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
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.
How consensus can undermine science
The main objective of consensus statements appears to be to reduce doubt, which may stifle scientific inquiry.
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.
Psychedelics & Mental Health
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.
The next era of psychedelics may be precision-designed states of consciousness
A look inside Mindstate Design Labs’ effort to design drugs that reliably produce specific states of consciousness.
Biohacking
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.
Boosted Breeding and beyond: 3 tech trends that could end world hunger
A world without hunger is possible, and the development and deployment of new farming technologies could be one key to manifesting it.
New AI generates CRISPR proteins unlike any seen in nature
An AI that generates CRISPR proteins is opening the door to gene editors with capabilities beyond what we’ve found in nature.
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
How college in prison is leading professors to rethink how they teach
College in prison reduces the chance of reoffending, but it also dramatically changes the perspective of the professors who teach them.
How you breathe affects your brain
A psychiatrist and neuroscientists investigate how breathing affect the brain and biological markers of stress and immune function.
Electrically stimulating the brain helps stop binge eating
Two people with binge eating disorder reported that deep brain stimulation helped them control their eating and lose weight in a small study.
When is the best time to exercise?
Though morning workouts may be optimal for circadian rhythms, afternoon exercise tends to be slightly more efficient.
New CRISPR cancer treatment tested in humans for first time
A new personalized CRISPR cancer treatment modifies the immune system’s T cells to help them recognize a specific patient’s tumor cells.
Good and bad memories are stored in different neurons, study finds
Positive and negative memories are stored in different parts of the brain, raising the possibility of therapeutic memory manipulation.
New fentanyl vaccine could help avoid relapses and overdoses
An in-development fentanyl vaccine that prevents the drug from entering the brain could one day help people avoid relapsing or overdosing.
Injectable gel repairs severe spinal cord injuries and enables mice to walk
An injectable gel that prevents scar formation and stimulates regeneration successfully repaired severe spinal cord injuries in mice.
Study finds mindfulness as effective as medication for anxiety
An intensive form of mindfulness was found as effective as Lexapro in treating anxiety in adults in the first head-to-head comparative study.
Moderna to develop mRNA vaccines for Ebola
Moderna is reportedly nearing a deal with the DoD to develop mRNA vaccines for biological threats like Ebola
New “risky” playground could make kids anti-fragile
A new playground in Melbourne’s Southbank is the work of artist Mike Hewson, who introduces “risk” back into play.
Our ancestors first developed humanlike brains 1.7 million years ago
Using computed tomography, a team of researchers generated images of what the brains of early Homo species likely looked like.
Cheap blood pressure med could help treat alcoholism
Spironolactone, a cheap medication used to treat high blood pressure, might also be able to help people overcome alcohol use disorder.
New deep brain stimulator is powered automatically by breathing
A deep brain stimulator powered by breathing could eliminate the need for patients to undergo regular battery-change surgeries.
Brain implant translates neural activity into letters, letting a paralyzed man “speak”
A new device allowed a paralyzed patient to “speak,” spelling out full sentences in real-time with an error rate of about 8%.
Old herpes drug helps kill deadly superbug
The anti-herpes drug edoxudine can weaken the deadly superbug K-pneumoniae, potentially offering a new weapon against antibiotic resistance.
Spinal cord stimulation helps paralyzed patients walk again
Swiss researchers have used epidural electrical stimulation to restore walking in nine people with chronic spinal cord injuries.
Doctors may not be ready for blood tests that screen for multiple cancers at once
MCED tests are different from existing ones because they are trying to detect early-stage cancer, when there aren’t that many tumor cells.
Yale’s new nasal vaccine can boost an mRNA shot
A nasal vaccine delivered as a booster to mRNA shots might offer better protection against COVID-19 and help stop the virus from spreading.
African researchers push for a human challenge trial to fight TB
Tuberculosis kills over a million people a year. Researchers in Malawi are pushing for a clinical trial that may help change that.
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.
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