thoughts of food
Consumer-obsessed: food as medicine.
An insightful new report from the team at Listen Ventures. ~ learn more
thoughts of food
Saving the Cavendish banana.
The bananas we know and love were not always the top banana in the market. A disease wiped out their top competitor the Gros Michel, leaving them in pole position. Now there’s a disease coming for the Cavendish. “After earlier […]
under the microscope
CapScan capsule gathers gut data where it counts the most.
“Measuring gut metabolites in stool is like studying an elephant by examining its tail,” said Envivo Bio’s Dari Shalon, inventor of the capsule. “The device consists of a polymer shell which contains a collapsed fluid-collection bladder. When the capsule is […]
under the microscope
New understanding of “wavy wounds” may make for faster post-op healing.
“For some time now, it has been observed that wounds with a zig-zag pattern heal faster than those which simply form a straight line. Scientists have now determined why this is the case, and their findings could change the ways […]
to your health
All about heart rate variability (HRV).
The metric offers insight to the functioning of the nervous system. Specifically it’s thought that when the metric is high, it’s a sign that the nervous system is in “rest and digest” mode, while when it’s low it signals “fight […]
better doing
You can’t reach the brain through the ears.
“Why must every generation of humans spend their entire lives learning what the last generation already knew? Why can’t we reach the brain through the ears? The lives we could save, the years we could get back, the progress we […]
tech, startups, internet
Are emergent abilities of large language models a mirage?
This paper argues that by choosing the specific tests and measures that most researchers gravitate toward, they bias the results to look like emergence. “Specifically, nonlinear or discontinuous metrics produce apparent emergent abilities, whereas linear or continuous metrics produce smooth, […]
tech, startups, internet
7 years of amazing progress in self-driving cars.
Oliver Cameron has been working on this since 2016 when he and a team began working on an open-source self-driving car. Since then, every part of the stack has moved from rules-based to using machine-learning, and the outcomes in performance […]
oh, chicago
YouTubers and TikTokers are flocking to the south side to mock ‘The Hood’.
I see both sides here. On the one hand, highlighting the worst aspects of the neighborhood doesn’t do the folks trying to improve things any favors. On the other hand, pretending everything is alright doesn’t quite seem right either. ~ learn more
fun facts
Why do dogs tilt their heads to one side?
“The endearing behavior is well-known, but few researchers have investigated the reasons why dogs tilt their heads. A recent study offers some clues.” ~ learn more