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
Can genetic engineering stop the fall armyworm invasion?
The fall armyworm is devastating African agriculture, eating millions of pounds of crops. Can a genetically modified version control their advance?
Help scientists figure out whether brain training apps work
To figure out how people might benefit from brain training apps, researchers are looking for 30,000 volunteers willing to play brain games science.
Dogs that can smell coronavirus screen travelers at airport
Detection dogs that can smell coronavirus in a person’s sweat are now screening travelers for COVID-19 at Helsinki Airport.
Are microbes called protists our only virus eaters?
Despite their abundance, nothing we know of eats viruses. But new research suggests microbes called protists might.
Truffle pomme fondue sound tasty? Visit this fine-dining drive-thru.
The Resy Drive-Thru could help the restaurant industry survive the pandemic by serving as a creative new revenue stream for fine-dining chefs.
Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine reaches final trial stage
Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine isn’t the first to reach the final human trial stage, but it may have several advantages over its predecessors.
“Antibody inhaler” could rapidly treat—and prevent—COVID-19
Scientists have discovered a new antibody therapy that can be inhaled to provide treatment and temporary immunity to the coronavirus.
CRISPR’d male “surrogates” can produce another animal’s prized sperm
High-quality sperm means high-quality animals, but the process can be expensive or inaccessible. CRISPR-edited “surrogate sires” may provide a solution.
“Candy flipping” — mixing MDMA and LSD — is hitting the lab
A clinical trial of mixing LSD and MDMA, known as “candy flipping,” wants to see if molly can take a trip’s edge off and make LSD therapy more effective.
Antivenom scientists are using horse antibodies for COVID-19
In Costa Rica, horse antibodies for COVID-19 are about to enter human trials.
Studying pig sh*t to prevent the next pandemic
A pilot program in North Carolina offers one solution to scanning for a potential pig virus in our farm system – slurry testing.
“Google Maps for the human body” offers a deep view inside our trillions of cells
Researchers are creating an interactive, 3D map of the human body to help identify and prevent disease.
The future of vaccines may be injectable gels
Scientists have designed a slow-releasing vaccine that can more accurately match the timeframe of a natural infection.
Scientists are developing a coronavirus breathalyzer test
Fast, accurate, cheap, and easy to use, a coronavirus breathalyzer could be a game changer — and multiple research teams are racing to get them approved.
MIT can now monitor your sleeping position with radio waves
A new sleep monitor out of MIT uses reflections from radio signals — not cameras or body sensors — to track a person’s sleeping positions.
Can RNA editing catch up to CRISPR?
Developed in the 1980s, RNA editing was overshadowed by CRISPR. But the last few years have seen a resurgence of interest in the gene editing technique.
The race to get artificial blood into patients’ veins
Artificial blood could help address blood shortages while overcoming the limitations of donated blood, which has a relatively short shelf life.
Could a single injection send diabetes into remission?
Research has found that a single surgical injection of a protein into the brain can restore blood sugar levels and send diabetes into remission, for rodents. This could transform the lives of people living with diabetes.
This edible sensor can alert you of food contamination
A microneedle patch made of silk changes color if it senses food contamination or spoilage, making it easier to know when food’s gone bad.
New brain implant reads minds from inside a blood vessel
A first-of-its-kind neural interface called the Stentrode sits in a blood vessel in the brain, picking up signals it can wirelessly transmit to a computer.
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.