Recent Interesting Science Articles (November 2019)

A little lighter than usual as I’ve been away for much of this month.

  • Many parties have been sounding the alarm over the possibility of screening human embryos using polygenic scores, thus ushering in a new era of eugenics. The idea is that while we have established that it is nigh impossible to select for specific genes for desirable characteristics like height or intelligence, it is possible to use large-scale genome-wide association studies to score an individual’s genome for various characteristics. This paper explains the details of what is involved but also lays out the limits of the method in that gains are small and hide wide variances. Nevertheless it is expected that gains can be compounded over multiple generations and that would have critical implications for the future of the human species.
  • I’m sure that no one who reads this blog is an anti-vaxxer but this article gives yet more reason to vaccinate against measles. Apart from the causing the disease itself which can kill, being infected by the virus has the effect of wiping your immune system’s memory. As everyone knows, once your body beats an infection, your immune system remembers it so as to better fight it if the same virus is encountered later. This memory is stored in the lymphoid tissues but the measles virus seems to specifically target them and wipe out that memory, causing you to be vulnerable once again to old diseases.
  • Next we have a paper that is only semi-serious and is to be taken with a grain of salt as it is from an investment firm and not a scientific journal. Nevertheless it is very interesting as it examines dating trends of the 21st century. The key driver is that most couples now meet online instead of being introduced by friends or meeting at work or in school etc. and that has profound implications for society. In particular it gives women much more power in the dating market as it is easier to decline a date online whereas in person a woman may be under pressure to accept one out of politeness. Online matchmaking also means that looks are all important, meaning that other factors such as smell for example is less important, leading to a decline in perfume sales.
  • Finally in lighter news, here’s this bit about Google’s DeepMind AI beating the top human players at Starcraft 2. This isn’t all that new but this time the researchers have deliberately restricted the AI’s reflexes to human-level in order to simulate a competition of pure strategy.

Han Gong-ju (2013)

Here’s a South Korean film from a director, Lee Su-jin, whose work we’ve never seen before and is in fact his directorial debut. This one is somewhat difficult to judge as it plays up the mystery of what it’s actually about and keeps it up right until the end. Yet since it was based on real events in South Korea, the public could not have not known what it’s about. How this affects domestic audiences and international ones would therefore be very different as the former would instantly recognize what is being referenced while the latter would be genuinely mystified just as we were.

Continue reading Han Gong-ju (2013)

Blender 2.8

I’m taking a little easier for this month’s set of Blender project as I make the full transition to version 2.8. This is actually quite a chore as so much has changed. I regularly have to Google for how to do common tasks that I’m already very familiar with in 2.79, such as how to add reference images, or check normals or set the origin point of meshes etc. It’s especially annoying when I’m checking out YouTube tutorials and the old ones refer to settings that have now changed places. I’ll get it eventually but it takes time and practice.

Continue reading Blender 2.8

Little Women (1994)

This is one of those films that really need its year of release appended to its title because it’s been made and remade so many times. I suppose the original 1868 novel by Louisa May Alcott is just that beloved. In fact yet another adaptation is due to be released later this year, directed by Greta Gerwig. Still, for now at least this 1994 version featuring multiple performers who would later become very well known, should be the standard bearer.

Continue reading Little Women (1994)

Kusama: Infinity (2018)

I suppose it must be documentary week as here is another back to back. I don’t really know of Yayoi Kusama but like everyone else I’ve seen her distinctive polka dot art before without realizing who made them. This is a biography of her life and career by first-time director Heather Lenz and quite clearly was made in cooperation with Kusama herself. It’s a well-made and comprehensive account but considering how flamboyant a personality Kusama herself is, this documentary feels oddly straightforward and conventional.

Continue reading Kusama: Infinity (2018)

Flowers of Taipei (2014)

We watch a pretty healthy mix of documentaries amidst feature films in our cinematic diet but it occurs to me that almost all of them are English language ones. This one is a Taiwanese documentary by first time director Hsieh Chin-lin and its subject is the New Taiwan cinema of the 1980s itself. We’re a long way from watching everything from that era but I think we’ve watched enough that we’re not hopelessly ignorant and can recognize enough of the clips included here to make going through this overview a worthwhile experience.

Continue reading Flowers of Taipei (2014)

The unexamined life is a life not worth living