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
Teaching your immune system to ignore invaders
Autoimmune disorders can attack treatments. Can “reverse vaccination” keep the body at bay when necessary?
How can Moderna and Pfizer adjust vaccines for omicron? A microbiologist answers 5 questions
If the omicron variant of the coronavirus is different enough from the original variant, existing vaccines might not be as effective.
Would we still see ourselves as “human” if other hominin species hadn’t gone extinct?
It’s all well and good to discuss how our humanity evolved – but what even is humanity?
Microbots in your blood could help destroy cancer
Shape-shifting, magnetic microbots could become assassins for cancer — destroying tumors without the usual collateral damage on the rest of the body.
Dead bodies keep moving for more than a year after death, study finds
Australian scientists found that bodies kept moving for 17 months after being pronounced dead.
Frontline healthcare workers are going to receive psilocybin therapy
University of Washington researchers are enrolling healthcare workers now in a psilocybin-assisted therapy study.
Needle-free COVID-19 vaccine is in human trials
A needle-free COVID-19 vaccine now in human trials could protect us against both this disease and future coronavirus outbreaks.
Edison and Dali’s “creative nap” trick seems to actually work
Briefly entering the hypnagogic state appears to boost creative thinking, just like Thomas Edison and Salvador Dalí said it would.
Blood and stool samples from 1980s link HIV to gut microbiome
A person’s chances of getting HIV appears to be influenced by the gut microbiome, suggesting it might help us prevent the disease.
Why do “young blood” transfusions help aging mice?
Young blood transfusions may combat signs of aging in older mice by increasing the production of a specific protein: Klotho.
UK man receives world’s first 3D-printed prosthetic eye
U.K. researchers have developed a 3D-printed prosthetic eye that’s more realistic and easier to produce than traditional ones.
Google rolls out new tools to help your doctor search
Google has debuted new ways to make your doctor search easier, allowing you to know what insurance they take and languages they speak.
This app offers alternatives to 911 in all 50 states
There are instances when 911 may not be the best number to call. Subdial, a free app, offers local and national alternatives to 911.
This chewing gum traps the coronavirus
A new chewing gum may help reduce the spread of COVID-19 by neutralizing the virus before it can leave an infected person’s mouth.
Falling traffic lights can kill. One tweak could save lives.
An impact-absorbing traffic light pole could save the lives of drivers and pedestrians, while also cutting repair and replacement costs.
A chemical in grape seeds extends lives of mice by 9%
A chemical in grape seeds extended the lives of old mice, made young ones healthier, and helped chemo drugs shrink tumors in a new study.
Experimental bionic eye is ready for human trials
An experimental bionic eye designed to help restore vision in people with retinal degeneration is ready for human trials.
How herpes hides
Herpesvirus hides in nerve cells, making it impossible to kill. Now, Northwestern researchers believe they have found the novel key to this nasty trick.
First person cured of type 1 diabetes thanks to stem cells
An experimental stem cell treatment has eliminated type 1 diabetes in a patient, giving experts guarded hope for a diabetes cure.
A simple webcam can automatically catch — and treat — infant jaundice
Researchers in Australia and Iraq have developed a system that uses a webcam to catch infant jaundice and begin treatment right away.
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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.