The hottest Science Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways

Why Are Viral Capsids Icosahedral?

Asimov Press • 444 implied HN points • 09 Mar 26

Icosahedral symmetry lets viruses build a near-spherical shell by repeating the same protein subunits, which minimizes genetic coding needs while maximizing internal volume for genome storage.
The Caspar–Klug idea of quasi-equivalence and its triangulation numbers explains how many subunits assemble into stable icosahedral shells, and newer tiling theories generalize this to account for more complex capsid geometries.
Icosahedral capsids are energetically favorable and mechanically robust, making this shape a repeated evolutionary solution and a model for engineered protein cages, vaccines, and other biological compartments.

One Weird Trick to Get Significant Results

Cremieux Recueil • 295 implied HN points • 13 Mar 26

🔬 Science Research Methods Statistics Clinical Trials Reproducibility Research Integrity

Researchers often split samples and hunt for subgroups where effects become significant, but reporting subgroup "wins" without testing interactions or accounting for low power produces misleading, likely fluke results.
The functional medicine trial example shows clear red flags: inconsistent numbers, bad or post-hoc preregistration, incorrect power/sample-size math, undisclosed conflicts, non-ITT analyses, and unreported/misused subgroup tests with weak measures.
These practices make findings fragile and hard to replicate, so studies need proper prospective registration, correct power calculations, transparent reporting (including interaction tests), multiple-comparisons control, and shared data to be trustworthy.

The Exhilirating Movement From Treatment to Cures for Autoimmune Diseases

Ground Truths • 11197 implied HN points • 14 Dec 25

🔬 Science Immunology Immunotherapy Vaccines Gene-editing Clinical Trials

Two main cure strategies are emerging: a "hard reset" with engineered immune cells (CAR‑T/CAR‑NK) that deplete disease‑causing B cells and is moving toward off‑the‑shelf, in‑body delivery for one‑shot remissions.
A "soft reset" uses inverse or tolerogenic vaccines and Treg/dendritic‑cell approaches to retrain the immune system to tolerate self‑antigens instead of attacking them.
Advances in cancer immunotherapy (CAR‑T, checkpoint modulation, in‑vivo delivery, gene editing) are accelerating autoimmune cures, but challenges remain with cost, safety (e.g., cytokine release, neurotoxicity, vector risks) and equitable access.

Experiments that never see the light of day

Briefly Bio • 19 implied HN points • 31 Oct 24

🔬 Science Research Experiments Open Science Academic Publishing Discovery

Many experiments go unpublished because they're too small or inconclusive. Even if they don't seem important, they really help build bigger discoveries.
It's important for scientists to share these lesser-known experiments. Sharing can help the whole field of science progress faster.
Open science encourages collaboration. Scientists and companies should talk to each other about new ways to share research.

The 350 Million Year Old Shriek

Everything Is Amazing • 1398 implied HN points • 20 Feb 26

🔬 Science Paleontology Geology Natural History Biodiversity Science communication

The Tully Monster is a 310‑million‑year‑old marine fossil that looks utterly bizarre and still baffles scientists, with debates over whether it was a fish, a worm, or something else entirely.
Everyday pebbles can hide ancient fossils like crinoids that trick our brains into seeing faces or teeth — pareidolia makes us read familiar shapes into random patterns.
Ailsa Craig supplies a unique granite used for Olympic curling stones, and with only one other quarry in the world, the sport relies on a tiny, protected island whose quarrying is now limited.

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A Visual Guide to DNA Sequencing

Asimov Press • 851 implied HN points • 26 Feb 26

🔬 Science Genomics Genetics Molecular Biology Biotechnology Sequencing Bioinformatics History

DNA sequencing has moved from slow, radioactive lab work to fast, automated machines, causing sequencing costs and turnaround times to fall dramatically.
Different technologies make trade-offs: some (like Illumina) give very accurate short reads, others (like PacBio and nanopore) produce long reads useful for repetitive or complex regions, and nanopore adds portability and real-time reading.
These advances have revolutionized biology and medicine by enabling large-scale genome projects, clinical genetic testing, ancient DNA and metagenomics studies, and ongoing efforts to make whole-genome sequencing even cheaper and more widely available.

Why is the Probability Zero?

