Vesuvius Challenge: Can AI decipher these mysterious ancient scrolls?

Herculaneum’s Villa de Papiri contains hundreds of ancient texts that were carbonized by Mt. Vesuvius. Now, they can only be deciphered by AI. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 11 months ago

Microsoft is training an AI to help get nuclear reactors approved

Microsoft is training an AI to generate the paperwork needed to get next-gen nuclear reactors approved by regulators. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 11 months ago

Why scientists are making transparent wood

Stronger than plastic and tougher than glass, the transparent wood is being exploited for smartphone screens, insulated windows, and more | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 11 months ago

Moderna’s mRNA cancer vaccine works even better than thought

Adding Moderna’s mRNA cancer vaccine to a standard melanoma treatment dramatically reduces the risk of death or recurrence. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 11 months ago

The 5 most exciting clinical trial results of 2023

In 2023, several potentially game-changing meds, including ones to treat pain and high cholesterol, showed huge promise in clinical trials. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 11 months ago

Chemobrain is real. Here’s what to expect after cancer treatment.

Chemobrain, or chemofog, can significantly affect cancer survivors' quality of life with its social, psychological, and economic impacts. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 11 months ago

Watch amazing Meta AI translate language in near real-time

Meta has unveiled Seamless, a language translation AI that can quickly translate speech while preserving the original tone and emotion. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 11 months ago

Google AI discovers 2.2 million new materials for a host of technologies

Google's AI GNoME has predicted 2.2 million novel inorganic crystal structures. If synthesized in labs, they may pave the way for new technologies. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 11 months ago

Hard Reset Podcast: Maps | Episode #10

Instead of your static map or tilted, spinny globe – this technology would unlock a daily, real-time image of the entire world. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 11 months ago

T-Minus: Counting down the 10 greatest space stories of 2023

Freethink's countdown of the biggest space news of 2023, featuring major rocket launches, groundbreaking astronomy discoveries, and more. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 11 months ago

Deep neural networks show promise as models of human hearing

In the largest study yet of deep neural networks trained to perform auditory tasks, researchers found surprising similarities to human hearing. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 11 months ago

How can we transform the mental health care system for today’s youth?

The mental wellbeing of children and young people is at the forefront of mind - and UNICEF and partners have a design plan to strengthen healthcare systems to meet the demand. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 11 months ago

Professor Giles Yeo on making sense of anti-obesity drugs

There has been a lot of excitement this year about new “anti-obesity” drugs. These drugs, made using glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1) agonists, work by suppressing your hunger. This, in turn, […] | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 11 months ago

AI chatbots are coming to your workplace but are not necessarily coming for your job

AI chatbots might not be coming for your job after all, but AI fluency, the skill to understand and work with AI, will soon be essential. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 11 months ago

The AI behind ChatGPT is bringing this toy to life

Pop artist Grimes and Silicon Valley startup Curio have created an AI toy that can understand and talk to kids. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 11 months ago

Space ads could earn $2M a day, say Russian researchers

Space advertising could generate a profit, even though space ads would cost $65 million each, according to Russian researchers’ calculations. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

New MIT system could cool buildings up to 10 Degree Celsius without electricity

MIT’s new “passive cooling” system could break the spiral of more air conditioning | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

AI is able to spot diseases before symptoms appear

New AI tools are helping doctors screen healthy patients for diseases early, when treatments are most effective. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

C Chinese researchers have created the world’s first cloned Arctic wolf

After two years of effort, China's Sinogene Biotechnology has created the world’s first cloned arctic wolf. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

New salt-grain sized micro camera takes images on par with a full size camera’s

Researchers have created a salt-grain sized micro camera capable of taking images almost on par with a regular camera. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

World’s whitest paint is now thin enough for cars, planes

A new, thinner version of the world’s whitest paint could slash the need for climate-harming air conditioning in cars, airplanes, and more. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

A cure for blindness may be first product made in space

An ISS experiment suggests that manufacturing artificial retinas in space will make them more effective at reversing blindness. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

