Mark Levin
@levinchem.bsky.social
Professor of Chemistry
University of Chicago
Single-Atom Skeletal Editing
(Interspersed with doomposting and AI skepticism)
Husband, Dad, Crossword Addict
http://levingroup.uchicago.edu
University of Chicago
Single-Atom Skeletal Editing
(Interspersed with doomposting and AI skepticism)
Husband, Dad, Crossword Addict
http://levingroup.uchicago.edu
Pinned
Just in time for the new year - we show that you can make either isomer of N-aryl pyrazole selectively from a single TDSO. We really believe in the power of these wacky heterocycles.
chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...
Excellent work by superstar Alex Fanourakis, in collab with Osvaldo Gutierrez and J&J
chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...
Excellent work by superstar Alex Fanourakis, in collab with Osvaldo Gutierrez and J&J
Reposted by Mark Levin
if you want a long read that involves udders, a hot air balloon, and some extremely dubious data on egg prices, the story I’ve been working on for the last few months where I tried to single-handedly take on every government function myself is now online! www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
I Tried to Be the Government. It Did Not Go Well.
My five-month quest to monitor the weather, track inflation, and inspect milk for harmful microorganisms
www.theatlantic.com
January 8, 2026 at 8:41 PM
if you want a long read that involves udders, a hot air balloon, and some extremely dubious data on egg prices, the story I’ve been working on for the last few months where I tried to single-handedly take on every government function myself is now online! www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
Reposted by Mark Levin
Considering that IMAN (4) is also in this picture, the concentrated crossword power on display here is overwhelming. Blinding. Nuclear. ☢️
“David, who shall we invite to the wedding?”
“Bono. Ono. Eno.”
“I love you, you unstoppable conceptual bastard.”
“Bono. Ono. Eno.”
“I love you, you unstoppable conceptual bastard.”
January 8, 2026 at 12:04 PM
Considering that IMAN (4) is also in this picture, the concentrated crossword power on display here is overwhelming. Blinding. Nuclear. ☢️
Reposted by Mark Levin
The National Weather Service used AI to create a forecast for Idaho. Low chances of wind for the nonexistent towns of Cocrerrireod, Orangeotild and Whata Bod www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026...
January 7, 2026 at 2:32 PM
The National Weather Service used AI to create a forecast for Idaho. Low chances of wind for the nonexistent towns of Cocrerrireod, Orangeotild and Whata Bod www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026...
Reposted by Mark Levin
I continue to be enraged by everything the secretary of health and human services is doing www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Be Declared Honorary Virus
The ceremony will feature roadkill hors d’oeuvres, goblets of beef tallow, and a sewage plunge.
www.theatlantic.com
January 7, 2026 at 4:51 PM
I continue to be enraged by everything the secretary of health and human services is doing www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
Reposted by Mark Levin
is there some way I can quickly unlearn all of history so as to feel better about recent events
January 3, 2026 at 5:59 PM
is there some way I can quickly unlearn all of history so as to feel better about recent events
Reposted by Mark Levin
✂️ July: Adventures in atom swapping!
cen.acs.org/synthesis/me...
(see also this very successful feature cen.acs.org/synthesis/Sk...)
🧪 August: Beth Halford, Laura Howes, and I revamped C&EN's first disclosures coverage to put the molecules front and center
cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...
cen.acs.org/synthesis/me...
(see also this very successful feature cen.acs.org/synthesis/Sk...)
🧪 August: Beth Halford, Laura Howes, and I revamped C&EN's first disclosures coverage to put the molecules front and center
cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...
Skeletal editing: How close are we to true cut-and-paste chemistry?
Reactions that alter organic scaffolds by a single atom are already proving useful, but time will tell if they’ll fundamentally change how molecules are made
cen.acs.org
December 31, 2025 at 8:03 PM
✂️ July: Adventures in atom swapping!
cen.acs.org/synthesis/me...
(see also this very successful feature cen.acs.org/synthesis/Sk...)
🧪 August: Beth Halford, Laura Howes, and I revamped C&EN's first disclosures coverage to put the molecules front and center
cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...
cen.acs.org/synthesis/me...
(see also this very successful feature cen.acs.org/synthesis/Sk...)
🧪 August: Beth Halford, Laura Howes, and I revamped C&EN's first disclosures coverage to put the molecules front and center
cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...
