It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
IMAGE: IMAGE OF A MODIFIED SET OF EUCALYPT FLORAL BUDS THAT DO NOT DEVELOP FURTHER TO MAKE VIABLE POLLEN OR SEEDS (MAIN IMAGE AND LOWER RIGHT), COMPARED TO WILD TYPE FLOWER... view more
CREDIT: OSU COLLEGE OF FORESTRY
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Eucalyptus, a pest-resistant evergreen valued for its hardy lumber and wellness-promoting oil, can be genetically modified not to reproduce sexually, a key step toward preventing the global tree plantation staple from invading native ecosystems.
Oregon State University's Steve Strauss led an international collaboration that showed the CRISPR Cas9 gene editing technique could be used with nearly 100% efficiency to knock out LEAFY, the master gene behind flower formation.
"The flowers never developed to the point where ovules, pollen or fertile seeds were observed," Strauss said. "And there was no detectable negative effect on tree growth or form. A field study should be the next step to take a more careful look at stability of the vegetative and floral sterility traits, but with physical gene mutation we expect high reliability over the life of the trees."
Findings were published in Plant Biotechnology Journal.
Strauss, Ph.D. student Estefania Elorriaga and research assistant Cathleen Ma teamed up with scientists at the University of Colorado, Beijing Forestry University and the University of Pretoria on the research. The greenhouse study involved a hybrid of two species, Eucalyptus grandis and E. urophylla, that is widely planted in the Southern Hemisphere; there are more than 700 species of eucalyptus, most of them native to Australia.
"Roughly 7% of the world's forests are plantations, and 25% of that plantation area contains nonnative species and hybrids," said Elorriaga, now a postdoctoral researcher at North Carolina State. "Eucalyptus is one of the most widely planted genera of forest trees, particularly the 5.7 million hectares of eucalyptus in Brazil, the 4.5 million hectares in China and 3.9 million hectares in India."
Those plantings, the scientists note, can lead to undesirable mingling with native ecosystems. Thus eliminating those trees' ability to sexually reproduce without affecting other characteristics would be an effective way to greatly reduce the potential for invasive spreading in areas where that is considered an important ecological or economic problem.
"This was the first successful application of CRISPR to solve a commercial problem in forest trees," Elorriaga said. "Research with CRISPR in forest trees to modify different traits is ongoing in many laboratories around the world. Global warming is having large impacts on forests of all kinds, and gene editing may be an important new breeding tool to supplement conventional methods."
Strauss points out that despite the promising findings, trees genetically modified as they were in this research could not legally be planted in Brazil, a nation with some of the largest economic value from eucalyptus tree farming.
"The trait could not be used there due to laws against modifying plant reproduction with recombinant DNA methods," he said. "It would also be disallowed for field research or commercial use under sustainable forest management certification in many parts of the world - something scientists have come together to severely criticize in recent years."
A little more than two years ago, Strauss was part of a coalition of forestry researchers to call for a review of what they see as overly restrictive policies regarding biotech research.
"Hopefully, studies like this one, that show how precise and safe the technology can be in modifying traits, and that help to promote ecological safety, will help to change regulations and certification rules," he said. "Happily, such discussions are well underway in many nations."
Monday, November 27, 2023
Natural products used in Ayurvedic treatments alleviate symptoms of depression in fruit flies
Mainz University and the US-American BENFRA Center have jointly demonstrated the effect of botanical products used in traditional Asiatic medicine on depressive states
THE LEVEL OF MOTIVATION OF THE FRUIT FLY DROSOPHILA CAN BE DEDUCED ON THE BASIS OF WHETHER IT ATTEMPTS TO CLIMB OVER GAPS IT ENCOUNTERS WHEN WALKING. IN A DEPRESSION-LIKE STATE, THE FRUIT FLY IS LESS LIKELY TO DO SO. IN THE BACKGROUND ARE LEAVES OF CENTELLA ASIATICA, THE INDIAN PENNYWORT.
