Stanford Scope Blog

> Americans earn 30% more than Finlanders adjusting for PPP. You're taking PPP to mean much more than it actually does. Just consider the fact that there's no accepted "PPP" measurement methodology. But even assuming one existed (pick your favorite), it only effectively encodes one specific consumption profile - one that e.g. takes into account the health care costs of a 30-year-olds with healthy 4-year-old kids, but not that of your average 50-year-old which are considerably different. > taking into account higher cost of health care, lower cost of most other things, we still have 30% more on average. Averages are totally the wrong tool to measure anything like that - especially when disparity in the US is so much higher. Compare the proverbial USElbonia to Eulbonia: In USElbonia, 1% make $16100/month, 99% make $100/month' avg=$260/month In EUlbonia, 1% makes $400/month, 99% make $200/month, avg=$202/month USElbonians, make, on the overage 30% more - but every single EUlbonian is at least 100% better off than 99% of the USElbonians. Real stats are not quite as bad, of course - but disparity in the US is ridiculously high. But there are many respects in which all EU people are better off than US people which do not make it into any PPP comparison -- e.g., http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/06/05/bankruptcy.medical.bills/ "Unless you are Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, you are one medical emergency away from bankruptcy" - I can't find a real European comparable, but…

Turns out there are enough studies for a meta analysis. Is that basic science? I'm not sure what counts. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1279770724003932 If amyloid is truly the critical "but for" cause then how on earth is it possible that reducing amyloid burden doesn't really make a difference? https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2024/03/13/why-alzheimers-plaque-attack…

Sea squirts digest their own brain when they become stationary: https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2022/07/20/what-can-sea-squirts-tell-us…

One thing to note about melatonin is there’s little consistency between the dosage listed on the bottle and the actual dose. Not a problem if it works for you but just something to be aware of, more info on the second heading here [0] if you’re interested [0] https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2022/10/05/ask-me-anything-neuroscience…

I'm not sure if this is up to date and anything else was done in terms of research but https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2020/03/30/lyme-disease-bacteria-eradic…

In my experience it is applied to people who are not ethnically Bangladeshi, or who are but were not raised in Bangladesh. E.g. https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2020/01/15/speaking-the-language-learni… > In Bengali, the term bideshi is used to describe a foreigner. The literal translation is "without land." This past summer, during six weeks conducting research on a global health project in Bangladesh, I heard the term often -- in reference to me. > It felt strange, as I was born in Bangladesh and lived there until I was 3. To me, Bangladesh is where I can easily blend into a crowd. Bengali was the first language I learned. I visit often to see family. I feel a sense of ownership and belonging in Bangladesh that I have not always felt in America. Citizenship isn’t particularly meaningful in Bangladesh. You can’t become Bangladeshi by acquiring citizenship.

The pattern of using eponyms instead of descriptives is also recognized in medicine: https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2020/01/30/eponym-debate-the-case-for-b…

We do know. They tell us, you're just not listening. https://medium.com/@OfcrACab/confessions-of-a-former-bastard-cop-bb14d… Here's a cop who tried to report on corruption within the NYPD. His squadmates got him thrown into an insane asylum. The NYPD, by the way, is larger and more heavily funded than most armies. https://www.villagevoice.com/2010/05/04/the-nypd-tapes-inside-bed-stuy… "desperately need police" We used to "desperately need police" to get injured and wounded people to hospitals. The reason why ambulances do it instead is because the doctors noticed that cops would sometimes beat the shit out of patients en route. https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2020/02/12/all-black-ambulance-service-… What's wrong with divvy'ing up every responsibility of "the police" and handing those responsibilities off to trained professionals?

