Ultra-selfish Genes & Awkwardness

Featured Articles

The ultra-selfish gene

worksinprogress.co • 3 Sep 2024 • ~5700 words

This piece discusses the potential and risks of CRISPR/Cas9 gene drives, a revolutionary technology that allows us to modify entire species. From targeting disease-carrying mosquitoes to the ethical dilemmas of ecological balance, this article delves into what it truly means to wield such power over nature. If you’ve ever wondered about the implications of gene editing, this is a must-read.

Genes in nature have found many creative ways of raising their inheritance rate. Some genes have even found ways to get themselves copied onto other chromosomes in their own cell or, amazingly, into cells in other organisms by, for example, being carried by viruses. When this kind of ultra-selfish gene, also known as a selfish genetic element, spreads throughout a population, even when carrying no advantage, we call it a natural gene drive event.

Make it awkward!

Aeon • 6 Sep 2024 • ~3050 words

The article explores the nature of awkwardness, arguing that it is not an individual failing but rather a collective social phenomenon. It examines how awkwardness can inhibit important conversations and moral decision-making and suggests that we should view it as an opportunity to improve social infrastructure rather than something to be personally ashamed of.

The desire to avoid awkwardness acts as a powerful social inhibition, preventing people from speaking up, and motivating compliance with problematic social and moral norms. So, which is it, then? Is awkwardness a funny, quirky, everyday occurrence, something we should learn to live with and even embrace?

Recommended Articles

How NAFTA Broke American Politics

New York Times • 3 Sep 2024 • ~6000 words • Archive Link

In this thought-provoking piece, Dan Kaufman explores how NAFTA reshaped the American political landscape and impacted industrial cities like Milwaukee. Through personal stories of workers and a closer look at the shifting dynamics of labor and trade, he reveals the long-term consequences of a policy that was hailed as a catalyst for growth. It’s a compelling read for anyone interested in the intersection of economics and politics.

The passage of NAFTA remains one of the most consequential events in recent American political and economic history. Between 1997 and 2020, more than 90,000 factories closed, partly as a result of NAFTA and similar agreements.

Doom scrolling

worksinprogress.co • 30 Aug 2024 • ~5750 words

Have you ever wondered what ancient texts might still be waiting to be discovered? This article explores the intricate journey of recovering lost works from the past and discusses how the discovery of new texts, such as the Hellenica Oxyrhynchia and the Constitution of the Spartans by Aristotle, can significantly impact our understanding of ancient history and challenge existing narratives.

Not one scrap of text from the ancient world has come to us without untold numbers of heroes quietly working to hand down, from generation to generation, the texts that have primarily shaped the modern world.

When a Trailblazing Suffragist and a Crusading Prosecutor Teamed Up to Expose an Election Conspiracy

Smithsonian Magazine • 5 Sep 2024 • ~4450 words

This story explores a conspiracy to rig elections in Terre Haute, Indiana in the early 20th century, involving a corrupt political boss named Donn Roberts. It details how a trailblazing suffragist named Stella Courtright Stimson and a crusading prosecutor named Thomas Roach worked together to expose and prosecute the conspiracy.

Sensing that Stimson was onto him, Roberts changed his approach. “I’m going to be mayor of Terre Haute, and you women might as well support me,” he said . . . That bluster sent Stimson home from Indianapolis determined to stop him. What she did next would launch the most comprehensive takedown of a plot to subvert the vote in the nation’s history—setting a precedent for clean elections that still prevails today.

The Deep Religious Roots of American Economics

The MIT Press Reader • 5 Sep 2024 • ~2400 words

This article explores the significant influence of religious beliefs on American economic thought, from early American economists framing their arguments in spiritual terms to the ongoing impact of faith on modern economic policies. It’s a fascinating look at how the moral and ethical dimensions of religion have shaped our understanding of economics.

Such religiously grounded differences in people’s worldview also go a long way toward explaining the puzzle, much discussed in the empirical political science literature, of why so many Americans vote in ways apparently contrary to their economic self-interest. Why, for example, do so many low-income voters oppose taxes that they would never have to pay and benefit programs on which they rely?

