Favorites March 23rd 2022

Kim-Mai Cutler @kimmaicutler

Moderna @moderna_tx

We're announcing positive interim data from the Phase 2/3 KidCOVE study of our #COVID19 vaccine (mRNA-1273) in children 6 months to under 2 years and 2 years to under 6 years of age. https://t.co/CqdRMSv3Kv https://t.co/whcObVY4CD

YES! Finally!

Matthew Herper @matthewherper

A lesson from Covid. Do. Clinical. Trials. Better. By me.

statnews.comNew Covid trial results may point toward better ways to study medicinesThe battle against Covid-19 has been marked by false hope, as too many people embraced would-be cures. But there have also been important lessons about how to develop effective treatments.

If I'm understanding the article correctly, it seems that the main improvement of the 'platform trials' is that they trial multiple drugs in one trial, using a shared placebo group. The reason it's not done more: "Drug companies tend to want to avoid studies that allow their medicines to be compared so easily to one another".

Caleb Watney @calebwatney

If the @binarybits theory that Waymo needs to have essentially mastered SF city center conditions to be deployed profitably anywhere is correct... then this is a significant milestone. arstechnica.com/cars/2021/05/w…

Brent Skorup @bskorup

Waymo says the company "is ready to remove safety drivers from its autonomous vehicles in San Francisco." https://t.co/YDNRRHZ6iH

@binarybits responds that he's definitely interested to see if Waymo now begins to expand.

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

Fantastic @cleoabram video on energy abundance with a little appearance from yours truly.

youtube.comWhy we need to use more energy, not less… I’ve been thinking about energy use all wrong. Subscribe to support Huge If True, an optimistic tech show.As long as most of our energy still comes from fo...

Oh exciting, a crossover event! Clean energy should be thought of as an opportunity for using *more* energy, improving life for people more.

Rob Lee @RALee85

Keep in mind that the 120 BTGs that were assembled for the invasion had approximately 85,000-95,000 troops + Rosgvardia/separatist forces. The rest of the figure comes from support units. The BTGs have sustained most of these casualties, possibly as much as 1/3rd of their troops.

Bloomberg @business

A senior NATO military officer says the alliance estimates that Russia has suffered between 30,000 and 40,000 battlefield casualties in Ukraine through the first month of the war, including between 7,000 and 15,000 killed (via AP) https://t.co/POtDVjI7pK

It's really not clear how Russia will even be able to occupy the territory it's already captured if losses like this continue. Also, Ukraine has turned over a 'Krasukha-4 mobile electronic warfare system' that they captured for analysis to the US.

Reva J. Resstack @RResstack

🇺🇦 🇦🇫 If the U.S. were to increase refugee resettlement by 10%, GDP would increase by $1.4 billion. 🔍New @CGDev blog on why welcoming #refugees is also an economic investment, based on.. cgdev.org/blog/welcoming…

cgdev.orgWelcoming Refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine Is Also an Economic InvestmentThe United States was once a major haven for refugees fleeing violent persecution overseas. Today it is much diminished. The US severely restricted refugee resettlement beginning in 2017. Annual refugee arrivals plummeted by 86 percent by fiscal year 2020—almost all before the pandemic. It is a door…

Bringing in refugees actually increases GDP *per capita* "in part because they are more likely to be working age than natives". So far the US has let in seven (7) Ukranian refugees.

Erik Brynjolfsson @erikbryn

If @GavinNewsom wants to lower gas prices shouldn't the $400 go to folks who *don't* own a car? #incentives

Ashley Zavala @ZavalaA

BREAKING: Gov. Gavin Newsom proposes sending $400 debit cards to California car owners in response to rising gas prices. Each individual could get up to 2 payments, families who own more than one car would be capped at 2 cars. Eligibility based on car registration, not income.

This seems like a bad idea on like, basic econ 101 principles. Even the non-economists are pointing out this is dumb.

Randall Munroe @xkcd

Salary Negotiation xkcd.com/2597

• Long thread detailing how Russia ended up with a military made up largely of ethnic minorities.

• Thread concerning diving through ownership and staffing to show that one of the worlds largest yachts, currently docked in Italy, is actually Putin's. Also, on a related note, business insider reports that 'the yachting industry is pretty scared'.

• Explanation of why Europe has gotten stuck in negotiations over sanctions and a proposal for how to move forward with sanctions on Russia's oil/gas exports.

Istanbul, August 2019