Archive for January, 2017

How statistics lost their power – and why we should fear what comes next | William Davies | Politics | Th e Guardian

Tuesday, January 31st, 2017

How stats lost their power via @alexvespi
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jan/19/crisis-of-statistics-big-data-democracy Death of #DataScience in a “post-truth” world; anecdotes v elitist numbers

Neanderthals Were People, Too – NYTimes.com

Tuesday, January 31st, 2017

Neanderthals were people, too
http://www.NYTimes.com/2017/01/11/magazine/neanderthals-were-people-too.htm QT: Geneticists are much more powerful…& incomparably better funded than anyone else

QT:{{”
“It was staggering; even Paabo couldn’t bring himself to believe it at first. But the results were the results, and they carried a sort of empirical magnetism that archaeological evidence lacks. “Geneticists are much more powerful, numerous and incomparably better funded than anyone else dealing with this stuff,” Zilhão said. He joked: “Their aura is kind of miraculous. It’s a bit like receiving the Ten Commandments from God.” Paabo’s work, and a continuing wave of genomic research, has provided clarity but also complexity, recasting our oppositional, zero-sum relationship into something more communal and collaborative — and perhaps not just on the genetic level. The extent of the interbreeding supported previous speculation, by a minority of paleoanthropologists, that there might have been cases of Neanderthals and modern humans living alongside each other, intermeshed, for centuries, and that generations of their offspring had found places in those communities, too. Then again, it’s also possible that some of the interbreeding was forced.”
“}}

The Demon Voice That Can Control Your Smartphone

Tuesday, January 31st, 2017

The Demon Voice That Can Control Your…phone
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/01/the-demon-voice-that-can-talk-to-your-smartphone/513743 Verbal malware: Yell into a crowd, “Hey #Siri, text mom, I’m pregnant”

QT:{{”

“Here’s a fun experiment: Next time you’re on a crowded bus, loudly announce, “Hey Siri! Text mom, ‘I’m pregnant.’” Chances are you’ll get some horrified looks as your voice awakens iPhones in nearby commuters’ pockets and bags. They’ll dive for their phones to cancel your command.

But what if there was a way to talk to phones with sounds other than words? Unless the phones’ owners were prompted for confirmation—and realized what was going on in time to intervene—they’d have no idea that”
“}}

Serotonin – Wikipedia

Monday, January 30th, 2017

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin

Wi-Fi Widget for iPhone Gives You Quick Access to Wi-Fi Router Info and Passwords

Monday, January 30th, 2017

http://lifehacker.com/wi-fi-widget-for-iphone-gives-you-quick-access-to-wi-fi-1791782810

Killing Animals at the Zoo – The New Yorker

Sunday, January 29th, 2017

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/01/16/killing-animals-at-the-zoo

Jclub Paper

Sunday, January 29th, 2017

#RNA Struc. Determinants of Optimal Codons…by MAGESeq
http://www.cell.com/cell-systems/fulltext/S2405-4712(16)30368-4 Probing effect of synonymous changes; towards a better dN/dS

RNA Structural Determinants of Optimal Codons Revealed by MAGE-Seq http://www.cell.com/cell-systems/fulltext/S2405-4712(16)30368-4

The best smart smoke alarm

Sunday, January 29th, 2017

QT:{{”
The second-generation Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide alarm is your best option.
“}}

https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/20/the-best-smart-smoke-alarm/

gravity – Would a light or a heavy ball roll fastest down a slope? – Physics Stack Exchange

Sunday, January 29th, 2017

http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/19552/would-a-light-or-a-heavy-ball-roll-fastest-down-a-slope

QT:{{”

both balls should have same acceleration (and therefore same velocity and displacement).

However, if there’s air drag, their acceleration depends on the radius and the mass of the ball, so not enough information is given for this case. If the balls are of the same material (same density ρρ), the larger one comes down faster than the smaller one.
“}}

Steven Weinberg: the 13 best science books for the general reader | Books | The Guardian

Sunday, January 29th, 2017

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/03/steven-weinberg-13-best-science-books-general-reader