Chronic exposure to stress can lead to the development of depression-like disorders that manifest as a lack of motivation – even in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. As a result, the insects show less courtship behavior, are less interested in stopping to ingest sweet nutrients, and are less willing to climb a gap in the experimental setup. Traditional medicinal plants, however, can – to some extent – alleviate some of the associated symptoms, as observed by researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany in collaboration with the BENFRA Botanical Dietary Supplements Research Center in Portland, Oregon. The researchers have shown that two plants used in Ayurvedic medicine can improve resilience to chronic stress when used prophylactically in the flies. Despite their stressed state, they then no longer displayed behavior consistent with depression. Papers on their studies of the two plant materials have been published in Nutrients.
Plants containing biologically active ingredients can help the organism deal with stress
The JGU research group led by Professor Roland Strauss has been using the Drosophila melanogaster model to analyze the underlying mechanisms involved in resilience to stress and the effects of stress on the nervous system. "Chronic stress can induce depression-like states also in the fruit fly, and these become apparent in changes to their behavior," explained Strauss. In this most recent research context, his group cooperated with the BENFRA Botanical Dietary Supplements Research Center in the United States of America. The center investigates botanicals that enhance neurological and functional resilience in aging.
The Mainz-based researchers focus on testing extracts of botanicals and natural substances that are known to be used in traditional Asian medicine and are also marketed as dietary supplements. The idea is that certain plants contain above average amounts of active constituents or substances that themselves demonstrate particularly high levels of biological activity. These so-called adaptogens can help our bodies adapt to increased physical and emotional stress.
"An advantage over conventional drugs could be that medicinal plants contain blends of various active botanical substances that act on different sites of the stress axis," said Helen Holvoet, a doctoral candidate in the team of Professor Strauss and lead author of the two papers. "Because they have a synergistic effect on counteracting stress, they may cause fewer undesirable effects than if the substances themselves were administered alone in pure form." Another potential advantage is that dietary supplements can be used as complementary medication in association with pharmacotherapies.
In the joint project, Strauss' team tested their approach for the treatment of stress using two Ayurvedic medicinal plants, namely Withania somnifera (known as ashwagandha or the sleep berry) and Centella asiatica (the Indian pennywort). The research partners were able to demonstrate that, when administered prophylactically, both plants enhanced the resilience to chronic stress so that the flies exposed to stress did not get into a depression-like state in the first place.
Chlorogenic acid identified as substance relevant to the treatment of stress
"In the case of Withania somnifera, we found that the way of preparing the root makes a difference – as aqueous extracts provided better prophylactic effects than extracts in alcohol," explained Dr. Burkhard Poeck, who was also involved in the experiments. This surprising result does indicate how important it is to pay attention to the production methods used for dietary supplements.
The team in Mainz and their cooperation partners in Portland obtained an even more impressive result when experimenting with Centella asiatica. They were actually able to identify a specific component, chlorogenic acid, acting as a prophylactic, anti-stress substance. Chlorogenic acid is present in many botanicals, in particularly high levels in coffee beans, for example. It is also found in traditional medicinal herbs such as valerian (Valeriana officinalis) and St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum), the stress-relieving potential of which have long been known.
The analysis of such medicinal substances not only provides general information on their effects on neuronal stress, but it can also offer starting points for fundamental resilience research. "In this case, we were able to pinpoint a relevant target protein for chlorogenic acid in Drosophila, the protein phosphatase calcineurin," said Professor Roland Strauss, explaining additional research results. In humans, calcineurin is present in many body organs and there are exceptionally high concentrations in the nervous system. There it interacts with numerous other proteins and mediates many signaling pathways.
The uptake of sugar and adaptogens can alleviate and even prevent depression-like states in the fruit fly Drosophila.
