Tag Archives: Reviews

Research Preview: Science Magazine – June 16, 2023

Science Magazine – June 16, 2023 issue: A wild little penguin (Eudyptula minor) stands silhouetted against the city of Melbourne, Australia. Increasing levels of light pollution are having adverse effects on humans and the natural world.

Losing the darkness

For most of history, the only lights made by humans were naked flames. Daily life was governed by the times of sunrise and sunset, outdoor nighttime activities depended on the phase of the Moon, and viewing the stars was a common and culturally important activity. Today, the widespread deployment of outdoor electric lighting means that the night is no longer dark for most people—few can see the Milky Way from their homes. Outdoor lighting has many legitimate uses that have benefited society. However, it often leads to illumination at times and locations that are unnecessary, excessive, intrusive, or harmful: light pollution.

Potential for recovery of declining reef sharks

Data on shark populations in coral reefs raise concern and hope for recovery

Sharks and their relatives are some of the most threatened vertebrates on Earth, with approximately one-third estimated or assessed as threatened with extinction (1). This is a major problem because as predators that help keep the food web in balance, these animals play a variety of vitally important ecological roles (2) and in doing so help to keep healthy many ecosystems that humans depend on. Coral reefs provide homes for countless fish species that are vital for fisheries and are therefore an especially important ecosystem for humans—and one where the decline of shark populations seems to be especially acute

Previews: The Economist Magazine – June 17, 2023

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The Economist Magazine– June 17, 2023 issue: America’s new best friend – Why India is indispensable.

Joe Biden and Narendra Modi are drawing their countries closer

India does not love the West, but it is indispensable to America

No country except China has propped up Russia’s war economy as much as oil-thirsty India. And few big democracies have slid further in the rankings of democratic freedom. But you would not guess it from the rapturous welcome Narendra Modi will receive in Washington next week. India’s prime minister has been afforded the honour of a state visit by President Joe Biden. The Americans hope to strike defence deals.

Lula’s ambitious plans to save the Amazon clash with reality

The Brazilian president faces resistance from Congress, the state oil company and agribusiness

Ukraine’s counter-offensive is making mixed progress

Its real test will come when it hits Russia’s prepared defences

Charlemagne: Why Europe’s asylum policy desperately needs rebooting

A deadly shipwreck in Greek waters highlights its dangers

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – June 15, 2023

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nature Magazine – June 15, 2023 issue: In this week’s issue, Abhinav Kandala and his colleagues show that it is still possible for a quantum computer to outperform a classical computer, by mitigating, rather  than correcting, the errors. 

DeepMind AI creates algorithms that sort data faster than those built by people

A replica of a game between 'Go' player Lee Se-Dol and a Google-developed super-computer, in Seoul, Korea, 2016.

The technology developed by DeepMind that plays Go and chess can also help to write code.

An artificial intelligence (AI) system based on Google DeepMind’s AlphaZero AI created algorithms that, when translated into the standard programming language C++, can sort data up to three times as fast as human-generated versions.

“We were a bit shocked,” said Daniel Mankowitz, a computer scientist at DeepMind who led the work. “We didn’t believe it at first.”

Ukraine dam collapse: what scientists are watching

Maxar satellite imagery of the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power facility.
Large sections of the Kakhovka dam have collapsed, unleashing catastrophic floods. Credit: Satellite image (c) 2023 Maxar Technologies via Getty

Extensive flooding could have severe consequences for farming, health and the environment.

The 66-year-old Kakhovka dam on the Dnieper River in south Ukraine collapsed on the morning of 6 June after a suspected explosion, triggering a catastrophic humanitarian and environmental crisis.

Politics: The Guardian Weekly – June 16, 2023

The Guardian Weekly (June 16, 2023) Ukraine and the Kakhovka dam burst. Plus: biting down into doughnut economics

More than a week has passed since the collapse of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine. Only as the flood waters begin to recede is the long-term scale of the disaster becoming apparent.

With suspicion (though not yet, according to western capitals, conclusive proof) falling on Moscow, Dan SabbaghArtem Mazhulin and Julian Borger report on a human and environmental catastrophe, and what it might mean for Ukraine’s counteroffensive plans against Russia.

And amid reports of disunity among Moscow’s ruling elite, Shaun Walker went along to a gathering of exiled influential Russians who are once again daring to dream of an end to Vladimir Putin’s rule.

Science Review: Scientific American – July 2023 Issue

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Scientific American – July 2023 Issue: Smart, adaptable and loud, parrots are thriving in cities far outside their native ranges.

