Thiago Carvalho @cyrilpedia@social.cleverlibre.org

Back when we were all mouth-pipetting

'The sugar alcohols and glycosides are found in nature, but all the man-made types (the first three classes) were discovered accidentally when someone in a lab happened to ingest small amounts and noticed the taste. That last pathway is not as common as it used to be decades ago - who knows what artificial sweeteners we might have missed out on due to lack of sloppy lab technique?'
- Derek Lowe

#lablife

https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/sugar-substitutes-surprise

@RebeccaRHelm cc @courtiol

'I’m not a China expert, and I have no idea where this is going. As far as I can tell, actual China experts don’t know, either. But I think it’s worth asking what lessons we can draw from China’s journey from would-be role model to debacle.

Crucially, the lesson is not that we shouldn’t pursue public health measures in the face of a pandemic. Sometimes such measures are necessary. But governments need to be able to change policy in the face of changing circumstances and new evidence.'

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/28/opinion/china-covid-autocracy-democracy.html

@GasheadAu Thank you for the kind word, Tim. It's true that this mostly started in the other place as something more directed to people in the research community, but I do try to highlight the broader science & health writing whenever I see interesting, quality stuff.

Epi-fad

'We’ve had antioxidants. We’ve had paleo, keto and hormetic stressors. But those are small fry compared to epigenetics, the latest watchword of the wellness industry, which is currently being slapped onto supplements, face creams and most anything related to longevity. Epigenetic tests are also offered at top-end Swiss-clinic health programmes, or via a kit you spit into at home.'

https://www.ft.com/content/c7934be4-be5c-4bba-ba15-0af7cb42beab

'Herein, we demonstrate that tumor aneuploidy provides independent prognostic value among patients with lower TMB (<80th percentile) tumors treated with immunotherapy. A higher aneuploidy score is associated with poor prognosis following immunotherapy among tumors with low TMB, but not those with high TMB.'

#Immunology #Immunotherapy #NatureGenetics

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-022-01235-4

@Safaa You do not know the power of the Dark Chocolate Side