United States
2024-10-08 @ 11.19.00 ∈ In English
Bias found when drug manufacturers fund clinical trials
Psychiatric drugs are reported to be about 50% more effective in clinical trials funded by the drug’s manufacturer than when trials of the same drug are sponsored by other groups, new research shows. […] "The addition of unpublished trials reduces the effect of sponsorship, and most of the sponsorship effect can be explained by publication bias," [says the author.]
2024-09-15 @ 15.54.07 ∈ In English
‘The data on extreme human ageing is rotten from the inside out’ – Ig Nobel winner Saul Justin Newman
In general, the claims about how long people are living mostly don’t stack up. I’ve tracked down 80% of the people aged over 110 in the [world]. Of those, almost none have a birth certificate. […] [A] Japanese government review in [2010 found] that 82% of the people aged over 100 in Japan turned out to be dead.
2024-09-14 @ 13.22.30 ∈ In English
(From 2023; Medium.com, eww)
AI and the American Smile
Why do you smile the way you do? A silly question, of course, since it’s only “natural” to smile the way you do, isn’t it? It’s common sense. How else would someone smile? As a person who was not born in the U.S., who immigrated here from the former Soviet Union, as I did, this question is not so simple.
2024-09-05 @ 11.57.22 ∈ In English
2024-07-19 @ 8.18.36 ∈ In English
The redpoll finch saga: How two bird species just became one
[The] hoary redpoll finch, a small, plump bird commonly found in the Arctic, will be reclassified as the same species as the common redpoll finch, a smaller bird found in similar habitats. This announcement came as a direct result of a CU Boulder-led study which found that, despite their different looks, very few genetic differences exist between the two types of birds.
2024-07-18 @ 16.53.24 ∈ In English
Twice-yearly HIV drug 100% effective at preventing spread
A twice-a-year injectable drug has been shown to be 100% effective in preventing the spread of HIV, according to the first data from a clinical trial. If approved, the drug offers another preventive option and puts us a step closer to eradicating HIV.
2024-07-05 @ 12.19.14 ∈ In English
2024-05-25 @ 10.08.14 ∈ In English
Meet the Finnish biotech startup bringing a long-lost mycoprotein to your plate | TechCrunch
The best known mycoprotein is probably Quorn, a meat substitute that’s fast approaching its 40th birthday. But Finnish biotech startup Enifer is cooking up something even older: Its proprietary single-cell fungus-based protein, branded Pekilo, was originally developed in the 1960s and ’70s — by, of all things, the local paper industry.
2024-05-23 @ 6.32.40 ∈ In English
Community science volunteers can set scientific world abuzz with new bumble bee sightings
Community science volunteers—laypeople with an interest in bees and conservation—significantly contribute to the scientific knowledge of native bumble bees across Canada and the United States, finds a new study by York University.