We examine the origins of the Kepler 36 planetary system, which features two very different planets: Kepler 36b, (|$rm rho = 7.46$| |$rm g$| |$rm cm^{-3}$|) and Kepler 36c (|$rm rho = 0.89$| |$rm g$| |$rm cm^{-3}$|). The planets lie extremely close to one another, separated by just 0.01AU, and they orbit just a tenth of an AU from the host star. In our origin scenario, Kepler 36b starts with far less mass than Kepler 36c, a gaseous giant planet that forms outside the ice line and quickly migrates inward, capturing its neighbour into its 2:1 mean-motion resonance while continuing to move inward through a swarm of planetesimals and protoplanets. Subsequent collisions with these smaller bodies knock Kepler 36b out of resonance and raise its mass and density (via self-compression). We find that our scenario can yield planets whose period ratio matches that of Kepler 36b and c, although these successes are rare, occurring in just 1.2 per cent of cases. However, since systems like Kepler 36 are themselves rare, this is not necessarily a drawback.

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2020 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Exploring the Origin and Evolution of the Kepler 36 System - Oxford Academic

2020 has been quite the year! The pandemic changed a lot about the world including the ways in which paleoanthropologists, archaeologists, and other fieldwork-based researchers operate. This year, we want to highlight the different lines of evidence that are used in human origins research so weve organized our nine highlighted discoveries into four broader lines of evidence categories. Since many scientific articles are years in the making, a lot of exciting discoveries were still revealed in 2020!

1. Fossil footprints tell us where and how modern humans traveled the globe

While we may not be able to move around much this year, three studies on fossil human footprints published in 2020 revealed a lot more about where ancient humans traveled and how they moved together in groups. Unlike body fossils, footprints (and other trace fossils) offer us a snapshot of an exact moment in time, or at least a very short time interval. In December, the longest trackway of fossil human footprints was announced by Matthew R. Bennett and colleagues. This ~11,500-13,000 year old, 1.3 km/0.8 mile long trackway, roughly the length of 14 football fields, was made by a woman (or juvenile male) holding a 2-3 year old toddler while on their journey through a rough and dangerous landscape. How do we know? Every so often the adult footprints pause and are joined by a childs footprints. The footprints go in a straight and definite line, and pretty fast, indicating a deliberate end target; they then return in the opposite direction, this time without the child.

But did Pleistocene humans always travel solo? Heck no! Another 2020 announcement, this one in May from Chatham Universitys Kevin Hatala and colleagues (including Briana Pobiner!), analyzed the largest fossil footprint assemblage in Africa. Between 6,000 19,000 years ago, a group of modern humans walked through a mudflow in the shadow of the Oldoinyo Lengai volcano in Tanzania. The 408 footprints left behind by 17 individuals help us understand not only the heights and weights of the footprint-makers, but using statistical analysis based on a large data set of modern human feet, the team determined that the walking group probably consisted of 14 female and 2 male individuals. Comparing this to ethnographic data from modern forager groups such as the Hadza in Tanzania, they concluded that the footprints were probably made by adult females with occasional visits or accompaniment by a few adult males during a food gathering session. Finally, footprints can simply reveal that humans were someplace we didnt know they were at that time, like with these ~120,000 year old human and animal footprints found on an ancient lake surface in a current Saudi Arabian desert by Michael Petraglia from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and colleagues. Before this discovery, the earliest evidence of humans moving into the heart of Arabia dated back to ~85,000 years ago.

2. Fossil primates also undertook major journeys

While discoveries directly related to humans evolutionary journey are important, understanding how now-extinct primates survived, thrived, and traveled across the globe is just as exciting! In October , a team led by Nina Jablonski and Xueping Ji from Penn State University and Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology respectively, found three new ~6.4 million year old Mesopithecus pentelicus fossils in Yunan Province, China. These late Miocene fossils indicate that this ecologically versatile and adaptable ancient monkey lived in Asia at the same time as apes and the likely descendants of this species (modern colobines of Asia) have continued this trend by inhabiting some of the most highly seasonal and extreme habitats occupied by nonhuman primates.

Speaking of extreme did you know that researchers think monkeys rafted all the way across the Atlantic? In April, Erik Seiffert from University of Southern California and colleagues announced a new tiny soup-can-sized fossil monkey species Ucayalipithecus perditabased on four fossil monkey teeth that they found deep in the Peruvian Amazon. This newly discovered species belongs to an extinct family of African primates known as parapithecids, which are now the third lineage of mammals that made the >900 mile transatlantic journey to get from Africa to South America, most likely on floating rafts of vegetation that broke off from coastlines during a storm. Sounds improbable, but monkeys can survive without access to fresh water if they get enough food like fruit that could have been on a tree on the vegetation raft. Finally, in September, a team led by Hunter Colleges Christopher C. Gilbert announced another new fossil primate: this time a ~13 million year old ape, Kapi ramnagarensis, from a fossil molar found at Ramnagar in northern India. This new species pushes the fossil record of gibbons back by about five million years, and provides significant information about when the ancestors of todays gibbons migrated to Asia from Africa which was around the same time ancient great apes were undertaking the same migration.

3. New fossils hominins from Drimolen, South Africa

No list of important finds in human evolution would be complete without fossil evidence of hominins themselves, and this year the site of Drimolen in South Africa was the big winner. First, in April, a team led by Andy I. R. Herries from La Trobe University announced new fossils of both Paranthropus robustus (DNH 152) and Homo erectus (DNH 134) dating to between ~2.04 and 1.95 million years ago, making these the oldest fossils of both of these hominin species. These finds demonstrate the contemporaneity of these two species at this site with Australopithecus africanus and DNH 134 pushes back the origin of Homo erectus by about 150,000 200,000 years. And aspiring paleoanthropologists, check this out: Jesse Martin and Angeline Leece, who were both students attending a field school at Drimolen when DNH 143 was found in 2015, got to clean and reconstruct the skull. They had to hold the specimen, which consisted of more than 150 pieces of a ~3 year old child, together without coughing, sneezing, or even talking, and controlling their breathing for up to 40 minutes at a time!

Drimolen seems to be the gift that keeps on giving (us fossils): in 2018, the team found two more Paranthropus fossils, including the ~2 million year old DNH 155 adult male cranium (also found by a field school student, Samantha Good). The analysis of this specimen led by Jesse M. Martin from La Trobe University was published this year in November, and especially comparisons to other adult male Paranthropus robustus fossils from Drimolen and elsewhere in South Africa, suggests that differences previously ascribed to sexual dimorphism (differences between males and females) are actually examples of microevolution related to ecological change within this early hominin species.

4. Denisovan DNA found in cave sediments and modern humans

Back to our theme of migration (can you tell we miss being able to, you know, go places?!?) One of this years big announcements, in October, was the first definitive evidence of Denisovans outside of Denisova Cave in Siberia from ~2800 km/~1,740 miles away in Tibet! A team led by Dongju Zhang from Lanzhou University wanted to test the hypothesis that a ~160,000 year old partial jawbone found by a Buddhist monk in Baishiya Karst Cave might be the remains of a Denisovan. First, in 2019, they used a new method based on protein variations to identify the jaw as Denisovan; but the novel method and unknown exact location of where the jaw was found in the cave led to continued skepticism. Determined to find more evidence, Zhang and her team returned to the cave. They agreed to excavate only in winter and at night, in sub-zero temperatures, to avoid disturbing worshippers and were rewarded by Denisovan mitochondrial DNA from the cave sediments, dated to between 100,000 60,000 years ago, and possibly as recently as 45,000 years ago. The research team also found charcoal from fires Denisovans built in the cave, as well as stone tools and fossil animal bones.

Also in October, a team led by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropologys Svante Pbo and Diyendo Massilani analyzed a ~34,000 year old modern human womans skullcap found by miners in 2006 the only Pleistocene fossil currently known from Mongolia as well as a ~40,000 year old modern human male skull from Tianyuan Cave in China. They found that both fossils contain DNA from both Neanderthals and Denisovans. What does this evidence mean for interactions and migrations among Eurasian Pleistocene populations? Well, it was complicated. Because the Denisovan DNA sequences in these fossils around not found in present-day Oceanians (Australian Aboriginals and New Guineans), but they are found in present-day East Asians, modern humans must have met and exchanged genes with two different populations of Denisovans one in Southeast Asia, and one in mainland Asia. This suggests that Denisovans once inhabited a pretty large area of Asia. Looks like its time to find more Denisovan fossils (fingers crossed)!

In the meantime, museums are continuing to work on digitization programs so that scientists can study and have access to collections regardless of pandemics or long distances: the National Museums of Kenya and our own Smithsonian institution have already been working to make 3D reconstructions of their fossils available to researchers from around the world. If youve also been missing visiting museums, like us, the Smithsonian has created a way to view fossils from the safety of your own home! While we wait for more Denisovan fossils to be discovered, you can use this VR technology to see through a Neanderthals eyes and get up close and personal with some mammoths!

Featured image by Karen Carr/National Park Service.

Edited by Jason Organ, PhD, Indiana University School of Medicine.

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Top 9 Discoveries in Human Evolution, 2020 Edition - PLoS Blogs

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Semiconductors are one of the modern worlds essential industries, making possible so much of what we rely on or take for granted: internet access, high-speed computers with high-speed memory, even the thermostats that control our air conditioning there isnt much, tech-wise, that doesnt use semiconductor chips.With the end of 2020 in sight, its time for the annual ritual of evaluating the equities for the New Year. Wells Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers has cast his eye on the chip industry, tagging several companies as likely gainers next year.The analyst sees several factors combining to boost demand for chips in 2021, including cloud demand, new gaming consoles, and a market resolution to the future of the PC segment. Overall, however, Rakers expects that memory chips and 5G enabled chips will emerge as the drivers of the industry next year. The analyst expects that semiconductor companies, as a group, will see between 10% and 12% growth over the next 12 months.Thats an industry-wide average, however. According to Raker, some chip companies will show significantly higher growth, on the order of 30% to 40% in year ahead. We can look at those companies, along with the latest TipRanks data, to find out what makes these particular chip makers so compelling.Micron Technology (MU)Among the leading chip makers, Micron has staked out a position in the memory segment. The company has seen its market cap expand to $78 billion this year, as shares have appreciated 32% year-to-date. The surge comes on a product line heaving on computer data storage, DRAM, and flash storage.Look back at 2020, Micron has seen revenues increase each quarter, from $4.8 billion in Q1 to $5.4 billion in Q2 to $6.1 billion in Q3. Earnings came in at 87 cents per share, up from 71 cents in Q2 and 36 cents in Q1.The calendar third quarter was Microns 4QFY20, and the full fiscal year showed a decline due attributed to the COVID pandemic. Revenue came in at $21.44 billion, down 8.4% year-over-year, and operating cash flow fell to $8.31 billion from $13.19 billion in FY19. During this past quarter, Microns 1QFY21, the company announced the release of the worlds first 176-layer 3D NAND chip. The new chip promises higher density and faster performance in flash memory, and the architecture is described as a radical breakthrough. The layer count is 40% higher than competing chips.Looking ahead, Micron has updated its F1Q21 guidance, predicting total revenue of $5.7 billion to $5.75 billion. This is a 10% increase from the previous guidance.Wells Fargo's Aaron Rakers calls Micron his top semiconductor idea for 2021. He points out a deepening positive view on the memory, and in particular the DRAM industry. DRAM accounts for approximately two-thirds of Microns revenue and over 80% of the companys bottom-line profits. In addition, Rakers notes Microns technology execution 1Znm DRAM leadership; recently outlined 1nm ramp into 2021, as well as Microns move to 176-Layer 2nd -gen Replacement Gate 3D NAND to drive improved cost curve. We would also highlight Microns execution on graphics memory (e.g., GDDR6X), Multi-Chip Packages (MCPs), and High-Bandwidth Memory (e.g., HBME2) as positives.In line with these comments, Rakers rates Micron shares a Buy, along with a $100 price target. This figure suggests room for 41% growth in 2021. (To watch Rakers track record, click here)Micron has 24 recent reviews on record, breaking down to 19 Buys, 4 Holds, and 1 Sell, and giving the stock a Strong Buy from the analyst consensus. Shares are priced at $70.96, and recent appreciation has pushed them almost to the $74.30 average price target. But as Rakers outlook suggests, there may be more than just 4.5% upside available here. (See MU stock analysis on TipRanks)Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)With $6.5 billion in total sales last year, and a market cap of $110.7 billion, AMD is a giant company but it doesnt even crack the top five of the worlds largest chip makers. Still, AMD has a solid position in the industry, and its x86 processors provide stiff competition for market-leading Intel (INTC). AMD shares have shown solid growth this year, and are up 101% as 2020 comes to a close.The share growth rides on the back of steady revenue gains since the corona crisis peaked in Q1. AMDs Q3 top line came in at $2.8 billion, up 55% from the $1.8 billion recorded in the year-ago quarter and beating the forecast by 10%. Earnings, at 37 cents per share, were up 220% year-over-year. The company credited the growth to solid results in the PC, gaming, and data center product lines, and boasted that it was the fourth consecutive quarter with >25% yoy revenue growth.AMD announced last month a new product for the scientific research market, the Instinct MI100 accelerator. The new chip is billed as the worlds fasted HPC GPU, and the first such x86 server to exceed 10 teraflops performance.Covering AMD for Wells Fargo, Rakers wrote: We remain positive on AMDs competitive positioning for continued sustained gradual share gains in PCs We also believe AMDs deepening data center GPU strategy with new Instinct MI100 GPUs and the release of RoCM 4.0 software platform could become increasingly visible as we move through 2021. AMDs roadmap execution would remain an important focus 7nm+ Ryzen 4000-series, new RDNA Radeon Instinct data center GPUs (MI100 / MI120), and the 3 rd -gen 7nm+ EPYC Milan CPUsRakers stance supports his Buy rating, and his $120 price target implies a 30% one-year upside to the stock.The Moderate Buy analyst consensus view on AMD reflects some residual Wall Street caution. The stocks 20 recent reviews include 13 Buys, 6 Holds, and 1 Sell. AMD shares are selling for $91.64, and like Micron, their recent appreciation has closed the gap with the $94.71 average price target. (See AMD stock analysis on TipRanks)Western Digital Corporation (WDC)Closing out the Wells Fargo picks on this list is Western Digital, a designer and manufacturer of memory systems. The companys products include hard disk drives, solid state drives, data center platforms, embedded flash drives, and portable storage including memory cards and USB thumb drives. WDC has had a tough year in 2020, with shares down 19% year-to-date. Still, the stock has seen gains in November and December, on the heels of what was seen as a strong fiscal 1Q21 report.That earnings report showed $3.9 billion in revenue, which was down 3% year-over-year, but the EPS net loss, at 19 cents, was a tremendous yoy improvement from the 93-cent net loss in the year-ago quarter. The earnings improvement, which beat the forecast by 20%, was key for investors, and the stock is up 30% since the quarterly report. The company also generated a solid cash flow in the quarter, with cash from operations growing 111% sequentially.Wells Fargos Rakers acknowledges WDCs difficulties in 2020, but even so, he believes that this is a stock which is worth the risk.Western Digital has been our toughest constructive call of 2020 and while we believe calling a bottom in NAND Flash (mid/2H2021?) remains difficult and WDs execution in enterprise SSDs will remain choppy, our SOTP analysis leaves us to continue to believe that shares present a compelling risk / reward. We continue to believe that Western Digital can drive to a ~$7/sh.+ mid-cycle EPS story; however, we continue to think a key driver of this fundamental upside will not only be a recovery in the NAND Flash business, coupled with WDs ability to see improved execution in enterprise SSDs, but also a continued view that WDs HDD gross margin can return to a sustainable 30%+ level, Rakers opined.To this end, Rakers rates WDC a Buy along with a $65 price target. Should the target be met, investors could pocket gains of 29% over the next months Where does the rest of the Street side on this computer-storage maker? It appears mostly bullish, as TipRanks analytics demonstrate WDC as a Buy. Out of 11 analysts tracked in the last 3 months, 7 are bullish, while 4 remain sidelined. With a return potential of 9%, the stocks consensus target price stands at $54.44. (See WDC stock analysis on TipRanks)To find good ideas for tech stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

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Geopolitical Instability such as Chinese Naval Expansionism Driving Evolution across the Global Naval Command and Control Market - Yahoo Finance

CHICAGO So much has changed in one year. And its still changing. As the world evolves, the food supply chain is looking to the COVID-19 retail landscape to prepare for the future.

