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
What happens when your brain imagines the future?
Research out of the University of Pennsylvania suggests imagining the future is a two-brain region job.
Mass vaccination experiment was a huge success in Brazil
A mass vaccination experiment in Brazil suggests that even a moderately effective vaccine can have a dramatic effect if enough people get the shot.
"Light-shrinking" material cranks normal microscopes up to 11
Researchers have developed a light-shrinking slide coating that allows light microscopes to image in “super-resolution.”
Inhaled nanobodies treat COVID-19 in hamsters
An inhaled nanobody treatment for COVID-19 has shown promise in animal tests and could be a more affordable alternative to monoclonal antibody drugs.
The entire human genome has (finally) been sequenced
Researchers have finally sequenced the complete human genome, filling the gaps in the Human Genome Project’s historic first draft.
Robot paramedics are bringing mechanical CPR to the UK
An English ambulance service has begun using robot paramedics to deliver mechanical CPR to patients.
Dengue fever vaccine still protects after three years
A dengue fever vaccine candidate by Takeda is still effective after three years in a large human study, raising hopes for fighting the virus.
New lab-grown mini hearts have a human-like beat
Researchers created the first human mini heart in the lab. The mini hearts, called cardioids, have developed distinctly beating chambers, which fire in sync.
Are we really addicted to technology?
Simplifying very complex things can lead to real harm.
Birds, frogs, and reptiles use sound to “program” embryos
Sound appears to play a larger role in animal development than previously thought, affecting how a variety of species prepare for life outside the womb or egg.
Will human augmentation move too fast for our brains?
To show how human augmentation can affect the brain, participants in a new study underwent fMRIs after learning to use a prosthetic called the “Third Thumb.”
One-minute COVID-19 breath test authorized in Singapore
Singapore has provisionally authorized a COVID-19 breath test that measures VOCs to deliver accurate results in just one minute.
"Defective" embryos can actually self-correct in the womb
PGT-A, a genetic test used to screen embryos for aneuploidy prior to in vitro fertilization, appears to be excluding many viable options.
Inhaled CRISPR treatment tackles COVID-19, flu
An inhaled CRISPR treatment can be easily tweaked to attack a variety of viruses, from the one that causes the flu to the coronavirus behind COVID-19.
Liverpool and DeepMind are bringing AI to the beautiful game
AI in sports has taken off in recent years. Now, Liverpool and DeepMind are teaming up to see how AI may impact the world’s most popular sport.
Human lifespan may have a hard limit: 150 years
The human lifespan is limited to 150 years, according to a new longevity study focused on the body’s ability to bounce back from stressful events.
These bacteria grow biodegradable “Aquaplastic”
Scientists genetically modified E. coli to create a plastic called “aquaplastic,” which can be transformed into a three-dimensional shape just by adding water.
Predicting your protection against COVID-19
Australian researchers have found an immune response measurement they believe can predict protection against COVID-19.
Gene therapy and special goggles partially restore man’s vision after 40 years
Researchers have demonstrated that restoring limited vision to people suffering from retinitis pigmentosa, a historically permanent type of blindness, is within reach.
Ohio announces $1M vaccine lottery, shots surge 33%
Ohio’s vaccine lottery, which will give five vaccinated residents $1 million each, appears to have sparked the desired increase in new vaccinations.
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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