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

The key to fighting fungal infections may have been inside us all along

MIT researchers have discovered that complex molecules in mucus can keep fungal infections in check.

B. David Zarley

Medicine

Gene therapy fixes rare heart disorder with clever workaround

Cleveland Clinic researchers have developed a gene therapy that cured arrhythmias in mice.

B. David Zarley

Brain

Stimulating deep sleep may improve brain health, memory, and mood

Researchers are trying to harness deep sleep to bolster the glymphatic system, which helps flush brain tissue.

B. David Zarley

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