Weekend Edition.
Double Helix.
1. Obituary:
James D. Watson, who entered the pantheon of science at age 25 when he joined in the discovery of the structure of DNA, one of the most momentous breakthroughs in the history of science, died on Thursday in East Northport, N.Y., on Long Island. He was 97.
His death, in a hospice, was confirmed on Friday by his son Duncan, who said Dr. Watson was transferred to the hospice from a hospital this week after being treated there for an infection.
Dr. Watson’s role in decoding DNA, the genetic blueprint for life, would have been enough to establish him as one of the most important scientists of the 20th century. But he cemented that fame by leading the ambitious Human Genome Project and writing perhaps the most celebrated memoir in science.
For decades a famous and famously cantankerous American man of science, Dr. Watson lived on the grounds of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, which, in another considerable accomplishment, he took over as director in 1968 and transformed from a relatively small establishment on Long Island with a troubled past into one of the world’s major centers of microbiology. (Sources: nytimes.com, nobelprize.org, amazon.com)
2. Jess Rowe and Miriam Payne became the first women’s team and the first pair to row across the Pacific Ocean non-stop and unsupported. (Source: nytimes.com)
3. Major cities in Ukraine suffered emergency power outages on Saturday after a devastating overnight attack by Russian missiles and drones that targeted the country’s energy and gas infrastructure. It was the latest volley in the grinding war between the two countries, with Russia pounding Ukraine’s electrical plants and Ukraine hitting oil refineries in Russia — almost on a daily basis — before winter sets in. Ukraine had already begun rationing power and water this fall because of such attacks. More than 50 drones and 36 missiles made it through Ukrainian air defense systems early Saturday, hitting at least 25 locations, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. Russia mainly targeted Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, as well as Dnipro and Kharkiv, along with smaller cities. At least three people were killed, including an energy worker who was on the job in Kharkiv. (Source: nytimes.com)
4. A large Russian missile and drone attack that overwhelmed Ukrainian air defenses overnight targeted substations that power two of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, according to the country’s foreign minister and a person with knowledge of the barrage. Andriy Sybiha, Ukraine’s top diplomat, said the substations which power the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear power plants were targeted in “well planned strikes”. “Russia is deliberately endangering nuclear safety in Europe,” he said in a statement. He called for an urgent meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors and urged “all states that value nuclear safety, particularly China and India, to demand Russia stop reckless attacks on nuclear energy that risk a catastrophic incident”. (Source: ft.com. Italics mine.)
5. The Economist:
China is reshaping the world’s energy outlook, its geopolitics and its capacity to limit the catastrophic effects of climate change. The main reason countries have yet to decarbonize their economies is because they lack the means to do so. And that is what China is fixing. It is providing ever greater amounts of clean-energy capacity to the world at prices which are cheaper than any alternative, including coal and natural gas.
China can produce almost a terawatt of renewable-energy capacity in a year. That is enough to supply as much energy as more than 300 big nuclear-power plants. And the dynamic that created all this generating capacity is far from exhausted. China’s huge demand—it generates a third of the world’s electricity—is being met by ever more efficient production which makes the end product cheaper and cheaper. This, in turn, allows it to meet even more demand, and so on. The subsidies that started to turn this virtuous circle are increasingly beside the point; indeed, many are being withdrawn. (Source: economist.com. Italics mine.)
6. European carmakers are rapidly losing market share globally as Chinese rivals enter a new phase of expansion and innovation, said the head of the world’s biggest operator of car-carrying ships. Lasse Kristoffersen, chief executive of Wallenius Wilhelmsen, told the Financial Times there was “massive growth” in shipments from China to Latin America, Europe, Africa and Australia amid Beijing’s domestic crackdown on price cuts. “The reason why Chinese are winning market shares is because they innovate themselves,” he told analysts on a recent earnings call. “The Chinese producers have gone from being cost leaders to now being technology leaders.” Chinese exports jumped by 23 per cent to 6.4 million passenger vehicles last year, more than 50 per cent higher than second place Japan, according to AlixPartners. The consultancy expects Chinese manufacturers to capture 30 per cent of the global automotive market by 2030, up from 21 per cent last year, and driven by growth in emerging markets. (Source: ft.com)
7. Merck, the company that introduced statins to the world nearly 40 years ago, has a new, intensely powerful pill that can slash levels of dangerous LDL cholesterol to levels almost never seen in adults. The new pill, enlicitide, blocks a liver protein, PCSK9, that slows the body’s ability to clear cholesterol. With most PCSK9 blocked, LDL levels plummet and rates of heart attacks and strokes in high risk patients fall by up to 20 percent in just the first year. At least six million adults in the United States are eligible for drugs that block PCSK 9. (Source: nytimes.com)
8. The Wall Street Journal:
For months, a small company in San Francisco has been pursuing a secretive project: the birth of a genetically engineered baby.
Backed by OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and his husband, along with Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong, the startup—called Preventive—has been quietly preparing what would amount to a biological first. They are working toward creating a child born from an embryo edited to prevent a hereditary disease. In recent months, executives at the company privately said a couple with a genetic disease had been identified who was interested in participating, according to people familiar with the conversations.
Gene-editing technologies now in use for treatment after birth allow scientists to cut, edit and insert DNA, but using the process in sperm, eggs or embryos is far more controversial and has prompted calls by scientists for a global moratorium until the ethical and scientific questions get resolved. Editing genes in embryos with the intention of creating babies from them is banned in the U.S. and many countries.
Preventive has been searching for places to experiment where embryo editing is allowed, including the United Arab Emirates, according to correspondence reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. (Source: wsj.com)
9. Nick Fuentes:
“Jews are running society, women need to shut the [expletive] up, Blacks need to be imprisoned for the most part, and we would live in paradise. It’s that simple.” (Source: washingtonpost.com. )
Quick Links: The discovery of the structure of DNA. Researchers have identified special immune cells in the brain that help slow Alzheimer’s. Longevity labs, “immortality islands” and grapeseed pills are part of China’s national project to conquer aging. China’s chemical exports are behind a ‘tsunami’ of methamphetamine flooding Asia. Riding in a Chinese robotaxi is pretty smooth—that’s a problem for Waymo. To fund heavy spending on infrastructure for artificial intelligence, companies have leveraged a growing list of complex debt-financing options. Where the FAA is cutting flights because of the shutdown. Canada’s PM, Mark Carney, survived two confidence votes on budget, quashing fears of winter election. Trump says GOP would never lose an election again if filibuster is eliminated. Charlie Cook’s analysis of the 2024 and 2025 elections is the best you’ll read. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R) announces run for New York governor with focus on affordability. The Tucker Carlson interview with Nick Fuentes is further proof the threat to Fox News’ dominance is from the right. Fintan O’Toole: Kamala Harris’s memoir 107 Days succeeds at least in distilling the evasions and weaknesses of the modern Democratic Party. Orbán nemesis vows to bring Hungary back into the fold. Peace talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan broke down. Best Practices: News Items founder prepares agenda for board meeting.