Contemplations on the Tree of Woe • 3958 implied HN points • 08 Jan 26

🔬 Science Evolution Genetics Population Genetics Artificial Intelligence History

Mathematical arguments claim natural selection doesn’t have enough time or fixation power to produce the huge genomic differences between humans and chimps. The critique points to numbers like ~202,500 available generations, a ~1,600-generation fixation ceiling, and a near-5σ improbability to support that claim.
The field of evolutionary biology is criticized as mathematically underprepared, with historical and contemporary exchanges presented as evidence that biologists often can’t answer quantitative objections. Common defenses such as parallel fixation or neutral theory are argued to either abandon Darwinism or fail on mathematical grounds.
An alternative called Intelligent Genetic Manipulation (Gray Day Theory) is proposed as the most parsimonious explanation for observed genetic variation, and new models like a Bio-Cycle fixation correction are offered. The critique also warns that peer review and AI systems can be fooled by fake science and that AI collaboration was used to develop the mathematical work.

Rescuing Science

Heterodox STEM • 241 implied HN points • 08 Mar 26

🔬 Science Science Policy Research Funding Higher education Academic culture Institutional Reform Science History

Massive federal funding has created an entrenched system of universities, agencies, publishers, and politicians that protects funding flows rather than fostering open scientific discovery.
The grant-centric culture — short funding cycles, heavy administration, and productivity metrics — drains creativity and sometimes drives researchers to play the funding game instead of doing bold science.
Fixing this means slowly reducing federal control by reforming indirect costs, making funds portable and tied to scientists, and restoring philanthropic and institutional support so research priorities return to scientists and discovery can flourish.

Why your flu shot may work differently than you think

Who is Robert Malone • 14 implied HN points • 21 Mar 26

🔬 Science Immunology Vaccinology Epidemiology Public Health Virology

Your first childhood flu exposure permanently shapes how your immune system responds to later vaccines, so repeated shots or similar antigens can make the body recall old answers instead of making updated protection.
As people age their immune systems lose naive cells, germinal center function declines, and chronic inflammation rises, which makes older adults both the most vulnerable to flu and the least likely to mount a strong vaccine response.
Current one-size-fits-all vaccination policy doesn’t account for imprinting, repeat-vaccination effects, or immunosenescence; we need clearer communication and investment in better vaccine platforms and strategies (non-egg production, adjuvants, or immunomodulation).

The Lab Spills Edition

Why is this interesting? • 1447 implied HN points • 03 Feb 26

🔬 Science Chemistry Biochemistry Neuroscience Food Science Research Methods Lab Safety

Many major artificial sweeteners were found by accident when people in labs tasted or otherwise noticed unexpected sweetness from spilled or handled chemicals.
Human senses, especially taste, act as extremely sensitive high-throughput detectors and can spot potent effects that controlled screenings often miss.
Accidental discoveries can beat deliberate testing in impact, but safety matters—breakthroughs from exposure to the unknown should never justify reckless lab behavior.

Going Founder Mode On Cancer

The Century of Biology • 2387 implied HN points • 18 Jan 26

🔬 Science Biology Medicine Biotech Genomics Oncology Immunology

A founder‑mode, information‑maximalist approach — exhaustive documentation, frequent advanced diagnostics, and a ladder of personalized treatment options — can enable faster, creative decisions and in this case helped drive the cancer into remission.
Even with money and motivation, practical barriers in hospitals, IRBs, regulators, and the high cost of drug development make access to tissue, cutting‑edge diagnostics, and experimental therapies very hard to obtain and scale.
Emerging platform technologies like single‑cell sequencing, neoantigen vaccines, radioligand therapies, personalized CRISPR and engineered cell therapies make truly individualized cancer care possible, but today they’re expensive and unevenly distributed and will need new regulatory and manufacturing models to become broadly available.

The Legibility Problem

Asimov Press • 496 implied HN points • 02 Mar 26

🔬 Science AI Scientific Method Science Policy Philosophy

AI systems could produce scientific discoveries that humans can’t understand or fit into our existing concepts, making those breakthroughs hard or impossible for people to implement.
AI scientists and agent communities may develop their own languages and research cultures and can speed up paradigm shifts, risking that human researchers are left behind or become archaeological interpreters of AI work.
We must build infrastructure and tools—translation layers, storage, and explication systems—that make AI-generated findings legible and actionable for human institutions rather than just slowing progress.

