Monday, June 24, 2024

PALEONTOLOGY

New study finds dinosaur fossils did not inspire the mythological griffin



UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH
Griffin.jog 

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PAINTING OF A GRIFFIN, A LION-RAPTOR CHIMAERA, ALONGSIDE THE FOSSILS OF PROTOCERATOPS, A HORNED DINOSAUR. THE LATTER ARE SAID TO HAVE INFORMED THE LORE AND APPEARANCE OF THE FORMER, BUT OUR STUDY SUGGESTS THAT THERE IS NO COMPELLING CONNECTION BETWEEN DINOSAURS AND GRIFFINS.

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CREDIT: DR MARK WITTON





A popular and widely-promoted claim that dinosaur fossils inspired the legend of the griffin, the mythological creature with a raptorial bird head and wings on a lion body, has been challenged in a new study.

The specific link between dinosaur fossils and griffin mythology was proposed over 30 years ago in a series of papers and books written by folklorist Adrienne Mayor. These started with the 1989 Cryptozoology paper entitled ‘Paleocryptozoology: a call for collaboration between classicists and cryptozoologists’, and was cemented in the seminal 2000 book ‘The First Fossil Hunters. The idea became a staple of books, documentaries and museum exhibits.

It suggests that an early horned dinosaur of Mongolia and China, Protoceratops, was discovered by ancient nomads prospecting for gold in Central Asia. Tales of Protoceratops bones then travelled southwest on trade routes to inspire, or at least influence, stories and art of the griffin.

Griffins are some of the oldest mythological creatures, first appearing in Egyptian and Middle Eastern art during the 4th millennium BC, before becoming popular in ancient Greece during the 8th century BC. 

Protoceratops was a small (around 2 metres long) dinosaur that lived in Mongolia and northern China during the Cretaceous period (75-71 million years ago). They belong to the horned dinosaur group, making it a relative of Triceratops, although they actually lack facial horns. Like griffins, Protoceratops stood on four legs, had beaks, and had frill-like extensions of their skulls that, it’s been argued, could be interpreted as wings.

In the first detailed assessment of the claims, study authors Dr Mark Witton and Richard Hing, palaeontologists at the University of Portsmouth, re-evaluated historical fossil records, the distribution and nature of Protoceratops fossils, and classical sources linking the griffin with the Protoceratops, consulting with historians and archeologists to fully understand the conventional, non-fossil based view of griffin origins. Ultimately, they found that none of the arguments withstood scrutiny.

Ideas that Protoceratops would be discovered by nomads prospecting for gold, for instance, are unlikely when Protoceratops fossils occur hundreds of kilometres away from ancient gold sites. In the century since Protoceratops was discovered, no gold has been reported alongside them. It also seems doubtful that nomads would have seen much of Protoceratops skeletons, even if they prospected for gold where their fossils occur.

“There is an assumption that dinosaur skeletons are discovered half-exposed, lying around almost like the remains of recently-deceased animals,” said Dr Witton. “But generally speaking, just a fraction of an eroding dinosaur skeleton will be visible to the naked eye, unnoticed to all except for sharp-eyed fossil hunters. 

“That’s almost certainly how ancient peoples wandering around Mongolia encountered Protoceratops. If they wanted to see more, as they’d need to if they were forming myths about these animals, they’d have to extract the fossil from the surrounding rock. That is no small task, even with modern tools, glues, protective wrapping and preparatory techniques. It seems more probable that Protoceratops remains, by and large, went unnoticed — if the gold prospectors were even there to see them.”

Similarly, the geographic spread of griffin art through history does not align with the scenario of griffin lore beginning with Central Asian fossils and then spreading west. There are also no unambiguous references to Protoceratops fossils in ancient literature.

Protoceratops is only griffin-like in being a four-limbed animal with a beak. There are no details in griffin art suggesting that their fossils were referenced but, conversely, many griffins were clearly composed from features of living cats and birds.

Dr Witton added: “Everything about griffin origins is consistent with their traditional interpretation as imaginary beasts, just as their appearance is entirely explained by them being chimaras of big cats and raptorial birds. Invoking a role for dinosaurs in griffin lore, especially species from distant lands like Protoceratops, not only introduces unnecessary complexity and inconsistencies to their origins, but also relies on interpretations and proposals that don’t withstand scrutiny.”

The authors are keen to stress that there is excellent evidence of fossils being culturally important throughout human history, and innumerable instances of fossils inspiring folklore around the world, referred to as ‘geomyths’.

