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
The first 10 minutes of sleep can unlock your creative potential
According to prior research, the first ten minutes of sleep, called N1, can provide a creative boost when it comes to solving problems.
CRISPR tool slashes bad cholesterol by 56% in monkeys
Tune Therapeutics has successfully lowered the cholesterol levels of monkeys using a version of CRISPR that doesn’t permanently alter DNA.
Chronic pain can be objectively measured using brain signals
Even though pain is universal and we know it happens in the brain, we’ve never before had a way to objectively measure its intensity.
New nasal spray aimed at reversing fentanyl overdoses is now approved
A new overdose-reversing spray that works fast but lasts longer has been approved by the FDA, and will be available by the fall at earliest.
Do we finally know what causes Alzheimer’s?
The first treatments proven to slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s are helping settle a decades-long debate about how the disease starts.
Here’s how growing plants on the Moon could benefit Earth
Making plants grow on the Moon could be instrumental in helping gardens to grow greener on Earth in the face of climate change.
Paralyzed man walks again using only his thoughts
A man with paralyzed legs is walking again thanks to a “digital bridge” between his brain and a spinal stimulator.
This “bridge” between chemo and cancer solves a big problem for treatment
To improve leukemia treatment, Australian researchers have created a bispecific antibody that connects chemo drugs to cancer cells.
This new watch-like wearable measures blood pressure 24/7
A Swiss company has developed a lightweight, comfortable bracelet which can provide constant and accurate information about blood pressure.
Pill version of obesity drug reduced weight almost 13% in new trial
Novo Nordisk has announced positive results for an oral version of the popular weight loss drug sold as Ozempic and Wegovy.
Cancer treatment is about to get a reboot, thanks to AI
Techniques borrowed from astrophysics are helping to advance personalized cancer treatments beyond what genetics can tell us.
CRISPR uncovers possible antidote for death cap mushroom poisoning
Researchers have figured out how the mushroom’s main toxin enters human cells — and maybe how to stop it.
New kind of chicken lays eggs that don’t have allergy protein
Newly created gene-edited hens lay eggs without ovomucoid, the protein most likely to trigger an egg allergy.
Did life evolve more than once? Researchers are closing in on an answer
Current scientific consensus is that life emerged from non-living molecules in a process called abiogenesis. But if life emerged once, why not more times?
Depression treatment reverses “backwards” brain signals
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) appears to relieve depression by correcting brain signals that are traveling the wrong direction.
Older people were 3x stronger at the end of this science-backed 8-week program
But what if you’re in your 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s? Is it “too late” to build muscle and fight sarcopenia? Here’s what the research says.
The AI healthcare revolution has begun
The ability of AI to diagnose diseases, discover drugs, and even perform surgery is increasing rapidly — but will patients accept Dr. AI?
We’re analysing DNA from ancient and modern humans to create a “family tree of everyone”
Genetic genealogy not only helps us understand where we came from, but it could also be used for tracing the origin of genetic mutations.
Something found in bats could help us survive infections and inflammation
This protein may help bats survive viral infections and could be the springboard for new anti-inflammatory drugs.
Like hungry locusts, humans can easily be tricked into overeating
Our bodies crave more food if we haven’t had enough protein — especially if we’re reaching for ultraprocessed foods.
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.