H. Holvoet et al., Chlorogenic Acids, Acting via Calcineurin, Are the Main Compounds in Centella asiatica Extracts That Mediate Resilience to Chronic Stress in Drosophila melanogaster, MDPI Nutrients, 16 September 2023, DOI: 10.3390/nu15184016 https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/18/4016
H. Holvoet et al., Withania somnifera Extracts Promote Resilience against Age-Related and Stress-Induced Behavioral Phenotypes in Drosophila melanogaster; a Possible Role of Other Compounds besides Withanolides, MDPI Nutrients, 22 September 2022, DOI: 10.3390/nu14193923 https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/19/3923
Chlorogenic Acids, Acting via Calcineurin, Are the Main Compounds in Centella asiatica Extracts That Mediate Resilience to Chronic Stress in Drosophila melanogaster
Wednesday, May 04, 2022
Studying wealth inequality in animals can reveal clues about how their societies evolved
A new review creates a framework for learning about animal societies by drawing inspiration from studies of inequality in humans.
IMAGE: ACROSS ANIMAL SOCIETIES, SOME INDIVIDUALS BENEFIT MORE FROM GROUP-LIVING, WHEREAS OTHERS ARE LEFT OUT.view more
CREDIT: LAURA SMALE
Wealth inequality is a research topic typically reserved for humans. Now, research from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln suggests that studying wealth inequality in animals can help shed light on social evolution. Adapting approaches from the study of wealth inequality in humans, the researchers show how wealth—in the form of material goods, individual attributes, or social connections—occurs broadly across animal species and can be distributed equally or unequally. This framework offers the opportunity to unite different corners of evolutionary biology under the umbrella of wealth inequality, exploring the idea that the unequal distribution of value, whatever form that value may take, has important consequences for animal societies.
Inequality is one of the greatest challenges of modern society and plays a prominent role in social and political debate. In the fields of economics and sociology, scholars study inequality in order to understand where it comes from, what are its consequences, and how we might implement policies that produce more productive, healthy, and equitable societies. An insight from this work is that inequality can have potent consequences for those of us living in these societies.
It was this finding that captured the attention of Eli Strauss, from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany (MPI-AB), and Daizaburo Shizuka, from University of Nebraska-Lincoln—two behavioral ecologists who study social evolution in non-human societies. “Reading these fascinating sociology and economics papers, it struck me that this work shares a common goal with my work in animal behavior, which is that we both want to understand how inequality arises and affects outcomes for individuals and groups,” says Strauss, first author on the paper and a post-doctoral researcher at MPI-AB.
A new framework in the study of social evolution
It’s not that inequality hadn’t been studied in animals before. Animal researchers have long explored differences among animals in their physical traits, the territory and resources they acquire, the structures they construct, or the social power they wield. However, what was missing was the overarching view that these different dimensions of animals’ lives are linked under the umbrella of inequality. “As we read, we wondered how the scholarship on the causes and consequences of inequality in humans could help biologists like us better understand animal societies,” says Daizaburo Shizuka, an Associate Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
In a review paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Strauss and Shizuka gather work from different academic fields to bridge the divide between inequality research in human and animal societies. Their focus was on what might be learned about animals by drawing inspiration from studies of inequality in humans. Their review is among the first studies to unite these different areas of research as a means to understand how the unequal distribution of value—in whatever form it takes—shapes animal societies.
Can animals have “wealth”?
First, however, the researchers had to find common ground across humans and animals. In humans, “inequality” exists when something of value is distributed unequally among individuals. Usually, that value is defined as their wealth.
“Animals don’t have bank accounts, so how can they be wealthy?,” says Strauss. To answer this question, the scientists turned to research in evolutionary anthropology that explores inequality in hunter-gatherer, pastoralist, and other small-scale human societies. “These societies show varying degrees of wealth inequality, but wealth isn’t limited to bills and coins,” he adds. Instead, anthropologists view wealth as more broadly made up of material goods, individual characteristics like knowledge or hunting ability, and social connections. For instance, a woman could be wealthy by owning many cows, being skillful at growing crops, or having influence in her society.