Chinese Peptides

ChinaTalk • 607 implied HN points • 20 Feb 26

🔬 Science Biotechnology Pharmacology Drug Safety Clinical Trials Manufacturing Supply Chain Regulation

Chinese factories and online sellers are mass-producing and exporting a wide range of peptides — from approved drugs to experimental research chemicals — at far lower prices than brand-name medicines. They advertise on social apps and ship directly to foreign customers with fast turnaround and bulk incentives.
Many popular peptides lack robust human trials and can contain hard-to-detect impurities, so injectable dosing and sterility carry real health risks. Regulatory enforcement is murky: sellers use “research use only” labels to dodge oversight and FDA actions have varied with political leadership.
Demand is driven by biohackers, athletes, and people chasing weight loss or faster healing, and injections have become socially normalized after drugs like Ozempic. That demand meets China’s large-scale peptide manufacturing capacity, creating a booming gray market that outpaces formal clinical research.

Do conversations end when people want them to?

Experimental History • 29903 implied HN points • 22 Jul 25

🔬 Science Psychology Research Human behavior Communication Social Science

Most conversations don't end when people want them to. A lot of people feel like they either want to leave sooner or keep talking longer than what actually happens.
People often guess wrong about their conversation partner's feelings on when to end the chat. They usually don't know how long the other person wants to talk, which leads to mismatched expectations.
Even though many conversations might seem awkward or boring, most people report that they actually enjoy the experience. It's often better to leave a conversation wanting more!

High performers are late bloomers

The Common Reader • 4465 implied HN points • 22 Dec 25

🔬 Science Behavioral Science Cognitive Science Talent development Computational Models

Many top achievers are late bloomers rather than childhood prodigies. They often show above-average early performance and then steadily improve over a long period to surpass early stars.
Career peaks tend to follow a period of broad exploration and then focused exploitation. The switch from trying many things to building on the best ideas often triggers sustained high achievement.
Avoiding narrow early specialization and being willing to tolerate early incompetence helps long-term success. Getting stuck in a competency trap blocks growth, so diversifying skills and embracing change supports later peak performance.

AI, Cybernetics, and Complexity: unpacking the 2024 Nobel Prizes

Complexity Thoughts • 319 implied HN points • 14 Oct 24

🔬 Science Complexity Cybernetics Artificial Intelligence Physics Biology

The 2024 Nobel Prizes recognized important advances in AI, but these discoveries are also deeply connected to complex systems. This shows that complexity science is becoming a more accepted area in high-level research.
Understanding complex systems requires looking beyond traditional boundaries of science. The future of breakthroughs may rely on merging different scientific fields and using interdisciplinary approaches.
Success in tackling complex challenges, like climate change and health issues, will need both detailed analysis of parts and a broader view of systems. Researchers must balance reductionist methods with insights from complexity science.

Measles and echo chambers, fresh science, and more

Your Local Epidemiologist • 658 implied HN points • 27 Feb 26

🔬 Science Public Health Epidemiology Immunology Science communication Medical Research Misinformation

Working with Christian faith-based content creators is a practical way to break echo chambers and better inform faith communities about measles and medical evidence.
New scientific studies are notable, including promising progress for a hard-to-treat breast cancer and an intriguing clue found in the brains of superagers.
A dangerous online trend of making cornstarch fireballs is emerging, creating a fresh public-safety and misinformation concern.

Every Three Hours Is A Chance To Make A New World: Notes from the Oklo Reactor

Welcome to Garbagetown • 575 implied HN points • 07 Oct 24

🔬 Science Nuclear Technology Education Environment History Research

Learning something new can spark excitement and a desire to share that knowledge with others. It's fun to dive into unexpected topics that capture our interest.
Exploring the intersection of science and storytelling can reveal the beauty and power of both. Stories can make complex scientific ideas more relatable and engaging.
Taking a break from politics and focusing on other subjects can be refreshing. There's a vast world of knowledge and wonder beyond political discussions.

Dead Reckoning

Asimov Press • 264 implied HN points • 07 Mar 26

🔬 Science Archaeology Genetics Forensics Anthropology

Complex bioarchaeology combines bone biology, isotope chemistry, radiocarbon dating, ancient DNA, and forensic trauma analysis to identify people and reconstruct how they lived and died.
Applying those methods, researchers confirmed a medieval skeleton as Duke Béla of Macsó by matching age, stature, diet, corrected radiocarbon dates, and genetic links to both Byzantine and Rurikid lineages, while trauma analysis showed multiple attackers and brutal perimortem wounds.
Beyond single cases, this integrated approach can correct or fill gaps in written history and reveal hidden patterns of violence and migration, though it can’t fully recover ancient population counts lost to time.

