#department of bioscience

[southasianuniversity]

Top Career Paths After Completing MSc Data Science Online

Completing an MSc Data Science Online program gives you the skills to work with data. You learn to write simple code. You learn to clean messy data. You learn to build charts that tell a story. You can study at home. You can pause and rewind video lessons.  

Many students also read parts of an international relations syllabus to add global context to their data work. This mix of skills makes you ready for many jobs. Let’s look at ten paths you can follow. 

1. Data Analyst 

As a Data Analyst, you turn raw numbers into clear tables and charts. Your code runs in Python or R. You use your training in mathematics in computer science to test patterns in data. You help teams see trends. You work in shops, hospitals, or labs like the Department of Biosciences. You can start this role right after your MSc Data Science Online program ends. You use simple tools like Excel and SQL. You explain your findings in easy words so all can understand. 

2. Machine Learning Engineer 

A Machine Learning Engineer writes programs that learn from data. You build models that sort images or predict stock prices. You draw on your mathematics in computer science background to tune these models. You use libraries like TensorFlow and Scikit‑learn. You test your programs with real data. You learn this during your MSc Data Science Online study. You can then join tech teams that build smart apps. This path is ideal if you like both coding and math. 

3. Business Intelligence Analyst 

A Business Intelligence Analyst makes reports and dashboards. You use tools like Tableau or Power BI. You look at data and find stories. You read parts of an international relations syllabus to understand global markets. You help companies plan in different countries. You can work for banks, media houses, or telecom firms. Your MSc Data Science Online training gives you hands‑on practice. You combine charts and simple slides to share clear insights in meetings. 

4. Data Scientist 

Data Scientists do deep dives into data. You design experiments and test hypotheses. You build complex machine-learning models. You rely on your knowledge of mathematics in computer science to choose the right algorithms. Many Data Scientists plan to move into a PhD course a year later. A PhD course year helps you lead research and publish papers. Data science work in labs or at big tech firms often mirrors the projects you did during your MSc Data Science Online studies. 

5. Data Engineer 

A Data Engineer builds the pipelines that move and store data. You write code in Python, Java, or Scala. You design databases and cloud systems. You make sure the data is ready for Analysts and Scientists. You can also add insight from a law university in Delhi experience if you studied data privacy rules. You can help teams handle sensitive data correctly. Before you start work, you may need registration for foreigners if you are an international student working in India. 

6. Risk Analyst 

A Risk Analyst uses data to spot possible issues. You build simple models that flag odd patterns in finance or operations. You use statistical tests learned during your MSc Data Science Online training. If you study in India and are not an Indian citizen, you must complete foreign registration for foreigners through the FRRO online portal. You manage these steps while you learn. This role helps you keep companies safe and guides big decisions. 

7. Academic or Lecturer 

Some graduates choose to teach. You can teach data science basics at colleges or private institutes. You prepare lessons on Python, SQL, and data visualisation. You might explain how data links to an international relations syllabus topic like global trade. You can also guide students planning a PhD course after their master’s. Teaching helps you sharpen your skills. You join faculty teams, craft simple slides, and lead hands‑on exercises. 

8. Data Product Manager 

A Data Product Manager leads teams to build data‑driven tools. You work with designers, engineers, and marketers. You decide what features to add to data products. You track metrics to see if users like them. Your MSc Data Science Online work gives you project practice. If you studied at a law university in Delhi for data law modules, you add extra value by guiding your team on legal best practices. This role needs leadership and data fluency. 

9. Consultant 

Data Consultants help many clients solve data problems. You work for a firm or freelance. You advise small and big companies on tools and methods. You also guide on compliance if you have insight from a law university in Delhi about data rules. You may even help with the free registration for foreigners steps if you work with overseas clients who come to India. This path mixes data skills and clear advice. 

10. Research Scientist in Biosciences 

If you love biology, work in the Department of Biosciences using data. You analyse gene sequences or cell data. You run simple prediction models to spot disease markers. You write Python scripts using your mathematics in computer science training. Many labs in India hire Data Scientists to speed up research. Your MSc Data Science Online training gives you the toolkit. You join teams that study health, crops, or pollution. 

Planning for a PhD Course Year 

If you love deep research, think about a PhD course after your master’s. You use your data projects as proof. You apply for a PhD in computer science at top schools. During a PhD course year, you focus on one big project. You design experiments, test new methods, and write papers. This path leads you to become a lead researcher or professor. 

South Asian University (SAU), established under the supervision of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), represents one such beacon of academic excellence. They offer clear guides on MSc Data Science Online training, and they share a detailed Mathematics in Computer Science module in their master of Science in Computer Science syllabus. They also help international students with free registration for foreigners and explain parts of an international relations syllabus for global projects. They support students planning a PhD course year and help them apply to top labs and institutes. 

Final Thoughts 

After your MSc Data Science Online, you can become a Data Analyst, Machine Learning Engineer, or BI Analyst. You can work as a Data Engineer, Risk Analyst, or Consultant. You can teach or manage data products. You can join the Department of Biosciences or guide clients from a law university in Delhi. You can even plan your PhD course year. Use your skills in mathematics in computer science, handle your free registration for foreigners, and explore global ideas from an international relations syllabus. Your future in data science is bright and full of options! 

[mindblowingscience]

The human body's inability to break down sucralose, an artificial sweetener found in many zero-calorie food and drink products, is well established by scientific research. The compound is so stable that it escapes wastewater treatment processing and is in drinking water and aquatic environments. "We can't break down sucralose, and a lot of microorganisms can't break it down, either, because it's a really tough molecule that doesn't degrade easily. So there are a lot of questions about how it is affecting the environment and whether it's something that could impact our microbial communities," said Tracey Schafer, an assistant research scientist for the University of Florida's Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience and the soil, water and ecosystem sciences department, part of UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

Continue Reading.

[detta-pica]

Unlimited Liability Company

“As the Head of the KL&B Bioscience Department, I assure you—” “We don’t want assurance from Bioscience,” Zen’in Naoya cut in, smirking. “Your area of expertise is too narrow, Geto-kun.” Suguru smiled very politely. “Respectfully, I disagree. The matter at hand pertains to the effects an individual donor’s legal status, living situation, and so on, might have on the genetic material we collect from them, which—” “Just do it,” Gojo said to the ceiling, head tilted over the backrest of his chair. “Screen them for what they had for breakfast, who cares? It’s all the same in the end.” Suguru smiled even more politely. “I believe it’s crucial to give people an equal opportunity to—” “Yeah, fuck that.” Gojo sat up abruptly. The black glasses that usually hid his eyes slid down to offer a glimpse of burning blue. “What does it matter whose gametes go to which corner of the universe? The donors won’t be around to care.”

The Earth is dying, and humanity’s future hinges on the success of the De-Extinction Project. Satoru pulls Suguru into a task force meant to root out sabotage.

Rated M | CCNTW | chapters: 1/?

Fic number four for Satosugu Cliche Tropes Fest. I'm VERY excited about this one. It's challenging to write, but it deals with ethical questions and themes that are like drugs to me. Related, if you have any thoughts about the film Interstellar, please share them with me 🙏

[ra1nst0rm-tmblr]

Are you serious??

This is just. Such a shitty excuse. Seriously. The first and most obvious point to me is that these aren’t actually dire wolves. They’re genetically modified Grey Wolves. To quote David Coltman, the chair of Western’s Biology department: “It’s not a dire wolf — it is almost entirely grey wolf genome with some genetic engineering to make it look like something dire wolfy.” Beth Shapiro, the chief scientist at Colossal Biosciences, also conceded that that they were not fully genetically dire wolf. Meaning that Dire Wolves have not been ‘de-extincted’ and so bringing back a fully extinct species isn’t actually something we’ve done yet.

Additionally, being able to ‘de-extinct’ the species does not at all mean that the species will be able to support itself and survive on its own once brought back. Even if the creatures are genuinely 100% the extinct species, there is no guarantee that they could learn to behave as their ancestors without a group or parents to teach them.

In this post, Burgum says “The Endangered Species List has become like the Hotel California: once a species enters, they never leave” Like. YES BRO. Maybe there’s a reason that like 97% of species on the list are still on the list. We agree that that’s not a good thing. But the way to solve the problem isn’t to come up with obscure reasons why the animal doesn’t need to be protected- the solution is to make sure the animal is no longer endangered. You could be working to actually save Red Wolves and other existing endangered species instead of hyping a basically untested and also frankly irrelevant alternative. The primary reason for failure here is late action- in the past 10 years 34 species have gone extinct while awaiting listing. How about we fund the ESA so that doesn’t have to happen and continue to focus on actually sustainable method of conservation, huh?

Julie Meachen, a Des Moines University paleontologist who helped uncover the dire wolf genomes but was not involved in Colossal’s project to birth the ‘dire’ wolves, told The Post that she worries that the Trump administration will hinge on de-extinction as a reason to delist endangered species. She states very clearly “This technology does not replace protections for endangered species”.

Should also probably mention the fact that Colossal Biosciences recently cloned 4 red wolves. Colossal discussed with Burgum the possibility of using the company’s cloned red wolves in recovery efforts. I mean. I hope it’s not too hard to understand why that is again not a sustainable method of conservation. Considering there are only around 20 red wolves left in the wild, and just a couple hundred in captivity, cloning them can’t be the solution. It would just create such a small gene pool which would lead to more problems down the line.

But of course. Trump’s administration can’t bother to read past the headlines and actually understand the facts and implications of the sources behind their decisions, and the rest of us just have to deal with it.

Sigh

Anygays, I took a photo of a wolf rb to boop him or if you want to spread information :>

[50calmadeuce]

Ch. 10: Texas Memories

Warning: Mention of miscarriage. Some chapters have sex.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Top Gun: Maverick world, trademarked by Paramount Pictures Corporation. I do not claim ownership of the characters and the world that I am borrowing.

The story and situation I am creating are a work of my imagination and I do not ascribe them to official story canon. This work is for entertainment only and is not a part of the storyline.

I am not profiting financially from the creation and publication of this story, but I do hope it gives you happy thoughts.

