Popular Rationalism

Popular Rationalism critically examines COVID-19 responses, vaccine safety, and public health policies, emphasizing scientific skepticism and the need for transparency. It features analysis on vaccine efficacy, alternative treatments, and challenges mainstream narratives on COVID management, advocating for evidence-based medicine and questioning official health guidance and protocols.

COVID-19 Response Critique Vaccine Safety and Efficacy Public Health Policy Analysis Scientific Skepticism Alternative Treatments for COVID-19 Media and Science Communication Legal and Ethical Issues in Health Scientific Research and Data Integrity

The hottest Substack posts of Popular Rationalism

And their main takeaways

Question #19: Ion channel biophysics

0 implied HN points • 16 Jan 22
  1. Sodium channels are important for generating and propagating electrical signals in excitable tissues like neurons
  2. Transmitter-gated channels are opened by transmitters and allow specific ions to pass through when activated
  3. Regulation of ion channel activity in the brain occurs through various mechanisms like post-translational modifications and endogenous compounds

Five facts about decisions to donate to brain banks

0 implied HN points • 21 Sep 19
  1. Many people are unaware of the option to donate to brain banks for research purposes, but when educated, they are often in favor of it.
  2. Brain tissue donation is valuable for research, especially brains without significant neurobiological illness.
  3. Altruism is the primary motivator for brain donors, with a desire to help others being a common reason for donation.

A Tale of Two APOE Alleles

0 implied HN points • 15 Sep 19
  1. The genetic variant APOE epsilon 4 has changed in its effects over time, from positive in earlier cohorts to negative in recent ones.
  2. APOE gene has a significant association with both age and lifespan, affecting longevity differently based on birth cohort.
  3. APOE epsilon 4 may have provided protection against diarrheal diseases in the past, affecting lifespan and possibly influencing Alzheimer's disease risk.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

Everest regression and the effect of age in Alzheimer's disease

0 implied HN points • 20 Jan 19
  1. Everest regression refers to using a regression model to remove a critical property of an entity, leading to inappropriate inferences.
  2. Not everyone who reaches advanced age develops Alzheimer's disease pathology, indicating the complexity of studying aging and disease.
  3. Adjusting for age in studies of Alzheimer's disease can be tricky, as it may remove important factors needed to understand the disease's pathophysiology.

Brain cooling following revival from cardiac arrest

0 implied HN points • 17 Jul 17
  1. Brain cooling after cardiac arrest can improve neurologic outcome.
  2. Cooling brain cells during the latent phase can help slow down activation of molecular signaling cascades.
  3. One challenge with cooling for neurologic injury is excessive shivering at low temperatures.

Samuel Wilks on the need for multidisciplinary neurologic research (in 1864)

0 implied HN points • 23 Mar 17
  1. Samuel Wilks highlighted the importance of multidisciplinary research in neurology in 1864.
  2. Wilks emphasized the need to not confine medical knowledge to specific departments but to view it more broadly.
  3. The study discussed by Wilks focused on understanding brain atrophy and its various interpretations beyond mental afflictions.

Targeting neural reserve in dementia

0 implied HN points • 17 Mar 17
  1. Targeting neural reserve in dementia may be a more feasible approach than addressing individual pathologies.
  2. The idea of finding a single agent to enhance cognitive aging is challenging due to lack of natural evolutionary pressure.
  3. Nootropic drugs like caffeine, nicotine, and modafinil could be potential agents to target neural reserve in dementia.

Circadian thirst behavior controlled by the suprachiasmatic nucleus in mice

0 implied HN points • 10 Oct 16
  1. The suprachiasmatic nucleus in mice controls anticipatory thirst behavior before sleeping.
  2. Rodents increase fluid intake before sleeping to ensure they have enough water through the night.
  3. Manipulating the pathway from the suprachiasmatic nucleus to the OVLT region in mice affects their water intake levels significantly.

What can we learn from people with severe hydrocephalus?