Why Can't the U.S. Build Ships?

construction-physics.com • 5 Sep 2024 • ~3950 words

The decline of U.S. shipbuilding is a story steeped in history, from its golden age before the Civil War to its struggles in the modern era. This article delves into the reasons behind America’s inability to compete in the commercial ship market, exploring the economic and historical factors that have led to its current state.

Commercial shipbuilding in the U.S. is virtually nonexistent: in 2022, the U.S. built just five oceangoing commercial ships, compared to China’s 1,794 and South Korea’s 734. The U.S. Navy estimates that China’s shipbuilding capacity is 232 times our own. It costs roughly twice as much to build a ship in the U.S. as it does elsewhere.

‘Right to Repair for Your Body’: The Rise of DIY, Pirated Medicine

404 Media • 4 Sep 2024 • ~2800 words • Archive Link

This piece discusses the rise of the Four Thieves Vinegar Collective. This anarchist group teaches people how to make DIY versions of expensive pharmaceuticals at a fraction of the cost. It explores the group's efforts to create cheaper alternatives to drugs like the hepatitis C cure Sovaldi while also touching on the broader issues of drug pricing and accessibility in the healthcare system.

Laufer’s point is that the research that goes into making a new drug is hard, but that actually producing some of these medications after they’ve been invented is sometimes easy and inexpensive. Charging astronomical prices to people who are dying is immoral, and Four Thieves seeks to normalize the idea of making some types of medicine yourself.

The Agitator

Hazlitt • 4 Sep 2024 • ~5000 words

The piece provides an in-depth profile of Silvia Federici, a prominent feminist scholar and activist. It explores Federici's life, her influential work on the history of capitalism and the subjugation of women, as well as her unconventional academic career and unwavering commitment to radical politics. The article also examines the tensions Federici has faced within the academic establishment and the broader feminist movement due to her uncompromising perspective.

she sees little common ground between her understanding of feminism and that of the popular feminist orthodoxy . . . “What is feminism today? What is the fight?” she sighed, the silver rings on her fingers dancing with gesticulation. “Is the fight to join the army so we can go and kill the children of other women? Is the fight to go to Wall Street so that we can put in financial policies that are impoverishing part of the world?”

Protecting the Prairie - Orion Magazine

Orion Magazine • 27 Aug 2024 • ~4100 words

This piece explores the delicate balance of preserving North America's threatened tallgrass prairie against the encroachment of eastern red cedars. It delves into the complex relationship between human intervention and natural ecosystems, highlighting the urgent need for restoration efforts in a landscape often misunderstood by those who shaped it.

The visual transformation from prairie to woodland is dramatic. Conifers transform to dark green the lands that for millennia appeared, during the prairie’s mature growth stage, as flat expanses and gentle hills of uninterrupted tawny. In this context, green is the problem, not the ideal.

A cool flame: how Gaia theory was born out of a secret love affair

The Guardian • 5 Sep 2024 • ~4250 words

James Lovelock is known for his groundbreaking Gaia theory, but the story behind its creation is intertwined with a secret love affair that shaped his thinking. This piece delves into the personal and professional relationship between Lovelock and Dian Hitchcock, and how their love affair and intellectual partnership shaped the development of the Gaia hypothesis.

The doomed romance could not have been more symbolic. Hitchcock and Lovelock had transformed humanity’s view of its place in the universe. By revealing the interplay between life and the atmosphere, they had shown how fragile are the conditions for existence on this planet, and how unlikely are the prospects for life elsewhere in the solar system.

'Closer than people think': Woolly mammoth 'de-extinction' is nearing reality — and we have no idea what happens next

livescience.com • 30 Aug 2024 • ~2150 words

What if we could bring back the woolly mammoth? This article explores the advances in de-extinction science and the ambitious plans of Colossal Biosciences to revive not just mammoths, but other iconic species too. While the technology is evolving rapidly, it raises important questions about the ecological impact and ethical implications of reviving creatures that have been gone for centuries.

Technology is no longer a significant hurdle to reviving recently extinct species, and in many cases, we have enough DNA to piece together functional genomes for cloning. The question isn't so much whether we *can* resurrect lost species but if we *should* . . . Some companies aren't waiting to answer that question.