Rachel Feltman: For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, I’m Rachel Feltman.
It goes without saying that a lot has changed at Scientific American since our first issue came out in 1845. But the magazine—and the world of science journalism in general—also looks radically different today than it did in, say, 1990.
That’s when today’s guest first started working at SciAm. Until his retirement earlier this month Gary Stix served as Scientific American’s senior editor of mind and brain topics. Given that Gary worked at SciAm longer than I’ve been alive, we thought it would be cool to pick his brain about how his coverage areas of technology and neuroscience have evolved over the last 35 years.
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Gary, thanks so much for coming in to talk to us today.
Gary Stix: Well, thank you for having me.
Feltman: So when did you actually start at Scientific American?
Stix: I started in June of 1990. I was here largely before the Internet as we know it now. We’d take the floppy disk, we’d create a printout, and that was used by the copy desk to actually edit the articles we were doing. And there always are corrections …
Feltman: [Laughs] Sure.
Stix: To a manuscript; one copy editor would have to read to the other the changes. So it was a very different world than the one we have now.
To put that in context there was an Internet—it was used by the government and certain academic facilities—but the time of waking up in the morning and looking at your device was far, far away.
Feltman: Right, yeah [laughs]. And you started out covering technologies, is that correct?
Stix: Yes, Scientific American was in—its absolute pinnacle of its heyday was the whole period after the launch of Sputnik …
Feltman: Mm.
Stix: And the recognition that the U.S. had to up its game in science and technology. I can’t tell you how many times that, through the years, I’ve met people who’ve said, “I have every issue of Scientific American going back for 40 years. They’re all in my garage.”
Feltman: [Laughs]
Stix: So one of the things I covered was the emergence of the Internet—or it was actually a question of how electronic communications would provide things like entertainment, news, shopping. And [laughs] at the time, it, it’s so funny to think of this now, AOL was thought of as perhaps the leading contender for being able to do that—given the position of AOL today as a very, very minor player, that is absolutely hilarious—but the peer connections of the Internet and the gradual evolution of thinking about how that peer-to-peer aspect could enable everyone in the world to communicate.
I actually have a small excerpt from one of the articles that I wrote at the time …
Feltman: Oh, cool.
Stix: Called “Domesticating Cyberspace,” and it said, “The migration to the Internet by universities, government agencies, community organizations and even business electronic mail users is seen as stirrings of mass appeal for electronic networking beyond the automated teller machine.”
So the automated teller machine was thought of as high-tech, and very advanced technology was thought of as e-mail …
Feltman: Mm.
Stix: Which is so ironic given everything that’s happened in the decades since then.
Feltman: Yeah, no, I remember being at a science museum somewhere in—it was maybe, at the earliest, 1994, maybe 1995, and they had a little exhibit where they were like, “This computer is connected to a computer in France. You can talk to France with this computer.” [Laughs] And it was like, “Whoa.” [Laughs]
Stix: Yeah, yeah.
Feltman: So yeah, things have, have changed a lot.
What are some other things that, you know, fascinated you in the ’90s in, in terms of technology coverage?
Stix: Well, I wrote a bunch of those trends articles, and they covered a range of technology topics, ranging from maglev trains to the need for the—an upgrade of the air traffic control system, which still needs upgrading, even after all of these ensuing decades. And I even did a story on designer concrete.
In the late 1990s I started a column on intellectual property …
Feltman: Mm.
Stix: Exploring questions like how to patent a gene and looked at the development of new technologies from the original idea all the way to the market. One story was “The Land of Milk and Money” that looked at genetically modified goats that even today are used to produce antithrombin, a protein that has anticoagulant properties. Another of those columns was a sensor that could detect odors better than a dog.
Feltman: And these days your specialty is neuroscience. When did that start to be your beat?