The pace and breadth of change has been stunning and is really putting a premium on your ability as a retailer to be agile and to adopt and be willing to make changes on the fly, said Walter Robb, former longtime co-chief executive officer of Whole Foods Market, Austin, Texas, and current executive-in-residence at S2G Ventures, Chicago, during a Dec. 1 webinar hosted by Spark Change and presented by Naturally Chicago and New Hope Network. Why does retail matter? Because retail mirrors, reects and captures the rhythms of our lives. Everything that happens at retail touches everything across the entire food supply chain.

A recent report from S2G Ventures, The Future of Food: Through the Lens of Retail, was the catalyst for the webinar. Mr. Robb and co-author S2G vice president Audre Kapacinskas wrote, The pandemic has shined the brightest of lights on our food system, and retailers sit squarely in the middle. Each new day brings new innovation and evolution in customer choice and system changes.

S2G Ventures mission is to back the best entrepreneurs that are improving the overall health and sustainability of the food system. COVID-19 helped them identify opportunities for more improvements. Mr. Robb explained that the changes the natural products industry has seen this year were not revolutionary but rather accelerations of evolutionary trends already in progress.

Retailing of the future is going to be dimensional, he said. Its not just about the products and values. Its also the community in which it is situated and also the way in which commerce is done.

According to the report, in this next evolution of food, much of what was once aspirational will be considered table stakes.

Theres much more context going on, Mr. Robb said. Delivery and curbside pickup are absolute table stakes going forward. It is going to be essential to provide those services to customers if you want to play in this new world order.

Every retailer will need to experiment with new formats, everything from design to location to size. Retailers need to prepare for the return of restaurants. To stay competitive, retail foodservice needs to change.

The perimeter of the store is such an important area in every way, including profitability, said Brandon Barnholt, CEO of KeHE Distributors, Naperville, Ill. The perimeter is changing in front of our eyes.

Bulk foods scooping stuff into bags shut down immediately (at the onset of the pandemic). Retailers responded with contactless bulk.

Fresh Thyme, Downers Grove, Ill., for example, built a business around bulk ingredients and snack foods, as well as grab-and-go bakery items, antipasto buffet and soup/salad bar. The store even had a grind-your-own oats machine; pour-your-own honey, vinegar and olive oil; and cream-your-own nut butter. Now Fresh Thyme offers shoppers contactless bulk for dry items, as well as pre-packaged bulk in many varied sizes. Fluid bulk is pre-portioned in containers on an as-needed basis. Stores recently opened the self-serve soup bar, with an enhanced plastic shield and instructions to use a napkin when touching the ladle. Hand sanitizing stations are adjacent.

Its all about quick pivots, Mr. Barnholt said. Doing everything they can do to serve customers.

Mr. Robb predicted that future growth in food retail will be driven by an interaction between community/customer engagement (digital engagement, frictionless instore experience and transparency); commerce/sales channel (omnichannel capabilities, smart fulfillment and resilient fresh food); and content/products sold (product curation, farmacy focus, values-first marketing and sustainability as brand affinity).

Theres a need for innovation to address these opportunities within commerce, community and content in order to drive future growth for food retailers, Mr. Robb said.

Anu Goel, president of client growth solutions, SPINS, Chicago, said, Weve advanced four to five years technologically. Theres a broadening of who is shopping online and what is being shopped. Everybody is doing it now, and across all categories.

Whereas the online shopper before the pandemic skewed younger, today four different generations are actively engaging. Eating at home is one COVID-19 impact that is likely to have staying power with the rise of grocery pickup and delivery, as well as the growth in ghost kitchens and food delivery options. Retailers need to pivot to stay relevant.

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The next evolution of food retail: Pivot, or you're out - Food Business News

When a persons feeling ill and warm, we tend to check their temperature to see if theyre experiencing any fever, allowing you to determine if they should be brought to the hospital immediately. Fortunately, there are a ton of ways on how you can take someones temperature. It can be done through the mouth, ears, forehead, underarm, or rectal.

Along with this, the device that you use to take the temperature has made an evolution that allows you to accurately take ones temperature. One of the most advanced devices in taking someones temperature would be a temperature screening kiosk thats designed for business use. Not only that theyre able to capture ones temperature, but theyre also able to capture the persons photo for database management.

Heres how taking temperatures progressed:

Mercury Thermometer

The mercury thermometer is the oldest medical instrument thats used to detect ones thermometer. Theyre made out of glass and have liquid mercury inside of it that rises up or down, depending on the temperature of the metal end. Along with the glass, it also includes a scale to further help you identify the temperature of a person.

When using this type of thermometer, its best that you gently shake it to reduce the mercury level, capturing better results after it lowers in height. You can use this orally, rectally, and placing it in between your underarms. You just have to wait until the liquid mercury stops moving to make sure that it has made its final count.

Take note that you need to be extra careful when handling mercury thermometer as theyre prone to breakage. Liquid mercury can be toxic and extremely dangerous.

Digital Thermometer

A digital thermometer is a plastic device that uses a sensor instead of a liquid, providing maximum safety in case of breakage.

The digital thermometer is a relatively new invention that makes it easy to keep track of ones temperature. A digital thermometer has no moving parts so it can be kept anywhere. Instead, a digital thermometer contains a microprocessor chip and a small resistor. When a temperature change occurs, the microprocessor senses a slight change in the resistance. The chip then converts the slight change in resistance into an electrical signal and transmits it to the microprocessor's internal memory. The microprocessor interprets the voltage change and provides an electronic readout on the thermometer's display in degrees (Fahrenheit or Celsius).

You must learn to disinfect your thermometer after each use, most especially when you use this at a hospital.

Basal Thermometer

Much like a standard digital thermometer, a basal thermometer simply measures your bodys temperature. The main difference is that it only measures very little incrementsa fraction of a degree or a tenth of a degree.

There are plenty of advantages when using basal thermometers over regular digital thermometers. For one, theyre a lot more accurate than other thermometers. This is because they require less information, giving you accurate readings. Most of them give readings that are within an inch or two of each other.

Temporal Artery Thermometer (TAT)

The TAT is another portable and lightweight handheld device that allows you to capture the temperature of one person without inserting the device into their mouth. All you need to do is to point the sensor on their forehead, press the button, and you should see the results in seconds.

The TAT captures the heat thats naturally released by the skin through the temporal artery. Take note that the arteries receive blood directly from the heart, making it a great and convenient way to check the hearts temperature.

Tympanic Thermometer

A tympanic thermometer refers to a simple apparatus thats commonly used to determine the bodys temperature. This is a handheld, wand-like device that captures a persons temperature from their ear.

It works by using infrared light that helps detect thermal radiation that's emitted from the tympanic membrane. With this, it calculates the emission gathered and converts it into a numerical temperature that allows you to determine the persons temperature. A Tympanic Thermometer should be used by a healthcare professional so can provide accurate results.

Conclusion

With the modern world today, we now have thermometers that allow us to capture a persons temperature without direct contact. This is helpful most especially when youre using this in hospitals since direct contact might result in unintentionally spreading a disease.

Not only has the thermometer evolved, but medical technology has evolved as well, enabling healthcare professionals to help more people as much as they possibly can.

If your fever is above 38C for more than 2 days, you should consult with your doctor immediately. If you reached 40C, immediately contact your doctor and dont wait for other symptoms to show up. Its always important that you look out for your temperature especially when youre sick.

Lori Graham

Lori Graham is full-time blogger who writes articles about the developments in the healthcare industry. Lori aims to help her readers improve the quality of their lives by educating and encouraging the make the most out of the newest trends from the healthcare industry.

During her leisure, Lori loves to read books at home.

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The Evolution Of Taking Someone's Temperature - HealthTechZone

Evolution is often an unpredictable cocktail of happy accidents, environmental anomalies, and that just-right blend of genetic material assembling in fortuitous order.So it's nosurprise thatpaleontologists are somewhatbaffled by a new species of creaturethey've officially namedAdalatherium hui,which, as translated fromMalagasy and Greek,means "crazy beast."

But more than just a weird 66-million-year-old mammal that lived during the Age of the Dinosaur when the mighty T-rex reigned supreme, Adalatherium is a vital componentofthe complicatedmystery ofearly mammalian evolution in the Southern Hemisphere.

As detailed in a new studypublished last weekin theJournal of Vertebrate Paleontology, a14-member team of international researchers headed upby Dr. David Krauseof the Denver Museum of Nature & Scienceand Dr. Simone Hoffmann of the New York Institute of Technologydescribed their intensive analysis of the odd, opossum-sized animal that existed nearthe end of the Cretaceous periodon the island of Madagascar.

These new revelations delvedeep into the evolutionary history of mammals from the prehistoric supercontinent of Gondwana known currentlyas Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica, the Indian subcontinent, and the Arabian Peninsula.

Adalatherium is part of an extinct collectionof early mammals catalogued asgondwanatherians, which were initially unearthedbackin the 1980s, butthen known onlyby a scattering ofteeth and jaw fragments.

For this latest study, research on this unusualanimal was carried out over a 20-year stretch using its perfectly preserved fossilzed remainsthat representthe most complete skeleton for any mammal discovered so far in the Southern Hemisphere before the dinosaurs became extinct.Adalatherium appears to be a jumbo-sizedrelative to the shrew-like, or mouse-ishmammals that thrived in that primeval environment.

In addition to the fact that Adalatherium was born withmore trunk vertebrae than most other mammals, its thickhind limbs were arrangedin asprawling position like today's crocodiles or lizards.These powerful back legs were paired withbulky,sprinting front legs tucked beneaththe torso, identical to most mammals seen in modern times.

It also sported rabbit-like front teeth coupled with a set of back teeth never observed in any other known mammal,living or extinct, as well asa sizableholein the bones at the crownof itssnout.

"Knowing what we know about the skeletal anatomy of all living and extinct mammals, it is difficult to imagine that a mammal likeAdalatheriumcould have evolved; it bends and even breaks a lot of rules," Krause explains. "Islands are the stuff of weirdness,and there was therefore ample time forAdalatheriumto develop its many extraordinarily peculiar features in isolation."

Sure, when seen in these detailed, life-like reconstructionsby renowned paleoartist Andrey Atuchin, it seems like a typical badger, but under its familiar-looking skin is an evolutionary puzzlement forthe ages.

"Adalatheriumis simply odd," notes Hoffman."Trying to figure out how it moved, for instance, was challenging because its front end is telling us a completely different story than its back end. Adalatheriumis an important piece in a very large puzzle on early mammalian evolution in the Southern Hemisphere, one in which most of the other pieces are still missing."

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Paleontologists puzzled by this primeval 'crazy beast' that bends all the evolutionary rules - SYFY WIRE

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Semiconductors are one of the modern worlds essential industries, making possible so much of what we rely on or take for granted: internet access, high-speed computers with high-speed memory, even the thermostats that control our air conditioning there isnt much, tech-wise, that doesnt use semiconductor chips.With the end of 2020 in sight, its time for the annual ritual of evaluating the equities for the New Year. Wells Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers has cast his eye on the chip industry, tagging several companies as likely gainers next year.The analyst sees several factors combining to boost demand for chips in 2021, including cloud demand, new gaming consoles, and a market resolution to the future of the PC segment. Overall, however, Rakers expects that memory chips and 5G enabled chips will emerge as the drivers of the industry next year. The analyst expects that semiconductor companies, as a group, will see between 10% and 12% growth over the next 12 months.Thats an industry-wide average, however. According to Raker, some chip companies will show significantly higher growth, on the order of 30% to 40% in year ahead. We can look at those companies, along with the latest TipRanks data, to find out what makes these particular chip makers so compelling.Micron Technology (MU)Among the leading chip makers, Micron has staked out a position in the memory segment. The company has seen its market cap expand to $78 billion this year, as shares have appreciated 32% year-to-date. The surge comes on a product line heaving on computer data storage, DRAM, and flash storage.Look back at 2020, Micron has seen revenues increase each quarter, from $4.8 billion in Q1 to $5.4 billion in Q2 to $6.1 billion in Q3. Earnings came in at 87 cents per share, up from 71 cents in Q2 and 36 cents in Q1.The calendar third quarter was Microns 4QFY20, and the full fiscal year showed a decline due attributed to the COVID pandemic. Revenue came in at $21.44 billion, down 8.4% year-over-year, and operating cash flow fell to $8.31 billion from $13.19 billion in FY19. During this past quarter, Microns 1QFY21, the company announced the release of the worlds first 176-layer 3D NAND chip. The new chip promises higher density and faster performance in flash memory, and the architecture is described as a radical breakthrough. The layer count is 40% higher than competing chips.Looking ahead, Micron has updated its F1Q21 guidance, predicting total revenue of $5.7 billion to $5.75 billion. This is a 10% increase from the previous guidance.Wells Fargo's Aaron Rakers calls Micron his top semiconductor idea for 2021. He points out a deepening positive view on the memory, and in particular the DRAM industry. DRAM accounts for approximately two-thirds of Microns revenue and over 80% of the companys bottom-line profits. In addition, Rakers notes Microns technology execution 1Znm DRAM leadership; recently outlined 1nm ramp into 2021, as well as Microns move to 176-Layer 2nd -gen Replacement Gate 3D NAND to drive improved cost curve. We would also highlight Microns execution on graphics memory (e.g., GDDR6X), Multi-Chip Packages (MCPs), and High-Bandwidth Memory (e.g., HBME2) as positives.In line with these comments, Rakers rates Micron shares a Buy, along with a $100 price target. This figure suggests room for 41% growth in 2021. (To watch Rakers track record, click here)Micron has 24 recent reviews on record, breaking down to 19 Buys, 4 Holds, and 1 Sell, and giving the stock a Strong Buy from the analyst consensus. Shares are priced at $70.96, and recent appreciation has pushed them almost to the $74.30 average price target. But as Rakers outlook suggests, there may be more than just 4.5% upside available here. (See MU stock analysis on TipRanks)Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)With $6.5 billion in total sales last year, and a market cap of $110.7 billion, AMD is a giant company but it doesnt even crack the top five of the worlds largest chip makers. Still, AMD has a solid position in the industry, and its x86 processors provide stiff competition for market-leading Intel (INTC). AMD shares have shown solid growth this year, and are up 101% as 2020 comes to a close.The share growth rides on the back of steady revenue gains since the corona crisis peaked in Q1. AMDs Q3 top line came in at $2.8 billion, up 55% from the $1.8 billion recorded in the year-ago quarter and beating the forecast by 10%. Earnings, at 37 cents per share, were up 220% year-over-year. The company credited the growth to solid results in the PC, gaming, and data center product lines, and boasted that it was the fourth consecutive quarter with >25% yoy revenue growth.AMD announced last month a new product for the scientific research market, the Instinct MI100 accelerator. The new chip is billed as the worlds fasted HPC GPU, and the first such x86 server to exceed 10 teraflops performance.Covering AMD for Wells Fargo, Rakers wrote: We remain positive on AMDs competitive positioning for continued sustained gradual share gains in PCs We also believe AMDs deepening data center GPU strategy with new Instinct MI100 GPUs and the release of RoCM 4.0 software platform could become increasingly visible as we move through 2021. AMDs roadmap execution would remain an important focus 7nm+ Ryzen 4000-series, new RDNA Radeon Instinct data center GPUs (MI100 / MI120), and the 3 rd -gen 7nm+ EPYC Milan CPUsRakers stance supports his Buy rating, and his $120 price target implies a 30% one-year upside to the stock.The Moderate Buy analyst consensus view on AMD reflects some residual Wall Street caution. The stocks 20 recent reviews include 13 Buys, 6 Holds, and 1 Sell. AMD shares are selling for $91.64, and like Micron, their recent appreciation has closed the gap with the $94.71 average price target. (See AMD stock analysis on TipRanks)Western Digital Corporation (WDC)Closing out the Wells Fargo picks on this list is Western Digital, a designer and manufacturer of memory systems. The companys products include hard disk drives, solid state drives, data center platforms, embedded flash drives, and portable storage including memory cards and USB thumb drives. WDC has had a tough year in 2020, with shares down 19% year-to-date. Still, the stock has seen gains in November and December, on the heels of what was seen as a strong fiscal 1Q21 report.That earnings report showed $3.9 billion in revenue, which was down 3% year-over-year, but the EPS net loss, at 19 cents, was a tremendous yoy improvement from the 93-cent net loss in the year-ago quarter. The earnings improvement, which beat the forecast by 20%, was key for investors, and the stock is up 30% since the quarterly report. The company also generated a solid cash flow in the quarter, with cash from operations growing 111% sequentially.Wells Fargos Rakers acknowledges WDCs difficulties in 2020, but even so, he believes that this is a stock which is worth the risk.Western Digital has been our toughest constructive call of 2020 and while we believe calling a bottom in NAND Flash (mid/2H2021?) remains difficult and WDs execution in enterprise SSDs will remain choppy, our SOTP analysis leaves us to continue to believe that shares present a compelling risk / reward. We continue to believe that Western Digital can drive to a ~$7/sh.+ mid-cycle EPS story; however, we continue to think a key driver of this fundamental upside will not only be a recovery in the NAND Flash business, coupled with WDs ability to see improved execution in enterprise SSDs, but also a continued view that WDs HDD gross margin can return to a sustainable 30%+ level, Rakers opined.To this end, Rakers rates WDC a Buy along with a $65 price target. Should the target be met, investors could pocket gains of 29% over the next months Where does the rest of the Street side on this computer-storage maker? It appears mostly bullish, as TipRanks analytics demonstrate WDC as a Buy. Out of 11 analysts tracked in the last 3 months, 7 are bullish, while 4 remain sidelined. With a return potential of 9%, the stocks consensus target price stands at $54.44. (See WDC stock analysis on TipRanks)To find good ideas for tech stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