These stories are my own, so please do not take them and use them for yourself without my permission. If you see them somewhere else, please let me know. :)

Before:

Leaning against some pillows on Jake's bedroom at his parent's place, you tapped the answer button on the iPad, and immediately, an image of Jake, shirtless and with his dog tags hanging between his defined pectoral muscles, appeared on your screen.

"Hey, darlin'," he greeted.

"This is certainly a pleasant surprise. What's the occasion for this view?" you inquired.

"Just calling to give you a heads up on my next duty station."

It had been six weeks since Jake had departed from his family's home in Texas, while you remained there for a class.

"And?" you inquired, full of anticipation.

"I'm being assigned to Kingsville, Texas."

"Jake! That's fantastic! Your mom's going to be thrilled!"

"And what about you?"

"Jake, I wrap up this class in a few days, then I was offered a study in Wyoming, and then it's back to Wisconsin for me."

"Why don't you stay at my parents' place?"

You gave him a look. "Because we've been over this. The University of Madison has the best veterinary college in Wisconsin."

"Why not transfer to A&M?"

"Because a lot of my college credits won't transfer, that's why. Is there something you're not telling me?"

"No, I'm good."

Believing in his words, you chose to steer the conversation elsewhere. "So, how's the training going?"

"Good. I'm at the top of my class."

"Jake! That's fantastic! Have you made up your mind about what you want to fly?"

"I'm leaning towards the F-18 Super Hornet."

"That's a…?"

"It's a fighter jet."

"Oh," you respond quietly.

"Y/N, you knew flying was my goal."

"I did, but being a fighter pilot hadn't crossed my mind." You took a deep breath. "But if that's what you want, then go for it."

"How's school going?"

Glancing over on the bed, you caught sight of the white plastic pregnancy test that you had taken just minutes before, nervously twisting it in your hands as you awaited the results.

"It's going good. I'm finishing up this really interesting bioscience study."

"And that's what?"

"It's devoted to animal and human wellbeing and understanding to prevent and treat disease."

"Yeah. I've got nothing."

You let out a nervous laugh, your gaze fixed on the pregnancy test which now displayed the results. "Jake, there's something I need to tell you," you said, your tone shifting to a more serious note, and he could tell something was up.

Jake's attention snapped to you, his expression immediately shifting from casual to intensely focused, a trace of concern etching his features. He took a step closer, his eyes searching yours for a hint of what was about to come. "What's going on? Is everything okay?" he asked, his voice laced with worry yet trying to remain calm for your sake.

Taking a deep breath to steady your nerves, you held up the pregnancy test to the camera so he could see the positive result. The silence that followed was heavy with anticipation, as you watched for his reaction, unsure of what to expect but hoping for his support.

After a moment that felt much longer than it actually was, Jake's face transformed from concern to a mixture of surprise and joy. "Is this…? Are we…?" He couldn't seem to find the right words, his usual eloquence replaced by a rare loss for words.

You nodded, a small smile breaking through your nervousness. "Yes, we're going to have a baby."

"OMG!" Jake exclaimed as you watched him jump up and down excitedly on your iPad.

Jake's excitement was palpable even through the digital screen, his joy transcending the distance between you. He stopped jumping and leaned closer to the iPad, his face filling the screen. "This is the best news ever, Y/N! I can't believe we're going to have a baby!"

His enthusiasm was infectious, and you couldn't help but laugh, the sound bubbling up from deep within you. It was a relief to see him so happy, and it made the moment even more special, sharing it together even if it was through a screen.

"I wish I could be there with you right now," Jake said, his voice softening, a hint of longing in his eyes. "To hold you, to celebrate together... But we'll make up for it, I promise."

You reached out, touching the screen where his face was, wishing for the umpteenth time that he was there with you. "I know, Jake. It's okay. Just having you here with me like this means everything. And knowing you're just as excited about our baby makes this moment perfect."

Jake placed his hand against the screen, mirroring your action, creating a moment of connection despite the physical distance. "As soon as I can, I'll be there with you. We have so much to look forward to, Y/N. You, me, and our little one. We're going to be a family, and I'm going to be the best dad ever. Just you wait and see."

The promise in his words filled you with warmth and an unshakeable belief in the future you were building together. "I know you will, Jake. I can't wait for us to start this new chapter together. I love you."

"I love you too, Y/N. More than anything." His smile was a beacon of hope, lighting up the path to your shared future, no matter how challenging the journey might be.

Three months later...

Gradually, you opened your eyes, taking a moment to acclimate to the glaring brightness and the persistent beeping that filled the room. The first thing that came into focus was Cindy's face hovering over you.

"Y/N, how are you feeling?" she inquired, gently brushing a strand of hair away from your face.

"Where am I?" you managed to ask, feeling the dryness in your throat.

A man dressed in a white doctor's coat turned towards you. "Hello, Y/N. I'm Doctor Buchanan. How are you feeling?"

A dull ache throbbed in your abdomen. "Sore," you replied.

"As you would be after being kicked by a horse," the doctor responded.

You turned to Cindy. "What happened?"

"You were examining a horse during a class, and when you pressed on another sore spot, it kicked," he explained.

Suddenly, the memory of the baby flooded back, and you turned anxiously to the doctor. "The baby. What about the baby?"

"Y/N, I'm sorry," the doctor said gently. "The kick led to a miscarriage. But everything else seems to be okay, which means you can try again in the future."

Feeling a profound sense of loss, you sank back into the pillows, the tears beginning to flow unchecked.

Cindy gave the doctor a nod. "Thank you, Doctor."

Observing your tears, the doctor offered a sympathetic look. "I'll come back later," he said, before exiting the room.

Turning her focus to you, Cindy's expression was one of concern. "Y/N, why didn't you tell us?"

"I only found out a few months ago and had just told Jake. We wanted to make sure first and he wanted it to be a surprise for you all," you explained, your voice laden with emotion. "Where's Jake?"

"He's on his way home. He managed to catch a flight about an hour ago."

"Does he know about the baby?"

"No, I just found out myself," she replied softly.

"He's going to be devastated," you remarked, your voice slightly cracking.

Cindy continued to remove pieces of hair that had fallen onto your face. "He will be, but I'm sure he'll manage."

You turned to Cindy. "The house isn't even done being built yet. Until then, I can't go home."

"You'll stay with us. You don't need to worry."

"But I was supposed to go back before."

"It'll be okay. Do you want some water?"

"I'd love a sip."

Cindy extended her hand, picked up a cup filled with ice chips, and gently placed one in your mouth. Just then, her phone chimed. She reached for it and glanced at the screen. "Glen has just picked up Jake from the airport. They're on their way here now," she informed you, her voice a mix of relief and apprehension at the impending reunion. "You get some sleep, okay? I'll be right here."

You offered a weak nod, feeling the weight of your eyelids become too much to resist. As sleep began to envelop you, the events of the day seemed to drift away into the distance.

As you stirred from your sleep, you felt a gentle kiss pressed against your forehead and the comforting warmth of a hand holding yours.

Blinking your eyes open, you found yourself gazing into a pair of green eyes filled with concern and upset, silently conveying a depth of emotion that words couldn't capture.

"Jake," you whispered softly.

"Hey, darlin'," he replied, his voice tender. He then leaned in to gently kiss your lips, offering a moment of comfort amidst the turmoil. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore, but okay," you responded, trying to muster a reassuring tone.

Jake's gaze lingered on you, a mix of hope and fear in his eyes. "And the baby?"

Tears began to well up in your eyes as the weight of the news you had to share pressed down on you. "Jake… I'm so sorry," you managed to say, your voice breaking with emotion.

Jake tenderly cupped your cheek with his hand, his touch a source of comfort. "Darlin', it's okay. You're okay, and that's what's most important," he reassured you, his voice steady and full of unwavering support.

"I just want to go home," you murmured, longing for the comfort of familiar surroundings.

Jake gave you a look of understanding, his resolve clear. "I'll see what I can do," he promised, ready to take action on your behalf.

Several hours later, with gentle care, Jake assisted you into his parents' house and then into his own bed within his bedroom, ensuring your comfort and safety every step of the way.

You pulled the comforter over yourself, adjusting the soft fabric around you to make yourself as comfortable as possible in the cozy surroundings.

Jake leaned down and placed a tender kiss on your forehead. "Get some rest, darlin'," he whispered, offering a moment of solace and care.

"Jake. Lay with me," you requested, your voice carrying a longing for his presence beside you.

Jake quickly stripped down to his boxers, his dog tags clinking softly as they settled between his chest muscles, and then he carefully climbed into bed beside you. Gently, he wrapped an arm around you, his concern evident in his voice. "This doesn't hurt, does it?" he asked, making sure his embrace was comforting rather than painful.

"No," you replied, finding solace in his proximity as you snuggled closer to him. "I've missed you, Jake."

"I know, darlin'," he responded, his voice carrying a note of solemn understanding. "Maybe you should quit school and come with me," Jake repeated, his suggestion hanging in the air between you.

Your eyes widened in surprise, and you turned to face him more directly. "What?"

"Quit school and come with me," he said again, his proposal clear and earnest.

"No, Jake. Why would I do that? I have an opportunity to go back to Wyoming and examine some cattle there during the summer," you responded, emphasizing the importance of your career and the opportunities ahead of you. Your tone conveyed both surprise and a gentle reminder of your commitment to your own path.

"I just thought it might be safer," Jake explained, trying to justify his suggestion.

"Safer for who? Me or for you?" you asked, seeking clarity on his motivations.

"Y/N, just calm down. It was only a suggestion," Jake attempted to soothe the rising tension.

"No, Jake. It wasn't just a suggestion. I know you," you countered, implying there was more beneath the surface of his proposal, highlighting the depth of understanding between you two and the complexity of the decision at hand. "Then you quit being a pilot."

His eyes widened at your response. "No," he stated firmly, then took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. "Y/N, you're supposed to be relaxing," he reminded, his tone softening, indicating his concern for your wellbeing amidst the emotional exchange.