Richard Hing said: “It is important to distinguish between fossil folklore with a factual basis — that is, connections between fossils and myth evidenced by archaeological discoveries or compelling references in literature and artwork — and speculated connections based on intuition. 

“There is nothing inherently wrong with the idea that ancient peoples found dinosaur bones and incorporated them into their mythology, but we need to root such proposals in realities of history, geography and palaeontology. Otherwise, they are just speculation.”

Dr Witton added: “Not all mythological creatures demand explanations through fossils. Some of the most popular geomyths — Protoceratops and griffins, fossil elephants and cyclopes, and dragons and dinosaurs — have no evidential basis and are entirely speculative. We promote these stories because they’re exciting and seem intuitively plausible, but doing so ignores our growing knowledge of fossil geomyths grounded in fact and evidence. These are just as interesting as their conjectural counterparts, and probably deserve more attention than entirely speculated geomythological scenarios.”

The study is published in Interdisciplinary Science Reviews.

Comparisons between the skeleton of Protoceratops and ancient griffin art. The griffins are all very obviously based on big cats, from their musculature and long, flexible tails to the manes (indicated by coiled “hair” on the neck), and birds, and differ from Protoceratops in virtually all measures of proportion and form. Image compiled from illustrations in Witton and Hing (2024).

CREDIT

Dr Mark Witton

 

Highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) outbreak in Finnish fur farms



Significant virus adaptation to mammals observed in recent HPAI outbreak



EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL (ECDC)





Between July and October 2023, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) was detected in animals on 27 fur farms in Finland. The outbreak, traced to wild birds, revealed significant virus adaptation to mammals. The virus caused severe inflammation in animals' lungs, brains, and livers. Further genetic analyses identified three viral clusters, with mutations facilitating mammalian adaptation.

Epidemiological Investigation

The outbreak likely originated from extensive exposure of fur animals to infected wild birds, given the high number of wild bird deaths in the surrounding areas. The virus caused a range of symptoms in the animals, from asymptomatic infections to severe neurological disease and death.

Analysis of viral samples revealed mutations associated with increased adaptability to mammals, which may increase the potential to infect humans in direct or indirect contact with infected farmed animals, wild birds and other wildlife, and contaminated fomites or feed. While oropharyngeal swabs were considered for rapid testing during the outbreak, inconsistent results led to a recommendation for tissue sampling in future investigations of suspected HPAI in fur animals.

Direct and indirect transmission of the virus likely occurred between fur animals, contributing to the rapid spread of the outbreak. Further data are needed to fully understand the complex routes and extent of spread between farms.

Key Findings

The findings of the study show that the A(H5N1) virus caused severe disease in infected animals, leading to widespread inflammation in the lungs, brain, and liver. Genomic analysis identified mutations in the virus's PB2 and NA proteins associated with increased adaptability to mammals, which may increase the risk of infecting humans. While no human infections have been reported, it serves as a reminder of the ongoing threat posed by HPAI and the importance of robust surveillance and control measures.

Finnish authorities responded swiftly to the outbreak, implementing comprehensive control measures, including culling infected animals and strengthening regulation on biosecurity requirements on fur farms. These actions contained the outbreak and prevented further spread of the virus.

Conclusions

This outbreak serves as a stark reminder of the risks associated with farming animals susceptible to avian influenza, underscoring the potential for HPAI viruses to pose a threat to human health. The rapid spread of the virus among farmed fur animals and the emergence of mutations that enhance its ability to infect mammals highlight the urgent need for continued vigilance and proactive measures to mitigate the risks posed by HPAI.

Stringent biosecurity measures, robust surveillance programs, and early detection mechanisms are crucial in preventing future outbreaks and protecting both animal and human populations. Virological surveillance designed for early detection of outbreaks, particularly in areas where HPAI is detected in wild bird populations near animal farms, is essential for effective disease control. This outbreak, with its observed genetic changes associated with increased mammalian adaptation, emphasises the importance of implementing safe fur farming practices to reduce the risk of future spillover events and the potential emergence of pandemic viruses.


Not quite ready for autonomous taxis? Tele-driving could be a bridge


If drivers could choose any available car as a starting point, ride-hailing services could become cheaper as energy and labor are used more efficiently



 NEWS RELEASE 

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

 


 

Images

 

At a time when the general public may not yet accept driverless taxis and ride-hailing vehicles, teledriving could offer many of the same benefits, according to a new study led by a University of Michigan researcher. 

