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 Four Enemies to a happy life and how to defeat them
Buddhist psychologists, Robert Thurman and Sharon Salzberg, have identified “Four Enemies” that are obstacles to a happy, fulfilled life.
How child mortality fell from 40% to 3.7% in 200 years
The collapse in child mortality rates is a testament to the tremendous benefits of scientific, technological, and economic progress.
Crows are self-aware just like us, says new study
Crows and the rest of the corvid family keep turning out to be smarter and smarter. A corvid’s pallium has more neurons than a great ape’s.
Large study of 20,000 cats and dogs could help pets live longer
Mars Petcare has announced the opening of a massive biobank to study aging and pet diseases.
The sci-fi plan to create artificial gravity on the moon, Mars
To create artificial gravity for off-world explorers, Japan plans to build spinning, cone-shaped facilities on the moon and Mars.
Archaeologists identify contents of ancient Mayan drug containers
Archaeologists used new methods to identify contents of Mayan drug containers, discovering a non-tobacco plant.
Potential cause of unexplained epilepsy cases uncovered
University of Arizona researchers have uncovered a protein that might be behind some epilepsy cases with currently unknown causes.
“Soft CRISPR” is safer and could help cure more diseases
A new CRISPR system was far more effective and precise than CRISPR-Cas9 when tested in fruit flies.
The first FDA-approved clinical trial of psilocin has begun
“This has never been done before,” says Filament’s CEO.
Nasal COVID-19 vaccines prepare for infection right where it starts – in your nose and throat
Intranasal vaccines are best suited to protect against pathogens that enter through the nose, like the flu or the coronavirus.
FDA authorizes new COVID-19 vaccine — and it’s not like the others
The FDA has issued an emergency use authorization for biotech company Novavax’s protein-based COVID-19 vaccine.
People who read live longer than those who don’t, Yale researchers say
A study by Yale researchers finds that reading books in particular returns cognitive gains that increase longevity.
CRISPR cure for high cholesterol enters first human trial
A trial testing a new CRISPR-based treatment to lower cholesterol has officially kicked off in New Zealand.
After death, you’re aware that you’ve died, say scientists
How can we know that we’re dead after we die? Some evidence attributes a certain neurological phenomenon to a near death experience.
NYU performs two more pig-to-human heart transplants
Two pig-to-human heart transplants performed by surgeons at NYU Langone Health showed all the signs of success.
A historian identifies the worst year in human history
The year 536 ushered in the coldest decade in thousands of years and started a century of economic devastation.
An old HIV drug may treat Down syndrome
A common HIV drug could potentially be a Down syndrome treatment, improving cognition in mouse models of the condition.
New discoveries are rewriting the rulebook for regenerating limbs
Human limb regeneration is closer to reality thanks to new studies that refine our understanding of what mammals need to regrow body parts.
Nanoparticles may automatically clean your teeth one day
Shapeshifting nanoparticles may one day lead to automated oral care.
FDA may soon allow pig organ transplant trials
With pig transplantation looking increasingly viable, the FDA may soon allow clinical trials of the technique to begin.
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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