Normally, I’m not a big reader of science fiction, but I have enjoyed the single page sci-fi feature on the back page of Nature. Since we’ve published a whole lot on symbiosis at The Biological Bulletin, the latest piece was particularly enjoyable, behind the firewall here.
Social engineering meets behavioral economics
A recent paper on paying experimental subjects to run potential malware is here [pdf]. Hat tip Bruce Schneier. Money quote (and I mean money):
We show that as the price increased, more and more users who understood the risks ultimately ran the code. We conclude that users are generally unopposed to running programs of unknown provenance, so long as their incentives exceed their inconvenience.
Mergers and Acquisitions: USC thinks about Scripps Institute….
The story’s here. It’s an interesting follow on to the University of Chicago and MBL, story here. I think it’s an interesting comment on the viability of private stand-alone scientific institutions in the current science R&D funding environment. In any case, USC has done very well in recent years. They would be an interesting addition to the ecosystem on Torrey Pines Road.
What if oil reserves became stranded assets?
Martin Wolf’s really cogent FT op ed is here. For loyal readers who can’t get behind the FT firewall, the gist is that investors would be smart to discount the value of oil reserves based on the possibility that they may eventually be ‘stranded assets’ as a result of Climate Change policies.
Now that’s more like it…
The Microbiome and hospital infections….
Nature Magazine has a really excellent report on how our understanding of the human microbiome may have big payoffs in the clinic, here.
Something very cool is happening in biotech…..
Life scientists are extremely well trained in technology these days…from coding, to hacking instrumentation. And that’s in addition to their deep understanding of genomes and cell biology.
All of this is starting to pay off I think…in a new generation of biotech startups that seem to be short-circuiting the usual angel, venture capital process. FT has a good story on the phenomenon here.
Just the facts please….
For loyal readers who look to the raw data, here [pdf] are the proposed EPA regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.
Money quote:
Nationwide, by 2030, this rule would achieve CO2 emission
reductions from the power sector of approximately 30 percent
from CO2 emission levels in 2005. This goal is achievable because
innovations in the production, distribution and use of
electricity are already making the power sector more efficient
and sustainable while maintaining an affordable, reliable and
diverse energy mix.
Pushback against The Internet of Things….
From Economist’s Babbage, here. His term? The Internet of Nothings…clever yes, but I think perhaps he’s onto something as far as Silicon Valley fads go.
This happens in science also by the way….in my own field of molecular signal transduction, various enzymes called kinases have come in and out of favor (as measured by number of publications)…
The skinny on the House NSF authorization bill…(it’s not pretty)
Story from ScienceInsider is here. Short version: Congressional authorizers want to shrink what appropriators have already passed–a world turned upside down.
Discoverers and Discoveries 