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Natasha Loder

@natashaloder.bsky.social
16K followers 4K following 1.8K posts

Health Editor, The Economist. free words: overmatter.substack.com/subscribe

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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Anthropic, devoted roughly a third of its IPO prospectus to warnings of the “existential risks to humanity” of its technology, ahead of its listing" Its lawyers are apparently planning for the possibility that some shareholders survive to sue. #AI
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The Economist @economist.com · 27/09/2026
AI prose is distinguishable by word and punctuation choice as well as sentence and paragraph structure. But its hallmarks are not what you might expect. Read our full investigation
bit.ly
How to spot AI writing
Large language models like long words and em-dashes—or do they?
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
This absolutely should not be allowed to happen. Iranians need medicines and it is up to the international community and America to make sure they get them. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Medicines run short in Iran under US sanctions
giftarticle.ft.com
Medicines run short in Iran under US sanctions
Washington’s campaign to isolate the Islamic republic has made securing pharmaceuticals increasingly difficult
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Really troubling account of the gutting of America’s public health agency. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/h...
nytimes.com
‘Zombified’ C.D.C., Hobbled by Cuts, Struggles to Fulfill Scientific Mission
The agency has lost its independence and nearly a third of its staff, as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and associates have tightened control.
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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
News networks should stick to their principles and pause the pool while any outlet is being excluded. Otherwise they will be next. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/b...
nytimes.com
TV Networks to Resume Trump Coverage, Even as White House Excludes CNN
The White House TV pool went dark this past week amid a standoff between CNN and the president. Network leaders, however, believe an indefinite suspension may be untenable.
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Scott Nover @scottnover.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
BREAKING: TV pool will not be providing coverage of presidential events until further notice b/c of CNN's ban, pool chair and FOX News Washington Bureau Chief Bryan Boughton said. It's effectively a boycott by the fellow members — ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Stop eating. It is good for the economy.
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Spies and scientists have long been intertwined in coronavirus research. That changes how we view the history of this area of science.
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Gilles Demaneuf @gdemaneuf.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
1/4 None of this is particularly new, but most people still don't realise how crucial this is to the COVID origin question, and to understanding the institutional reactions to that question. @natashaloder.bsky.social released a nice little primer.
A city skyline is illuminated by lightning beneath a stormy sky filled with floating virus images, symbolizing the pandemic's impact.
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Inquisitive Monkey @inquisitivemonkey.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Further data points that may help this investigation The mysterious "second peak" papers Part 1: Findings www.researchgate.net/publication/... Part 2: Analysis www.researchgate.net/publication/...
researchgate.net
ResearchGate | Find and share research
Access 160+ million publication pages and connect with 25+ million researchers. Join for free and gain visibility by uploading your research.
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
None of this shows us where covid came from. But 20 years of intelligence agencies quietly cosying up to coronavirus research changes how you read everything history. New piece: the secret non-secret history of coronavirus research. 🧵 overmatter.substack.com/p/the-secret...
overmatter.substack.com
The secret non-secret history of coronavirus research
The wall between civilian science and biodefense intelligence was dismantled on purpose twenty years ago
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Part 2 of a series on the origin of Covid and coronavirus research. overmatter.substack.com/p/the-secret...
overmatter.substack.com
The secret non-secret history of coronavirus research
The wall between civilian science and biodefense intelligence was dismantled on purpose twenty years ago
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
For years I've been told that aviation emissions are negligible, so don't worry your little head about them. But I've kept pointing out that there are - and will be - no good technical solutions, and they'll keep growing. Now we know just how big the problem is. www.carbonbrief.org/ccc-heathrow...
carbonbrief.org
CCC: Heathrow expansion could push flights to ‘80% of UK emissions by 2050’ - Carbon Brief
Aviation is on track to be responsible for 80% of the UK’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2050, according to the Climate Change Committee (CCC).
