Science

Today, I’m thrilled to share what I believe is the biggest breakthrough in microbiome science for a decade. Nature Magazine, the world's most influential scientific journal, has just published a scientific paper by ZOE's scientists, establishing the first reliable, repeatable, global way to measure the health of an individual’s gut microbiome. It represents the culmination of eight years of work at ZOE. Scientists have been trying to solve this puzzle for more than 20 years, right back to when they first discovered how important our gut microbes are for our health. It’s been achieved only because more than 34,000 ZOE members took part in this research. We’ve known for a long time that the microbiome is linked to cholesterol, inflammation, blood sugar control and even how we store fat. But we’ve never had a clear, evidence-based way to measure how healthy a microbiome actually is. This analysis finally delivers it, revealing a global ranking of microbes that works across populations, diets and environments. The insights are remarkable. Among the top 50 “good microbes” linked with better health, 22 were completely unknown to science until today, and most of the others have never been successfully grown in a lab. We also discovered clear links between these good microbes and health outcomes: healthy individuals carry around 3.6 more of these beneficial species, and people at a healthy weight carry about 5.2 more than those living with obesity. We also found a strong connection to diet. People eating healthier diets consistently have microbiomes that score better on this ranking. What we eat shapes our gut health, and now we can measure this relationship with unprecedented clarity. ZOE was created to enable microbiome research at a scale that traditional science has been unable to fund, and use this research to create actionable advice that can transform our gut health. This is a major milestone in that journey. I’m delighted to say that as a result, this breakthrough science is immediately available for the public to investigate their own microbiome through ZOE’s new Gut Health Test in the UK, and this is coming soon in the US. You can now receive not only a reliable measurement of how healthy your microbiome is as you change their diet, but also discover the health of clusters of gut microbes in your gut affecting metabolism, inflammation and more. To all our amazing ZOE members who have participated in our science: you made this possible. You are transforming our understanding of the microbiome. Thank you so much. I hope you feel as proud and excited as I do. I should note that your research is now published in Nature, which is the ultimate scientific accolade, and you can definitely brag about that with your friends! If you think this science could help others understand their health, I’d love for you to share it. You’ll find links to more details from our findings and access to the paper in the comments.

MIT just cleared 50% of Alzheimer's plaques using 40 Hz sound waves. No drugs. No surgery. Just precisely engineered frequencies making immune cells devour toxic proteins. Frequency is becoming medicine's most powerful tool. Think about that. While we've spent decades failing with Alzheimer's drugs, MIT researchers discovered something extraordinary: exposing brains to 40 Hz gamma frequencies activates microglia—the brain's cleanup crew—to clear amyloid plaques naturally. Mice regained memory. Human trials are showing promise. This isn't alternative medicine. It's FDA-approved precision. Traditional Brain Treatment: ↳ Invasive surgery with months of recovery ↳ Drugs that barely slow decline ↳ Blood-brain barrier blocking 98% of medications ↳ Essential tremor requiring skull opening The Frequency Revolution: ↳ 60% tremor reduction in one ultrasound session ↳ Same-day discharge, no incisions ↳ Drug delivery increased 5-fold to brain tumors ↳ 90+ clinical trials transforming neurology But here's what stopped me cold: Focused ultrasound doesn't destroy tissue—it tunes it. Opening the blood-brain barrier for exactly 4 hours to deliver chemotherapy. Synchronizing neurons at 40 Hz to trigger natural healing. Making Parkinson's tremors vanish while patients stay awake, go home that afternoon. We're not attacking disease anymore. We're conducting it away. What changes everything: ↳ Brain surgery without cutting ↳ Alzheimer's clearing without drugs ↳ Tumors targeted without systemic poison ↳ Healing through harmony, not harm The Multiplication Effect: 1 frequency device = surgery avoided 10 hospitals equipped = tremor wards emptying 100 conditions targeted = non-invasive becomes standard At scale = medicine's violent era ends Stanford uses ultrasound for depression. Johns Hopkins for addiction. Mayo Clinic for brain tumors. Each discovering that precisely tuned frequencies can reprogram biology better than any drug. We spent centuries cutting and poisoning disease. Now we're tuning it out of existence. Because when 40 Hz can clear plaques that billion-dollar drugs couldn't touch, and ultrasound can perform brain surgery without a scalpel, we're not just advancing medicine. We're using medical precision. Follow me, Dr. Martha Boeckenfeld for breakthroughs where physics becomes pharmacy. ♻️ Share if you want other to learn about new possibilities to fight Alzheimer. Resources: Gamma frequency entrainment attenuates amyloid load and modifies microglia" Authors: Li-Huei Tsai et al. NatureDecember 2016 DOI: 10.1038/nature20587. Gamma frequency sensory stimulation in mild probable Alzheimer’s dementia: Phase 2A pilot study" PLOS Biology, November 30, 2022 Evidence that 40Hz gamma stimulation promotes brain health,” Li-Huei Tsai, PLOS Biology, 2025.

