iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

New Essay: Great Leaps in Biological Theory Two of biology’s greatest theories completely predate direct experimental evidence. In this article, @ulkar_aghayeva traces their origins and completes our mini-series on theory in biology. Read: press.asimov.com/articles/gr...

press.asimov.com

Great Leaps in Biological Theory

Two of biology’s greatest theories completely predate direct experimental evidence. Tracing their origins could help us understand how to make the next ones.

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

We've redesigned our entire website to make it maximally enjoyable and comfortable to read. Fonts are larger and easier to read, color palettes blend more nicely, articles feature voiceover recxordings, and footnotes are now in the margins of text. It's a big upgrade!

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

In 1918, influenza killed between 17 and 100 million people, as much as 5 percent of the global population. During the 1918 pandemic, most scientists believed bacteria caused the disease. The influenza virus was not isolated until 1933! (1/9)

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Two decades before writing his magnum opus, Principia Mathematica, Newton jotted out his ideas using his deceased stepfather's prayer book. This notebook, which Newton called his "Waste Book," can be seen at Cambridge University today. It is decrepit from abundant use. (1/4)

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

New Essay: How to Build a Strep A Vaccine Strep A is "one of the most important, neglected, and tractable pathogens to work on," says @JacobTref. Its disease burden rivals HIV/AIDS, yet annual funding is just $14M (vs. $1.5B for HIV). How can we finally make a vaccine?

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

A Brief History of Lab Notebooks Early lab notebooks were little more than pocket diaries, where "thinkers" collected quotes from classical Latin authors. Newton's first notebook was adapted from his stepfather's commonplace book (filled with "excerpted scriptural commentary")..

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

New essay: A Brief History of Bioinformatics Software Although the word "bioinformatics" wasn't coined until 1970, the first computer program to analyze protein sequences, named COMPROTEIN, was published in 1962. From our forthcoming book, "Making the Modern Laboratory."

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Metaphors for Biology: Evolution It’s difficult to think about evolution. "Years” seems like an inaccurate unit for expressing evolutionary rates because evolution considers changes between one generation and the next. And yet, every organism has a unique generation time. 1/4

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

We're pausing @AsimovPress for awhile. Thanks to everyone who has taken this journey with us so far. We will plan to see you again in a few months :) Read: www.asimov.press/p/pause

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

A few years ago, designing an antibody on the computer was extremely difficult. Today, there are several open-source tools which allow anyone to design antibodies from home. Our latest article, by Brian Naughton, is a step-by-step guide to antibody design: press.asimov.com/articles/an...

press.asimov.com

How to Design Antibodies

A step-by-step guide to making de novo binders.

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

A Visual Guide to DNA Sequencing. Learn how different DNA sequencing technologies work, from Sanger sequencing to Illumina to nanopores. (Complete with illustrations!) Written by Evan DeTurk. Illustrated by Ella Watkins-Dulaney.

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

The Institute for Human Reference was founded in 2053. Their goal? To "define the reference human." The task, of course, proved impossible. For decades, humans had quietly been altered in hundreds of ways. Averages were no longer clinically useful. [New Fiction] BASELINE DRIFT

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

How did @Nature become "prestigious" to scientists? In our opening article of Issue 09, writer Robert Reason traces the journal's history. By understanding how Nature’s prestige was constructed, we can also clarify which elements are deserved and which are entrenched.

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Phenylephrine, marketed as a nasal decongestant, was first sold in the U.S. in 1938. In 2007, a formal petition was filed to have it removed based on evidence showing it did not work. The FDA (finally) pulled it until 2024. This is the 90-year saga of an ineffective drug.

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

Arabidopsis thaliana, plant biology's ubiquitous model organism, came from the Harz Mountains of northern Germany. It was discovered in 1542 by Johannes Thal and, over the next 500 years, spread through labs around the world. @AlexandraBalwit tells the story in a new essay.🔻

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Out today: A broad-coverage antivenom, made by mixing eight different antibodies from a llama and alpaca, protects mice against snakebites from 17 of 18 deadly species in Africa. The antivenom outperformed a WHO-approved remedy that is already on the market. Read: www.asimov.press/p/broad-ant...

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 26/10/2025

Electron microscopes are one of the great feats of human engineering. These towering metal tubes, filled with detectors and electromagnetic coils, are used to image the smallest of molecules. Our latest essay by Smrithi Sunil is a deep dive into the making of these machines.

