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Using microorganisms, researchers have successfully developed a new bio-based plastic to replace conventional plastic.

The study of elementary particles and forces is of central importance to our understanding of the universe. Now a team of physicists shows how an unconventional type of quantum computer opens a new door to the world of elementary particles.

The study of elementary particles and forces is of central importance to our understanding of the universe. Now a team of physicists shows how an unconventional type of quantum computer opens a new door to the world of elementary particles.

Nitrate, pesticides, metals, plastic -- agricultural soils often contain pollutants. But are there sustainable and climate-friendly ways to restore and promote soil health in agricultural land? Yes, says a research team. Specific plant species could be used as cover plants for phytoremediation, i.e. to relief agricultural land from adverse pollutant impacts. In their article, the researchers summarize the results of more than 100 scientific studies and present which plants, according to current knowledge, are suitable for removing pollutants from agricultural soils or trapping them in their root systems.

Enzymes originally evolved in high-temperature environments and later adapted to lower temperatures as Earth cooled. Scientists discovered that a key shift in enzyme function occurred over evolutionary time due to amino acid changes distant from the active site. These mutations lowered activation energy, enhancing catalytic efficiency at low temperatures. Their findings highlight how global cooling events influenced enzyme evolution.

Delayed and disorderly energy transitions will threaten economic and financial stability whilst also increasing the economic risks from climate change, according to a new study. Conversely, transitions that are started sooner are likely to be more orderly and economically beneficial.

Delayed and disorderly energy transitions will threaten economic and financial stability whilst also increasing the economic risks from climate change, according to a new study. Conversely, transitions that are started sooner are likely to be more orderly and economically beneficial.

This a robot can walk, without electronics, and only with the addition of a cartridge of compressed gas, right off the 3D-printer. It can also be printed in one go, from one material.

This a robot can walk, without electronics, and only with the addition of a cartridge of compressed gas, right off the 3D-printer. It can also be printed in one go, from one material.

To get around the constraints of quantum physics, researchers have built a new acoustic system to study the way the minuscule atoms of condensed matter talk together. They hope to one day build an acoustic version of a quantum computer.

To get around the constraints of quantum physics, researchers have built a new acoustic system to study the way the minuscule atoms of condensed matter talk together. They hope to one day build an acoustic version of a quantum computer.

Researchers have determined that six gas valves provide the best protection against plasma disruptions in SPARC, a next-generation, experimental fusion system. By refining the setup for the fusion vessel's massive gas injection system, researchers are ensuring that disruptions -- sudden jets of plasma that can damage the fusion vessel's inner walls -- are controlled efficiently, paving the way for safer, more robust fusion power plants.

Researchers wondered if there was a more ethical way to enjoy foie gras, so they created a process to replicate the dish without force-feeding ducks and geese beyond their normal diets. They treated the fat with the bird's own lipases, mimicking the activities that occur naturally in the duck's body, and the resultant foie gras looked correct with noninvasive laser microscopy. The team confirmed the physical properties with stress-deformation tests and found that the treated foie gras had a similar mouthfeel to the original.

Researchers examine the properties of several dairy-free butter alternatives inside one of the region's most well-known snacks: Scottish shortbread. The group tested the alternatives in their lab, selecting three types of vegan butter substitutes with different levels of fat and comparing their consistencies and responses to heat. The vegan alternative with the highest fat content behaved like butter when baked and yielded the most positive feedback in taste testing. Butter typically has a fat content around 80%, and the group recommends choosing a vegan butter with a similar consistency.

A new test of AI capabilities consists of puzzles that humans are able to solve without too much trouble, but which all leading AI models struggle with. To improve and pass the test, AI companies will need to balance problem-solving abilities with cost.

Here’s an archived link to an ad for a consultant oral maxillofacial surgeon at Dunedin Hospital. The curious thing—well, not so curious given that it’s New Zealand,—is the list of required qualifications. Click to read (a New Zealand dollar is worth about 57¢ in U.S. currency):

Some of the details:

About the role

In this newly created role that will be hospital based, we are seeking an Oral Maxillofacial Surgeon for a fulltime, permanent position at Dunedin Public Hospital. We would also welcome candidates with sub-specialty interests.

The successful applicant will be expected to provide the full scope of general Oral and Maxillofacial surgery including but not limited to the management of  facial trauma, pathology, infections and orthognathic surgery.  Duties includes active participation in inpatient and outpatient clinics, clinical audit, quality, clinical guidelines/pathways, professional development, appraisal and risk management.

Given the catchment area Te Whatu Ora Southern services, you will be able to take on cases that are diverse and complex; providing you with a rewarding role. There will be an on-call roster in place, this is set at 1:3. Our links with the University of Otago and affiliation with the Faculty of Dentistry means that you may be involved in the teaching of Dental and Medical Students.

Mōu ake | About you

• Eligibility for vocational registration with the Dental Council of New Zealand
• We would also welcome applications from advanced trainees.
• FRACDS (OMS) or equivalent board certification
• Excellent communication and time management skills

Here’s the part that stamps it as “from New Zealand”. I’ve added links and the translation from Māori, the latter in brackets:

You will also need:

• • Competency with te ao Māori [the Māori worldview], tikanga [the “right way to doing things” according to the Māori], and te reo Māori [the Māori language] or a commitment to starting your journey and taking ownership of your learning and growth
  • Experience in projects / initiatives which give effect to Te Tiriti [the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi] principals [sic] and frameworks, and the application of Mātauranga Māori [Māori “ways of knowing”] and Kaupapa Māori  [“Māori customary practices”] approaches, particularly as they apply in healthcare settings.

