the online thing that matters in any scientific field, is the release of data. in physics a researcher does an experiment, explains the protocol writes very little about the results and releases the data which speaks for itself. in health sciences the opposite occurs. we describe the population/protocol, keep the data private, and then write endlessly about the statistical corrections necessary for interpretation. researchers should simple release all clinical data all the time for even the most trivial of retrospective studies (positive or negative). we don't need new journals, we need data repositories with attached data collection protocols. View quoted note →

it doesn't take rocket science to explain why children are obese. the problem is that the parents, teachers and "leaders" are also obese and the eating habits of children come from the adults "According to UNICEF, around 188 million schoolchildren and adolescents worldwide are obese, while only around 180 million are underweight"

Statista Daily Data

Infographic: For the First Time, More Schoolchildren Worldwide Are Obese Than Underweight

This chart shows the estimated proportion of underweight/overweight children and adolescents worldwide, by age group.

in clinical research there are so many observational studies that could be published if clinicians could structure all of their unstructured data. The retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) of LLMs finally allows for easy means of querying big sets of clinical text and results.

It seems likely that AI tools will help many people understand their lab results without needing to schedule follow ups. But, LLMs don't understand first principles they just predict the data patterns that they're given, Most of the data patterns are from the Internet with a lot of slop text. Training AI on historic data such as old print research from a time when it was expensive to write text so the text was high quality or old print newspapers, when it was expensive to print text so the ideas were high-quality would create the potential for language models to have high quality "reasoning".

there is a lot of great raw cheese made in the US, but for some reason the US parmesans are often pasteurized  View quoted note →

View quoted note →

it is estimated that just from 2016 to 2023 $51.4 billion has been spent in the "war against cancer" the war on cancer is similar to the war on homelessness. the more you spend the more the problem seems to grow.

pathogenic bacteria are on you and in you all day everyday yet you don't get sick. this is the terrain theory of disease. you are the terrain and when you create an unwell environment various organisms grow out of proportion and you get sick. keep your body in appreciate homeostasis and you are fine.

because of the mind body link, placebos are often more powerful than most drugs. i love this analysis of placebo for treating depression:

PubMed

Association of Single-blind Placebo Run-in Periods With the Placebo Response in Randomized Clinical Trials of Antidepressants: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis - PubMed

This study suggests that RCTs using PRI periods yield smaller within-group changes across both placebo and drug groups compared with RCTs without P...

placebos are 40% effective and drugs 54% effective, which means that 74% of the drug's effect is explained by the placebo effect.

"In 2016, journalist Del Bigtree issued a challenge to the head of infectious disease at one of the most prestigious medical institutions in the world: conduct the most thorough vaxxed vs. unvaxxed study that has ever been done. The expert took up the challenge and ran the study to prove Del wrong. That study never saw the light of day... until now."

An Inconvenient Study

WATCH NOW | An Inconvenient Study

An Inconvenient Study: This could change everything. An ICAN Production.

methylene blue is only useful if you have mitochondrial dysfunction. unfortunately there is no way to know if you have issues with your electron transport chain on the mitochondrial level. Most likely, people with many types of cancer and those with advanced dementia do have problems at the mitochondrial level but it is unfortunately trial and error to see if methylene blue produces any clinical effects. People with viral like illnesses also may have issues and experience benefits at low doses (<16mg/day). The problem arises when people use methylene blue like a stimulant because it does produce anti-depressent like effects (as a monoamine oxidase inhibitor). If you want an antioxidant, metheylene blue is not a good choice as it only works in one special place (complex III). You are better off drinking H2 water and getting direct reduction rather than anti-oxidation.

hopefully tariffs make soybeans and soy protein additives and soy oil very expensive. humans should not be consuming soy https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajfand/article/download/55335/43797

antibiotics are prescribed way too indiscriminately especially for kids without any thoughts to the short and long term impact to gut microbiology. most people will need pre and pro biotics post antibiotic use and very rarely receive recommendations for high quality regimens. for example, ear infections (otitis media) is significantly influenced my microRNA (miRNA) produced by gut flora.

Frontiers | Exploring the role of gut probiotic metabolites in the prevention and treatment of otitis media

it is increasingly likely that the miRNA produced in our gut influences our gene expression and our ability to resist a disease state. We are more a product of our gut than modern medicine understands.

In the US, a new non profit hospital requires a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) which basically assesses if an unmet need for a new hospital exists in the community. A new hospital (unless it is for profit ) can't just build and try and outcompete existing institutions. Even more perverse is the fact that existing hospitals get to weigh in via statements and data about why existing needs are being met. Indirectly hospitals are essentially asked to get permission from other hospitals before starting.

although still more expensive compared to other snacks, it is increasingly common for kids to be educating friends' parents on seed oil free snacks "Mom, we should buy Siete chips" "Dad, the lesser evil popcorn is great" "Froot thief is better than fruit by the foot"

prong horned antelope aka "speed goat"

the issue with nicotine pouches isn't the nicotine (in very high doses it's dangerous but otherwise is fairly similar to caffeine use) the issue is the: 1. Sweeteners: acesulfame K, sucralose, aspartame, xylitol --> disrupt gut biome, cause hunger signal dysfunction 2. Stabilizers: sodium alginate, propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerin (VG)- hepatic stress and testosterone disruption and GI distress

your pineal gland is not supposed to be calcified. however, 75% of people over that age of 25 have a significantly calcified pineal gland. the most likely cause is excessive consumption of fluoride via fluorinated water and fluoride in your toothpaste https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/8/2885

i've been experimenting with posts to see what people like. seems like deep dives on medical topics get the most feedback. i'll post a lot of nutrition stuff but unpacking research is most satisfying to me.

most vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) capsules are semisynthetic it is extracted from lanolin (sheep's wool). The lanolin contains 7-dehydrocholesterol, which is then exposed to UV light to convert it into Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) Some "vegan" Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) supplements are produced by exposing lichens to ultraviolet light. humans can store vitamin d in adipose tissue (fat soluble) for indefinite periods of time. The more time you get in the sun during the summertime the less likely you are to need any vitamin d in the winter regardless of where you live on the planet.