Natasha Loder
@natashaloder.bsky.social
15K followers 3.9K following 1.1K posts
Health Editor, The Economist. #Science #medicine #health, aspiring optimist, omnivorous information eater, mother of dragons. Free words at: Overmatter.substack.com
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natashaloder.bsky.social
The dream of enhancing humanity is becoming a reality, with investments pouring into the human enhancement industry, aiming to make us stronger, smarter, and longer-lived. Notable investors like Christian Angermayer, Peter Thiel, Elon Musk are at the forefront #HumanEnhancement #TechRevolution
Cover of the Economist with words Rise of the Superhuman and futuristic blue enhanced Vetruvian man with syringes and a brain computer interface.
natashaloder.bsky.social
If China manages to crack the problem of making cheap and effective gene therapies and America doesn't crack the problem of paying what the market will bear for gene therapies it will just get ripped off.
natashaloder.bsky.social
“We will show the world that there is a better, more responsible, and economically more sensible way of drug development,” -- Chinese biotech offering a low-cost version of a gene therapy that saves the lives of small children but at a cost of $2m

endpoints.news/chinese-biot...
In China, a low-cost push to rival a life-saving, $2M medicine
Indian veterinarian Nirnay Murthy sought Lantu Biopharma's experimental gene therapy for his son's spinal muscular atrophy after being unable to afford Novartis's $2.1M Zolgensma treatment.
endpoints.news
natashaloder.bsky.social
“We will show the world that there is a better, more responsible, and economically more sensible way of drug development,” -- Chinese biotech offering a low-cost version of a gene therapy that saves the lives of small children but at a cost of $2m

endpoints.news/chinese-biot...
In China, a low-cost push to rival a life-saving, $2M medicine
Indian veterinarian Nirnay Murthy sought Lantu Biopharma's experimental gene therapy for his son's spinal muscular atrophy after being unable to afford Novartis's $2.1M Zolgensma treatment.
endpoints.news
natashaloder.bsky.social
In this talk I'll reflect back on what journalism's past tells us about the future of science journalism. I'll also talk about my long love affair with journalism, and how to get a bikini wax on expenses. Do come and join us, and let us debate the future.
natashaloder.bsky.social
"The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes that there is currently no conclusive scientific evidence confirming a possible link between autism and use of acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol) during pregnancy."

www.who.int/news/item/24...
WHO statement on autism-related issues
The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes that there is currently no conclusive scientific evidence confirming a possible link between autism and use of acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol) ...
www.who.int
natashaloder.bsky.social
ah, yes I think that is probably correct.
natashaloder.bsky.social
alas this isn't lefty twitter?
natashaloder.bsky.social
When I wrote it I felt that the weight of evidence strongly suggested that something was going on, so you may not have been wrong. But science moves on.
natashaloder.bsky.social
Everyone keeps saying this place is lefy-Twitter. Is this true? Are there right-leaning folks on Bluesky? Having a diversity of opinions (well debated) is at the core of a modern functioning democracy and we need different voices.
natashaloder.bsky.social
Well, to be fair, there is no real evidence that this was not just a bad seasonal influenza. That piece painted a picture, but since then there are counter arguments that suggest that it didn't start that early. I wouldn't say it is a slam dunk either way.
natashaloder.bsky.social
yeah, the press conference was bat-shit crazy. Reminded me of the covid era speculation on the internal use of bleach.
natashaloder.bsky.social
Wow, this autism press conference is so laden with errors and mis-statements it is hard to keep up.
Reposted by Natasha Loder
wired.com
WIRED @wired.com · 19d
Big Tech's embrace of President Trump has left many of us wondering: What the hell happened to Silicon Valley?

In our new politics issue, we're getting into it.

Also, we're taking this cover across the US in billboards, posters and a mural. Clues to find us in the 🧵: www.wired.com/politics-iss...
WIRED's The Politics Issue
natashaloder.bsky.social
The big picture on UK pharma exits from Citeline
Reposted by Natasha Loder
natashaloder.bsky.social
That composite statistic makes it difficult to know how effective the covid vaccine is though.
natashaloder.bsky.social
Thank you for clarifying.
natashaloder.bsky.social
Interesting, thank you! So am I reading this correctly? They are basically saying that most of the economic benefits come from avoided hospitalisation and for omicron the risks are greatly reduced and there are no deaths?
natashaloder.bsky.social
Does anyone know why the JVCI decided that in the UK pregnant women shouldn't get covid shots any more during the booster season? Genuinely interested in the reasoning here rather than any kind of mud-slinging one way or another