Contributor

B. David Zarley

Senior Staff Writer

Contact

b.david@freethink.com

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!

Medicine

A new therapy sends lupus into remission

Five patients in Germany had their lupus wiped out by CAR T-cell therapy.

B. David Zarley

Medicine

Engineered bacteria may fight this brain-damaging genetic disorder

A possible phenylketonuria therapy using engineered bacteria has shown positive results in a small phase 2 trial.

B. David Zarley

Medicine

A malaria-fighting antibody has passed phase 2 trials

An antibody designed to prevent malaria infection has proven effective in phase 2 trials in Mali.

B. David Zarley

Neuroscience

New study will put the leading theory about Alzheimer’s to the test

Washington University in St. Louis is embarking on a drug trial that may also put the amyloid hypothesis to its ultimate test.

B. David Zarley

Medicine

Pfizer’s RSV vaccine for pregnant women protects newborns

Pfizer plans to begin the regulatory approval process by the end of the year.

B. David Zarley

Medicine

AI-discovered drug for ALS enters human trials in just four years

Verge Genomics has begun a trial of their AI-found ALS drug candidate, one of the first tests for this new method of drug discovery.

B. David Zarley

Medicine

Understanding cancer’s “dark matter”

Researchers have discovered that cancer’s epigenome — changes to how genes are expressed that aren’t mutations — may play a key role in its behavior.

B. David Zarley

Medicine

Australian researchers have manufactured a living blood vessel

A blood vessel isn’t just a simple tube. Researchers at the University of Sydney have developed an implant capable of mimicking its complexities.

B. David Zarley

Virology

Flu and RSV can fuse into a new kind of virus

In a new discovery, researchers at the University of Glasgow have observed hybrid viruses capable of infecting lung cells in the lab.

B. David Zarley

Healthcare

New smart contact lens monitors for glaucoma 24/7

Purdue researchers have created a smart, soft contact lens that can test for eye pressure, a key indicator of glaucoma, 24 hours a day.

B. David Zarley