The scientists must hold the president accountable for his actions
Animal Capital: An Alternative to Natural, Social, and Cultural Capital to Prevent Food Insufficiency in Modern Physicists
In the face of global changes and food insufficiency, Cédric Sueur, ric Fourneret, and Romain Espinosa propose the concept of ‘animal capital’ to acknowledge animals’ contributions beyond the material, such as natural, social and cultural. 12 min read on NPJ sustainable agriculture.
Secondary schools played a role in the research project where chemistClaire Murray needed to prepare and analyse a mountain of calcium carbonate samples. The protocol of lab work and safety can make it hard to get citizen scientists in chemistry, but the project should be well-made and have a robust protocol. “The world is full of budding scientists ready to make and break chemical bonds,” says Murray. “Their curiosity can lead you down (reaction) pathways you never expected.”
Source: Daily briefing: Heart attacks trigger deep healing sleep
Understanding the connections between function, structure, and aging in the brain of a cat model of human aging via inflammation-enhanced healing
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools that can predict protein structures from an amino acid sequence, or generate new ones, have redefined the protein-engineering landscape (and won their developers this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry). But the tools are still far from perfect. Figuring out the connection between function and structure is one of the hurdles that has yet to be cleared. Nature spoke to specialists about the biggest challenges facing protein design and what it will take to overcome them.
Immune cells rush to the brain after a heart attack, promoting a deep sleep that eases inflammation in the heart. Researchers found that mice that had suffered heart attacks spent more time in slow-wave sleep, a stage of deep sleep associated with healing. The extra sleep was caused by monocytes, the immune cells that flooded the micess brains and produced a molecule that regulates inflammation. The team found that people who did not sleep well in the weeks following an event had a higher risk of serious heart disease over the next two years.
The brains of cats show signs of aging like the brains of humans, and unlike the brains of mice, there are no brain changes. A group of researchers have been gathering health records, blood test results, and brain scans of thousands of cats to map out the relationship between cat and human ages. Cats are a good model for studying the aging of the human brain due to the fact that they live longer than mice and share an environment with their owners.
Source: Daily briefing: Heart attacks trigger deep healing sleep
Do science and technology matter? The United States is ready for a change in the coming era of global warming and the threat of climate change
Publishers and technology companies are racing to develop tools that can detect artificial intelligence in scientific papers. The maker of Imagetwin and Proofig, which are used to detect integrity issues in scientific figures, are using databases of artificial intelligence to train their machines to spot fakes. Kevin Patrick, a scientific- image sleuth known as “Chek” on social media, says fraudsters shouldn’t sleep well at night. “They could fool today’s process, but I don’t think they’ll be able to fool the process forever.”
And yet, during Trump’s first term, the world saw a government that ignored and undermined efforts to address some of the world’s greatest problems, such as climate change and a global pandemic. Many researchers left US federal science agencies in order to be taken by lobbyists and political appointees.
The United States has now re-elected Donald Trump as president. Many researchers have told Nature that they are in despair, seeing the election result as a step backwards for facts, reason, knowledge and civility.
We hope that the incoming administration will govern in the best interests of the United States. The current administration must hold onto what the previous administration accomplished and not return to some of the policies of the first Trump presidency.
This includes respecting the scientific consensus when making regulatory decisions in public health, environmental issues, artificial intelligence and elsewhere. This is an important cornerstone of modern government. Politician cannot control the facts in decision-making.
Climate change is a vital priority. During the past four years, the United States took important steps in recognizing that it is in its own interests to not stand still as global temperatures continue to increase. It enacted policies to support industries and communities through the coming sustainability transition. People on the lowest incomes and those in marginalized communities will be the most affected by the repeal of those policies.
Trump’s threat to defund the WHO in 2020 was especially dangerous for those low-income countries where the agency’s work is crucial for tackling diseases and maintaining standards of public-health infrastructure. Currently, the WHO’s epidemiologists, clinicians and logistics personnel are helping to treat and control diseases in countries including Afghanistan, Ukraine, Sudan and Yemen. The best interests of the United States can be achieved by engaging with international institutions to fight diseases.
The United States is a nation that welcomes the world’s talent, in science and in other fields. If the country wants to continue to thrive, it must continue to have strong research and innovation.