Feeling the weight of the moment, you turned back around and nestled yourself deeper into the blankets, seeking comfort in their warmth and the familiar surroundings, allowing the tension to ebb away as you focused on resting and healing. You felt Jake let out a sigh beside you, a sound that carried a mix of frustration and resignation.

As you woke the next morning, the bed beside you was notably empty. Your gaze swept the room, a silent query to the whereabouts of Jake. Then, the inviting aroma of breakfast wafted through the air, drawing your attention and stirring a gentle hunger. With careful movements, mindful of your recent physical and emotional strains, you eased out of bed, and headed towards the kitchen where Cindy stood at the stove.

"Morning, Y/N. How are you feeling?" Cindy inquired with a warm tone as you entered the kitchen.

"Still a bit sore. Have you seen Jake?" you asked, hoping to find him nearby.

Cindy looked at you, a hint of surprise in her expression. "He left early this morning," she informed you, not expecting your reaction.

Your eyes widened in disbelief and concern. "He did what?" The news of his unexpected departure caught you off guard, stirring a mix of emotions and questions about the reasons behind his sudden exit.

Confused, Cindy looked at you. "He said he told you."

Seeing the confusion on Cindy's face, you quickly explained, "He didn't tell me anything about leaving."

Concerned and eager for answers, you excused yourself and made your way back to the bedroom, where your cellphone had been left untouched since the night before. With a sense of urgency, you picked up the device and scrolled through to find Jake's number. Once located, you dialed his number, each ring echoing your growing apprehension and the need for clarity on his sudden departure.

As the call went to voicemail, a sigh escaped your lips, disappointment mingling with concern. "Jake, it's me. Where are you? Call me back," you spoke into the phone, your voice steady but carrying an undercurrent of worry. After hanging up, you returned to the kitchen, trying to mask your unease.

Cindy glanced up as you entered, her expression a mix of concern and curiosity. "Any response?" she asked, hoping for some good news.

"Nothing," you replied, a hint of frustration in your voice as you placed your cellphone on the table. Cindy, sensing your distress, gently set a plate of food in front of you, perhaps hoping that the gesture might offer a small comfort amidst the morning's unsettling start.

As you settled into the comforting embrace of the outdoor papasan chair, wrapped in the warmth of a blanket with a book in hand, the sudden ring of your cellphone broke the tranquil morning silence. Seeing Jake's face flash on the screen, a rush of mixed emotions flooded through you.

"Jake! Where are you?" you answered, your voice a blend of relief and urgency, eager to finally hear his voice and understand the reason behind his unexpected departure.

Jake's voice came through, clear yet tinged with a seriousness that immediately set you on edge. "I'm back at the base."

The simplicity of his statement did little to soothe the whirlwind of questions in your mind. "Why didn't you tell me you had to go back?"

His response was unexpected, causing a deeper furrow in your confusion. "I didn't because I didn't have to. I made the decision."

Confusion swept over your face, a tangible reflection of the turmoil inside. "I don't understand." The words slipped out, a verbal embodiment of your attempt to grasp the situation. His decision, made without warning or explanation, left you searching for clarity amidst the sudden shift in your shared reality.

The conversation took a sharp, abrupt turn as Jake spoke again, his voice carrying a weight that suggested an underlying urgency or perhaps a discomfort with the conversation. "Look. I have to go. I'll talk to you later."

The quickness of his departure from the call didn't escape you, nor did the subtle hint of hurt in his voice, a detail that tugged at your heart. With a mixture of frustration and sadness, you found yourself responding almost instinctively, voicing the thought that had been gnawing at the back of your mind since his suggestion the night before. "It's because I won't quit, isn't it Jake?"

The words hung in the air, a silent plea for understanding, for a deeper explanation that might bridge the growing gap between you. The connection was severed before you could explore further. As the call ended, the arm holding your cellphone dropped to your lap, the device now a heavy weight carrying the silence of the unresolved conversation. The moment was a mix of disbelief and sorrow, a mental scramble to piece together the sudden shift in your relationship dynamics.

Cindy, sensing the change in atmosphere, chose that moment to walk out the back door. Her presence, always a comforting constant, felt especially needed now. Noticing your distress, she approached with a blend of concern and motherly intuition.

"Y/N. You okay?" Her voice was gentle, an anchor in the storm of emotions you found yourself adrift in.

"I'm okay. I was just on the phone with Jake."

"What did he say?"

You shrugged. "Nothing really. He's upset I won't quit my schooling because of the loss of the baby."

Cindy's expression softened with understanding, her eyes reflecting a mix of concern and empathy. "Y/N. I'm so sorry. Jake can be…" She paused, seemingly searching for the right words, understanding the complexity of emotions involved.

You interrupted her, not wanting to place blame or dwell on the negative. "No. It's okay. I leave for Wyoming next week." Your voice carried a determination, a clear indication that despite the emotional turmoil, you were set on moving forward with your plans and commitments.

Cindy nodded, respecting your decision. "Well, I just want you to know that we're here for you, no matter what. And if you need anything while you're in Wyoming, you just let us know."

"I will. Thank you."

Tags:

@buckysteveloki-me @bellyliveslife @tgmreader @callsign-barbell @86laura11 @dizzybee03 @kmc1989 @guacam011y @nerdgirljen @hookslove1592 @dempy @djs8891

[bpod-bpod]

The Butterfly Effect

As a butterfly flaps past, you might spot a glimmer of shimmering blue. That iridescent beauty is formed not of pigments or dyes, but by the physical shape of the wings. The secrets behind this colour creation can be seen by taking a (much, much) closer look. Pictured is a super-resolution image highlighting a protein called chitin in a developing butterfly forewing scale, visualised by researchers examining how another protein actin – also found in all human cells – forms a cytoskeleton that gives the wings their colour. The complex architecture of parallel ridges help this skeleton form the template for nanostructures that scatter light to create colouration. As it matures, pigments are deposited into the scale and it hardens, with cells retracting to leave a cytoskeleton coloured by both pigments and physical structures. Precise actin patterns are important for cellular structures in all animals, and studying at this super resolution could reveal hidden patterns of human health.

Image captured with Leica Microsystems microscopy

Written by Anthony Lewis

Image from work by Victoria J. Lloyd and colleagues

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK

Image contributed by the authors under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence

Research published in Nature Communications, May 2024

You can also follow BPoD on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

[mariacallous]

The Trump administration is undermining publicly produced data, slashing public investments in research, and intimidating civil society institutions that produce fact-based analyses. Enervating organizations that inform the public about vital issues like public health, economic growth, and—most of all—the actions of policymakers leaves the citizenry less able to hold officials to account. Attacks on the public’s right to know are a key front in a broader assault on popular sovereignty, the bedrock American principle that the government derives its legitimacy from the informed consent of the governed.

Trump administration officials have sought to reduce public access to data and to diminish or eliminate federal agencies responsible for vital data collection. Thousands of webpages and datasets on public health, demography, and climate change disappeared in February. The administration also disbanded several external expert committees that help agencies create accurate economic statistics. Agencies with essential data collection responsibilities, including the Department of Education, NOAA, and the CFPB have also been slated for immense cuts or even closure. The consequences are not merely national, they are global, as my colleague Caren Grown has eloquently explained. Here and abroad, businesses, policymakers, and families rely on the American government’s data. At the same time, the administration has been releasing inaccurate data and refusing to comply with FOIA requests related to its own activities.

These actions have not occurred without resistance. Many of the administration’s efforts are being challenged in court, with some success. Nonprofit institutions are working hard to build new systems to preserve and protect the data that the government once reliably provided. But even under the best-case scenarios, the courts will not be able to entirely roll back the current chaos, and philanthropic investments cannot operate at the scale of government action.

The executive branch’s interference in the congressional authority to appropriate federal monies does not just endanger federal data collection. It also threatens to incapacitate the nation’s scientific research. The administration has moved to reduce National Institutes of Health spending by about $4 billion and suspended scheduled grant-review meetings, undermining medical research institutions across the country. More recently, the NIH terminated grants for vaccine hesitancy research, and mRNA vaccine technology may also be at risk. Policy changes have made it hard for scientists to purchase basic research supplies. National Science Foundation research projects that include keywords such as “trauma,” “disability,” or “women” are also at risk of arbitrary cancellation.

The implications for science are severe. The NIH is the single largest funder of biomedical research in the world; around 55% of American higher education R&D funding came from the federal government in fiscal year 2022. In response, universities are already reducing graduate admissions, which will disrupt a generation of early career researchers. Science trainees are “questioning the viability of being a scientist in the U.S. going forward,” said Carole Labonne, a professor of molecular biosciences at Northwestern.

The attacks on data and science should be understood in the context of administration actions that the Committee to Protect Journalists has described as “an alarming pattern of retaliation against a free press.” As I noted last year, knowledge institutions are often an early target of autocratic regimes. Authoritarians demand the right to define what is true; the reporting of empirical facts endangers that power. There is no meaningful version of a university, newspaper, library, or research center that survives the successful suppression of dissent; these institutions require free inquiry. Journalism under state censorship is no longer journalism, it is stenography for the regime.

And yet, many knowledge organizations seem prepared to compromise themselves beyond recognition. Earlier this month, Columbia chose to comply with a wide array of administration demands after $400 million in federal funding were frozen. “With American democracy on the line, the University has crawled into a protective shell,” wrote Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Ryan Enos. That strategy is misguided, they conclude, both ethically and strategically: “Remaining silent will not protect us.” Since the administration froze funding to Columbia, $175 million owed to the University of Pennsylvania has also been stopped.

The attacks on knowledge institutions have occurred with startling rapidity, but their effects are not yet entrenched. There is still time for a concerted defense of free speech, scientific inquiry, and political dissent. Given that the level of popular protest to the Trump administration is by some measures higher than it was in 2017, the sluggishness of elite institutions is as startling as it is indefensible.

[loreleismusings99]

Two Body Problem

Ch 4

[Masterlist]

Qualifying exams are stressful. coming to terms with budding romantic feelings is somehow even more stressful. In which Mark and the reader critique each others' work and a surprising amount of sleep happens.

