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
Theory of mind: What chess and drug dealers can teach you about manipulation
Every social interaction is a game of chess, trying to get inside someone’s head to navigate what they are thinking or what they will do.
We need to know about progress if we’re concerned about the world’s large problems
Our World in Data explains their mission to publish the “research and data to make progress against the world’s largest problems.”
Tiny nanoscale drills can bore holes right through bacteria
Rice University researchers have developed tiny, bacteria-boring drills in an effort to stop superbugs.
The key to fighting fungal infections may have been inside us all along
MIT researchers have discovered that complex molecules in mucus can keep fungal infections in check.
“Stealth bomb” for cancer unlocks powerful immune attack
A “masked” cancer drug stealthily trains immune system to kill tumors while sparing healthy tissues, reducing treatment side effects.
Gene therapy fixes rare heart disorder with clever workaround
Cleveland Clinic researchers have developed a gene therapy that cured arrhythmias in mice.
Chinese robot clones pigs with no human help
A robot that automates a common technique for animal cloning has been used to produce a litter of pigs in China.
Stimulating deep sleep may improve brain health, memory, and mood
Researchers are trying to harness deep sleep to bolster the glymphatic system, which helps flush brain tissue.
Self-healing robot skin created out of human cells
University of Tokyo researchers have created a living skin, made from human cells and collagen, for a robotic finger.
The US Civil War drastically reshaped how Americans deal with death – will the pandemic?
How do American’s attitudes towards death change when they are confronted with such enormous losses?
Small trial of cancer immunotherapy sends every patient into remission
Every participant in a small trial testing a rectal cancer immunotherapy has had their disease go into complete remission.
Geopsychology: Your personality depends on where you live
Scientists in the relatively new field of “geopsychology” are seeing links between personality and location.
Three more nations eliminate sleeping sickness as a public health threat
Sleeping sickness is a horrifying disease mainly impacting the rural poor. But three more African nations have succeeded in curtailing its threat.
Nuclear isomers were discovered 100 years ago
Protons and neutrons in an atom’s nucleus can be arranged in different configurations, creating nuclear isomers.
Why at-home STI tests may (finally) be about to take off
Inspired by the home testing of the pandemic and rising STI cases, some experts think that more accessible testing may be an important public health tool.
This already-approved drug could help repair the brain after stroke
Ohio State researchers have found that an already approved anticonvulsant drug helps increase stroke recovery in mice.
Study reveals the dynamics of human milk production
MIT researchers performed a large-scale study of the cells in human breast milk, allowing them to track how these cells change over time.
UK man receives double hand transplant to treat rare disease
UK surgeons have performed the world’s first double hand transplant to treat scleroderma, a rare autoimmune disease.
A new treatment may cure neuropathic pain
A gene therapy tested in animals may be a safe, permanent, and non-addictive treatment for neuropathic pain in humans.
New surgery implants living, 3D-printed body parts
A 3D-printed outer ear made from the patient’s own cells has been implanted.
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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