In the US, freedom of speech issues are considered important enough for its highest courts to take up. I wish the UK would take this right more seriously. (View Post)

@ Nigelb. A friend has me looking at investments in a particular company's vertical farming. Sealed 5000 m2 unit, fully automated, 30+ layers, producing unbelievable yields of leafy greens. Can … (View Post)

And evolution rarely achieve universal optima, but rather local optima which become evolutionary dead-ends. Think of it as you adapt to be a better fit to your ecology by climbing a hill. Once you�… (View Post)

I am not sure that comparison with the flu is actually correct. For flu, the problem is that two different proteins - hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N) are expressed on the surface. There are 1… (View Post)

The rich young Arabs from Lebanon used to have the 3 language mix - Arabic, French and English. Hence "Hi, bonjour 9alaykum". (View Post)