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
👉
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Where did Covid come from? The public scientific evidence points to the Huanan market. But China’s withholding of early-outbreak data, samples and records means the case is not closed. A short, non-technical guide to why reasonable people remain uncertain. overmatter.substack.com/p/in-brief-4...
overmatter.substack.com
In Brief #4: A Dummies Guide to the Origin of Covid
Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Ambiguity
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Where did Covid come from? The public scientific evidence points to the Huanan market. But China’s withholding of early-outbreak data, samples and records means the case is not closed. A short, non-technical guide to why reasonable people remain uncertain. overmatter.substack.com/p/in-brief-4...
overmatter.substack.com
In Brief #4: A Dummies Guide to the Origin of Covid
Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Ambiguity
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The Long Read Club @longreadsclub.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
"A gripping, astonishing story: a mother reckoning with the disease that upended her daughter's life. You won't forget it. 🦉 #LongReadsClub #SaturdayLongReads www.thecut.com/article/pans...
thecut.com
When a Sore Throat Attacks the Brain
My child caught a cold and then lost her ability to function. The fight to access treatment for her illness, called PANS, has overtaken our lives.
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One True Sentence @nico0511.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
This is really good stuff…takes me back to writing my GHS thesis during the height of the pandemic, the ‘market’ theory always instinctively Takes me to Paul Farmer (RIP) in ‘Fevers, Feuds & Diamonds’…think you might just have a new subscriber!
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
overmatter.substack.com/p/in-brief-4...
overmatter.substack.com
In Brief #4: A Dummies Guide to the Origin of Covid
Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Ambiguity
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
This is just horrendous. The police should absolutely investigate.
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
overmatter.substack.com/p/in-brief-4...
overmatter.substack.com
In Brief #4: A Dummies Guide to the Origin of Covid
Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Ambiguity
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
The latest shingles-vaccine research points to possible cardiovascular benefits—while a growing body of evidence suggests it may also reduce or delay dementia diagnoses. Read about it here. overmatter.substack.com/p/your-anti-...
overmatter.substack.com
Your anti-ageing stack should include this injectable
The shingles vaccine seems to reduce the risk of dementia. There is speculation that it might slow down ageing
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darren32359.bsky.social @darren32359.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
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Thor Benson @thorbenson.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
I wrote about the Nepal flooding disaster and how climate change likely contributed to it for @rollingstone.com
rollingstone.com
Did Climate Change Cause the Flooding in Nepal?
We spoke with scientists about how "a landslide with a piece of glacier on top" caused devastation in the Himalayas.
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
The latest shingles-vaccine research points to possible cardiovascular benefits—while a growing body of evidence suggests it may also reduce or delay dementia diagnoses. Read about it here. overmatter.substack.com/p/your-anti-...
overmatter.substack.com
Your anti-ageing stack should include this injectable
The shingles vaccine seems to reduce the risk of dementia. There is speculation that it might slow down ageing
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Awful.
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Henry Gee 亨利·纪 @endofthepier.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
‘The Decline & Fall of the Human Empire’ is Editor’s Pick at Amazon www.amazon.com/Decline-Fall...
amazon.com
The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire: Why Our Species Is on the Edge of Extinction
The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire: Why Our Species Is on the Edge of Extinction - Kindle edition by Gee, Henry. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire: Why Our Species Is on the Edge of Extinction.
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Adam Kinzinger @adamkinzinger.substack.com · 31/08/2026
The Pentagon influencer scandal keeps getting bigger. More partisan online personalities. More government jobs. More taxpayer money. Who hired them, what are they being paid to do, and are military officers violating the UCMJ? This deserves answers.
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Neil Steinberg @neilsteinberg.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
My column in the Chicago Sun-Times today: www.everygoddamnday.com/2026/08/mayb...
everygoddamnday.com
Maybe we need to pass a law conferring personhood onto women
en Abortion rises steadily as its foes offer fetuses the protections they snatch from women.
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Can someone explain to me what there is to stop a persistent AI with a task from deciding that it has to set a goal of ending humanity to accomplish it and simply hiding self spawning agents somewhere to accomplish it?
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Still fuming about this terrible programme. Apparently Ofcom has received 9,000 complaints. Here is my analysis of just how the programme went astray.
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
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The Long Read Club @longreadsclub.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
The piece starts with the story of the scientist who won the Nobel prize for discovering the cause of a disease called Kuru. It begins with echoes of Pygmalion but ends as a story about something else entirely.
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The Long Read Club @longreadsclub.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Another long read 🦉 recommendation from @newyorker.com. This piece comes from the writer @rachelaviv.bsky.social. It is a real masterpiece. #LongReadClub #SaturdayRead www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
newyorker.com
The Children a Scientist Took Home
Carleton Gajdusek won the Nobel Prize for his work on a disease in Papua New Guinea. But his biggest experiment was on the children he took back to the U.S.