0 implied HN points • 05 Jul 16
  1. Neuroscience experiments can involve lesions, stimulations, or recordings, often using more than one.
  2. Lesions from severe hydrocephalus patients provide insight into brain plasticity and cognition changes.
  3. Relative positions and locations of brain cells may play a critical role in cognition and consciousness continuity.

Shared genetic correlations of psychiatric and neurologic disorders

0 implied HN points • 07 May 16
  1. Significant genetic correlations exist between psychiatric disorders like OCD, schizophrenia, MDD, bipolar disorder, while less among neurologic disorders like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, MS.
  2. Positive correlation observed between autism spectrum disorder risk and cognitive performance measures.
  3. Inverse correlation found between cognitive performance measures and risk of stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage.

Arterial aging and its relation to Alzheimer's dementia

0 implied HN points • 23 Mar 16
  1. Arterial aging may play a significant role in increasing the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
  2. Non-atherosclerotic artery changes with age could contribute to vascular-related Alzheimer's disease risk.
  3. Mechanical blood flow damage over the years may lead to arterial aging features that are difficult to reverse with current anti-aging therapies.

Use Words To Convey Probabilities

0 implied HN points • 01 Mar 11
  1. Use words to convey probabilities by calibrating language
  2. Assign specific words to specific probability ranges for clarity
  3. Creating a system of words helps in conveying nuanced probabilities

To what extent does whole genome sequencing add value above SNP arrays?

0 implied HN points • 22 Feb 16
  1. Whole genome sequencing can reveal rare variants not identified by SNP arrays
  2. Analyzing whole genome sequencing data can highlight potentially damaging mutations and their effects
  3. Having access to whole genome sequencing data can contribute to broader scientific research and benefit society

Five years of spaced repetition flashcards

0 implied HN points • 05 Feb 16
  1. Started using spaced repetition flashcards 5 years ago, which helped in retaining knowledge and maintaining motivation
  2. Realized the importance of using smartphones for spaced repetition study sessions on the go, making it crucial and underrated
  3. Used spaced repetition flashcards for learning programming languages and researching topics, finding it beneficial for retention and systematic reflection

Why Clinical Biomarkers for AD Matter

0 implied HN points • 17 Oct 15
  1. Clinical biomarkers for AD can speed up drug development by enabling faster iterations in clinical trials.
  2. Regulators need evidence that biomarkers can be affected by a useful agent and improve clinical symptoms in AD.
  3. Research on candidate biomarkers in AD is crucial for advancing drug development for the disease.

Twelve Interesting Recent Papers

0 implied HN points • 24 Sep 15
  1. Naturally occurring antibodies may help prevent Alzheimer's disease by clearing amyloid.
  2. Dextromethorphan + quinidine shows promise as a treatment for agitation in Alzheimer's patients.
  3. Variants in genes like ApoE and EN1 are associated with Alzheimer's risk and bone fractures respectively.

How to version control Microsoft Word documents among collaborators

0 implied HN points • 22 Jul 15
  1. Use pandoc tool to convert Word documents to plain-text Markdown for version control.
  2. Automate the push to Github with a simple shell script to streamline the process.
  3. Ensure smooth workflow by setting up git config file to avoid repeated username and password requests when pushing to Github.

Children with genetic risk of autosomal AD have higher plasma abeta levels

0 implied HN points • 30 Jun 15
  1. Children with genetic risk of autosomal Alzheimer's disease have higher plasma Aβ levels.
  2. Mutation-carrying children show significantly higher plasma Aβ1-42 levels.
  3. This study found differences in plasma Aβ levels in children with and without the PSEN1 E280A mutation.

A Mock Case of Neonatal Meningitis

0 implied HN points • 19 May 13
  1. Probabilities can help identify the likely cause of infection in neonatal meningitis.
  2. Gram stain testing can provide valuable information about the morphology of bacteria.
  3. Additional tests like hemolysis and Lancefield antigen tests can further narrow down the possible causes of infection.

