Asimov Press

Gregor Mendel's Vanishing Act After his death in 1884, thousands of Gregor Mendel’s letters and notes — filled with scientific data and figures — were destroyed. What did the friar discover, and what have we forgotten?

All this, and more, in our article from the archives: "Gregor Mendel's Vanishing Act":
press.asimov.com/articles/me...

Some fun facts about Gregor Mendel:

1. He smoked 20 cigars a day.
2. He bred more than 10,000 plants to make his genetics discoveries.
3. In his obituary, he was mostly remembered as a great beekeeper.
4. Most of his papers were burned after his death.

A Visual Guide to Gene Delivery There are at least 10,000 known monogenic diseases. When attempting to cure them, how do clinicians decide which gene-therapy delivery method is best?

Read it here. And the article includes a downloadable poster!

press.asimov.com/articles/ge...

A VISUAL GUIDE TO GENE DELIVERY

There are at least 10,000 known monogenic diseases. Many scientists are trying to build gene therapies to cure some of them. Learn about tradeoffs between the various delivery options—from AAV to LNPs to Herpes Virus—in our latest article.

Our Issue 07 launch party in San Francisco was a smashing success. 🏏

Thanks to everyone who came and played Biology Trivia. Winning teams got copies of our DNA books, hats, and posters. It was a really fun time!

See you in the fall, in Boston, for the next one. :)

The First Weight Loss Drugs Long before Ozempic and Mounjaro, there were mitochondrial uncouplers. While deadly if not used with care, it might be time for them to make a comeback.

Read it here: press.asimov.com/articles/fi...

In 1931, Stanford doctors tested whether DNP—an explosive chemical used during WWI—could help people lose weight.

Daily DNP administration led to a 40% increase in metabolic rate. Patients lost 0.9 kg per week on average; comparable to Ozempic.

From our latest article.🔻

The First Weight Loss Drugs Long before Ozempic and Mounjaro, there were mitochondrial uncouplers. While deadly if not used with care, it might be time for them to make a comeback.

Read the essay: www.asimov.press/p/first-wei...

French munitions workers during WW1 mysteriously began losing weight. One of their explosive chemicals, called DNP, caused it.

This became one of the first effective weight-loss drugs. But a newly-established FDA banned it for safety reasons in the late 1930s.

By Alex Telford.

The history of humanity’s pharmacopeia is often muddied by folklore. What can the origins of aspirin teach us about separating fact from fiction? A behind-th... The Uncertain Origins of Aspirin

Full article by Sean Harrison: www.asimov.press/p/aspirin

Interview with the author: www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1r...

Uncertain Origins of Aspirin 💊

It's hard to know where this incredible pain reliever actually came from.

Willow bark tea? Hippocrates? Or John Reverend Stone? The trail is littered with bad record keeping and obscure translations.

Our latest explains what we know for sure.🔻

Article: www.asimov.press/p/issue-07

RSVP: partiful.com/e/pQ4LdKlXR...

Issue 07 is coming on Monday. It features essays on aspirin's uncertain origins, how to scale proteomics, the first weight-loss drugs, and more.

Also, we dropped new merch to celebrate and we're hosting a BIOLOGY TRIVIA NIGHT on July 23 in San Francisco. RSVP at the link below.

A conversation between Niko McCarty & Xander Balwit about the Asimov Press popup restaurant, FARMA, in San Francisco.Read all our work, without paywalls, at ... FARMA: A Pro-GMO Popup Restaurant

Read about it here: press.asimov.com/articles/fo...

Behind-the-Scenes interview on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LC...

Last October, we published a sci-fi story about a future restaurant in San Francisco that serves diners cultured meats, sonic-aged drinks, and exotic GMO fruits.

In April, we brought it to life.

We opened a pop-up restaurant and served diners a futuristic meal from 2055. 🔻

A Visual Guide to Genome Editors A selected encyclopedia of major gene-editing systems, together with illustrated diagrams.

This was written by @evandeturk. All the illustrations were made by @EllaWD_PhD.

Read & subscribe: press.asimov.com/articles/cr...

We've been working on this resource for months: A VISUAL GUIDE TO GENOME EDITORS.

Learn how tools like Cas9, Cas13, prime editors, and Bridge editors work - with diagrams!

We hope this becomes a valuable resource for the biology community and students.

Toxic Proteins for Drug Discovery Toxic amino acids, peptides, and proteins — which first evolved as molecular weapons deployed by species in conflict — can also serve as blueprints for pharmaceutical innovation.

Written by Noah K. Whiteman, author of the book "Most Delicious Poison."

Read & subscribe here: press.asimov.com/articles/to...

Nature is a pharmaceutical innovator.

Ziconotide, derived from cone snail venom, treats chronic pain better than opioids. Alpha amanitin, a deadly mushroom toxin, is being used as a targeted cancer therapy.

More examples abound. Our latest: TOXIC PROTEINS FOR DRUG DISCOVERY.🔻

Reservoirs of Resistance By studying the millennia-old arms race between soil-dwelling microbes, scientists can pre-empt antibiotic resistance before it emerges in people.

Written by @kevinsblake.

Read & subscribe: press.asimov.com/articles/re...

Beneath your feet, billions of soil bacteria harbor antibiotic resistance genes that can leap into pathogens.

Scientists today are studying these environmental samples to predict—and hopefully prevent—the next wave of antibiotic resistance.

Column: RESERVOIRS OF RESISTANCE 🔻

Before They Hatch New technologies, such as in-ovo sexing, on-farm hatching, and in-ovo vaccination can make the poultry supply chain both better for animal welfare and more efficient.

Read it here:

press.asimov.com/articles/be...

Every year, billions of newborn chicks are killed, simply because they're male and not of use to the egg industry.

New technologies enable in ovo sexing; it's now possible to figure out a chick's sex before it hatches, and destroy the egg.

Our deep dive: "Before They Hatch." 🔻

The Magic of Fast Feedback Loops Why biologists should operate with a sense of urgency.

Read it here and subscribe: www.asimov.press/p/fast-feed...

Progress in biology is too slow. Even simple experiments often take several days of work to complete.

Software, by contrast, compiles in seconds. It's what makes programming "flow-inducing."

We need faster feedback loops in biology. Our latest article explains where to start🔻

A single E. coli is 70 percent water. The other 30 percent is mostly proteins. A single type, called Lpp, accounts for ~1/3 of all proteins in a cell.

It takes less energy to build a cell than it takes to lift an apple from the ground to a height of one meter.

New post by me🔻

You can order here: asimovpress.myshopify.com

Yes, we finally have a merch store 😎

Two high-quality t-shirts, a sweater, and many stickers to choose from. All custom-designed by Iris Fung & Ella Watkins-Dulaney (human artists.) We'll add more products monthly!

Oh, and we're shipping internationally. Check it out 🔻

On Prions and Protein Design Prions are extremely resilient, infectious proteins. Studying their shape-shifting abilities could reveal lessons for how proteins fold at a molecular level, helping scientists design better ones.

Read our latest article, an op-ed by Eryney Marrogi and Theo Sternlieb, online. And subscribe!

press.asimov.com/articles/pr...

Proteins are more liquid than solid; they bend and twist incessantly.

But AI tools to design new proteins are often unable to replicate this dynamism, in part because methods to study proteins capture static snapshots.

Deadly proteins, called prions, may help solve the problem.