Thank you for reading! sorry this took so long to get out, I just graduated(can't believe I have a bachelor's degree now omg), and my life has been kind of a whirlwind lately, but I'm glad I was able to get this out. I don't think this is my strongest chapter, but I can move on to other parts of the story now this is done. As always, please let me know of ways I can improve this and if there's anything that should be fixed about this. Tysm, and I hope y'all are having a wonderful holiday season! Happy Perihelion Day!

also, y'all, I am running out of Matt Damon gifs to use for these so if you have any suggestions, please send them to me!

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God, my back hurts…

You shift under your blanket and grumble at the uncomfortably stiff structure that's currently cradling you. Cracking open an eye, you look around at your surroundings, becoming increasingly familiar as the clouds of sleep part and slowly return your senses to you. Why am I in the living room? Cracking open the other eye, you’re nearly blinded by the morning’s sunlight. Letting out a raspy “ugh…” at the unpleasant stimulus, you turn your head into your blanket again to shield your eyes from the offending ball of ionized hydrogen.

A new piece of sensory information halts your thoughts almost completely when you bury your face in your blanket though; notes of honey with an afterthought of what might be soil flood your senses, layered with something bergamot-y and a mystery spice that gives warmth to the smell. The smell reminds you of your night in the library, labs full of undergrads extracting caffeine from tea leaves, and office hours in the too-cramped grad office in the biosciences building. You remember a hand brushing yours as you both reach for the same homework packet, then mousy blond hair, striking green eyes, and a smattering of freckles.

The realization that your blanket smells like Mark hits you like a freight train and you're suddenly ripped from the clutches of sleep as he fills your senses. You try to find it within you, but you can’t quite locate the discomfort you thought you’d experience being confronted with Mark’s presence--however fleeting and ephemeral-- first thing in the morning. The feelings it stirs within you are… pleasant?? Being enveloped by the earthy scent is calming for whatever reason; like being held, wrapped in a profound sense of home and safety that you rarely have felt in your adult life. He must wear lavender… you think, trying to explain away the state you're in before drifting off again, sleeping in for the first time in a long while.

☆☆☆

“I'm sorry, you did what?!” Mark whirls around, his sandwich still clutched in his left hand while his right is holding his laptop in a precariously loose grip.

Colin rolls his eyes before responding to Mark's dramatic outburst. “Oh please, don't act so scandalized; that's a completely normal and average thing to ask--”

  The door slamming at almost midnight tonight was certainly not on Colin’s bingo sheet for the evening’s events, but it was a harbinger of more unexpected happenings starting with Mark’s sour mood after returning from what should have been an enjoyable get-together with his colleagues in the bioengineering department.

“Sure, yes, normally, but they’re about the least average individual I’ve met up until this point in my life, Colin; you can’t just--” Colin has had a front-row seat to Mark’s gradual descent into denial for almost 6 months at this point. As Mark starts waxing poetic about how inviting you over to do moc quals presentations together would be the single worst decision Colin’s made, he remembers the night he came back from that mixer the two of you met in late spring earlier this year.

“The fucking audacity, how did they get this far being so unprofessional--” Mark tosses his bag onto their shared couch a mere foot away from where Colin was sitting writing up a first draft of the introduction for his thesis proposal on improving science communication with the general public while avoiding misleading sensationalism. Mark storms off into his room before poking his head out the door to say, “Did you know using a switch case to find the number of elements in an array is apparently--” Mark mimes air quotes “‘so clunky that it should be considered a syntax error’? Fucking hell…”

As Mark ducks back into his room grumbling, Colin responds with,“ Mark, I promise you I had no clue… and good evening, why do you look and sound like someone just told you agriculture and botany are the same thing?” Colin waits for Mark’s response as he stomps out of his room, having exchanged his business casual garb for his pajamas, and sulks into their kitchen.

“Oh, no reason. I just had the displeasure of getting publically ridiculed by a EE who wouldn’t know the difference between a spanner and a set of calipers, their head’s so fucking deep in electronics they don’t know how to communicate with other humans.” after grabbing a bottle of lemonade from the fridge, Mark collapses down on the chair to Colin’s left, pinching the bridge of his nose and squeezing his eyes shut.

  He has it bad… Colin remembers thinking, as he does now, as he watches Mark run up his blood pressure, postulating about critiques you haven’t even had the chance to make on his quals paper and presentation yet. “Mark… Mark, listen.” Colin says to interrupt his wayward roommate’s self-sabotage. “It’s not that serious. They’re going to come over to get their paper looked at too--actually, they’re presenting the same day as you. They’re coming here with the same level of vulnerability as you. I don’t think they’ll go easy on you, but I don’t think they'd be cruel either.”

Colin waits a couple of seconds before asking,“... what’s their name?” Mark pauses and looks up at the ceiling with a faraway look in his eye before saying your name, calmly for the first time since he’s returned home for the evening. Colin and Mark sit in this pause before Mark continues, describing how you were a vision of confidence and poise in your sweater vest, oxfords, and slacks--likely due to unfounded pride, he added after snapping out of his momentary revere. It took everything in Colin’s power not to laugh in Mark’s face every time he tried to explain away every positive thing he noted about you, from your ‘surprising competence in biomechanical design to your managing to land a graduate assistantship in one of the best-funded bio-instrumentation labs in the department.

“How would you know? Hell, they were probably thrilled by the idea of getting to take me down a peg and ruin my faith in my thesis in the process--”

“Well, they certainly seemed eager, but likely not for the reason you think…” Colin responds absent-mindedly as he returns to prepping his presentation materials for their moc quals presentations.

Mark pauses in his nervous pacing and looks finally directly at Colin before asking, “What… exactly did they say? When you asked?”

“My, you’re awfully interested in the minutia of their reactions to you. I wonder why…” Colin postulates slyly, looking up from his computer and smirking.

It takes a few seconds of gear-turning in Mark's head before he finally picks up on what Colin is insinuating before the man in question lets out a guffaw and states, “Absolutely not. No. Impossible, inconceivable--”

“Explain yourself then; you've been emotionally constipated since the day you met them,” Colin crosses his arms before continuing, “You aren't very good at hiding the inner machinations of your head you know, it's written all over in how you act.”

“What I feel for them is probably the farthest thing from affection, they make me sick to my stomach--”

“You sure those aren't just butterflies?--”

“Can you please just answer my question?” Mark sighs in exasperation, and Colin lets out a chuckle before explaining how the events transpired.

“So, I found them in the lab--I think they were soldering something? Honestly, it's beyond what I was willing to ask about so I don't know, but I asked them how they were doing and if they're interested in doing moc quals with us--”

“How do you know where their lab is?”

“I majored in journalism, Mark--I have my methods, don't worry about it. Anyway, they perked up at the mention of moc quals and said that they're about to give their presentation on Friday and that they'd love to have extra practice presenting to people who would ask similar questions to what their committee would ask them. They even mentioned that, quote,‘ despite your likely lack of appreciation for their work, your opinions would be useful,’ end-quote.” Colin utters the last sentence with a chuckle.

Mark opens his mouth to say to retort before he's interrupted by a gentle knock at the door.

Mark looks up at the door and then frantically around the apartment, looking at the mess of dishes he had left from his dinner yesterday before uttering a soft “shit!”, tossing his computer onto the couch next to Colin, and holding his sandwich in his mouth as he picks up his dishes and runs them into the kitchen. “You didn’t say they’d be here now!!” Mark yells from behind the divider wall that separates the kitchen from the living/dining room area, hiding dirty dishes in a panicked frenzy as Colin gets up to let you in.

“You didn’t let me get that far before you started questioning me--Hi there, welcome in!” Colin calls over his shoulder before greeting you and stepping to the side of the open door to let you into his and Mark’s shared space.

“Hey, thanks for inviting… me…” You look around like this is the first time you've seen a room before saying“Wow, you two have a nice place” with what looks like a sparkle of awe in your eyes.

“Thanks,” Mark finally decides to pipe up after exiting the kitchen and leaning against the wall. “Sorry for the mess though, I didn't know we were going to have company.” Mark forces through a fake smile as he looks over to Colin with thinly veiled, panicked irritation.

“Ah, so the clutter and dirty dishes aren't a half-baked preparation strategy?” You jest, dawning a coy smirk before turning to Colin and asking, “Shoes on or off?”

Colin's barely able to get in an ‘either is fine’ before Mark rebuts with, “You wound me with how much you underestimate my very complex plan to distract you.” Colin almost sprains an ocular muscle rolling his eyes at Mark's attempt to play it cool after nearly having an aneurysm about you coming over as the man in question ducks back behind the false wall before saying, “I'm making Pizza Bagel Bites for us.” There's a short pause before Mark pokes his head around the wall to regard you again before asking, “Do you like Bagel Bites?”

“Yeah, Bagel Bites are fine.”

“Are you sure? I can make something else if you want; we also have hot pockets, an actual frozen pizza, and we might have some leftover soup from Thanksgiving too--”

You rest a hand on your hip and sit into it before asking, with a huff, “Mark, honestly l, anything is fine; are we going to do this or are you afraid my presentation's going to be better than yours?”

At this point, Colin has sat back down on their couch and is having the time of his life watching what's unfolding before him. He looks over to the kitchen where Mark is still hidden and listens as he hears a clamoring commotion of a pan being filled with frozen Bagel Bites and the furious beeps of the oven turning on to pre-heat before he rushes out of the kitchen, picks up his laptop, sits down, and opens it.

Mark dawns a haughty smirk and a competitive gleam sparks in his eyes as he says, typing away on his computer, “Oh, you have no idea the magnitude of scrutiny you've just unleashed upon your work…”

You let out a huff of a laugh before saying, “I expect nothing less” and opening up your laptop and sharing with the two of them your paper and presentation as the lot of you get started on your moc reviews.

The process is fairly simple: one of you presents while the other two act as your panel committee, asking questions, and making suggestions at the end of your presentation. Colin goes first, presenting his findings from his literature review of surveys and short-term studies of the efficacy of popular science news and the need for more long-term studies. This is something he's practiced hundreds of times, so the questions you throw at him aren't surprising--though, he is quite taken aback by how well-versed you are in pedagogical techniques in science communication and makes a note to pick your brain about your experience later.