Most companies take days to make product decisions. We do it in 10 minutes. At Duolingo, Product Review (PR) is the heartbeat of our product development – and probably our most important meeting (of course, I’m biased!). When I joined Duolingo almost ten years ago, product decisions happened casually, often in informal chats at our desks. It worked for a while, but as we grew, it became a mess – key stakeholders were left out, and sometimes it wasn't clear if decisions were final or just thoughts. Over the years, we’ve transformed Product Review into a structured, efficient process that helps us move fast while also maintaining the bar for quality in our product. Here's how our Product Review works: -Each proposal gets exactly 10 minutes (down from 20, initially). The rationale for this length is because we want people to have clear, concise, and strong convictions. This saves time, but it also ensures what they are presenting is something they believe in. Luis von Ahn, our CEO, attends every single meeting. -We have three review formats based on the development stage: one-pager reviews for initial ideas, 1.5-pager reviews for concepts with rough designs, and spec reviews for fully fleshed-out features. -Reviewers are clearly marked and give feedback in a specific order, creating structure. (We also periodically switch up who the key reviewers are.) The meetings are open to anyone in the company. Beyond transparency, this serves as a training ground for developing product sense. -After each two-hour block of reviews, we hold a 15-minute debrief to evaluate decisions and continuously improve the process itself. The result? Fast decisions – but also enough structure to maintain our standard of quality across the app. Here’s a 1.5-pager from Emilia Cabrera, a product manager on our team, about an improvement for our streak session end screen. #productmanagement

We’re planting trees — but losing biodiversity. Global efforts to restore forests are gathering pace, driven by promises of combating climate change, conserving biodiversity, and improving livelihoods. Yet a recent paper published in Nature Reviews Biodiversity warns that the biodiversity gains from these initiatives are often overstated — and sometimes absent altogether. Forest restoration is at the heart of Target 2 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which aims to place 30% of degraded ecosystems under effective restoration by 2030. But the gap between ambition and outcome is wide. "Biodiversity will remain a vague buzzword rather than an actual outcome" unless projects explicitly prioritize it, the authors caution. Restoration has typically prioritized utilitarian goals such as timber production, carbon sequestration, or erosion control. This bias is reflected in the widespread use of monoculture plantations or low-diversity agroforests. Nearly half of the Bonn Challenge’s forest commitments consist of commercial plantations of exotic species — a trend that risks undermining biodiversity rather than enhancing it. Scientific evidence shows that restoring biodiversity requires more than planting trees. Methods like natural regeneration — allowing forests to recover on their own — can often yield superior biodiversity outcomes, though they face social and economic barriers. By contrast, planting a few fast-growing species may sequester carbon quickly but offers little for threatened plants and animals. Biodiversity recovery is influenced by many factors: the intensity of prior land use, the surrounding landscape, and the species chosen for restoration. Recovery is slow — often measured in decades — and tends to lag for rare and specialist species. Alarmingly, most projects stop monitoring after just a few years, long before ecosystems stabilize. However, the authors say there are reasons for optimism. Biodiversity markets, including emerging biodiversity credit schemes and carbon credits with biodiversity safeguards, could mobilize new financing. Meanwhile, technologies like environmental DNA sampling, bioacoustics, and remote sensing promise to improve monitoring at scale. To turn good intentions into reality, the paper argues, projects must define explicit biodiversity goals, select suitable methods, and commit to long-term monitoring. Social equity must also be central. "Improving biodiversity outcomes of forest restoration… could contribute to mitigating power asymmetries and inequalities," the authors write, citing examples from Madagascar and Brazil. If designed well, forest restoration could help address the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. But without a deliberate shift, billions of dollars risk being spent on projects that plant trees — and little else. 🔬 Brancalion et al (2025): https://lnkd.in/gG6X36WP

