What We Can Learn from averted disasters
Hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires do not have to lead to death and destruction. Moreover, the strongest cosmic ray since the God particle and a treasure trove of new CRISPR systems promise to edit the genome.
Scientists discovered the highest energy cosmic ray since the God particle in 1991. Cosmic rays are high-energy subatomic particles that often originate from a stellar explosion or black hole. The most recent cosmic particle, named Amaterasu, appears to have come from a vacuum-like region in space. One possible explanation is that Amaterasu actually originated from a different area and that scientists’ models of what affects the path of cosmic rays are incorrect. The existence of cosmic rays may be due to unknown physics.
Reference: Research paper
A treasure trove of new CRISPR systems
An algorithm discovered 188 genetic groups associated with undiscovered and rare CRISPR systems, including those targeting RNA, after analyzing millions of genomes. CRISPR-Cas9 is known as a gene-editing tool, but its natural function is part of the immune system that helps some microbes resist viruses. Some of the new systems may eventually be adapted for genome editing, or for use in diagnostics or research.
Reference: Research paper
The stumble of British politicians on COVID science
British politicians lacked the scientific knowledge necessary to understand research-based advice during the COVID-19 pandemic, as reported by a public inquiry committee into the country’s response to the crisis. Former Chief Scientist Patrick Vallance stated that former Prime Minister Boris Johnson struggled to understand data presented in graphs. One of the difficulties was that evidence sometimes changed rapidly, according to virologist Shahid Jameel. “Science is a process that most people, including politicians – and some scientists as well – do not understand.”
Reference: Research paper
Artificial Intelligence after the OpenAI tragedy
The tragedy that occurred at OpenAI last week raised concerns that commercial forces are acting against the responsible development of artificial intelligence (AI). The company that built ChatGPT suddenly fired its founder and CEO Sam Altman, only to rehire him five days later after an employee uprising. Sarah Myers West at the AI Now Institute, a political research organization, is concerned that AI products are appearing before anyone fully understands their behaviors, uses, and potential misuses. For a long time, regulators have taken a haphazard approach to companies wielding the most powerful AI, indicating that “we need to start enforcing the laws we have now.”
Reference: Research paper
How to avoid disasters
Hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, and other serious environmental events do not have to result in death and destruction, as a group of disaster experts writes. One lesson they gleaned from studying examples of averted disasters is the understanding that disasters often occur when people are forced to live and work in harm’s way. Short-term measures such as evacuation and sheltering can mitigate immediate impacts, and realistic, achievable goals are important in long-term planning.
The Conversation | 5 minutes read
Future: Blue Cherenkov
A tourist demands to explore a historic site off the beaten path in the latest short story from the series of natural futures.
Nature | 6 minutes read
Podcast: What Happens After Polio Ends
The poliovirus could be eradicated within three years. But eradication is not the same as extinction. To prevent the disease from returning, countries are testing wastewater for signs of the virus. Vaccination programs need to continue, which requires maintaining the live virus – a nightmare for quarantine. “We need to find ways to make vaccines without using the live virus,” says science journalist Aisling Irwin on the Nature podcast. “There’s some really exciting work going on with virus-like particles and mRNA vaccines.”
Podcast
Nature | 22 minutes listening
Subscribe to the Nature podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify, or use the RSS feed.
Quote of the day: “Simply put, researchers do not choose to study women’s health factors, which is not surprising when 80% of permanent positions in neuroscience are held by men.” Although women make up about 50% of participants in neuroimaging studies, less than 0.5% of studies address women’s health, according to psychologist Emily Jacobs. (Nature | 5 minutes read)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03737-5
This week, Liv Benjanson explores the Las Angustias River in La Palma, Spain. Can you spot the penguin? The answer will be in Monday’s email, thanks to quick photo editor and penguin trainer Tom Houghton.
This newsletter is always evolving – let us know what you think! Please send your feedback to [email protected].
Thank you for reading,
Katrina Kramer, Deputy Editor, Nature Briefing
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Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03737-5
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