LINKS - December 15, 2021
Welcome to this week’s edition of LINKS — my attempt to provide Rhapsody readers with five interesting stories that tell us something about what it means to be human. LINKS is published every Wednesday.
When Biblically Inspired Pseudoscience and Clickbait Cause Looting
By Morag M. Kersel, Meredith S. Chesson, and Austin "Chad" Hill, Sapiens.org
“A team of anthropologists argues that flawed research linking biblical Sodom to an archaeological site led to media hype that harms science and encourages illegal excavations.”
Vikings in paradise: Were the Norse the first to settle the Azores?
By Michael Price, Science.org
“According to a new study of lake sediment cores, however, the Portuguese may not have been the first people to reach the island paradise: Viking seafarers may have arrived some 700 years earlier than de Silves and his crew. Any Vikings were long gone by the time Portuguese sailors arrived, the authors note, but some Norse rodent stowaways may have left a lasting genetic mark on the island.”
What We Can Learn from Babies’ Gut Microbiomes
By Theresa Sullivan Barger, Discover
“The healthy infant gut is an ecosystem much like a healthy ocean, and it's filled with trillions of microscopic bacteria. When environmental factors interfere with the natural balance — just as pollution does in the sea — this impacts the body’s ability to function at its best. Today, U.S. babies’ guts are less diverse than they used to be. Lacking a rich stew of microbial bacteria in infancy has been linked to autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, Crohn’s and celiac, as well as colic, asthma, eczema, and allergies, according to a June 2021 study published in Cell.”
New Clues about the Origins of Biological Intelligence
By Rafael Yuste & Michael Levin, Scientific American
“Modern biology faces a fundamental knowledge gap when trying to explain meaningful, intelligent behavior. How can a system composed of cells and electrical signals generate a well-adapted body with behavior and mental states? If cells are not intelligent, how can intelligent behavior emerge from a distributed system composed of them? This fundamental mystery permeates biology. All biological phenomena are, in a sense, “group decisions” because organisms are made of individual parts—organs, tissues, cells, organelles, molecules. What properties of living systems enable components to work together toward higher-level goals?”
Earth Is Getting a ‘Black Box’ to Hold Humans Accountable for Climate Change
By Livia Albeck-Ripka, New York Times
“The vault, known as Earth’s Black Box, will be constructed in Tasmania, an Australian island state off the south coast. It will operate much like a plane’s flight recorder, which records an aircraft’s final moments before crashing. But the makers of this new black box — including data researchers from the University of Tasmania, artists and architects — say they hope it won’t have to be opened.”