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
Ancient Olympians wouldn’t qualify for today’s Games
Across history, the human body has been reshaped by discipline, medicine, and now technology — each era redefining peak performance.
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.
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.
Psychedelics & Mental Health
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.
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.
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
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
Researchers identified over 5,500 new viruses in the ocean
These discoveries help scientists better understand not only the evolutionary history of viruses but also the evolution of life on Earth.
MIT’s new bacteria protects guts from antibiotic-caused dysbiosis
An engineered bacteria protects the gut microbiome from antibiotics to help people battle infections without risking dysbiosis.
Silencing one gene with CRISPR boosts crop yields by 10%
Using CRISPR to knock out a single gene in corn and rice increased crop yields by up to 10% in field trials.
Probiotic gut bacteria can produce a vital Parkinson’s drug
L-DOPA is a miraculous Parkinson’s drug with terrible side effects. Researchers have created drug-producing bacteria that may help.
CRISPR could create hypoallergenic cats
The results of a recent study found that genetically engineering cats could be a solution to eliminating cat allergies.
One breed of honey bee can survive its deadliest threat
A line of honey bees bred to resist the Varroa mite parasite has proven itself in a large-scale trial involving more than 350 bee colonies.
Strange treatment may restore sense of smell after COVID
Philadelphia doctors are treating COVID patient’s loss of smell with plasma-soaked sponges. But whether it is working or not still needs to be sniffed out.
Bedridden woman stands again thanks to spinal implant
A spinal cord stimulator is helping a woman who was bedridden for 18 months because she fainted every time she stood up regain her mobility.
Should we use genome editing to make better babies?
Over the years, many different people, from preachers to philosophers, have voiced their concerns over the safety and ethics of gene editing.
A common arthritis drug treats alopecia (Updated)
A common arthritis drug may be an effective alopecia treatment, based on a trial in which it helped people regrow their hair in just 36 weeks.
Rare double lung transplant saves cancer patient’s life
A Chicago lung cancer patient’s successful double lung transplant is a ray of hope for others with the deadly disease.
New UV light safely kills 98% of airborne pathogens indoors
Far-UVC light — a type of ultraviolet light that isn’t harmful to human health — killed 98% of airborne microbes indoors in a new study.
Death: how long are we conscious for and does life really flash before our eyes?
Seeing one’s life flashing before one’s eye might be our ultimate attempt – however desperate – to find meaning in our lives.
In a hole in Earth’s magnetic field, neuroscientists are peering into the human brain
By using quantum physics to measure magnetic fields, researchers are pushing closer to measuring the brain in ways we couldn’t before.
Purple tomatoes could soon hit store shelves
Purple tomatoes modified to be packed with antioxidants found in blueberries could soon be approved for sale by the FDA.
Medical drones to transport blood being rushed to Ukraine
Medical drones are being rushed to Ukraine to help residents get the medical supplies they need in the midst of the war with Russia.
Wounds of kids with “butterfly disease” healed by DNA gel
A topical gene therapy helped heal the wounds of people with “butterfly disease,” a painful disorder that makes the skin incredibly fragile.
Reversing hearing loss with regenerative therapy
MIT spinout Frequency Therapeutics’ drug candidate stimulates the growth of hair cells in the inner ear.
Cancer is addicted to iron. It could be a fatal weakness.
By homing in on the high levels of iron in certain cancer cells, researchers have created a more targeted anticancer drug.
AI maps psychedelic “trip” experiences to regions of the brain – opening new route to psychiatric treatments
To better understand how these effects manifest in the brain, we analyzed over 6,000 written testimonials of hallucinogenic experiences.
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.