At the Nucleic Acid Observatory, we do a *lot* of wastewater metagenomic sequencing—currently ~25B read pairs weekly, soon scaling to 75B.

Both finding suspicious sequences and understanding their genomic context are crucial challenges in our pathogen monitoring. 1/4

25.04.2025 17:28 — 👍 1    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0

Currently reading "The Alchemy of Air" about the invention of the Haber-Bosch process. One note:

Before synthetic ammonia, demand for fertilizer led to several economic mini-booms. E.g., Peru saw rapid growth due to the sale of guano, a potent fertilizer made up of dried bird droppings.

01.12.2024 15:14 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

There are still major challenges, especially around labor regulation, corporate governance, and energy.

But I'm optimistic. The fundamentals of Germany are strong, most people want growth, and there is a palpable shift away from post-materialist politics.

30.11.2024 20:02 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Re CDU:
- CDU is becoming more open to debt break reform + they might restart TTIP negotiations (this could work, given USMCA under Trump v1)
- CDU could enter into a coalition with the Greens, who are not as opposed to tax cuts and labor reform as the SPD.

30.11.2024 20:02 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

People are very doom-y about Germany's economy.

But I think there will be a reversion to the mean:

- The country always reformed when its economy tanked (e.g., Agenda 2010). Reform will happen again.
- The pro-business CDU will soon govern with a strong mandate.

30.11.2024 20:02 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

👋

11.11.2024 23:53 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0