What Adam is Reading - Week of 12-8-25

on
Week of December 8, 2025

I just finished my yearly read of Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It. It is a beautiful book about fly fishing, where the rhythms and art of fishing serve as a metaphor for the struggles of love, relationships, and life. It remains my favorite literary exploration of the human condition. I find solace in how Maclean frames our ephemeral lives against geologic time scales and the majesty of nature, capturing the profound paradox: we cannot fully understand others, even when we care about them, and, as such, we are all alone, together. I draw inspiration from the prose and backstory; I suspect we all have one good, unwritten book in us.

Learn more (Maclean wrote his first book at age 70): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Maclean
"On the Big Blackfoot River above the mouth of Belmont Creek the banks are fringed by large Ponderosa pines. In the slanting sun of late afternoon the shadows of great branches reached from across the river, and the trees took the river in their arms. The shadows continued up the bank, until they included us. A river, though, has so many things to say that it is hard to know what it says to each of us. As we were packing our tackle and fish in the car, Paul repeated, "Just give me three more years." At the time, I was surprised at the repetition, but later I realized that the river somewhere, sometime, must have told me, too, that he would receive no such gift."
Maclean, Norman. A River Runs Through It and Other Stories, Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition (pp. 101-102). (Function). Kindle Edition. 

---
Listen to a Google Notebook LM-generated podcast of the newsletter, featuring two virtual hosts.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-gDYVs41ZqNNb4JRYtiU3dD-kyd0zMXp/view
------

Science and Technology Trends

STAT News highlights a novel pre-clinical mRNA technology. Researchers are introducing transcription factors to induce basal skin stem cells to "rejuvenate" - treating scars, age-related skin changes, and hair loss (alopecia). [How many people who are skeptical of mRNA vaccines would be open to anti-aging and cosmetic mRNA treatments?] The STAT article highlights the ongoing work in biomedical technology, and the Harvard website is clearly investor-targeted marketing. Nevertheless, the novel use of mRNA technology is interesting.
Paywall STAT article:
https://www.st tnews.com/2025/11/06/biotech-investment-hair-loss-treatment-pelage-pharmaceuticals-veradermics/
The Harvard Institute conducting the mRNA research for hair loss treatment is:
https://wyss.harvard.edu/technology/geneskin-a-novel-mrna-therapy-for-skin-and-hair-rejuvenation/

In 2023, Florida banned elementary and middle school students from using wireless communication devices during the school day. In high school, students can use wireless communication devices outside instructional time or when directed by a teacher solely for educational purposes. The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) published an analysis of the 2024-2025 school year:
"First, we show that the enforcement of cellphone bans in schools led to a significant increase in student suspensions in the short-term, especially among Black students, but disciplinary actions began to dissipate after the first year, potentially suggesting a new steady state after an initial adjustment period. Second, we find significant improvements in student test scores in the second year of the ban after that initial adjustment period. Third, the findings suggest that cellphone bans in schools significantly reduce student unexcused absences, an effect that may explain a large fraction of the test score gains. The effects of cellphone bans are more pronounced in middle and high school settings where student smartphone ownership is more common."
For context, this report is based on one school year of data from one FL school district and cannot control for many other confounders. It will be interesting if long-term data demonstrate similar outcomes in different states (with similar bans), sustained test performance, and improved graduation rates.
NBER https://www.nber.org/papers/w34388
Perplexity AI-supported summarized Analysis (Claude doesn't like 49-page PDF files).
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/summarize-this-in-a-new-artifa-yHrG22P6TAe_497bP5G_4g#0


Anti-Science Articles of Note

It's been a good (in the not positive sense) week for bad science.

