Some verifiably false ideas about basic biology remain commonly accepted in the field, and will need to be reinvestigated for progress to continue.
I would love to hear more of your thoughts on this.
As for the grad student debt issue, most major research universities in the USA pay students in doctoral programs. It is very much possible to obtain a PhD in the life sciences or bioengineering with zero debt, if you have good spending habits while in school.
At a major research university in a cheap medium-sized town (at least compared to where I grew up) I am saving 25% of my income—though once one of my fellowships wears off that will probably drop to 10% or less unless I change my spending habits.
I would love to hear more of your thoughts on this.
I’ve been planning on writing some articles on here, but I don’t feel comfortable throwing out outlandish statements without explaining all of my reasoning and evidence in detail… and I don’t have time to do so yet. This is a project at least on the order of the Timeless Physics sequences.
This is just the tip of the iceberg but one thing I have been looking at recently is Gilbert Ling’s Association-Induction hypothesis which is centered around the idea that gel-like phase shifts in the cytoplasm are central to regulating and fueling many biological reactions. Initially this came from his observation that poisoning energy production in cells doesn’t destroy ion partitioning, they still retain potassium and exclude sodium. He also found that if you slice cells in half, or otherwise remove or destroy the membrane in many different ways, this ion partitioning persists. It seems to be supported by an incredible amount of empirical evidence, yet is virtually unknown. There was some mainstream debate in the 1970s but the idea seems to have faded away without any convincing evidence against it. I think this could be partly due to Ling’s attitude of “everything you know is wrong, and the stuff you’re studying doesn’t even exist,” which is hard for other scientists to stomach. Personally I think his discoveries are better viewed as additional phenomena within the cell, rather than in opposition to other discoveries. The book “Cells, Gels and the Engines of Life” by Gerald Pollack (Amazon Link) is a relatively recent, and easy to read introduction to this idea.
Are you familiar with this idea, and if so what is your opinion?
I would love to hear more of your thoughts on this.
At a major research university in a cheap medium-sized town (at least compared to where I grew up) I am saving 25% of my income—though once one of my fellowships wears off that will probably drop to 10% or less unless I change my spending habits.
I’ve been planning on writing some articles on here, but I don’t feel comfortable throwing out outlandish statements without explaining all of my reasoning and evidence in detail… and I don’t have time to do so yet. This is a project at least on the order of the Timeless Physics sequences.
This is just the tip of the iceberg but one thing I have been looking at recently is Gilbert Ling’s Association-Induction hypothesis which is centered around the idea that gel-like phase shifts in the cytoplasm are central to regulating and fueling many biological reactions. Initially this came from his observation that poisoning energy production in cells doesn’t destroy ion partitioning, they still retain potassium and exclude sodium. He also found that if you slice cells in half, or otherwise remove or destroy the membrane in many different ways, this ion partitioning persists. It seems to be supported by an incredible amount of empirical evidence, yet is virtually unknown. There was some mainstream debate in the 1970s but the idea seems to have faded away without any convincing evidence against it. I think this could be partly due to Ling’s attitude of “everything you know is wrong, and the stuff you’re studying doesn’t even exist,” which is hard for other scientists to stomach. Personally I think his discoveries are better viewed as additional phenomena within the cell, rather than in opposition to other discoveries. The book “Cells, Gels and the Engines of Life” by Gerald Pollack (Amazon Link) is a relatively recent, and easy to read introduction to this idea.
Are you familiar with this idea, and if so what is your opinion?