With more cars on the road, fewer drivers and fewer riderless miles, ride-sharing services could become faster and more affordable.

Teledriving typically involves a driver operating a car while sitting in front of a bank of screens that show video feeds from cameras on the car, as well as sensors and augmented reality technology. Once a passenger has been picked up, transported and dropped off, the driver can disconnect from that vehicle and connect to any other that is available in an area of need. Several private teledriving companies are already in operation, including Halo.Car and Vay in Las Vegas.

One of the main advantages of teledriving, according to researchers led by Saif Benjaafar, U-M professor of industrial and operations engineering, is that drivers do not need to be where the vehicles are—for instance, driving from areas of low demand to areas of high demand with no rider. In this vein, teledriving can eliminate what ride hailing services refer to as the 'wild goose chase' scenario. At times when vehicle supply is low, cars need to be dispatched to customers located far away even if it's not the most efficient pairing between rider and driver.

"Teledriving allows you to get away with far fewer drivers than vehicles without impacting the quality of service because you can still leverage the excess vehicles to get quickly to customers—a reduction of 30% to 40% in some of the test cases we considered," said Benjaafar, who specializes in supply chains and logistics.

"There's an opportunity to significantly increase how busy the drivers are. One of the challenges for ride services has always been having drivers who are sitting idle. Quite a bit of that inefficiency can be eliminated."

The remaining drivers also stand to benefit as this system would shift vehicle ownership, and the cost and risk that it entails, onto the rideshare company. Teledriving may broaden labor participation as driving becomes a desk job, the researchers suggest.

Finally, the team is optimistic that the separation of drivers and riders could improve the safety of both, particularly women who have been disproportionately the targets of in-vehicle assault and other criminal behavior. However, teledriving systems also need to guard against reckless driving in a work environment that feels more like a video game.

Using computer modeling that factors in supply, demand and road congestion over both time and space, researchers showed that a higher number of available vehicles than drivers can shorten wait times in periods of high demand, even with fewer drivers. This is because the likelihood of a driver going on a wild goose chase is reduced.

"This research can be applied to the world/community by improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of ride-hailing and other on-demand transportation services," said Xiaotang Yang, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. 

"By using teledriving, platforms can potentially operate with fewer drivers while maintaining or even improving service quality, which can lower operational costs and make these services more accessible. Additionally, this approach can help reduce traffic congestion and waiting times, leading to a better overall experience for users."

Benjaafar's deep dive into the benefits and efficiencies of teledriving come as efforts to bring autonomous ride services into the mainstream have stalled for a variety of reasons. Safety is key among them, and a regular stream of news articles chronicling crashes involving vehicles without human drivers only reinforces those concerns.

"Full autonomy may take longer to become a reality," Benjaafar said. "In the meantime, there are these technologies that can serve as a bridge toward full autonomy, including putting the human driver back into the loop."

The research was initiated while Benjaafar and Yang were at the University of Minnesota. They were joined by Zicheng Wang, now an assistant professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen.

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Guangdong (China) Provincial Key Laboratory of Mathematical Foundations for Artificial Intelligence.

Study: Human in the Loop Automation: Ride Hailing with Remote (Tele-) Drivers (DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2022.01687)

 

Drugs for HIV and AIDS trialed as brain tumor treatment for first time




UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH
Professor Oliver Hanemann 

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PROFESSOR OLIVER HANEMANN IS LEADING THE RETREAT TRIAL, WHICH WILL EXPLORE WHETHER ANTI-RETROVIRAL MEDICATIONS COULD HELP PEOPLE WITH NEUROFIBROMATOSIS 2 (NF2)

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CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH




Drugs developed to combat HIV and AIDS are being trialled for the first time in patients with multiple brain tumours.

Scientists at the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at the University of Plymouth are conducting a clinical trial to see whether using anti-retroviral medications, Ritonavir and Lopinavir, could help people with Neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2).

The rare inherited genetic condition causes tumours such as schwannoma (which include acoustic neuroma), ependymoma and meningioma which develop on the membrane surrounding the brain.

The RETREAT clinical trial, led by Professor Oliver Hanemann, will expand on research by Dr Sylwia Ammoun and Professor Hanemann which showed the repurposed drugs reduced tumour growth and survival in the tumours.