Recently read about This. theoretically doesn’t look like the cure https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2020/06/29/how-remdesivir-works-and-why…

That's a very odd assertion. https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2019/09/16/scientists-close-in-on-a-cur…

Yes, the story is inaccurate: the study was about how power, not luck, changes perceptions. But the message is still right. It's easy to be a jerk if you are powerful. (And it's easy to be negative when you're just commenting on the Internet.) If you actually care about the facts, read the original researcher's essay: https://hbr.org/2016/10/dont-let-power-corrupt-you And if you want to still believe your success is the exclusive result of your hard work, read about Raj Chetty's work on just how much luck matters. http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2016/04/12/stanford-study-sheds-light-on… Edit: I got it wrong, the original study was four people as Lewis reports, not five as some commenters here believe. Lewis is also right about table manners, btw.

This is an increasingly outdated view. http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2015/02/24/sex-biology-redefined-genes-d…

A random idea: that mechanism reminds me of phantom limb pain. I wonder if there could be a treatment analogous to mirror therapy, at least for monaural tinnitus. Searching just now turns up http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2010/01/11/tinnitus_the_ea/ and http://www.therasmusforum.com/tinnitus-type-is-similar-to-phantom-limb…

While willpower can be exhausted, it's also possible to increase willpower reserves via such things as exercise and meditation[1]. Personally, I think promoting education and awareness (and providing training) to people wishing to improve their willpower would be preferable to further empowering the immense coercive apparatus of the state to interfere in the minute details of our lives. People lacking willpower will always find ways to self-sabotage, so helping them increase their willpower would be far more efficient than trying to ban every single thing that their poor willpower could render harmful to them. 1. http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2011/12/29/a-conversation-about-the-scie…

Sugar has been proven not to induce hyperactivity, it's a common misconception. http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2012/10/31/debunking-a-halloween-myth-su…

> It is not No, it is. I think you missed my point though. > because in that instance we have incontrovertible evidence of the truth. This is irrelevant to my point. You said that I was wrong to say the issue we were discussing is not debatable because it is still being debated. I pointed out that's a fallacious argument because you can claim anything is debatable then as long as at least two peoples are debating it. That's kind of self-evident and clearly I wasn't trying to claim as otherwise, as explained preciously. As such, intentional or not, I see that as a kind of strawman. > In psychology we’re working on much shakier ground and it’s widely understood there’s little we know for sure. The field is rife with reproducibility issues. Absolutely, it's why it's a soft science. But we're still able to overcome that difficult and come up with useful data and testable models, and we've done that with willpower. Of course we don't completely understand it, but it's beyond a doubt that at least some people can increase it. Here's an excerpt from an interview with Kelly McGonigal[1] The research also shows that willpower decreases over the course of the day, as your energy gets "spent" on stress and self-control. This has become known as "the muscle model" of willpower. Like your biceps or quadriceps the willpower "muscle" can get exhausted from effort. But that doesn't mean we're all doomed to run out of willpower by noon. I prefer to talk about becoming a willpower…

Problems with modern dating have worsened from various perspectives:: - Social media platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok, have significantly influenced dating expectations. They have set high standards that women often use to choose their partners. A few years ago, Instagram was the primary influencer, but now it’s TikTok. This influence ranges from physical appearance, where men on TikTok even went to the extent of breaking their jaws to achieve a certain look, demonstrating the power of peer pressure, to lifestyle expectations, for instance, college girls often expect their potential partners to regularly take them out for dinner and parties. Working women might expect men to earn a substantial income, around 300k or 500k a year, and also provide travel, gifts, etc. (all of these have videos of women demanding them you can look then up), There’s also an expectation for men to conform to a woman’s lifestyle and mentality. If he doesn't, she can easily find another partner on a whim. Therefore, as a man, you are expected to have a good job, earn a substantial income, own a car, a house, maintain good looks and fitness, be outgoing, mentally healthy, and cover expenses such as dinners and shopping. On the other hand, a woman is often just expected to be slightly above average looking. - Dating apps have significantly altered the landscape of dating, often hindering the potential for forming long-term relationships or settling down. These apps are designed with…

