Biotech is trying to boost drug production efficiency—using chicken eggs

Synthetic biology transforms cells into custom DNA foundries

At companies like Ginkgo Bioworks, researchers are reprogramming cells to act as workshops that can create custom molecules, such as medicines and fertilizers, by stitching together DNA sequences—often in novel combinations—before inserting them into an organism's genome.

Restaurants are ramping up chicken dishes in 'The Great Chickening'

For decades, consumption of poultry meat has been on the rise in the US. Even more recently, restaurants have been focused on using the bird, citing its reliability, versatility, and the rising cost of beef. Nonetheless, avian flu has caused prices to fluctuate.

Most flu vaccines are still produced using chicken eggs

For decades, influenza vaccines have been made by growing viruses inside fertilized chicken eggs. Though newer methods using cell cultures or recombinant technology exist, egg-based production remains the primary global manufacturing process.

The scientist that biohacked a buff frog

If a tree frog was injected with a DNA mixture containing follistatin, a gene that may influence muscle growth, would it become buff? Josiah Zayner hopes so. By learning how to biohack animals, he hopes people are one step closer to feeling more comfortable "whipping up DIY gene therapy."

Tasting a lab-grown chicken nugget

Taste testing the first clean meat chicken nugget from a San Francisco company developing cultured meat. It’s chicken, but not as you know it.

How personalized gene-editing saved a baby's life

KJ Muldoon had a 50% chance of surviving a genetic mutation until doctors developed a one-of-a-kind gene-editing therapy. In an interview with one of the researchers behind the treatment, learn what it will take to make personalized genetic medicine possible for everyone.

This scientist treated her own cancer

Virologist Beata Halassy treated her own breast cancer by injecting the tumor with lab-grown viruses. Though this self-treatment worked, it has not been approved for widespread use. Read to learn more about her fascinating experience, and how it has led to conversations about safety and ethics.

Meet six commercially available synbio products

An article exploring the science behind synbio products currently on the market, and projecting the products that can be expected over the next 10 years.

US federal researchers are blocked from putting certain human cells in animals

In 2015, US policymakers put a halt to any government-funded work that would insert human stem cells into animals. The reasoning was that human cells might spread through the animal's body and perhaps to its brain, blurring the line between humans and nonhumans. The ban remains in place today even as gene-edited pig parts are being placed in humans.

AI can aid fertility treatments, from helping select egg candidates to laboratory automation

Reproductive AI technologies are already here, from processing vast amounts of data to helping clinicians identify the healthiest embryos for implantation. It could be a boon to the fertility industry, and help mitigate the shortage of experienced embryologists.

China is producing many peptides or peptide components sold in the US

In Silicon Valley, in particular, peptides have taken off, and are often coming from China—even though many of the products are unproven for their purported uses.

Biotech ETFs allow investors to gain exposure to multiple promising companies in the industry

Biotech ETFs offer a diversified alternative to purchasing an individual biotech stock and gambling on whether an individual company’s clinical trial yields the next blockbuster cancer treatment or an absolute flop. This list of the top biotech ETFs in 2025 can help you learn more about them.

It can take 10 to 15 years and more than $1B to develop a new antibiotic.

Why don't we just develop new antibiotics? In part, it's a complex scientific challenge, but market incentives also play a significant role. It can be time consuming, expensive, and most notably, we should use as little as possible to avoid driving further antibiotic resistance.

Selecting an embryo based on polygenic score is illegal in the UK, Israel, and swaths of Europe

Though their use for embryo selection is illegal in many locations, private clinics in the US may offer polygenic scores to inform embryo selection. The US Food and Drug Administration has not banned their use—instead the tests are regulated like supplements, meaning they are not regulated before they come to market but consumers can file complaints and then the agency may take action.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Using artificial wombs to improve preterm infant health outcomes

Researchers at a hospital in the US have successfully used artificial wombs to care for preterm lambs and are now looking at the possibility of human trials. This nine-minute video includes interviews with the researchers and explains the reasoning...

The economics of horseshoe crab blood

Horseshoe crabs are older than dinosaurs and have survived five mass extinctions that wiped most life from the planet. But it's only now that their future as a species is in danger. This blood, worth about $60,000 per gallon, is hyper-sensitized to certain bacteria that are fatal to humans. This 17-minute podcast dives into humanity's pursuit of horseshoe crab blood, a "somewhat magical" mixture heavily relied on by the pharmaceutical industry.

How the Supreme Court established biotechnology patent law with an oil-eating microbe

While working at General Electric, microbiologist Ananda Chakrabarty engineered a strain of Pseudomonas that could break down multiple types of hydrocarbons and filed a patent on the bioremediation organism. Despite challenges over whether living things could be patented, the 5-4 decision held that genetically modified organisms could be patented because they were human-made inventions.

CRISPR technology is removing allergens from common foods

Proteins responsible for allergies to eggs, milk, wheat, peanuts, and other foods can be genetically edited out of foods to reduce the risk of life-threatening reactions. The technique has also been used to produce caffeine-free coffee beans, spicier tomatoes, allergen-free pets, and more nutritious fish.

How birds are becoming research assistants

Through the creation of tiny sensors easily placed on their bodies, birds have served as research assistants for various scientists. With untold numbers of birds sending back data, researchers have achieved greater insights in long obscure areas of meteorology, ecology, and more. For example, weather scientists use high-flying birds to outline the height of the planetary boundary layer, while conservationists track gulls to protect migrating whales. Learn more here.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

How mRNA vaccines work

mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were developed faster than any vaccine ever made. Even more enticing, the underlying technology may unlock preventive treatments for a wide-range of diseases.

Read why one man agreed to get a pig kidney in 2025 to replace his own failing organ

The 68-year-old New Hampshire man told USA Today that a motivator for the experimental surgery was his belief that he was going to die anyway, and other people suffering from kidney disease could gain valuable insights. Yet the surgery bought him time—he lived 271 days with a pig organ and later received a human kidney transplant. Clinical trials began in 2026 to test the pig xenotransplants in more people.

Companies developing new weight loss drugs

In recent years, weight loss drugs made a tremendous amount of money for Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. Other companies are developing new drugs to break into the market. This piece is a concise overview of companies creating and testing new drugs, how far along they are, and what Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are doing to compete with these emerging rivals.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

The 'Penicillin Girls' made mass production possible

In Oxford during the early 1940s, six female technicians—later dubbed the “Penicillin Girls”—worked long hours tending mold cultures and extracting tiny amounts of penicillin.

Explore an animated list of nine scientific breakthroughs funded by NASA, the NSF, and the NIH

Among the technologies made possible by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health were the CAPTCHA digital puzzles to block bots from accessing sites, the set of diabetes and obesity drugs that fall under the umbrella of GLP-1 receptor agonists, and various cordless appliances, including the handheld vacuum cleaner. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

Learn how monoclonal antibodies, which mimic the body's antibodies, can fight diseases like Ebola.

Experimental hantavirus vaccines and therapies, still under development, have long been funded by the US military.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

When caught in the mouths of cardinal fish, seed shrimp release glowing, bioluminescent chemicals, which alert predators of the cardinal fish, prompting the shrimp's ejection.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

Watch how algorithms can be designed to train themselves and self-improve without human input, to the point where the optimized code is too complex for programmers to understand.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.