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
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.
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.
Psychedelics & Mental Health
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.
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.
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
Chernobyl fungus could shield astronauts from cosmic radiation
A recent study tested how well the fungi species Cladosporium sphaerospermum blocked cosmic radiation aboard the International Space Station.
Australian man uses brain implant to send texts from his iPad
The Stentrode — a brain-computer interface implanted through minimally invasive surgery — has been used to send text messages from an iPad
A new therapy sends lupus into remission
Five patients in Germany had their lupus wiped out by CAR T-cell therapy.
Engineered bacteria may fight this brain-damaging genetic disorder
A possible phenylketonuria therapy using engineered bacteria has shown positive results in a small phase 2 trial.
A malaria-fighting antibody has passed phase 2 trials
An antibody designed to prevent malaria infection has proven effective in phase 2 trials in Mali.
UK trials world’s first lab-grown blood transfusions
UK researchers have launched the world’s first trial in which lab-grown blood cells are being transfused into another person.
“Laughing gas” may offer quick, long-lasting relief from depression
With ketamine showing potential as an antidepressant, researchers investigate another anesthetic: nitrous oxide, or “laughing gas.”
DNA-damaging molecules in the gut linked to colon cancer
A new Yale study linking a DNA-damaging molecule in the gut to colorectal cancer may give us a way to prevent the deadly disease.
New mRNA vaccine for flu and COVID-19 enters human trials
Pfizer and BioNTech’s new mRNA vaccine designed to protect against COVID-19 and the flu has entered human trials.
New study will put the leading theory about Alzheimer’s to the test
Washington University in St. Louis is embarking on a drug trial that may also put the amyloid hypothesis to its ultimate test.
Organ regeneration could overcome liver failure, without a transplant
Patients wait from 30 days to over five years to receive a liver transplant in the U.S. What if the liver could regenerate itself instead?
“Freakonomics” study offers simple strategy for making tough decisions
People who chose change over inaction, regardless of the decision, self-reported being better off and happier after six months.
AI could help cancer patients avoid a deadly recurrence
A new study found that AI can use a patient’s initial skin cancer growth to predict their risk of melanoma recurrence.
New exercise study could find drugs that mimic working out
MIT and Harvard researchers mapped out many of the cells, genes, and cellular pathways that are modified by exercise or high-fat diet.
7 ways CRISPR is shaping the future of food
Using the powerful gene-editing tool CRISPR, researchers are altering crops and animals to add desirable traits and remove undesirable ones.
Pfizer’s RSV vaccine for pregnant women protects newborns
Pfizer plans to begin the regulatory approval process by the end of the year.
These earbuds can tell if a newborn has hearing problems
A newborn hearing screening device made from off-the-shelf earbuds is as effective as expensive commercial options.
These psychedelic “body snatchers” regenerate their bodies and absorb other organism’s attributes
These bizarre mollusks have the ability to regenerate their bodies and to absorb other organisms’ attributes.
AI-discovered drug for ALS enters human trials in just four years
Verge Genomics has begun a trial of their AI-found ALS drug candidate, one of the first tests for this new method of drug discovery.
Understanding cancer’s “dark matter”
Researchers have discovered that cancer’s epigenome — changes to how genes are expressed that aren’t mutations — may play a key role in its behavior.
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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