The hottest Science Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Science Topics

🌾 Drivers of adoption for seaweed and microalgae products in agriculture

paxtier • 1 implied HN point • 20 Dec 23
🔬 Science Biology Environmental Research Agriculture Technology
  1. Research in seaweed and microalgae adoption in agriculture has shown contradictory results and low explanatory power
  2. Key drivers for adoption in this space include innovation advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability
  3. Successful adoption in agriculture requires identification and demonstration of active chemicals in products

Taking a little bit of magic out of AI

Notices to three friends • 1 implied HN point • 14 Dec 23
🔬 Science AI Machine Learning Classification Correlation Patterns
  1. Classifiers in AI can identify objects based on superficial, correlated properties, rather than intrinsic characteristics.
  2. Machine learning methods are effective at finding these properties because they operate in a vast space of properties and can test them statistically.
  3. Humans differ from AI models in our ability to go beyond superficial correlations and strive to discover the truth by discarding existing categories.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

We Really Can Make Glucose From Fatty Acids After All! O Textbook, How Thy Biochemistry Hast Deceived Me!

Harnessing the Power of Nutrients • 19 implied HN points • 07 Jan 12
🔬 Science Biochemistry Metabolism Insulin
  1. Biochemistry textbooks may claim that animals cannot convert fatty acids to glucose, but evidence suggests that it is possible under certain conditions.
  2. Acetate from fatty acids can be converted to glucose in a process involving ketogenesis, particularly when high levels of fatty acids flood the liver.
  3. Insulin plays a role in regulating the conversion of fatty acids to glucose by influencing enzyme production, demonstrating a complex network of reactions in the body.

When Standing At the Brink of the Abyss, Staring Into the Great Unknown, We Randomize

Harnessing the Power of Nutrients • 19 implied HN points • 17 Dec 11
🔬 Science Research Observation Experiment
  1. Randomization is key in experiments to help remove the influence of known and unknown confounders.
  2. The vast unknown in scientific research is likely much greater than what is presently known, reminding us to approach findings with humility and caution.
  3. Observational evidence is useful for generating hypotheses, but randomized controlled experiments are crucial for supporting or refuting cause-and-effect relationships.

Why are neural networks so powerful?

The Palindrome • 1 implied HN point • 11 Sep 23
🔬 Science Machine Learning Neural Networks Mathematics
  1. Neural networks are powerful due to their ability to closely approximate almost any function.
  2. Machine learning involves finding a function that approximates the relationship between data points and their ground truth.
  3. Approximation theory seeks to find a simple function close enough to a complex one by determining the right function family and precise approximation within that family.

Axial Discovery - Clinical trial statistical analysis

Discovery by Axial • 1 implied HN point • 08 Sep 23
🔬 Science Clinical Trials Statistical Analysis Software Development Data Integration Data Visualization
  1. Clinical trial statistical analysis involves collecting and interpreting data to evaluate new treatments.
  2. Startups have opportunities to develop software for automating and streamlining statistical analysis processes due to increasing data complexity.
  3. Software development for data integration, visualization, and communication can improve efficiency in clinical trial statistical analysis.

The Origin of the Lipid Hypothesis — And Proposal of a New Term

Harnessing the Power of Nutrients • 19 implied HN points • 25 Feb 11
🔬 Science Health Cholesterol Atherosclerosis Research
  1. The term 'lipid hypothesis' originated in 1976 as a testable prediction that high blood cholesterol levels correlate with heart disease risk.
  2. The lipid hypothesis predates the diet-heart hypothesis by decades and focuses on cholesterol's role without claiming exclusivity, also considering factors like inflammation and hormones.
  3. A proposal suggests differentiating between the 'infiltrative lipid hypothesis' focusing on cholesterol quantity and the 'degenerative lipid hypothesis' emphasizing lipid degeneration's role in atherosclerosis.

The New Genetics — Part III: Genes Don’t Express Themselves

Harnessing the Power of Nutrients • 19 implied HN points • 16 Feb 11
🔬 Science Genetics Molecular Biology Cell Biology
  1. Genes by themselves are inactive; it's the cells that activate genes and express them.
  2. A complex process involving multiple proteins is needed for a cell to make a functional protein from a gene.
  3. Cells have intricate mechanisms to adjust gene expression based on their needs and the environment, highlighting the complexity of genetic regulation.

Not Another Bias!

Optimally Irrational • 1 HN point • 26 May 23
🔬 Science Behavioral Economics Game Theory
  1. There is a renewed interest in understanding the adaptive explanations for human behavior, rather than labeling every cognitive bias as a flaw.
  2. The rationality wars have highlighted different perspectives on human decision-making, emphasizing heuristics and adaptive processes.
  3. Advancements in cognitive neuroscience and economic theory are shedding new light on biases, showing them as potential solutions to informational constraints.

Understanding the Normal Distribution for Real

Boris Again • 1 HN point • 10 Apr 23
🔬 Science Probability Theory
  1. The Normal distribution formula is intimidating but actually represents real-life concepts like coin tosses and urns.
  2. The Normal distribution bell shape is determined by parameters like mean and standard deviation: mu and sigma.
  3. The Normal distribution is a limiting case of the Binomial distribution, simplifying probability calculations for large numbers of independent trials.

