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

Synthetic cartilage is now stronger than the real stuff

Using a heating process, Duke researchers have created a synthetic cartilage hydrogel that can outperform the real thing.

B. David Zarley

Biology

Mouse embryos with beating hearts have been created entirely in the lab

Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have developed mouse embryos, complete with organ structures, purely from stem cells.

B. David Zarley

Clean Energy

Gates-backed company is using robots to build mega solar farms

With new capital from a Bill Gates-backed VC firm, Terabase wants to automate solar farm construction.

B. David Zarley

Animals

AI has mapped all of the world’s known ant species

Using over a million data points and a machine learning algorithm, a team of researchers has mapped all of the ant species currently known.

B. David Zarley

Virology

Viruses may one day treat inflammatory bowel disease

Researchers have created a cocktail of viruses that may be able to treat inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s.

B. David Zarley

Coronavirus

Yale study finds low levels of a hormone may predict long COVID

Yale and Icahn School of Medicine researchers may have found biomarkers for identifying long COVID.

B. David Zarley

Public Health

Only human Lyme vaccine in development enters phase 3 trial

Pfizer and French biotech Valneva have announced a phase 3 clinical trial testing the human Lyme vaccine.

B. David Zarley

Brain

A new drug could repair stroke damage to memory and movement

A new drug can repair stroke damage in mice, improving memory and motor skills. If it works in humans, it could lead to a paradigm shift in stroke treatment.

B. David Zarley

Surgery

Why don't surgeons train like fighter pilots? Now some do.

Using AI and analysis, Theator is helping surgeons improve how pilots and pro athletes do: by going to the tape.

B. David Zarley

Drugs

The Biden administration is preparing for legal psychedelics within two years

The Biden administration’s Department of Health and Human Services has sent a memo supportive of psychedelic therapies. What does that mean for the field?

B. David Zarley