- A PNAS paper (doi:10.1073/pnas.2301186120) argues that biology is shifting from a “germ theory” to a broader “host theory,” suggesting the field is entering an “inflammology” era focused on systemic host responses rather than single pathogens.

- Forbes article and George Church tweet were shared as evidence that large-language-model approaches are being positioned as the “next frontier” for biological discovery, with claims that cheaper sequencing will supply the massive data needed.

- Participants questioned whether biology’s existing data are actually useful for LLMs and whether the hype is masking a shortage of new modeling ideas; regulatory barriers and Eroom’s law were cited as real-world bottlenecks.

- A side discussion explored using renormalization-group mathematics and Bayesian filtering to predict financial crashes, inspired by a blog post on “The Bitcoin Crash and How Nature Works.”

- The group debated the value of reading entire books versus extracting utility from titles alone, using “Logarithmic Growth” as a tongue-in-cheek example of diminishing returns from additional study.