The impact of climate change on the SDGs 🌎 The latest State of the Global Climate 2024 report from WMO provides a clear assessment of how accelerating climate change is affecting global stability. With 2024 recorded as the hottest year on record—1.55°C above pre-industrial levels—the implications extend far beyond temperature increases. The findings highlight the direct and systemic risks climate change poses to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Rising temperatures, ocean acidification, sea-level rise, and glacial melt are driving widespread environmental and socio-economic disruptions. These changes are not occurring in isolation; they are interconnected, amplifying existing challenges related to food security (SDG 2), water availability (SDG 6), economic resilience (SDG 8), and biodiversity loss (SDGs 14 & 15). Ocean changes are among the most critical risks. Increasing ocean temperatures and acidification are disrupting marine ecosystems, reducing fish stocks, and weakening the ocean’s ability to act as a carbon sink. This has significant consequences for coastal communities, food security, and global supply chains. Glacial loss and sea-level rise are reshaping landscapes, affecting infrastructure, water resources, and human settlements. Coastal erosion, land degradation, and increased flooding threaten urban development (SDG 11), economic productivity (SDG 9), and disaster resilience (SDG 13). These impacts also contribute to population displacement, further straining social and economic systems. The increase in extreme weather events, from heatwaves to hurricanes, is exacerbating global inequality. Agricultural losses, infrastructure damage, and rising adaptation costs are disproportionately affecting developing regions, slowing progress toward economic stability, sustainable production, and resource security (SDGs 8 & 12). The WMO report emphasizes that while exceeding 1.5°C in a single year does not mean the Paris Agreement target has been breached, the trend underscores the urgency of reducing emissions and strengthening adaptation strategies. Without immediate action, climate risks will continue to escalate, undermining progress toward the SDGs and increasing long-term economic and environmental costs. Addressing these challenges requires systemic policy shifts, investment in climate resilience, and cross-sector collaboration. As climate change intensifies, integrating sustainability into decision-making at all levels will be essential to mitigating risks and safeguarding global development objectives. Source: State of the Global Climate 2024 #sustainability #sustainable #business #esg #climatechange #sdgs

What happens when companies break their climate promises? Almost nothing. A new study has uncovered troubling truths about corporate climate commitments. Out of 1,041 companies with emissions reduction targets set for 2020: -9% (88 firms) openly failed to meet their goals. -31% (320 firms) stopped reporting on their targets without explanation. What happens when companies miss these targets? Practically no consequences: -Only three failed companies faced media scrutiny. -No significant market backlash, media sentiment shifts, or ESG rating downgrades. In contrast, companies were rewarded with positive press and improved ESG ratings simply for announcing these targets. The bigger issue: This accountability gap threatens the credibility of ambitious 2030 and 2050 climate pledges. Unlike financial targets, which are rigorously monitored, emissions goals often exist in a vacuum—without oversight or real consequences for failure. Interestingly, the study found that: -Firms in common-law countries and those with stronger media accountability had better success rates. -High-emitting sectors like energy and materials struggled the most, with the highest rates of "disappeared" targets. With more companies backing away from climate action, we cannot afford to let this cycle continue. It’s time for corporate sustainability leadership to move beyond announcements and deliver measurable, transparent results. Accountability mechanisms—demanded by both regulators and stakeholders are urgently needed. A great piece of work by Xiaoyan Jiang, Shawn Kim, and Shirley Simiao Lu! Let’s learn from these insights to ensure that corporate climate pledges actually deliver. #climatechange #netzero #esg

‘As the climate crisis intensifies, professionals involved with the oil and gas industry must adopt an ethical position to mitigate further death and destruction. New fossil fuel developments in oil, gas, and coal extraction cannot be justified, scientifically or ethically, given the crisis that threatens our existence. Tackling climate change upstream is vital to protect public health, but as of mid 2022, almost 50 new UK developments are thought to be in the pipeline. Preventive actions are needed by professionals working in and consulting for the industry—lawyers, insurers, environmental impact assessors, environmental scientists, engineers, chemists, geologists, planners, economists, and bankers... Some engineers have argued their profession should have “a declaration of climate action” linked to a code of ethics, with strict standards and sanctions for non-compliance, but this approach remains the exception in the oil and gas industry rather than the rule.’ Good to see more discussion of the need for professions to adapt codes of ethics in relation to the work they do and it’s impact on the climate crisis. As well as the most direct polluting industries, this approach should also apply to sustainability practitioners and consultants whose work should not be to protect incumbent industries or limited to incremental improvements, but should be to lead the transformation towards models within planetary limits. Whose skills should be used for the commons, not the complicit. The professionalisation of sustainability work is leading us further and further from the core climate and nature work we should be doing. https://t.co/XRFOtXv0pa

