The hottest Science Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Name changes are a common sense decision

This Week in Birding • 157 implied HN points • 08 Jan 24
🔬 Science Ornithology Conservation Film
  1. The American Ornithological Society is changing bird names named after controversial figures to be more inclusive and reduce offensive associations.
  2. The decision to change bird names may lead to confusion among birders about identifying species.
  3. Organizations like the Kirtland's Warbler Alliance are grappling with financial and awareness impacts due to the naming decision.

Intrinsic Primacy: Consciousness, the Impetus of Man

Holodoxa • 259 implied HN points • 18 Jul 23
🔬 Science Consciousness Neuroscience Philosophy Emergence
  1. Our consciousness and internal thoughts are essential to our human experience, leading to the question of where they originate in the brain.
  2. Neuroscience faces challenges in understanding consciousness, with the field needing a new paradigm to address the relationship between brain function and conscious experience.
  3. Different perspectives, such as intrinsic introspection and extrinsic scientific observation, have evolved through history, shaping how we view the world and ourselves.

Tails of the City: Part 2

Street Smart Naturalist: Explorations of the Urban Kind • 259 implied HN points • 07 Sep 23
🔬 Science Botany Ecology Evolution Natural History Environmental Science
  1. Horsetails have existed since the time of dinosaurs and are among the oldest plants on Earth. They haven’t changed much over millions of years, making them fascinating survivors.
  2. While horsetails are often seen as garden pests, they have historical importance and have been used by various cultures for food and tools. However, some parts can be toxic, especially to horses.
  3. There is a common myth that horsetails can accumulate gold, but research shows they actually indicate arsenic. They are good at collecting silica, which gives them their nickname as 'scouring rush'.

Happy 4th of July

Science Forever • 258 implied HN points • 04 Jul 23
🔬 Science News Research Commentary
  1. News, Research, and Commentary are key areas in the Science journals, each with its unique approach.
  2. Editors for News are independent to maintain reporting integrity, while subject experts handle Research papers.
  3. In Commentary, individual authors share their opinions, distinct from editorial decisions on research papers.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

"You Couldn't Replicate Our Study Because You're Ugly"

Cremieux Recueil • 416 implied HN points • 03 Dec 24
🔬 Science Research Methods Social Psychology Statistical Analysis Methodology
  1. Attractiveness studies may not be very reliable because their methods can be flawed. It's important to be careful about how these studies are designed and what they claim.
  2. Different studies use different ways to measure attractiveness, which can lead to confusion and mismatched results. It's not always clear which findings are valid.
  3. Racial preference in dating apps can be hard to measure correctly. Good research design is key, and many studies may not handle these issues well, leading to uncertain conclusions.

A Good Science Manifesto

The Good Science Project • 26 implied HN points • 11 Dec 25
🔬 Science Research Funding Science Policy Open Science Reproducibility Career development Funding Models
  1. Science funding should prioritize producing reliable, useful knowledge and reward being right, supporting both risky exploratory work and goal-oriented projects.
  2. Funders must cut heavy administrative burdens and require open sharing of data and methods so others can verify and build on results quickly.
  3. The funding system should be more flexible and diverse: experiment with new funding models, provide stable support for infrastructure and staff scientists, and distribute support more evenly across career stages.

Landscapes of meaning

johan’s substack • 39 implied HN points • 04 Jun 24
🔬 Science Semiotics Meaning-making Language Models
  1. Steering tokens are used to guide AI models' output and can influence the tone and focus of generated responses.
  2. Neologisms and steering tokens create a shared semiospace, bridging human language with the internal structures of AI models for collaborative and meaningful interactions.
  3. The concept of a 'semioscape' portrays digital environments as evolving landscapes of meaning-making, highlighting the dynamic interplay between human language, AI-generated content, and societal factors.

An Applied Crop Genetics BBN

FreakTakes • 7 implied HN points • 30 Jan 26
🔬 Science Biotechnology Genetics Agriculture Synthetic Biology Bioengineering R&D Funding
  1. The team’s North Star is to make plant engineering like chip design — building synthetic chromosomes and easy, plug-and-play genetic parts so people can design complex, adaptive plant traits.
  2. Progress is blocked by three main technical bottlenecks: transforming and regenerating many plant species, a lack of validated higher-level genetic circuit libraries, and immature hardware to build and iterate large DNA programs.
  3. They fund tool development by mixing contracts and grants, using a high-throughput screening platform to offer screening and co-development services, and aim to grow into an engineering research institute that would need roughly $3–7M per year for about a decade.