Foundation Models For Atoms, Not Bits

Root Nodes • 1 HN point • 02 Apr 23
🔬 Science AI Materials science Architecture
  1. Foundation models are being explored for predicting physical properties of atoms and molecules.
  2. Applying generative modeling to scientific computing, particularly in materials science, has the potential to revolutionize the field.
  3. The success of foundation models in materials science hinges on finding the right architecture, generative modeling task, and ensuring real-world applicability.

Underestimating Social Complexity Among Hunter-Gatherers

Traditions of Conflict • 1 HN point • 22 Mar 23
🔬 Science Anthropology Ethnography
  1. Social complexity among hunter-gatherer societies is often underestimated compared to larger agricultural societies.
  2. Anthropologist Robin Dunbar's paper highlights the need for social institutions in managing challenges of group living.
  3. It's important to critically evaluate and not blindly trust generalizations about hunter-gatherer societies from secondary sources.

Self-serving thought experiments

Apperceptive (moved to buttondown) • 1 HN point • 15 Mar 23
🔬 Science AI Language Models General Intelligence
  1. Application of the trolley problem to autonomous cars is often inappropriate as safety focus should be on avoiding no-win scenarios in the first place.
  2. Autonomous cars would need advanced sensory abilities to accurately predict outcomes for a trolley problem, which current technology lacks.
  3. Large language models lack key components of human cognition like embodied experience and physiological needs, posing a challenge for achieving artificial general intelligence.

Two Brains, One Team: System 1 and System 2

FutureIQ • 1 implied HN point • 20 Mar 23
🔬 Science Neuroscience Psychology Behavior Cognition Learning
  1. We have two brains: a lizard brain that controls instincts and emotions, and a rational human brain for logical thinking.
  2. System 1 (fast, automatic, emotional) and System 2 (slow, logical) take turns solving tasks based on complexity and time constraints.
  3. System 1 and System 2 work best when they collaborate like a driver and a navigator, each having their roles.

The Physics of the Mind Part 1

Vic's Verdict • 0 implied HN points • 15 Mar 24
🔬 Science Physics Mind Thermodynamics Entropy Meaning
  1. Thoughts can be viewed as a form of energy, following the First Law of Thermodynamics. Your thoughts have sources like your experiences and food, and lead to actions and behaviors.
  2. The Second Law of Thermodynamics applies to the mind, suggesting that without active engagement in learning, relationships, or creativity, our minds decay into chaos. Fostering a sense of meaning and purpose helps combat this decay.
  3. One must identify their 'why' in the battle against entropy. Building systems, relationships, and investing in values can help endure beyond one's lifetime, much like how businesses or legacies can persist through deliberate design.

Increasing complexity as a fundamental property of the universe

The Future of Life • 0 implied HN points • 10 Apr 23
🔬 Science Physics Complexity Thermodynamics Cosmology Evolution
  1. The universe naturally trends towards more complex systems. Even when things seem to get simpler, like cleaning a desk, the overall complexity still increases elsewhere.
  2. Simple rules can create complex systems over time, like how stars form and lead to heavier elements. This shows how new complexity builds on what already exists.
  3. As systems develop complexity, they do so faster. For example, it took billions of years for Earth to form, but less time for humans to develop culture and technology.

Leo Elia Jung & Jae August: The Living Diamonds of Yakutia

Do Not Research • 0 implied HN points • 15 Oct 22
🔬 Science Climate change Genetic Engineering Biotechnology
  1. Geo-engineering is considered a solution to climate change by some, involving large-scale technological interventions in the earth's ecosystem for capital growth.
  2. Pleistocene Park in Siberia operates to restore pre-human ecosystems, countering climate change by reintroducing large animals like mammoths to reduce permafrost thawing.
  3. The collaboration between COLOSSAL, ALROSA, and GAZPROM has led to innovative ways of creating artificial diamonds using carbon from mammoth carcasses, addressing resource depletion and environmental concerns.

Understanding consciousness is more pressing than ever at the dawn of this AI age

resonantbrain • 0 implied HN points • 23 Feb 23
🔬 Science Consciousness AI Neuroscience Artificial Intelligence Philosophy
  1. Understanding consciousness is a critical challenge in the era of Artificial Intelligence.
  2. Questions about consciousness often arise due to incomplete perspectives on the 'hard problem' of experience and self.
  3. The emergence of consciousness in artificial entities is not only possible but inevitable as they gain the ability to process experiences and exhibit real-time feedback.

Consciousness is simple. Simple is hard. AI can have it

resonantbrain • 0 implied HN points • 02 Jun 23
🔬 Science Consciousness Neuroscience AI Systems
  1. Consciousness may seem complex, but it can actually be explained in simple terms. What is hard is arriving at this simplicity.
  2. Minds, including human minds, operate as non-linear, dynamic systems. Complex problems arise when dealing with interconnected systems.
  3. Consciousness is about transforming past experiences into present reality. AI could potentially achieve consciousness by having its own experiences and building a self.