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Evolution of Electric Vehicle Battery Reuse and Recycling, Global Market, Forecast to 2025 - Yahoo Finance

Adam HartBloomsbury Sigma2020 | 352pp | 16.99ISBN9781472970992

Buy this book on Amazon.co.uk

Many a time, while trapped in another dreary meeting that really should have been an email, I have found myself wondering: Is this really what we were designed to do? Did our evolutionary forefathers really drag themselves upright and cross continents by foot just so I can scald my internal organs on coffee and pretend to understand what an algorithm is?

Personal existential malaise aside, it is a question often pondered by both scientists and by the media, who tell us repeatedly that our modern lifestyles are terrible for our bodies. Headlines inform us that sitting down for 14 hours a day with only the occasional vertical interlude to forage high fat, high sugar snacks will send us to an early grave. The constant consumption of fake news, real violence and the unsolicited opinion of strangers means we are mentally stimulated to the point of pathology.

It is exactly this physiological and psychological mismatch that Unfit for Purpose grapples with. Author Adam Hart explains to us that we really arent built for this after all. The great gulf between what we are as people [] and what we were as animals is the central theme of this book, he writes.

Hart explains this all using simple but not simplistic prose. He begins with a digestible and engaging overview of the fundamentals of evolution before using that as a framework over which to drape specific examples of humans as both modern world-builders and walking, talking apes. Gently and genially, he describes how the agricultural age, modern microstressors and our innate desire for connection have led to a society ravaged by obesity, addiction and fake news. Technical terms are often explained through metaphor, while intricate scientific concepts are purposefully introduced in the same language as sensationalist tabloid headlines. This makes the subsequent takedown and explanation both easy to follow and exceptionally satisfying.

Harts wry humour and knowledge are clear throughout, as is his warmth this does not read as a preaching scientist telling the layperson how to live their life. Instead, it feels like a friendly sort of commiseration, where both author and reader acknowledge that these bodies we occupy dont really mesh too well with the world weve created.

A word of caution. To those itching to shrug off the confines of the modern world and return to a more primitive form of living, Unfit for Purpose could become a manifesto, filled with justification for fleeing naked back into the wilderness. To the rest, it is an enjoyable, accessible and highly entertaining insight into exactly why so many of us seem to be lactose intolerant and addicted to Instagram, perfect to unwind with after a long day of staring at spreadsheets.

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Unfit for Purpose: When Human Evolution Collides with the Modern World - Chemistry World

Flying has changed a great deal over the past 100 years and with it the passenger cabin experiences and available options. First class has evolved along with this, from the standard, or only, way to fly to the top end choice we see today. This article takes a look at this changing role of first class over the years, and what its been like to fly at the front over time.

Passenger aviation in the US came about alongside lucrative mail and freight services. Of course, in the early days, there were no separate cabins, rather just one basic class. As passenger transport became more popular, seating heading in the luxury direction, essentially creating a first class service, even if it was not named as such.

As aviation grew in popularity, and larger aircraft entered service, this one high cabin standard remained. Most aircraft introduced during the 1930s offered one type of seating, always large and comfortable, and often with fixed tables, and other facilities such as bars or sleeping areas.

The DC3 entered service in 1935 and is often hailed as a major aviation milestone and the first aircraft that really made passenger aviation a profitable undertaking. This was introduced by many airlines (over 16,000 were produced) and typically offered a single cabin, with either spacious seating or beds for passengers.

Longer, intercontinental services at this time were also luxurious offerings, for passengers who could afford them. Qantas Empire Airways, for example, offering Flying Boat services (using the Short Empire flying boat) from Sydney to Singapore and eventually on to London. Anyone undertaking these long flights would do so in first class style beds, lounges, a smoking room and a promenade deck with viewing areas were all included.

From the 1940s, many airlines started to offer lower coach fares. These were usually for different aircraft, or services with more stops, rather than a different class of service.

One of the restrictions at this time was that airfares were highly regulated and airlines were very limited in what they could charge for tickets. Changes to IATA rules in 1952 allowed for two-class fare structures the first to be introduced was on the transatlantic New York to London route.

It was not until 1955 however that a real two-class service began. TWA was the first airline to offer this, installing first and economy seats on its Super Constellation aircraft.

With the introduction of new jet aircraft, such as the Boeing 707 and the DC8, in the late 1950s, the separate economy and first cabins became standard. Many of the luxurious facilities seen in earlier times, such as flatbeds and lounges, became less common. Airlines instead focussed on offering and selling a more comfortable cabin along with enhanced service.

The introduction of the Boeing 747 in 1969 gave airlines a chance to change things again. Flying by this time was much more popular and widespread. Airfares were also deregulated in the US, giving airlines much more ability to set different fares and offer different types of tickets. The extra space on the 747 allowed many improvements in first class.

First class in these days was not just about more comfortable seats and better service. Onboard lounges for were common, and typically large and more luxurious than the few we have seen appear again in recent years (on the A380).

It was not long before growth led to the introduction of a third class, todays business class. During the 1970s, many airlines carved out premium parts of their economy cabins (but left their first class cabins alone), and by the early 1980s major airlines such as Pan Am, TWA, British Airways and Qantas were offering three cabins.

Seating and first class offerings gradually improved during the 1980s and 1990s, but it was not until the mid-1990s that flatbeds appeared in first class cabins. British Airways were among the first airlines to install these, to improve their offering over business class (less than 10 years later they would be the first airline to introduce the flatbed in business class too).

In some ways its surprising it took so long to happen, given that back in the 1930s this was common!

The first cabin has seen many more advances since then. Similar to when the Boeing 747 started service, the introduction of the Airbus A380 has provided airlines with new opportunities to enhance their product. Seating and space offered have improved significantly. Some airlines now offer larger, enclosed suites. Emirates and Etihad have both added showers for first class. And the first class lounge (much loved on the 747 earlier) has returned with a number of airlines.

With continued improvements to business class, there are fewer and fewer differences with first class these days. Several airlines, including Asiana, have removed first class altogether. Others have chosen not to install on some new aircraft (such as Cathay Pacific with the A350). Certainly, the overall number of first class seats on offer has declined over the past 10 years (with only Emirates increasing their supply).

Many airlines though continue to operate first class. Its role might have changed from the way most used to fly in the early days, but it still offers airlines a luxury or VIP travel option or a way to attract and reward frequent flyers.

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The Evolution Of Long Haul First Class - Simple Flying

This year, Cyclingnews celebrates its 25th anniversary, and to mark such an important milestone, the editorial team will be publishing 25 pieces of work that look back at the sport over the last quarter of a century.

The evolution of Cyclingnews closely mirrors that of the internet as a whole. How the site posted and reported on the news - from a single post per day of news mixed with results, cobbled together through various sources via email, to the stream of news, results and features you see today evolved rapidly along with the exponential growth and speed of the internet.

As the site expanded so too did the urgency of the content. When the Festina scandal erupted at the 1998 Tour de France, Cyclingnews was in its infancy. At the same time, cycling fans were flocking to the internet, reading the news and discussing events on Usenet groups and forums and, later, on social media, pro cyclists began to find their doping misdeeds were suddenly very much public. By the time the next major doping thread blew up with Operacin Puerto eight years later, the sport's seedy underbelly was well and truly and embarrassingly exposed.

When Cyclingnews began in 1995, there were only about 23,500 websites in existence and 40 million users accessing information through Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer or AOL. Most users were in the United States and looking at mostly text-based sites on dial-up connections at unthinkably slow speeds of 56kbps or less, which is why Cyclingnews' early posts consisted mostly of single posts - with results, news and interviews intermingled - it gave users something worth the wait for the page to load.

As time went on, races were given their own pages, but with the huge volume of results being posted, news continued as multi-story editions until the site redesign in 2009.

The change from the more laid-back pace of a newspaper-like publishing schedule came in tandem with the more widespread access to broadband speeds and far more users: by 2006 there were around 700 million users, and today roughly 60 per cent of humans on the planet are on the web.

Alongside the bigger, faster internet came the rocket-fuelled EPO era of cycling: if Lance Armstrong fired up the engines, no other storyline exploded quite like Operacin Puerto, and it was heralded in a flurry of posts entitled "News Flash".

The Festina scandal - aptly entitled 'The drugs scandal update' - was one of the first news extras, but it wasn't until the site's major redesign in 2002 that the first official 'News Flash' was posted: the five wildcards for that year's Tour de France.

However, before long, the News Flash became synonymous with doping.

During the 2002 Giro d'Italia, two riders were nailed for NESP (novel erythropoiesis-stimulating protein, a modified version of EPO), Stefano Garzelli was popped for a banned diuretic, and Gilberto Simoni came up positive for cocaine - which led his Saeco team to lose its wildcard spot for the Tour de France. All of these breaking stories were News Flash-worthy.

Other News Flash subjects included Jan Ullrich's Team Coast, its collapse and recreation as Bianchi in 2003, the death of Andrei Kivilev, and the UCI Track World Championships being moved from China because of the SARS-1 epidemic, and the death of Marco Pantani, but doping cases proved to be the most frequent breaking news.

There was the NAS raid on the Giro d'Italia, doping shenanigans from Raimondas Rumsas, the police raid on Cofidis headquarters in 2004 and the revelations of Kelme's Jesus Manzano that led to that team's exclusion from the Tour de France.

Then came EPO positives: Dave Bruylandts, Filip Meirhaeghe, the admission by David Millar. Then the blood doping cases of Tyler Hamilton and Santiago Perez.

At the time, Cyclingnews' homepage was largely dedicated to race results, recalls long-time editor Jeff Jones (1999-2006). Each race had multiple links underneath for each stage, making for an incredibly busy homepage. To run individual news, he says, would have been logistically difficult.

"There was too much per day to fit on the homepage," Jones says. "It was already horribly busy and we tried to squeeze as much as possible into a small area."

Deviating from the normal one or two editions of news today only happened when the news had a bit of urgency or was of high interest to readers, and, until 2004, only came a dozen or so times per year. But when a doping case came out, it resulted in an inevitable avalanche of news.

Take September 22, 2004, when Tyler Hamilton emerged as the first-ever athlete to test positive for a homologous blood transfusion - it came out as three extra news editions in two days and numerous other news flashes throughout his appeal process. But there was nothing like 2006.

On May 23, 2006, a hint of something huge brewing in Spain began with a story: "Liberty Seguros director Manolo Saiz arrested on doping charges". It would prove to be the longest thread in Cyclingnews history.

After months of phone taps and surveillance, watching athletes come and go, investigators from the Unidad Centro Operativo (UCO) and the Spanish civil guard staged a raid on an apartment belonging to ex-Kelme team doctor and 'gynaecologist' Eufemiano Fuentes, where they found a huge store of anabolic steroids and hormones, some 200 blood bags and enough freezers and gear to dope up dozens if not hundreds of athletes.

Liberty Seguros manager Manolo Saiz - literally caught holding the bag (60,000 in cash) - and four others were taken into custody including Fuentes, Jos Luis Merino Batres, who ran the lab in Madrid; Alberto Leon, a professional mountain bike racer suspected of acting as a courier; and Jose Ignacio Labarta, the assistant sports director of Comunidad Valenciana.

Fuentes was accused helping riders with "the illegal practice of auto-transfusing blood to riders during stage races, which is one of the most difficult doping practices to detect, as it uses the rider's own blood", as Cyclingnews reported.

Jos Merino just happened to be the same Merino mentioned in the explosive testimony of Jesus Manzano, who tried to expose these doping practices two years earlier, but who was derided and even threatened by his peers.

It was only May and the Giro d'Italia just finishing up, with leader Ivan Basso forced to issue denials as Spanish media named him as being on Fuentes' list of names coded, it would later emerge, by using the names of riders' pets.

Soon, Saiz' team was fighting for its survival as Liberty Seguros pulled its support from the team. Then it was Phonak who, in the previous years, had those doping incidents with Hamilton and Perez, who were under scrutiny as well as T-Mobile after Oscar Sevilla admitted to visiting the clinic 'for training plans'.

By June, Phonak sidelined Santiago Botero and Jose Enrique Gutierrez (Giro d'Italia runner-up) after their implication in the scandal and Comunidad Valenciana DS Jose Ignacio Labarta resigned despite protesting his innocence in the affair. Phonak said its future depended on the Tour de France and Floyd Landis.

With the Tour de France only weeks away, Saiz's team was rescued thanks to Alexandre Vinokourov, who brought on Astana as title sponsor thanks to strong support from his home country Kazakhstan. The team debuted as Wrth in the Criterium du Dauphine as the team's licence remained in dispute and Saiz left the team.

In mid-June, the ASO withdrew the wildcard invitation to the Tour de France for Comunidad Valenciana but under the UCI's nascent ProTour rules, once Astana-Wrth's licence case was decided on June 22 the team was protected from exclusion.

