But with modern medicine, it could be the key to…
The eternal sunshine of the stressed out mind
Researchers at Cambridge University have finally figured out how the brain stops stressful thoughts and memories…
FDA approves AI “doctor” that can see disease in your eyes
How will artificial intelligence transform medicine?
23andMe can (finally) tell you about your genetic cancer risk
23andMe has won the right to tell you what your genes say about you. It’s a landmark legal achievement that could…
A prosthetic memory can help you remember
Scientists have figured out how to hack the brain’s memory.
Can sleep deprivation cure depression?
Losing sleep can have a lot of adverse health effects, but recent science shows it could also have a surprising upside
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Crossing the Divide
Having your views challenged is a good thing
When we encounter ideas we don’t like, we often shut them down. Professor John Inazu explains why that’s a bad thing and what we can do to fix it.
Could growing vaccines in plants save lives?
Vaccines for influenza, polio, smallpox, even Ebola have all be grown … in plants.
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DIY Science
Treating diabetes with a DIY pancreas
A group of coders created an open source, DIY pancreas to help people with diabetes manage their condition.
Special Collection
Collection
The Science of Death
Explore the journey from life to death and beyond. Near-death experiences, death doulas, digital immortality, and more – join us for a thoughtful exploration of one life’s most intriguing and inevitable phenomena with stories from the frontlines of death.
Get inspired with the most innovative stories shaping the world around us.