Kurt Thorn
@kurtthorn.bsky.social
Chief Technology Officer at ArrePath. Using Chemistry ML, imaging, and computer vision to accelerate antibiotic discovery and design. Formerly Zymergen, Nikon Imaging Center at UCSF.
Reposted by Kurt Thorn
One of the difficulties in developing code for microscopes is to get access to the equipment. So, wouldn't it be nice to have emulators? Turns out that AI is really good at converting documentation into an emulator: nicost.github.io/microscope-t...
Firmware Emulators
title: “Firmware Emulators for Microscope Devices” author: Nico Stuurman date: 2025-12-21 —
nicost.github.io
December 21, 2025 at 7:18 PM
One of the difficulties in developing code for microscopes is to get access to the equipment. So, wouldn't it be nice to have emulators? Turns out that AI is really good at converting documentation into an emulator: nicost.github.io/microscope-t...
Reposted by Kurt Thorn
Article 22 is a jewelry company that repurposes Vietnam War shrapnel and battlefield debris. A portion of their profits goes to the Mine Advisory Group, which works to remove landmines still left in Laos (they've removed more than 300k mines!). I like the company's "Shard" necklace collection.
December 20, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Article 22 is a jewelry company that repurposes Vietnam War shrapnel and battlefield debris. A portion of their profits goes to the Mine Advisory Group, which works to remove landmines still left in Laos (they've removed more than 300k mines!). I like the company's "Shard" necklace collection.
Reposted by Kurt Thorn
Enjoyed reading
“AI for chemistry in 2025 is like AI for images in 2010”
leashbio.substack.com/p/ai-for-che...
“AI for chemistry in 2025 is like AI for images in 2010”
leashbio.substack.com/p/ai-for-che...
December 18, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Enjoyed reading
“AI for chemistry in 2025 is like AI for images in 2010”
leashbio.substack.com/p/ai-for-che...
“AI for chemistry in 2025 is like AI for images in 2010”
leashbio.substack.com/p/ai-for-che...
The annual periodicity for Java is interesting- I assume due to teaching?
It was the closest race yet when it came to the top programming language of the year. 👀
So, which are you using more often: TypeScript or Python?
So, which are you using more often: TypeScript or Python?
December 17, 2025 at 4:49 AM
The annual periodicity for Java is interesting- I assume due to teaching?
Reposted by Kurt Thorn
AGI The Word I’ve Been Avoiding hybridhorizons.substack.com/p/agi-the-word… #AI #transitions #society #jobs
AGI The Word I’ve Been Avoiding
On cognitive labour, timeline collapse, and the goal-seeking future
hybridhorizons.substack.com
December 17, 2025 at 3:29 AM
AGI The Word I’ve Been Avoiding hybridhorizons.substack.com/p/agi-the-word… #AI #transitions #society #jobs
Reposted by Kurt Thorn
To me it's just the opposite. It used to be a significant challenge to determine whether an idea might have some novelty, and then to find relevant conferences and related work. LLMs make this trivial. Much more "standing on the shoulders of giants" than genius myth.
December 16, 2025 at 1:55 PM
To me it's just the opposite. It used to be a significant challenge to determine whether an idea might have some novelty, and then to find relevant conferences and related work. LLMs make this trivial. Much more "standing on the shoulders of giants" than genius myth.
Reposted by Kurt Thorn
People are really naive about this imo. I think this is the year where at the very least coding agents got strong enough they genuinely are more valuable than entry level engineers for most work
A few years ago I wrote that in my lifetime computers will be able outperform humans at any intellectual task and commenters said it was an outlandish statement.
Today, the industry consensus is that it should happen within the decade. We are so unprepared for this as a society.
Today, the industry consensus is that it should happen within the decade. We are so unprepared for this as a society.
December 15, 2025 at 2:22 PM
People are really naive about this imo. I think this is the year where at the very least coding agents got strong enough they genuinely are more valuable than entry level engineers for most work
Reposted by Kurt Thorn
This is such a good piece: More than anyone except Trump, Miller's personal worldview is reshaping our government. He sets targets that fuel invasive immigration round-ups that are indifferent about how is captured. We have to build a new detention state for the people being rounded up.
Stephen Miller is employing state terror in service of the open goal of shifting the ethnic mix of the country. In numerous ways he's doing this at the expense of public safety.
We spent weeks reporting on Miller's real aims. Here's the result. We hope you'll read:
newrepublic.com/article/2041...
