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Newley's Notes

NN 156: Gene Editing; Standing Desk Doubts; Year’s Best Books; Cheese Advent Calendars

2018 12 05abstract

📹 In NN 154 I mentioned a blog post I wrote about a climbing documentary on Neflix I liked called “Valley Uprising.”

I’ve got another Netflix doc to recommend: “Get Me Roger Stone.” It came out last year but Anasuya and I just watched it last night.

It’s about the career of the notorious (a designation of which he would approve) political strategist and lobbyist, beginning with his work on the Nixon campaign and continuing through President Trump’s election.

(It’s especially timely given Robert Mueller seems to be investigating links between Stone, Wikileaks, and the release of stolen Hilary Clinton emails.)

On to this week’s NN.

Here are ten items worth your time this week:

🔬 1) Chinese Scientist Claims World’s First Genetically Modified Babies [WSJ]

“Scientists and doctors in China and abroad swiftly rebuked Dr. He after the Associated Press first reported the news of the births on Monday. The global scientific community has previously voiced concern that China is racing ahead with gene-editing experiments without adequate regulation or oversight.”

🖥️ 2) The End of the Beginning [YouTube]

“In his now annual state-of-innovation talk at the a16z Summit in November 2018, Andreessen Horowitz’ Benedict Evans walks through where we are now in software eating the world… and how things may continue to change over the next 10 years.”

💊 3) Are You Sitting Down? Standing Desks Are Overrated [New York Times]

“Research…suggests that warnings about sitting at work are overblown, and that standing desks are overrated as a way to improve health.”

🤗 4) Teens Say Social Media Isn’t As Bad For Them As You Might Think [Buzzfeed]

“Seriously: 81% of teens said it makes them feel more connected to friends, 71% said it helps them show their creative side, 69% said it helps them make friends and with a more diverse group of people, and 68% feel like they have people who support them through tough times.”

📚 5) The 10 Best Books of 2018 [NY Times]

“The editors of The Times Book Review choose the best fiction and nonfiction titles this year.”

📅 6) Forget the chocolate: Advent calendars go for booze, cheese [AP]

“They’re meant to appeal to nostalgic adults who want to count the days till Christmas with something other than sweets. They’re sold for a limited time, get major social media buzz and tend to sell out quickly.”

☠ 7) The Google Cemetery [Gcemtery.co]

“A total of 44 products have been sent into oblivion.”

🎿 8) James Niehues: The Man Behind the Map [Kickstarter]

“Jim has extensively researched, photographed and illustrated nearly every ski map used in North America over the last three decades.”

🥔 9) Driver: I wasn’t on my phone, I was eating a hash brown [AP]

“A Connecticut man who says he was wrongly cited for distracted driving after police mistook a McDonald’s hash brown for a cellphone is continuing his legal fight.”

🐾 10) Dog-related video of the week: Dog’s unbridled joy for soldier’s homecoming goes viral, brings smiles [ABC News]

“Cassandra Cabrera deployed to Africa when her beloved Miss May was just a puppy. She was worried that by the time she returned, her best friend wouldn’t remember her.”

👊 Fist bump from New Delhi,
Newley

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