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
A lay person's guide to biohacking
We’re living in a golden age of people exploring high and low tech methods to optimize our bodies.
How to rebuild a broken brain
The unbelievable story of the day Jordan Riley was declared brain dead and his journey of re-learning how to be human.
Conor Russomanno on exploring our limits
Could linking our brains to computers allow the mind to control the world outside of our bodies?
The 3D-printed helmet that can read your mind. Could it change the world?
OpenBCI has developed technology that allows you to control the world outside your body with your brain waves.
Series|
Superhuman
Open sourcing the brain
Open BCI has developed a 3D-printed headset that allows your brain to interact with computers in amazing ways.
Karen Aiach on doing the impossible
When Karen Aiach decided to quit her finance job in 2005 in order to find a cure for the rare genetic disease that…
Meet the mom curing her daughter's incurable disease
Karen Aiach isn’t a doctor and has never worked in medicine. But when doctors said her daughter wouldn’t live past…
Series|
Superhuman
The promise of gene therapy
When Karen was told her daughter had an incurable disease, she started a gene therapy company to find a cure.
Is the miracle medicine of the future about to become the totally real medicine of the present?
Gene therapy uses a virus to replace missing or defective genes. It sounds counterintuitive, but it could be the…
Three women who changed the way we think about medicine
From newborn health to AIDS treatment to DNA research, these brilliant women paved the way for incredible advances…
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.