We spent weeks reporting on Miller's real aims. Here's the result. We hope you'll read:
newrepublic.com/article/2041...
Inside Stephen Miller’s Dark Plot to Build a MAGA Terror State
He is descended from Russian Jews—you know, the kind of people who were once denounced as alien and unassimilable. Today, his project is to unleash government persecution of those he deems alien and u...
newrepublic.com
December 15, 2025 at 2:39 PM
This is such a good piece: More than anyone except Trump, Miller's personal worldview is reshaping our government. He sets targets that fuel invasive immigration round-ups that are indifferent about how is captured. We have to build a new detention state for the people being rounded up.
Reposted by Kurt Thorn
This is incredible (good news too): “After a 40% fall in 2024 in battery equipment costs, it’s clear we’re on track for another major fall in 2025…The economics for batteries are unrecognizable, & the industry is only just getting to grips with this new paradigm”
www.pv-magazine.com/2025/12/12/b...
www.pv-magazine.com/2025/12/12/b...
Batteries now cheap enough to make dispatchable solar economically feasible
Energy think tank Ember says utility-scale battery costs have fallen to $65/MWh outside China and the United States, enabling solar power to be delivered when needed.
www.pv-magazine.com
December 14, 2025 at 5:07 PM
This is incredible (good news too): “After a 40% fall in 2024 in battery equipment costs, it’s clear we’re on track for another major fall in 2025…The economics for batteries are unrecognizable, & the industry is only just getting to grips with this new paradigm”
www.pv-magazine.com/2025/12/12/b...
www.pv-magazine.com/2025/12/12/b...
Reposted by Kurt Thorn
found an etsy shop that's doing a tremendous bit
December 12, 2025 at 10:20 PM
found an etsy shop that's doing a tremendous bit
Hard to read this and not be reminded of Roy Cohn in Angels in America
The surprising reason Trump is so disturbed by people questioning his health - buff.ly/iuFKXBA
December 11, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Hard to read this and not be reminded of Roy Cohn in Angels in America
Reposted by Kurt Thorn
In praise of Seattle, which set up a huge Pride programming connected to the World Cup match it’s hosting - before anyone knew which teams would be taking the field.
Turns out it was Iran v Egypt, two countries where homosexuality is illegal. Egypt wants Pride banned.
Seattle isn’t backing down.
Turns out it was Iran v Egypt, two countries where homosexuality is illegal. Egypt wants Pride banned.
Seattle isn’t backing down.
December 11, 2025 at 2:07 PM
In praise of Seattle, which set up a huge Pride programming connected to the World Cup match it’s hosting - before anyone knew which teams would be taking the field.
Turns out it was Iran v Egypt, two countries where homosexuality is illegal. Egypt wants Pride banned.
Seattle isn’t backing down.
Turns out it was Iran v Egypt, two countries where homosexuality is illegal. Egypt wants Pride banned.
Seattle isn’t backing down.
Reposted by Kurt Thorn
For people who trusted copyright laws to rein in AI, this should be the last scene in Animal Farm. “They looked from IP to Tech, and from Tech to IP, but already it was impossible to say which was which.”
The Walt Disney Company and OpenAI reach landmark agreement to bring beloved characters from across Disney’s brands to Sora
Agreement marks a significant step in setting meaningful standards for responsible AI in entertainment.
openai.com
December 11, 2025 at 2:25 PM
For people who trusted copyright laws to rein in AI, this should be the last scene in Animal Farm. “They looked from IP to Tech, and from Tech to IP, but already it was impossible to say which was which.”
Reposted by Kurt Thorn
Bwa! Just had Claude do web-searches for vibe-checks combined w/leaderboards to do some meta-analysis on which models are best, and came back with Opus 4.5 winning nearly every category
I, uh, called that out a bit, but conceded that in many ways, I agree, barring image generation, and got deadpan:
I, uh, called that out a bit, but conceded that in many ways, I agree, barring image generation, and got deadpan:
December 11, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Bwa! Just had Claude do web-searches for vibe-checks combined w/leaderboards to do some meta-analysis on which models are best, and came back with Opus 4.5 winning nearly every category
I, uh, called that out a bit, but conceded that in many ways, I agree, barring image generation, and got deadpan:
I, uh, called that out a bit, but conceded that in many ways, I agree, barring image generation, and got deadpan:
Reposted by Kurt Thorn
What Do Oral Drugs Really Look Like? Dose Regimen, Pharmacokinetics, and Safety of Recently Approved Small-Molecule Oral Drugs
What Do Oral Drugs Really Look Like? Dose Regimen, Pharmacokinetics, and Safety of Recently Approved Small-Molecule Oral Drugs
An analysis of dose, dose frequency, human pharmacokinetics, and potential drug–drug interactions (DDI) was performed on small-molecule oral drugs approved by the FDA from 2020 to 2024 (n = 104). Alth...
