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
Moderna applies for approval of COVID-19 vaccine for children
Moderna has asked the FDA to authorize its COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 6 months through 5 years.
Inspired by kombucha tea, engineers create living materials
A symbiotic culture of specialized yeast and bacteria can generate tough materials able to perform a variety of functions.
America’s “Test to Treat” has failed. Here’s how to fix it.
So far, Test to Treat has largely failed to get antivirals for COVID-19 to patients that need them — but the initiative can still be fixed.
WeChat users try to keep Shanghai lockdown protest video ahead of censors
WeChat users have turned to all manner of tricks in a cat-and-mouse game with CCP censors to keep a video about the Shanghai lockdown online.
Babble hypothesis shows key factor to becoming a leader
Researchers show that intelligence is not the most important factor in leadership, simply talking the most is.
Computer-designed miniproteins unleash a whole new kind of drugs
Using a computer program, researchers have created miniproteins that they hope can lead to new drugs.
This wristband tells you what food to buy based on your DNA
By analyzing genetic code determining susceptibility to health conditions like diabetes, it tells you which foods are best for you.
An ancient enzyme could supercharge photosynthesis
Researchers have resurrected an ancient version of the enzyme Rubisco in the hope of supercharging photosynthesis in today’s plants.
T cells and viruses, an unlikely duo, team up to kill tumors
A new Mayo Clinic-developed immunotherapy combining CAR-T cells and cancer-killing viruses looks promising in mouse models.
Drug to treat alcoholism could also safely reduce anxiety
The alcoholism treatment disulfiram may be able to serve double-duty as an anti-anxiety medication, according to mouse studies.
We overwash our bodies because bad odors are uniquely disgusting
Overwashing is bad for skin health, but many people do it anyway. One reason is that our brains intimately associate stink with disgust.
Bacteria living inside tumors help cancer spread through the blood
Intracellular bacteria promote cancer metastasis by enhancing the tumor cells’ resistance to mechanical stress in the bloodstream.
New $5-device allows healthy sperm cells to isolate themselves
About 10% of men are infertile, and often their sperm is to blame. This device could help separate the healthy cells from the others.
Mutations in 16 species reveal clues to human aging
A surprising pattern in how often mammal cells undergo somatic mutations could be a boon to longevity research.
Build strength with only three seconds of weight lifting per day?
Researchers have found that a four-week program consisting of three seconds of weight lifting per day for five days a week boosts strength.
Meningitis vaccine appears to protect against gonorrhea, too
Young people who received a meningitis vaccine appeared to be protected against the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhea, too.
Stanford scientists can control specific brain cells at a distance
Using infrared light and a Nobel Prize-winning molecule that detects chili pepper heat, researchers can control brain cells from a distance.
People trust AI fake faces more than real ones, research suggests
Fake faces created by artificial intelligence (AI) are considered more trustworthy than images of real people, a study finds.
Man builds his own bionic hand out of melted plastic bottles
After creating a bionic hand for himself, Peruvian engineer Enzo Romero launched a company to sell the low-cost prosthetics to others.
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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