Really, really intriguing piece at Nature News by Heidi Ledford. It's all about a class of patients called "exceptional responders" — aka, the people who got a benefit (sometimes a big one) from a medication or treatment that otherwise failed the clinical trial process. When we do clinical trials, we're looking at group averages. We want to know whether a drug performed better than placebo when administered to lots of people. Sometimes, though, drugs that can't do that do seem to have a positive effect for a few lucky individuals. Now, scientists are trying to figure out why that is. What makes those people special? And how should this change the way we do research?
What happens when a drug works — but only for one person?
New York feeding rats tasty birth control
The tales of New York City's rats are legendary. NY Rats are big and smart, and they have lots of babies. The city has a rat czar and recently held a rat… READ THE REST
Deep sea video of weird sea creature walking around on its 13-foot "legs"
An underwater rover deployed by the Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre captured remarkable footage 3,300-meters down at the bottom of the Tonga Trench. It shows a rarely-seen bigfin squid (Magnapinna) "taking… READ THE REST
Academic fraud endemic in published research, from photoshopped blots to AI slop
Eliezer Masliah, a prominent neuroscientist and top NIH official steering billions in federal grant money, has "fallen under suspicion" of extensive academic fraud, writes Charles Piller at Science.org. The understated… READ THE REST
3 things you can do with a $240 MacBook (that you probably wouldn't with an expensive computer)
TL;DR: Get a computer you can take anywhere when you get a MacBook Air refurb for $239.99 (reg. $999). I already have a computer, but I want another. Here's why: if I rely… READ THE REST
What's not to love about this Chromebook that's cheaper than your next dinner date?
TL;DR: This Samsung Chromebook might only be $80, but it comes with Google Assistant, 12.5 hours of battery life, and fast WiFi! Did you know you could get a laptop for less than… READ THE REST
What's that? You'll never have to pay a subscription for your Microsoft apps ever again!
TL;DR: Upgrade your productivity suite to Microsoft Office 2021, available for Windows for only $54.97 during Deal Days! Here's an unfortunate truth: subscriptions run our daily lives. As much as you hate… READ THE REST