During the trial, which will run for a year, patients will undergo a tumour biopsy and blood test before having 30 days of treatment with the two medications. They will then have another biopsy and blood test to determine if the drug combination has managed to enter tumour cells and has had its intended effect.

Professor Oliver Hanemann, Director of the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at the University of Plymouth, said: “This could the first step towards a systemic treatment for tumours related to NF2, both for patients who have inherited NF2 and developed multiple tumours, as well as patients who have a one-off NF2 mutation and have developed a tumour as a result. If results are positive and the research develops into a larger clinical trial, it would be the most significant change for patients with this condition, for whom there is no effective treatment.”

Dr Karen Noble, Director of Research, Policy and Innovation at Brain Tumour Research, said: “Brain Tumour Research is committed to funding research that will provide better outcomes for patients, so we are delighted that research undertaken at our Centre of Excellence has progressed into a clinical trial, bringing hope to patients with NF2 and NF2-related tumours. What is great about using repurposed drugs such as Ritonavir and Lopinavir, is that they have already been shown to have a strong safety profile in healthy people and those treated for HIV, which means that they can more quickly be translated from the laboratory to patients.”

The patient perspective

Jayne Sweeney, 57, from Cornwall, UK, was diagnosed with NF2 in 1996, 11 years after discovering she had an acoustic neuroma in her left ear when she was 18. She has 12 tumours growing in her brain and has had five operations to remove tumours from her brain, ear and ankle.

She said: “The RETREAT trial is incredibly exciting, any advancement to improve peoples’ lives is brilliant. A cure for NF2 is too late for me, but I am extremely proud to have been invited onto the trial steering group where I have seen first-hand just how passionate the team is about helping people with this disease. If we can find an effective drug for people newly diagnosed, that would be fantastic.”

In 1985, Jayne became deaf in her left ear following an operation to remove the tumour located there. She was monitored with regular scans, on the expectation she required no further treatment, but the tumour regrew.

Four years ago, a routine scan found a tumour in her right ear, and she is facing complete deafness. More recently a routine scan showed the growth of more tumours throughout her body and brain

“The loss of hearing is the worst thing about having NF2 because it’s very isolating and frustrating,” she said. “I had 15 months’ chemotherapy, and radiotherapy in January this year. Radiotherapy is so barbaric; having four anaesthetic injections into my head was the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced, so finding better and kinder ways to treat the disease is so important.”

 

Unifying behavioral analysis through animal foundation models




ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FÉDÉRALE DE LAUSANNE
Alona's movements tracked 

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ALONA'S MOVEMENTS TRACKED BY THE SUPERANIMAL MODEL

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CREDIT: 2024 EPFL/KAOSMOVIES




Although there is the saying, “straight from the horse’s mouth”, it's impossible to get a horse to tell you if it's in pain or experiencing joy. Yet, its body will express the answer in its movements. To a trained eye, pain will manifest as a change in gait, or in the case of joy, the facial expressions of the animal could change. But what if we can automate this with AI? And what about AI models for cows, dogs, cats, or even mice? Automating animal behavior not only removes observer bias, but it helps humans more efficiently get to the right answer.

Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in posture analysis for behavioral phenotyping. Mackenzie Mathis' laboratory at EPFL publishes a Nature Communications article describing a particularly effective new open-source tool that requires no human annotations to get the model to track animals. Named “SuperAnimal”, it can automatically recognize, without human supervision, the location of “keypoints” (typically joints) in a whole range of animals – over 45 animal species – and even in mythical ones!

“The current pipeline allows users to tailor deep learning models, but this then relies on human effort to identify keypoints on each animal to create a training set,” explains Mackenzie Mathis. “This leads to duplicated labeling efforts across researchers and can lead to different semantic labels for the same keypoints, making merging data to train large foundation models very challenging. Our new method provides a new approach to standardize this process and train large-scale datasets. It also makes labeling 10 to 100 times more effective than current tools.”

The “SuperAnimal method” is an evolution of a pose estimation technique that Mackenzie Mathis' laboratory had already distributed under the name "DeepLabCut™️." You can read more about this game-changing tool and its origin in this new Nature technology feature.

“Here, we have developed an algorithm capable of compiling a large set of annotations across databases and train the model to learn a harmonized language – we call this pre-training the foundation model,” explains Shaokai Ye, a PhD student researcher and first author of the study. “Then users can simply deploy our base model or fine-tune it on their own data, allowing for further customization if needed.

