Health

a head of lettuce on a colorful background

Insulin grown in lettuce can be taken orally

New synthetic insulin harvested from lettuce plants can be made cheaply, taken orally, and transported at room temperature.

Kristin Houser

Brain

Cancer med appears to prevent brain aneurysms

Japanese researchers have discovered that the cancer drug sunitinib can prevent the formation of brain aneurysms in mice.

Kristin Houser

“Nature’s own Ozempic” or berberine is all over social media

Does berberine work as well as Ozempic to help people lose weight? Social media seems to think so, but it’s not likely.

Rebecca Roubin and Nial Wheate and Tina Hinton

Series| Dope Science

I use ketamine for depression – here’s how it works

7:31

Commonly known as a party drug, ketamine’s powerful effects on the brain have led doctors to further explore its medical potential. Now, the animal anesthetic is providing relief and hope for people with severe depression.

Doug Dais

Neuroscience

New lasers see into the brain to detect concussions

Researchers are attempting to improve the age-old concussion test with a device that can measure CCO levels in the brain using infrared lasers.

B. David Zarley

Genetics

$100 genome sequencing has finally arrived

China-based genome sequencing company MGI says it can sequence a human genome for just $100, a cost that could make the service available to all.

Kristin Houser

Drugs

Intro to LSD

LSD, also known as acid, is a synthetic chemical that causes hallucinations, synesthesia, and sometimes, distress - the dreaded “bad trip.”

B. David Zarley

Fertility

Cancer survivor gives birth thanks to a new fertility procedure

A French cancer survivor is the first person to give birth via a fertility treatment that involves freezing and thawing eggs that underwent in vitro maturation.

Kristin Houser

Neuroscience

New PTSD therapy dulls the sting of painful memories

A Canadian researcher’s reconsolidation therapy is helping people overcome PTSD by allowing them to edit painful memories to be less emotionally impactful.

Kristin Houser

Memory

Scientists are developing brain implants that improve memory

New research sheds hope for sufferers of traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s, and for all of us, old age.

B. David Zarley

Biohacking

Biohacker’s prosthetic arm lets him play a synthesizer with his mind

Biohacker Bertolt Meyer has built the SynLimb, a controller that attaches to his prosthetic arm, allowing him to control his modular synthesizer with his mind.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

China is responding to the coronavirus in a way only China could

China is using its vast surveillance network and near-total control over citizens to respond to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak in a way perhaps no other nation could.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

Experts unveil “breakthrough” map of key coronavirus protein

Scientists have created the first atomic-scale 3D map of 2019-nCoV’s spike protein, the part of the coronavirus that infiltrates human cells.

Kristin Houser

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