The review highlights the ways in which these same human dimensions of wealth very clearly operate in animals. Territory ownership and access to food are types of material wealth that are widespread in animals. For instance, squirrels and acorn woodpeckers build food caches and stock them with hordes of nuts and seeds. In dolphins and New Caledonian crows, tool use techniques are valuable chunks of information that open up new foraging opportunities.
Social relationships are also a critical source of wealth in many species, such as in spotted hyenas and ravens, which form alliances with their group-mates that help them rise through the ranks in their societies. Interestingly, like wealth in humans, wealth in animals is sometimes transferred from parents to offspring. Just as money can vary in how unequally it is distributed among people, these types of wealth can be spread fairly evenly among individual animals or can be concentrated in the hands of just a wealthy few.
CAPTION
Figure from the paper demonstrating how wealth inequality (center circle) in animals arises from different types of wealth (top left). This inequality can have consequences for individuals that are independent of wealth (top right), and both behavioral processes and ecological processes can shape the amount of inequality in societies (bottom left). Social mobility, or changes in wealth in individuals and lineages over time, is predicted to impact individual and group traits (bottom right).
CREDIT
Proc B
Shedding light on social evolution
Armed with this broad view of wealth inequality, the authors then explore the ways that inequality research in humans can help us better understand how animal societies work. They discuss theories about what make some societies more unequal than others, the consequences of inequality for individual health and group success, and the ways that individuals and lineages change in wealth over time through social mobility.
Says Shizuka: “The structure of a society has a lot of different influences on all individuals that live within it. In many cases, the differences between individuals arise from the various ways in which unequal societies affect them. In turn, individuals try to exert control over or navigate these unequal systems in different ways. The biology of animal societies includes these types of dynamics, and we can’t understand the evolution of social animals without recognizing this feedback between the individual and the society.”
“Our hope is that this paper will guide future research into wealth inequality across species, which will ultimately lead to a better understanding of the evolution of traits that help animals get the most out of living socially,” adds Strauss.
The authors acknowledge that studying inequality in animals could also shed light on how inequality operates in human societies, but advise that caution is needed when looking to animals to understand ourselves. Humans are a particular animal species with unique social and cognitive traits. While it’s unlikely that inequality operates completely differently in humans than in other animals, there are also no other societies that operate at the scale of the modern human global economy.
“We can look to other species to understand the general evolutionary processes that produce all animals, ourselves included,” says Strauss, “but the question of what makes an ethical human society is fundamentally a moral question where the social lives of animals can’t guide us. This is something we need to figure out on our own.”
JOURNAL
Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
The ecology of wealth inequality in animal societies.
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
4-May-2022
Tuesday, August 01, 2023
Luzio, who lived in São Paulo 10,000 years ago, was Amerindian like Indigenous people now, DNA reveals
An investigation covering four different parts of Brazil carried out analysis of genomic data from 34 fossils, including larger skeletons and the famous mounds of shells and fishbones built on the coast, and revealed differences between communities
FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO
IMAGE: THE INVESTIGATION THAT COVERED FOUR DIFFERENT PARTS OF BRAZIL CARRIED OUT ANALYSIS OF GENOMIC DATA FROM 34 FOSSILS, INCLUDING LARGER SKELETONS AND THE FAMOUS MOUNDS OF SHELLS AND FISHBONES BUILT ON THE COASTview more
CREDIT: ANDRÉ STRAUSS
An article to be published on July 31 in Nature Ecology & Evolution reveals that Luzio, the oldest human skeleton found in São Paulo state (Brazil), was a descendant of the ancestral population that settled the Americas at least 16,000 years ago and gave rise to all present-day Indigenous peoples, such as the Tupi.
