a film about Stan [not a film review]

total elimination of nuclear weapons

75 years later, it is more than time for full nuclear disarmament!

radioactive ant fiction [in J. Hymenoptera Research]

Following a link in Nature, I read a short communication in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research [which I confess I rarely peruse!], which sounded more like a B movie from the 1950s than a scientific article. Starting with the title “Ants trapped for years in an old bunker; survival by cannibalism“! (This is actually the second episode in the series.) While the bunker was intended for storing Soviet nuclear weapons, no radioactivity impacted on the ants and they (the colony) survived in the dark at the bottom of the bunker for 22 years, with no source of food but their own, with new ants falling into the bunker on a regular basis. Hence the title. What I found most surprising in the paper is the fact that it is a sheer description of an observation (with field pictures) and of an intervention (we set a 3m vertical boardwalk to allow for escape) that reminded me more of my childhood fascination with ants (involving radical interventions) than of a typical science paper!

and it only gets worse…

” A recent survey by Bankrate.com found that just 40% of US households have enough money to cover a $1,000 in emergency expenses.” The Guardian, Feb 2, 2019

““Until we heard those cheers coming from Albany, we thought states were moving beyond such barbaric practices.” Mr. Pence offered his argument as a litmus test of morality; he described the new abortion legislation as a “shameless embrace of a culture of death.” But among conservatives, the White House’s outrage was also greeted as a clear and shrewd political strategy” The New York Times, Feb 1, 2019

“When Senator Elizabeth Warren formally announced her 2020 presidential bid this weekend, President Trump responded with a familiar line of attack. He mocked Ms. Warren for her claims to Native American ancestry, again calling her by the slur “Pocahontas.” Mr. Trump then appeared to refer to the Trail of Tears, the infamously cruel forced relocation of Native Americans in the 19th century that caused thousands of deaths.” The New York Times, Feb 10, 2019

“The United States is suspending one of the last major nuclear arms control treaties with Russia after heated conversations between the two powers recently failed to resolve a long-running accusation that Moscow is violating the Reagan-era treaty. Mr. Pompeo acknowledged a risk of a new arms race if the treaty is ultimately scrapped after the six-month window.” The New York Times, Feb 1, 2019

“In some states, lawmakers have sought to pass laws that would ban or severely restrict abortion in the event that Roe v. Wade is eventually overturned or effectively gutted (…) The court is likely to confront other abortion cases, too, as several state legislatures have recently enacted laws that seem calculated to try to force the Supreme Court to consider overruling Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion.” The New York Times, Feb 8, 2019

“Mr. Trump’s willingness to invoke emergency powers to circumvent Congress is likely to go down as an extraordinary violation of constitutional norms — setting a precedent that future presidents of both parties may emulate to unilaterally achieve their own policy goals.” The New York Times, Feb 15, 2019