It's easy to forget that all of this was taking place amid the Armstrong vs L'Equipe case: remember that time when French researchers went back to the 1999 Tour de France and tested the samples for EPO? And that Vrijman report the UCI commissioned that supposedly cleared Armstrong? It's all so ludicrous in retrospect because it was all there - the constant thrum of doping news, Manzano's revelations, Armstrong with Michele Ferrari, Armstrong threatening Greg LeMond, Armstrong calling for Dick Pound's exit from WADA, WADA 'slamming' the UCI over the Vrijman report... and then Operacin Puerto.

If the French had hopes that after Armstrong retired they could finally count on an open and clean Tour de France, the week before the Tour proved they were up against more than just one Texan. El Pais published more details from the case, writing there were 58 cyclists and 15 from the now-former Liberty Seguros team involved.

News Flash June 29, 2006: More names released

"The list, which comes from the Spanish Civil Guard's official report on the doping probe, contains several big names, and there is a strong possibility that the Tour de France could be raced with a very different list of favourites."

Astana-Wrth OK to race: The ASO, its hand forced, appealed to the CAS to keep Astana-Wrth at home but the team defiantly headed to Strasbourg for the Grand Depart. The CAS said the team should be allowed race.

News edition: Ullrich, Sevilla and Pevenage suspended

"At 9:34 am on Friday morning, T-Mobile announced that it has suspended Jan Ullrich, Oscar Sevilla and Rudy Pevenage in the wake of the Operacin Puerto affair. The three were implicated in the doping scandal as being clients of Dr Eufemiano Fuentes. None of them will take part in the Tour de France.

"As the announcement was made, the three sat in the team bus on their way to what was supposed to be a "meet-and-greet" press conference. They were informed on the way."

Meanwhile, Johan Bruyneel: "I don't think we can start the Tour de France with those kind of doubts and uncertainty. It's bad for the riders and there's already enough suspicion around. No one, not the riders, or the media or the fans will be able to focus on the race. I don't think the Tour de France needs this and I hope there will be something resolved soon for everybody's sake."

In typical cycling fashion, the riders and teams tried to just push through and pretend like there was nothing wrong until the very last minute.

News Flash: Astana Wrth leaves the Tour

"Dutch television's sports anchorman Mart Smeets has just reported that the Astana-Wrth team has left the Tour de France."

Active Bay, the Astana-Wrth team's management company, confirmed they would withdraw from the Tour. "In view of the content of the dossier sent to Spanish authorities, Active Bay has decided, in accordance with the Ethical Code signed between the UCI ProTour's teams [for riders not to race while under investigation for doping], to withdraw from the Tour de France those riders that appear in the above-mentioned dossier."

News Extra: More riders named by UCI, Leblanc: "An open Tour with clean riders", Team CSC: Ignorance or bluff?, McQuaid: Saddened rather than shocked

As the UCI issues a statement naming nine riders from the Tour start list who should be excluded from the race: "The involvement [of these riders] does not mean that an anti-doping violation has been established. However, the indications of the mentioned report are serious enough."

Tour director Jean-Marie Leblanc: "We will ask the teams concerned to apply the ethical charter that they've signed and to expel the implicated riders. If they don't, we will do it ourselves."

"I hope we can all start serenely on Saturday. This is an organised mafia that spreads doping practices. I hope we can clean up everything now; all the cheats should be kicked out. then, maybe, we will get an open Tour with clean riders; a Tour in which there is space for ethics, sport and entertainment."

Ivan Basso: "My opinion is that I work hard for this Tour, and I think only about this race. My job is to ride the bike fast, and after the Giro, I put 100 per cent [effort into] the Tour de France. I only read what has been written... I don't know more."

UCI President Pat McQuaid: "This is hard for cycling, but I have to look at the positive side. It has to be a message to all the other riders in there that no matter how clever you think you are, you will eventually get caught out."

News Extra: More riders suspended: Basso and Mancebo out, Ullrich's ex-trainer calls it a "catastrophe", Belda questioned

ASO public relations man Bernard Hinault told radio RTL that he expects 15-20 riders to be ejected before the day is out. The UCI will then ask the national cycling federations to start disciplinary proceedings against the riders named in the Spanish network.

Teams spokesman Patrick Lefevere said that there will be no replacements for the riders who have been taken out. "We have unanimously decided to send all the riders who are on the list home, and not to substitute them."

News Extra: Team CSC faces the press, Mancebo ends career, New doping charges for CSC?, Reactions to Ullrich suspension, Bruyneel maintains focus

CSC and manager Bjarne Riis remained defiant until the team's afternoon press conference when he finally caved to pressure and withdrew Ivan Basso from the Tour.

"Shortly before 2pm Friday, Team CSC manager Bjarne Riis and spokesperson Brian Nygaard walked into the salle de presse in Strasbourg's Palais de la Musique et de Congres to deliver a statement and answer questions. But with the room soon morphing into a boxing arena with around 200 journalists and photographers all wanting a piece of the action, the crowd moved to the much larger conference de presse in the Auditorium Schweitzer.

"Maybe most of you have heard already. We had a meeting with all the teams this morning, and in that meeting, we made a decision - I made a decision - that Ivan would not participate in the Tour," began Riis.

"If I let Ivan do the Tour, I can see all of you here - and there's a lot more outside - there will be no race for him, because he will be hunted, day and night. It won't be good for Ivan, it won't be good for the team, and it certainly won't be good for the sport."

Cyclingnews' live coverage of the 2006 Tour de France began on July 1 with the pithy comment: "Welcome, dear readers, to the new Tour de France. This is a more slimmed-down version of the old Tour de France, with fresh faces, lower power-to-weight, and doesn't give you heartburn. After Operacin Puerto caused 13 to be removed from the Tour's starting list yesterday, we will see a Tour without top favourites Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso, Alexandre Vinokourov, or Francisco Mancebo. Taking a positive approach, one could say Operacin Puerto has been a real shot in the arm for cycling, and one that it has needed for a while," wrote Jeff Jones.

By the end of the Tour de France, some 58 riders were named in the affair, although some - including Alberto Contador - would later be cleared of involvement. Others were never formally identified.

After the immediate flood of news wore off, the Operacin Puerto thread became more of a marathon than a sprint. The anti-doping authorities had little power to sanction riders since the Spanish courts blocked federations from taking any action against athletes until their legal proceedings concluded.

Their legal proceedings did not conclude for almost ten years.

In between all the talk of doping, Cyclingnews still managed to get out news about the upcoming Tour de France. At least news that Fuentes used the names of riders' dogs as codes there was at least some comic relief. In his live coverage of the Tour, Jones tried to keep fans' spirits up with jokes about the case, but as the days went on the coverage turned exclusively to the Tour.

It was, after all, the first Tour de France after Lance Armstrong retired and the Tour was reinventing itself after seven years of the Texan's domination.

The maillot jaune changed hands ten times - with Thor Hushovd, George Hincapie, Tom Boonen, Serhiy Honchar, Cyril Dessel and Oscar Pereiro taking turns in yellow before Floyd Landis had his first day in the lead on stage 11, gave it up to Pereiro after the Spaniard went in a breakaway on a sizzling day to Montlimar and gained half an hour, then got it back on Alpe d'Huez, lost it on La Toussuire, then went on a 130km rampage on stage 17 and eventually won the Tour de France.

Of course, it wasn't long before his positive for testosterone was announced and the long, gruelling fight Landis put up before finally having his title stripped, and yet another exhausting news cycling of doping ensued.

Fans should have known what was going on, Jones says. It started with Festina and continued apace for eight more years until Operacin Puerto and beyond and was splashed all across Cyclingnews.

"Doping was a theme, especially in the Armstrong years. But until Operacin Puerto, you could have seen each case as a one-off, there was some deniability. But with Puerto, it was proof that doping was almost everywhere.

"As a fan, it was hard to get your head around the fact that everyone was doping. I thought, 'no - not Ullrich, he's too classy' - but it was a gradual realisation. How do you watch the sport knowing that?

"That time we were mourning the sport a bit. There's denial, anger and then finally acceptance. Of course, sport isn't separate from human nature - on the bike they're super-human but they are still just human beings in the end.

"It changed how I watched the sport - I could appreciate the spectacle but it just wasn't what it used to be."

By the end of 2006, Jones would leave Cyclingnews to start a bike-themed site called BikeRadar, the next year, Gerard Knapp would sell the site to Future with Daniel Benson taking over as managing editor.

The site continued to grow despite the fans' disillusionment, and the dark years left behind in the archive that still exists as the 'autobus'.

In the years after 2006, the Spanish courts opened and closed the Operacin Puerto case. Then opened and closed it again, opened and closed it yet again, until it finally came to trial in 2013.

By then, it was more a denouement than a climax. It took place the same year that Armstrong, banned for life, confessed to having doped throughout his career, after the mountain of USADA Reasoned Decision documents had already detailed it all.

Fuentes was given a one-year suspended sentence but posted bail and had his punishment overturned three years later. The main legal problem was that doping was not a crime in Spain in 2006, so authorities went after Fuentes under public health laws.

The case provided physical evidence of the doping practices at the time: EPO in the banked blood showed riders were using the drug to boost red blood cells in the off-season then storing the blood for reinfusion before a big race.

Fake names and secret code words made Puerto into something like a dime-store novel : Basso: "I am Birillo", Scarponi: "I am Zapatero", Fuentes: "I am the famous cycling criminal". Jorg Jaksche finally broke down the omerta by telling all. From Ivan Basso's "I only intended to dope" to Tyler Hamilton's tell-all book The Secret Race, Operacin Puerto provided yet another example of what cycling was until 2006.

It also exposed deficiencies in the anti-doping rules and helped lead to provisions for violations based upon evidence other than analytical tests. After hiding behind a wall of legal obfuscation and a carefully crafted calendar, Alejandro Valverde ('piti') was finally and definitively linked to Fuentes two years later.

The Italian CONI's anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Torri used guile and allegedly falsified documents to obtain the evidence suspected to be the Valverde's banked blood over the Christmas holiday, and then, when Valverde finally was forced to cross into Italy during the 2008 Tour de France, doping controllers could get a sample and prove Valverde's guilt through a DNA match. He was finally suspended in 2010.

The trial, then, offered little that was new, but did bring some humorous and sardonic anecdotes:

Jrg Jaksche when asked to clarify his performance in the 2006 Tour de Suisse.

"I said it wasnt a race, more of a club championships. He asked me to clarify what I meant. So I said yes, it was a club championship. The winner of the race was Jan Ullrich, a client of Fuentes, second was Koldo Gil, a client of Fuentes, third was me, fourth was Vicioso, another Fuentes client, sixth was Frnk Schleck. Everyone in the court, even the judge was laughing. It was ridiculous.

The Spanish courts continued to delay any action by anti-doping authorities well after the court case concluded. A judge ordered the evidence destroyed, while WADA and the UCI were forced to appeal, navigating delays until finally - the evidence from the case was long past the statute of limitations under the WADA Code.

When the evidence was at last handed over to anti-doping authorities in July, 2016, it was more than ten years after the fact. A German researcher performed DNA testing on 116 blood bags, getting 27 unique fingerprints, but could only confidently link seven athletes - four active, three retired - but what sport they competed in remains unknown.

Although it was suspected that athletes from football, tennis, and athletics were involved in Fuentes' doping ring, cycling took the hardest hit in the media and of course, on Cyclingnews.

The case changed the way fans viewed the sport and, now that Armstrong has confessed and the full scope of doping in the 1990s and 2000s has become clear, the scepticism was well warranted.

The cheaters haven't won, however.

The explosion of the internet from 40 million to 4.5 billion users over Cyclingnews' history has brought in new fans who follow its new stars and, hopefully, a sport with greater integrity. The formation of WADA, the hard work of investigators and the increased independence of anti-doping bodies are still rooting out cheaters, as Operation Alderlass has shown.

Cyclingnews no longer has to resort to 'News Flash' since converting to single news posts in 2009, replacing Dreamweaver and FTP with several iterations of content management systems and site designs, and we are still working 24-7-365 to bring the latest news to your fingertips.

Hopefully less and less will be about doping.

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Operacin Puerto, the evolution of the internet and the Cyclingnews News Flash - Cyclingnews.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WDVM) After going 1-2 in the preseason, the Washington Wizards prepare for their season opener at Philadelphia, on Wednesday December 23rd.

In their last preseason game, the Wizards managed to squeak by with a win, beating the Detroit Pistons, 99-96; in a game where Russell Westbrook, and Davis Bertans made their debuts in a Wizards uniform.

Ahead of the season, Scott Brooks addressed the media on Monday; giving his explanation about the expectations he has for his team, and how to juggle them this season.

We want to compete every night. said Scott Brooks, Weve added some really good players. Weve added some toughness, weve added some size, we signed back one of the best shooters in the world in Bertans. And Russell and Brads leadership has made some pretty good improvements as this preseason has gone on. And I think that is going to continue to happen. There is so many similarities with those two guys, theyre all about winning and this is going to give all of us a chance to win.

The Washington Wizards did announce that Rui Hachimura will be out for three weeks, due to an eye infection. Specifically, bi-lateral epidemic keratoconjunctivitis. Rui averaged 13.5 points per game, and 6.1 rebounds per game for the team last season as a rookie.

I was hoping last week, thinking that it would clear up in two or three days, he could be back on the court, couple more days later hed be back. But he has a severe case, Brooks said. Its a long season. I know sometimes when youre in the grind it doesnt seem every game is so important and so critical, but hes a young player, and he needed those reps and practice and training camp, those exhibition games. Were going to have to figure it out without him until he comes back.

Unfortunately, with Ruis situation, but I think we can be able to manage that, as best as we can. We have a very competitive team. continued Coach Brooks, on the season expectations, This is this year is not like last year at all, where the minutes lot of the minutes were, lets face it; lot of the minutes were establishing identity and lot of the minutes were developmental minutes. This is different. We got some really good players that are ready now, so some of the guys that maybe played a little bit more minutes last year probably wont play as many more minutes this year but thats a good thing cause that means we have a better team.

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Scott Brooks confident in evolution of team, ahead of regular season start - WDVM 25

Following a pattern of familiarity for health lawyers, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a substantial Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in December at the end of an administration. The NPRM is intended to revise the Privacy Rule under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Because comments are not due until after the new Biden administration takes office, the fate of this NPRM is unclear. At the same time, this NPRM reflects two key issues of concern to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in its current incarnation: improving patient access to health information (a goal presumably shared by a new administration) and expanding opportunities for increased information sharing in specific contexts (primarily focused on coordinated care and sharing with social service organizations).

The access principles - while detailed and somewhat technical - generally seem consistent with policy goals that have been applied for more than a decade, as government tries to find easier means to allow patients meaningful and useful access to their own information. The more challenging elements of this NPRM stem from the desire to expand information sharing. While pursuing admirable goals (who is against coordinated care?), these elements present much more complicated policy issues and raise a broad variety of concerns in connection with the overall debate about health care privacy.

Originally published in Health Law Weekly - December 18, 2020.

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The New HIPAA NPRM - The Latest and Greatest in the Evolution of the HIPAA Privacy Rule - JD Supra

Photo: Lime Kiln Lighthouse, San Juan Island, via Wikimedia Commons.

I was just about to type out my life story when I realised that whoever is reading this really wouldnt be interested. Instead Ill cut to the chase:your work at Discovery Institute may have saved my life.

So began the email sent to us at cscinfo@discovery.org. The 18-year old writer named Reuben, from a small town in the United Kingdom, went on to describe how he had found us during his search for organizations that dealt with origin-of-life research. His thoughtful and insightful email revealed much about his journey.

Methodological naturalism (and its associated atheism) is a very depressing thing to be told is the truth. This is what I was essentially told when introduced to the scientific factof Darwinian evolution at sixth form A-level biology (kinda like high schoolin the U.S. I think). No one else in my class seemed to care that this brilliant sciencetold them that the universe is completely meaningless, life a complete accident, and their sense of selfin fact a worthless illusion.I felt very small.