Where a cortical interneuron inhibits a pyramidal cell alters its role

0 implied HN points • 11 Jul 12
  1. The location of inhibition on a pyramidal cell affects its spiking properties
  2. Different types of interneurons like basket cells and Martinotti cells have distinct spatial distributions on pyramidal cells
  3. Understanding structure-function relationships can help determine the function of interneuron types

Regulation of the maintenance of basal but not apical dendrites

0 implied HN points • 07 Jul 12
  1. Regulatory protein Epac2 affects the structural stability of basal dendrites in mice.
  2. Different regulation of basal and apical dendrites shows fine-tuning in neuronal structure.
  3. Neuronal morphology demonstrating selective regulation suggests it holds significant information.

The Meaning Of The Mean

0 implied HN points • 04 Jul 12
  1. The article discusses the distinctions between sample mean, expected value of a random variable, and mean of a distribution.
  2. Statistics on Wikipedia can be complex due to disagreements among different schools of thought and practitioners' focus on applications.
  3. Clarifying the difference between mean and expected value can help alleviate confusion in understanding statistical concepts.

Proteins differentially expressed in the aging hippocampus

0 implied HN points • 26 Nov 11
  1. Research on aging hippocampus proteins is ongoing.
  2. The regulation of these proteins is still being understood.
  3. Efforts are needed to standardize proteome profiling for better quantitative results.

GATCACA

0 implied HN points • 29 May 12
  1. 9% of preimplanation genetic diagnosis procedures in the U.S. were done for non-medical reasons like sex selection.
  2. Parents often want to pass on their traits to their children, making genetic engineering less appealing.
  3. Genetic makeup doesn't solely determine physiology or behavior, but epigenetic and stochastic effects play a significant role.

Bridging the gap between post mortem microscopic and in vivo macroscopic connectivity

0 implied HN points • 07 May 12
  1. The article discusses efforts to map the brain's connections at different levels and the benefits of cross-validating them
  2. Various techniques like polarized light imaging and MRI are used to bridge microscopic and macroscopic connectome representations
  3. The importance of correlating non-invasive MRI measurements to cellular-level data for supporting connectivity studies is highlighted

Trade-Offs In Evolvability

0 implied HN points • 27 Jan 12
  1. Fluctuating selection can lead to increased evolvability by evolving system parameters controlling feedback loops.
  2. In changing environments, it's better to have meta-level strategies to adapt quickly and efficiently.
  3. In stable environments, the ability to change quickly can be a disadvantage.

Harnessing DNA sequencing to understand neuronal network activity

0 implied HN points • 01 Jan 12
  1. DNA sequencing trends are growing, impacting various fields of study.
  2. Sequencing technologies could enhance neuroscience experiments by analyzing individual neuron DNA.
  3. Advancements in single-cell genomics are crucial for understanding neuron networks.

Time Estimation Correlates With Math Smarts

0 implied HN points • 09 Dec 11
  1. Time estimation abilities correlate with math intelligence.
  2. Mean correlation coefficient between time estimation and math intelligence was 0.59.
  3. Significance remained even after adjusting for general intelligence.

(A Big) Part Of Science Is Publicizing Your Results

0 implied HN points • 30 Nov 11
  1. Part of science involves publicizing your results for progress and human benefit
  2. It's important for researchers to ensure their results are heard and used by people who can benefit
  3. Splitting disparate ideas into separate, shorter papers can help in disseminating research effectively

Human gene expression database across ages and brain regions

0 implied HN points • 24 Nov 11
  1. The human brain transcriptome database provides genome-wide RNA expression data from post-mortem human brains across different ages and brain regions.
  2. It is easy to search for the expression patterns of specific genes in the database, making the output easily interpretable.
  3. An example with DRD2 shows its increased expression in the striatum during development and throughout adulthood, aligning with its known associations with striatal function.

Structural variability and the usefulness of understanding neural connectivity patterns

0 implied HN points • 06 Nov 11
  1. Neural connectivity patterns vary between organisms, and this variability is important for explaining differences in cognition and behavior.
  2. Extreme variability or lack thereof in neural connectivity patterns or DNA base pairs can limit their utility in explaining individual differences.
  3. The assumption in connectivity research is that patterns of variability will fall within an informative 'sweet spot' for understanding biological functions.