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
Ancient Olympians wouldn’t qualify for today’s Games
Across history, the human body has been reshaped by discipline, medicine, and now technology — each era redefining peak performance.
Why AI gets stuck in infinite loops — but conscious minds don’t
Anil Seth suggests the difference is that living beings are rooted in time and entropy, a grounding that may be essential for consciousness.
We purged worms from our bodies — and may have made ourselves sick
Biotech labs are mining worm chemistry to design medicines that calm the immune system without the risks of live infection.
Psychedelics & Mental Health
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Could this revolutionary football helmet protect players and save the game?
As more and more former football players exhibit symptoms of CTE, one company thinks their new helmet can address…
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Crossing the Divide
How to negotiate the nonnegotiable
Insights on working through conflict with Harvard’s top negotiation expert.
Can a single conversation really change someone's mind? This research says yes.
After studying a team of canvassers, two researchers found that a single conversation can have a significant and…
The mom who will stop at nothing to save her daughter's life
Doctors told Karen Aiach her daughter had a rare and fatal disease. So she decided to invent a cure.
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Wrong
Beware the Frankenbabies!
Frightening predictions almost stopped the invention that has helped millions of families.
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Coded
Erasing your DNA
Is a spray that can mask your DNA the frontier of personal privacy or a tool for criminals?
This week in ideas: Building a cheaper MRI, reconciling God and AI, and the next Einstein
Rethinking the MRI machine, how will Christianity handle advanced tech, and is this 7-year-old the next Einstein?
This week in ideas: Embryonic people-pigs, the glories of the Hubble Telescope, and American cyber-security
A step toward human organs in animal embryos, the Hubble Telescope was a game changer, and Americans aren’t doing…
This week in ideas: How to form good habits, the case against empathy, and a miracle cure derailed
From how to make good habits (and keep them) to a crisis at the NIH, it’s a new edition of our week in ideas.
This week in ideas: Fighting addiction with implants, using VR to educate, Amazon Prime gets primer
An arm implant to treat opioid addiction, teaching hair stylists with VR, and a potential Amazon Prime game changer.
What we need right now is a little bit of Hans Rosling
The Swedish public health researcher says that, contrary to most of what you hear, the world is actually moving in…
This week in ideas: A $1 microscope, healing our divisions, Planet Earth is back
Democratizing microscopes, how we heal our political divisions, and BBC’s Planet Earth returns. These are our…
This week in ideas: An artificial pancreas, Google's new translation tech, and a massive Mars rocket
An incredible medical breakthrough, Google ups the ante, and the SpaceX Mars rocket. These are our favorite stories…
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Superhuman
Gaining independence with the world's most advanced prosthetic arm
Jerral was hit by a roadside bomb in Iraq and left paralyzed. Now he’s partnering with researchers to regain his independence. »
A regulatory fight is brewing over experimental stem cell therapies
New proposed regulations from the FDA would effectively shut down private stem cell clinics in the U.S.
The future of sports and human performance
Unpacking the science behind human performance with The Sports Gene author David Epstein
The experimental procedure that can reverse blindness
Doctors told Vanna she was permanently blind. But thanks to an experimental procedure, she can see.
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Superhuman
Reversing blindness
Vanna was legally blind. Now she can see. Hear her inspiring story and meet the amazing doctors who gave her back her sight.
Could your brain regenerate like skin?
Brain regeneration used to be considered a medical fantasy. But research shows that fantasy could eventually become…
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.