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
New brain implant breaks record for turning thoughts into text
Stanford researchers have developed a brain-computer interface that allowed a woman to “type” 62 words per minute using only her thoughts.
Simple tweak to cancer treatment reduces relapse risk by 28%
Delivering chemotherapy to colon cancer patients before and after surgery — instead of just after — reduces their risk of recurrence by 28%.
This “ultrasound vortex” can quickly clear blood clots
Using spiraling ultrasound waves, researchers hope to remove stroke-causing blood clots faster and safer.
Microbiome-safe method could head off Staph infection
A microbiome-friendly method of controlling Staph colonization has aced phase 2 clinical trials.
First-of-its-kind exoskeleton for stroke rehab cleared by FDA
The FDA has cleared Wandercraft’s self-balancing, hands-free Atalante exoskeleton for use during stroke rehab.
This “living medicine” can eliminate a deadly lung infection
Researchers have engineered bacteria to create a “living medicine” against a nasty respiratory bug.
Study suggests that exercise should be prescribed to mental health patients
Researchers concluded that exercise should be prescribed to patients with mental health issues before psychiatric drugs.
New biomarker test accurately predicts who will respond to antidepressant
Alto Neuroscience’s depression drug seems effective in early trials, a proof-of-concept for biomarker-based design.
Jupiter’s hot “pizza moon” may contain life
Jupiter’s moon Io is thought to be inhospitable, but new data suggests life could exist underground, perhaps in lava tubes.
New mRNA vaccine factory is made from shipping containers
BioNTech is sending a modular mRNA vaccine factory that can produce 50 million COVID-19 vaccines annually to Africa.
New study finds 5-minute hack to balance sitting all day at work
Researchers set out to find the least amount of walking one could do to offset the harmful health effects of sitting.
Brain experiment suggests that consciousness relies on quantum entanglement
Researchers possibly witnessed entanglement in the brain, indicating that some brain activity, like consciousness, operates on a quantum level.
Moderna’s RSV vaccine over 80% effective in early analysis
Moderna’s mRNA RSV vaccine for adults looks to be over 80% effective, based on early data from a large phase 3 trial.
Scientists use CRISPR to add an alligator gene into catfish
By using CRISPR to insert an alligator gene into catfish, Alabama scientists radically increased their disease resistance.
Particles packed with mRNA reduce wrinkles in mice
A new delivery method for mRNA therapies could open the doors to better treatments for aging, cancer, and more.
Stanford nasal study could lead to “morning after” virus spray
A “morning after” antiviral nasal spray could be created using new knowledge about how SARS-CoV-2 invades your nose.
5 biotech trends to watch in 2023
After a monumental year of breakthroughs, scientists, investors, and CEOs share which areas of biotech they are eagerly watching this year.
Study finds 155 tiny new genes evolving in humans
Microproteins encoded in short strands of DNA reveal our recent evolutionary history, and hint at how human genetics may be changing.
New brain cancer treatment trialed in children for the first time
MRI-guided focused ultrasound has been used to deliver chemo into the brain of a pediatric cancer patient for the first time.
“Jumping genes”: A new model of Alzheimer’s
A new hypothesis suggests that Alzheimer’s disease is the result of “jumping genes” in the brain, not inflammation or plaque.
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.