A new framework turns research papers into AI agents that can run the paper's own code and answer questions about it. It already reproduced results from AlphaGenome, Scanpy and TISSUE studies, and helped prioritize a causal gene for psoriasis.
— via Marginal Revolution, Tyler Cowen
Adam Smith wasn't just cheerleading free markets. Smith calculated free laborers produced three times what feudal "slaves" did, and a new reading argues the real story is a backroom deal between kings and merchant towns that broke feudalism two centuries before the countryside caught up.
— via Conversable Economist, conversableeconomist
The KC Fed turns options prices into a daily gauge of whether markets expect interest rates to land higher or lower than projected, a signal that reportedly moves ahead of the rate cycle itself. Its readings sat negative for years before flipping positive in early 2026.
— via FRED Blog (St. Louis Fed)
Global cocoa production fell more than 13 percent in a single season, and hedge funds piled in with $8.7 billion in futures bets, pushing prices past $12,500 a ton. The real story behind pricier candy has little to do with corporate greed.
— via Conversable Economist, conversableeconomist