China has discovered a brand new Moon mineral

A new moon mineral discovered by China contains helium-3, an element that could one day fuel nuclear fusion reactors on Earth. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

The genome of the immortal jellyfish has been sequenced

Researchers have sequenced the genome of the immortal jellyfish, revealing insights into its ability to reverse its life cycle. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

First-of-its-kind trial shows AI beat humans at analyzing heart scans

Echonet, an AI trained to assess a measure of heart function, has outperformed trained technicians in both accuracy and efficiency. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

NASA’s flying space bots work alongside astronauts

The three Astrobee robots aboard the ISS foreshadow a future in which autonomous bots are NASA astronauts’ partners in space. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

MIT invents $4 solar desalination device

MIT has developed a $4 solar desalination device that could provide a family of four with all the drinking water it needed to survive. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

CRISPR cure for high cholesterol enters first human trial

A trial testing a new CRISPR-based treatment to lower cholesterol has officially kicked off in New Zealand. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

New discoveries are rewriting the rulebook for regenerating limbs

Human limb regeneration is closer to reality thanks to new studies that refine our understanding of what mammals need to regrow body parts. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

CRISPR cure for sickle cell nearly 100% effective after three years

A CRISPR therapy for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia looks close to 100% effective three years after infusion. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

US cities are capping former dumps and covering them with solar panels

US cities are covering the capped sites of former landfills with solar panels, turning the “brownfields” into “brightfields.” | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

Dive into the world’s first underwater garden

An underwater garden off the coast of Italy is introducing the world to a new type of sustainable agriculture. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

MIT proposes Brazil-sized fleet of “space bubbles” to cool the Earth

A raft of “space bubbles” could be used to reverse global warming, according to an MIT group's solar geoengineering proposal. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

Facial recognition IDs missing kids with 99.85% accuracy

This tech is identifying missing children in minutes, not weeks. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

A Spanish teen’s genome may hold the secret to lupus

Using the genome of a Spanish girl, researchers believe they have identified a mutation that causes lupus. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

High schoolers create $1 filter to remove lead in water

Maryland high schoolers have created a filter that removes lead in water. It costs just $1 and alerts users when it needs to be replaced. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

Are Handshakes Gone for Good?

The pandemic has turned an age-old gesture into a faux pas. As more people are wary of spreading germs, handshakes are becoming less of a cultural norm. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

Russia’s cyberattacks foreshadow the future of war

Russia ramped up its cyberattacks on Ukraine prior to its physical invasion, potentially foreshadowing how future conflicts will play out. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

MIT engineers invent surgical “duct tape”

MIT’s biodegradable surgical tape is designed to seal tears in the gastrointestinal tract, potentially preventing sepsis-causing leaks. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

Sun-powered soft robot could mop up the seas

Inspired by steam engines and water-walking insects, this soft robot may one day mop up oil spills at sea. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 2 years ago

Japan breaks world record for fastest internet speed

Engineers in Japan have set a new world record for fastest internet speed — 319 Tb/s — using a specially developed fiber-optic cable. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 3 years ago

This implanted microchip may one day control your sleep

An implantable, wireless device could be better than popping a pill. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 3 years ago

A 100% accurate tornado sensor invented by accident (6 min video)

Can this recycled technology save the citizens of Tornado Alley? | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 3 years ago

A blood test for your circadian clock

Your circadian clock controls more than when you sleep and wake. Researchers are developing a simple blood test to try and accurately tell your time. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 3 years ago

Fecal transplants reverse aging in brains of old mice

Fecal transplants from younger to older mice appear to reverse aging in the brains of the seniors, improving their memories and cognition. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 3 years ago

Is it time for America to bring back the boarding house?

A revival of the boarding house — popular in the 1800s, banned by modern zoning — could help solve America’s affordable housing woes. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 3 years ago

What will the Disneyland of the future look like?

VR theme park experiences are adding a new dimension to an industry that’s long relied on 20th-century technology. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 3 years ago

Biohackers Take Aim at Big Pharma’s Stranglehold on Insulin

These biohackers plan to give away their instructions for how to make insulin for free. | Continue reading


@freethink.com | 3 years ago