These advances will make motion analysis much more accessible. “Veterinarians could be particularly interested, as well as those in biomedical research – especially when it comes to observing the behavior of laboratory mice. But it can go further,” says Mackenzie Mathis, mentioning neuroscience and... athletes (canine or otherwise)! Other species – birds, fish, and insects – are also within the scope of the model's next evolution. “We also will leverage these models in natural language interfaces to build even more accessible and next-generation tools. For example, Shaokai and I, along with our co-authors at EPFL, recently developed AmadeusGPT, published recently at NeurIPS, that allows for querying video data with written or spoken text. Expanding this for complex behavioral analysis will be very exciting.” SuperAnimal is now available to researchers worldwide through its open-source distribution (github.com/DeepLabCut).

 

 


Portfolio performance in financial management: apraize, analyze, act.



A reference for professionals and students of asset and wealth management. This book explores the essential topics of portfolio performance measurement in a realistic and rigorous way.



UNIVERSITY OF LIÈGE

The Complete Guide to Portfolio Performance: Appraise, Analyze, Act 

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P. FRANÇOIS & G.HUBNER, THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE: APPRAISE, ANALYZE, ACT, WILEY, APRIL 2024

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CREDIT: WILEY




Co-authored by Pascal François (HEC Montreal) and Georges Hubner (University of Liège), both professors of finance, The Complete Guide to Portfolio Performance: Appraise, Analyse, Act, just published by Wiley, is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of financial portfolio performance. The book explores the essential topics of portfolio performance measurement in a realistic and rigorous way, with usable content clearly illustrated by practical examples that demonstrate the application of the concepts discussed.

Portfolio management is a complex field, requiring in-depth expertise and a clear understanding of the various performance measurement tools and methodologies. With the growth of investment and the multiplication of financial products, it has become crucial for finance professionals to have reliable and comprehensive resources to evaluate, analyze and act on the performance of their portfolios.

The book The Complete Guide to Porfolio Performance: Appraise, Analyse, Act by Pascal François and Georges Hübner has established itself as an essential reference in the field. Aimed primarily at asset and wealth managers, this book stands out for its practical approach and concrete examples, offering portfolio performance tools that can be used on a daily basis.

The book is divided into four parts, each dealing with an essential facet of portfolio performance:

  1. Performance measures on the theoretical and practical foundations of classic measures such as Sharpe's ratio and Jensen's alpha, as well as modern extensions of multifactor models.
  2. Other performance measures on alternatives to conventional measures, including market timing methods and measures based on investor preferences.
  3. Performance analysis on detailed analysis tools, enabling performance to be assessed and attributed at different levels of granularity.
  4. Performance utilization on the application of performance in decision making, communication and verification, with a focus on performance persistence and agency issues.

A targeted and universal audience

This guide is intended primarily for finance professionals, including portfolio managers, analysts, private bankers and asset management supervisors, as well as students of finance and non-professionals wishing to deepen their knowledge.  It is structured as a reference work, enabling readers to find specific solutions and easily navigate between chapters to delve deeper into particular topics. Thanks to its pedagogical structure, including Excel files and PowerPoint presentations, the book is also suitable for academic use.

A rigorous pedagogical approach

The authors, with their extensive teaching and research experience, have designed this book with exemplary pedagogical rigor. Each chapter is accompanied by realistic numerical examples, summaries and "Key Takeaways and Equations" sections. This enables readers not only to understand theoretical concepts, but also to apply them in practice.

The Complete Guide to Porfolio Performance. Appraise, Analyse, Act is an essential resource for any financial professional or investor wishing to master the tools and methods of performance evaluation. It provides a comprehensive overview and practical solutions to contemporary portfolio management challenges, and is a valuable ally in the quest for performance and efficiency in financial management.


 

Grafted cucumbers get a boost: pumpkin's secret to withstanding salinity



Peer-Reviewed Publication

NANJING AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

The underlying mechanism of the interaction between CmoDREB2A and CmoNAC1 in regulating salt tolerance of grafted cucumbers. 

