Biotech

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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
The most damaging exercise myth
It’s a common belief that it’s normal for adults to be less physically active as they age. This might be the most pernicious exercise myth.
New on/off switch in mRNA lets doctors “tune” gene therapy
A new kind of mRNA switch could give doctors the ability to precisely control the expression of therapeutic genes.
Research: inflammation and mortality may be caused by low “psychological well-being”
Researchers looked at the link between life purpose and mortality and found that people who felt they had no purpose in life tended to die earlier.
Your brain “wakes up” more than 100 times each night. That’s normal — and maybe good
Research suggests that brief, repeated “wake-ups” during sleep are completely normal, and may actually bode well for one’s memory.
Cyborg computer combining AI and human brain cells really works
A new biohybrid computer combining a “brain organoid” and a traditional AI was able to perform speech recognition.
Partnering up can help you grow as an individual – here’s why
The science makes it abundantly clear that couples with more self-expansion are better relationships. Here’s why.
Bioengineered protein could enhance memory
Memory-related conditions are notoriously hard to treat, but there may be a way to boost recall in the brain.
Red meat causes heart disease. Except when it doesn’t?
The problem is not scientific consensus on red meat, but how specialists analyze risk when proffering public guidelines.
Why is the value of money for happiness increasing?
While the old adage says that money can’t buy happiness, studies have determined that the more your income increases, the happier you are.
Does caffeine harm your decision-making?
A small study showed caffeine lessens decision-making. While preliminary, it raises questions about caffeine affects our “higher” cognitive functions.
Moderna’s mRNA cancer vaccine works even better than thought
Adding Moderna’s mRNA cancer vaccine to a standard melanoma treatment dramatically reduces the risk of death or recurrence.
The 5 most exciting clinical trial results of 2023
In 2023, several potentially game-changing meds, including ones to treat pain and high cholesterol, showed huge promise in human trials.
Chemobrain is real. Here’s what to expect after cancer treatment.
Chemobrain, or chemofog, can significantly affect cancer survivors’ quality of life with its social, psychological, and economic impacts.
Deep neural networks show promise as models of human hearing
In the largest study yet of deep neural networks trained to perform auditory tasks, researchers found surprising similarities to human hearing.
Professor Giles Yeo on making sense of anti-obesity drugs
Anti-obesity drugs have been in the news, and for good reason; they seem to work. Giles Yeo talks us through some misconceptions at play.
How music therapy benefits the autistic brain
While the benefits of music therapy are well known, more in-depth research explores how music benefits children with autism.
Mice could someday become venomous, suggests study on the evolution of oral venom systems
Although scientists have a good understanding of the composition of snake venom, little is understood about the origins of venom systems.
New AI predicts cancer survival using epigenetics
Researchers from the UCLA train an AI to use epigenetics to predict clinical outcomes for cancer patients.
Stunning video reveals how our fingers form in the womb
A first-of-its-kind map of human limb development could help prevent a common type of birth defect in the future.
Walmart now has mammograms, analyzed with AI
Shoppers can now get mammograms at a Walmart in Delaware — and more of the walk-in clinics are set to open in 2024.
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.