Find a half-remembered link or follow a subject through years of Sunday notes.
7,487 posts
CRISPR as a suicide pill for cancer cells. “In bacteria, this CRISPR acts as a suicide pill, intentionally killing a cell that has been infected by a virus to prevent its spread.” Researchers reengineered that idea so once a cell shows a cancer specific mutant RNA signature, it…
Recent advances in Alzheimer’s disease. “In this review, we summarize the most recent updates in AD research on pathologic disease mechanisms and therapeutic strategies, highlighting advancements in apolipoprotein E (APOE) biology, neuroimmunology, biomarker discovery, and initial experience with new disease-modifying therapies. These important discoveries are revolutionizing AD diagnosis…
Painful periods are not normal. “Contrary to popular belief, painful periods are not normal. Common, yes, normal, no.” Julia Lipton’s primer on endometriosis explains what it can feel like, why diagnosis can take years, and why the usual options often stop at birth control or surgery. ~ learn…
Wellness Disney World. “It’s like a wellness Disney World.” Therme is bringing its giant European-style bathing complexes to the U.S., including a planned $500 million Therme DC on federal land by the Anacostia River (but not soon). ~ learn more
Counting geese at work. “I spend, to a first approximation, half my life counting geese.” In 2022 that meant endless reconciliation across GitHub, Linear, Drive, CRM, and slide decks. In his 2026 version, “The AI counts the geese now.” ~ learn more
Change the habit loop. "About 40 to 45% of what you do every day, according to studies, is a habit." Charles Duhigg made this great solo video overviewing the keyconcepts from two of his books, The Power of Habit and Supercommunicators. ~ learn more
Civilization tech we do not build. “i asked some frontier models to make a top 10 list of civilization-level tech we already have but don’t build” Then he shares the models’ answers, ranging from “high-speed rail and maglev” to “fully automated container ports” and “phage therapy.” ~ learn…
China can land rockets too. “The rocket’s first stage nestled softly into a net-like structure carried by a ship at sea.” It was only a matter of time, right? ~ learn more
Robotics slop. “Still, he is keen to test consumers’ tolerance for what he calls ‘robotics slop’: tasks that are clumsily executed.” Robot company 1X’s Neo looks elegant and quiet in person, but some of the impressive demos are tele-operated, and even 1X admits stability is not solved yet.…
China is winning the vibe shift. “China is now seen more positively than the U.S. in most of 36 countries surveyed.” Pew’s new global survey of 42,151 people shows a sharp reversal from recent years, with favorability toward China rising as views of the U.S. slide. ~ learn…
Total energy supply explained. Someone has turned my daughter against gasoline—because it’s bad for the environment. She suggested electricity would be a superior power source for cars. I asked her where electricity comes from. “Total energy supply (TES) includes all the energy produced in or imported to a…
Prescriptions every 30 seconds. “Clinicians who worked for the start-up signed prescriptions for Adderall, a leading treatment for A.D.H.D., every 30 seconds, according to the Justice Department.” Two Done Global executives were sentenced after prosecutors said the company pushed stimulants, including refills for patients who were on involuntary…
A love story in survey data. “The data for this story is from How Couples Meet and Stay Together, which surveyed Americans in 2017, 2020, and 2022.” The Pudding turns a Stanford dataset into an interactive look at how relationships start and change over time. ~ learn more
A soup older than some employees. “What has outlived them all? A beef broth simmering at a Thai restaurant since 1974.” In Bangkok, one family has kept the same pot going for 52 years, treating it like a living thing you maintain, not a batch you finish. ~…
A dividing cell from non-living parts. “It’s a big step forward to this holy grail of making a living thing out of dead components.” Researchers packed lab-made biomolecules into a membrane, then watched the synthetic cell grow, copy DNA, and split, even though it still needs constant deliveries…
Exhale longer, take more risks. “Prolonged exhalation increased risky choices by enhancing reward sensitivity and elevating cardiac parasympathetic activity.” The authors show that a longer exhale shifts autonomic state toward parasympathetic dominance and that shift tracks stronger reward responses in two parts of the brain. ~ learn more
A frog gut microbe for attacking tumors. “A single intravenous dose of Ewingella americana led to complete tumor elimination in 100% of treated animals, with no recurrence upon re-exposure to cancer cells.” It’s a preclinical mouse colorectal cancer result, but the mechanism is wild: a living bacterium that…
He charges $1,000 to haggle. “Tomislav (Tomi) Mikula charges a $1,000 flat fee to negotiate vehicle purchases on behalf of his clients, and business is booming.” He used to sell cars, now he livestreams negotiations and runs Delivrd with a small team that reportedly brings in about $200,000…
Mysterious compassionate use approval. “STAT has learned that Eli Lilly and the FDA have allowed one person to gain access to the drug through the FDA’s ‘compassionate use’ program.” The patient was “a 79-year-old man” and sources say the request “drew the interest of top health officials,” hinting…
Gray-market peptides, familiar sellers. “Crypto payments to gray-market peptide vendors, many of which are part of the fentanyl business, totaled $27 million in the first quarter of this year, up nearly 150% from Q4 2025, per Chainalysis.” The Axios piece traces how some China-based fentanyl precursor makers are…
How to ask for help. “There is only one principle. Put yourself in their mind.” The whole piece is a checklist for asking strangers for help without making it weird: show you are serious, give tight context, make the ask small, and make it easy to say no.…
11 universal and objective truths about making friends. “Also, when you’ve just moved to a new city, you have to say “yes” to everything.” ~ learn more
People are bad at picking health plan. “They spent 24% more than they had, with a majority of employees picking a plan for which a strictly better version existed.” I am not sure that I’ve always (or ever?) picked the optimal health plan either. ~ learn more
AI confidence theater. “So I started asking a simple question whenever someone told me AI had changed their life: ‘Cool. Show me.’” Elena Verna’s point: most “life-changing” AI workflows are just decent time-savers dressed up like miracles, and the hype is warping expectations inside companies. ~ learn more