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
A new bird flu is infecting people. Here’s what we know.
The H5N8 bird flu virus has reportedly infected seven poultry farm workers in Russia. Here’s what we know about the new avian flu threat.
FDA: One-shot COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective
FDA experts confirm that Johnson and Johnson’s one-shot COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective, putting it a step closer to authorization.
World’s first COVID-19 human challenge study is a go
Researchers have gotten the green light to deliberately infect people with the coronavirus as part of the world’s first COVID-19 human challenge study.
Diabetes drug shows promise as obesity treatment
The diabetes drug semaglutide shows promise as an obesity treatment, helping people lose an average of 34 pounds in a recent trial.
Stamp-sized wearable health monitor can do it all
Researchers at UCSD have developed a wearable health monitor that can measure both cardiovascular and biochemical signals at once.
New amputation surgery technique may lead to better control of prosthetics
A new amputation surgery technique developed at MIT reconnects muscle pairings and may lead to better prosthetic control — and less pain.
The hunt for a universal coronavirus vaccine
A universal coronavirus vaccine that protects against multiple coronaviruses could stop the next potential pandemic from ever starting.
A virus invisibility cloak makes AAV gene therapy safer
Researchers have figured out a way to cloak the AVV so it can sneak past the human immune system and deliver its gene therapy payload undetected.
Scientists use CRISPR to create neanderthal mini-brains in a lab
Scientists modified brain tissue from modern humans to carry a gene that once belonged to Neanderthals.
Black-footed ferret is first cloned US endangered species
A black-footed ferret clone could inject a much-needed dose of genetic diversity into her species, which is on the brink of extinction.
Study: Strong immunity without Pfizer vaccine’s second dose
The Pfizer vaccine’s second dose might not be as necessary as thought — and ultra-cold storage of the COVID-19 vaccine might not be necessary at all.
Tracking heart health at home
Can new technology help society eliminate cardiac episodes completely?
Electric flying car races get the green flag
Airspeeder is bringing electric flying car racing to the skies in 2021.
Fecal transplants help shrink cancer patients’ tumors
Fecal transplants made advanced melanoma patients who initially didn’t respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors responsive to the cancer treatment.
Biologist infects himself with parasites in pursuit of hookworm vaccine
A marine biologist intentionally infected himself with parasitic hookworms and documented it in Tweets and pictures that will make your skin crawl.
These mutant zebrafish are growing arm bones
While studying mutant zebrafish, scientists discovered that a single genetic mutation caused the fish to start developing the beginnings of arms.
Brain mapping: Explained
The brain is a difficult place to work. How can brain mapping help open the black box between your ears?
Oral ketamine treatment reduced suicidal thoughts: Pilot study
A new, small study in Australia suggests that oral ketamine treatment may help treat suicidal thoughts.
Trees and insects helped create Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine
Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine was nearly 90% effective in a U.K. trial — and the ingredients for the promising subunit vaccine came from insects and trees.
Smart stem cells made from fat have the power to heal
Researchers have reprogrammed human fat cells into adaptive smart stem cells that can lie dormant and heal various tissues.
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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