On Friday, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) voted 8 to 3 to change its recommendation on Hepatitis B vaccination for all babies at birth. ACIP is now endorsing Hep B vaccine only for infants born to mothers who test positive for the virus. [Adam's editorial comment - this vote is monumentally foolish - there are enormous amounts of data on the safety, efficacy, and value of timing of Hep B vaccines as is.]
The Hill:
https://thehill.com/policy/he lthcare/5636479-acip-hepatitis-b-vaccine-vote-takeaways/
Here is an analysis from a team of epidemiologists, pharmacists, and physicians who believe in science. They assert that the childhood vaccine schedule is strategically timed based on disease epidemiology, immune response optimization, and practical considerations in healthcare delivery. Multiple layers of evidence support these assertions—including concomitant use studies, post-marketing surveillance systems (VAERS, VSD, CISA), and a 2013 Institute of Medicine report.
Blog: https://theunb asedscipod.substack.com/p/evidence-not-guesswork-the-childhood
AI-supported Summary of Blog:
https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/66b7b8fa-713f-48e0-b7da-45371be8a1af
And for those with a short attention span, the Instagram immunologist Dr. Noc breaks the Hep B issue down:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRzylffjvfw/?igsh=NzNiZWhreDFueTE=

South Carolina is now among the states experiencing measles outbreaks, in part due to the relative ease of obtaining non-medical religious exemptions from school vaccination requirements. As the percentage of the population vaccinated drops below 95% the likelihood of outbreaks increases (even in previously vaccinated individuals). Measles has an R0 (R naught or basic reproduction number) of 12-18, meaning that a single infected person will, on average, infect 12-18 others. For comparison, R0 for other illnesses:
Seasonal influenza:  1.3
Original SARS-CoV-2: ~2.5
COVID Delta variant: ~5-6
Chickenpox: ~10-12
Measles: ~12-18
How many of the 12-18 infected individuals would rather not get measles?
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/measles-outbreak-south-carolina-vaccine-misinformation-kennedy-rfk/
https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/d9b5c2fe-3d61-4353-8481-bb7f090fc693

Living with AI

Dr. Julio La Torre, a hospitalist at Cedars-Sinai and an AI entrepreneur, wrote a fascinating (if somewhat self-serving) Analysis of the Epic EHR data problem. I am skeptical of his assertion that Epic is dying a slow death through technical irrelevance/disintermediation. Still, I appreciate his Analysis of how Epic's data architecture and "closed" system make it challenging to fully leverage AI to unlock the value of enormous volumes of clinical data.
https://substack.com/ ome/post/p-180433769
AI-assisted Analysis:
https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/7e9194fd-e5c2-42ed-82db-fa4136e4f053

The use of prisoner phone call data to predict crime is simultaneously amazing and dystopian.  
https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/01/1128591/an-ai-model-trained-on-prison-phone-calls-is-now-being-used-to-surveil-inmates/

I wonder if the AI tech listening to prison phone calls is tuned to poetry.  Wired published "Poems Can Trick AI Into Helping You Make a Nuclear Weapons.  It turns out all the guardrails in the world won't protect a chatbot from meter and rhyme."
https://www.wired.com/story/poems-can-trick-ai-into-helping-you-make-a-nuclear-weapon/

Anthropic (makers of Claude) developed an AI-powered interview tool and used it to conduct 1,250 structured interviews with professionals (general workforce: n=1,000; scientists: n=125; creatives: n=125) to understand how workers integrate AI into their professional practice and envision its future role.
While there are many methodological problems with this survey (small sample sizes for professions, respondents were tech-savvy, respondents knew they were taking an AI survey about AI, Anthropic has an inherent conflict with the survey's outcomes, amongst many other issues), the exercise demonstrates the practicality of the tech. Moreover, the data quantifies some familiar AI tropes - like the near ubiquity of trust issues with AI output and the "AI is cheating" stigma.
The Report: 
https://www.anthropic.com/research/anthropic-interviewer
AI-Supported Analysis:
https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/92bd74f0-4122-4a5f-879b-fea60cb46be6