Then Reuben came acrossMichael BehesDarwins Black Boxand the idea of irreducible complexity. It made sense to him and provided scientific evidence for design. Now he has watched nearly every one of our videos onYouTube and is readingForesightby Marcos Eberlin.

More than that, he discovered Discovery Institute and expressed his sincere gratitude for the work made possible by people like YOU.

Thank goodness I live in a time where fields such as biochemistry are actually (to my great delight) revealing intelligence and planning.But I want to thank you all so so much.Because it is not easy to stand up against the paradigm. To be branded as religious hereticsby proud, often arrogant people. The layman is never going to question them, and the vast majority of young scientists are brainwashed into joining them.But not me, and I can thank you for that.

As I read Reubens email, it warmed my heart to knowthe impact our donors have made on this young mans lifethrough their support of the Center for Science & Culture.Would you consider joining them?

Without our supportersthere would be no books by Michael Behe, Marcos Eberlin, Stephen Meyer, Michael Denton, and others. There wouldnt be awide-array ofYouTubevideoscritiquing Darwinian evolution and providing scientific evidence for intelligent design. There would most certainly not be aneducational and research network circling the globethat will be a resource to him now and in the future.

In 2020, ourEducation and Outreach Initiativereached over32,000 people through53 events(live and virtual), with360,000+ more viewsof the videos onYouTubeafter the events. OurSummer Seminarprogram engaged57 participantsfrom11 countries, 100 percent of whom would recommend the program to others.Generous donors made all this possible and your support todaywill continue those programs in 2021.

Reuben is now connected to a welcoming and vibrant community of like-minded people who will stay in touch with him and mentor him throughout his education.Hes the lucky one.

There are many more out there like him.We need you beside usto provide thehopeandencouragementandpurposethat they need to survive and thrive in their educational and career endeavors. Reuben and I hope you will consider a life-saving gift today.

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Reuben's Story A Light in Troubled Times - Discovery Institute

Heidi Johnson Published 11:30 p.m. CT Dec. 22, 2020

The University of Wisconsin Division of Extension has traditionally relied heavily on in-person meetings and conferences to share the latest research on agricultural production topics.However, the pandemic certainly threw a curve ball to this information-delivery model.(Photo: Courtesy Photo)

This year has certainly challenged Wisconsin farmers, from market interruptions to disruptions in day-to-day operations due to the pandemic.In Extension, our mission is providing farmers with the information they need to run their businesses, so we are especially attuned to how the pandemic has changed the way farmers receive information.

We have traditionally relied heavily on in-person meetings and conferences to share the latest Extension research on agricultural production topics.The pandemic certainly threw a curve ball to this information-delivery model.

We were fortunate in Extension to have already been dabbling with virtual learning platforms, so we felt, at least slightly, prepared to continue to try to reach farmers through these means. But that didnt mean we didnt face lots of challenges and a steep learning curve.I will share some observations of challenges and opportunities weve learned along the way.

Internet accessibility and stability of access is a major issue across our state. Although, weve noted that it doesnt initially appear that participation in our Extension events (and other virtual learning events) has waned, it has made us consider whether the audience engaged in these offerings has changed from our traditional audiences.Are we now leaving out audiences without internet access but have gained new audiences that didnt want to travel to events or prefer to sign on to things virtually?We havent had enough time to explore this question but will certainly be something to consider.

Internet access isnt the only technology issue to consider when engaging in virtual learning. There is also the issue of interacting and using technology platforms.It can be frustrating for participants when they cant figure out how to sign up, sign on or interact in a virtual learning event and providing real-time technology support can be challenging for virtual event hosts.It appears that the technology companies have been equally busy during the pandemic improving user interfaces, but we still have a way to go before everyone feels comfortable using the various platforms.

One of the interesting challenges that weve noted as we move into the heavy conference and meeting season for agriculture is that, in a virtual learning environment, the options are nearly endless and many times overlapping.For those of us engaged in the education sector, we have noted that presenters and topics are often repeated from event to event.This made sense when events were separated by geography and registration fees but becomes messy when they are offered virtually and often free.More coordination and collaboration would help to solve some of these challenges, given time to make those connections.

Being divorced from the constraints of the time and money involved in traveling, opens a world of possibilities for farmers and other agricultural professionals looking to learn.Currently it is just as easy to participate in events in New York state as it is to participate in Wisconsin.This really widens the options and opportunities for learning and hearing from producers and experts in other regions.

While virtual learning offers many opportunities, we know that it will never fully replace human interaction.Some of the best conversations that Ive had with farmers, where new ideas and concepts were exchanged, were in the hallway after a meeting or rolling the cob with a smaller group after a field day.The biggest thing that is missed in a virtual learning environment is the happenstantial conversations that make us feel connected.We in Extension also use these casual conversations to help us understand the evolving needs and ideas generated by our clientele to inform university research.

While we will never completely give up in-person events, this pandemic has taught many of us that a hybridized approach between in-person and virtual events may help us experience the best that both has to offer. We have learned a lot and feel sure that, in some ways, this will change the way we do our work forever.

Heidi Johnson(Photo: UW Extension)

Johnson is theAgriculture Institute Director atUW-Madison, Division of Extension

UW Extension(Photo: UWEX)

Read or Share this story: https://www.wisfarmer.com/story/opinion/columnists/2020/12/22/evolution-virtual-learning-farmers-and-agribusiness-professionals/3996808001/

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The evolution of virtual learning for farmers and agribusiness professionals - Wisconsin State Farmer

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Semiconductors are one of the modern worlds essential industries, making possible so much of what we rely on or take for granted: internet access, high-speed computers with high-speed memory, even the thermostats that control our air conditioning there isnt much, tech-wise, that doesnt use semiconductor chips.With the end of 2020 in sight, its time for the annual ritual of evaluating the equities for the New Year. Wells Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers has cast his eye on the chip industry, tagging several companies as likely gainers next year.The analyst sees several factors combining to boost demand for chips in 2021, including cloud demand, new gaming consoles, and a market resolution to the future of the PC segment. Overall, however, Rakers expects that memory chips and 5G enabled chips will emerge as the drivers of the industry next year. The analyst expects that semiconductor companies, as a group, will see between 10% and 12% growth over the next 12 months.Thats an industry-wide average, however. According to Raker, some chip companies will show significantly higher growth, on the order of 30% to 40% in year ahead. We can look at those companies, along with the latest TipRanks data, to find out what makes these particular chip makers so compelling.Micron Technology (MU)Among the leading chip makers, Micron has staked out a position in the memory segment. The company has seen its market cap expand to $78 billion this year, as shares have appreciated 32% year-to-date. The surge comes on a product line heaving on computer data storage, DRAM, and flash storage.Look back at 2020, Micron has seen revenues increase each quarter, from $4.8 billion in Q1 to $5.4 billion in Q2 to $6.1 billion in Q3. Earnings came in at 87 cents per share, up from 71 cents in Q2 and 36 cents in Q1.The calendar third quarter was Microns 4QFY20, and the full fiscal year showed a decline due attributed to the COVID pandemic. Revenue came in at $21.44 billion, down 8.4% year-over-year, and operating cash flow fell to $8.31 billion from $13.19 billion in FY19. During this past quarter, Microns 1QFY21, the company announced the release of the worlds first 176-layer 3D NAND chip. The new chip promises higher density and faster performance in flash memory, and the architecture is described as a radical breakthrough. The layer count is 40% higher than competing chips.Looking ahead, Micron has updated its F1Q21 guidance, predicting total revenue of $5.7 billion to $5.75 billion. This is a 10% increase from the previous guidance.Wells Fargo's Aaron Rakers calls Micron his top semiconductor idea for 2021. He points out a deepening positive view on the memory, and in particular the DRAM industry. DRAM accounts for approximately two-thirds of Microns revenue and over 80% of the companys bottom-line profits. In addition, Rakers notes Microns technology execution 1Znm DRAM leadership; recently outlined 1nm ramp into 2021, as well as Microns move to 176-Layer 2nd -gen Replacement Gate 3D NAND to drive improved cost curve. We would also highlight Microns execution on graphics memory (e.g., GDDR6X), Multi-Chip Packages (MCPs), and High-Bandwidth Memory (e.g., HBME2) as positives.In line with these comments, Rakers rates Micron shares a Buy, along with a $100 price target. This figure suggests room for 41% growth in 2021. (To watch Rakers track record, click here)Micron has 24 recent reviews on record, breaking down to 19 Buys, 4 Holds, and 1 Sell, and giving the stock a Strong Buy from the analyst consensus. Shares are priced at $70.96, and recent appreciation has pushed them almost to the $74.30 average price target. But as Rakers outlook suggests, there may be more than just 4.5% upside available here. (See MU stock analysis on TipRanks)Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)With $6.5 billion in total sales last year, and a market cap of $110.7 billion, AMD is a giant company but it doesnt even crack the top five of the worlds largest chip makers. Still, AMD has a solid position in the industry, and its x86 processors provide stiff competition for market-leading Intel (INTC). AMD shares have shown solid growth this year, and are up 101% as 2020 comes to a close.The share growth rides on the back of steady revenue gains since the corona crisis peaked in Q1. AMDs Q3 top line came in at $2.8 billion, up 55% from the $1.8 billion recorded in the year-ago quarter and beating the forecast by 10%. Earnings, at 37 cents per share, were up 220% year-over-year. The company credited the growth to solid results in the PC, gaming, and data center product lines, and boasted that it was the fourth consecutive quarter with >25% yoy revenue growth.AMD announced last month a new product for the scientific research market, the Instinct MI100 accelerator. The new chip is billed as the worlds fasted HPC GPU, and the first such x86 server to exceed 10 teraflops performance.Covering AMD for Wells Fargo, Rakers wrote: We remain positive on AMDs competitive positioning for continued sustained gradual share gains in PCs We also believe AMDs deepening data center GPU strategy with new Instinct MI100 GPUs and the release of RoCM 4.0 software platform could become increasingly visible as we move through 2021. AMDs roadmap execution would remain an important focus 7nm+ Ryzen 4000-series, new RDNA Radeon Instinct data center GPUs (MI100 / MI120), and the 3 rd -gen 7nm+ EPYC Milan CPUsRakers stance supports his Buy rating, and his $120 price target implies a 30% one-year upside to the stock.The Moderate Buy analyst consensus view on AMD reflects some residual Wall Street caution. The stocks 20 recent reviews include 13 Buys, 6 Holds, and 1 Sell. AMD shares are selling for $91.64, and like Micron, their recent appreciation has closed the gap with the $94.71 average price target. (See AMD stock analysis on TipRanks)Western Digital Corporation (WDC)Closing out the Wells Fargo picks on this list is Western Digital, a designer and manufacturer of memory systems. The companys products include hard disk drives, solid state drives, data center platforms, embedded flash drives, and portable storage including memory cards and USB thumb drives. WDC has had a tough year in 2020, with shares down 19% year-to-date. Still, the stock has seen gains in November and December, on the heels of what was seen as a strong fiscal 1Q21 report.That earnings report showed $3.9 billion in revenue, which was down 3% year-over-year, but the EPS net loss, at 19 cents, was a tremendous yoy improvement from the 93-cent net loss in the year-ago quarter. The earnings improvement, which beat the forecast by 20%, was key for investors, and the stock is up 30% since the quarterly report. The company also generated a solid cash flow in the quarter, with cash from operations growing 111% sequentially.Wells Fargos Rakers acknowledges WDCs difficulties in 2020, but even so, he believes that this is a stock which is worth the risk.Western Digital has been our toughest constructive call of 2020 and while we believe calling a bottom in NAND Flash (mid/2H2021?) remains difficult and WDs execution in enterprise SSDs will remain choppy, our SOTP analysis leaves us to continue to believe that shares present a compelling risk / reward. We continue to believe that Western Digital can drive to a ~$7/sh.+ mid-cycle EPS story; however, we continue to think a key driver of this fundamental upside will not only be a recovery in the NAND Flash business, coupled with WDs ability to see improved execution in enterprise SSDs, but also a continued view that WDs HDD gross margin can return to a sustainable 30%+ level, Rakers opined.To this end, Rakers rates WDC a Buy along with a $65 price target. Should the target be met, investors could pocket gains of 29% over the next months Where does the rest of the Street side on this computer-storage maker? It appears mostly bullish, as TipRanks analytics demonstrate WDC as a Buy. Out of 11 analysts tracked in the last 3 months, 7 are bullish, while 4 remain sidelined. With a return potential of 9%, the stocks consensus target price stands at $54.44. (See WDC stock analysis on TipRanks)To find good ideas for tech stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

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Dr. Michael Everest Embraces Medical School Evolution Over The Years - Yahoo Finance

Photo credit: Bruce Gendler via Unsplash.

Editors note: Welcome to anEvolution Newstradition: a countdown of our Top 10 favorite stories of the past year, concluding on New Years Day. Our staff will be enjoying the holidays, as we hope that you will, too!Help keep the daily voice of intelligent design going strong. Please give whatever you can to support the Center for Science & Culture before the end of the year!

The following wasoriginallypublished on March 18, 2020.

There is a joke abouta cat on a roof:

A man left his cat with his brother while he went on vacation for a week. When he came back, he called his brother to see when he could pick the cat up. The brother hesitated, then said, Im so sorry, but while you were away, the cat died.

The man was very upset and yelled, You know, you could have broken the news to me better than that. When I called today, you could have said he was on the roof and wouldnt come down. Then when I called the next day, you could have said that he had fallen off and the vet was working on patching him up. Then when I called the third day, you could have said he had passed away.

The brother thought about it and apologized.

So hows Mom? asked the man.

Shes on the roof and wont come down.

Jokes when analyzed lose their humor. At the risking of my bludgeoning this particular joke, the premise here is that people more readily accept shocking news when its given to them in partial steps. Not, The cat is dead, but first, The cat is on the roof. Something like that is going on in the debate about evolution. As biochemist Michael Behe explains in the Introduction to his new book, out today A Mousetrap for Darwin:Michael J. Behe Answers His Critics the public is being prepared very slowly for the demise of Darwinian evolutionary theory. It wasnt planned that way, but it is how things are playing out.

As popular media and biology textbooks present the matter, all is still well with Darwin. He is on the roof, but safe. ID scientists, such as that scoundrel Michael Behe, may pose their anti-science challenges. However, it is merely a gentle breeze on a cats fur.

But wait Actually, the cats fate has advanced a step beyond that. Behe writes:

Since the turn of the millennium a raft of distinguished biologists have written books critically evaluating evolutionary theory.Noneof them think that Darwins mechanism is the main driver of life. It may surprise people who get their information about the state of science from gee-whiz puff pieces in the mainstream media, but, although strong partisans still hold out, the eclipse of Darwinism in the scientific community is well-advanced. A few years ago the journalNaturepublished an exchange between two groups of scientists, one defending Darwin and the other saying its time to move on. Its nice to have defenders, but when an idea has been around for 150 years wished well by all right-thinking people, investigated to death by the scientific community and a piece appears in the worlds leading science journal saying its time to move on, then its time to move on.

The question of course is, move on to what? Those books by scientists dissing Darwin offer their own clever ideas, but so far the scientific community isnt buying any of them. All the new ideas self-organization, facilitated variation, symbiosis, complexity theory, and more are quickly concluded to be nonstarters, to have the same problems as Darwins theory, or both. In the absence of an acceptable replacement and because of its usefulness as a defensive talking point in fending off skepticism from the public intellectual inertia maintains Darwinism as textbook orthodoxy.

Actually, for Darwinism, the situation is even worse thanthat. Books by Behe, and other ID theorists doing an independent of audit of evolutionary thinking, find devastating faults in the theory.