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Scientists often engineer microbes, like E. coli, to make drugs and other molecules. But what if, instead, we could isolate ALL the components of a cell into little vials and sell them? How much would, say, 1 liter of cells be worth? The answer, it turns out, is about $600,000.

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

We previously published an interactive about the repressilator, a type of gene circuit. You can drag sliders to learn how promoters, decay rates, and other parameters affect its behavior. We'd like to publish more digital interactives like this. So what should we make next?

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

We're planning to scale up next year, with lots more articles and multimedia formats (and books). We'd love to hear from you before then. What articles do you like, what do you not like, and how can we do better? 1-minute survey: forms.gle/FSePEaW1rxD...

docs.google.com

Asimov Press 2025 Survey

Your feedback will significantly shape our coverage!

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

docs.google.com

Asimov Press 2025 Survey

Your feedback will significantly shape our coverage!

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

Writer Donna Vatnick spent dozens of hours observing a liver transplant. She watched as surgeons extracted an organ from a dead donor, placed it on ice, flew it to another hospital, and transplanted it into the recipient. The full story, told in intricate detail, is out now:

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Our next book: "Making the Modern Laboratory" An illustrated, coffee table-sized volume, it covers the origins of the machines, organisms and tools used in modern biology research. More importantly, it's a call to imagine the FUTURE of the laboratory. Come help us write it!

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

The F.D.A. wants to make animal studies “the exception rather than the norm for pre-clinical safety/toxicity testing” over the next 3-5 years. But just how likely is this to happen? Our latest essay, a Deep Dive into non-animal methods by Celia Ford, answers your questions.

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Today we are launching Issue 08 of the magazine. Our first piece is THE WORLD'S MOST COMMON SURGERY. It explains how cataract surgery went from a crude procedure involving thorn instruments to a 20-minute operation with a 95 percent clinical success rate.

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

Our GMO restaurant pop-up, FARMA, was just featured in The Economist. www.economist.com/science-and...

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

Some fun numbers about the "speeds" of cells: 1. Sugar molecules move at ~250 mph in a cell, about 2x the speed of a Cessna 172 plane. 2. Every protein is hit by ten trillion water molecules each second. 3. ATP synthase (which makes ATP) spins around 8,040 times per minute.

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

We recently interviewed Ilan Gur, the CEO of the UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA). Eric Gilliam asked Gur about how ARIA is different from DARPA or a venture capital firm, and how big of an impact is big enough. Interesting throughout.

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

There are ~10 quintillion insects alive right now, collectively weighing one billion metric tons. Each year, a large portion of them enter a dormant state, similar to hibernation, called diapause. We can control diapause — for agriculture or disease control — using chemicals.

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

Many people dismiss leech therapy as unscientific; a relic of outdated ways. But there is evidence that leeches can treat a wide range of conditions. Their saliva is filled with molecules that decrease inflammation, for example. It's time we recognize the efficacy of leeches.

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

We got ~200 more Asimov Press books shipped in, and we're selling them at 50% off. Books are $10 a copy. Book + DNA capsule is $30. Free shipping on all orders. If you would like a copy, now is a good time to buy and support our work! Links: press.asimov.com/books

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 09/08/2025

We recently published a huge poster showing the different vectors used to make gene therapies, such as AAV, adenovirus, lentivirus, and more. The full article is here: press.asimov.com/articles/ge...

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

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.

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

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.

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

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. :)

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

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.🔻

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

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.

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

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.🔻

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

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.

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

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. 🔻

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

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.

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

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.🔻

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

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 🔻

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

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." 🔻

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

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🔻

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Reposted by Asimov Press

Niko McCarty @nikomccarty.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

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🔻

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

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 🔻

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

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.

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

Edward Jenner administered the world's first vaccine, for smallpox, in 1796. At the time, smallpox caused nearly 1/5 of ALL deaths in London. But it was the unsung scientists, Gaston Ramon and Alexander Glenny, who discovered adjuvants and made modern vaccines possible. Story🔻

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Asimov Press @asimovpress.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

How far would you go for a Nobel Prize? Well, the two scientists who discovered hormones secreted by the hypothalamus spent a full 26 years grinding up millions of brains and sabotaging each other’s careers — all for a ¼ share of science’s highest honor. This is their story.

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