Glory Season by David Brin (1993)

I started reading this book when it came out but I got busy and never finished.  Some of the politics, sociology, and biology are highly relevant 31 years later.  Other ideas are dated and irrelevant today.  I did not enjoy the detailed metaphors in the Conway's Game of Life variant of core wars game that took up a ot of the story.  Some of the female characters are not compelling. 3/5 Stars.

Not Till We Are Lost: Bobiverse, Book 5, Audiobook (2024)

I like the Bobiverse books.  This one rambled in too many details of too many different B plots and threads that were too esoteric.  All-in-all, the story is still a fun romp, reminiscent of  the fun light books that Robert A Heinlein wrote towards the end of his career.  Taylor introduces new technology in the bobiverse magic system and new existential threats to all life in the galaxy to keep his "space opera vibe" going.  4/5 Stars.

Less toxic & more-effective nanoparticulate MRNA vaccines & therapeutics

Everyone has personal experience with the  'miracle" vaccines used from 2019 - 2021.  The MRNA delivery mechanism for those and other MRNA medications uses nanoparticles in which the MRNA is embedded.  These nanoparticles can cross the cell membrane about 7% of the time so relatively large doses are needed for delivery.  These nanoparticles are also highly toxic and cause severe side effects that are frequently as bad or worse than the ailment they are meant to prevent or treat.  The nanoparticles also suffer from long tissue persistence, exacerbating their toxicity.  Many MRNA  therapeutics could be unlocked if the persistence and toxicity could be limited.

This new research paper, that was published in Nature, explains experiments that show promise of an approach the authors discovered to mitigating nanoparticle persistence and therefore the toxicity issues.

Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier (2020)

This book is much better than I expected. The author is a journalist who does a very good job of presenting the science through the words and interviews with the thought leading scientists themselves.  I did not appreciate or enjoy some of the social commentary and politics, but she does present highly relevant and astute observations. 5/5 Stars.

The Singularity is Nearer by Ray Kurzweil (2023)

I loved this sequel to the 2005 obook.  Kurzweil has fun, zany ideas that are very entertaining and sometimes compelling. 5/5 Stars.

Home Coming by Joel Shepherd (2024)

This new installment in the series is fantastic!  The story and character arcs are much more aligned to the overall saga than the last volume.  The action and combat are cool and exciting. The new magic system components are great.  I can't wait for the next one. 5/5 Stars.

Forgotten Ally by Rana Mitter (2013)

Great history book that fills in many gaps of what most of us outside of China were never taught about the Japanese invasion and 8-year war in China during the second world war.  The tragedies, suffering, devastation, and depravity of all of the leaders during that era in that theater of the war are eye-opening. There were no "good guys" in that conflict.  5/5 Stars.