You go next, Mark having half-offered half-volunteered you to go next, he's probably still trying to calm his nerves, Colin thinks as he watches Mark shift awkwardly in his seat while you stand from your spot on the couch next to him after setting up your presentation on your computer. Colin tries his best to focus on the lovely presentation on flexible electronics and their use in vitals monitoring, but he can’t help but be distracted by Mark's increasingly adorable investment in your presentation, actively listening and asking questions but with a faraway look in his eyes as he gazes at you with what can only be described as adoration as you passionately expound upon the process of medication release in implantable medical sensing devices. You finish your presentation and Mark enthusiastically jumps up to present last, evidently forgetting his nerves from earlier and diving straight into the complexities of irrigation and sustainable crop cultivation in extreme environments. Colin takes note of the understated excitement you exhibit at Mark's passion for his field, so reserved that he almost missed the way you attempted to block a blush and giggle at his peculiar use of casual, nearly comical lexicon in a presentation meant to convince the academics at the top of the botany ivory tower to give him a chance at becoming a professional scientist.

After presenting you all went over the notes you made on each other's presentations, discussing why certain word choice decisions were made, how each of you dealt with being confronted with A gap in your knowledge, et cetera. Mark was chewing on the end of a red pen while looking over the notes and suggestions you provided for his presentation before making a face and asking, “What’s wrong with my wording here? I think this is a perfectly valid term to describe nutrient uptake efficiency in--”

“Mark, do I need to tell you why you can’t say ‘slorp’ in a Ph.D. qualification oral exam?” You look up from your paper, now marked up with notes from Mark and Colin, and look pointedly at Mark, your mouth quirked into a poorly concealed smirk. Mark starts falling over his words trying to explain his reasoning--or lack thereof--while failing at holding back enthusiastic laughter.

Mark turns to Colin and asks, “Well, what do you think--do you see the academic value of using slorp in a presentation?”

Colin rests a hand gently on Mark’s shoulder before responding. “Mark, my dearest friend, I absolutely do not,” Colin says through bouts of laughter and it puts you in stitches next to Mark, laughing so hard that the only noise you can make is a high-pitched wheeze as you’re doubled over by your glee.

Mark dramatically clutches his shirt right over his heart and says, “Et tu, Brute??” before succumbing to his laughter.

☆☆☆

The empty chair to your right buzzes with the vibrations your restless leg sends through the floor as you await the panel's decision on whether or not you need to reconsider your place in the Ph.D. program. Every time you try to listen in on the conversation your advisor and mentors are having in the room behind you, Hana gently squeezes your hand to remind you to at least try not to obsess about your presentation. It's done now, the ball's in their court. All you can do now is wait and try not to send your blood pressure through the roof.

I think that went alright…you think, threading your fingers between Hana's in an attempt to ground yourself. I answered all of their questions correctly… I think. They didn't say so if I didn't; would they have done that? Fuck, what if they just decided to say nothing-

The door to Hana’s and your left opens suddenly to reveal your advisor, Dr. Ameer, poking his bald and bespectacled head out from behind the door before stepping out and standing to his full height, imposing from your current seated perspective.

He looks down at you for a moment before smiling proudly and holding out his hand. “Congratulations!” You take his hand and shake it feeling like the air got kicked out of your chest, only able to let out a breathless squeeze of a ‘thank you’ that your advisor lightly laughs at. “Excellent treatment of the current gap in the literature on the use of implantables for tissue regeneration for rehabilitative purposes in particular--it makes a great start to a thesis project.” He states, taking off his reading glasses.

You nod and say another “thank you,” stronger this time now that your tensed muscles have finally relaxed and Hana's got you wrapped up in a sideways hug. “I'll make sure to, uhm, send you my availability for the next week so we can discuss how I did and how I can improve. We should also start to discuss my thesis--where to start, what we're capable of doing, et cetera.”

“Absolutely. Don't forget to celebrate too, though. You work hard, you deserve the rest.” He says, sitting down in the chair to your right.

“Oh, don't worry about that,” Hana says, clapping you on the shoulder, “I'll make sure they have at least a little fun within the next 24 hours.”

“Thank you for your work keeping them sane.” Dr. Ameer says through a laugh.

“Is this an intervention?” you ask, looking back and forth at the two of them as they both guffaw at your bafflement.

“Alright,” Dr. Ameer starts, standing back up before saying, “Congratulations again, I'll see you on Monday.”

“Thank you, and see you then.” You respond, allowing yourself to finally smile with a gleam of pride in your eyes as he nods and walks off, presumably to his office.

You wait until you know he's out of earshot before bellowing out a, “Thank fucking God…” as Hana squeals, shaking your shoulders in pent-up excitement.

“Hey, don't act like you didn't nail it in there, I heard you, you were great!! Oozing confidence and academic splendor!” Hana responds, dramatically clutching a fist over her heart. “We have to celebrate properly tonight; maybe drinks and dinner at my place--”

“Please don't make it a big thing, it's not like I just defended my thesis,” you say through an exasperated sigh.

“Fine, but we're at least inviting over Colin and Mark--they just passed their quals too.”

An Incredulous and confused look twists your face when you ask, “How do you know? I thought they were presenting just now too?”

“Trivia night people have a group chat--here, look” Hana takes out her phone and shows you a text from Colin with a picture of him smiling with his arm around what looks like Mark, his head tilted back in relief while Colin ruffles his hair.

Your eyes linger on Mark's neck a little too long before you pull your gaze away and clear your throat, saying, “I see.”

“Hey,” Hana says, putting a hand on your shoulder, “we don't have to invite them, or anyone for that matter, especially if they'll make you uncomfortable.”

“No no, thank you, uhm, there's nothing wrong with that. If anything, I probably owe the two of them a thank you, we presented to each other and they both offered some awesome suggestions that I wouldn’t’ve thought of otherwise.”

Hana regards you silently for a moment, eyes narrowing before they widen in shock as she says, “No fucking way.”

“… What?”

“I mean, the two of you becoming civil with each other finally was to be expected, but I never would've thought--”

“Oh,” you say rolling your eyes as you go to stand up, “Okay, I see where this is going--”

“So I'm right then?” Hana grabs her bag and goes to follow you.

“Absolutely not.”

“You were just gazing longingly at Mark!”

“I do not gaze at him,” you wheeze out with a laugh as you push open the doors to the Tech building.

“Okay, so why did you just freeze right now? I refuse to believe it was a nondescript brain fart and you just so happened to zone out looking at Mark's trachea--” Hana finishes her sentence in a whisper to not attract the attention of the undergrads walking past them in the courtyard.

You whip around to look Hana in the eye as you whisper-yell, “What I feel for Mark is the farthest thing from attraction, I can't possibly think of a world where he would inspire anything other than disgust--”

“Denial is a river in Egypt, my friend, and we are in the midwest--”

“God, I can't believe you--” You whirl back around and start walking off in the direction of your apartment.

“I'm inviting them over, and be at mine by 5!!” Hana shouts at your retreating form and you throw up a thumbs up to show your acknowledgment.

  Your mind wanders on your way back home; you remember eating a Pizza Bagel during your moc quals with Colin and Mark, the latter suddenly saying, “Wait! Hold still” causing you to freeze in your tracks and your eyes to widen into saucers, thinking a bug or something crawled onto you. He reaches over and gently swipes a thumb across the corner of your mouth before saying“ Rogue pizza sauce” before moving on to the next thing that caught his attention. You're still frozen in place, trying to process what just happened, when Mark absentmindedly licks the tomato sauce off his thumb like he forgot that that was just on your face and not his. Now, something like this usually wouldn’t surprise you--especially given Mark's tendency to forget the simplest of things--but for whatever reason your brain short-circuited; at a complete loss for words, for once in your life not a single thought crossed your mind--just complete radio silence and a faint fluttering feeling in your chest. You didn't notice it at the time, perhaps because you didn't want to, but that fluttering felt different than you expected. You wanted to feel a flush of anger wash over you at his invasion of your personal space but all you could muster was the nauseating fondness you felt that night he walked you home after trivia night.

This realization makes your face twist into a scowl. “Shit…” you say, burying your face deep into your coat.

  When you enter Hana’s apartment building, the weight and warmth from your jacket and the building hallway make your skin prickle with sweat. You unzip your jacket and tug a little on your turtleneck’s collar before knocking on her door. A muffled “Hold on!” sounds from behind the door before Hana flings the door open a few seconds later. “Come on in!” she hurries you in while carrying a pan of what looks like an attempt at caramelizing… something?

You take off your shoes and place them on the small rack set up next to the front door before hanging up your coat next to Hana’s on a nearby coat hook. “What are you making?” you question, the medley of smells hitting your nose almost making your eyes water.

“Chicken parm--assuming I'm doing this right,” says over her shoulder while rushing back into her kitchenette, trying not to spill the contents of the very hot pot on her person.

“Hana, I'm not sure if you're supposed to caramelize anything in a chicken parmesan dish?” you follow her timidly into the kitchen, not entirely sure you want to bear witness to what she is concocting.

“You’ve gotta have more faith in my process,” Hana says confidently over her shoulder right before the pan on the stove in front of her bursts into flame. There's a brief scramble As the two of you try to put out the fire, eventually being left with a charred mess sitting in the pan with the two of you staring at it blankly.

“... Portillo's?”

“Yeah,” you respond with a light huff.

  You're drying off and putting away dishes as Hana passes them to you after giving them a thorough scrubbing to get off the char from her attempt at cooking dinner. After about two minutes of this Hana puts down the dish she's working on and huffs before saying, “I'm putting on some music, any requests?”

You pause and think for a moment before answering, “Um… I don't know; What've you been listening to lately?”

“This is gonna sound kind of weird, but I've been on a bit of an ABBA kick lately.” She says, drying her hands off before retrieving her phone from the front pocket of her ‘That's not Burnt, that's Flavor’ apron.