Parrots Are Taking Over the World

Parrots Are Taking Over the World

By Ryan F. Mandelbaum

At Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery the living get as much attention as the dead. Groundskeepers maintain the 478-acre historic landmark as an arboretum and habitat for more than 200 breeding and migratory bird species. But many visiting wildlife lovers aren’t interested in those native birds. They’re at the entryway, their binoculars trained on the spire atop its Gothic Revival arches. They’ve come to see the parrots.

Extreme Heat Is Deadlier Than Hurricanes, Floods and Tornadoes Combined

Extreme Heat Is Deadlier Than Hurricanes, Floods and Tornadoes Combined

When dangerous heat waves hit cities, better risk communication could save lives

By Terri Adams-Fuller

Exposure to extreme heat can damage the central nervous system, the brain and other vital organs, and the effects can set in with terrifying speed, resulting in heat exhaustion, heat cramps or heatstroke. It also exacerbates existing medical conditions such as hypertension and heart disease and is especially perilous for people who suffer from chronic diseases. The older population is at high risk, and children, who may not be able to regulate their body temperatures as effectively as adults in extreme conditions, are also vulnerable.

Brain Waves Synchronize when People Interact

Brain Waves Synchronize when People Interact

The minds of social species are strikingly resonant

By Lydia Denworth

Art & Architecture Tour: Château La Coste, France

Château La Coste is a unique mix of contemporary art, architecture, and wine culture. A succulent cocktail for the eyes and the tastebuds.

Across 200 hectares (130 of which are full of grape vines), vineyards, chestnut forests, and olive tree fields spread as far as the eye can see into the Provençal horizon. It’s an invitation to take a walk for a veritable symphony of the senses, magnificent enough to have its own name – the Promande Art & Architecture.

The path – about a two-hour walk – will take you through a series of artworks and installations from contemporary artists invited to work on site. Just off the path, sitting atop a vast lake, admire the immense spider created by Franco-American artist Louise Bourgeois. Sitting at the top of the hill, next to the chapel created by Tadao Ando, raise your eyes and take in the great red Murano glass cross, imagined by Jean Michel Othonel.

The jaw-dropping surprises will lead you to the center of a forest, where you’ll find yourself face-to-face with foxes – but don’t worry! The creatures are cast in bronze, borne of the talent of American artist Michael Stipe.

Harvard Business Review – July/August 2023 Issue

Harvard Business Review (June 12, 2023) – Gen AI and the New Age of Human Creativity: How revolutionary technology can enhance, rather than replace, our powers of imagination.

How Generative AI Can Augment Human Creativity

Use it to promote divergent thinking. 

There is tremendous apprehension about the potential of generative AI—technologies that can create new content such as audio, text, images, and video—to replace people in many jobs. But one of the biggest opportunities generative AI offers to businesses and governments is to augment human creativity and overcome the challenges of democratizing innovation.

The TV You Watch When You’re Young Can Make You More Entrepreneurial

Having studied TV signals in East Germany from the 1960s to 1989 and rates of entrepreneurship there after German reunification, the researchers found that people in households with access to West German broadcasts were more likely than other East Germans to launch companies later in life.

Reviews: The ‘African And Oceanic Art’ Collection Of France’s Hélène Leloup

Sotheby’s (June 12, 2023) – Hélène Leloup is one of the art world’s true pioneers, bringing together a spirit of adventure, a detailed anthropological approach and deep knowledge to become one of the foremost specialists in African and Oceanic art in Paris and New York. 

Now aged 96, Hélène is regarded as France’s most important and passionate dealer of sub-Saharan and Oceanic art, an adventurer and explorer, ground-breaking gallerist and collector, and eminent specialist in Mbembe and Dogon art, ever since her first foray to Dakar in 1952.

Tech Products: Noise-Cancelling Headphones

Wall Street Journal (June 10, 2023) – Noise canceling is a hallmark feature of top headphones across brands, from Apple and Beats to Sony and Bose. Behind the simplicity of the technology from a user perspective, though, is cutting-edge hardware running sophisticated algorithms.

Video timeline: 0:00 A sound wave and its inverse 0:32 Destructive interference 1:30 Noise-canceling headphones’ origins 3:17 What background noise to remove 4:46 Transparency modes or aware modes

What kind of audio processing is necessary to eliminate background noise when listening to music or watching a movie? WSJ dives into how noise canceling works, how the technology has changed and where things are headed.

#NoiseCanceling #Headphones #WSJ