The hottest Research Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Health Politics Topics
AND Magazine β€’ 1061 implied HN points β€’ 15 Jan 24
  1. Lab leaks and mishaps involving dangerous viruses are increasing worldwide post COVID-19 pandemic.
  2. Scientists are creating highly lethal viruses through experiments, raising concerns about potential future pandemics.
  3. There is a focus on preparing for 'Disease X' which may lead to profit-making opportunities and increased restrictions.
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The Honest Broker Newsletter β€’ 549 implied HN points β€’ 22 Feb 24
  1. Experts can disagree on the risks and benefits of proposed research, impacting research sustainability and public trust.
  2. There are concerns about regulating research with pathogens due to potential risks and lack of consensus on what is considered risky.
  3. Suggestions for governing risky research include demonstrating clear research benefits, identifying alternative methods, preregistering research, indemnifying organizations, and implementing global norms.
Weight and Healthcare β€’ 718 implied HN points β€’ 07 Feb 24
  1. The concept of 'ob*esity' as a disease and the idea that it is progressive and relapsing are constructs of the weight loss industry and not scientifically supported.
  2. The study promoting Zepbound/Tirzepatide for weight loss has ties to the pharmaceutical industry, raising questions about potential bias and conflicts of interest among the authors.
  3. The lead author of the study, Louis J. Aronne, has a history of promoting weight loss methods without substantial research backing, raising concerns about the credibility of research surrounding weight loss drugs.
Weight and Healthcare β€’ 898 implied HN points β€’ 24 Jan 24
  1. Weight-related health conditions are health issues that are often labeled as related to weight just because higher-weight individuals have them more frequently.
  2. The labeling of health conditions as 'weight-related' overlooks other factors like weight stigma, weight cycling, and healthcare disparities that could actually be the main contributors.
  3. The concept of 'weight-related conditions' is used to push for risky weight loss interventions and profits, but it doesn't necessarily support the health of higher-weight individuals.
Bet On It β€’ 352 implied HN points β€’ 11 Mar 24
  1. The book highlights how the randomistas in economics might have a political agenda of serving government rather than challenging it, focusing on randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
  2. Many economists focus on RCTs to measure causal effects of variables, emphasizing laboratory, field, and natural experiments in research, with randomization as the core of experimentation.
  3. Randomistas often avoid engaging in the debate of free markets vs. government, favoring government-centered policies in their research strategies, leading to limited exploration of free-market economics.
Alexander News Network -Dr. Paul Elias Alexander's substack β€’ 628 implied HN points β€’ 12 Feb 24
  1. Vaccine mRNA doesn't stay at the injection site but can spread to placenta and umbilical cord blood, which may have biological benefits but also risks for the fetus.
  2. Research shows that COVID vaccine content can affect babies in the womb, highlighting the lack of information from vaccine makers in studies involving pregnant women.
  3. The study underlines the importance of providing critical information for pregnant women to make informed decisions regarding COVID vaccination.
Weight and Healthcare β€’ 758 implied HN points β€’ 31 Jan 24
  1. FDA approval of a drug does not mean it is completely without risks; it means the benefits are deemed worth the risks.
  2. The FDA assesses the risks and benefits of a drug based on the research provided by the pharmaceutical company before granting approval.
  3. When it comes to weight loss drugs, the risk/benefit analysis by the FDA may be skewed due to questionable research around weight and health, leading to a lower safety bar for approval.
Logging the World β€’ 877 implied HN points β€’ 21 Jan 24
  1. Perceptions of Long COVID statistics may be misleading when not considering factors like vaccination and immunity
  2. The severity of COVID infections might be linked to the likelihood of developing Long COVID
  3. Long COVID advocacy could benefit from focusing on providing treatment and research for those suffering long-term effects
AI Supremacy β€’ 1022 implied HN points β€’ 06 Jan 24
  1. The post discusses the most impactful Generative AI papers of 2023 from various institutions like Meta, Stanford, and Microsoft.