Based on the largest set of Brazilian archeological genomic data, the study reported in the article also offers an explanation for the disappearance of the oldest coastal communities, who built the icons of Brazilian archeology known as sambaquis, huge mounds of shells and fishbones used as dwellings, cemeteries and territorial boundaries. Archeologists often refer to these monuments as shell mounds or kitchen middens.
The first author of the article is Tiago Ferraz.The study was supported by FAPESP (projects 17/16451-2 and 20/06527-4) and conducted in partnership with researchers at the University of Tübingen’s Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment (Germany).
The authors analyzed the genomes of 34 samples from four different areas of Brazil’s coast. The fossils were at least 10,000 years old. They came from sambaquis and other parts of eight sites (Cabeçuda, Capelinha, Cubatão, Limão, Jabuticabeira II, Palmeiras Xingu, Pedra do Alexandre and Vau Una).
This material included Luzio, São Paulo’s oldest skeleton, found in the Capelinha river midden in the Ribeira de Iguape valley by a group led by Levy Figuti, a professor at MAE-USP. The morphology of its skull is similar to that of Luzia, the oldest human fossil found to date in South America, dating from about 13,000 years ago. The researchers thought it might have belonged to a biologically different population from present-day Amerindians, who settled in what is now Brazil some 14,000 years ago, but it turns out they were mistaken.
“Genetic analysis showed Luzio to be an Amerindian, like the Tupi, Quechua or Cherokee. That doesn’t mean they’re all the same, but from a global perspective, they all derive from a single migratory wave that arrived in the Americas not more than 16,000 years ago. If there was another population here 30,000 years ago, it didn’t leave descendants among these groups,” Strauss said.
Luzio’s DNA also answered another question. River middens are different from coastal ones, so the find cannot be considered a direct ancestor of the huge classical sambaquis that appeared later. This discovery suggests there were two distinct migrations – into the hinterland and along the coast.
What happened to the sambaqui builders?
Analysis of the genetic material revealed heterogeneous communities with cultural similarities but significant biological differences, especially between coastal communities in the southeast and south.
“Studies of cranial morphology conducted in the 2000s had already pointed to a subtle difference between these communities, and our genetic analysis confirmed it,” Strauss said. “We discovered that one of the reasons was that these coastal populations weren’t isolated but ‘swapped genes’ with inland communities. Over thousands of years, this process must have contributed to the regional differences between sambaquis.”
Regarding the mysterious disappearance of this coastal civilization, comprising the first hunter-gatherers of the Holocene, analysis of the DNA samples clearly showed that, in contrast with the European Neolithic substitution of entire populations, what happened in this part of the world was a change of practices, with a decline in construction of shell middens and the introduction of pottery by sambaqui builders. For example, the genetic material found at Galheta IV (Santa Catarina state), the most emblematic site for the period, has remains not of shells but of ceramics and is similar to the classic sambaquis in this respect.
“This information is compatible with a 2014 study that analyzed pottery shards from sambaquis and found that the pots in question were used to cook not domesticated vegetables but fish. They appropriated technology from the hinterland to process food that was already traditional there,” Strauss said.
About São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)
The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. You can learn more about FAPESP at www.fapesp.br/en and visit FAPESP news agency at www.agencia.fapesp.br/en to keep updated with the latest scientific breakthroughs FAPESP helps achieve through its many programs, awards and research centers. You may also subscribe to FAPESP news agency at http://agencia.fapesp.br/subscribe.
Genomic history of coastal societies from Eastern South America
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
31-Jul-2023
Sunday, April 25, 2021
BUT WHAT DID NOSTRODAMUS SAY?! A book published almost 25 years ago predicted that the 'Next New Deal' would follow a period of great social unrest in 2020 - and that millennials would take the reins after decades of boomer rule
A generational theory written in 1997 predicted America would see the climax of a crisis in 2020.
As the climax turned toward resolution, a "Next New Deal" would reshape the economy and give millennials a brighter future.
