The Ed's Up #175

"Her thoughts turned to the five scientists in her 40-person lab who also had Iranian heritage. They’re all young men at the start of their scientific careers, with at least one parent who worked in engineering or medicine. Three were born in Iran and, like Sabeti, emigrated as children. Two were born in North America, to parents who had already moved from Iran. As citizens of either the U.S. or Canada, none of them are legally affected by the ban. But all perceived it as an attack on their cultural identities. So, Sabeti did what Iranians do—she invited them for tea. “Tea is a big familial tradition in Iran,” says Kian Sani, a 20-year-old Harvard student, who was born in Canada to an Iranian father and a Filipino mother. “We joked and spoke Farsi. We remembered how our grandmothers used to pour it, and the sugar cubes they’d use, and all those cultural nuances. It was just all of us in her office, and the sense of community was very apparent.”" (Image: Pardis Sabeti) 
 

In Bacteria, Persistence Leads to Resistance

"The threat of drug-resistant bacteria grows more pressing with every year. But bacteria don’t have to resist antibiotics to defy them. There is another way—a much simpler, very common, and largely unappreciated one. The vast majority of antibiotics work by killing bacteria that are actively growing and multiplying. Think of the antibiotics as wrenches thrown into the midst of whirring machines. If the machines are off—their cogs still, their motors silent—the wrenches have no effect. So it is with bacteria. By simply doing nothing, and entering a dormant or extremely slow-growing state, they can survive. They can keep their heads down until the antibiotic has diffused away and the danger has passed." (Image: Reuters) 

 

More good reads in science and technology 

• A really lovely meditation on animals in cities, riffing off that final Planet Earth II episode. By Sam Kriss.
• Science may or may not survive interesting times... and there's a lot to be learned from data and history. Great piece by Nadia Drake
• The new climate denial is like the old climate denial. By Meehan Crist.
• Scientists Are Arguing About Whether The March For Science Will Be Too Political. By Azeen Ghorayshi.
• Really sad to hear about the death of Hans Rosling, a man who stood for facts, progress, and an improving world. Here a profile by Amy Maxmen.  
• "The next global pandemic will not be prevented by the perfectly designed app." By Caroline Buckee.
•  “Are you there, God? It’s I, robot.” On the implications that AI has for religion. By Jonathan Merritt.
• There’s no good evidence that the brain performance centers backed by Trump's education secretary nominee actually work.
• Can CRISPR save New Zealand’s fragile ecosystem?
• A long baboon war is over.
• There is a terrible study about dancers that is doing the rounds; here is a good Twitter debunking.
• Thanks to an executive order from Trump, this species of bumblebee is probably doomed.
• Malaria parasites release chemicals that draw mosquitoes in.
• Despite decades of study, scientists still aren’t quite sure how this cactus crossed the ocean
• How a Corpse-Loving Fly Could Help Catch Rhino Poachers.
• Vines turn rainforests into diverse ant playgrounds, by Nikki Greenwood.
• The Republican carbon tax is Republican, say Republicans. The problem: other Republicans
• This is how you photograph a million dead plants without losing your mind
• A gallery of Superb Owls

More good reads in politics and society 

• "Recognize that there's a difference between being immersed and being informed." On self-care at a time of terrible news. By Ann Douglas.
• Derek Thompson, a superb writer and a wonderful human, has a new book out called The Hit Makers, about the science of popularity. You should read it.
• Every new Kathryn Schulz piece is a cause for celebration. Here’s her latest, on loss—of keys, wallets, cell phones, elections, loved ones.
• "Coming out of the gate with facts is like bringing a Wikipedia page to a gun fight.” By Jess Zimmerman.
• Richard Evans, a pre-eminent historian of 20^th century Germany says we’re not reliving the Third Reich—but it’s too close for comfort. Meanwhile, Evelyn Lamb talks about the downfall of the world’s leading maths department in 1930s Germany, and Jamelle Bouie writes that government by white nationalism is upon us.
• "The question we need to ask ourselves is: What will we do? This is not a hypothetical question." Chris Edelson on how ordinary people carry out inhumane acts.
• All over the U.S., people are using Tea Party tactics to resist the new administration. Molly Ball looks at the history of the Tea Party, Sarah McCammon talks to the authors of the Indivisible Guide, and McKay Coppins writes about protestors storming Republican town halls.
• Mitch McConnell silenced Elizabeth Warren in the Senate chamber. That only made her voice louder. Megan Garber on the rise of the weaponized meme.
• Chaos continues in the wake of Trump’s immigration ban. A judge blocked the ban, prompting an attack from the President that one senator described as an “embarrassing” and “dangerous” hostility toward the rule of law. Three judges from the 9^th circuit then voted unanimously to uphold the block, despite Trump’s attempts to intimidate them. Dara Lind explains why the one big hurdle to rewriting the refugee ban so it holds up in court… is Trump himself.MoMA protested the ban by rehanging works by artists from Muslim nations. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said that they’re considering making people provide account passwords to enter the country. Meanwhile, multiple Canadian Muslims have been blocked from entering the U.S. on spurious grounds, and a wave of deportations is apparently beginning.
• The judiciary joins the press, intelligence community, & civil servants on Trump's institutional hit list. Jon Finer, a former State Department official, discusses the implications.  
• National security adviser Flynn discussed sanctions with Russian ambassador, despite denials, officials say. "If President Trump wants to find a sacrificial lamb, he’s got options,” argues David Graham.
• Seven steps to a major conflict with Iran
• "Unlike most tweens, Avery is suing the federal government." Meet the 11-year-old suing Trump and others over climate change.
• Kellyanne Conway tells people to 'buy Ivanka's stuff', which appears to have violated federal law.
• Here's what the very few Trump-supporting scientists have to say.
• How “Blue Lives Matter” went from a reactive slogan to White House policy
• The House GOP voted to kill the only federal agency making sure voting machines aren't hacked.
• A Hail Mary pass to block the Dakota Access pipeline under religious freedom law.
• Extensive leaks from the White House have led to several pieces, like this from the NYT and this from Politico, which portray a struggling administration wracked by in-fighting and inexperience
• The psychiatrist who wrote the guide to personality disorders says diagnosing Trump is “bullshit”
• Lamar Smith wants to stack the E.P.A.’s science advisory board with scientists who work for regulated industries.
• “Every previous first family took vacations. No previous first family profited off of them.”
• The list of poorly covered terrorist attacks that Trump tweeted was extensively covered. The trust that Trump set up to address conflicts is not going to address conflicts.
• This has been a long time coming. Wikipedia bans the Daily Mail as an unreliable source.
• And finally… America First, Switzerland Second, and other satirical videos.