Five Things: AI drugs, Green Energy, Democracy, Ozempic, Joe Montana

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So this week was not easy. It was the week of my mother’s birthday - she died 30 years ago of cancer and I still think of her every single day. My wife gave me a pot of snowdrop on mother’s birthday, which were her favorite flowers. Now I think of her even more.

I really hope that the Munich Security Conference leads to more than just good discussions. After the pressure had been on Germany to deliver tanks and to approve of the delivery of tanks from other countries, it would be extremely helpful for the Ukraine if we could all start sending our tanks over before the Russians move even more troops into the Ukraine.

Our youngest daughter, who is 7, has a friend in school who is from Ukraine. Her friend has been learning German ever since she came here last May, and when I asked our daughter how they would communicate, she looked at me, totally astonished, and said: “English, of course.” For the last few months our daughter has been trying to learn Ukrainian so that she can talk to her friend in her mother tongue. I find this compassion just wonderful and also she wants me to cook borscht. She thinks Ukrainian is “a fascinating language”. And I will continue to stare at her when she tells me what something mean in Ukrainian. Our kids continue to amaze me, all of them in their own particular way. Still, I really want to see that young friend of hers going back to Ukraine and being reunited with her father. Putin has to lose the war and this will only happen if the West continues to supply weapons and ammunition to the Ukraine.

Here are the Five Things for this Sunday:

AI is dreaming up drugs that no one has ever seen. Now we’ve got to see if they work.

This is pretty amazing stuff and a really interesting way to use big data and machine learning to figure out which drugs work best for each situation. This development is still in the early days, but the promise of individual drugs for every patient will really change medicine.

Europe Turned an Energy Crisis Into a Green Energy Sprint

All of a sudden things can change. I wish society could learn from this and just change course on other topics as well before it’s too late, but it seems that we always need an external threat before we actually act. It’s impressive how fast Germany could change the energy mix.

How Democracy Can Win

It’s not going to be easy, but Western democracies certainly have momentum right now and can push back autocratic regimes. We have to make sure that the economic appeal stays strong and that we offer more than just a theoretic playbook for economic prosperity tied in with democratic values.

The Booming Market for Backdoor Ozempic

Anyone who has ever tried to lose weight knows that there’s no easy way or no magic pill. Well, maybe now there is and Hollywood stars are already using the new wonderdrug. I’m curious about all the side-effects that people will discover in the next years.

Joe Montana Was Here

🏈 I was never a big fan of American Football, but from time to time I enjoy watching a game. One of the best players ever was Joe Montana and he continues to make a mark. I still remember a long profile about him that I read some 30 years ago where I was amazed about his discipline and his focus - and the necessity to take an ice bath after every game to get his bruised body back into shape again.

That’s it. Have a great Sunday!