A "gray champion" would usher in this new economic zeitgeist. Could that be Biden?
America is currently in the midst of a millennial vs. boomer showdown - and a "gray champion" is arriving to usher in the "Next New Deal." So says an eerie generational theory known as the Fourth Turning, which was coined in 1997 by Neil Howe and William Strauss in an eponymous book. The theory proposes that America sees a "turning" every 20 years as one generation displaces another, and that this dynamic between the two creates a crisis every 80 years. Each crisis is marked by four stages: a catalyst event that sets the wheels in motion; a regeneracy in which people stop tolerating weakening institutions and splintering culture; a climax that "shakes society to its roots," transforms institutions, and redirects purpose; and a resolution that sees the economy entirely restructured for a new set of circumstances.
It's an outlandish theory and the book has also been widely criticized for its lack of scientific support and vague predictions. But it's also resonated among conservative and liberal leaders alike, and bears uncanny parallels to American history.
The last fourth turnings, Howe and Strauss argued, culminated in World War II, the Civil War, and the American Revolution. They wrote that the next crisis-era would involve millennials and boomers fighting over the shape of the world to come, with the catalyst event beginning around 2005, and the climax around 2020, with a resolution by 2026.
The 2008 financial crisis can be seen as the catalyst they mentioned, while the pandemic, social unrest, and riots of 2020 and early 2021 sound a lot like the climax. During this climax, they wrote, the economy could "reach a trough that may look to be the start of the depression," and indeed, the stock-market crash of 2020 was the sharpest and deepest since at least the 1930s. The economy will recover, per the theory, but it will fundamentally change after this period.
Enter the Biden administration, whose ambitious social programs and big spending have triggered comparisons to FDR's New Deal. Some leading political experts agree that this era is historic and climactic. For instance, Doug Sosnik, senior adviser to the Brunswick Group, and political director for former President Bill Clinton, released a presentation in April pronouncing that not only is America going through its biggest transformation since the industrial revolution of the 19th century, but "the current period of turmoil and chaos that began in the early 2000s will likely continue throughout this decade."
The challenge, Sosnik wrote, will be the transition from a 20th-century top-down industrial economy to a 21st-century digital and global one. In other words, this period could be a "great gate of history," just as Strauss and Howe wrote. Forgoing Obama-era rules for a bolder approach
The Fourth Turning predicts the agenda of the Next New Deal will center around young adults, with boomers imposing a "new duty of compulsory service" and millennials recognizing this as a path to public achievement. The government's economic role, per the theory, will shift away from amenities and past promises such as elder care and debt service and toward spending on survival and future promises, such as defense and public works.
President Joe Biden signaled early on that he wouldn't bow to the worries over the national debt that dominated much of the last 20 years (ie, the third turning). The president unveiled a $1.9 trillion stimulus package one week before his inauguration, urging Congress to pass another round of relief checks, extend bolstered unemployment benefits, and fund the distribution of coronavirus vaccines.
For the first time in a generation, economists and consumers alike have since become worried about inflation, and whether such a large boost was even needed as vaccines started to reach Americans' arms.
Where the Obama administration shrank its proposal to appease Republicans and moderate Democrats, Biden stuck with his plan to "go big" and, for the time being, ignore its impact on the government debt.
"A new resolve about urgent public goals crowds out qualms about questionable public means," Strauss and Howe wrote. "Instead of coaxing people with promises of minimal sacrifice, they summon them with warnings of maximal sacrifice."
This could only be the beginning of the Biden-led resolution. For his second act, could we meet the "Gray Champion?"
Spending big on a new age of American infrastructure
The authors predicted that a key component of the Next New Deal would be a new era for infrastructure: "Fourth Turning America will begin to lay out the next saeculum's infrastructure grid - some higher-tech facsimile of turnpikes, railroads, or highways. Through the Fourth Turning, the old order will die, but only after having produced the seed containing the new civic order within it."
