Protein Degradation, Social Mitochondria, and Multiparty Democracy: Lux Recommends #285
Welcome to Lux Recommends #285, this week’s edition of what we at Lux are reading and thinking about (want to receive this by email? Sign up here).
Articles
‘At first I thought, this is crazy’: the real-life plan to use novels to predict the next war: “Three years ago, a small group of academics at a German university launched an unprecedented collaboration with the military — using novels to try to pinpoint the world’s next conflicts. Are they on to something?” — Sam
Targeted Protein Degradation: The First Proof-of-Mechanism in a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study — Zavain
A New History Changes the Balance of Power Between Ethiopia and Medieval Europe: “For centuries, a Eurocentric worldview disregarded the knowledge and strength of the African empire” — Sam
Massive DNA study finds rare gene variants that protect against obesity — Josh
‘Social’ Mitochondria, Whispering Between Cells, Influence Health: “Mitochondria appear to communicate and cooperate with one another, both within and between cells. Biologists are only just beginning to understand how and why.” — Sujude
What mRNA is Good For, And What It Maybe Isn’t — Adam G
When will I die? Scientists have created an end-of-life calculator that lets you plan for death: You can’t cheat death, but you might be able to predict it. This tool is based on data from the daily habits of 491,000 people over a six-year period.” — Adam K
Probing a 100-Year-Old Theory of Plasma Motion for the First Time with NASA’s MMS — Rahul
Brighter Than a Billion Billion Suns: Gamma-Ray Bursts Continue to Surprise: “These ultrabright flashes have recently been tracked for days, upending ideas about the cataclysms that create them.” — Cameron
At what age do we do our greatest work? — Adam K
Books
Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America by Lee Drutman: “Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop makes a compelling case for large scale electoral reform-importantly, reform not requiring a constitutional amendment-that would give America more parties, making American democracy more representative, more responsive, and ultimately more stable.” — Sam
The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling: “1855: The Industrial Revolution is in full swing, powered by steam-driven cybernetic Engines. Charles Babbage perfects his Analytical Engine, and the computer age arrives a century ahead of its time.” — Sam
Hype: How Scammers, Grifters, and Con Artists Are Taking Over the Internet―and Why We’re Following by Gabrielle Bluestone: “Drawing from scientific research, marketing campaigns, and exclusive documents and interviews, former Vice reporter Gabrielle Bluestone delves into the irresistible hype that fuels our social media ecosystem”— Lux Recommends reader Dan Katz
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