Sergio Parra

A group of economists from Yale University they have not found evidence about what The $600 weekly unemployment benefits that the US Congress authorized in March have reduced employment.

The study results directly challenge a claim frequently made by Republican lawmakers and members of the Trump administration that additional unemployment payments decrease people's desire to return to work.

CARES Act

The expanded CARES Act benefits, a $2.2 trillion stimulus package passed in March, will expire on July 31. And it's not causing a wave of laziness, as many think.

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Overpaying executives: a bad idea

The findings of the cited study suggested that, taken together, the expanded benefits 'neither encouraged layoffs during the onset of the pandemic nor deterred people from returning to work once businesses began to reopen.'

The researchers noted that workers who received larger increases in their unemployment benefits relative to their wages did not experience larger declines in employment. after the enactment of the CARES Act.

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Attractive people have better salaries, but less than those who are very unattractive

The researchers used weekly data from Homebase, a company that provides scheduling and scheduling software to small businesses in the United States. The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago found a similar trend, according to MarketWatch.

'Those currently receiving benefits search more than twice as hard as those who have exhausted their benefits,' said the study, which was published in June.

The Chicago Fed study also noted that unemployment benefits generally last six months and that people They are paid around 35% of their weekly salary on average.

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The $600 unemployment benefits have not made people work less in the United States

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Researchers have defined Christian nationalism as 'an ideology that idealizes and advocates a fusion of American civic life with a particular type of Christian identity and culture.'

The results of a recent study showed that Christian nationalism was the main predictor of Americans behaving recklessly in the face of COVID-19, being reluctant to wear masks or establish social distancing.

The psychological reasons

Results have suggested that religious Americans, particularly white evangelicals, are less likely to practice precautionary measures such as mask-wearing and social distancing. But Looking at general religious attitudes only gives part of the picture.

Christian nationalism is generally characterized by being fundamentalist and supportive of ultra-conservative ideals, according to researchers. The ideology includes several key components:

• Skepticism towards science and scientists
• The belief that Americans are God's chosen and protected people
• Distrust of the media
• Commitment to President Donald Trump

The logical conclusion of this kind of thinking is: America can save itself not through precautionary measures, such as wearing masks, but through devotion to God. Furthermore, it is logical that Christian nationalists trust the media and scientists less, since these sources are generally not concerned with promoting a conservative, religious worldview.

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American Christian Nationalists Least Want to Wear Masks and Social Distancing

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Chemical researchers at Scripps Research, Hans Renata and Alexander Adibekian, They have discovered a way to efficiently create a synthetic version of a valuable natural compound called cepafungin I, which has shown promise as an anticancer agent.

This bacterial secretion can block a piece of molecular machinery known as proteasome, a strategy that many existing anticancer drugs use to destroy tumor cells. The point is that cepafungin I binds to not one but two sites on the proteasome, offering much more promising results.

The complex molecular structure of cepafungin

The cepafungin I It first intrigued researchers for its usefulness as an antifungal substance and then as a promising anticancer agent. It kills cells by acting on the proteasome, which is responsible for cleaning the 'garbage' produced by cells. When the function of the proteasome is blocked, cells are affected by its waste and die. As explained Hans Renata:

Because cepafungin I is able to engage the proteasome in two ways, it allows amplification of its effect. We demonstrate that this compound elicits many downstream biological responses similar to those of the FDA-approved chemotherapy bortezomib, while also having certain qualities that may translate into fewer unwanted side effects for patients.

In Xataka Science

If pigeons are as good as humans at diagnosing cancer, we need algorithms

Due to the complex molecular structure of cepafungin, however, manufacturing enough of it efficiently is a challenge. The Scripps research team has done it and can synthesize the compound in just nine steps. For comparison, a related compound known as glidobactin A was synthesized in 21 steps in 1992, which was considered a milestone at the time.

The team was able to speed up the process by using certain enzymes that allowed the construction of one of the key building blocks of the compound, an amino acid. They then developed other methods to simplify the construction of other parts of the molecule, including a portion of branched lipids that were later found to contributed to the potent activity of the compound.