Working in Glass

Asimov Press • 322 implied HN points • 04 Mar 26

🔬 Science Chemistry Materials Instrumentation Laboratory History Education

Learning to make and modify glassware let chemists build cheap, hands-on experiments and get repeatable results; teaching glassblowing spread that do-it-yourself approach.
Advances in glass chemistry and manufacturing—especially borosilicate formulations and standardized fittings—made labware tougher, more accurate, and interchangeable, which helped standardize modern labs.
Glassblowing shifted from a core skill to a specialized trade as industrial brands mass-produced equipment, but glass remains essential for optics and high-temperature work while plastics handle many disposable tasks.

The Two Faces of Neuroticism

Rob Henderson's Newsletter • 1458 implied HN points • 08 Feb 26

🔬 Science Psychology Neuroscience Behavioral Science Cognitive Science Mental health Personality

People differ in how they experience emotion.
Those emotional differences help explain why some people feel energized by life while others feel overburdened by it.
Understanding these contrasting reactions means looking at two important personality traits, including different aspects or "faces" of neuroticism.

Suddenly, Trait-Based Embryo Selection

Astral Codex Ten • 23538 implied HN points • 31 Jul 25

🔬 Science Genetics Health Technology Bioethics Medicine

Trait-based embryo selection is becoming more common, allowing parents to pick embryos with better health outcomes and predict certain traits. This could mean healthier children with lower risks of diseases like diabetes or cancer.
There are ethical concerns about this technology, including the potential for creating inequality, as only wealthier families might afford these choices. Critics worry this could lead to a divide between those who can enhance their children's traits and those who can't.
While the science behind polygenic embryo selection is still evolving, some argue it may not fully deliver on its promises. It's important for parents to understand both the potential benefits and the limitations as this technology becomes more available.

Stop Telling Aliens We’re Here

Yascha Mounk • 1718 implied HN points • 15 Aug 24

🔬 Science Astrobiology Ethics Technology Philosophy Communication

Some scientists are broadcasting messages to possible aliens, but this could be very dangerous for humanity. We don't know if aliens would be friendly or hostile.
If aliens are able to contact us, they would likely be more advanced than us in technology. This raises concerns about their intentions and what could happen if they come here.
Deciding to contact aliens should be a choice made by everyone, not just a few scientists. It's important to consider the potential risks before making such a drastic move.

The Seas Under Our Oceans

Everything Is Amazing • 1249 implied HN points • 05 Feb 26

🔬 Science Oceanography Hydrology Geology Environmental Science Water resources

A vast freshwater reservoir was discovered under the seabed off the U.S. East Coast that could theoretically supply a city like New York for around 800 years.
Researchers think the water was trapped by ancient glaciers and sealed in sediment layers hundreds of metres below the seafloor, and some samples are already close to drinkable.
Similar offshore freshwater reservoirs may exist globally and represent a huge potential water resource, but accessing them will require major engineering, legal and political work.

Scientific American Is a Scandal Prone Mess and Can't Do Science

The DisInformation Chronicle • 540 implied HN points • 12 Feb 26

🔬 Science Public Health Virology Misinformation Media Ethics Investigative Reporting

Scientific American publicly dismissed the Wuhan lab‑leak theory and labeled a high‑clearance virologist’s claims as conspiracy, prompting questions about whether the magazine ignored his relevant expertise and access to classified materials.
The magazine’s editorial decisions and communications lack transparency, with editors publicly attacking the scientist, failing to answer direct questions, and facing internal personnel controversies.
Past ties between a former Scientific American editor and Jeffrey Epstein, revealed in released emails, further damage the publication’s credibility and raise concerns about its judgment and vetting.

We need to talk about astrology

Granted • 18608 implied HN points • 10 Mar 24

🔬 Science Astrology Personality Traits Genetics Research Findings Cognitive Biases

Astrology does not have scientific backing and can lead to harmful stereotypes and discrimination.
Studies have shown that zodiac signs do not correspond to personality traits, and astrology cannot predict life outcomes.
Belief in astrology may indicate a lack of critical thinking skills and could lead to acceptance of other unfounded beliefs.

