Month: November 2016

40 ka art tools

Different powders were good for different uses. “Fine, clayish sorted ochre powder is more suitable for cosmetic or symbolic activities such as body painting, whereas mixed grain size ochre would be more adapted to utilitarian activities such as hafting,” write Rosso and colleagues. This was a workshop devoted to producing ochres that could be used in adhesives and in paints or dyes. Humanity’s earliest experiments with symbolism can be traced back to the twin births of art and engineering. 10Ks of years ago, our tool-obsessed brains allowed us to convert iron-rich rocks into beautiful adornments—and better hammers, too.

Offshoring $400M

More even than the laws of the world’s tax havens, the offshore financial system is kept afloat by the legions of professionals — accountants, lawyers, incorporation agents — who are paid well to service it. But the people who work to dismantle that system also have to be paid. If the case Fisher had constructed against Oesterlund was correct, I once proposed to him, then at least some of the money coming to him and Pursglove would seem to be tainted. Fisher disagreed, and unspooled an intricate accounting of his own. When he cracked open the Cook trusts, Fisher argued, the money would come back home. Whatever liabilities Oesterlund had to consumers would be payable by what remained of the businesses. Pursglove and her payout would live in Boca Raton, within easy reach of United States law. “I would always view the $ that I get to be legitimate $”.

Removing mutated mtDNA

The team developed a technique to remove mutated DNA from mitochondria, the small organelles that produce most of the chemical energy within a cell. There are 100s to 1000s of mitochondria per cell, each of which carries its own small circular DNA genome, called mtDNA, the products of which are required for energy production. Because mtDNA has limited repair abilities, normal and mutant versions of mtDNA are often found in the same cell, a condition known as heteroplasmy. Most people start off life with some level of heteroplasmy, and the levels of mutant mtDNA increase throughout life. When a critical threshold level of mutant mtDNA is passed, cells become nonfunctional or die.

Rampant illiteracy

the vast majority of people are illiterate. this doesn’t bode well for their future job prospects.

Researchers defined 4 levels of proficiency, based on the types of tasks users can complete successfully. For each level, here’s the percentage of the population (averaged across the OECD countries) who performed at that level, as well as the report’s definition of the ability of people within that level. Level 0: 14% of Adult Population. An example of task at this level is “Delete this email message” in an email app. Level 1: 29% of Adult Population. An example of level-1 task is “Find all emails from John Smith.”. Level 2: 26% of Adult Population. An example of level-2 task is “You want to find a sustainability-related document that was sent to you by John Smith in October last year.”. Level 3: 5% of Adult Population. An example of level-3 task is “You want to know what percentage of the emails sent by John Smith last month were about sustainability.”. Can’t Use Computers: 26% of Adult Population