Contributor

B. David Zarley

Senior Staff Writer

Contact

[email protected]

B. David Zarley is a senior staff writer for Freethink, where he covers health and medicine, including infectious disease, psychedelic research, mental health, and the brain. A graduate of SUNY Fredonia, his work has also appeared in The Atlantic, The Verge, Jezebel, Frieze, Sports Illustrated, VICE, Paste Magazine, and numerous other publications. He lives in Chicago and can be reached via Signal by request. Send him story ideas!

Drugs

Breakthrough study discovers that psychedelics breach our neurons

Researchers have discovered that psychedelics can activate 5-HT2A receptors inside of cortical neurons, a possible cause of their therapeutic effects.

B. David Zarley

silhouette of a virus with a question mark on it

Coronavirus

First at-home test can tell you if it’s COVID or flu

The FDA has granted authorization to an at-home test that can tell COVID from flu, the first of its kind.

B. David Zarley

Robotics

Watch: Robotic window cleaners take to the sky

In a bid to shake up the industry, two Israeli companies will soon deploy robot window cleaners to cities around the world.

B. David Zarley

Cars

Goodyear announces 90% sustainable tire

Made from a variety of recycled and repurposed materials, the tire may be perfectly suited for electric vehicles.

B. David Zarley

Drugs

Psychedelics are helping dying patients overcome their existential distress

End of life patients face existential and spiritual challenges other patients do not. Psychedelics may be uniquely suited to helping them.

B. David Zarley

Climate Crisis

You can build a house out of this super-grass material

Plantd is turning to fast-growing grasses to decarbonize construction.

B. David Zarley

Biology

In a first, scientists use AI to create brand new enzymes

In a scientific first, researchers have created brand new enzymes designed with the help of AI.

B. David Zarley

Diagram of sound waves forming an object

3D Printing

German scientists 3D print objects with “acoustic holograms”

By using shaped ultrasound, researchers in Germany have developed a way to 3D print objects in one shot.

B. David Zarley

Medicine

Herpes virus helped kill a deadly form of breast cancer in a clinical trial

A combination of an engineered herpes virus and chemo showed promise for treating triple-negative breast cancer in a small study.

B. David Zarley

Public Health

A single dose of an old drug could save 2 million mothers from sepsis every year

A large international study has found that a single oral dose of a common antibiotic can “significantly” reduce the risk of maternal sepsis

B. David Zarley