The Digital Frontier
Advancements in 20th century medicine reshaped society and made good health an expectation, not an exception. Now, 21st century breakthroughs may end disease, reverse aging, and restore sight and hearing — perhaps sooner than we think.
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How Boom is resurrecting supersonic flight
If Boom gets its way, the future of supersonic passenger travel will be quieter, cleaner, and more affordable than its past.
The West needs more water. This Nobel winner may have the answer.
Paul Migrom has an Emmy, a Nobel, and a successful company. There’s one more big problem on the to-do list.
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Hard Reset
Starlink’s newest competitor is using next-gen satellites to create internet for everyone
Four billion people are not connected to the internet. This company wants to change that, using satellites in geostationary orbit.
Honda unveils hands-free wheelchair you steer like a Segway
Honda Robotics has unveiled a prototype of the UNI-ONE, a hands-free wheelchair that you steer with your body weight.
Ex-NASA engineer Mark Rober created the world’s smallest Nerf gun — from DNA
Mark Rober and Pallav Kosuri created a Nerf gun so tiny they had to build it out of DNA. This DNA “origami” has the potential to revolutionize engineering.
Dumbing down or wising up: how will generative AI change the way we think?
Artificial intelligence tools are now managing huge swathes of information on our behalf, potentially changing what and how we think.
A short history of insomnia and how we became obsessed with sleep
Insomnia is big business and getting bigger. When did sleep become so important, so elusive, and so expensive?
NASA spends $50K on liquid metal spacesuit material
NASA-backed engineers are developing a new spacesuit material that will use liquid metals to repel lunar dust on demand.
Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites are “leaking” signals
Starlink satellites are emitting signals that interfere with our most sensitive radio telescopes, interfering with radio astronomy.
Sex life discovery raises IVF hope for endangered purple cauliflower soft coral
The purple cauliflower soft coral Dendronephthya australis, now listed as an endangered species, has a new hope of survival with IVF.
Debunking the myth of Gen Z “voter apathy” ahead of the 2024 election
Gen Z is stereotyped as politically apathetic. These youth action groups are proving that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Blocking this one protein could strengthen muscles
Stanford researchers have figured out how a therapy that blocks a single protein can reverse age-related muscle loss in mice.
CRISPR cure for HIV now tested in 3 people
Excision BioTherapeutics has shared data from the first human clinical trial of a CRISPR cure for HIV. Here’s what we know — and don’t know.
“Living pharmacies” could mean you never forget to take your meds again
The US government is funding the development of “living pharmacies,” implants containing cells that release medications on demand.
Cardio improves cognitive function & mental health. Here’s the best way to do it at home.
While many people do cardio exercise to keep physically fit, research shows cardio also improves cognitive function and mental health.
MIT’s soft fiber implants could offer drug-free pain relief
An innovative new way to use fiber-pulses to inhibit pain.
Cleaning up one of the world’s most commonly used substances
C-Crete has created a more sustainable cement binding material that could significantly reduce the industry’s CO2 emissions.
NASA funds AI lasers to zap space junk
NASA is funding the development of AI space lasers to protect its spacecraft and astronauts from potentially deadly space junk.
T-Minus: SpaceX’s wild pace, a marsquake mystery solved, and more
Freethink’s weekly countdown of the biggest space news, featuring SpaceX’s launch problem, a marsquake mystery, and more.
Why 20 women were just deliberately exposed to Zika
In a first-of-its-kind human challenge trial, Johns Hopkins University researchers deliberately exposed 20 women to the Zika virus.
The 2023 annular eclipse will have huge consequences 6 months later
Only twice a year are the conditions right for the Sun, Earth, and Moon to align in space: creating conditions for either solar or lunar eclipses.
New “anti-CRISPR” discovered in viruses
A new “anti-CRISPR” system could help us control gene-editing tech and battle antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
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