“Knowing you, that's not weird at all.” You deadpan before the two of you let out a stream of giggles. Hana taps away at her phone for a couple of seconds, and Chiquitita starts playing from a speaker on the far side of the kitchen to your left. “Oo, that's a good one.”

“Darling, they're all good ones,” Hana says through a playful smirk, making you laugh. The rest of the otherwise boring task goes by much more slowly but more enjoyably with the two of you intermittently stopping to sing along at the top of your lungs with whatever song caught your collective attention, Hana occasionally using whatever cooking utensil was within her grasp as an impromptu fake-microphone. She's in the middle of a surprisingly impressive belt during Lay All Your Love on Me when a confident knocking echoes through the apartment. “Ope, is that them?” she inquires in a suddenly quieter voice with what you detect as a hint of bashfulness--possibly at the prospect of being heard through the door. She briefly checks her phone while you dry the last plate and put it away. “Yep!” she says before doffing her apron and nearly prancing to her front door.

You turn around and open up a cupboard to put away the plate you're holding, but as you reach up you feel a pair of eyes on your back. You close the cabinet door and whirl around only to be met with a pair of infuriatingly disarming green eyes. In your periphery, you can see Mark’s shoulders pitch up slightly before a toothy smile blooms across his face, catching you off guard with the sincerity of it. You clumsily return his smile before congratulating him before dawning a defensive smirk and saying, “I’m glad our corrections weren’t ignored” jokingly implying that was the only thing stopping him from failing.

A grimace distorts Mark’s smile before he opens his mouth to speak, pausing for a second before finally letting out a laugh and saying, “I was about to say that I had to because Botany isn’t exactly as easy as what you do, but saying something is only biomedical sensor engineering doesn’t exactly have the punch I ‘m looking for.” He and Colin take off their shoes and you and Mark close the distance between the two of you before he continues. “Glad to hear you passed too--what is that smell, is something burning?” Mark interrupts himself, halfway through crossing his arms when he finally catches a whiff of the residual char in the air from Hana’s cooking.

“That would be the aftermath of Hana’s attempt at cooking; don’t worry, we called Portillos as soon as the pan lit on fire.” You quickly add after seeing the color drain a bit from Mark’s cheeks.

You wonder if they’ve always been that rosy before he frantically looks between you and Hana and asks, “You lit a pan on fire?!”

“Only a little bit, we put it out quickly--the alarm didn’t even go off.” Hana dismisses Mark’s worry with a wave of her hand while walking over to her speaker to turn its volume down.

“That’s a shame, we could’ve roasted non-stick flavored marshmallows,” Colin jests from his spot at Hana’s kitchen island before she sticks her tongue out at him, sending the lot of you into a laughing fit. “Well, what do we want to do until the dogs get here?”

Hana pauses to think for a second before ducking to rifle through a set of board and card games she keeps under her living room speaker and reemerges with a small red box. “‘We’re Not Really Strangers’?” she punctuates her question by lightly shaking the box, “I’ve got a few packs mixed in here, so we shouldn’t get any repeats if we’re waiting a while.”

Colin responds in the affirmative before enthusiastically walking over to her couch and plopping down with a ‘whoomph.’ Mark shifts next to you before stating in an almost whisper, “This ought to be interesting.” The two of you look at each other and you scan his face, taking in the mirth evident in his lightly freckled face and you lightly nudge him with a wheeze of a laugh before walking over to get a seat at Hana’s coffee table.

  How can one person be so fucking warm?? You internally hiss to yourself while sitting next to Mark. The two of you still have about an inch of separation between the two of you but even so, you feel like the warmth radiating off his body is smothering you in a calm you’re trying to steel yourself against. You’re sitting in a half-crisscross position with your leg resting on top of your foot now to make it harder for you to subconsciously inch closer to Mark to try to remedy the ever-present chill that usually plagues you--with what appears to be little success considering the two of you stared out on this couch with about 6 inches of space between the two of you. Mark guffaws heartily at Hana’s answer to the card Colin just pulled and you can feel the seat shake with his laughter, the proximity of his person to yours making your heart ache dully. This is miserable, I’m miserable, why is this happening, why me? Why him?? You wonder to yourself with a slightly pained smile and chuckle while Hana pulls a card from the pile in the center of the table.

“Let’s see--ough, I hate this one; ‘What are your plans for the future?’ survive this Ph.D.” Hana immediately answers with a wheeze of a laugh putting the card in the discard pile.

“Honestly, same--I’m just glad my quals are done so I can focus my time and energy on research,” Colin answers before taking a sip of his water and looking to Mark for his answer.

“Alright, are we talking about, like, the next five years or more of what my endgame is for what I want to do with my life? Because I wouldn’t be able to securely pin that down if my life depended on it.” Mark laughs after Hana tells him to say whatever he has an answer for. He pauses for a moment before continuing. “Well,” he begins, crossing his arms, looking up at the ceiling, and slightly adjusting his position, spreading his legs slightly; it takes every ounce of willpower in every atom of your body not to look down at his legs as he does so. “I’m planning on submitting to the NASA GSRP soon, so, assuming I get awarded it, I’ll be working more with botanists at Kennedy Space Center to develop cultivation experiments for the ARES missions--If they ever happen at all.” Mark finishes with a scoff, making you frown. With the tumultuous nature of how government is run, it's becoming increasingly difficult to gauge if there’ll be funding for ambitious space missions like the budding ARES program. Mark abruptly turns to you--itching to turn the attention away from himself--and asks, “What about you?”

You’re given pause by the way Mark abruptly changes the subject, but answer anyway. “Oh, um, I’m headed to Pasadena in the spring; I’m working with one of the engineers there on electronics for a Lunar water surveyor--seems like we’re both NASA-bound. You’ll have to tell me more about the project you’re submitting for, it seems interesting--we might even be able to collaborate a little bit, depending on how far my work on this surveyor goes.”

You end your answer with a coy smirk and for a flash of a second, you could've sworn you saw Mark’s eyes briefly cast downwards to your lips before rocketing back up to meet yours. No, that can’t be possible. God, I’m losing it-- you think to yourself before the man in question interrupts your internal agonizing. “Oh, so you think I’m good enough to get the fellowship?” He inquires with a jesting tone, ducking his head to look up at you through his eyelashes, his vermillion eyes scrutinizing you through the varying shades of blond and brown.

You look at him incredulously and answer before thinking better of voicing your knee-jerk reaction, “Of course; I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.” The realization of what you said hits you like a ton of bricks flying at you at Mach 1 as you see Mark’s cheeks flush. Again with the rosy cheeks? Did I make him uncomfortable? Was that too much? Shit, does he think I like him now? Fuck--

“Ah, well, I’ve got nothing to worry about then--if even you think I could do it.” Mark laughs and claps a hand on your shoulder, making you let out a huff and a chuckle in relief at his jovial tone, thinking you’ve narrowly escaped being found out.

“Alright, enough work talk--” Colin captures your attention after letting out a light chuckle and motions for you to pick up a card. “Your turn, Inspector Gadget.”

You lightly chortle before reaching over to pick a card up from the top of the pile of unused cards. “‘Do you think I’m a good kisser?’ Hana, I thought you said these were from the friendship pack???” The whole table bursts into laughter while Hana chokes out a confirmation that it is indeed from the friendship pack. “Alright, out with it, what are your verdicts?” you ask through an exasperated sigh.

“Honestly, I think you’d be a great kisser, remember when we visited Vanessa’s mom in Vegas and you somehow tied two cherry stems with your tongue? While drunk no less--” Hana interrupts herself with her own laughter as you choke on the water you’re drinking at the mention of that night.

“Fuck, I forgot about that!” you cough out. “If it means anything, I had to use my teeth for most of that--I was afraid I was going to swallow the things both times,” you confess with a chuckle.

“Yeah, I don’t know how good of an indicator that is; one of my exes also could tie a cherry stem with his tongue, but the first time we kissed he practically shoved his tongue down my throat.” Colin weighed in with a scoff before continuing, “What do you think Mark?”

Mark pauses for a moment and in that calm, you notice that he’s draped his arm over the seat cushion behind you. In an unexpected wave of wreckless confidence--at least, that’s what you’d call it--you decide to lean back into his arm, immediately relishing in how warm he is. He considers you for a moment, a surprised look on his face before answering, “Honestly I feel like you could go either way; either you’re a mind-numbingly great, or criminally terrible, no in-between” Hana and Colin break into a side-splitting laugh and you ask him to please explain what his reasoning is behind that answer. “You… you--” Mark interrupts his sentence with a breathy laugh, looking up and away from you before continuing. “Alright, look, you… have a lot of surprising things about you and they’re all, like extremes--”

“Yeah???” you interject, your face contorted into an incredulous smirk.

“Yes, let me finish--”

“Please do--”

“So, I think it would be one of those things that you’re, like, inexplicably good at for no fucking reason, or you’d exceed my expectations and be worse than I thought you’d be.” He finishes, barely able to hold back his chortles.

“And what exactly were your expectations?” you ask, feeling warmth flood your cheeks at the revelation that he’s thought about kissing you before. You try your best to stamp out those thoughts before your infuriatingly lovesick brain can indulge in them, thinking God, I’m hopeless. Mark pauses for a second, looking at you apprehensively. You can feel his arm shift on the cushion behind you as he agonizes about whether or not to tell you. “...Mark--”

“That you’d be kind of mid--” he admits with a grimace.

“WOW!” you exclaim, laughing like you just got the air punched out of you. “The amount of confidence you have in me is truly inspiring--is there anything you think I do well?”

“Piss me off--” The four of you lose your minds with laughter; you go to grip your leg to brace yourself against but accidentally slap your hand against Mark’s. The muscles in his leg tense and you freeze. You feel like you should--no, have to--move your hand but for whatever reason the signals your brain is sending to your arm are getting lost in transit, leaving your hand planted steadfastly on top of his quadricep. A spark of surprise flashes through his eyes for a moment before he moves his hand to grasp at yours, still resting on his leg. “You do that perfectly--”

“Fuck off,” you draw your hand out of his grasp, laughing to yourself and unable to look him in the eye.

