Last year, biotech startup Minicircle started recruiting participants for a clinical trial of gene therapy. But several details made it unusual. For one, it instructed would-be guinea pigs to purchase an NFT to take part, before being paid in cryptocurrency. Another is it would take place in what is essentially an experimental crypto city—Próspera, Honduras. […]

Now they’re at the center of a landmark legal case that ultimately has the power to completely change how we live online. On February 21, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Gonzalez v. Google, which deals with allegations that Google violated the Anti-Terrorism Act when YouTube’s recommendations promoted ISIS content. It’s the first time […]

Weeks after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office in 2018, the combative leftist leader enraged international investors and Mexico’s business community by canceling the airport, which was already around one-third complete. During his campaign, López Obrador had railed against the project’s management for overspending and corruption. Then, in a post-election referendum launched by López […]

Follistatin is a glycoprotein encoded by the FST gene. To Minicircle, its most interesting property is that it suppresses myostatin, a protein that inhibits muscle growth. Missing myostatin means muscle cells can replicate and expand without the usual biological checks. As a result, animals with mutations in this gene—like the physically imposing “bully whippet”—are loaded […]

These prosthetics break the mold with third thumbs, spikes, and superhero skins Traditionally, prosthetics designers have looked to the human body for inspiration. Prosthetics were seen as replacements for missing body parts; hyper-realistic bionic legs and arms were the holy grail.  But we’re now witnessing a movement in alternative prosthetics, a form of assistive tech […]