Psychology’s Greatest Hits (Part 3/3)

Living Fossils • 20 implied HN points • 11 Mar 26

🔬 Science Psychology Cognition Neuroscience Evolution Learning Decision-making Perception Social Behavior

The most reliable psychology comes from explicit, quantitative, testable models—like laws of learning and signal detection—that make precise predictions and connect to other sciences.
Thinking about how minds evolved and work in real environments explains many supposed “biases” and shows family and kinship profoundly shape behavior. Simple heuristics are often fast, frugal, and adaptive rather than errors.
Psychology needs clear, specific, and measurable claims that fit with other disciplines; vague or unfalsifiable ideas lead to error, so healthy skepticism and rigor matter.

Why do people still not know about genes?

Heterodox STEM • 270 implied HN points • 01 Mar 26

🔬 Science Genetics Behavior Psychology Sociology Public Policy Science communication

Genes are a major driver of personality and behaviour — studies show roughly half of the variation in psychological traits is genetic, and traits like aggression and criminality are substantially heritable.
Most mainstream discussion blames parenting, poverty or household instability for crime and life outcomes, but that often ignores the strong genetic contribution and can lead to mistaken conclusions and poor policy choices.
Correlations between childhood environment and bad outcomes are frequently confounded by shared genes, so you must control for genetics (and account for random developmental effects) before claiming that poverty or family structure directly causes crime.

Nobel Prize to the Statistical Physics of artificial neural networks

Complexity Thoughts • 379 implied HN points • 08 Oct 24

🔬 Science Physics Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence Computational Models Statistical Methods

John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton won the Nobel Prize for their work on artificial neural networks. Their research helps us understand how machines can learn from data using ideas from physics.
Hopfield's networks use energy minimization to recall memories, similar to how physical systems find stable states. This shows a connection between physics and how machines learn.
Boltzmann machines, developed by Hinton, introduce randomness to help networks explore different configurations. This randomness allows for better learning from data, making these models more effective.

Inverse Problems

arg min • 515 implied HN points • 03 Oct 24

🔬 Science Mathematics Statistics Physics Engineering Computer Science

Inverse problems help us create images or models from measurements, like how a CT scan builds a picture of our insides using X-rays.
A key part of working with inverse problems is using linear models, which means we can express our measurements and the related image or signal in straightforward mathematical terms.
Choosing the right functions to handle noise and image characteristics is crucial because it guides how the algorithm makes sense of the data we collect.

Missing Heritability: Much More Than You Wanted To Know

Astral Codex Ten • 27186 implied HN points • 26 Jun 25

🔬 Science Genetics Psychology Research Methodology

Twin studies suggest that many traits, like intelligence, are largely inherited, estimating about 60% genetic influence. However, more recent genetic research, like genome-wide association studies, has only been able to identify a fraction of this heritability.
There is a debate among scientists about the reasons for the 'missing heritability.' Some believe it's because twin studies might overestimate genetic influence, while others think we simply haven't found all the relevant genes yet.
New methods, such as within-family comparisons, are showing that many genetic predictors might not be as strong as previously thought. This could mean that environmental factors play a bigger role in shaping traits than we've understood.

Science, Medicine, Values, and Politics

Heterodox STEM • 78 implied HN points • 11 Mar 26

🔬 Science Philosophy Ethics Medicine Policy Politics Sociology Publishing

Science and medicine are not value-free — they are shaped by epistemic goals (truth and rigor), community norms (openness and skepticism), and broader societal values that influence research priorities and ethics.
Ideological and political pressures from both the left and the right can politicize research, erode expert credibility, and slow innovation, producing polarization, cancel culture, and counter-movements that harm honest scientific debate.
Protecting scientific integrity requires independence, transparency, responsibility, and a clear separation between political aims and epistemic methods, with nonpartisan vigilance to preserve public trust and sound decision-making.

Let's be constructive for once

Gordian Knot News • 95 implied HN points • 12 Mar 26

🔬 Science Nuclear Safety Risk Analysis Emergency Response

The NRC should replace the MACCS2 Gaussian plume model with NOAA’s HYSPLIT Lagrangian puff model to get more realistic plume predictions.
Puff models track many individual parcels and use time-varying winds and precipitation, so they can capture rain washout and shifting plumes that Gaussian fixed-wind models cannot.
Using HYSPLIT would enable more accurate, forecast-driven dose predictions and support harm models that care about dose rate, and integration work (e.g., Sandia’s merge) shows this is feasible.

