Asimov Press

They announce a pause and tease upcoming longform articles and a hardcover book. The founder recounts starting the press and lessons learned running a small publishing operation. Highlights include standout essays that influenced policy and research, a DNA-encoded book project, team growth and readership metrics. There is reflection on the joy of deep reporting and hopes for future leadership.

Alvin Djajadikerta, writer on tech and scientific progress, explores how AI could enable true paradigm shifts. He contrasts exhaustive data mapping with simpler, more useful schematics. He examines why current AIs replicate existing frameworks, how historical breakthroughs arose, and proposes deliberate AI designs and metascience experiments to foster disruptive science.

We tend to think of fermented foods as something humans invented and then chose to eat. But the evidence shows the opposite: fermented foods shaped human biology. By Rachel Dutton.Read all our work at press.asimov.com.

A cultural history of why white lab coats became a cleanliness symbol in medicine and science. Stories trace surgeons swapping stained frocks for washable white garments to attract patients. Art and mass production helped normalize the look. The narrative also surveys safety failures, experimental textiles, and efforts to redesign protective wear for function over tradition.

A deep dive into why oral GLP-1 pills are hard to make and why patients prefer them over injections. The science of peptide degradation and clever molecular tweaks that extended drug half life. How oral semaglutide uses a co‑formulation to sneak past the stomach. Radical ideas like edible microbes and spirulina as low‑cost peptide factories. Regulatory and cost hurdles for making oral GLP‑1s widely available.

A stealthy phage called Phi-80 and how it quietly spreads through research labs. Why common lab practices like P1 transduction can unknowingly ferry contaminants. The limits of standard sequencing to spot hidden viral hitchhikers. How unnoticed infections can wreck experiments and lead to misleading results.

They explore why viral capsids often form icosahedral shapes and how geometric packing drives that convergence. They discuss genetic economy and symmetry reducing the number of required genes. They cover Caspar‑Klug theory, triangulation numbers, and historical discoveries from TMV studies. They also touch on exceptions, viral tiling theory, and applications like virus‑like particles and engineered protein cages.

A medieval royal's mutilated burial is investigated using cutting-edge bioarchaeology. Scientists trace diet, origins, and dating through isotopes and radiocarbon methods. Ancient DNA and Y-chromosome matches reveal dynastic links. Trauma analysis and weapon signatures reconstruct a violent ambush and likely attackers. The story shows how bones can expose hidden political violence from the past.

How a twisted triangle of glass tubing helped democratize chemistry and build the modern laboratory. By Spencer Wright.Read all our work for free at press.asimov.com.

What happens in a world where AIs make scientific discoveries that humans cannot understand? By Matthew CarterRead all our work at press.asimov.com.