Time To Get Serious About Gravity

Planetocracy • 255 implied HN points • 22 Jul 23
🔬 Science Space Exploration Future prospects
  1. Understanding the effects of partial gravity on humans in space is crucial for future space settlements.
  2. Creating artificial gravity through rotation is a viable solution, but requires specific conditions like radius and spin rate.
  3. Past experiments with rotational gravity in space show promise but more studies are needed, especially in preparation for Mars missions.

Erratic Behavior

Street Smart Naturalist: Explorations of the Urban Kind • 299 implied HN points • 13 Jul 23
🔬 Science Geology Paleontology Natural History Earth Science
  1. Erratic rocks are large stones left behind by glaciers when the ice melts. They can be quite big, even the size of a school bus.
  2. Some famous erratics, like the Wedgwood Rock in Seattle, have interesting histories and have been popular spots for locals for many years.
  3. The study of these erratics helped scientists like Goethe understand the Ice Age and how rocks traveled long distances due to ice.

🚀 SpaceX is making a space Mayflower voyage possible

Faster, Please! • 456 implied HN points • 01 Nov 24
🔬 Science Space Exploration Astrobiology Physics Technological Innovation Engineering
  1. SpaceX is making space travel cheaper and more accessible, which could allow for new settlements in space. This change could make colonizing asteroids a real possibility.
  2. NASA's Artemis program has spent a lot of money without achieving its goals, raising questions about its effectiveness. Some people believe that commercial companies like SpaceX could do these missions more efficiently and at lower costs.
  3. The idea of colonizing other planets can be compared to historical migrations on Earth, showing that private ventures may succeed better than expensive government projects. Learning from past colonization might help humanity settle in space.

1.4 What’s the Benefit of This New Model?

Fields & Energy • 199 implied HN points • 22 Nov 23
🔬 Science Physics Quantum Mechanics Electromagnetism Mathematics
  1. This new model helps us understand how antennas and electromagnetic radiation work better. It shows how waves and fields can create visible effects, like standing waves, which we see in everyday life.
  2. The theory offers answers to old physics puzzles like wave-particle duality. Instead of seeing particles and waves as opposites, they work together as two different things.
  3. It provides solutions to tricky problems in electromagnetism, like radiation reaction and vacuum energy. The model suggests that radiation comes from the applied fields, not just from accelerating charges.

Science giveth and science taketh away

Razib Khan's Unsupervised Learning • 366 implied HN points • 17 Dec 24
🔬 Science Evolution Genetics Mathematics Natural History
  1. Science has advanced a lot since Darwin's time, but we often miss the wonder and excitement that comes with these discoveries. It seems like people today are less amazed by scientific progress than they used to be.
  2. Darwin proposed that evolution happens through natural selection, but he didn’t fully explain how traits are passed down. Later scientists combined genetics with evolution to better understand how traits vary across generations.
  3. Today, understanding evolution requires recognizing four main forces: mutation, migration, selection, and drift. These forces shape the genetic diversity that fuels evolution.

The Bird with the Silent P

Street Smart Naturalist: Explorations of the Urban Kind • 219 implied HN points • 02 Nov 23
🔬 Science Zoology Ecology Conservation Natural History Ornithology
  1. White-tailed ptarmigan are unique birds that live in cold, high-altitude areas. They change color from brown in summer to white in winter, helping them blend into their snowy environment.
  2. These birds have feathered feet that act like snowshoes, making it easier for them to walk on snow rather than fly. This adaptation helps them conserve energy in their harsh habitat.
  3. Indigenous knowledge about wildlife, like the ptarmigan's snowshoe ability, is being recognized as valuable by scientists. There's so much to learn from traditional understanding of nature.

The Making of a Gene Circuit

Asimov Press • 290 implied HN points • 16 Feb 25
🔬 Science Biology Genetics Mathematics Technology Engineering
  1. The repressilator is a simple gene circuit that helps scientists understand how to control living cells. It's made of three genes that work together in a loop to create a rhythmic 'on-off' signal.
  2. Michael Elowitz and his team proved that you could design circuits in living cells, which opened the door to synthetic biology. This means we can now program cells to perform specific tasks.
  3. Modern advancements have built on the repressilator, allowing us to create complex gene circuits that can mimic computing processes inside cells. This shows how biology can become a tool for engineering and technology.

Brave new human: counting up the de novo mutations you alone carry

Razib Khan's Unsupervised Learning • 148 implied HN points • 14 Jun 25
🔬 Science Genetics Evolution Human biology Molecular Biology
  1. The study looks at how many new mutations each person has that are different from their parents. These mutations happen in our DNA over generations.
  2. Mutations in our genetic code can impact traits and diseases. Some mutations are common, while others are rare and can lead to various health problems.
  3. Advancements in technology have made it easier to study our DNA. We can now look at thousands of genetic markers that help us understand human history and evolution.