Stix: During the 2000s there was an editor who asked us to choose particular beats, and I had written an article on cognitive enhancement and drugs for cognitive enhancement and whether cognitive enhancement, as the way people think about it, which is: “Is it possible to take your, like, ordinary daily baseline and improve upon that and be able to think and interact better by taking a drug?” And I did an article on that, and I also did another on whether, conceivably, in the future would it be possible to upload one’s brain into a computer. There had been a lot of talk about what’s called “the singularity,” in which that might at some point become possible. In both instances the answer to the questions that I was asking was largely negative. You can’t upload [laughs] your brain into a computer, and we really don’t know how to do that. The field of neuroscience has undergone significant advancements in recent years, with a particular focus on understanding the complexities of the brain. One of the key initiatives that highlighted the need for better tools and approaches in studying the brain was the Obama BRAIN Initiative launched around 2010. This initiative aimed to address fundamental questions about the brain, such as the different cell types present in the brain and the intricate wiring diagram of neural connections.
Despite some progress in mapping cell types and connections in the brain, there is still a long way to go before we have a comprehensive understanding of the brain’s complexity. One area of research that has shown promise in bridging the gap in our knowledge is the use of organoids, also known as “mini brains.” These organoids are clusters of stem cells that can develop into specific regions of the brain, offering researchers a model that better reflects human brain anatomy compared to traditional animal models like mice.
Organoids have proven to be invaluable in studying diseases like Zika and have provided insights into conditions like microcephaly. However, there are ethical considerations surrounding the use of organoids, particularly regarding their level of consciousness. Research has shown that organoids lack the ability to process sensory information and develop a conscious mind, making them unlikely to exhibit sentient behavior.
Looking towards the future, the field of neuroscience is poised to make significant strides in areas like deep brain stimulation for neurological disorders, brain-machine interfaces for patients with limited motor function, and the exploration of consciousness. The quest to unravel the mysteries of consciousness remains a tantalizing challenge for researchers, with ongoing debates about the neural correlates of consciousness and the underlying processes that give rise to conscious experience.
Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s continue to be a major focus of research in neuroscience and medicine, highlighting the urgent need for effective treatments and interventions in this area. While the field of neuroscience has made remarkable progress in recent years, the complexity of the brain ensures that there will always be new frontiers to explore and challenges to overcome in our quest to understand the most complex machine in the known universe. Over the past decade, there has been significant progress in the field of Alzheimer’s disease research. Blood tests have been developed to diagnose the disease, and drugs have been created that can somewhat modify its course. However, despite these advancements, there is still no drug that comes close to curing Alzheimer’s.
One notable clinical trial took place in Colombia, where families with dominant genes that guaranteed the onset of Alzheimer’s around the age of 45 participated. The trial aimed to determine if a drug that removes amyloid proteins, known to build up in Alzheimer’s patients, could prevent the disease. While the drug did not prove to be effective in preventing Alzheimer’s, it marked a period of progress in the field. In recent years, new drugs have been approved that can help delay the progression of the disease.
In addition to Alzheimer’s research, there have been efforts to address neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression and bipolar disease. Drugs like SSRIs for depression and lithium for bipolar disorder have been in use for decades, highlighting the need for new treatment options. Exciting developments in this area include the use of ketamine for depression, a drug that shows promise in treating conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder. Trials on MDMA for similar conditions have shown success, although FDA approval has not been granted yet.
While there is ongoing research and development in the field of neuropsychiatric drugs, there is still much work to be done. The potential of psychedelics like ketamine and MDMA in treating mental health disorders is an area of active exploration, with promising results but no definitive breakthroughs yet.
In conclusion, the field of Alzheimer’s research and neuropsychiatric drug development continues to evolve. While progress has been made in diagnosing and treating Alzheimer’s disease, there is still no cure. Ongoing research in neuropsychiatric drugs offers hope for new treatment options for conditions like depression and bipolar disorder. The journey towards finding effective treatments for these complex diseases is ongoing, with researchers dedicated to making advancements in the field.
This article was inspired by a conversation with a scientific expert and was originally published in Scientific American. For more updates on the latest science news, be sure to subscribe to Scientific American. Thank you for reading and have a great weekend!
