Links for 20210808
A universal early-warning system for catastrophic bio-threats: A Global Nucleic Acid Observatory for Biodefense and Planetary Health https://arxiv.org/abs/2108.02678
Aldehyde perfusion fixation (compatible with long-term cryostorage provably preserves synaptic connectivity, ultrastructural features of neurons and synapses, locations and identities of ion channels, receptors, and the majority of other biomolecules https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001122401500245X
"Could AI have written a better novel?" (Eric Silberstein looks at GPT-3 completions of his SF novel's prologue) https://www.ericsilberstein.com/could-ai-have-written-a-better-novel.html
China Says It’s Closing in on a Thorium Nuclear Reactor https://spectrum.ieee.org/china-closing-in-on-thorium-nuclear-reactor
"Humans evolved a sense of fairness, a tendency to cooperate and conform, and a low level of reactive aggression because our hunter-gatherer ancestors ganged up against and killed antisocial, hyperaggressive males." http://www2.units.it/etica/2021_2/WRANGHAM.pdf
"On average, each standard deviation increase in birth weight was associated with a 2.75% increase in annual earnings [(95% CI: 1.44 to 4.07); 9 estimates]." https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-developmental-origins-of-health-and-disease/article/birth-weight-and-adult-earnings-a-systematic-review-and-metaanalysis/AEA9789C3A669F84511770442D77C4CF
A tweet cost him his doctorate: The extent of China’s influence on Swiss universities https://www.nzz.ch/amp/english/swiss-phd-students-dismissal-spotlights-chinas-influence-ld.1638771