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
Saliva: The next frontier in cancer detection
Scientists are finding tumor signals in spit that could be key to developing diagnostic tests for various types of cancer
Have scientists found a “brake pedal” for aging?
A new protein discovery may have highlighted a “switch” in brain cells that slows down inflammation and aging.
Harvard geneticists create an organism that is immune to all viruses
Researchers at the Harvard lab of George Church have genetically engineered E. coli resistant to viral infection.
Spread of deadly cancer delayed by organ transplant drug
A groundbreaking discovery on how pancreatic cancer spreads could lead to better therapies for the hard-to-treat disease.
How low-cost surgical training programs could save lives in low-resource countries
Lack of access to surgery leads to millions of deaths every year around the world. Meet the innovators who are working to reduce this toll.
New CRISPR tool reversed blindness in mice — permanently
A new CRISPR tool corrected a mutation causing retinitis pigmentosa in mice without making any significant off-target edits.
Wristband device helps to control Tourette’s tics in clinical trial
A new wrist-worn device from the University of Nottingham uses electrical pulses to help curb Tourette syndrome symptoms.
Bird flu is everywhere. Are the vaccines ready?
As avian influenza continues to devastate the bird population and jump into mammals, scientists are preparing to protect two important groups.
Mice grow mini deer antlers after stem cell transplant
The discovery of a new type of stem cell in deer antlers could lead to breakthroughs in human regeneration.
What that study linking sugar-free sweeteners and heart disease really tells us
A new study links higher blood levels of sugar-free sweeteners, commonly found in ketogenic diet foods, to a greater risk of death.
The case for viewing depression as a consciousness disorder
A new hypothesis explains depression as an altered state of consciousness, which could help researchers make an objective diagnostic test.
There is now a blood test for anxiety disorders
A new blood test for anxiety may be able to help doctors diagnose patients and find effective treatments for them more quickly.
Large language models are biased. Can logic help save them?
MIT researchers trained logic-aware language models to reduce harmful stereotypes like gender and racial biases.
As bird flu spreads in the US and worldwide, what’s the risk that it could start a human pandemic?
Many virologists are concerned that the latest bird flu outbreak could spill over to humans and cause a new human pandemic.
This easy fix could eliminate harmful chemical exhaust from home heaters
Retrofitting gas heaters with this catalyst could slash their environmental impact.
First ever therapy for rare genetic disorder now approved
The FDA has approved the first drug for Rett syndrome, a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder, which disproportionately affects women and girls.
AI isn’t close to becoming sentient, we just think it is
To what extent will our psychological vulnerabilities shape our interactions with emerging technologies? AI will be the test.
Making electricity from wastewater
Researchers have developed a “sandwich-like” membrane that removes pollutants while generating power.
Pfizer’s nasal spray for migraines is heading to pharmacies
The FDA has approved Pfizer’s zavegepant, a nasal spray for migraines that can ease pain in as few as 15 minutes.
Psychedelics open a new window on the mechanisms of perception
Some neuroscientists think psychedelics and the hallucinations they induce could help reveal how we generate our perceptions of the world.
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.