Science

Side by side of mouse embryos. The one on the left appears to be developing normally, but the one on the right has an extra pair of legs.

How turning off one gene causes mice to grow 6 legs

A study of embryo development in mice led to the creation of a mutant mouse fetus with an extra pair of legs in place of genitals.

Kristin Houser

a rendering of three massive silver containers with "Ark" written on them

Food

This startup is trying to solve lab-grown meat’s biggest problem

A biotech startup has developed a new kind of bioreactor that could help increase cultivated meat production.

Kristin Houser

A man in a suit stands next to a robotic arm with computer-brain interfaces on a stage under blue lighting.

Big Tech

In a future with brain-computer interfaces like Elon Musk’s Neuralink, we may need to rethink freedom of thought

In a future with more “mind reading,” thanks to computer-brain interfaces, we may need to rethink freedom of thought.

Parker Crutchfield

Free database to 107 million research papers released online

The General Index is a searchable database of keywords and brief sentences from publications that anyone may use to navigate scientific knowledge locked behind paywalls.

Teresa Carey

Climate Crisis

We need to rethink global food production to have a shot at our climate goals

Emissions from food alone could use up all of our budget for 1.5°C or 2°C – but we have opportunities to avoid this.

Hannah Ritchie

Physics

We now know the big bang theory is (probably) not how the universe began

Scientists used to think the universe began from a singularity. Nearly 100 years later, we're not so sure.

Ethan Siegel

Biology

Lizard regenerates perfect tail thanks to stem cells

A USC study that prompted lizards to regenerate tails that were “perfect” could help facilitate breakthroughs in human regeneration.

Kristin Houser

Inventions

5 recent breakthroughs that completely changed electronics

From wearable electronics to microscopic sensors, new advances are bringing "impossible" electronics to life.

Ethan Siegel

Genetics

Genetically modified barley can grow meat protein

An Icelandic firm is growing genetically modified barley plants with special “growth factors” that could create lab-grown meat.

Teresa Carey

CRISPR

CRISPR is revolutionizing medicine — its origin story is pretty incredible, too

The origin story of CRISPR highlights how groundbreaking discoveries can emerge from run-of-the-mill research.

Jonny Thomson

Neuroscience

Here’s why sensory perception research was awarded a Nobel Prize

Physiologists David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their research on human sensory perception.

Tim Brinkhof

Agriculture

Scientists convert CO2 into synthetic starch

A process for making synthetic starch from CO2 eliminates the need for growing resource-intensive starchy plants.

Kristin Houser

CRISPR

This gene-edited tomato may help lower your blood pressure

A gene-edited tomato that may be able to lower your blood pressure is the first CRISPR-edited food to be sold commercially.

Kristin Houser

Sections

Video

Freethink

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