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!

Love

The case for love-enhancing drugs

Drugs don’t just affect the user; they shape relationships too. And a pair of bioethicists thinks we should consider them for relationship enhancement.

B. David Zarley

Public Health

Forget needles – this thin strip may improve access to vaccinations

Temperature stable vaccinations could change how we store and transport life-saving medicine to the places that need it most.

B. David Zarley

Virology

Will these lab-made viruses prevent a pandemic?

Previously blacklisted gain-of-function mutation experiments are back, and they’re being used to fight the next major pandemic.

B. David Zarley

Coronavirus

A list of the coronavirus symptoms, and when to see a doctor

Here is the latest information on coronavirus symptoms and how to distinguish COVID-19 from allergies, the flu, or a common cold.

B. David Zarley

Coronavirus

Crowdsourcing the seed for coronavirus antiviral medications

Foldit players are solving a protein structure puzzle that could help kickstart coronavirus antiviral medications.

B. David Zarley

Coronavirus

Private sector stepping up to combat COVID-19

Cosmetics companies and distilleries are making hand sanitizer and the UK asks manufacturers to make ventilators as the private sector responds to the pandemic.

B. David Zarley

Hey Alexa, quit eavesdropping

Researchers at the University of Chicago have developed an ultrasonic audio jammer that doubles as a fashion accessory.

B. David Zarley

Drugs

Algorithm clears thousands of marijuana convictions in just one minute

With this new system that identifies candidates for criminal record clearance and even auto-fills forms, offenders don’t even need to apply.

B. David Zarley

Virology

Can an algorithm predict the next disease outbreak?

Researchers are using this algorithm to predict which regions are likely to see a zoonotic disease outbreak, and hopefully prevent the next global pandemic.

B. David Zarley

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