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Artificial Intelligence now allows breast cancer to be detected up to five years in advance

After creating the compound, chemists discovered that, in addition to being exceptionally selective in targeting two sites on the proteasome, it did not show any unwanted cross-reactions with other proteins in cells, a characteristic that could make it a better drug candidate.

The FDA has already approved three proteasome inhibitors (bortezomib, carfilzomib, and ixazomib) for the treatment of multiple myeloma. "But those drugs have some potentially serious side effects and cancer cells can develop resistance to them over time," says co-author Adibekian, an associate professor of chemistry at Scripps Research. 'There is a need for alternative and more specific proteasome inhibitors.'

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It is possible to efficiently create the synthetic version of a very promising compound as an anti-cancer agent

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According to an investigation conducted by Melissa Hubisz and Amy Williams, from Cornell University, and Adam Siepel, from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, which has been published in the journal PLOS Genetics, some humans have DNA from an unidentified ancient ancestor.

The researchers developed an algorithm to analyze genomes that can identify segments of DNA that come from other species.

Genomic algorithm

This new algorithm solves the problem of identifying small remnants of gene flow that occurred hundreds of thousands of years ago, when only a handful of ancient genomes are available.

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The extinction of the Neanderthals could have been due to a simple stroke of bad luck

In the study, an algorithm was used to look at the genomes of two Neanderthals, a Denisovan, and two African humans. The researchers found evidence that the 3 % of the Neanderthal genome came from ancient humans, and they estimate that the crossing occurred between 200,000 and 300,000 years ago.

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Human diseases influenced the extinction of Neanderthals

Furthermore, 1 % in the Denisovan genome probably came from an unknown and more distant relative, possibly Homo erectus, and approximately 15% of these 'super-archaic' regions may have been transmitted to present-day modern humans. As one of the authors, Adam Siepel, explains:

What I think is exciting about this work is that it demonstrates what can be learned about deep human history by jointly reconstructing the entire evolutionary history of a collection of sequences from modern humans and archaic hominids. This new algorithm Melissa has developed, 'ARGweaver-D', can go further back in time than any other computational method I have seen. It appears to be especially powerful in detecting ancient introgression.

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Some modern humans carry DNA from an archaic and unknown ancestor

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According to a new study published by chemical researchers in the journal Chem, by formulating positively charged fluorescent dyes in a new class of materials called small molecule ion isolation lattices (SMILES), the glow of a compound can be transferred seamlessly to a solid, crystalline state.

The breakthrough overcomes a barrier to the development of fluorescent solids, resulting in the brightest materials known to date.

Fluorescent solids

Although there are currently more than 100,000 different fluorescent dyes available, almost none of these can be mixed and combined in a predictable way to create solid optical materials. Dyes tend to 'go out' when they enter a solid state because of how they behave when packed closely together, decreasing the intensity of their fluorescence to produce a dimmer glow.

To overcome this problem, a colored dye has been mixed with a colorless solution of cyanostar, a star-shaped macrocycle molecule that prevents fluorescent molecules from interacting as the mixture solidifies, keeping its optical properties intact.

As the mixture became a solid, SMILES were formed, which the researchers then turned into crystals, precipitated into dry powders, and finally spun into a thin film or incorporated directly into polymers. Since cyanostar macrocycles form building blocks that generate a checkerboard lattice, researchers could simply plug a dye into the lattice and, without further adjustment, the structure would take on its color and appearance.

According to Amar Flood, a chemist at Indiana University and co-lead author of the study, along with Bo Laursen, from the University of Copenhagen:

These materials have potential applications in any technology that requires bright fluorescence or requires engineered optical properties, including solar energy harvesting, bioimaging, and lasers.

Beyond these, there are interesting applications including upconversion of light to capture more of the solar spectrum in solar cells, light switching materials used for information storage and photochromic glass, and circularly polarized luminescence that can be use in 3-D visualization technology.

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These are the brightest fluorescent materials ever devised.