Friday Links

Niko McCarty • 39 implied HN points • 31 May 24
🔬 Science Chemistry Biology Technology Health Environment
  1. Forever chemicals are really tough to break down because of their chemical structure. Researchers are looking for ways to engineer microbes that can help eliminate these harmful substances.
  2. SGLT2 inhibitors can help the immune system clear out old cells, which could be important for health. There’s growing interest in how these inhibitors can benefit kidney treatment.
  3. Advances in cotton plant genomes could make it easier to breed better plants in the future. This could lead to improvements in cotton production and farming.

Orbital stations: the past and the future

Space Ambition • 639 implied HN points • 24 Nov 22
🔬 Science Space Exploration Astronomy Technology development Research
  1. The International Space Station (ISS) has been in operation for around 25 years, but it will eventually become too costly to maintain. New space stations will be needed in the future.
  2. China has successfully built its own orbital station, Tiangong-3, which is currently inhabited. This adds to the growing presence of international space stations.
  3. Private companies are starting to develop their own space stations. NASA is supporting this trend with partnerships and funding, aiming to make space research more accessible.

The chemical reason that PFAS are "forever chemicals"

Trevor Klee’s Newsletter • 149 implied HN points • 16 Jun 25
🔬 Science Chemistry Biology Health Environmental Technology
  1. PFAS, or 'forever chemicals', are super strong substances that don't break down easily in our bodies. Once they get in, they can stick around for a long time, causing potential health issues.
  2. These chemicals are hard to get rid of because our bodies mistake them for fat, allowing them to be reabsorbed instead of eliminated. This reabsorption can lead to long-term interference with our health.
  3. NeutraOat might help reduce the impact of PFAS by trapping these chemicals and preventing them from being absorbed into the bloodstream. It could be an important tool in managing their harmful effects.

In defense of curiosity driven research

Heterodox STEM • 120 implied HN points • 16 Jul 25
🔬 Science STEM Research Mathematics Education Technology
  1. Curiosity-driven research is essential for advancing science and understanding complex theories. It helps discover fundamental truths that may not have immediate practical applications.
  2. Recent funding cuts to foundational research, especially in STEM fields, can harm the growth and competitiveness of scientific knowledge in the U.S. These cuts prioritize immediate economic gains over long-term scientific exploration.
  3. Mathematics plays a crucial role in science and technology, influencing discoveries and innovations that impact everyday life. A strong focus on mathematical ideas can lead to transformative advances in various fields.

The Man Who Discovered a Quarter of the Universe From the Finchley Road

Londonist: Time Machine • 239 implied HN points • 20 Sep 23
🔬 Science Discovery Heritage City
  1. London has a rich scientific heritage that is often overlooked due to its focus on cultural activities like arts, theatre, literature, fashion, and sport.
  2. The article discusses exploring the scientific contributions of London more thoroughly in future newsletters.
  3. The Londonist newsletter offers a 7-day free trial to access full post archives.

Blasting off soon...

Brain Blast • 39 implied HN points • 30 May 24
🔬 Science Neuroscience Psychology
  1. Brain Blast is a newsletter that covers brain-related news, research papers, and deep dives into various brain and mind topics.
  2. The newsletter is authored by a veteran brain research academic.
  3. Subscribing to Brain Blast gives access to weekly updates on the latest in neuroscience and psychology.

Francis Crick Was Misunderstood

Asimov Press • 386 implied HN points • 01 Dec 24
🔬 Science Biology Genetics Molecular Biology Evolution Research
  1. The Central Dogma explains that information in cells flows mainly from DNA to RNA to proteins, but it's more complex than just that. It actually includes several other information transfers that many people don't realize.
  2. Francis Crick named his idea the Central Dogma, but it’s not an unchangeable belief; it's a scientific hypothesis based on evidence. Even though people often misunderstand it, he believed in testing ideas with experiments.
  3. Recent discoveries show that some processes in biology may seem to contradict the Central Dogma, but they don't actually break its rules. The essential point is that information can only flow from nucleic acids to proteins, never the other way around.

Wednesday Links

Niko McCarty • 39 implied HN points • 29 May 24
🔬 Science Biology Health Innovation Vaccines Research
  1. Joseph Lister invented the first micropipette in the 1850s, but it wasn't popular like Heinrich Schnitger's design in 1957. It's interesting how some inventions don’t get the recognition they deserve until later.
  2. A new vaccine strategy uses tiny particles to target specific cells with mRNA vaccines. This could make immunizations more effective and targeted.
  3. The FDA sometimes takes too long to approve products like sunscreens, which can affect public health. It's a reminder that safety can sometimes slow down progress.