☆☆☆

After your Portillos arrive you all dig in, opting to put your card game away in favor of watching a Seinfeld rerun while you all eat. Mark tries to focus on his hot dog to get the memory of how your hand felt on his leg out of his mind. I suppose that’s my fault for not noticing how close we were getting. Did they want that? Why did I want that?? Fuck, I hope I didn’t make them uncomfortable-- Mark takes a deep breath after swallowing a mouthful of hot dog to try to calm his racing thoughts. He feels a pair of eyes on him while he zones out watching the TV and turns his gaze in your direction. You stare back at him with an indiscernible expression before asking, “You okay?”

He smiles and nods, trying not to let his inner turmoil show, “Yeah, I’m good--just starting to get a little tired.” At least that much was true; the fatigue of the past couple weeks of preparation for his quals had decided to dump itself on him now that the adrenaline of the whole ordeal had dissipated. You hum and nod before patting him on the back, an alarmingly comforting gesture that Mark didn’t expect to appreciate as much as he did. The four of you continued to watch Seinfeld until he could feel his eyelids begin to droop. Shit, he thought, I can’t be this tired right now, I still need to get home-- His train of thought is interrupted when he feels you slump against his shoulder gently. He looks down at your now asleep form and huffs out a silent laugh, finding you asleep for a second time that week. He looks up to Colin and Hana, who both seem to be engrossed in the exploits of George and Jerry, before he decides to rest his eyes for a second as well, thinking there wasn’t any harm in taking a moment to rest for once. Mark nods off before he can hear Hana and Colin snicker to themselves.

===

tag list:

@oliviabelova , @anna-withnn

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[southasianuniversity]

Are Short-Term Certificate Courses Online Worth It?

Many people think about short-term certificate courses online when they want quick skills. They want to learn fast. They want low cost. They want real practice. Today, you can take a lab skills class from the department of biosciences. You can join a mini‐coding class in mathematics in computer science. You can study survey basics from the department of sociology, the Delhi School of Economics.  

You can read special articles in the South Asia Journal of South Asian Studies. You can learn about local culture with the South Indian Education Society. You can try a business primer at the International University in India. In this post, we explore whether short-term certificate courses online are right for you. 

What Are Short Term Certificate Courses Online? 

They focus on one skill for a few weeks. 

You watch videos and do small projects. 

You earn a certificate at the end. 

They cost much less than a full degree. 

They let you practice real tasks right away. 

Many programs use the Department of Biosciences to show online lab demos. Some use mathematics in computer science for coding exercises. A few brief classes come from the department of sociology Delhi School of Economics, to teach survey design. You can read quick case studies from the South Asia Journal of South Asian Studies. The South Indian Education Society offers a short heritage tour of culture. The International University in India provides a bootcamp in business basics. 

Why Choose These Fast Online Courses? 

Learn Fast  You finish in weeks, not years. 

Save Money  Fees are low compared to campus programs. 

Stay Flexible  You study when it fits your schedule. 

Gain Real Skills  You use tools in cloud labs and online forums. 

Build Your Resume  Certificates show you tried new topics. 

Whether you watch a video from the department of biosciences or code in a mathematics in computer science lab, these courses give you hands‐on practice. You can study survey writing from the department of sociology, Delhi School of Economics or learn to read research in the South Asia Journal of South Asian Studies. You can get a taste of local culture with courses from the South Indian Education Society. You can join a mini‐MBA at the International University in India. 

Who Benefits Most? 

Working Adults who need a quick skill upgrade. 

College Students who want extra credit. 

Career Changers who need new certificates. 

Lifelong Learners who love new topics. 

If you work in a lab, a short class from the department of biosciences can refresh your skills. If you code for fun, a crash course in mathematics in computer science can boost your abilities. If you help run surveys, a mini program from the department of sociology, Delhi School of Economics, can sharpen your methods. If you write articles, a review of the South Asia Journal of South Asian Studies can guide your style. If you love history, the South Indian Education Society offers a brief local history course. If you aim for business, a short bootcamp at the International University in India can kickstart your plan. 

Things to Watch Out For 

Course Quality  Check if the program comes from a real school. 

Certificate Value  Ask if employers accept the certificate. 

Depth of Content  Short courses may only cover the basics. 

Practical Practice  Ensure you get hands‐on labs, not just slides. 

Time Commitment  Even short courses need steady effort. 

For example, a lab skills course from the department of biosciences should show clear video demos. A coding crash from mathematics in computer science needs real coding tasks. A survey workshop by the department of sociology Delhi School of Economics should include sample field exercises. A reading module on the South Asia Journal of South Asian Studies must give clear summaries. A local culture course with the South Indian Education Society should include images and quizzes. A business primer by the International University in India should assign real case studies. 

How to Pick the Right Course 

Identify Your Goal  What skill do you need now? 

Check the Provider  Look for courses by the department of biosciences or top institutes. 

Read the Syllabus  See if the outline matches your needs. 

Look for Hands-On Work  Ensure you practice, not just watch. 

Compare Costs  Courses in mathematics in computer science labs or policy schools vary in price. 

Read Reviews  Find feedback from past students. 

Plan Your Time  Even a two‐week course needs daily study. 

Mix and Match  You can do a science course, then a policy crash from the Department of sociology, Delhi School of Economics. You can read region reports in the South Asia Journal of South Asian Studies for one month and join a culture course from the South Indian Education Society the next. You can wrap up your year with a business bootcamp at the International University in India. 

Spotlight on SAU 

Many learners pick South Asian University (SAU) for short online modules. They partner with the department of biosciences for lab demos. They team up with the department of sociology Delhi School of Economics, for social research samples. They share papers from the South Asia Journal of South Asian Studies in their reading lists. They invite experts from the South Indian Education Society to talk about heritage. They even run quick business workshops with the International University in India. 

South Asian University (SAU), established under the supervision of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), represents one such beacon of academic excellence.  Situated in New Delhi, India, the university has attracted students from across the South Asian region and provides world-class academic and research opportunities while promoting inter-country collaboration and cultural exchange. 

SAU’s short modules let you test new fields. They also guide you if you decide to pursue a full msc international relations degree or a longer AI master’s later. 

Conclusion 

Short term certificate courses online can be a great way to learn fast. You can refresh lab skills with the department of biosciences, code basics with mathematics in computer science, and survey design from the department of sociology, Delhi School of Economics. You can read regional reports in the South Asia Journal of South Asian Studies, explore local culture with the South Indian Education Society, and get a taste of business at the International University in India. 

If you plan well, these short courses can boost your resume and guide you to bigger programs such as a full msc international relations or an AI master’s. Try one today, learn something new, and grow your skills! 

[mindblowingscience]

Metamorphic proteins can be thought of as the "shapeshifters" of human, animal and bacterial cells. Their ability to drastically switch between two different shapes enables them to adapt to changing environments and carry out diverse functions. Little is known about how metamorphic proteins transform despite their usefulness in living organisms. To help tackle this mystery, a new paper in the "Perspectives" section of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) offers a "bold theory," said co-author John Orban, a professor in the University of Maryland's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR).

Continue Reading.

[crystal-wingeddragon-spikes]

So, you are telling me, this is not just a massive scientific misinformation, but is now an excuse to actually kill real endangered animals.

You are telling me this start-ups science company stunt is used by Trump regime to destroy long-standing public science that had made positive realistic impacts because making a world a better place is inherently opposing to the imaginary infinite-growth capitalism.

I feel so, so bad for Julie Meachen. Extracting genome from 10,000+ yaers old bones is genuinely impressive, and I was a fool to think some tech start-ups did that itself.

From Pfizer covid vaccine, to SpaceX, and now Colossal Bioscience. They all use public science knowledge, staffs, and resource for profit, never mind who they had to kill and what they had to destroy for money.

The Washington Post with pay wall removed. 8 Minutes read, I beg you to read it.

Text extracted from the article:

The Trump administration is trumpeting a biotech company’s claim of reviving a long-lost wolf as an argument for slashing endangered species protections.

Dallas-based Colossal Biosciences said Monday that it used gene editing to create “de-extinct animals” in the form of three pups with the light-colored fur and musculature of a dire wolf.

Many scientists expressed skepticism that the pups could be classified as part of a canine species that went extinct over 10,000 years ago. But Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the achievement demonstrates that it is not government regulations but innovation that will save species.

(Video could not be played, per nature of webpage capture)

“It’s time to fundamentally change how we think about species conservation,” Burgum wrote in a post on X. “Going forward, we must celebrate removals from the endangered list — not additions.”

He has already met with the company about using its animals in federal conservation efforts, as well as for potential species restoration.

“If we’re going to be in anguish about losing a species, now we have an opportunity to bring them back,” he told Interior Department employees during a live-streamed town hall Wednesday. “Pick your favorite species and call up Colossal.”

Even before the dire wolf announcement, the administration had begun moving to upend the protections regime that has been in place for five decades, since the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973.

On Monday, the Fish and Wildlife Service — which falls under Burgum — sent a proposal to the White House to redefine what it means to “harm” a species under the act. Although no details have been released publicly, environmentalists expressed concern that a rule change would allow for greater habitat destruction.

“If that’s what they intend to do, it’ll just fundamentally undermine the Endangered Species Act,” said Noah Greenwald of the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity.

Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress are preparing sweeping cuts to protections for bears, bats, lizards and still-living wolves. They say unnecessary and overbearing rules hamper economic development and infringe on the rights of states and private landowners.

The Endangered Species Act is a “very well-meaning bill that had great objectives,” said Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Arkansas), chair of the House Natural Resources Committee.

But he added: “It’s been a bit of a failure.”

The revival of the ‘God Squad’

In less than three months in office, President Donald Trump’s team has shown few qualms about overriding endangered species protections that threaten to block his energy agenda or other policy goals.

On Inauguration Day, Trump signed a memorandum declaring that he was “putting people over fish.” The president directed water away from a Northern California river system, which supports a tiny protected fish called the delta smelt, to parts of the state facing wildfires — even though a lack of water was not the reason for the historic fires in Los Angeles.

