De Novo

September 2025

A profile in courage

On DNA computation and escaping a local maximum

Sep 9 • 

Metacelsus

14

3

A political setback for gene drives

the dictator of Burkina Faso doesn't want them

Sep 4 • 

Metacelsus

8

1

July 2025

Can we make mosquitoes resist malaria?

A new gene drive approach is promising but needs further development

Jul 28 • 

Metacelsus

10

Mouse Caviar

The Saitou lab grows mouse eggs without ovarian supporting cells

Jul 4 • 

Metacelsus

10

2

June 2025

Notes from LessOnline 2025

At the end of May, I flew to Berkeley to attend LessOnline, an annual meetup of bloggers and other personalities associated with lesswrong.com and the…

Jun 18 • 

Metacelsus

9

1

AI-generated Anki cards are not to be trusted

Learning incorrect things is bad

Jun 13 • 

Metacelsus

12

6

Adiós Duolingo, hello Anki

Learning more effectively in the age of AI

Jun 5 • 

Metacelsus

9

2

April 2025

Fighting malaria with gene drives: an interview with Dr. Michael Santos

Malaria is one of humanity’s biggest foes, killing an average of 600,000 people per year (mostly African children).

Apr 25 • 

Metacelsus

4

1

March 2025

Book Review: The Nobel Duel

A cautionary tale about competition in science

Mar 30 • 

Metacelsus

5

Phoenix Rising

Preserving the memory, and the cells, of the best cat ever

Mar 8 • 

Metacelsus

22

1

December 2024

Green Goo (Republished)

Synthetic biology, mirror life, and threats to global ecosystems

Dec 12, 2024 • 

Metacelsus

14

10