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THE UNDERLYING MECHANISM OF THE INTERACTION BETWEEN CMODREB2A AND CMONAC1 IN REGULATING SALT TOLERANCE OF GRAFTED CUCUMBERS. BOTH CMODREB2A AND CMONAC1 ARE CAPABLE OF BINDING TO EACH OTHER’S PROMOTERS. THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL COMPLEXES FORMED BY CMODREB2A AND CMONAC1 NOT ONLY ENHANCE THE BINDING AFFINITY OF CMONAC1 TO THE CMORBOHD1 AND CMONCED6 PROMOTERS, LEADING TO INCREASED PRODUCTION OF H2O2 AND ABA, BUT ALSO FACILITATE THE BINDING OF CMONAC1 TO THE CMOAKT1;2 AND CMOHKT1;1 PROMOTER AND THE BINDING OF CMODREB2A TO THE CMOHAK5;1 AND CMOHAK5;2 PROMOTER, THEREBY PROMOTING K+/NA+ HOMEOSTASIS.

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CREDIT: HORTICULTURE RESEARCH



A pivotal study has discovered a genetic synergy between pumpkin and cucumber that fortifies the latter's resilience against salinity. The research illuminates the role of the CmoDREB2A transcription factor from pumpkin, which, when interacted with cucumber's CmoNAC1, forms a regulatory loop that enhances salt tolerance. This breakthrough could be key to developing crops that thrive in saline soils, safeguarding agricultural productivity.

Soil salinity, a silent blight on global agriculture, affects an estimated 10% of the world's arable land, leading to significant crop yield losses. This environmental stress not only stunts plant growth but also triggers a cascade of physiological responses, including ion toxicity, oxidative damage, and osmotic imbalances, which can be lethal to plants. The urgency to address this issue is underscored by the need for sustainable agricultural practices that can withstand the increasing soil salinity, a consequence of climate change and unsustainable irrigation methods.

Researchers at Huazhong Agricultural University have made a significant breakthrough in the field of horticulture. Their study (DOI: 10.1093/hr/uhae057), published in the prestigious journal Horticulture Research on February 28, 2024, reveals the role of the CmoDREB2A gene from pumpkin in improving the salt tolerance of cucumbers through grafting techniques.

This pioneering study delves deep into the molecular dynamics at play when pumpkin's CmoDREB2A gene is introduced into cucumber through grafting. The research meticulously documents how this gene interacts with the cucumber's CmoNAC1 to form a robust regulatory mechanism that enhances the plant's salt tolerance. The duo's synergistic action triggers an upregulation of antioxidant and hormone production, specifically hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and abscisic acid (ABA), which are pivotal for managing the oxidative and osmotic stress induced by high salinity. Additionally, the study elucidates the gene complex's role in modulating the K+/Na+ ion balance, a key determinant of cellular health under saline conditions. The intricate interplay between these transcription factors and their target genes provides a comprehensive understanding of the genetic architecture supporting salt tolerance, offering a molecular breeding strategy that could lead to the development of crops better equipped to flourish in saline environments.

Dr. Zhilong Bie, corresponding author, emphasizes, "Our findings not only provide insights into the molecular mechanisms of plant adaptation to saline environments but also pave the way for developing new strategies in molecular breeding to combat soil salinization."

The application of these findings could revolutionize agricultural practices in saline-affected regions, potentially increasing crop yields and ensuring food security. The implications of this research extend to global agriculture, offering a sustainable solution to one of the most pressing abiotic stressors in farming.

###

References

DOI

10.1093/hr/uhae057

Original Source URL

https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhae057

Funding information

This research was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32372794, 31772357, 32072653), Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province (2019CFA017), Ningbo Scientific and Technological Project (2021Z006), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2662023YLPY008).

About Horticulture Research

Horticulture Research is an open access journal of Nanjing Agricultural University and ranked number one in the Horticulture category of the Journal Citation Reports ™ from Clarivate, 2022. The journal is committed to publishing original research articles, reviews, perspectives, comments, correspondence articles and letters to the editor related to all major horticultural plants and disciplines, including biotechnology, breeding, cellular and molecular biology, evolution, genetics, inter-species interactions, physiology, and the origination and domestication of crops.

 

ChatGPT is biased against resumes with credentials that imply a disability — but it can improve




UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON





While seeking research internships last year, University of Washington graduate student Kate Glazko noticed recruiters posting online that they’d used OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools to summarize resumes and rank candidates. Automated screening has been commonplace in hiring for decades. Yet Glazko, a doctoral student in the UW’s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, studies how generative AI can replicate and amplify real-world biases — such as those against disabled people. How might such a system, she wondered, rank resumes that implied someone had a disability?