But hold on, the critics have their responses to the ID proponents. They say Behe never answers their rebuttals! As a trio of prominent scientist authors, Nathan Lents, Joshua Swamidass, and Richard Lenski,wrotein the journalSciencelast year in reply Dr. Behes bookDarwin Devolves(emphasis added):

That sounds pretty bad. He ignores critics. He double down on his claims that have already been refuted. He fails to engage. Behes purported unresponsiveness was one of the main themes of the attack by Lents et al. Surely the cat is safe after all. It is on the operating table. It may be under veterinary anesthesia but is expected to recover just fine. Right?

Unfortunately for Darwins partisans, no. Dear Sir or Madam, we regret to inform you of the passing of your pet theory. Claims that Mike Behe doesnt answer critics are massively refuted now with the publication of his new book. It is556 pages of answers to critics, all written with Behes customary wit and rigor. The chapters cover the range of criticisms that have been aimed at his books. Some, including devastating answers to Lents, Swamidass, and Lenski, were published first by us here atEvolution News.

This giant book is among the strongest indicators yet that the cat is dead. The public hasnt been informed yet and evolution theorys loyal defenders are in denial. Its just a matter of time, though. Michael Behe demonstrates as much inA Mousetrap for Darwin.Order your copy now!

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#7 Story of 2020: Darwin Is on the Roof - Discovery Institute

SUPPORT THIS INDEPENDENT JOURNALISMThe article youre about to read is from our reporters doing their important work investigating, researching, and writing their stories. We want to provide informative and inspirational stories that connect you to the people, issues and opportunities within our community. Journalism requires lots of resources. Today, our business model has been interrupted by the pandemic; the vast majority of our advertisers businesses have been impacted. Thats why The Capistrano Dispatch is now turning to you for financial support. Learn more about our new Insiders program here. Thank you.

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by Celina Young

Gardening has always been a great avenue for human exploration and innovation. Because gardening has been an essential component to mankinds survival, we are now afforded access to historical records that show the evolution of this multi-beneficial, outdoor activity.

Initially, gardens served the convenient purpose of allowing people to grow food near their homes and lower the risk of meddling animals. Safety and survival were the only priorities. In the prehistoric era (approx.10,000 B.C.), humans would discard all plants that didnt produce food. The mere concept of aesthetic gardening was a byproduct of the emergence of sedentary civilizations. Recreational gardening is an activity that can be traced back as far as 3,000 B.C. in Mesopotamia, which is currently the Middle East. The intent of this outdoor space later shifted to aid in philosophical stimulation and visual enjoyment. Gardens began to be viewed as a place of thought and reflection.

One unique aspect that has made gardening sacred throughout history is that there have been several purposes, techniques, and gardening styles that transcended cultures. West Asia pivotally influenced Europe with landscaping techniques. Egyptians were one of the first cultures to record their style of ornamental horticulture, which is the calculated arrangement and tending of decorative plants. By the fifth century, gardens were a staple in refined European villas. The gradual expansion of the Roman Empire spread gardening information throughout the country as well. The Aztecs created floating gardens, called chinampas, to grow produce on patches of land that rested upon lakes. Culture has always shaped gardening based on which practices worked best for specific regions.

In the 21st century, horticultural architecture has become an investment and an expensive commodity. Gardening may serve as a feasible career for some and a materialized asset for others. Did you know that in the United States, the average cost to have your external space landscaped is about $14,000? This is a clear indication that people value the aesthetic benefits of gardening. In addition to beauty, later generations have recognized the therapeutic perks. Our society has deemed garden-related experiences as therapeutic pastimes. With the increase of mental health awareness, outdoor recreation is suggested as a coping strategy. Medical research evidently proves that gardening supports and boosts the mental and physical health of an individual.

From the age of early man to contemporary times, gardening is a crucial aspect of human existence. Being outside in the garden has provided much more than just nostalgia; its the foundation of mankind. Without gardens, who knows where we would be?

Celina Young is a philanthropist, human advocate, and a current AmeriCorps VIP Fellow working with Goin Native Therapeutic Gardens. As a recent graduate of Cal State Dominguez Hills with a bachelors degree in human services, Celina has made helping others her priority. When shes not aiding in the development of nonprofit organizations, she spends her time blogging, watching podcasts, and walking her dog on the beach.

BECOME AN INSIDER TODAYTrustworthy, accurate and reliable local news stories are more important now than ever. Support our newsroom by making a contribution and becoming a subscribing member today.

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Goin' Native: Evolution of Gardening - Capistrano Dispatch

Theres no denying that outdoor is in and the industry is rapidly evolving into a larger-than-life category as it deftly darts through the many challenges stemming from the coronavirus pandemic and concurrently caters to a growing, diversified customer base.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that the outdoor recreation industry generates more than $788 billion a year in consumer spending in the U.S., and the Outdoor Industry Association says the sector is poised for continued growth.

Here, c-level executives from L.L. Bean, Patagonia, Cotopaxi, Ministry of Supply and Arcteryx weigh in on this years industry trends, changes, and the ever-evolving outdoor shopper.

L.L. Bean

Stephen Smith, president and chief executive officer of L.L. Bean

WWD: What consumer changes hasL.L.Beannoted during the pandemic? What are shoppers buying?

Stephen Smith: In a year of unprecedented stress, we saw consumers searching for outdoor connections and indoor comfort. Throughout the pandemic, people have been reintroduced to the outdoors and the wellness benefits that time outside can provide. As such, in the spring, when lockdown orders were in place, we saw many people gravitate toward their backyards or patios with sales increasing in outdoor furniture and backyard games.

Throughout the summer, as restrictions began to lift, we saw a surge in outdoor gear and apparel such as bikes, boats, fishing equipment and stand-up paddleboards. We also saw an increase in active apparel as everyone geared up to go outside (our womens active apparel nearly doubled over the summer). In early fall, we continued to see strength in our water and warm weather categories in addition to early purchasing of cold-weather equipment, such as snowshoes, sleds, skis and more. Throughout this year, weve also seen incredible growth in our cozy lineup such as our Wicked Good Slippers, fleece, flannel and sweatshirts all of which is perfect for working from home.

WWD: HasL.L.Beanchanged the way it communicates with consumers in the past year? What is the brand doing differently?

S.S.: Weve wanted to serve as not only a resource for products people may need during this time, but also as a source of inspiration encouraging customers to safely experience the restorative power of being outside. Throughout the spring and summer, our content teams worked to share tips and ideas on how to navigate the outdoors during the pandemic and make it a part of our customers routine. We also wanted to help offset the new pandemic paradigm that exists of work at home, school at home and play at home.

Weve heard from so many of our employees and customers that while time outside has increased, kids and families are still finding themselves stuck behind screens more than ever. To help alleviate that, we launched a program calledThe Green Hour in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation that helps kids go from screen time to green time by providing new outdoor activities for kids to complete each week.

We, along with NWF, share those ideas and activities with our customers and will continue to do so throughout the winter when it can be so difficult to find the inspiration to get outside.

WWD: L.L.Beanhas been in the outdoor business for decades. What do you envision as the future of the outdoor market? What can we expect to see fromL.L.Bean?

S.S.: Weve been in business for 108 years, and our brand has experienced many significant cultural moments: both World Wars, the Great Depression, Great Recession, the coronavirus pandemic and many moments in between. The outdoors will continue to play a prominent role in our lives, so offering products that are versatile and comfortable will continue to be important.

There will be increased focus around providing innovative solutions for customers as well such as integrating more SunSmart technology or insect repellant fabric into lines. Youll see us continue to offer our classic, heritage designs as well as taking some of those pieces and offering them up with new and modern twists. That could come in the form of introducing new colorways and patterns, drawing on our archives for vintage inspiration or partnering with like-minded designers who offer a new take like Todd Snyder.

We have some of the best designers in the business, and theyll continue to master the art of keeping us true to our outdoor heritage and Americana style, but doing so in a way that is desirable and approachable.

Patagonia

Ryan Gellert, ceo of Patagonia

WWD: What consumer trends has Patagonia noted during COVID-19? Are shoppers behaving differently?

Ryan Gellert: Weve really just seen a reinforcement of the pattern that already exists with our customer base trending toward purchasing high-quality items that are meant to last a lifetime. And during these days of the pandemic, people are purchasing technical product that supports their outdoor pursuits, in addition to investing in well-made casual items that suit the working from home atmosphere.

Weve also seen a big shift in our business towards purchasing online, as expected.

WWD: How would you describe the state of the outdoor market? What changes have you seen?

R.G.: At the start of 2020, the outdoor industry was incredibly strong and growing fast, driving a lot of consumer spending. Then the pandemic happened, closing stores and restricted many of us from doing what we love spending time with friends, in the outdoors. The last nine months have been rough for the industry and Patagonia, like so many of its peers, hasnt been immune to the economic damage the coronavirus has caused.

Weve had to delay new store openings and warehouse upgrades as cash got tight and inventory piled up while our stores were closed. But our business is resilient, and I have been amazed at how quickly we have been able to adapt to this new normal and I have seen that same resilience across our industry. And on the positive side, spending time outside is more important than ever as we continue to tend to our mental health.

I suspect that the outdoor industry will thrive through the end of 2020 and into 2021 as we embrace a new sense of purpose. I also suspect we will see many retailers consider new ways of doing business its time to chart a new course in recognition of our new reality, even as we move past COVID-19.

WWD: What will we see from Patagonia in the near future?

R.G.: I would like to highlight three things you will see from us in the near future, all focused on our core commitment to our mission statement: We Are in Business to Save Our Home Planet.

Cotopaxi

James Hampton, chief revenue officer of Cotopaxi

WWD: What are some of the major consumer trends Cotopaxi saw emerge during the pandemic? Has the outdoor consumer changed?

James Hampton: Overall, the pandemic has forced us to adventure closer to home. In the early days while most of us were living under quarantine, there was a noticeable increase in activities that promoted getting out of the house for short periods of time like walking, jogging, hiking and biking. As restrictions began to ease and we got into the summer months, there was a significant increase in car camping and other outdoor recreational activity.

Consumer dollars shifted from travel and entertainment to outdoor and welcomed a new generation of outdoor participants that arent looking to necessarily stand on top of the mountain, but prefer to get out of the house, relax in nature, and have a good time.

WWD: How did Cotopaxi pivot its operations in the last year?

J.H.: In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cotopaxi, like most companies, took quick action to address the initial impacts we experienced. We developed a comprehensive plan to address the economic realities of the situation across the entire business. We held daily standups with our executive team and held weekly touchpoints with our entire company to discuss results and develop strategies to address the constantly changing conditions.

How we met and interacted around the situation presented to us really bonded the team and allowed us to make decisions from an objective standpoint. These actions have helped us throughout COVID-19 but will also make us a healthier business for the long term. We developed a new product our Teca Face Mask that helped sales, but also accelerated our total impact for the year by providing a face mask to someone in need for every Cotopaxi face mask sold.

WWD: Has the pandemic changed the way Cotopaxi communicates with its customer?

J.H.: Being a mission-led company with a great culture of customer experience, COVID-19 didnt alter how Cotopaxi provides customer service. We also maintained our perspective on our target customer which leads strategies across product design and marketing programs. We did incorporate shifts in customer behavior during COVID to reposition key products and develop capsule programs to better support how our customer is spending their time.

Ministry of Supply

Aman Advani, cofounder and ceo of Ministry of Supply

WWD: How is Ministry of Supply differentiated in the outdoor/outerwear market?

Aman Advani: We use the latest in textile science and production techniques to solve everyday wardrobe problems. For example, we introduced the Mercury Intelligent Heated Jacket to address the common issue of temperature control (i.e. temperature changes on the commute to work as well as personal microclimates in a shared setting, like an office). Not only is this jacket voice-controlled, but it also automatically heats to the right temperature and learns the wearers behavior over time for optimized comfort.

Another example is our Great Auk Down-Less Parka. Many parkas on the market use down and other animal products. We wanted to create an ethical, sustainable option for consumers that doesnt compromise performance (it insulates against 10F to -10F) with no hidden ecological costs. The parka is made with recycled materials and features a NASA-invented Aerogel that mimics how lofty down and weather-proof feathers protect birds.

WWD: Would you share how sustainability is embedded within the Ministry of Supply brand?

A.A.: Sustainability is deeply embedded within our mission, as well as our supply chain. Over the past few years, weve focused on developing smarter, cutting-edge manufacturing techniques that not only yield better garments but also make for more efficient and sustainable manufacturing. We dramatically cut down on material waste with a huge investment in 3-D knitting, reduced excess inventory with on-demand manufacturing, and have consistently created timeless, durable pieces that will endure.

We also launched our Built-to-Order line as a sustainable way to provide affordable personalization to customers. This on-demand model enables rapid prototyping, allowing us to bring new garments and styles to market faster and better control inventory. It also cuts down on inventory waste, with no need to forecast demand, order excess inventories in advance or manage warehouse inventories.

This year, we became Climate Neutral Certified, meaning we have measured the greenhouse gases emitted when we make and deliver products to our customers. Our carbon footprint of 2,534 metric tonnes of CO2e has been fully offset. Our cofounder, Gihan, was also just elected to Climate Neutrals Board of Directors, in large part due to his unique approach in using science as a driver for promoting our planets wellbeing.

WWD: Has the Ministry of Supply shopper changed in the past year, and has the brand itself had to pivot to meet new needs?

A.A.: The Ministry of Supply consumer hasnt necessarily changed this year, but their lifestyle has. People are no longer spending their days in an office environment or traveling for work two use-cases a lot of our garments were optimized for. To meet the needs of these new lifestyles, we introduced a line of clothing designed for working from just about anywhere. Our Fusion Overshirt is a great example of a piece that not only looks good on Zoom, but is also versatile enough to layer for outdoor dining.

We were in a unique position to make these shifts, thanks to our agile supply chain. Our supply chain agility allowed us to be incredibly nimble and reactive to shifts in demand and consumer shopping over the past six months. Because were ahead of the curve in this sense, we have room to take a more conscientious approach to retail even in the midst of such uncertain times. We thoroughly think through the impact that our products and manufacturing processes have on the environment, the end-user and the industry at-large.

Arcteryx

Jon Hoerauf, president of ArcteryxAna Pedrero

WWD: How do you see the outdoor market evolving? How has it changed in the past year?

Jon Hoerauf: The outdoor market has now become the outside market. People are looking to reconnect with nature wherever they live. It can be in the mountains, or a city park, or in their own garden. People have embraced weaving nature much more into their daily lives.

WWD: Has the Arcteryx consumer changed its needs, priorities or product selections? Did the brand see a new type of outdoor consumer emerge during the pandemic?

J.H.: Yes and no. Our guest has always prioritized getting outside and quality over quantity.I believe people have used this time to hit the pause button and take a look at themselves and what is important to them.People have become more intentional in their work, families and the choices they make when spending their hard-earned money.A brand like ours has actually expanded our reach during this pandemic as people have leaned on their values to make decisions and they seeArcteryxas a brand that aligns with them.

WWD: Lets talk about the outdoor luxury sector. What trends have you noted, and what can we expect to see next from Arcteryx?

J.H.: The word luxury has a few different meanings. The one we like is great comfort. People are living and working in their performance wear daily. Quality, fit, responsibility and ease of care are super important. People do also want to look good and be able to move effortlessly throughout their life. We see that continuing. As for what is next our goal is to always create experiences and solve problems that people didnt even know existed; and then be amazed when they discover it.