In February, the Interior Department rescinded guidance from under President Joe Biden that the oil and gas industry should slow ships in the Gulf of Mexico to avoid striking a species called the Rice’s whale. With fewer than 100 remaining, the Rice’s whale is one of the most endangered marine mammals left in the ocean.

Burgum also issued an order asking deputies to consider economic factors when deciding habitat protections.

During his confirmation hearing, Burgum lamented the “weaponization of federal rules meant to actually protect wildlife.”

“It’s used for groups that are just trying to block our nation’s progress,” he told Congress.

Perhaps Trump’s most sweeping action so far involves restarting a long-dormant committee that can override protections for endangered species. Environmentalists give it an ominous nickname: “the God Squad.”

The committee, which consists of Burgum and five other high-level officials, can approve projects even if they result in the extinction of a species. The panel, officially called the Endangered Species Committee, has rarely been convened.

The panel“has long been called the God Squad because it has the power of God over the fate of species,” said Andrew Wetzler, senior vice president for nature at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

With control of both the House and Senate, Republicans in Congress hope to go further by cementing changes to the Endangered Species Act in law.

Several Republicans are pushing bills to delist a menagerie of animals. These include the dunes sagebrush lizard, which lives in Texas oil country, and the northern long-eared bat, which lives in forests that the timber industry wants to log, as well as populations of gray wolves and grizzly bears, which ranchers say prey on livestock.

Westerman, the congressman, notes that of the hundreds of protected species, only 3 percent have ever recovered.

“It’s almost like some people think Moses wrote the Endangered Species Act on stone tablets, and we can’t touch it,” he said. “But we’ve got to be honest about the results we’re getting.”

With that record, Westerman is pushing to amend the act to give more power to states and limit courts’ ability to review decisions to remove protections for plants and animals.

The moral hazard of ‘de-extinction’ work

Ahead of the dire wolf announcement, Burgum met with Colossal’s leaders in March to discuss the concept of “de-extinction” and the use of the technology in conservation, according to company CEO Ben Lamm.

The company has big aims to bring back versions of the dodo, the mammoth and a carnivorous marsupial called the thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger. Colossal says it is not trying to create replicas of extinct animals, but functional equivalents that can fill the ecological niches of vanished species.

In addition to modifying 14 genes to produce the trio of gray wolf pups meant to resemble the ancient dire wolf, the company recently also cloned four red wolves, a critically endangered canine.

Fewer than 20 still live in eastern North Carolina, while approximately 240 more are kept at captive breeding facilities. Colossal discussed with Burgum the possibility of using the company’s cloned red wolves in recovery efforts.

“It’s really important to have a seat at the table regardless of your political views,” Lamm said in an interview with The Washington Post.

Even though many conservationists distrust Trump, Lamm added, “Is it really the right thing just to put your head in the sand and ignore the rest of the world?”

The company emphasizes how its gene-editing technology can help conserve existing species. For instance, Colossal wants to fix mutations in endangered pink pigeons, which suffer from inbreeding, as well as make a vaccine for a herpes virus that kills elephants.

The technology, company leaders said, should not be misconstrued as a substitute for protecting existing species.

“What we’re doing gives us the ability to help accelerate recovery, but recovery still is dependent on the conservation of wild habitats,” said Matt James, Colossal’s chief animal officer, who added that the Endangered Species Act is “a monumental piece of legislation.”

In a statement to The Post, Interior spokeswoman J. Elizabeth Peace said Burgum “values collaboration and dialogue with a range of partners.”

“We remain committed to exploring all science-based options that can help strengthen the recovery of the red wolf and other endangered species,” she added.

Among skeptics of “de-extinction,” there has long been a fear that attempts to use biotechnology to revive extinct species would give license to regulators to water down needed protections for existing plants and animals.

“The moral hazard in this work is gigantic, as its support by the Trump organization shows,” Stanford biologist Paul R. Ehrlich said. “Effort put into re-creating dire wolves only makes the threat to our civilization more dire, especially in view of the administration’s large-scale assault on our life-support systems and on science.”

Julie Meachen, a Des Moines University paleontologist who helped unravel the dire wolf genome but was not involved in the creation of Colossal’s three pups, does not consider the three canines to be “true” dire wolves.

But she is worried the Trump administration will use the idea that animals can be brought back from the dead “as a carte blanche to delist all the endangered species.”

“This technology does not replace protections for endangered species,” she added.

Carolyn Y. Johnson and Maxine Joselow contributed to this report.

Ahhh, there’s the obvious conclusion.

If we can de-extinct* species, surely there’s no point in worrying about endangered species anymore! We can bring them back anytime!

*depending on your definition of de-extinction.

[tsmom1219]

Birch Biosciences scales enzymatic PET recycling tech

Read the full story at Packaging Insights. Birch Biosciences, an AI-driven plastic recycling technology start-up, has entered a global patent license agreement with the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to expand its enzymatic deconstruction technology that breaks down PET. Developed by NREL researchers, the technology facilitates the rapid and efficient…

[govindhtech]

ETH Zurich’s QPD: Redefining Quantum Energy Calculations

Quantum Prolate Diagonalisation is

A new spectral method changes quantum system frequency estimation

Scientists at ETH Zurich have developed a novel spectral technique that could revolutionise molecular energy calculations by eliminating the need for complex wave functions. The innovative Quantum Prolate Diagonalisation (QPD) method ensures accurate Frequency Estimation even with minimal signal information.

Markus Reiher, Davide Castaldo, and Timothy Stroschein of the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences lead a hybrid classical-quantum approach that focusses on a system's autocorrelation function instead of its wave function. Focussing on the autocorrelation function, which evaluates the resemblance between a signal and a time-delayed version of itself, is a powerful tool for evaluating a signal's frequency content without a Fourier conversion.

Autocorrelation Overcoming Computational Challenges

Computational quantum chemistry has long struggled to precisely determine molecular energies, which often increases computational cost exponentially with system size. Traditional variational quantum eigensolvers (VQE) are powerful but require precise and efficient energy expectation value evaluation on quantum computers due to noise and qubit coherence.

The innovative QPD method predicts the eigenvalues of a Hamiltonian operator that reflects a quantum system's energy levels through its autocorrelation function and gives a compelling result. This allows accurate Frequency Estimation even with limited data, which is important for brief signals or few samples.

Prolate Spheroidal Wave Function Power

Prolate spheroidal wave functions are key to this breakthrough. These functions' entire orthogonal basis set makes them ideal for bandlimited signals. Researchers use their properties to develop an optimal basis set that fits the observed time span and captures the signal's important frequency components. Without extrapolating beyond the observed data, this innovative strategy reduces the risk of erroneous frequencies or artefacts in the study.

Use of the technology shows hybrid computing's strength. A quantum computer measures the system's autocorrelation function, revealing its frequency content. After receiving this data, a classical computer diagonalises a matrix representation of the Hamiltonian operator to get the eigenvalues. This dual approach may enable the modelling of increasingly complex systems by ensuring the efficient use of quantum and conventional resources.

Unmatched Precision and Strength

The team's 99% consistency in recognising signal main frequencies is promising. They meticulously showed that signal characteristics and observation time affect frequency estimate accuracy. This trade-off understanding allows experimental parameters to be optimised for accuracy.

QPD is computationally efficient, noise-resistant, and decreases the dimensionality of complex problems by projecting onto a smaller subspace of essential states since prolate spheroidal wave functions filter out noise. Such resilience is crucial in the noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) future of quantum computing.

Time to Frequency Spectral Estimation

The new method advances spectral estimation. After translating noise data from the time domain to the frequency domain, power spectral density (PSD) can be used to investigate power at different frequencies. This technique is called spectral estimation. The issue is estimating a stochastic process's power spectrum using insufficient data, generally few autocorrelation function samples.

MEM and FFT are prominent approaches. The easiest way is to Fourier transform the autocorrelation function's known values. Parametric spectral estimating, a model-based technique, can make precise estimates with extremely little data lengths if the data fits the presumed model. For spectra with strongly defined peaks, Autoregressive (AR) models function well, whereas Moving Average (MA) models work better for clearly defined notches. Signals with both should use the broad Autoregressive Moving Average (ARMA) models.

Future prospects and information limitations

Spectral estimating also considers spectral complexity (C_s), the total amount of information needed for an accurate estimate. Longer stationary signal observation times improve estimates until convergence, when no more power spectrum information can be gained. Time support of the autocorrelation function affects spectral complexity. Frequency Estimation for non-stationary signals is constrained as spectral dynamics rise since data from multiple periods can only be significant if correlated with spectrum information during the instant of interest.

The QPD technique handles these problems by maximising scarce data and understanding precision-observation time trade-offs. This discovery advances molecular simulations and changes quantum chemistry and computational science by allowing molecular energies to be determined with unprecedented precision, possibly approaching the Heisenberg limit.

[bpod-bpod]

Cracking an Egg

Cell division involves chromosomes being segregated on a protein spindle so each daughter cell receives them equally. In egg cells the spindle forms without chromosome involvement – this study in the C. elegans worm reveals the vital role of an enzyme called ZYG-8 in stabilising such spindles

Read the published research article here

Image by Emily Czajkowski and Sadie Wignall, from work by Emily R. Czajkowski and colleagues

Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in and on the cover of PLOS Genetics, September 2024

You can also follow BPoD on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

[dr-afsaeed]

Faculty Position in Epidemiology - Jobs in UK/Europe

Xi'an Jiaotong – Liverpool University – Department of Biosciences and Bioinformatics <br />Salary: Competitive salary package Read more… Credits: jobs.ac.uk Disclaimer

[jobrxiv]

Postdoc: mathematical modeling-gene drive systems in Aedes aegypti mosquito Texas A&M University - College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences - Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences See the full job description on jobRxiv: https://jobrxiv.org/job/texas-am-university-college-of-veterinary-medicine-biomedical-sciences-department-of-veterinary-integrative-biosciences-27778-postdoc-mathematical-modeling-gene-drive-systems-in-aedes-aegypti/?feed_id=97532 #mathematical_model #mosquitoes #ScienceJobs #hiring #research