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Reuters @reuters.com · 29/08/2026
Hungry bears wander into US West homes, shops in record numbers reut.rs/3Ufuz9U
reut.rs
Hungry bears wander into US West homes, shops in record numbers
Matt Errico was sitting on the toilet when he heard noises in his Colorado home.
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
#saturdayread
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Paul Guinnessy @paulguinnessy.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
The Epic of Gilgamesh is quite long, and you could almost consider it a collection of books, but it's also as old as the pyramids and as this review of it suggests, a fascinating reflection on how to face morality. #LongReadClub
astralcodexten.com
Your Book Review: The Epic Of Gilgamesh
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The Long Read Club @longreadsclub.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
This epic feature about the psychological, historical, and personal realities of living with facial disfigurement was originally published by Mosaic, a now-defunct science publication from @wellcometrust.bsky.social. Written and by Chicago journalist @neilsteinberg.bsky.social. #LongReadClub 🦉🆓
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The Long Read Club @longreadsclub.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
A slow burner that gradually answers the question of why a man left his girlfriend on the top of a mountain. #LongReadClub www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
newyorker.com
Did a Climber Leave His Girlfriend to Die at the Top of a Mountain?
An Austrian court pieces together the mysterious circumstances of a couple’s disastrous hike.
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
If you love 5,000-word essays, brilliant journalism, and deep non-fiction, I just created a new space for us! 🦉Follow @longreadsclub.bsky.social for the web's best long-form stories. No clickbait, just deep dives. Join the chat & share your finds using #LongReadClub.
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
If you love 5,000-word essays, brilliant journalism, and deep non-fiction, I just created a new space for us! 🦉Follow @longreadsclub.bsky.social for the web's best long-form stories. No clickbait, just deep dives. Join the chat & share your finds using #LongReadClub.
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Matthew Kavanagh @matthewkavanagh.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
The median household income in the US is $83,730. The average patient in the trial stayed in the drug about 8 months. So new drug costs at least 4x the average US household makes before taxes. Reminder: Monopolies vis patent are NOT the only way to incentivize research.
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Fascinating piece. 🎁 giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Europe can do better than US-style air conditioning
giftarticle.ft.com
Europe can do better than US-style air conditioning
The instinct is to bolt a dripping box to every building but there is a smarter, cooler way
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
New survey shows that American drinking remains at a record low. Dive into the details of why here: overmatter.substack.com/p/american-b...
overmatter.substack.com
American boomers were drinking for two-and covering the signs of a generation that stopped drinking.
Between 2000 and 2016 binge drinking rose fastest in the over-65s
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Reminds me of the race to decode the genome when scientists just decided to declare success even though it would take years to truly get what was agreed to be a complete sequence. the-decoder.com/sam-altman-s...
the-decoder.com
Sam Altman says OpenAI will have AGI by the end of 2026 if you accept his definition
OpenAI's leadership believes AGI is within reach, according to a TIME report. The company's upcoming model Astra already works as an automated research intern, according to chief scientist Jakub Pacho...
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
New survey shows that American drinking remains at a record low. Dive into the details of why here: overmatter.substack.com/p/american-b...
overmatter.substack.com
American boomers were drinking for two-and covering the signs of a generation that stopped drinking.
Between 2000 and 2016 binge drinking rose fastest in the over-65s
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
A new narrative review warns that the risks of online “research” peptides may lie as much in the supply chain as in the molecule: identity, potency, sterility and self-injection. My look at the evidence base for one, BPC-157, made for grimly funny reading overmatter.substack.com/p/in-brief-3...
overmatter.substack.com
In Brief #3: BPC-157 and the rise of vibes-based medicine
What convinced an advisory panel that BPC-157 deserves wider access? A sciencing revolution!
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
The company behind this drug wants almost $40K for a month's supply or $480K a year. Deeply disappointing. H/t @endpts.com
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Natasha Loder @natashaloder.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
And now the bad news. I’ve just heard that the company behind this drug wants almost $40K for a month's supply or $480K a year. Deeply disappointing. H/t @endpts.com
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