For more Business news from WWD, see:

Outdoor Brands TalkCoronavirusImpacts

Brick-and-Mortar, Digital Retailers Adjust Strategies in Wake of Coronavirus

Field Notes: How Fabric Is Helping Save the Planet

Go here to see the original:

Outdoor, Outerwear Execs Talk Emerging Trends, Shopper Evolution - WWD

Abstract

Understanding the regime shifts of social-ecological systems (SES) and their local and spillover effects over a long time frame is important for future sustainability. We provide a perspective of processes unfolding over time to identify the regime shifts of a SES based on changes in the relationships between SES components while also addressing their drivers and local and spillover effects. The applicability of this approach has been demonstrated by analyzing the evolution over the past 1000 years of the SES in Chinas Loess Plateau (LP). Five evolutionary phases were identified: fast expansion of cultivation, slow expansion of cultivation, landscape engineering for higher production, transition from cultivation to ecological conservation, and revegetation for environment. Our study establishes empirical links between the state (phase) of a SES to its drivers and effects. Lessons of single-goal driven and locally focused SES management in the LP, which did not consider these links, have important implications to long-term planning and policy formulation of SES.

Global sustainability challenges, such as maintaining multiple ecosystem services, are closely intertwined across space and time (1). Their solution often requires holistic approaches (1, 2), which can incorporate human and natural components simultaneously (3), reduce regional and cross-scale environmental impacts (4), and identify system-level management strategies and priorities (5). These approaches thus avoid uncoordinated and unintentional impacts on global sustainability (1).

A social-ecological system (SES) perspective provides an integrative framework that could lead to better understanding of the interactions between human and natural systems (6, 7). Regime shifts, i.e. large, abrupt, and persistent changes in system structure, function, and feedbacks, occur across a wide range of SES (8, 9). Identifying the evolutionary phases (regime shifts) of a SES and the drivers of regime shifts for a long time frame is critical to successful future system management (10). Sustainable development efforts should be directed at maintaining desirable regimes (e.g., those that underpin human well-being and maintain a well-balanced set of ecosystem services such as food and water provisioning, biodiversity, and climate regulation) and/or avoiding undesirable regimes, by managing the drivers that affect key feedback processes (10).

Identifying the regime shifts that have their foundations in intertwined social-ecological dynamics remains a scientific challenge and is an emerging frontier of SES research (10). There are an increasing number of studies analyzing the social or more ecological regime shifts. These studies use statistical methodsfor example, the sequential T test and F test for the difference between two or more regimes (11)or early warning signals, such as increasing variability, growing autocorrelation, and slower recovery rates from disturbance (12). The SES regime shifts identified in these studies are mainly based on the change points of a single social and/or ecological component, with the interactions between them often being neglected. However, the critical dynamics of a SES crossing the system thresholds are often determined by the interaction between multiple variables (processes) (13, 14). Therefore, these methods may fail to capture some key regime shifts (15). In addition, through reciprocal processes, a SES can generate spillover effects beyond the system boundary (16). Thus, regime shifts in a SES may also affect the sustainability of distant systems (8). However, current regime shift studies focus mainly on the local effects, with spillover effects being ignored.

Here, we propose a framework for identifying the regime shifts of a SES based on the change of interactions between system components while also addressing their drivers and both local and spillover effects. We take the evolution of the SES in Chinas Loess Plateau (LP) over the past 1000 years as a case study to demonstrate the applicability of this framework. Because the past and present are inextricably bound to the future, it is expected that the findings of this study will assist in achieving an understanding of how SES problems emerged in the past, how they were dealt with, and their implications for future SES management.

The LP (Fig. 1A) is a well-recognized SES case suitable for understanding social-ecological interactions and their effects (17). Chinese culture originated in the LP and adjacent areas approximately 7000 years ago (17). The region was recognized for its fertile loess soil and was an early and long-lasting center of cultivation (18). The LP is located at the forest-steppe ecotone, which is suitable for both farming and grazing. The location of the farming-grazing boundary shifted southward in cold and dry periods or northward in warm and wet periods, with change of the balance of power between arable farmers and nomadic pastoralists (19). With increasing population pressure, especially in the past 1000 years, cultivation expanded rapidly throughout the loess areas and even into steeply sloping hills (18). This expansion of agriculture resulted in vegetation destruction and exacerbated the problem of soil erosion (20). These issues affected downstream areas by raising riverbed levels (21) and causing delta expansion (22) in the lower Yellow River (YR). The LP used to be the YRs largest source of sediment, providing nearly 90% of the sediment load (23). For many years, severe erosion, sparse vegetation, high population, low agricultural productivity in the LP, and high sediment load in the YR were notorious (17). Since the 1960s, the Chinese government has implemented various strategies to address these challenges, with the Grain to Green Program (GTGP) from 1999 being one of the best known (Fig. 1, B and C) (24). Under the GTGP and numerous landscape engineering works such as terracing, check dams, and reservoir construction, the sediment load of the YR decreased (23) and the vegetation coverage of the LP nearly doubled (21). However, large-scale vegetation restoration led to soil desiccation and other adjoint problems in some areas of the LP (25); the downstream ecosystems of the YR and its delta were affected by substantial reductions in runoff and sediment load in the lower YR and an accompanying change in the water-sediment dynamics (22).

(A) Location of the LP and selected provinces. (B and C) Landscape on the LP before and after the GTGP, respectively. Photo credit: Y. Liang and Z. Wu, Office of the GTGP of Yanan City.

A framework for understanding the evolution of the SES in the LP was developed (Fig. 2). The relationships between SES components were used to represent the interactions between system components and their transition. We assumed that, in a stable evolutionary phase or regime of a SES, the interactions between the system components remain unchanged. Thus, the transition of any relationship from positive to negative, or vice versa, represents a SES move from one evolutionary phase to another. Drivers from human activities and climate change determine the social-ecological interactions and then generate both local effects and spillover effects in distant systems. By detecting the abrupt changes in the relationships between the system components based on piecewise linear regression (PLR; see Methods), we divided each relationship into several periods. By identifying the periods during which all the relationships remain unchanged, the evolutionary phases of the SES can be determined and the evolution of SES can be analyzed.

Double-sided arrows represent the interactions between system components. The transition of any relationship from positive to negative, or vice versa, represents a SES move from one evolutionary phase to another.

Population and the accompanying food demand have been the core issue facing society in the LP throughout its long history. Population was therefore selected as the indicator for the social subsystem component. Forest coverage was selected as an indicator for the ecological subsystem component, because not only it can influence the local environment through the carbon cycle, regional hydrology (26), and soil erosion (27) but also, compared to other vegetation types, long-term historical data exist. Cropland area, as a link between social and ecological subsystems through land use, was also selected as an indicator for the ecological subsystem component, which plays an enormous role in food security. The competition for land use between forest and crop growth has existed for thousands of years (17). The interactions of these three indicators represent the relationship between the development of society (population growth) and its demand for both food supply and a sustainable environment.

To reflect the complexity of SES, we selected as many as possible the political, climatic, and socioeconomic drivers that might affect social-ecological interactions. Climate drivers include temperature anomalies (28), a proxy precipitation index for historical periods (29), recorded precipitation after 1949, and extreme drought and flood events (30). Socioeconomic drivers include the level of agricultural technology and management (reflected by grain production per hectare) (31), war frequency (32), and shift of the farming-grazing boundary on the LP (33). Policy initiatives such as policy priorities and reform of tax policy (34) were also qualitatively analyzed on the basis of the published literature.

To analyze the effects generated by social-ecological interactions in different regimes, we selected several indicators reflecting the local and spillover effects. Grain production in the LP was chosen to reflect the local food security. Considering that the LP is the largest sediment source and an important water source for the YR (17), the sediment load and natural runoff of the YR were selected to reflect both the conditions of soil erosion and water yield in the LP and their effects on downstream systems. Because sediment in the YR affects the downstream riverbed (21) and the YR delta (22), YR delta area changes, and natural breaches of the lower YR were specified as the spillover effects of the LP on the downstream system.

We chose the past 1000 years as our study period. During this period, the LP experienced rapid population growth and cultivation expansion (18), environmental deterioration, and restoration (17). Although the LP covers seven provinces of China, our study area was focused on the Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces (Fig. 1A), primarily because these provinces cover most parts of the loess region in the LP (17). Because of the long study period, the datasets we used are combinations of historical records, reconstructed data for historical periods, and observational and statistical data after 1949 (see Methods and tables S1 and S2).

On the basis of the changes of interactions between the system components (Figs. 3 and 4 and sections S1 and S2), five evolutionary phases of the SES in the LP were identified during the past 1000 years: I (1100 to 1750s), II (1750s to 1950s), III (1950s to 1970s), IV (1980s to 1990s), and V (2000s to the present; Fig. 3D).

(A) Relationship between population and cropland area. (B) Relationship between population and forest coverage. (C) Relationship between cropland area and forest coverage. (D) Evolutionary phases of the SES in the LP.

(A) Population. (B) Cropland area. (C) Forest coverage.

The first phase (1100 to the 1750s) can be identified as fast expansion of cultivation. In this phase, population was positively correlated with cropland area but negatively correlated with forest coverage, while cropland area was negatively correlated with forest coverage. The population increased from 6 million in 1100 to 16 million in the 1750s, while cropland area increased from 2.33 106 ha to 8.57 106 ha and forest coverage decreased from 33 to 18%.

The second phase (the 1750s to the 1950s) can be characterized as slow expansion of cultivation. The relationship between population and cropland area became nonsignificant, and the negative regression slope between cropland area and forest increased. The population increased to 28 million in the 1850s but dropped to 19 million in the 1880s and then gradually increased to 27 million in the 1950s, while cropland area fluctuated around 8.5 106 ha and forest coverage decreased from 18 to 9%.

The third phase from the 1950s to the 1970s can be described as landscape engineering for higher production. The relationship between population and cropland area became negative and that between population and forest coverage became positive. Numerous terraces and check dams were constructed in this phase to control soil erosion and improve production. The cropland area increased to about 9 106 ha in the late 1950s and decreased to about 8 106 ha in the 1970s, while population increased steadily to 53 million and forest coverage increased to 15%.

The phase from the 1980s to the 1990s can be identified as transition from cultivation to ecological conservation. The negative regression slope between population and cropland area decreased in this phase. The population increased steadily to 68 million, while cropland area decreased to about 7 106 ha and forest coverage increased to about 20%.

The final phase can be characterized as revegetation for environment. The relationship between population and cropland area and that between cropland and forest coverage became irrelevant, while the positive regression slope between population and forest coverage increased. The population increased to 76 million, while cropland decreased to about 6 106 ha and forest coverage increased to 33%.

The changes in the chosen political, climatic, and socioeconomic drivers during the study period are shown in Fig. 5 and section S3. We found that there existed significant changes in some drivers during shifts of the evolutionary phases of SES in LP identified by our approach.

(A) Temperature anomaly. (B) Proxy precipitation index and precipitation. (C) Extreme drought or flood years in north China. (D) Grain production per hectare. (E) War frequency in north China.

In ancient China (phases I and II), increasing food demand was mainly achieved by increasing cropland area (34). The government encouraged cultivation for the increasing population, and large areas of forest were cleared (35). Owners of newly developed or reclaimed croplands were allowed to postpone the paying of land taxes, and officials responsible for regional reclamation were rewarded (34). In the early 18th century, the emperor Kangxi of the Qing dynasty decided to permanently freeze the corve tax quotas for each local government, and no extra corve taxes were collected because of population increase. This reform of tax policies greatly stimulated both the population and cultivation during the whole period of the Qing dynasty (34). Crops from the Americas with high productivity such as maize, potato, and sweet potato were introduced and popularized by the government of the Qing dynasty in the 18th century (19, 34). The improvement in agricultural productivity (Fig. 5D) caused by these high-yield crops and improvements in irrigation systems (34) made it possible to feed the increased population with a relatively stable cropland area. This improvement resulted in the slow expansion of cultivation and a nonsignificant relationship between population and cropland area in phase II. These new exotic crops are also resistant to drought and cold and can be grown on land of poor qualityland that was not suitable for traditional crops (36). Thus, although the climate was cold in phase II (Fig. 5A), the farming-grazing boundary on the LP shifted northward rather than southward, and more grazing lands were converted into croplands (19, 36). Meanwhile, large numbers of immigrants swarmed into mountain regions and cut down forests for cultivation on steep slopes (19, 37), which explains the increased negative slope between cropland area and forest coverage in phase II. As a traditional agrarian society, population in the LP in the first two phases was sustained by agricultural production that was contingent upon climate and weather conditions (38). Reduction of thermal energy input in cold climate periods or extreme drought and flood events could impede agricultural production (32, 39), which brought price inflation and social conflicts. These, in turn, led to war and population decline (40). Thus, war outbreaks and population decline mostly followed a decline in temperature or more extreme drought and flood events (Fig. 5). Population decline caused the abandonment of some croplands (34), which explains the decrease of cropland area in the cold late 19th century (Figs. 4 and 5A).

Food security was still the priority in the third phase from the 1950s to the 1970s (41). In the 1950s, the Chinese government implemented a policy known as Take Grain as the Key Link (16). The sharp rise in population led to a large increase of farming on sloping land and a continuous reduction of forest and grassland during the 1950 to 1960s (20). To efficiently reduce slope and gully soil erosion and to improve cultivation, numerous soil erosion control measures including terracing, afforestation, and conservation tillage practices were implemented beginning in the 1960s (20). The Chinese government encouraged check dam construction in the LP from the 1950s to the mid-1970s, because it is the most effective way to control soil erosion on the LP (17) and offered the additional advantage of developing large, flat areas behind the dams, the productivity of which is 8 to 10 times higher than that of sloping land (42). The increased agricultural productivity (Fig. 5D) caused by landscape engineering and technological advancements such as the use of chemical fertilizer led to the negative relationship identified between population and cropland area in phase III. The economy of China developed rapidly following the Reform and Opening-up policy at the end of the 1970s (43). The agriculture production mode had been shifted from expanding the croplands to improving the productivity and revenue (41). The policy comprehensive management of small watersheds was launched to integrate the management of hills, water, forests, and cropland, with the aim of reducing sediment and flooding, and improving agricultural production (20, 43). By the end of 1998, a total of 4.6 104 km2 of sloping farmland on the LP had been converted into terraces (17). The Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, which was implemented in 1978 and involved more than half of the LP, increased the vegetation cover in the low-coverage areas in the northwest of the LP (17, 44). Furthermore, higher agricultural productivity (Fig. 5D) was achieved through rational land-use practices such as diversified land use for more revenue and increases in chemical fertilizer use, agricultural machinery, and irrigated area (20, 41). These processes led to the negative relationship between population and cropland area and the positive relationship between population and forest coverage in phase IV. Major floods and droughts in the late 1990s triggered Chinese government actions on maintaining and restoring ecosystem services for national ecological security and sustainable development (45, 46). With the increasing awareness of the need for environmental protection, the central government implemented the GTGP (41), which aimed to reduce natural disaster risk by restoring forest and grassland, while improving livelihood options and alleviating poverty (47). The LP was prioritized as a pilot region for the GTGP (48). By the end of 2014, 37.38 billion yuan (in 2015, 6.28 yuan = US$1) had been invested in the Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, and the total forested area in the two provinces was 39.37 103 km2, of which about 30% was converted from cropland (48). Consequently, forest coverage in the LP increased (48), explaining the enhanced positive relationship between population and forest coverage in phase V. Because the conversion of cropland to forest and afforestation of barren land occurred simultaneously, the relationship between cropland and forest coverage became nonsignificant in phase V. The GTGP also released rural labor from crop production and promoted the shift to nonfarm activities (49), while economic development, industrialization, and urbanization have also played important parts in improving farm-household income and reducing the pressure on land to provide livelihoods (45, 50).

