Month: June 2017

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Undiscovered - Mouse’s Vineyard

Martha’s Vineyard has a Lyme disease problem. Now a scientist is coming to town with a possible fix: genetically engineered mice.

An island associated with summer rest and relaxation is gaining a reputation for something else: Lyme disease. Martha’s Vineyard has one of the highest rates of Lyme in the country. Now MIT geneticist Kevin Esvelt is coming to the island with a potential long-term fix. The catch: It involves releasing up to a few hundred thousand genetically modified mice onto the island. Are Vineyarders ready?

Kevin Esvelt makes the case for engineered mice, at a public meeting at a Vineyard public library. (Photo: Annie Minoff)

 

Kevin Esvelt takes questions from the Martha’s Vineyard audience. (He’s joined by Dr. Michael Jacobs and Dr. Sam Telford. (Photo: Annie Minoff)

 

Bob, Cheryl, and Spice (the lucky dog who gets a Lyme vaccine). (Photo: Annie Minoff)

 

No lack of tick-repelling options at a Martha’s Vineyard general store. (Photo: Annie Minoff)

 

(Original art by Claire Merchlinsky)

 

GUESTS

Kevin Esvelt, Assistant Professor, MIT Media Lab

 

FOOTNOTES

    Read Kevin Esvelt’s original paper describing the gene drive mechanism in eLife. Less technical descriptions available here via Scientific American, and here via Esvelt’s Sculpting Evolution Group. Watch Kevin’s July 20, 2016 presentation on Martha’s Vineyard (Unfortunately there is no direct link. Search “7.20.16” to find the video, titled “Preventing Tick-Borne Disease.”) Listen to Kevin Esvelt talk about gene drive on Science Friday. Read about Oxitec’s proposed mosquito trial in Key West, and watch the public meeting excerpted in this episode. Learn more about Kevin’s lab, the Sculpting Evolution Group. Looking for more information about Lyme disease? Here are resources from the CDC.

CREDITS

This episode of Undiscovered was reported and produced by Annie Minoff and Elah Feder. Editing by Christopher Intagliata. Fact-checking help by Michelle Harris. Original music by Daniel Peterschmidt. Our theme music is by I am Robot and Proud. Art for this episode by Claire Merchlinsky. Thanks to Science Friday’s Danielle Dana, Christian Skotte, Brandon Echter, and Rachel Bouton.

 

Special thanks to Joanna Buchthal, Bob Rosenbaum, Dick Johnson, and Sam Telford.

 

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Opening Arguments - OA81: 😒😜🐿️😎 Emoji Law with Denise Howell (also: Voting Rights, Draft Kings, and FanDuel)

In this episode, Thomas and Andrew interview Denise Howell from the This Week in Law podcast. First, however, we take a look at the Supreme Court's recent decision denying certiorari in an appeal of a Fourth Circuit case striking down various provisions of a North Carolina law that restricted voting rights.  There's a lot of misinformation going on, so you'll want to listen! In the main segment, Denise Howell breaks down the "law of emojis" and a 🐿️ time is had by all. After that, Breakin' Down the Law returns with the recent FTC decision to try and block the FanDuel-Draft Kings merger. Finally, we end with the answer to Thomas (and Denise) Take the Bar Exam Question #29  regarding assumption of risk.  Will Thomas beat the practicing lawyer?  Listen and find out, and don't forget to play along by following our Twitter feed (@Openargs) and/or our Facebook Page and quoting the Tweet or Facebook Post that announces this episode along with your guess and reason(s)! Recent Appearances None.  But if you're on the East Coast, you should check out Andrew's speech to the Lehigh Valley Skeptics on "Skepticism and the Law" on July 2, 2017 at 11 am by clicking here. Show Notes & Links
  1. This is the Supreme Court's denial of certiorari, which is worth reading.
  2. The underlying case is NC State Conference of NAACP v. McCrory, 831 F. 3d 204 (4th Cir. 2016).
  3. The Supreme Court's 2-line denial of the application to stay McCrory, 137 S.Ct. 27 (2016) is here.
  4. This is a link to the "American News X" (wrong) "hot take."
  5. You can read Prof. Eric Goldman's delightful law review article on emojis here.
  6. And Denise recommends falling down the Wikipedia rabbit hole by reading the history of emojis.
  7. This is the FTC complaint against Draft Kings and FanDuel.
  8. And here are a few links to articles by and about new FTC Acting Director of Bureau of Competition Tad Lipsky.
Support us on Patreon at:  patreon.com/law Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ And email us at openarguments@gmail.com  
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The Gist - The Rise and Reign of Unruly Women

Anne Helen Petersen has made a career on the rigorous, deep, academic study of celebrity culture. In her new book Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud, Petersen explores the rise of norm-breaking women such as Lena Dunham and Serena Williams and what their ascendency can tell us about the political moment we’re living in. Petersen’s day job is senior culture writer at BuzzFeed.

Also, the Supreme Court makes a surprise ruling, and the Congressional Budget Office makes an unsurprising report.

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African Tech Roundup - Rockwell Automation’s John Lewis doesn’t buy that factory automation is destroying livlihoods

John Lewis is the Director Business Partnering at Rockwell Automation. In this conversation with Andile Masuku, taped at the Internet of Things World Forum 2017 hosted at London's Tobacco Dock (creaking floorboards and all), John talks about how his company is adapting to changing times by drafting software developers and tech-savvy business specialists who can speak to the myriad of optimisation challenges faced by their clients all over the world. He also rebuffs the widely-held belief that the global trend towards aggressive factory automation is destroying livelihoods.