A few interesting bits of news this month but nothing truly groundbreaking. I am happy that there are articles from different fields though.

• The first one delves into the currently hot field of AI and it’s actually about two things. On one level, it’s about training neural networks to make predictions about rogue waves, monster-sized waves that are much larger than expected. One another level, it’s about making the model comprehensible to humans instead of being a black box. This involved taking the particular neural network that produced the most accurate predictions, then using a separate algorithm to generate equations that match its results as closely as possible based on the variables that it uses. So this is not only a practical method of predicting rogue waves but also represents a novel way to make sense of the results of neural networks.
• Next is an announcement of very promising results from a project to stop the spread of dengue by infecting mosquitoes with the Wolbachia bacteria. Such mosquitoes are known to have a reduced ability to spread disease and indeed studies of areas where these special mosquitoes have been released in Colombia show reductions of dengue infections of up to 97%. There are concerns about how safe this is, that it’s expensive and that the pathogens may in time find ways to adapt to the Wolbachia dengue but this is still good news.
• The next article is somewhat similar in that it’s as much about the general approach as the specific results. The broader problem is how do you carry out placebo-controlled trials of substances whose effects patients are aware of if they are present. The substance in question here is ketamine which is thought to have antidepressive properties, yet its psychoactive effects makes it impossible for those dosed to be unaware of it. This experiment therefore involved patients who were undergoing routine surgery. Under the effects of anesthesia, they were given either ketamine or a saline placebo and being unconscious, would not have been aware of the difference. The outcome was assessed during follow-up visits. Unfortunately they found that the ketamine had no greater effect than the placebo in reducing the severity of depressive symptoms but their approach at least is novel.
• Finally, here’s an economics paper that is sure to generate a great deal of follow-up discussion. It challenges the conventional view that income inequality in the US has gone up over time. The claim here is that such views are based on estimates of income shares that are derived from individual tax returns. However this leaves out government transfers, changes in social conditions and demographics. College education for example raises lifetime income but delays entry into the labor market. Adjusting for all these factors, the author claims that real incomes have risen over time for all income groups and there has been little change in the share of income that goes to the richest. The author works for the US Treasury Department so the claims here aren’t so easily dismissed.