Health

The future of fertility, from artificial wombs to AI-assisted IVF

A look back at the history of infertility treatments and ahead to the tech that could change everything we thought we knew about reproduction.

Kristin Houser

Overlay of hands and abstract patterns in purple and blue tones, symbolizing hope for Parkinson's cure.

Drugs

The exciting research that may cure Parkinson’s

GeneCode is developing a drug it hopes won’t just alleviate Parkinson’s symptoms but also protect and restore patient’s neural health.

Kevin Dickinson

A child sitting on a couch in a dimly lit room, holding and looking intently at a tablet, as if testing the Goldilocks hypothesis for the perfect screen brightness.

Mental Health

Beyond screen time: Rethinking kids’ tech use with the “Goldilocks hypothesis”

The “Goldilocks hypothesis” asks parents to think beyond screen time and consider the habits that teens build around technology use.

Kevin Dickinson

Public Health

Cone snail venom may help treat malaria

Clumps of infected red blood cells can make malaria dangerous even after its parasite is treated. Cone snail venom may one day help.

B. David Zarley

Virology

A new bird flu is infecting people. Here’s what we know.

The H5N8 bird flu virus has reportedly infected seven poultry farm workers in Russia. Here’s what we know about the new avian flu threat.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

FDA: One-shot COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective

FDA experts confirm that Johnson and Johnson’s one-shot COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective, putting it a step closer to authorization.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

World’s first COVID-19 human challenge study is a go

Researchers have gotten the green light to deliberately infect people with the coronavirus as part of the world’s first COVID-19 human challenge study.

Kristin Houser

Medicine

Diabetes drug shows promise as obesity treatment

The diabetes drug semaglutide shows promise as an obesity treatment, helping people lose an average of 34 pounds in a recent trial.

Kristin Houser

Healthcare

Stamp-sized wearable health monitor can do it all

Researchers at UCSD have developed a wearable health monitor that can measure both cardiovascular and biochemical signals at once.

B. David Zarley

Prosthetics

New amputation surgery technique may lead to better control of prosthetics

A new amputation surgery technique developed at MIT reconnects muscle pairings and may lead to better prosthetic control — and less pain.

B. David Zarley

Coronavirus

The hunt for a universal coronavirus vaccine

A universal coronavirus vaccine that protects against multiple coronaviruses could stop the next potential pandemic from ever starting.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

Study: Strong immunity without Pfizer vaccine’s second dose

The Pfizer vaccine's second dose might not be as necessary as thought — and ultra-cold storage of the COVID-19 vaccine might not be necessary at all.

Kristin Houser

Virtual patients help doctors improve bedside manner

The Virti platform lets doctors and med students interact with computer-generated virtual patients so they can improve their bedside manner.

Kristin Houser

Sections

Series & Columns

Freethink

We focus on solutions: the smartest people, the biggest ideas, and the most ground breaking technology shaping our future.