That's exactly what Biden is proposing, arguing explicitly in the rollout of his $2.3 trillion package that now is the time to rethink infrastructure for the first time in decades. It includes funds for nationwide broadband and green energy projects as well as more "traditional" infrastructure such as rebuilding roads and bridges.
"With the 1936 Rural Electrification Act, the federal government made a historic investment in bringing electricity to nearly every home and farm in America, and millions of families and our economy reaped the benefits," reads a White House fact sheet on the plan. "Broadband internet is the new electricity."
"It's big, yes. It's bold, yes. And we can get it done," Biden said as he unveiled the package. "The divisions of the moment shouldn't stop us from doing the right thing for the future." He also called it a "once-in-a-generation investment in America."
That isn't all the administration has on the docket. The president is expected to reveal another $1.5 trillion in spending before he addresses a joint session of Congress on April 28. The plan is set to include funds for child care, universal pre-K, and paid family and medical leave.
These two packages look a lot like the spending on "public works" and "future promises" that Howe and Strauss predicted would make up the Next New Deal, in some ways they even surpass FDR's New Deal programs. Leonard Burman, a professor of behavioral economics at Syracuse University's Maxwell School, told Insider's Juliana Kaplan that compared to FDR, the country has "never done" a package the size of Biden's proposals. Unlike Biden, he said FDR "spent much less than would have been appropriate for the size of the economic downturn at that point."
Taken together, Biden's proposals place the country on the brink of a new policy regime. The fierce debate over this new regime is where the millennial versus boomer conflict reaches its fever pitch.
"In the Fourth Turning, boomers are likely to occupy the vortex of a downward economic spiral," the authors wrote, as "the truth will dawn on old boomers that the money simply won't be there to support their accustomed consumption." But it predicted that millennials will come out of this with a brighter future, as they come to embody a "new American mainstream."
Helping the millennials along the way will be a particular figure, Howe and Strauss wrote.
Eight or nine decades after his last appearance in a similar gate of history, the coauthors predicted, America will be visited by "the figure of an ancient man," one who combines aspects of "the leader and the saint" to lead the way toward resolution. They called that character the Gray Champion, and said he would be the one to usher in a new economic zeitgeist.
Based on the amount of greenhouse gases humans have already added to the Earth’s atmosphere, the world is guaranteed to experience approximately 5 feet of sea level rise in the coming decades, climate scientist Benjamin Strauss told “The Climate Crisis Podcast.”
“It’s in that range, you know, 5 feet plus or minus. And that’s because we’ve already warmed the planet by around 2 degrees Fahrenheit, 1.1 Celsius,” Strauss, the president and CEO of Climate Central, a nonprofit that tries to educate policymakers and the public about the threats posed by climate change, told Yahoo News. “Think of it this way: If I dumped a truckload of ice in the middle of Phoenix, we’d all know it’s going to melt. But it takes time to melt. And the same thing is true for the big ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica and glaciers around the world. We turned up the thermostat. We’ve already heated the planet by a couple degrees, but they’ve only begun to respond by melting. And that’s why we have all this extra sea level in the pipeline and it’s, it’s enough, I’m afraid to say, it’s hard to imagine the long-term future of South Florida, let’s say, right, with the sea level that’s already in the pipeline.”
A woman stands off Bikeman islet in the Pacific island nation of Kiribati in 2013. (David Gray/Reuters)
Strauss, who has testified before Congress on the number of American houses that will be threatened due to sea level rise caused by climate change, noted that current estimates are that seas will rise by 2 to 3 feet by the end of the century and will continue rising in the decades that follow. Yet the fact that roughly 5 feet of sea level rise has already been baked in to the planet’s future is, for Strauss, even more incentive for the world to come together to prevent that figure from creeping even higher.
“I think we can help ourselves a lot by slowing down these changes,” he said.
