Science

Why happiness is not the best indicator of well-being

Achieving values and pursuing growth is the real secret to a fulfilled life.

Jason Crawford

How Arc Institute is bringing science into the century of biology

Stephen Johnson

A vibrant graphic illustration featuring a large leafy plant with integrated plant sensors, comic-style speech bubbles containing exclamation marks, and a round bubble depicting ants, set against a blue textured background.

Agriculture

Plant sensors could act as an early warning system for farmers

Using sensors made from carbon nanotubes, researchers discovered signals that help plants respond to stresses like heat, light, or attack.

Anne Trafton | MIT News Office

Series| Biohackers

I got a chip implanted in a biohacking garage

7:05

Hacker surgeons like Jeffrey Tibbetts implant everything from compasses to wireless routers. Freethink’s own Chase Pipkin decided to try it out.

Series| Guardians of the Apocalypse

Geoengineering: Our last defense against climate change

5:26

Reflecting the sun’s rays is a proposed last-ditch effort to mitigate the effects of global warming. This Harvard research team is trying to better understand the potential risks in order to save the planet.

Neuroscience

Stimulating monkeys’ brains snaps them out of unconsciousness

Researchers found that they could induce a state of consciousness in an unconscious monkey by electrically stimulating a specific part of the animal’s brain.

Kristin Houser

Series| Guardians of the Apocalypse

Will we ever predict earthquakes?

8:25

In 2010, an earthquake killed 222,570 people in Haiti, injuring 300,000 and displacing over a million. In an attempt to discover how to predict earthquakes, these researchers are using machine learning to analyze the acoustic data from tectonic plates.

Series| Guardians of the Apocalypse

Could the human race survive a supervolcano?

4:51

The eruption of Mount Tambora pushed humanity to the brink of extinction. Today, active supervolcanoes still have the power to nullify our future. What can we do to prepare?

Series| The Edge

Top athletes are shocking their brains with tDCS

6:27

Why are professional athletes using brain-zapping headsets? This tDCS device creates a state of hyper-learning, which could help improve their performance.

Climate Crisis

Modifying poplar tree genes to fight pollution

The number of poplar trees around the world has doubled, but a chemical compound in their leaves means they might be doing more harm than good.

Sarah Wells

Neuroscience

Do bigger brains have better memories?

Scientists may be one step closer to putting the age-old question to rest on whether brain size impacts cognitive function.

Sarah Wells

CRISPR

CRISPR may unlock targeted cannabis therapy

New medicinal cannabis research shows potential for personalized drug therapy, without the side effects.

Caroline Delbert

Series| The Edge

This coach cut football concussions in half

6:05

Long-term health risks threaten to derail America’s favorite sport, but one coach may have found an innovative solution to save the game – a robotic tackling dummy.

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