Curating the Internet: Science and technology micro-summaries for September 14, 2019

A "living drug" that offers promise for cancer treatment; Anticipating bitcoin development in a post-hyperbitcoinization world; 27 article retractions is just the tip of the iceberg; A Steem essay describing another world with water in the atmosphere; A critique of Keto diets

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A "living drug" that could change the way we treat cancer - In this TED talk, Carl June describes his work creating synthetic immune systems that are capable of fighting cancer. The technique makes use of genetic engineering to combine antibodies from naturally occurring B cells into naturally occurring T cells by using the HIV virus as a Trojan Horse that will camoflauge the payload. The resulting treatment is known as a Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cells. It takes its name from the mythological Chimera, and it's the world's first living drug. Unlike other forms of medicine, these living cells stay in the body and continue to fight cancer for years or decades. The treatment makes use of the body's own T cells by growing them in large volumes in the lab, and it has been tested in leukemia patients starting in 2010. The first patients remain tumor-free today, and June believes they are cured.

What Will Bitcoin Development Look Like After Hyperbitcoinization? - The article suggests that Bitcoin's decade+ lifespan implies that "hyperbitcoinization" - a future state where bitcoin replaces fiat currencies - is a near certainty, and goes on to think about the implications of that change on bitcoin development. One implication it suggests, is that development effort will shift from a focus on the protocol to a focus on tools like wallets, alternative node implementations, and that development efforts will often be sponsored by bitcoin whales. Another implication it anticipates is that people will have more access to low cost/high quality software; A final change that the article foresees is that quality control will become increasingly important.

A publisher just retracted 22 articles. And the whistleblower is just getting started. - Bringing total retractions for Ali Nazari to 27 articles with 0 to 32 citations, SAGE Publishing has announced 22 new retractions. According to the anonymous reader who raised the articles to the publisher's attention, in total, more than 100 articles are impacted by the author's duplication.

STEEM Hubble Found Water In An Atmosphere of Another Planet - As described by @kralizec, who was summarizing a paper from arXiv, K2-18b is a planet that is about 111 light years away, in the Leo constellation. It orbits a red-dwarf star in the so called, "Goldilocks zone" of its star system, which is the area where life as we know it may be possible. After watching the planet cross in front of it's red-dwarf star eight times through the Hubble telescope, and three times through the Spitzer infrared telescope, with some complicated math the paper's 16 authors were able to ascertain the composition of the atmosphere. In addition to water and water vapor, the researchers also report that the atmosphere is rich in hydrogen and helium. (A beneficiary setting of 10% has been applied to this post for @kralizec.)

The Cult Of Keto: Should You Shun Carbs And Feast On Fat? - In this article, Angela Dowden critiques the fad of "keto" diets. She acknowledges that a keto diet (very low carbohydrates, relatively high fat, moderate proteins) has been shown to provide longer lasting weight loss than low-fat diets, and also that it lowers insulin, which may be good for diabetics. However, she points out that the results were just barely significant, and expresses concern that it's very hard (though not impossible) to achieve balanced nutrition on such a diet. She also makes the argument that weight loss is merely a function of calories in and calories burned, regardless of whether those calories come from fat, carbohydrates, or proteins. Coincidentally, on a personal note, I have been engaged in a zero-research, adhoc, keto type of diet since April. During that time, I have eaten no breads, pasta, rice, sugary fruits or drinks, etc.. but of the foods I do eat, I eat as much as I want. During that time, I have lost 25 pounds (11 kg), though I'm fairly certain I haven't reduced my overall level of caloric input, or increased my level of activity, and I never feel unusually hungry. I'm not making recommendations for anyone else, but my adhoc keto diet does seem to be working for me (and I have a partner on the diet, who has seen similar results). h/t RealClear Science

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