Contributor

B. David Zarley

Senior Staff Writer

Contact

[email protected]

B. David Zarley is a senior staff writer for Freethink, where he covers health and medicine, including infectious disease, psychedelic research, mental health, and the brain. A graduate of SUNY Fredonia, his work has also appeared in The Atlantic, The Verge, Jezebel, Frieze, Sports Illustrated, VICE, Paste Magazine, and numerous other publications. He lives in Chicago and can be reached via Signal by request. Send him story ideas!

Robotics

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.

B. David Zarley

Public Health

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.

B. David Zarley

Metaverse

Unreal Engine may power the metaverse

Epic’s popular Unreal Engine is on its fifth iteration, and the tools it contains may be especially helpful for metaverse developers.

B. David Zarley

Public Health

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.

B. David Zarley

Brain

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.

B. David Zarley

Engineering

Recycled tires can act as sunscreen for roads

Australian researchers blasted bitumen with a UV machine to discover how used tires can act as road “sunscreen.”

B. David Zarley

Medicine

New surgery implants living, 3D-printed body parts

A 3D-printed outer ear made from the patient’s own cells has been implanted.

B. David Zarley

This AI can finally tell humans why we’re losing

By combining traditional and deep learning approaches, a neurosymbolic AI has beaten bridge champions in a win for “white box” AI.

B. David Zarley

Engineering

Ancient creatures inspire record-breaking new technology

Inspired by the ancient compound eyes of the trilobite, researchers have created a record-breaking camera with a depth of field of just over a mile.

B. David Zarley

Medicine

The source of a strange anti-cancer compound is found in Florida

Researchers have discovered that common soft corals are the source of a sought-after anti-cancer compound.

B. David Zarley