In a new study, UW researchers found that ChatGPT consistently ranked resumes with disability-related honors and credentials — such as the “Tom Wilson Disability Leadership Award” — lower than the same resumes without those honors and credentials. When asked to explain the rankings, the system spat out biased perceptions of disabled people. For instance, it claimed a resume with an autism leadership award had “less emphasis on leadership roles” — implying the stereotype that autistic people aren’t good leaders.

But when researchers customized the tool with written instructions directing it not to be ableist, the tool reduced this bias for all but one of the disabilities tested. Five of the six implied disabilities — deafness, blindness, cerebral palsy, autism and the general term “disability” — improved, but only three ranked higher than resumes that didn't mention disability.

The team presented its findings June 5 at the 2024 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency in Rio de Janeiro.

“Ranking resumes with AI is starting to proliferate, yet there’s not much research behind whether it’s safe and effective,” said Glazko, the study’s lead author. “For a disabled job seeker, there’s always this question when you submit a resume of whether you should include disability credentials. I think disabled people consider that even when humans are the reviewers.”

Researchers used one of the study’s authors’ publicly available curriculum vitae (CV), which ran about 10 pages. The team then created six enhanced CVs, each implying a different disability by including four disability-related credentials: a scholarship; an award; a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) panel seat; and membership in a student organization.

Researchers then used ChatGPT’s GPT-4 model to rank these enhanced CVs against the original version for a real “student researcher” job listing at a large, U.S.-based software company. They ran each comparison 10 times; in 60 trials, the system ranked the enhanced CVs, which were identical except for the implied disability, first only one quarter of the time.

“In a fair world, the enhanced resume should be ranked first every time,” said senior author Jennifer Mankoff, a UW professor in the Allen School. “I can’t think of a job where somebody who’s been recognized for their leadership skills, for example, shouldn’t be ranked ahead of someone with the same background who hasn’t.”

When researchers asked GPT-4 to explain the rankings, its responses exhibited explicit and implicit ableism. For instance, it noted that a candidate with depression had “additional focus on DEI and personal challenges,” which “detract from the core technical and research-oriented aspects of the role.”

“Some of GPT’s descriptions would color a person’s entire resume based on their disability and claimed that involvement with DEI or disability is potentially taking away from other parts of the resume,” Glazko said. “For instance, it hallucinated the concept of ‘challenges’ into the depression resume comparison, even though ‘challenges’ weren’t mentioned at all. So you could see some stereotypes emerge.”

Given this, researchers were interested in whether the system could be trained to be less biased. They turned to the GPTs Editor tool, which allowed them to customize GPT-4 with written instructions (no code required). They instructed this chatbot to not exhibit ableist biases and instead work with disability justice and DEI principles.

They ran the experiment again, this time using the newly trained chatbot. Overall, this system ranked the enhanced CVs higher than the control CV 37 times out of 60. However, for some disabilities, the improvements were minimal or absent: The autism CV ranked first only three out of 10 times, and the depression CV only twice (unchanged from the original GPT-4 results).

“People need to be aware of the system’s biases when using AI for these real-world tasks,” Glazko said. “Otherwise, a recruiter using ChatGPT can’t make these corrections, or be aware that, even with instructions, bias can persist.”

Researchers note that some organizations, such as ourability.com and inclusively.com, are working to improve outcomes for disabled job seekers, who face biases whether or not AI is used for hiring. They also emphasize that more research is needed to document and remedy AI biases. Those include testing other systems, such as Google’s Gemini and Meta’s Llama; including other disabilities; studying the intersections of the system’s bias against disabilities with other attributes such as gender and race; exploring whether further customization could reduce biases more consistently across disabilities; and seeing whether the base version of GPT-4 can be made less biased.

“It is so important that we study and document these biases,” Mankoff said. “We’ve learned a lot from and will hopefully contribute back to a larger conversation — not only regarding disability, but also other minoritized identities — around making sure technology is implemented and deployed in ways that are equitable and fair.”

Additional co-authors were Yusuf Mohammed, a UW undergraduate in the Allen School; Venkatesh Potluri, a UW doctoral student in the Allen School; and Ben Kosa, who completed this research as a UW undergraduate in the Allen School and is an incoming doctoral student at University of Wisconsin–Madison. This research was funded by the National Science Foundation; by donors to the UW’s Center for Research and Education on Accessible Technology and Experiences (CREATE); and by Microsoft.

For more information, contact Glazko at glazko@cs.washington.edu and Mankoff at jmankoff@cs.washington.edu.