The effects generated by social-ecological interactions varied over time (Fig. 6 and section S3). By identifying different evolutionary phases, better understanding of how SES problems emerged and how they were dealt with can be achieved. In phase I, phase II, and the early part of phase III, the government only pursued the solution of local food demand while sidelining the importance of environment. Expansion of cultivation and forest clearance resulted in environmental degradation and severe soil erosion (18). The latter led to increased sediment load in the YR (33, 35) and, subsequently, more frequent levee breaches in the lower YR (19) and faster extension of the YR delta (33) (Fig. 6). In these phases, the LP had been trapped in a vicious circle: Overcultivation and excess deforestation caused impaired soil fertility, and the subsequent decline in grain yield further intensified the need for more cultivation and deforestation (17). In phases III and IV, landscape engineering, including terracing, check dams, and reservoir construction, significantly contributed to the decreasing sediment load of the YR and the following slower extension of the YR delta (Fig. 6, B and D) (23). The Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program in phase IV also helped control soil erosion in the LP. Unfortunately, the program did not properly consider the importance of species diversity and landscape pattern, and the trees used too much soil water (25). In phase V, the priority has moved from food security to environmental protection. Large-scale vegetation restoration reduced soil erosion in the LP and the sediment load of the YR (Fig. 6B) (23). However, the accompanying change of water-sediment dynamics generated cross-scale effects, which resulted in a shift of the YR delta to an erosional phase (Fig. 6D) (51), potentially affecting more than 2 million people and biodiversity in distant but coupled environments (52). The increased evapotranspiration caused by large-scale revegetation caused soil desiccation (25) and affected water availability (53). In some areas, mismanagement of the planted vegetation, including the introduction of exotic plant species and high-density planting, has led to the formation of dry soil layer (21), which may be a serious obstacle to sustainable land use (25). The average natural runoff in the lower YR in phase V decreased compared with that in phase IV, although the average precipitation in this phase is higher than that in phase IV (Figs. 5B and 6C). Without considering the conflicting demands for water between the ecosystem and humans, local revegetation is approaching sustainable water resource limits (53). Although the grain production in the whole LP still increased in phase V (Fig. 6A), grain productions in some counties decreased because of the conversion of cropland to forest and grassland (48). Further expansion of the GTGP may threaten local food supply (21). In addition, as cropland area declined (Fig. 4B), local people commonly increased agrochemical inputs to maintain and enhance land productivity for food security (54). Consequently, diffuse pollution from agriculture has increased, which has affected the quality of local land, groundwater, surface water, and agricultural product quality (54).

(A) Grain production in the LP. (B) Sediment load of the YR. (C) Natural runoff in the YR. (D) Change in area of the YR delta. (E) Number of natural breaches in the lower YR.

The success or failure of many environmental policies and management practices depends on their ability to address the complex temporal and spatial relationships of SES (55). Our study provides a temporal lens for understanding the dynamics of SES.

Unlike current approaches for identifying the regime shifts of a SES based on the change points in a time series of social and/or ecological variables (10), we examined the regime shifts from the perspectives of interactive processes between SES components, and we identified five evolutionary phases (regimes) as fast expansion of cultivation, slow expansion of cultivation, landscape engineering for higher production, transition from cultivation to ecological conservation, and revegetation for environment in the LP in the past 1000 years. These identified evolutionary phases were highly aligned with historical realitythere existed significant changes in some drivers and local and spillover effects during shifts of the evolutionary phases. Our findings, although from an empirical study, is important to call for more theoretical investigation in the future.

In addition, as our framework links the states (phases) of the SES to their drivers and effects, it could provide an explicit roadmap for future SES management by identifying which state (phase) we would like our SES to be in and which drivers (policies and technology/engineering) should be used for reaching that state. Our approach may shed light on other large SES management regions with long development histories and cross-scale effects, e.g., the Amazon, the Congo, and the Mekong River basins (56).

The implications of our findings on the evolution and effects of the SES in the LP are significant. One of them is the lessons from single-goal driven and locally focused SES management in the LP. The SES practices focused on food security in the first three phases, resulting in local environment degradation and generating negative spillover effects in distant coupled systems. The soil erosion control measures and revegetation in the LP reduced soil erosion and sediment load in the YR but contributed to the shift of the YR delta into an erosion state (51). Furthermore, mismanagement of the planted vegetation in some areas caused formation of a dry soil layer (25), which had negative influences on both water availability and food production. Therefore, SES management needs an integrated and systemic perspective, which progresses from pursuing a single goal to considering social-ecological interaction (55) and from focusing on local effects to considering cross-scale effects. With such a perspective, some undesired regimes can be avoided, e.g., the vicious circle of overcultivation and degradation in phases I, II, and III in the LP. But the question on how we should manage these social-ecological interactions remains; it needs further study, acknowledging the drivers of climate change and increasing human activities in the Anthropocene (8, 23).

It should be noted that the use of multiple data sources, in particular, use of less data and reconstruction data in the historical periods, could lead to less accurate conclusions. These different data sources with their different degrees of reliability have been highlighted during the analysis (section S4 and table S1). It should also be noted that the system components of the SES could be more complex and the relationships between system components may be nonlinear (1). Looking ahead, the mechanisms of social-ecological interaction change should be explored to predict future changes (10), with the ultimate objective of defining, achieving, and maintaining a desired or sustainable state of SES.

In conclusion, we proposed a framework for identifying the regime shifts of a SES based on the change of interactions between system components and use it to analyze the evolution of the SES in the LP over the past 1000 years. By empirically linking the state (phase) of the SES in the LP to its drivers and effects, we can better understand how SES issues emerged and how they should be addressed. Lessons of single-goal driven and locally focused SES management in the LP highlight the necessity of an integrated and systemic perspective in future SES management.

The data required for describing the components of the SES in the LP and their relationships and the drivers for, and effects of, the changes in relationships based on the proposed framework (Fig. 2) are summarized in tables S1 and S2. The datasets we used are combinations of historical records and reconstructed data for historical periods, together with observational and statistical data for the period after 1949. Historical population data were obtained from the chronicles of the two study area provinces, which are official government publications and are widely used in historical studies (19, 57). Data regarding historical cropland areas were extracted from published literature that integrated data from official government publications and local chronicles authorized by the government (31, 34). The data for historical grain production were estimated on the basis of the cropland area and grain yield per unit area in the different periods. Hence, provincial grain yields per unit of cultivated area were collated for 1400, 1776, and 1851 CE (31). No data regarding grain yields were available for dates earlier than 1400 CE.

The historical forest cover in the LP has been a controversial topic. Some historical literature indicate slightly more than 50% of the plateau was forested between the Western Zhou dynasty (1066 to 771 BCE) and the Spring-Autumn period (770 to 221 BCE) (58). In contrast, some paleoenvironmental records, such as pollen, indicate that dense forests were only distributed in mountain areas of the LP during the Holocene (59). However, the pollen studies are mainly at the fossil pollen sites, and the interval of vegetation distribution change on the LP derived from pollen data is 1000 years (59), which is too coarse to be analyzed in any detail in our study. In addition, both historical literature and paleoenvironmental records agree that the forested area of the LP steadily declined as population increased during the historical period (57). Thus, we chose to use the historical records to reflect the forest coverage of the entire region. The historical forest coverage in the LP during the Song dynasty (960 to 1280 CE) and Ming dynasty (1368 to 1644 CE) was derived from the published literature (57, 58). These documents are the only sources that estimate the forest cover of the LP over the past 1000 years. In addition, forest coverage for each individual province, for the period 17001949, was obtained from a previously published paper (37), which estimated the forest cover based on historical documents of the Qing Dynasty, modern surveys, and statistics.

The reconstructed winter half-year temperature for eastern China, the proxy precipitation index (dry-wet index) dataset for north China, the extreme drought and flood events and war frequency in north China, and the shift of the farming-grazing boundary in the LP during the past 1000 years were garnered from previous works (2830, 32, 33). The sediment load of the YR within different periods in the past 1000 years was obtained from published literature (35), which is the only source of the historical sediment load of the YR and has been widely used in other studies (21). The natural runoff of the YR at Sanmenxia station was derived from a previously published paper (60). It was estimated from YR flood alarm data during the Qing dynasty and from the drought and flood distribution of China in the last 500 years and is the only source of historical runoff data for the YR. The change in area of the YR delta was collected from published papers (61, 62), which use historical information. The natural breach of the lower YR, which is derived from official and local historical records spanning more than 2000 years, was obtained from a published paper (19).

The population, cropland area, and grain production data of Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces from 1949 to 2018 were obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn). The forest coverage of the two provinces after 1949 was collated from national forest resource surveys for the following periods: 19501962, 19731976, 19771981, 19841988, 19891993, 19941998, 19992003, 20042008, 20092013, and 20142018 (www.forestry.gov.cn). We chose the sediment load at Tongguan station (Fig. 1A), where the YR flows out of the LP, to represent the sediment load of the YR. The sediment load at Tongguan station from 1950 to 2018 and the natural runoff at Sanmenxia station were obtained from the Bureau of Hydrology, the Yellow River Conservancy Commission and collated from the Yellow River Water Resources Bulletin (www.mwr.gov.cn/sj/). Annual precipitation and temperature after 1949 were obtained from the National Meteorological Administration of China (http://data.cma.cn). The data are used in official government publications and have been widely used in previous research (23, 37). The change in area of the YR delta and extreme drought and flood events in north China were collated from published papers (52, 62, 63).

First, we detected times of abrupt changes in the relationships between the system components. These turning points in the relationships during the study period were analyzed using a PLR method. PLR is a statistical method that allows switching regressions to give separate results for several segments of an independent variable (64). We used PLR to perform linear regression in two segments according to time. The boundary time between the segments is considered to be the turning point. PLR can be expressed asY={a1X+b1,TT1a2X+b2,T>T1where Y is the dependent variable, X is the independent variable, a1 and a2 are the slopes of the linear segments, b1 and b2 are the intercepts of the linear segments, and T1 is the turning point. T1 was selected using two criteria: (i) the time point with the least residual sum of squares of the regression lines and (ii) either P value of the two regression lines before and after the breakpoint being less than 0.05. After the identification of a turning point, the other turning points of the segment (if they exist) were determined by the same method, until no further time points met the criteria of turning point identification.

By detecting the turning point in the relationships, each relationship between system components can be divided into several periods. Then, the evolutionary phases of the SES can be determined by identifying the periods in which all the relationships remain unchanged.

Acknowledgments: Funding: This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (nos. 41930649 and 41722102), the Key Program of Frontier Science (no. QYZDY-SSW-DQC025) and the International Partnership Program (no. 121311KYSB20170004) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Global Engagement Program of the University of Queensland. Author contributions: B.F., X.W., and Y.W. designed the research. X.W., S.W., and Y.Z. conducted statistical analysis. X.W., Y.W., B.F., S.W., Y.Z., and E.F.M. contributed to the interpretation and writing. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Data and materials availability: All data needed to evaluate the conclusions in the paper are present in the paper and/or the Supplementary Materials. Additional data related to this paper may be requested from the authors.

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Evolution and effects of the social-ecological system over a millennium in China's Loess Plateau - Science Advances

Rubisco is the most abundant enzyme on the planet. Present in plants, cyanobacteria (also known as blue-green algae) and other photosynthetic organisms, its central to the process of carbon fixation and is one of Earths oldest carbon-fixing enzymes. Researchers at UC Davis and LBNL have now discovered an alternative form of rubisco in environmental samples. 3D images of the form I rubisco (left) compared to the newly discovered form I-prime (right). The discovery could help understand how the enzyme works and be used in plant breeding. Credit: D. M. Banda et al, 2020

A team led by researchers at the University of California, Davis, has discovered a missing link in the evolution of photosynthesis and carbon fixation. Dating back more than 2.4 billion years, a newly discovered form of the plant enzyme rubisco could give new insight into plant evolution and breeding.

Rubisco is the most abundant enzyme on the planet. Present in plants, cyanobacteria (also known as blue-green algae) and other photosynthetic organisms, its central to the process of carbon fixation and is one of Earths oldest carbon-fixing enzymes.

Its the primary driver for producing food, so it can take CO2 from the atmosphere and fix that into sugar for plants and other photosynthetic organisms to use. Its the primary driving enzyme for feeding carbon into life that way, said Doug Banda, a postdoctoral scholar in the lab of Patrick Shih, assistant professor of plant biology in the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences.

Form I rubisco evolved over 2.4 billion years ago before the Great Oxygenation Event, when cyanobacteria transformed the Earths atmosphere by producing oxygen through photosynthesis. Rubiscos ties to this ancient event make it important to scientists studying the evolution of life.

In a study published on August 31, 2020, in Nature Plants, Banda and researchers from UC Davis, UC Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report the discovery of a previously unknown relative of form I rubisco, one that they suspect diverged from form I rubisco prior to the evolution of cyanobacteria.

The new version, called form I-prime rubisco, was found through genome sequencing of environmental samples and synthesized in the lab. Form I-prime rubisco gives researchers new insights into the structural evolution of form I rubisco, potentially providing clues as to how this enzyme changed the planet.

Form I rubisco is responsible for the vast majority of carbon fixation on Earth. But other forms of rubisco exist in bacteria and in the group of microorganisms called Archaea. These rubisco variants come in different shapes and sizes, and even lack small subunits. Yet they still function.

Something intrinsic to understanding how form I rubisco evolved is knowing how the small subunit evolved, said Shih. Its the only form of rubisco, that we know of, that makes this kind of octameric assembly of large subunits.

Study co-author Professor Jill Banfield, of UC Berkeleys earth and planetary sciences department, uncovered the new rubisco variant after performing metagenomic analyses on groundwater samples. Metagenomic analyses allow researchers to examine genes and genetic sequences from the environment without culturing microorganisms.

We know almost nothing about what sort of microbial life exists in the world around us, and so the vast majority of diversity has been invisible, said Banfield. The sequences that we handed to Patricks lab actually come from organisms that were not represented in any databases.

Banda and Shih successfully expressed form I-prime rubisco in the lab using E. coli and studied its molecular structure.

Form I rubisco is built from eight core large molecular subunits with eight small subunits perched on top and bottom. Each piece of the structure is important to photosynthesis and carbon fixation. Like form I rubisco, form I-prime rubisco is built from eight large subunits. However, it does not possess the small subunits previously thought essential.

The discovery of an octameric rubisco that forms without small subunits allows us to ask evolutionary questions about what life wouldve looked like without the functionality imparted by small subunits, said Banda. Specifically, we found that form I-prime enzymes had to evolve fortified interactions in the absence of small subunits, which enabled structural stability in a time when Earths atmosphere was rapidly changing.

According to the researchers, form I-prime rubisco represents a missing link in evolutionary history. Since form I rubisco converts inorganic carbon into plant biomass, further research on its structure and functionality could lead to innovations in agriculture production.

Although there is significant interest in engineering a better rubisco, there has been little success over decades of research, said Shih. Thus, understanding how the enzyme has evolved over billions of years may provide key insight into future engineering efforts, which could ultimately improve photosynthetic productivity in crops.

Reference: Novel bacterial clade reveals origin of form I Rubisco by Douglas M. Banda, Jose H. Pereira, Albert K. Liu, Douglas J. Orr, Michal Hammel, Christine He, Martin A. J. Parry, Elizabete Carmo-Silva, Paul D. Adams, Jillian F. Banfield and Patrick M. Shih, 31 August 2020, Nature Plants.DOI: 10.1038/s41477-020-00762-4

Additional authors on the study are: Albert Liu at UC Davis and LBNL; Jose Pereira and Paul Adams, Joint BioEnergy Institute, LBNL; Christine He, UC Berkeley; Michal Hammel, LBNL; and Douglas Orr, Martin Parry and Elizabete Carmo-Silva, Lancaster University, U.K. The work was partly supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Branco Weiss Fellowship, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council(U.K.), NIH,the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub andInnovative Genomics Institute.

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Missing Link Discovered in the Evolution of Photosynthesis and Carbon Fixation - SciTechDaily