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
How consensus can undermine science
The main objective of consensus statements appears to be to reduce doubt, which may stifle scientific inquiry.
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.
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.
Psychedelics & Mental Health
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.
How Neuralink’s chief competitor is tapping into the brain without surgery
Synchron’s brain-computer interfaces do not require brain surgery, but travel to the brain through the jugular.
Biohacking
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.
New AI generates CRISPR proteins unlike any seen in nature
An AI that generates CRISPR proteins is opening the door to gene editors with capabilities beyond what we’ve found in nature.
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
Breakthrough creates stem cells without any “memories”
A new method for creating induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells includes a memory reset that puts the cells in a more embryonic-like state.
“Light sculpting” chip can rapidly test for thousands of diseases
Stanford researchers have developed a new type of molecular test that works without a cumbersome amplification step.
Scientists discover a gel that whitens teeth and kills 94% of bacteria
Scientists have found that light-activated oxidizing nanoparticles can whiten teeth without causing damage.
A pig kidney is still working in a person after 32 days
A gene-edited pig kidney has been functioning in a person for a record-breaking 32 days and still shows no signs of failure.
Can you manipulate your brain to stop your food cravings?
Research suggests it may be possible to “switch off” the pleasure we experience from eating certain foods, which could curb cravings.
Brain scans reveal the mystery of “hidden consciousness”
Newly identified patterns of injury linked to “hidden consciousness” could lead to better outcomes for people in comas or vegetative states.
Extreme treatment for alcoholism slashes drinking by 90% in monkeys
An in-development treatment for alcoholism dramatically reduced consumption in monkeys that previously drank heavily.
Mental illnesses affect brain structure, but in surprisingly different ways
A new brain mapping study identified commonalities in the brains of people with mental illnesses, and it could lead to better treatments.
“I’ve been here before”: DMT study explores a strange memory phenomenon
DMT can induce a sense of profound familiarity, making users feel as if they have entered an alternate reality they have visited before.
Brain stimulation helps people with Parkinson’s walk
A noninvasive form of brain stimulation developed by Japanese researchers improved the symptoms of Parkinsonian gait in a small trial.
Too much body fat isn’t the problem — malfunctioning body fat is
When fat cells are overloaded with excess nutrients, they become too big and don’t receive enough oxygen, causing them to die.
With “thanabots,” ChatGPT is making it possible to talk to the dead
ChatGPT is making it possible to digitally resurrect the dead in the form of thanabots: chatbots trained on data of the deceased.
Vaccine for common virus could prevent MS
An experimental vaccine designed to prevent an EBV infection might also prevent cancer and multiple sclerosis.
This unique human brain structure may have given us speech
Speech is unique to humans, yet most brain structures involved in speech are also present in Old World monkeys and other primates — except this one.
Existing heart drug may boost treatment for skin cancer
The FDA-approved heart medication ranolazine boosted the efficacy of a BRAF inhibitor in mouse models of melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer.
Scientists make pain relievers like Tylenol from pine trees rather than fossil fuels
Chemists have shown how to manufacture ibuprofen and acetaminophen using a waste product from the forestry and paper industries.
Scientists tweak Meta VR headset to measure brain activity
A modified VR headset that records brain activity reveals how being immersed in VR impacts people on a neurological level.
Weight-loss drug cut the risk of heart attack and stroke by 20% in large trial
The weight-loss drug semaglutide reduced patients’ risk of heart attacks, strokes, or death from heart disease by 20% in a large trial.
Nematodes survive 46,000 years on ice
A pair of nematodes from the Pleistocene survived in the Siberian permafrost by entering a survival state known as cryptobiosis.
Fragile X syndrome often results from improperly processed genetic material
Researchers discovered that the mutated gene responsible for fragile X syndrome is active in most people with the disorder, not silenced.
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.
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