There’s New Evidence for How Loneliness Affects Memory in Old Age A longitudinal study found that loneliness is more closely linked to lapses in immediate and delayed recall than to the overall speed of cognitive decline.

A longitudinal study found that loneliness is closely linked to lapses in immediate and delayed recall.
www.wired.com/story/theres...

This Beanie Is Designed to Read Your Thoughts California-based startup Sabi is developing a thought-to-text wearable that could usher in the cyborg future.

California-based startup Sabi is developing a thought-to-text wearable that could usher in the cyborg future. www.wired.com/story/this-b...

Opinion | GLP-1 Experimentation Is Everywhere, and Science Can’t Keep Up (Gift Article) Millions of Americans are experimenting with the drugs. Science can’t keep up.

Terrific @nytimes.com piece on the new GLP-1s by my friend @juliabelluz.bsky.social.

They started as diabetes drugs, and are now used for weight loss, very successully.

But they offer promise for a HUGE range of diseases & conditions.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

very interesting tool for comparing by country and by time

really smart analysis about the wellness/wearable hype cycle

Bicycling increases and crash rates decline in cities that invest in cycling infrastructure.

Ralph Buehler, J. Pucher, et al. (2026), "Cycling in New York, London, Paris, and Berlin" International Journal of Sustainable Transport (www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/15568318.2026.2649315)

Ultra-processed foods and human health: the main thesis and the evidence This first paper in a three-part Lancet Series combines narrative and systematic reviews with original analyses and meta-analyses to assess three hypotheses concerning a dietary pattern based on ultra...

Another article getting a lot of attention in our newsletter last week was this excellent review, by @carlos-monteiro.bsky.social and colleagues, on the scientific evidence related to ultraprocessed foods: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

The Measure of Everything Medicine has a word for what ails it. It's not burnout.

One of the popular items from our newsletter last week was this piece, from Bryan Vartabedian, relating Julian Baggini's concept of instrumentalization to his own experience in health care:
liminalmd.substack.com/p/the-measur...

The most popular story from our newsletter last week was the essay we featured, from Julian Baggini in @aeon.co, that looks at the increasing practice of doing everything for the wrong reasons -- such as socializing for the health benefits:
aeon.co/essays/instr...

How the Apple Watch defined modern health tech You can trace the state of health tech today to this single gadget.

How the Apple Watch defined modern health tech

Maybe doing things for health’s sake actually takes us off track. For our latest newsletter, we explore philosopher Julian Baggini’s essay on how so much today is seen through the lens of what benefits it will bring, rather than for its intrinsic value.
mailchi.mp/ff7f57a63af0...

Utrecht to start construction on largest car-free neighborhood in the country next week Construction of a new neighborhood is set to begin in Utrecht next week. The neighborhood, called Merwede, is scheduled to be the largest car-free district in the Netherlands, with 6,000 homes. The ar...

In case you missed it, Utrecht, Netherlands has begun building the largest Dutch “car-free” neighbourhood.

12K people
6K homes
1.8K social rental homes
1.5 mid-range rental & affordable owner-occupied homes
21.5K bike parking spaces
250 shared cars
2 parcel hubs
Parking structures on the edge.

really well done

In defense of social friction Sycophantic AI distorts social judgments and behaviors

Sycophantic AI distorts social judgments & behaviors
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

"How should immediate psychological gratification—from affirming moral responses to an artificial companion—be weighed against longer-term individual and collective outcomes?"

and then there's the whole "bad for society, but works for me" externality dynamic

Meta ordered to pay $375m after being found liable in child exploitation case New Mexico hails ‘historic’ win after jury finds firm misled consumers over safety and enabled harm against users

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

How a 'Universal Basic Neighborhood' Can Help Americans Live Longer — Streetsblog USA Want to increase your chances of living to 80? A new paper argues we need to start with our neighborhoods — and we need to do it for everybody.

Want to increase your chances of living to 80? A new paper argues we need to start with our neighborhoods — and we need to do it for everybody.

A Classic Childhood Pastime Is Fading Kids on bikes once filled the streets. Not anymore.

The number of kids riding bikes by themselves has dropped by half since the 1990s. Less than 5% ride their bikes "frequently"... www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...

6 in 10 women will develop heart disease or stroke by 2050, heart association projects “We're just setting up a generation of people to move through life, having their cardiovascular events earlier and more severe."

Projection doesn't factor in GLP-1s, so likely a high estimate, but even so -- unconscionably high. We have to do better.

www.statnews.com/2026/02/25/h...

Opinion | Your salted caramel mocha latte is destroying society Edmund Burke would have had thoughts about the consumption of that vanilla sweet cream nitro cold brew.

Also popular in our newsletter last week, which delved into the nutritional qualities of Dunkin's frozen coffees, was this piece, from Jakub Grygiel, with a bit of an, um, different take on corporate societal impact:

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

The most popular item in our newsletter last week was this report, from the Dutch Cycling Embassy @dutchcycling.nl on lessons from how the Netherlands became a cycling paradise.

dutchcycling.nl/wp-content/u...

My Year as a Degenerate Sports Gambler Practically overnight, America made wagering on a game as frictionless as checking the weather. I was determined to understand the consequences—for my country, and for myself.

If you’re curious about how products and services can shape behavior, here’s an instant classic: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...

The Protein-Bar Delusion Americans are eating candy in disguise.

www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/...

featuring work from @hbottemiller.bsky.social, @annawiener.bsky.social and @dutchcycling.nl, among others

RFK Jr. created an uproar when he went after New England favorite Dunkin’, questioning whether their sugary frozen coffee drinks are safe. In our latest newsletter we look into the thorny questions that revolve around concepts of ingredient safety and health -- and more mailchi.mp/274d724fd9a7...

My latest on the science of #sleep for @fastcompany.com

Why food justice isn’t being served in America | Hanna Garth Advocates often assume communities of color just don’t know any better when it comes to eating healthy

Excellent piece on why "educating" people on eating healthy is often barking up the wrong tree (spoiler alert: it's the food environment)
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Can GLP-1 drugs treat addiction? A new study hints at their potential A large epidemiological study of more than 600,000 veterans with diabetes suggests GLP-1 weight-loss medications may reduce drug- and alcohol-related overdoses and deaths

A large epidemiological study of more than 600,000 veterans with diabetes suggests GLP-1 weight-loss medications may reduce drug- and alcohol-related overdoses and deaths

article shows the complexity of food ingredient regulation -- especially when ingredients might be "generally recognized as safe" at reasonable doses but not at much higher doses

New meta-analysis of 26 published studies concludes that AVs will lead people to use cars a lot more — which would thicken congestion and worsen pollution (even if AVs are electric).

"AV deployment is anticipated to lead to an overall increase in Vehicle Miles Traveled."

doi.org/10.1016/j.tb...