  2. The selection criteria for these papers includes both objective metrics like citations and GitHub stars, as well as subjective influence across different areas.
  3. The year 2023 saw significant advancements in Generative AI research, with papers covering topics like large language models, multimodal capabilities, and fine-tuning methods.
Break Free with Karen Hunt β€’ 727 implied HN points β€’ 28 Jan 24
  1. Mankind is making diseases more dangerous through gain-of-function research, which poses significant risks.
  2. Despite extensive history of studying viruses, humanity has a low success rate in eradicating diseases.
  3. The proliferation of Bio Security Level 4 labs globally and the risks associated with lab accidents highlight the dangers and lack of stringent safety protocols.
Alexander News Network -Dr. Paul Elias Alexander's substack β€’ 569 implied HN points β€’ 11 Feb 24
  1. SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) mRNA can be reverse-transcribed and integrated into the genome of human cells, leading to potential implications and questions regarding the knowledge of certain individuals.
  2. The up-take of BNT162b2 into human liver cells can result in changes in genetic expression, potentially suggesting rapid effects of mRNA exposure.
  3. Studies have shown that mRNA from vaccines can be reverse transcribed into DNA within human cells in as fast as 6 hours, indicating a swift biological process.
Alexander News Network -Dr. Paul Elias Alexander's substack β€’ 530 implied HN points β€’ 11 Feb 24
  1. A new study suggests a 20% increased risk of severe bleeding post-mRNA vaccination in women hospitalized for heavy menstrual bleeding.
  2. The study focused on women aged 15-50 who experienced heavy menstrual bleeding post-mRNA vaccination in France between May 2021 and August 2022, with 99.8% receiving Comirnaty (Pfizer) or Spikevax (Moderna).
  3. Primary vaccination doses showed a 20% increased risk, particularly in socially disadvantaged municipalities and among women not using hormonal contraception, but this increased risk was not found for booster doses.
Nepetalactone Newsletter β€’ 5405 implied HN points β€’ 08 Mar 23
  1. Pfizer and Moderna bivalent vaccines have 20-35% expression vector and can transform E.coli.
  2. Previous estimates of DNA contamination in the vaccines were significantly underestimated.
  3. Different methods like transformation of DNA in E.coli and qPCR assays were used to quantify the nucleic acid contamination in the vaccines.
AI Snake Oil β€’ 307 implied HN points β€’ 05 Mar 24
  1. Independent evaluation of AI models is crucial for uncovering vulnerabilities and ensuring safety, security, and trust
  2. Terms of service can discourage community-led evaluations of AI models, hindering essential research
  3. A legal and technical safe harbor is proposed to protect and encourage public interest research into AI safety, removing barriers and improving ecosystem norms
Scott's Substack β€’ 825 implied HN points β€’ 08 Jan 24
  1. The post discusses a reader's paper using diff-in-diff to study impact on violence against women.
  2. The reader sought advice after facing rejections from journals.
  3. Editors provided feedback that the paper's topic was not suitable for some journals.
AI Snake Oil β€’ 648 implied HN points β€’ 24 Jan 24
  1. The idea of AI replacing lawyers is plausible but not well-supported by current evidence.
  2. Applications of AI in law can be categorized into information processing, creativity/judgment tasks, and predicting the future.
  3. Evaluation of AI in law needs to advance beyond static benchmarks to real-world deployment scenarios.
potentialmind β€’ 1 HN point β€’ 17 May 24
  1. Building successful AI apps involves utilizing AI systems with additional functionalities like retrieval capabilities to support RAG.
  2. To enhance RAG, the 'Small-to-Big' pattern is used, decoupling text chunks for retrieval and synthesis, leading to more precise results.
  3. Two basic patterns for implementing RAG are 'Large Chunks' and 'Small Chunks', each with trade-offs in synthesis quality and recall specificity.