Reposted by Mark Levin
If you can't be bothered to actually write the peer review yourself why should the reviewee have to listen to it? Why write anything at all, ever? If you don't have enough time, fight for better working conditions instead of faking your work
New @nature.com, ever feel like it takes way too long for you to peer-review a manuscript? AI, plus some voice-control tools, may be able to help. By Dritjon Gruda 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Three AI-powered steps to faster, smarter peer review
Tired of spending countless hours on peer reviews? An AI-assisted workflow could help.
www.nature.com
March 5, 2025 at 4:26 PM
If you can't be bothered to actually write the peer review yourself why should the reviewee have to listen to it? Why write anything at all, ever? If you don't have enough time, fight for better working conditions instead of faking your work
Reposted by Mark Levin
Ok here it is - out of 44 FDA approvals this year, 31 are small molecules (70%), 26 of those are oral drugs (84%), 22 of them are chiral (71%). This is the largest number and percentage of chiral FDA approved molecules in a single year. Fitusiran is not a small molecule, bonus.
December 30, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Ok here it is - out of 44 FDA approvals this year, 31 are small molecules (70%), 26 of those are oral drugs (84%), 22 of them are chiral (71%). This is the largest number and percentage of chiral FDA approved molecules in a single year. Fitusiran is not a small molecule, bonus.
Just in time for the new year - we show that you can make either isomer of N-aryl pyrazole selectively from a single TDSO. We really believe in the power of these wacky heterocycles.
chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...
Excellent work by superstar Alex Fanourakis, in collab with Osvaldo Gutierrez and J&J
chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...
Excellent work by superstar Alex Fanourakis, in collab with Osvaldo Gutierrez and J&J
December 30, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Just in time for the new year - we show that you can make either isomer of N-aryl pyrazole selectively from a single TDSO. We really believe in the power of these wacky heterocycles.
chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...
Excellent work by superstar Alex Fanourakis, in collab with Osvaldo Gutierrez and J&J
chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...
Excellent work by superstar Alex Fanourakis, in collab with Osvaldo Gutierrez and J&J
Reposted by Mark Levin
I just taught my lecture course on mid-20th c US history, which starts with Harding and concludes with Nixon.
For the first time, I had to pause and stress that those scandals were actually shocking at the time and, what’s more, that Americans actually demanded people be held accountable.
For the first time, I had to pause and stress that those scandals were actually shocking at the time and, what’s more, that Americans actually demanded people be held accountable.
All of the money that changed hands in the Teapot Dome scandal totaled less than $10 million after adjusting for inflation, and it was considered so corrupt we still teach it in high school government classes a century later.
Corruption so pungent, it wafts right off the page:
Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”
Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”
Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
December 27, 2025 at 9:30 PM
I just taught my lecture course on mid-20th c US history, which starts with Harding and concludes with Nixon.
For the first time, I had to pause and stress that those scandals were actually shocking at the time and, what’s more, that Americans actually demanded people be held accountable.
For the first time, I had to pause and stress that those scandals were actually shocking at the time and, what’s more, that Americans actually demanded people be held accountable.
Reposted by Mark Levin
"Schools must adopt effective filters to block inappropriate or misleading content."
What filters block misleading content from ChatGPT? Is there a "no disinfo" or "no faked citations" or "no hallucinations" filter?
There is not. This is poisoned tech. You have to block the entire product.
What filters block misleading content from ChatGPT? Is there a "no disinfo" or "no faked citations" or "no hallucinations" filter?
There is not. This is poisoned tech. You have to block the entire product.
December 24, 2025 at 4:00 AM
"Schools must adopt effective filters to block inappropriate or misleading content."
What filters block misleading content from ChatGPT? Is there a "no disinfo" or "no faked citations" or "no hallucinations" filter?
There is not. This is poisoned tech. You have to block the entire product.
What filters block misleading content from ChatGPT? Is there a "no disinfo" or "no faked citations" or "no hallucinations" filter?
There is not. This is poisoned tech. You have to block the entire product.
Reposted by Mark Levin
December 24, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Reposted by Mark Levin
suspect a big reason why many academics and others who work in areas where getting facts RIGHT is key are disinterested in using LLMs for research:
they’ve tried it, they keep noticing major errors in output, and they conclude that having to verify all that doesn’t actually save them time.
they’ve tried it, they keep noticing major errors in output, and they conclude that having to verify all that doesn’t actually save them time.
December 21, 2025 at 4:16 PM
suspect a big reason why many academics and others who work in areas where getting facts RIGHT is key are disinterested in using LLMs for research:
they’ve tried it, they keep noticing major errors in output, and they conclude that having to verify all that doesn’t actually save them time.
they’ve tried it, they keep noticing major errors in output, and they conclude that having to verify all that doesn’t actually save them time.
Reposted by Mark Levin
As a former process chemist, yes. You get such 3am calls such as “There’s yellow foam overflowing out of the vessel, what do we do?” Or “We accidentally charged the vermiculite packing into the vessel along with the hydride reagent, it’ll be okay right?”
December 20, 2025 at 11:11 PM
As a former process chemist, yes. You get such 3am calls such as “There’s yellow foam overflowing out of the vessel, what do we do?” Or “We accidentally charged the vermiculite packing into the vessel along with the hydride reagent, it’ll be okay right?”
