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

3D Printing

TikTok users rally to help elite athlete with Parkinson’s

TikTok users are rallying to help elite athlete Jimmy Choi by designing a pill bottle that's easier to use when his hands shake due to Parkinson’s disease.

Kristin Houser

Genetics

A “self-deleting” gene drive to end mosquito-borne diseases

A gene drive designed to remove itself from an insect population after a few generations could help bring an end to mosquito-borne diseases.

Kristin Houser

Medicine

These brain implants can predict an epileptic seizure days in advance

For the first time, a study has shown that brain activity could be used to forecast the onset of epileptic seizures several days in advance.

Teresa Carey

Medicine

A cancer immunotherapy technique may prevent diabetes

Engineered immune cells can fight off rogue T cells which damage the pancreas and cause type 1 diabetes.

Sarah Wells

Genetics

These chatbots provide genetic counseling services

Genetic counseling services are in high demand. Now, chatbots are providing some of those services, helping patients navigate DNA testing.

Kristin Houser

Medicine

These are the medical breakthroughs that inspired us in 2020

2020 has put medicine to the forefront like never before. Freethink’s B. David Zarley looked back on the year and chose three medical developments that inspired him.

B. David Zarley

Robotics

The best therapy dog may be a robot

A life-life robot dog might be an effective — or even preferable — alternative to a living therapy dog, according to a new study.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

The new coronavirus mutation: What we know & what we need to figure out

A new coronavirus mutation is spreading quickly in the U.K. Here’s what we know about the coronavirus strain and what we need to figure out.

Kristin Houser

Mental Health

Tweaked psychedelic drug could treat addiction, depression

A modified ibogaine molecule could be a safer and more accessible treatment for addiction and depression than the psychedelic drug in its natural state.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

Tobacco-based COVID-19 vaccine moves to human trials

British American Tobacco has FDA approval to begin human trials on a tobacco-based COVID-19 vaccine that could potentially be stored at room temperature.

Kristin Houser

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