In other words, you need to know a great deal about Māori culture and also speak or be learning the language (however, out of 978,000 Māori in NZ, only 55% say they have “some knowledge” of the language and only about 5% say they can speak the language well.  This doesn’t say how many Māori understand English, but it’s surely close to 100%. The requirement that you either know the language or are learning it is, then, largely superfluous; in this way the ad is looking for people who can signal their virtue.

Finally, we have the ubiquitous but ambiguous requirement that the applicant have engaged in “projects/initiatives” that “give effect to the Treaty of Waitangi,” another completely superfluous requirement. “Te Tiriti,” as it’s called, has nothing to do with surgery; it simply specified in 1840 that the Māori would surrender sovereignty to England, but would keep and rule over their lands and villages, and would also acquire all the rights of a British citizen.  If you can tell me which “Te Tiriti-themed” projects are essential to have engaged in for this surgeon’s job, and why those projects are necessarily, I’d be glad to hear it.

The is once again an example of how indigenous people leverage their supposed modern oppression to get more “stuff,” how New Zealand has surrendered to that “victimhood” approach, and, above all, how merit is given at least equal priority to indigeneity. (If you’re a great surgeon but know squat about Te Tiriti and can’t speak Māori, I doubt you’d even be considered for the job.)

Over at Point of Order, which is consistently critical of this kind of stuff, Yvonne van Dongen takes the ad apart. Click below to read her snarky but accurate critique:

An excerpt:

If you had impacted wisdom teeth requiring surgery, would it comfort you to know the consultant surgeon was competent in te ao Māori?

Or, say, if you needed oral cancer surgery, is it a bonus if the person operating on your mouth has had experience in projects and initiatives which give effect to Te Tiriti principles?

How about if you had to go under the knife for facial trauma – does it ease your anxiety knowing that the consultant surgeon is steeped in the application of Mātauranga Māori and Kaupapa Māori approaches, particularly as they apply in healthcare settings?

Southern Health thinks the answer is yes to all the above.

This week an advertisement on their careers website for a consultant oral maxillofacial surgeon at Dunedin Hospital stated that competency in te ao Māori, tikanga, and te reo Māori was a requirement. Or at the very least “a commitment to starting your journey and taking ownership of your learning and growth.”

As well, they asked for

“Experience in projects / initiatives which give effect to Te Tiriti principals (sic) and frameworks, and the application of Mātauranga Māori and Kaupapa Māori approaches, particularly as they apply in healthcare settings.”

Apart from spelling principles incorrectly, Southern Health clearly thinks they know what the principles of the Treaty are, even though this is a topic hotly debated thanks to Act’s Treaty Principles Bill.

Apparently, after inquiries from the press, New Zealand Health is reassessing these requirements, and pondering that wondering whether, after all, just merit and experience should be the qualifications. The answer, of course, is “yes.”

Scientists have replicated the luxurious mouthfeel of foie gras using the liver and fat of ducks reared and slaughtered normally, avoiding the controversial techniques involved in traditional production

Mordecai and Esther are still here, and looking fat, healthy and happy. I thought I’d show a few photos today in lieu of Readers’ Wildlife, and add a couple of videos. (I tried to get a photo of Esther quackling loudly, which she’s wont to do, but she didn’t perform yesterday, when I took all these photos and videos.)

First a photo of the ducks. Here’s Mordecai. Isn’t he handsome?

Here he is getting out of the pond after a bracing swim (It was chilly yesterday). Esther swims nearby (the camera was a bit wonky), about to follow him:

The lovely Queen Esther:

Here’s the pair on their favorite spot: the warm cement ledge on the east side of the Pond, where they rest and dry off in the afternoons. Esther has a quick drink, and they sun themselves and preen.

Mordecai looking around. I love his iridescent head.

The difference in appearance between males (drakes) and females (hens) is surely due to sexual selection. The females are well camouflaged in the grass, while males sacrifice some of that camouflage to attract females. We have no idea why females prefer yellow beaks and metallic green heads; the reason why females in different species prefer different traits is largely a mystery. (Of course there are some sex differences in traits, like antlers in elk and body size used for fighting in elephant seals, that are well understood; males win females–and offspring–by winning contests. Darwin called this the “law of battle.”)

Here they are both out of the water. Towards the end of this short video Mordecai engages in some stretching, which we call “duck yoga”. He also scratches his chin, though ducks don’t have chins.

Esther and Mordecai together on the edge. They’re both oiling their feathers. Mallards have an oil gland at the base of their tail, and they repeatedly dip their beaks in it and then spread the oil on their feathers to waterproof them. Hence the expression, “Like water off a duck’s back.” If you’ve ever seen a duck in the rain, you’ll see that the water just beads up and runs off their oily bodies.

Ciaran Martin, the former head of cyber security at GCHQ, says the UK government was "naive" to expect a request for Apple to weaken its encryption services to remain secret. He thinks governments must come to terms with the fact that uncrackable encryption is here to stay.

In the ongoing debate over the benefits and harms of smartphone use in children, initial data from a US survey suggests the devices can actually improve well-being and social connections, but social media use may be more harmful