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
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.
What is The Great Progression: 2025 to 2050?
We have a historic opportunity to harness AI and other transformative technologies in order to make a much better world in the next 25 years.
Progress happens because solutions create new problems to solve
Solutionism means fully accepting what’s in front of us and enthusiastically stepping up to meet the challenge.
Psychedelics & Mental Health
How to reclaim meaning in a changing world
What if the barrier to a fulfilled life isn’t technology, it’s culture?
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.
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
The ebola vaccine is still working 2 years later
The vaccine works great at preventing infection—let’s hope it can also prevent media panic too.
These bacteria-eating sewer viruses are saving lives
The world discovered phages before antibiotics, but these lowly sewer viruses are getting renewed attention in the…
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Superhuman
The world’s first bionic drummer
Jason Barnes lost his arm in a horrible accident. Then he became the fastest drummer in the world…
Linking genes to depression could revolutionize treatment
Saying something is “genetic” used to be a fatalistic diagnosis. But with modern medicine, it could be the key to…
The eternal sunshine of the stressed out mind
Researchers at Cambridge University have finally figured out how the brain stops stressful thoughts and memories…
FDA approves AI “doctor” that can see disease in your eyes
How will artificial intelligence transform medicine?
23andMe can (finally) tell you about your genetic cancer risk
23andMe has won the right to tell you what your genes say about you. It’s a landmark legal achievement that could…
A prosthetic memory can help you remember
Scientists have figured out how to hack the brain’s memory.
Can sleep deprivation cure depression?
Losing sleep can have a lot of adverse health effects, but recent science shows it could also have a surprising upside
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Crossing the Divide
Having your views challenged is a good thing
When we encounter ideas we don’t like, we often shut them down. Professor John Inazu explains why that’s a bad thing and what we can do to fix it.
Could growing vaccines in plants save lives?
Vaccines for influenza, polio, smallpox, even Ebola have all be grown … in plants.
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DIY Science
Treating diabetes with a DIY pancreas
A group of coders created an open source, DIY pancreas to help people with diabetes manage their condition.
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Crossing the Divide
The conservative radio host urging people to break out of their bubbles
Charlie Sykes, a conservative radio host and author of “How the Right Lost Its Mind”, explains the dangers of…
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DIY Science
Can coding prevent overdoses?
A group of teenagers in Baltimore have created an app that can notify the public about heroin overdoses and save countless lives
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On the Fringe
Freezing bodies for the future
Alcor CEO Max More knows most people don’t believe cryonics will work. But More thinks we can’t afford not to try.
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On the Fringe
Growing human organs in pigs
Twenty people die every day in the U.S. waiting for an organ transplant. There aren’t enough organs for the 100,000…
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On the Fringe
Can snot help stop the flu?
The flu is a really tough target. The virus evolves far too fast to really pin it down. If only they could slow it…
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On the Fringe
A stranger's poop could save your life
is pretty gross. We do everything we can to avoid it. But thanks to the burgeoning field of fecal transplants,…
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On the Fringe
Searching for cures in a sewer
Yale researcher Ben Chan spends a lot of time doing what most people would avoid at all costs. He travels the world…
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Wrong
Is vitamin C a total sham?
In the heart of cold and flu season, it’s natural to reach for the Vitamin C. But we may want to think twice. While…
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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