Once again so much new stuff on health and biology but we do have a couple of papers in economics and sociology!
First, we have a simple and rather straightforward paper about a result that is perhaps obvious. A team of China-based researchers have published a paper claiming that antihistamines inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection. The mechanism is that the histamine receptor H1 acts as an alternative receptor for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Antihistamines then competitively bind to HRH1, blocking the viral spike protein from gaining access. This discovery might seem less urgent now that the pandemic is under control and vaccines exist, but as virologists warn, SARS-CoV-2 could yet evolve and make a comeback and it’s always good to have more tools in our arsenal.
Next we have a paper whose very technical title both makes it difficult to understand and perhaps understates its significance. It describes using something they call bridge DNA to insert DNA at specific genomic target sites and allows programmable DNA excision and inversion. The specific details are far beyond my layman’s understanding but the upshot is that this comprises a new DNA editing tool far above the capabilities of the CRISPR/Cas 9 genetic scissors. Given how much of a difference CRISPR made, this is surely a Nobel Prize-level discovery and a harbinger of much accelerated development in the biosciences.
This next paper is sure to be contentious in a US election year and like all such papers which attempt to find statistical correlations in large masses of data, I would be cautious about its findings. Its objective is no less than to find correlations between intelligence and political beliefs, focusing on left-wing and liberal ideals. The result is the expected one that social liberalism and lower fondness for authoritarianism is correlated with higher intelligence, as measured by both IQ and educational attainment.
The next paper however is less flattering to liberals. There has been a lot of interest lately in studying the effects of potential Universal Basic Income schemes. This experiment compared 1,000 low-income individuals who were given a substantial amount of money unconditionally over three years with a control group. They found no significant effects on investments in human capital and no impact of quality of employment. Instead they found increases in time spent on leisure. Arguably this still represents a net increase in human welfare but it will be hard to politically sell as government policy.
Finally here’s a discovery that is both fun and made me wonder why no one ever noticed it before. In addition to many other elements that already make Komodo dragons so deadly, It seems that their teeth are coated with a layer of iron and that helps them to keep the edges sharp. This discovery was made when someone noticed orange pigment on the serrated edge of their teeth and analyzed the substance to find that it contains concentrated iron. It rather puzzles me why no one noticed this before and it is apparently the first time this kind of coating has been found in any animal. It all feels too much like science-fiction to be true but for now, I suppose it stands as an established scientific fact.
Obviously everyone knows Monty Python and the Holy Grail and I’ve watched plenty of clips from it here and there, but I’ve never seen the full thing. So when I realized that it’s on Netflix, I thought that it was time to fix that. It’s every bit as zany and outrageous as its reputation, yet unfortunately it does seem that it’s best appreciated as a series of skits. Some of the sequences take too long to get into and don’t land very well. The whole thing is just a bit too much. I’m amazed by the irreverence on display though and impressed that Terry Gilliam and his team basically learned how to direct in the process of making it.
Adapted from supernatural stories dating back to the 18th century, this period fantasy film is utterly traditional. It’s been a while since we’ve watched anything as old-fashioned as this and it’s satisfying how we now interpret these old stories differently in light of all that we’ve learned about art and cinema. This film is delightful and the execution is perfect, as it successfully evokes the supernatural with no special effects. More than that, it strikes me now that these stories were written to keep the peasants in their place and never attempt to rise above their station. It’s so obvious that I wondered why I never saw it before.
I really liked this dark drama about an actress researching for her latest role but then after finishing it I went online to read up on what people had to say about it and discovered that it’s considered a comedy. That made me wonder if I even understood it correctly at all. In the end, I don’t think I was wrong though. Despite the overbearing horror music and the absurdity, I believe director Todd Haynes fully means for the audience to seriously engage with the topic. It’s unsettling, deeply uncomfortable for everyone and none of the characters are quite certain what to think of the situation themselves so it’s only to be expected that the audience will feel the same.
This is the famous visual novel that outwardly resembles one of those popular dating simulators but is actually a horror game. That’s hardly a spoiler as you need to wade through some pretty serious content warning messages before you can start playing and the game is so well-known. People reference it so often that I thought I should just get around to completing it myself. It’s free anyway and very short.
This may an Italian film but it barely matters as there is no dialogue whatsoever. There’s only a foreword and an afterword in Italian explaining what it’s about. Instead what we have is pure visual storytelling and some of the best cinematography I’ve seen in recent years. This is also a film that defies genres. It’s technically a dramatic reenactment of an event in 1961, the exploration of the Bifurto Abyss cave system. Yet it’s staged like a documentary with no particular focus on any characters with the exception of a local of the area. It is amazing in all respects and it makes me wonder what other historical films might be like if they were made like this.
I never watch this back in the day and it was never on my watch list. But it popped up while I was browsing Netflix and my wife noted that it was a film she liked. This is a very long film, especially so for a romantic drama, but no can deny the beauty of the cinematography nor how deeply affecting it is. This really has it all, an aristocratic desert explorer who has some serious bad boy vibes, the last gasp of the pre-war internationalist period, all mixed up with passionate love so intense that it overcomes marriage vows and gentlemanly conduct. I have quibbles about its structure and the relevance of characters like Hana and Kip, but it’s a good film that deserves its place among the great romances.