pubs.acs.org
December 9, 2025 at 2:20 PM
What Do Oral Drugs Really Look Like? Dose Regimen, Pharmacokinetics, and Safety of Recently Approved Small-Molecule Oral Drugs
Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table
Which lines of poetry live rent-free in your head?
December 7, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table
One of my great regrets from my academic work is that I never got to do a mucus microrheology study I discussed with an MD.
this is also a good time to note that we do not have anything approaching a comprehensive survey of mucus and they have insane physical properties tunable by water and calcium concentration
December 4, 2025 at 3:49 PM
One of my great regrets from my academic work is that I never got to do a mucus microrheology study I discussed with an MD.
Reposted by Kurt Thorn
Fig. 7: Real biology
December 4, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Fig. 7: Real biology
I use ChatGPT5.1 Thinking for a lot of questions both at work and personally - with web search, it’s very good at searching the scientific literature. Lately , I’ve realized not only is it useful, I like its tone and personality. For example:
December 3, 2025 at 2:30 PM
I use ChatGPT5.1 Thinking for a lot of questions both at work and personally - with web search, it’s very good at searching the scientific literature. Lately , I’ve realized not only is it useful, I like its tone and personality. For example:
Reposted by Kurt Thorn
who decided to call it Secret Santa when Nondisclosure Claus was right there
December 1, 2025 at 10:55 PM
who decided to call it Secret Santa when Nondisclosure Claus was right there
I loved Arcadia, but I think my favorite is Coast of Utopia. I remember being blown away by part 2 when I saw it on Broadway
RIP Tom Stoppard. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern and Leopoldstadt will get a lot of love in his obits, and rightfully so, but the best and most moving theater-going experience of my life - and I grew up in theater, work in theater, and attend live theater all the time - was Arcadia. My favorite play.
November 29, 2025 at 8:04 PM
I loved Arcadia, but I think my favorite is Coast of Utopia. I remember being blown away by part 2 when I saw it on Broadway
Sad news. Tom Stoppard was one of the greats.
RIP Tom Stoppard
“It’s not the voting that’s democracy, it’s the counting” the rare literary reference that highlighted the value of election administration
“It’s not the voting that’s democracy, it’s the counting” the rare literary reference that highlighted the value of election administration
November 29, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Sad news. Tom Stoppard was one of the greats.
Reposted by Kurt Thorn
I love the JBB story for a few reasons:
- stringing 120 miles of wire
- months of analzying paper roll data
- her PI was like "that can't be right, do it again," the motto of PI's everywhere.
- rare case of a landmark discovery becoming ubiquitous in popular culture for no particular reason
- stringing 120 miles of wire
- months of analzying paper roll data
- her PI was like "that can't be right, do it again," the motto of PI's everywhere.
- rare case of a landmark discovery becoming ubiquitous in popular culture for no particular reason
November 28, 2025 at 3:04 PM
I love the JBB story for a few reasons:
- stringing 120 miles of wire
- months of analzying paper roll data
- her PI was like "that can't be right, do it again," the motto of PI's everywhere.
- rare case of a landmark discovery becoming ubiquitous in popular culture for no particular reason
- stringing 120 miles of wire
- months of analzying paper roll data
- her PI was like "that can't be right, do it again," the motto of PI's everywhere.
- rare case of a landmark discovery becoming ubiquitous in popular culture for no particular reason
Reposted by Kurt Thorn
Audience culture is the worst it's ever been, I swear to god. People forgot how to act. I'm at the theater, trying to enjoy my show, which I've paid GOOD MONEY for, and these two old assholes are in the balcony heckling the life out of the poor bear onstage. Not letting him finish a single joke.
November 26, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Audience culture is the worst it's ever been, I swear to god. People forgot how to act. I'm at the theater, trying to enjoy my show, which I've paid GOOD MONEY for, and these two old assholes are in the balcony heckling the life out of the poor bear onstage. Not letting him finish a single joke.