Tag: science

Biggest Field Experiment

A total of 13123 site years of field trials were conducted from 2005 to 2015 for the 3 crops (n=6089 for maize, 3300 for rice and 3734 for wheat), with sites spread across all agro-ecological zones. Each field trial included 2 types of management: conventional farmers’ practice (control) and ISSM-based recommendations (treatment; developed specifically for a given area). The recommended practices were discussed with local experts and participating farmers. Adjustments were made when necessary. Finally, the agreed-upon management technologies were implemented in the fields by the farmer; the collaborators provided guidance on-site during key operations, such as sowing, fertilization, irrigation and harvest. Campaign collaborators recorded fertilizer rate, pesticide and energy use, and calculated nutrient application rate. At maturity, grain yield and above ground biomass were sampled by the collaborators for plots with a size of 6m^2 for wheat and rice, and 10m^2 for maize. Plant samples were dried at 70 °C in a forced-draft oven to constant weight, and grain yield was standardized at 14% moisture for all crops.

Anesthetics for Plants

Just like humans, plants can succumb to the effects of general anesthetic drugs. The finding is striking for a variety of reasons—there’s the pesky fact that plants lack a central nervous system, for one thing. But, perhaps more noteworthy is that scientists still aren’t sure how general anesthetics work on humans—let alone plants. Despite that, doctors have been using the drugs daily for more than 100 years to knock people out and avert pain during surgeries and other medical procedures. Yet the drugs’ exact effects on our body’s cells and electrical signals remain elusive.

The Numbers King

Grotzinger, who was advising, not seeking a job, elegantly guided the group through the challenges of climate modelling. Many of the problems were familiar to the Flatiron staff. “Most of the data actually gets ignored,” Grotzinger explained. And there was a problem of collaboration. He was a specialist in historical climate change—specifically, what had caused the great Permian extinction, during which virtually all species died. To properly assess this cataclysm, you had to understand both the rock record and the ocean’s composition, but, “geologists don’t have a history of interacting with physical oceanographers.” He talked about how his best collaboration had resulted from having had lunch with an oceanographer, and how rare this was. Climate modelling was an intrinsically difficult problem made worse by the structural divisions of academia. “They will grope their way to a solution probably in the next 50 years. But, if you had it all under 1 umbrella, I think it could result in a major breakthrough.” Simons and his team were interested. It seemed Flatiron-ready. The scientists asked Grotzinger how many fellows, and how much computing power, such a group would need. Grotzinger estimated that a division would need at least 50 researchers to be effective. “I would include some programmers”. He hopes to have his 4th division in place by next September. Why stop there? Why not 8 units? Why not Simons University? He had the money, after all. But he insisted that 4 divisions was all he could handle, if he wanted both first-class work and a collaborative atmosphere. He added that he needed to manage it all, with his “light touch.” Simons understood that, whatever structure he set up, it ultimately needed to function well without his supervision. The foundation had signed a 35-year lease on the institute’s building, with an option to renew for 15 more. As long as the tax laws didn’t change dramatically, Simons’s fortune could keep the institute going in perpetuity. But humans, he realized, were not machines. “I’m hoping this is going to last 100 years. But I won’t see it.”

NYC Rats

this seems to scale. humans didn’t use to travel more than 30 km from their place of birth in historical times.

When Combs looked closer, distinct rat subpopulations emerged. Manhattan has 2 genetically distinguishable groups of rats: the uptown rats and the downtown rats, separated by the geographic barrier that is midtown. It’s not that midtown is rat-free—such a notion is inconceivable—but the commercial district lacks the household trash (aka food) and backyards (aka shelter) that rats like. Since rats tend to move only a few blocks in their lifetimes, the uptown rats and downtown rats don’t mix much.

Ainu

For much of the 20th century, Japanese government officials and academics tried to hide the Ainu. They were an inconvenient culture at a time when the government was steadfastly creating a national myth of homogeneity. So officials tucked the Ainu into files marked “human migration mysteries,” or “aberrant hunter-gatherers of the modern age,” or “lost Caucasoid race,” or “enigma,” or “dying race,” or even “extinct.” But in 2006, under international pressure, the government finally recognized the Ainu as an Indigenous population. And today, the Japanese appear to be all in.

on the Ainu, which have been on the islands of japan for more than 10x as long as the japanese people, who came from korea 3 ka ago.

Solving Alzheimers?

Bill Gates believes we are at a turning point in Alzheimer’s Research and Development. Now is the right time to accelerate that progress before the major costs hit countries that can’t afford high priced therapies and where exposure to the kind of budget implications of an Alzheimer’s epidemic could bankrupt health systems. This is a frontier where we can dramatically improve human life. It’s a miracle that people are living so much longer, but longer life expectancies alone are not enough. People should be able to enjoy their later years—and we need a breakthrough in Alzheimer’s to fulfill that. I’m excited to join the fight and can’t wait to see what happens next.