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
The left–right twist that could rewrite tech
Scientists are harnessing chirality — the left- and right-handedness of molecules — to build better batteries, sharper displays, and more.
Longevity progress is real. So are the scams.
Longevity is in a paradoxical place at the moment, with anti-aging influencers misrepresenting real progress in order to make money.
How a dog’s life could extend yours
Studying animals — from long-lived clams to everyday dogs — is helping scientists understand aging and design therapies to slow decline.
Psychedelics & Mental Health
Living longer — and healthier — starts with boosting your brain
Science is beginning to unravel the reasons behind age-related cognitive decline — and what we can do about it.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
More
There’s now a wearable that can track your stress hormones
A wearable device called U-RHYTHM makes it easy for researchers to see how stress hormones ebb and flow over 24 hours.
Eastern philosophy says there is no “self.” Science agrees
Neuroscience aligns with Eastern philosophies such as Buddhism, that argue the self is an illusion, a byproduct of our thought processes.
One shot epilepsy treatment reduced seizures by 95% in first two patients
A stem cell-based treatment for epilepsy slashed the number of seizures experienced by two trial participants by 95%.
Viewing abstract art causes notable cognitive changes
Abstract art causes the viewer to place more psychological distance between themselves and the art than with more typical works.
CRISPR’d plant is resistant to the “cancer of rice”
CRISPR’d plants resistant to the devastating fungal disease rice blast could help shore up the world’s food supply.
Can India’s drains help us prevent the next pandemic?
Imagine a real-time warning system for global pandemics. Wastewater surveillance may be able to do just that. Here’s how.
Plants perform quantum mechanics feats that scientists can only do at ultra-cold temperatures
There may be a link between quantum mechanics and photosynthesis explaining why plants are so effective at converting light to food.
“Spooky” quantum biology might cause your DNA to mutate
Research suggests that quantum effects could drive mutations in human DNA — the latest development in the emerging field of quantum biology.
Could switching off a neural “death response” slow aging?
A sensory mechanism that governs how quickly flies age may also have a corollary in people.
Insulin grown in lettuce can be taken orally
New synthetic insulin harvested from lettuce plants can be made cheaply, taken orally, and transported at room temperature.
Neuralink’s monkey can play Pong with its mind. Elon Musk says human trials are next.
If Neuralink’s monkey can play Pong with its mind, imagine what humans could do with the same technology in just a few years.
Generate brilliant ideas by relaxing your cognitive filters
Theoretical physicist Leonard Mlodinow offers three strategies for relaxing your cognitive filters to give your brilliant ideas time to shine.
Cancer med appears to prevent brain aneurysms
Japanese researchers have discovered that the cancer drug sunitinib can prevent the formation of brain aneurysms in mice.
SpaceX successfully launches world’s first “space factory”
SpaceX has successfully deployed a “space factory” developed by startup Varda Space Industries to manufacture drugs in microgravity.
How intestinal viruses could help you live to be 100
People who live past age 100 have a greater diversity of bacteriophages (that is, viruses that infect bacteria) in their intestines.
Model human embryo, created from stem cells, survives past two weeks
A model human embryo capable of developing past day 14 could revolutionize our understanding of human development.
Cheap drug appears to cut long COVID risk by 41% in small study
The diabetes drug metformin cut COVID-19 patients’ risk of later developing long COVID by 41% in a small study.
Taurine appears to reverse aging in animals. Can it do the same for us?
Animals given taurine lived longer, healthier lives, suggesting that the compound may also increase human longevity.
New “AI doctor” predicts risk of death with 85% accuracy
A new AI was able to make accurate predictions about patients’ risk of death, readmittance, and more by analyzing medical notes.
Have we got the brain all wrong? Study shows its shape is more important than its wiring
Neural activity may be more influenced by the shape of the brain – its grooves, contours, and folds – than by its complex interconnections.
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.