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One of the moral reasons why many people refuse to eat meat is that animals suffer. Therefore, it is a very interesting moral dilemma (especially since it could occur soon) to wonder if many of these people would then choose to eat meat that "wants to be eaten" or "feels pleasure instead of pain."

This is what is proposed, for example, by the philosopher Julian Baggini In his book titled, precisely, The pig that wanted to be ham.

The chicken with a carrot conscience

If, thanks to genetic engineering, we manage to conceive chickens with the same level of consciousness as a carrot, Would there be something morally objectionable about eating them? What would be wrong with depriving those chickens of an existence of which they have never been aware?

There would also be the possibility of turning the pain of a pig in a slaughterhouse into simple pleasure. Could we eat a creature like that? What if the pig wanted to be part of a feast of sausages, ham or crispy bacon? Could we deny him such a desire, such an aspiration, such an orgasmic pleasure... especially if we also feel it, eating their meat in a clear win-win?

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[Books that inspire us] 'The pig that wanted to be ham', by Julian Baggini

satirical science fiction writer Douglas Adams imagined something like that in The restaurant at the end of the world, where its protagonist, Arthur Dent, he was horrified at the prospect of eating a pig called Priscilla with whom he had fraternized the previous week. The sow, in fact, was intelligent and could talk. But I also wanted, needed to be food. Dent doesn't want to, but Zaphod Beeblebrox He objects that surely it won't be "better than eating an animal that doesn't want to be eaten."

We could also reply that we are violating the natural order of things. Or that we simply feel moral disgust. However, at first we can affirm that Agriculture itself also disrupts the natural order, because varieties are selected and produced so that they grow massively, also attacking the environment. The second thing is that, in the beginning, most of us also felt moral disgust for transplants or transfusions, but that is no longer the case: we can educate our disgust.

In Xataka Science

How agriculture made us shorter than we were

What do you think? How would you approach this dilemma? Would it be the end of vegetarianism? I elaborate a little on this dilemma (eating meat) in the following video:

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Would you eat a chicken that doesn't feel pain? And a pig that wants to be eaten?

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According to A study published in the magazine Biology Letters, oysters are one of the creatures that live in sync with the moon, since the lunar cycle influences the width of the opening of their shells.

Biological clock

After tracking down 12 Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas, which were submerged along the French coast, were carefully observed through three lunar cycles, each lasting 29.5 days. Using electrodes, They measured the width with which the oysters opened their shells every 1.6 seconds, and then compared that data with data about the moon's cycle.

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Extraordinary singularities of ordinary animals (XXXVII): the pearl oyster

They thus discovered that oysters paid attention to the phases of the moon: as the moon grew or became full, the oysters narrowed their shells, never closing them completely. And when the moon began to wane, or retreated into the new moon phase, they opened their shells again.

What that suggests is that oysters may rely on an internal moon clock rather than direct signals, such as the intensity of moonlight. If that were the case, they would open their shells equally during the first quarter moon and the last quarter moon since the intensity of the light would be similar. But the oysters reacted differently to those phases, suggesting they are following an internal calendar rather than reacting to Moonlight.

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Our brain's clock goes back two weeks a year

But why do oysters care about the phases of the moon? Laura Payton, co-author of the study from the University of Bordeaux, points out the following:

We know that oysters open their valves when there is food, and previous research has shown that the movement of plankton, which oysters filter from seawater and consume, is influenced by moonlight.

Oysters aren't the only creatures that follow lunar cycles. Sozens of coral species use moonlight as a signal to release their wads of eggs and sperm. Some crab species also use the intensity of moonlight to signal the start of their mating migrations. Salmon, squid, and plankton also synchronize their life cycles with the moon.

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Oysters open and close their shells in sync with the phases of the Moon

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Kill one person to prevent the death of ten? Torture a victim to prevent someone else from torturing them more cruelly? Commit something illegal because someone else will end up committing it in the same way? All of them are dilemmas, unsolvable through logic, that are resolved under the moral prism of the consequentialism.

Consequentialism, then, maintains that the morality of an action depends only on its consequences (the end justifies the means).

