Finding ways to reduce the invasiveness of brain implants could greatly expand their potential applications. A new device tested in mice that sits on the brain’s surface—but can still read activity deep within—could lead to safer and more effective ways to read neural activity. There are already a

Psychedelics made their mark this year—not as counterculture party drugs, but as a new paradigm in mental health therapy. In June, Australia became the first country to greenlight MDMA, popularly known as molly or ecstasy, and psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, to treat

This year gave rise to an incredible mix of brain implants that can record, decode, and alter brain activity. It sounds like déjà vu—brain-machine interfaces also lived rent free in my head in last year’s roundup, but for good reason. Neuroscientists are building increasingly sophisticated and

One inescapable word dominated biomedicine this year: Ozempic. Physicians were amazed at the drug’s efficacy in treating diabetes, for which it is FDA approved, and obesity. Social media propelled it into the year’s zeitgeist as a “miracle” weight-loss drug that can help people effortlessly shed

Wearing an electrode-studded cap bristling with wires, a young man silently reads a sentence in his head. Moments later, a Siri-like voice breaks in, attempting to translate his thoughts into text, “Yes, I’d like a bowl of chicken soup, please.” It’s the latest example of computers translating a