The Ed's Up #192

How the Democratic Republic of the Congo Beat Ebola in 42 Days

"As anti-climaxes go, it was a most welcome one. On May 11, the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) notified the World Health Organization that one of its citizens had been infected with the Ebola virus. The announcement marked the start of the country’s first Ebola outbreak since the historically unprecedented West African epidemic that infected 28,000 people between 2014 and 2016, and killed more than 11,000. But after just 42 days, it was all over." (Image: Reuters)
 

The Bipartisan Fight for Quieter Oceans

"Last night, to celebrate the fourth of July, the air over the U.S. filled with fireworks. The noise they created was extremely loud and, mercifully, brief. But imagine having to listen to even louder explosions once every ten seconds, for days or weeks on end. Starting this fall, that may be the new reality for whales, fish, and other marine life off the eastern seaboard, if the Trump administration’s plans go ahead." (Image: Mike Hutchings)

The Moral Question That Stanford Asks Its Bioengineering Students

"When students in Stanford University’s Introduction to Bioengineering course sit for their final exams, the first question that they have to answer is about our ability to write DNA..." (Image: Mario Tama)
 

How African Americans Use DNA Testing to Connect With Their Past

"The history of genetics as a field is steeped in eugenics and scientific racism. And yet, Nelson says that for many African Americans, DNA testing held a special appeal because many of the traditional methods of genealogy had been complicated by the history of slavery. Records disappeared. Names changed. People were trafficked across state lines. Stories were verboten because they were too traumatic. Ancestry testing offered a way of circumventing these obstacles, and airing stories that might never otherwise have come to light. “It’s an interesting story about race and genetics,” Nelson says. “When we talk about African Americans in science, it’s often a story of skepticism and distrust. But this ancestry-testing story is one of pioneering early adopters who are willing to do something different." (Image: AP)
 

More good reads: science and tech

• Whose laughter is on the Voyager golden record? This is an amazing detective story by Adrienne LaFrance with a wonderful reveal at the end.
• Carl Zimmer on a new twist in the increasingly complicated tale of Neanderthals and modern humans.
• Former Smithsonian star scientist Kris Helgen is cleared of wrongdoing after a months-long conflict with administrators
• America’s maternal mortality rate has almost doubled in the last two decades. California shows how to beat the trend. Julia Belluz reports.
• "The night of destruction set conservation efforts back nearly a decade." A horrific tale of asshole teens destroying endangered albatrosses.

 

More good reads: politics and society 

• This superb piece by Mark Bowden lays out America's four options for dealing with North Korea. (All are bad.)
• Trump’s vote-fraud commission is "...equipped to begin one of the most comprehensive and coordinated voter-suppression efforts in recent history,” says Vann Newkirk II. The commission is facing opposition, says David Graham. And Maggie Koerth-Baker notes that it has a serious data problem.
• Beautiful Leigh Cowart essay on forest fires and collapsing marriages
• Sarah Jeong talks about the surreal experience of becoming a US citizen under Trump, while also covering immigration.
• The courts deliver a rare environmental victory in the Trump era
• Why Grenfell Tower Burned: a heartbreaking NYT piece, with fascinating historical bits about the legacy of the 1666 Great Fire
• A cautionary tale about rushing legislation: the GOP almost authorized pregnant New Hampshire to murder with impunity
• "Art is an act of resistance." Chuck Wendig on staying motivated in a shitshow world
• McKay Coppins offers a tour of the left's media landscape—where outrageous claims and fake news are taking hold and spreading swiftly.
• Trump’s new travel ban is taking place out of sight and within existing injustices in immigration law, making it harder to challenge.

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And that's it. Thanks for reading.

- Ed