Teleological ethics

Consequentialism, or teleological ethics, refers to all those theories of normative ethics that hold that the rightness or wrongness of our actions is determined by the value or disvalue that occurs due to them. It is also known as consecutive ethics, since the judgment of acts is based on their consequences, and is opposed to deontological ethics, which maintain that the morality of an action is independent of the good or evil generated from it.

A type of teleological ethics, the one that perhaps interests us most when we morally evaluate an everyday issue, is utilitarianism, that is: an action is morally correct if favorable results predominate over undesirable ones, regardless of who the beneficiaries are. Therefore, The best possible action is that which produces the greatest good; as would be measured by an impartial observer.

It has been argued against consequentialist ethics that it is impossible to fully estimate the consequences of an action, making it difficult to reach confident judgments about them. So, instead of consequentialism, others opt for virtue ethics: upholding untouchable ethical principles, whatever happens (even if it is bad for one or bad for all).

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Those on the left and those on the right are good people but in different ways

Naturally, none of us adopts one way or another of conducting ourselves through the world absolutely, but rather swings from one extreme to another depending on the circumstances and, also, our own feelings. moral matrices. The theory of moral matrices or moral foundations was first proposed by psychologists Jonathan Haidt and Craig Joseph, based on the work carried out by the cultural anthropologist Richard Shweder, and has subsequently been developed by a diverse group of collaborators, and popularized in Haidt's book entitled The mind of the righteous.

Our moral matrixes also incline us to adopt all kinds of decisions, including political ones (from our position to abortion to If we heel to the left or right).

There is no correct position. Everything can be debated and weighed. However, to know to what extent you can feel moral disgust or not when acting in a consequentialist way, I propose below a small moral dilemma in this regard.:

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To what extent can the end justify the means? It all depends on your moral matrix

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Excessive monotony bores and distracts, as does excessive noise. You have to be able to swing from one extreme to the other. Even when it comes to fonts (in this same entry you will see various sizes and bold, for example, as well as some links).

This is what a group of psychologists discovered who agreed with various teachers to reformat the pedagogical materials they usedb.

Three unusual fonts

He study involved real students in real classrooms in Chesterfield, Ohio. The researchers began by obtaining supplemental class materials, such as PowerPoint presentations, handouts, and worksheets, from a variety of teachers. Topics included English, physics, history and chemistry.

Half of the classes, selected at random, continued with the same books. The other half were given the same books but reformatted with each of these three unusual fonts., such as Hattenschweller, Monotype corsiva and Comic Sans Italicised.

They are clearly fonts that, at first glance, are distracting and seem absurd, especially in the case of Comic Sans. However, these sources forced students to pay attention, calm down, and think about what they were reading.

The classes that had finally made use of these strange fonts, well, They ended up getting better grades in the final exams of the semester.

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The two characteristics that combine the experts who make the most mistakes

This study demonstrated that students' retention of material in a wide range of subjects (science and humanities classes) and difficulty levels (regular, honors, and advanced placement) can be significantly improved in natural settings by presenting the material reading in a format that is a little more difficult to understand. If a simple change of source can significantly increase student achievement, one can only imagine the number of beneficial cognitive interventions waiting to be discovered.

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How using different fonts allows the reader to concentrate more

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Many of the best jobs we get in our lives do not come after an exhaustive search through job boards, but rather by making contacts. However, although it may be counterintuitive, The least intimate contacts, the weakest ties, are those that provide the best opportunities.

It is what already confirmed In 1973 the American sociologist Mark Granovetter, in what he came to call the “strength of weak ties.”

Social network structure

What Granovetter did was study the structure of the social network of those who had a good job. What he discovered is that the best jobs come from personal contacts, yes, but distant ones, such as old acquaintances from university or colleagues from a previous job.

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World map of social networks

Most recent studies that have been based on the registration of millions of mobile phones support Granovetter's thesis: the most important ties are often the weakest. As abounds in it Tim Harford in his book The power of disorder:

In retrospect, this seemingly paradoxical finding is obvious. In a clique everyone knows each other and will tell each other the same gossip. But the more peripheral the contact, the more likely it will be to tell something new.

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The strength of weak ties or how to find the best jobs

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