Reposted by Mark Levin
makes me want to chew glass wapo.st/4aXfzn5
U.S. plans to stop recommending most childhood vaccines, defer to doctors
The plan, which is not finalized, suggests children get fewer shots and shifts to a model telling parents to consult doctors to make their own vaccine choices.
wapo.st
December 19, 2025 at 10:49 PM
makes me want to chew glass wapo.st/4aXfzn5
Reposted by Mark Levin
Nitrogen deletion made easier✏️ Novel N-(benzyloxy)-N-(pivaloyloxy)benzamides enable one-step #deamination & deaminative functionalization of amines🔬 Improved derivatives by Mark @levinchem.bsky.social show faster kinetics & higher yields, shedding light on stereoelectronic effects
👉 buff.ly/c0hBrru
👉 buff.ly/c0hBrru
December 15, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Nitrogen deletion made easier✏️ Novel N-(benzyloxy)-N-(pivaloyloxy)benzamides enable one-step #deamination & deaminative functionalization of amines🔬 Improved derivatives by Mark @levinchem.bsky.social show faster kinetics & higher yields, shedding light on stereoelectronic effects
👉 buff.ly/c0hBrru
👉 buff.ly/c0hBrru
December 7, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Reposted by Mark Levin
Jonathan Chait on something I’ve noticed: that when you look for a defense on conservative media of many of the President’s actions… you find… nothing.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
The Conservative Movement’s Intellectual Collapse
Trump is both a product and a cause of the decline in intellectual standards on the right.
www.theatlantic.com
November 27, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Jonathan Chait on something I’ve noticed: that when you look for a defense on conservative media of many of the President’s actions… you find… nothing.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Reposted by Mark Levin
God I wish it was only because of DOGE
November 25, 2025 at 2:09 AM
God I wish it was only because of DOGE
Reposted by Mark Levin
Reposted by Mark Levin
![[Scene is a kitchen - a middle aged woman called JANET is boiling peas at the stove. A younger more colourfully dressed woman named LIZ approached her.]
JANET:
Ugh...
LIZ:
What's up?
JANET:
I am so bored of cooking peas!
LIZ:
Have you tried...
AI peas?
JANET:
AI peas?
LIZ:
They're peas with AI!
[Liz holds up to us a packet of peas labelled: Pea-i AI - Peas with AI].
LIZ:
Al-powered peas harness the potential of your peas
JANET:
What
LIZ [Now a voiceover as we cut to a whizzy technology diagram of peas all connected by meaningless dotted lines]
Why not take your peas to the next level with Al Peas' new Al tools to power your peas?
[Show a techno diagram of a pea with a label reading 'AI' pointing to a random zone in it]
LIZ:
Each pea has Al in a way we haven't quite worked out yet but it's fine
[Show Janet and Liz now in a Matrix-style world of peas]
LIZ:
With Al peas you can supercharge productivity and make AI work for your peas!
JANET:
What
LIZ:
Shut up
LIZ:
Our game-changing Pea-Al gives you the freedom to unlock the potential of the power of the future of your peas workflow
From opening the bag of peas
to boiling the peas
to eating the peas
To spending millions on adding Al to the peas and then having to work out what that even means.
JANET:
Is it really necessary to-
LIZ [Grabbing Janet by the collar]:
THE PEAS HAVE GOT AI, JANET
[Cut to an advert ending screen, with the bag of peas and the slogan:
AI PEAS: Just 'Peas' for god's sake buy the AI peas.
[Ends]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4m3we4apbjayclzcnhwe3pfp/bafkreiayqa37f7kik7l7s7fbtfp2sir5ckb662ry2lylinyjrfa2rkvvka@jpeg)
Reposted by Mark Levin
Science as practiced in its best form is that if you disagree with it, you set up an experiment that would disprove it. If you can't do that, you shut your fucking mouth and learn something.
JD Vance: "Science as practiced in its best form is that if you disagree with it, then you ought to criticize it and you ought to argue against it."
November 12, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Science as practiced in its best form is that if you disagree with it, you set up an experiment that would disprove it. If you can't do that, you shut your fucking mouth and learn something.
Reposted by Mark Levin
having the unmistakable urge to blog about the epstein documents by doing a taxonomy of creepy elite email writing styles
DO NOT REPEAT THIS INSIGHT TO MY EDITORS
DO NOT REPEAT THIS INSIGHT TO MY EDITORS
November 12, 2025 at 9:57 PM
having the unmistakable urge to blog about the epstein documents by doing a taxonomy of creepy elite email writing styles
DO NOT REPEAT THIS INSIGHT TO MY EDITORS
DO NOT REPEAT THIS INSIGHT TO MY EDITORS
Reposted by Mark Levin