From TA https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2023/07/26/how-an-ultra-sensitive-on-of… : > Axolotls, they discovered, have an ultra-sensitive version of mTOR, a molecule that acts as an on-off switch for protein production. And, like survivalists who fill their basements with non-perishable food for hard times, axolotl cells stockpile messenger RNA molecules, which contain genetic instructions for producing proteins. The combination of an easily activated mTOR molecule and a repository of ready-to-use mRNAs means that after an injury, axolotl cells can quickly produce the proteins needed for tissue regeneration. From "Reactivating Dormant Cells in the Retina Brings New Hope for Vision Regeneration" (2023) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35871887 : > "Direct neuronal reprogramming by temporal identity factors" (2023) https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2122168120#abstract : > Abstract: Temporal identity factors are sufficient to reprogram developmental competence of neural progenitors and shift cell fate output, but whether they can also reprogram the identity of terminally differentiated cells is unknown. To address this question, we designed a conditional gene expression system that allows rapid screening of potential reprogramming factors in mouse retinal glial cells combined with genetic lineage tracing. Using this assay, we found that coexpression of the early temporal identity transcription factors Ikzf1 and Ikzf4 is sufficient to…

Antibodies mostly target the attachment heads of RNA viruses, which mutate very quickly to evade them. But that mutation also applies to its own reproductive mechanisms, like RNA polymerase, which degrades in the presence of evolutionary pressure from the immune system against the attachment proteins, so the latter strains become dormant because they lose reproductive integrity. It then takes conditions lacking an immune response to evolve back to a working polymerase and attachment head. I think it is interesting to note that the immune system itself is largely responsible for spreading most RNA viruses: inflammation, coughing, sneezing etc. Is this us evolving population-level (probably more like Dunbar number than 8B) defense in response to the general threat of viruses, or is it a weakness that each individual virus evolves to exploit. It seems to me that this involuntary spreading behavior is much more pronounced in humans than other mammals. https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2020/04/03/how-coronaviruses-infect-us-… https://mbio.asm.org/content/2/5/e00150-11

I think there are arguments for both sides, and it is far from being discussed since evidence suggests that excessive social media use can lead to behaviors resembling addiction. There are issues like depression, anxiety, and poor sleep [1][2][4]. It triggers brain responses similar to addictive substances, reinforcing compulsive use[5][8]. Some studies argue that it may not meet the clinical criteria for addiction[3][7]. There is need for further investigation [1] Is social media bad for you? The evidence and the unknowns - BBC https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180104-is-social-media-bad-for-yo… [2] Social Media Addiction Statistics - The Lanier Law Firm https://www.lanierlawfirm.com/social-media-addiction/statistics/ [3] Is social media addictive? 'Digital detox' study suggests not - Science https://www.science.org/content/article/social-media-addictive-digital… [4] Research trends in social media addiction and problematic social ... https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9707397/ [5] The Addictiveness of Social Media: How Teens Get Hooked https://www.jeffersonhealth.org/your-health/living-well/the-addictiven… [6] Our Social Media Addiction - Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2022/11/our-social-media-addiction [7] Special Report: Is Social Media Misuse A Bad Habit or Harmful ... https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.pn.2024.04.4.5 [8] Addictive potential…

I'm finding it difficult to accept that police are the only demographic who are immune to alarm fatigue. In fact, it would seem that not only are they immune to it, but respond paradoxically, in contrast to - well, everyone else, from college kids to IT staff to doctors to other public safety people. This leads me to believe that The Real Problem are the people with guns who use them to shoot other people, not automatic alarms. https://www.sti-emea.com/false-fire-alarm-fatigue-an-international-iss… https://www.firesafetysearch.com/alarm-fatigue-in-student-accommodatio… https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2016/07/18/reducing-alarm-fatigue-packa… https://www.firerescue1.com/firefighter-training/articles/is-alarm-fat… https://www.firehouse.com/safety-health/article/10503935/nearmiss-week… (Also, irresponsible use of fireworks is bad) https://globalnews.ca/news/8046556/couple-charged-gender-reveal-wildfi…