May 2025 Updates

New Things Under the Sun • 160 implied HN points • 27 May 25
🔬 Science Research Innovation R&D Economics Technology
  1. Recent studies show that government funding for research and development (R&D) yields high returns. Estimates suggest that every dollar spent on non-defense government R&D could generate benefits worth up to 210%.
  2. The composition of R&D funding has changed over the years. While support for applied research has dropped, funding for basic research has remained stable as a fraction of GDP.
  3. A significant research paper claiming that AI boosts innovation was retracted due to issues with the data and its credibility. This highlights the need for careful evaluation of research, especially when it could have major implications.

Supply AND Demand

Knowledge Problem • 235 implied HN points • 05 May 23
🔬 Science Energy Technology Economics Environment Digital
  1. Market value is determined by the interaction of supply and demand, allowing for price discovery.
  2. The traditional assumption in the electricity industry of fixed supply catering to demand is becoming obsolete due to digital technologies enabling flexible demand.
  3. Digital technologies and dynamic pricing are empowering consumers to have more control over their electricity bills and contribute to a greener future.

Natural selection: I still have no clue about the effect size

Wyclif's Dust • 1609 implied HN points • 14 Apr 23
🔬 Science Genetics Research Simulation Data Analysis Evolution
  1. The MAF/effect size slope gets steeper below MAF of 0.1, but correction becomes less trustworthy.
  2. There is a slope in the EA/fertility relationship above MAF of 0.1, so it's not constant everywhere.
  3. The relationship between EA/fertility is smaller for rare alleles, but the impact of very rare mutations remains uncertain.

Sabine Hossenfelder promoting fossil fuels over electric vehicles

aukehoekstra • 59 implied HN points • 23 Apr 24
🔬 Science Environment Electric Vehicles Climate change Physics Energy
  1. Sabine Hossenfelder, a popular figure known for her physics background, has been criticized for promoting gasoline cars over electric vehicles.
  2. Electric vehicles can help solve grid issues and contribute positively to the energy system by offering flexibility and potential cost savings.
  3. The sales of electric vehicles continue to rise, with advancements in technology making them more environmentally friendly and cost-effective compared to fossil fuel cars.

Current Status and Purpose of Exoplanet Exploration

Space Ambition • 119 implied HN points • 02 Feb 24
🔬 Science Astronomy Space Exploration Exoplanets Astrobiology Cosmology
  1. Over 5,500 exoplanets have been discovered, and some even have known atmospheric compositions. This exploration is about more than science; it's about understanding our universe.
  2. Different methods are used to find exoplanets, including the transit method and radial velocity method. Each has its own strengths and helps us learn more about these distant worlds.
  3. The research into exoplanets can inspire people and improve technology, benefiting various industries. It also boosts public interest in science, making people more aware of issues like climate change.

The Alimonti Addendum

The Honest Broker Newsletter • 1266 implied HN points • 26 Aug 23
🔬 Science Scientific Publishing Climate Science Peer Review Data Analysis Transparency
  1. A scientific paper was retracted due to negative press and criticism, not due to substantive issues.
  2. The retraction was driven by a single sentence in the paper, not related to data or analysis.
  3. Peer review process irregularities and external influences impacted the retraction, highlighting issues in scientific publishing.

Industry Impact, Predictive Tech, and Financial Prospects of Solar Storms Forecasting

Space Ambition • 199 implied HN points • 10 Nov 23
🔬 Science Astrophysics Technology Engineering Environmental Science
  1. Solar storms can disrupt important systems like GPS, communications, and power grids. Understanding these storms helps us protect our technology and infrastructure.
  2. Predictive technology now allows us to forecast solar storms 20 hours in advance. This gives us time to prepare and possibly avoid some of the negative impacts.
  3. As satellite technology grows, so does the risk from solar storms. We're learning to adjust satellite operations to minimize damage and keep them functioning better in space.

The Two Lies that killed Nuclear Power 2.0

Gordian Knot News • 300 implied HN points • 26 Jan 25
🔬 Science Nuclear power Radiation Energy Policy Environmental Impact Public Health
  1. Nuclear power has been hurt by two major misconceptions: that major accidents are unlikely and any release of radiation would be disastrous. Both ideas oversimplify complex realities.
  2. The belief that all radiation exposure is harmful has led to expensive safety measures in nuclear plants, making them less competitive against cheaper energy sources like oil and coal.
  3. Evidence shows that our bodies can repair some damage from radiation and that low-level exposure doesn't necessarily lead to serious health issues, challenging common fears about nuclear safety.