Things I learned this week

"African lions produce four distinct call types within a roaring bout —moans, full-throated roars, a newly identified "intermediary roar," and grunts—rather than the three previously recognized. This paper demonstrates that machine learning can classify these calls with a high degree of accuracy." Moreover, during validation, roaring varied by geography, leading researchers to wonder whether lion vocalizations had "regional dialects." My immediate thoughts:
1) There could be lions that have the equivalent of a southern drawl or Canadian hoser accent.
2) Do some lions make fun of the ones that have different-sounding roars?
3) I wonder if we will be able to build a lion-to-whale communicator at some point (https://www.projectceti.org/).   What would they talk about? Will the AirPods v20 be able to listen in real time?
Article: 
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.72474
AI-supported Analysis:
https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/f383746c-085a-40f2-8ee9-a0f5150ddde0

The NY Times reported on a clinical trial using GLP-1 Receptor Agonists (Ozempic) in overweight cats. The study is called MEOW-1, for "ManagEment of Over Weight cats." I have no word, however, the cats might. For instance, if we can interpret cats' meowing (per the lion article above), would they tell us they are nauseated and constipated due to the GLP1s?
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/science/ozempic-glp1-pets-cats.html?unlocked_article_code=1.6k8.SJYH.5UHJUYBmEG8t&smid=url-share

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft travelled to an asteroid named Bennu and returned samples of the asteroid to Earth in 2023. Last week, scientists published three research papers about those samples. The research was fascinating - Bennu samples contained the most complete life-supporting chemical compounds ever found in a single extraterrestrial source. Samples contained sugars for biological metabolism and genetic material, amino acids for proteins, nucleobases for DNA/RNA, complex nitrogen-rich polymers with life-like chemical bonds, and abundant organic matter—all preserved in varying states. The pristine samples (never exposed to Earth's atmosphere -unlike meteorites) allowed scientists to study compounds that would have otherwise decomposed in meteorites. Combined, all three papers support the hypothesis that asteroids seeded early Earth with complex organic materials that were already partially assembled—potentially accelerating the emergence of life on our planet.
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/osiris-rex/sugars-gum-stardust-found-in-nasas-asteroid-bennu-samples/

Infographic of the week:
Bennu asteroid data in an infographic, per Gemini 3. Amazing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QwJr09wKq-5w2-mALaGL_mlrs8wLMxjW/view?usp=sharing


AI art of the week 
A visual mashup of topics from the newsletter, and an exercise to see how various LLMs interpret the prompt. I use an LLM to summarize the newsletter, suggest prompts, and generate images with different LLMs.

"A majestic, sweeping oil painting in the style of the Hudson River School and Albert Bierstadt. A golden-hour landscape of the Big Blackfoot River winding through a canyon of Ponderosa pines. However, the river water is subtly composed of glowing, flowing matrix code and binary streams. In the foreground, an elderly 19th-century fly fisherman casts a line. He is surrounded by various house cats perched on rocks and trees, and a few majestic lions lounging on the grassy bank, some wearing headsets. The fisherman is catching a mechanical, steampunk trout. The lighting is dramatic and divine, highlighting the contrast between the geologic nature and the digital water. Highly detailed, 19th-century pastoral masterpiece."

Lots of good art this week.
Gemini: 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rTOfkJmGqT1oIv8-YIY7vS_AeLd9zu5a/view
ChatGPT: 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13V3QZSDDFSj7uCRtxKDEWmq5KtJM13rm/view
Perplexity:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eCE59zzgXAt3bIhSeJx11AJRhUblIO5a/view
Grok:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mNnnVz4X8HKr1Vuk78RGY2MRgdkdq2hz/view
---
One may recall that this newsletter began with the pandemic.

The Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative (PMC) uses wastewater viral RNA levels to forecast COVID-19 rates over the next 4 weeks.
Rates are rising, but still low compared to prior years. Watch for flu - it is peaking in various parts of Europe.
https://pmc19.com/data/
based upon https://biobot.io/data/
Flu in Europe: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c74xqn2zg1eo

Wastewater Scan offers a multi-organism wastewater dashboard with an excellent visual display of individual treatment plant-level data.
https://data.wastewaterscan.org/
----


Clean hands and sharp minds,

Adam

Comments

Post a Comment