In Okinawa, Japan, the average life expectancy is 84 years. In India, it's 67 years. That’s 17 years of missed birthdays, moments, and memories. Why? The secret isn’t medicine or money. It’s small, daily habits that protect the body and mind over time. ▶︎ 1. They eat until 80% full It’s called ‘Hara Hachi Bu’. No overeating. No “clean your plate” pressure. It gives their metabolism less to process - and reduces inflammation over time. ▶︎ 2. Daily movement is built into life They follow the principle of ‘Karada O Ugokasu’ - “move your body naturally.” Instead of formal exercise, they walk to visit neighbors, and tend gardens every day. The goal isn’t intensity. It’s consistency through natural motion. ▶︎ 3. Plant-heavy, simple meals Okinawans follow the ‘Washoku tradition’ - a traditional Japanese eating style focused on balance, seasonality, and variety. Their plates are small. Their portions are modest. Even chopsticks help - slowing down eating and reducing bite sizes. ▶︎ 4. Strong community ties They have ‘Moai’ - tight-knit social groups that support each other for life. This community helps lower stress, strengthens immunity, and is linked to reduced risk of chronic disease and early death. ▶︎ 5. Purpose beyond work They call it Ikigai - a reason to get up each morning. Whether it’s mentoring younger generations, work, art, or caring for plants - they stay mentally and emotionally engaged well into their 90s. The result? Lower rates of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and depression - even in their 90s. Remember, none of this requires more money or more effort. Just small shifts in how we live each day. Hit repost 🔁 if this made you rethink your habits. Someone in your connections might need that nudge too. #health #wellness #longevity

Google DeepMind’s AI Co-Scientist paper was just released, and you should check it out! It represents a paradigm shift in scientific discovery, leveraging a multi-agent system built on Gemini 2.0 to autonomously generate, refine, and validate new research hypotheses. 🔹How does it work? Well the system uses a generate, debate, and evolve framework, where distinct agents called Generation, Reflection, Ranking, Evolution, Proximity, and Meta-Review, collaborate in an iterative hypothesis refinement loop. 🔹Some key innovations that pop out include an asynchronous task execution framework, which enables dynamic allocation of computational resources, and a tournament-based Elo ranking system that continuously optimizes hypothesis quality through simulated scientific debates. 🔹The agentic orchestration accelerates hypothesis validation for processes that take humans decades in some instance. For example empirical validation in biomedical applications, such as drug repurposing for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and epigenetic target discovery for liver fibrosis, quickly helped researchers generate clinically relevant insights. What should we all get from this? 🔸Unlike traditional AI-assisted research tools, AI Co-Scientist doesn’t summarize existing knowledge but instead proposes experimentally testable, original hypotheses, fundamentally reshaping the research paradigm by acting as an intelligent collaborator that augments human scientific inquiry. Do take some time this Sunday to read! #genai #technology #artificialintelligence

We may be standing at a moment in time for Quantum Computing that mirrors the 2017 breakthrough on transformers – a spark that ignited the generative AI revolution 5 years later. With recent advancements from Google, Microsoft, IBM and Amazon in developing more powerful and stable quantum chips, the trajectory of QC is accelerating faster than many of us expected.   Google’s Sycamore and next gen Willow chips are demonstrating increasing fidelity. Microsoft’s pursuit of topological qubits using Majorana particles promises longer coherence times and IBM’s roadmap is pushing towards modular error corrected systems. These aren’t just incremental steps, they are setting the stage for scalable, fault tolerant quantum machines.   Quantum systems excel at simulating the behavior of molecules and materials at atomic scale, solving optimization problems with exponentially large solution spaces and modeling complex probabilistic systems – tasks that could take classical supercomputers millennia. For example, accurately simulating protein folding or discovering new catalysts for carbon capture are well within quantum’s potential reach.   If scalable QC is just five years away, now is the time to ask : What would you do differently today, if quantum was real tomorrow ?. That question isn’t hypothetical – it’s an invitation to start rethinking foundational problems in chemistry, logistics, finance, AI and cryptography.   Of course building quantum systems is notoriously hard. Fragile qubits, error correction and decoherence remain formidable challenges. But globally public and private institutions are pouring resources into cracking these problems. I was in LA today visiting the famous USC Information Sciences Institute where cutting edge work on QC is underway and the energy is palpable.   This feels like a pivotal moment. One where future shaping ideas are being tested in real labs. Just as with AI, the future belongs to those preparing for it now. QC Is an area of emphasis at Visa Research and I hope it is part of how other organizations are thinking about the future too.