Uku Vainik
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ukuvainik.bsky.social
Uku Vainik
@ukuvainik.bsky.social
Professor of behavioral genetics with my own twins. I mix behaviour and genetics at Tartu & McGill to understand obesity. I also mix global music as a DJ.
wow! I wonder if the east coast of Baltic Sea is just inherently unpredictable? Or are we on par with poorer countries for investment in weather prediction?
November 26, 2025 at 5:46 AM
"purchased a cerebral organoid starter kit from a shady website in Estonia"

Would love to see that website! 😝
November 21, 2025 at 5:47 AM
Yes, I crave for iOS backups so badly! Happy to pay for the feature!
November 20, 2025 at 7:48 PM
@kevinh-phd.bsky.social has a half-done study on whether UPF-s can be made healthy. Answer is currently so-so. Not sure what happened to it bsky.app/profile/kevi...
This was a fascinating meeting on UPF policies and I was happy to present some preliminary results of our ongoing RCT on mechanisms by which diets high in UPFs cause excess energy intake. Here’s a brief summary 🧵
I've arrived in London and I'm looking forward to this meeting tomorrow @imperialcollege on ultra-processed foods! I'll be presenting preliminary data on the mechanisms that diets high in UPFs can cause excess calorie intake and weight gain, Register here: www.imperial.ac.uk/events/18424...
November 19, 2025 at 11:16 AM
The harvesting is a nasty procedure for the woman. Also, the 1st choice embryo may not develop, and one needs to implant the "lesser" embryos, ie less variation in a trait. All this leaves too many questions for me rn, given the monetary and emotional cost, particularly for ppl with no need for IVF.
November 13, 2025 at 10:25 PM
I can now imagine tech bros forcing their wives to go through multiple rounds of harvesting to get the embryo count up!
November 13, 2025 at 9:56 PM
So the parent takes a loan for the 50k service. Assuming no interest, the parent takes the whole childhood (~17 years, 250/month) to pay back. Once the child is adult, she can earn it back to the parent across the next 17y with her IQ. After early midlife, she can reap the benefits to her own :)
November 13, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Makes sense. Here's a handy reference, bit old (p15)
hdl.handle.net/10062/47823

With LLM aid, I estimated that 8.5 IQ difference can mean extra 250€/month neto in .ee and 430 in .de. Incidentally, same effect size applies for anorexia...
November 13, 2025 at 9:08 PM
I'm trying to contextualise the 8.5 difference. If we apply IQ prediction accuracy to predicting adult height (2/3 of SD between low and high embryo), then we can expect about 4cm adult height difference between embryos. That's something but not very consequential. Am I on the right path here?
November 13, 2025 at 8:41 PM