Countable Labs

ASeq Newsletter • 14 implied HN points • 19 Mar 26

🔬 Science Biotechnology Molecular Biology Diagnostics Instrumentation Genomics Patents

Countable Labs is building a novel PCR instrument that acts like digital PCR but runs inside a single tube.
Their method seems to isolate individual molecules in a gel, amplify them, and image the fluorescence directly in the tube to enable multiplexed detection.
Public details are limited, so people are looking through patents to understand the technical specifics.

What's the deal with Euler's identity?

lcamtuf’s thing • 5917 implied HN points • 08 Nov 25

🔬 Science Mathematics Physics Geometry

Euler's identity, which is e^(iπ) + 1 = 0, connects five important math constants: e, π, 0, 1, and i. It shows how complex numbers and trigonometry blend together in a fascinating way.
The number i is known as the imaginary unit, and it allows us to represent two-dimensional rotations. When we multiply by i, it represents a 90° turn in the complex plane.
Using Euler's formula, we can relate complex exponentials to trigonometric functions. This connection helps us understand circular motion in a mathematical way.

The Origins of Agar

Asimov Press • 373 implied HN points • 22 Feb 26

🔬 Science Microbiology Molecular Biology Biochemistry Marine Biology Food Science

Agar is the lab staple that lets scientists grow and isolate microbes, and it made modern techniques like vaccine production, antibiotic testing, and many discoveries possible.
Most lab-grade agar comes from wild-harvested Gelidium seaweed, so its supply is fragile — wartime shortages, overharvesting, climate change and recent contaminated or scarce batches have driven price spikes and alarms.
Researchers have tested many substitutes, but no alternative matches agar’s combination of firmness, transparency, low cost and ease of use, and labs stick with agar because decades of methods and standards depend on it.

Three Dumb Studies for your consideration

Experimental History • 19828 implied HN points • 10 Jun 25

🔬 Science Experiments Research Psychology Behavior Education

Short and low-cost experiments can still provide interesting insights. Even simple studies can teach us something new.
People often have unexpected reactions to pain and discomfort, like some even enjoy putting their hands in ice water. This shows that experiences can be more subjective than we think.
Our preferences for things like sugar and salt are complex. People hesitate to eat them in pure forms due to social norms or taste expectations, indicating our relationship with these substances is nuanced.

We're Going Back To The Moon And It's Kind Of Weird That Nobody Is Freaking Out?

Everything Is Amazing • 1303 implied HN points • 21 Jan 26

🔬 Science Archaeology Space Paleontology Ecology Anthropology Remote Sensing

Humans are about to travel farther from Earth than almost anyone alive has in over 50 years as crewed lunar missions restart, and oddly few people seem to be paying attention.
Underwater stone walls off Brittany may be about 7,000 years old, suggesting Mesolithic coastal communities built big, durable structures and inspiring the old myth of a drowned city.
A new mapping project has uncovered tens of thousands of miles of previously unknown or conjectured Roman roads, revealing the empire's transport network was far larger and more complex than historians had thought.

Heritability of human life span is about 50% when heritability is redefined to be something different

DYNOMIGHT INTERNET NEWSLETTER • 703 implied HN points • 05 Feb 26

🔬 Science Genetics Aging Epidemiology Statistics Demography Research Methods

If you measure lifespan heritability in a simulated world with no non‑aging deaths (accidents, murder, overdoses, infectious disease), the apparent heritability rises to roughly 46–57%, about 50%.
Heritability is an observational ratio that depends on societal and environmental factors, so lowering extrinsic mortality naturally increases the fraction of lifespan variation attributed to genetics.
The simulation is a useful exercise and matches historical twin estimates, but its strong assumptions and vague reporting mean the ~50% figure shouldn’t be taken as the true modern heritability; a more cautious read of the results suggests something closer to 35–45% (around 40%).

Thoughts on A Brief History of Intelligence

Trevor Klee’s Newsletter • 1044 implied HN points • 23 Jan 26

🔬 Science Neuroscience Artificial Intelligence Cognitive Science Evolution Behavioral Science

We can now build artificial intelligences that see, hear, talk, write, and reason, and their abilities are improving fast enough that experimenting on minds is now possible.
Biological intelligence appears to be built from a repeating cortical microcircuit, and stacking and scaling those columns explains higher capacities like reinforcement learning, simulation, modeling other minds, and language.
Imagination and choice come from running internal simulations and using those imagined outcomes to guide action, which helps explain apparent free will but still leaves subjective experience unresolved.