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

Aging

Do optimists really live longer? Here’s what the research says

Research shows if you cultivate a more optimistic mindset, you might further increase your chances for a long life.

Fuschia Sirois

Neuroscience

This implant cools off nerves to give targeted pain relief

A tiny implant that wraps around nerves and cools them to deliver targeted pain relief could help address the opioid crisis.

Kristin Houser

Brain

Discovery reveals how scary memories stick

Researchers believe they may have discovered the mechanism behind fear’s sticking power in our memory.

B. David Zarley

Medicine

This startup wants you to have a personal stem cell stash

GoodCell wants patients to store the cells that can become stem cells for possible use later in life.

B. David Zarley

Wearables

Wearable tech: eating and playing our way to a longer lifespan

Wearable devices can detect the specific molecules in food and our body’s response to it, allowing us to make better dietary decisions.

Peter Rogers

Public Health

A “Peter Pan” chemical could stop mosquitoes, without hurting other insects

Entomologist Naoki Yamanaka has an idea for how to handle mosquitoes: What if we just stop them from growing up?

B. David Zarley

Medicine

A dog cancer vaccine may save them and, one day, us

Dutch researchers have created a dog vaccine which may pave the way for similar human therapies.

B. David Zarley

Medicine

Magnetic robot can save lives after a brain hemorrhage

Researchers have developed a microbot-containing, magnetically controlled catheter for removing blood from brain hemorrhages.

B. David Zarley

a rendering of the blood of someone with sickle cell disease

CRISPR

CRISPR cure for sickle cell nearly 100% effective after three years

A CRISPR therapy for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia looks close to 100% effective three years after infusion.

B. David Zarley

Healthcare

This molecule may be the “secret sauce” of exercise — but it won’t work as a pill

Administering Lac-Phe to obese mice significantly lowered their appetite, reduced body fat, and improved glucose tolerance.

Ross Pomeroy

Sections

Series & Columns

Freethink

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