Self-experimentation is likely as old as science itself. And while modern institutional review boards pride themselves on stamping out unethical experiments, they haven’t tamped down the curiosity that drives these fearless few. Historically, self-experiments have driven breakthroughs but have also caused injuries and more than a few deaths. Scientists have self-experimented to avoid red tape, to satisfy their curiosity, to speed their experiments, and out of sheer frustration. Arguably the most successful example involves the Australian physician Barry Marshall, who discovered that Helicobact ..read more

Attention all nature lovers, foodies, design aficionados, futurists, self trackers, bionerds and anyone who cares about the future of health: It’s time again for our roundup of the cool bio products that caught our attention this year that might lend themselves to gifting for the holidays.  Subscribe to our Newsletter Weekly updates from the frontlines of neuroscience, genetics, longevity, synthetic biology, the future of food, and more. The simplest thing to do of course, especially for friends of yours who don’t yet understand your passion for the future of health and medicine and how ..read more

Gene therapy has come a long way since it was first used on humans 33 years ago. Since 2000, incremental progress has expanded the use of ex vivo gene therapy (where cells are harvested from a person, genetically modified, and then infused back into the person’s bloodstream). And in vivo gene therapy, which involves injecting genes directly into the body, has proven safe and effective in a number of clinical trials. It is becoming available as a treatment to a wider range of circumstances. One realm in which in vivo gene therapy has really taken off is in treating diseases of the retina, inclu ..read more

When you ask people who know synthetic biologist and community activist David Sun Kong what stands out in their minds about the thirty-something-year-old MIT professor and community activist, you get enthusiastic answers touching on everything from his research expertise to his Renaissance-man appeal. But one thing is clear: His influence is felt far beyond the confines of his own laboratory. Professionally, Kong is a pioneer in microfluidics, a multidisciplinary field that seeks to study, manipulate, and control streams of liquid in channels so tiny you’d be hard pressed threading a human hai ..read more

Let’s face it—nerds are hard to shop for. Bio nerds are even harder to shop for. But biologically inspired gifts are cool for nerds and for everyone, especially now with so many smart, novel, and beautifully designed products hitting the market. Nature is the ultimate designer and evolution is the process. Tapping into nature’s complex systems and harnessing its power to create new solutions is inherently inspiring to anyone who believes in progress. And these gifts can be positively life transforming. Our Oura smart sleep tracking ring, for instance, has given us insights into how to get more ..read more

Congratulations on your decision to procreate! This is a short guide to some questions that you should consider before meeting with your genetic architect. If you intend to combine your genetic material with others, we encourage you to discuss these questions with any co-parents in advance. Everyone wants their descendants to be healthy and happy, but how is that best achieved? When designing your child, keep in mind that you are designing not just an individual, but a member of society. Consider in particular how the child will relate to you and your family. Here are some questions you should ..read more

This is the fifth story in a series.  In October 2019, Onno Faber made the familiar drive from San Francisco to a specialized clinic in Los Angeles to lie down on a gantry and slip his head inside the giant white tube of an MRI machine. He’d been making the trip every three months for about five years, to glimpse the tumor growing on his right auditory nerve. For a year and a half, as Onno slugged down 40 pills a week and suffered through side effects from fever to brain fog, the tumor held steady. And within that pause Onno kept hearing through his right ear (another tumor took out his l ..read more

Early this past February, I was nervous. I was about to get my second shot of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, and I was hoping for a serious reaction. I was planning to monitor my body’s reaction to it and, I hoped, contribute to science. But things weren’t quite working out as planned.  My Oura ring, the health-tracking device I’d worn for five years, was dying, shifting from unreliable to “hospice care.” I had to charge it every day, versus the recommended every-other-day. My Neuroverse monitor, which measures brain waves as I sleep, wouldn’t hold a charge reliably through the night. My ..read more

This is the fifth story in a series.  In October 2019, Onno Faber made the familiar drive from San Francisco to a specialized clinic in Los Angeles to lie down on a gantry and slip his head inside the giant white tube of an MRI machine. He’d been making the trip every three months for about five years, to glimpse the tumor growing on his right auditory nerve. For a year and a half, as Onno slugged down 40 pills a week and suffered through side effects from fever to brain fog, the tumor held steady. And within that pause Onno kept hearing through his right ear (another tumor took out his l ..read more

“JJ, can you please clear that stuff out of the engineering bay and the airlock?” she yells. Michaela Musilova is shouting instructions to her crew through raging gusts of wind and flying dust. The team is disembarking their “shuttle” in the mid-September heat and unpacking their equipment after a bumpy takeoff from “Earth” for a landing on “Moon.” The team is preparing to bunker down in a simulated lunar habitat for two weeks, entering into a new “analog” astronaut mission, a not-so-down-to-Earth experiment on the cutting edge of human extraplanetary exploration sometimes called a space simul ..read more