Category Archives: Deep Mind
Scientists report new findings on the role that fish play in balancing coral, algae on reefs – ASU Now
August 23, 2021
When people think of coral reefs, images of beautiful colors and structures come to mind. But beyond aesthetic pleasure, coral reefs provide numerous benefits, ranging from food security and coastline protection to their role in coastal traditions and cultures. Although reefs cover less than 1% of the ocean floor, they support about 25% of marine life and earn their nickname: the rainforests of the sea.
A major challenge to reefs today is whether corals can persist under changing climate. One way that climate affects corals is by stimulating the overgrowth of algae that can smother the reef, making life tough for new corals to survive. Herbivore fish, such as yellow tang, help to prevent algae from overgrowing coral on reefs. Photo by Shawna Foo Download Full Image
To better understand the balance between coral and algae, scientists at Arizona State Universitys Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science explored the role of herbivorous fish in keeping check on one of the main antagonists in coral-algae fight for reef space, known as turf algae. Their findings were published on Aug. 9 in Coral Reefs, the Journal of the International Coral Reef Society.
Led by postdoctoral researcher Shawna Foo, the team utilized 1,476 fish and benthic surveys from 2010 to 2019 across the eight main Hawaiian Islands.
We found that control of turf algae cover differs by water depth, and herbivore fish numbers were the best indicator of reductions in turf algae cover," Foo said. Smaller fish exerted greater control on turf algae than larger fish.
A mixture of many algal species and usually less than 2 cm (less than 1 inch) in height, turf algae grows quickly and occupies new spaces on the reef. It can also overgrow and kill coral. Herbivores protect coral by grazing on the turf algae, reducing their overall cover, like cattle on a grass pasture.
Prior to this study, the role of herbivorous fish in controlling algae was well known, but there was limited understanding of how this role changed by reef depth and with different types of fish. The new study revealed patterns between different types of herbivore fish scrapers like parrotfish, browsers like angelfish and grazers like tangs and their relationship with how much turf algae covered the ocean floor on shallow, mid and deep reefs.
Overgrown algae is a critical issue for coral reefs globally, said Greg Asner, study co-author and director of of the center. This research sheds new light that directly supports the need for conserving herbivore reef fish in a warming climate, for reefs that otherwise will continue to lose to turf algae.
The fish surveys were conducted by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration divers who counted, sized and classified fish at each site. They also estimated what covered the ocean floor, allowing the researchers to distinguish between coral and different types of algal cover. With these surveys, the ASU team investigated factors related to fish and turf algae, including how the composition of herbivorous fish changed at different depths and how fishing intensity changed across depths.
Our findings also indicate that fishing on deeper parts of Hawaiian reefs may be the most detrimental because deeper reefs are naturally inhabited by fewer fish compared to shallower reefs, Foo said. So deeper reefs would be more vulnerable to fishing pressure on herbivores.
The findings provide new input to reef managers in Hawaii and beyond. Herbivore fish management is a key strategy that can reduce turf algae and boost coral survival. While past management has often focused on the total biomass of herbivore fish present on a reef, the new research indicates that the number of fish literally the number of mouths on the reef is the more important goal in the effort to battle turf algae and to protect corals in a warming climate.
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Scientists report new findings on the role that fish play in balancing coral, algae on reefs - ASU Now
Accurate prediction of protein structures and interactions using a three-track neural network – Science Magazine
Deep learning takes on protein folding
In 1972, Anfinsen won a Nobel prize for demonstrating a connection between a protein's amino acid sequence and its three-dimensional structure. Since 1994, scientists have competed in the biannual Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction (CASP) protein-folding challenge. Deep learning methods took center stage at CASP14, with DeepMind's Alphafold2 achieving remarkable accuracy. Baek et al. explored network architectures based on the DeepMind framework. They used a three-track network to process sequence, distance, and coordinate information simultaneously and achieved accuracies approaching those of DeepMind. The method, RoseTTA fold, can solve challenging x-ray crystallography and cryoelectron microscopy modeling problems and generate accurate models of protein-protein complexes.
Science, abj8754, this issue p. 871
DeepMind presented notably accurate predictions at the recent 14th Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction (CASP14) conference. We explored network architectures that incorporate related ideas and obtained the best performance with a three-track network in which information at the one-dimensional (1D) sequence level, the 2D distance map level, and the 3D coordinate level is successively transformed and integrated. The three-track network produces structure predictions with accuracies approaching those of DeepMind in CASP14, enables the rapid solution of challenging x-ray crystallography and cryoelectron microscopy structure modeling problems, and provides insights into the functions of proteins of currently unknown structure. The network also enables rapid generation of accurate protein-protein complex models from sequence information alone, short-circuiting traditional approaches that require modeling of individual subunits followed by docking. We make the method available to the scientific community to speed biological research.
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Accurate prediction of protein structures and interactions using a three-track neural network - Science Magazine
Tamo J is ‘digging up deep-rooted issues’ in therapy – Jamaica Gleaner
Recording artiste Tamo J catapulted into the dimensions of reggae-dancehall approximately five years ago and has enjoyed local success since. But the singer-songwriter, who has commanded the attention of his audience, including his peers and critics, has opened up that before now, his mind was not as clear and he wasnt operating at his best. He has since turned to therapy and is grateful for the impact the sessions have made.
Oftentimes, when the word therapy is mentioned to a person, especially a Jamaican, the response is aggressive and defensive. The reaction is usually, Me nah guh nuh shrink. After me nuh mad. Even for a youngster while growing up, we dont see them capitalising on guidance counsellors, but there are many forms of therapy around that people can benefit from using, Tamo J shared in his recent interview with The Weekend Gleaner.
He added: I was impressed by the thought when it was suggested to me because really and truly, people dont usually focus on an artistes mental state. It is more about what we can provide and do. But if an artiste, or any person for that matter, is not in the best state of mind, he or she cant fully function. I know when my mind is clear, I can operate better.
The Change the World artiste decided to face his demons head-on. That included getting to know himself better, getting past the past, and ignoring societys labels for individuals who seek or take the route of getting professional counselling.
He said: Sometimes as human beings, [we] dont realise how important it is to talk to someone. Yes, we have our peers and family members, but I dont think their capabilities are of a professional level or the advice wont come from an unbiased place. Then there is this big stigma around mental health, and the misconception where people immediately associate mental health with mental illness.
Tamo J said that growing up in Jamaica, there have always been conflicting beliefs coming from a learnt and unlearnt place that include how we are raised and the culture. Men are not encouraged to share their emotions, especially not with each other, and he, too, has heard, A why yuh a gwaan suh? Mek yuh a gwaan like one likkle girl, more than once in different environments amongst his male peers.
Males dont learn how to express [themselves]. Instead, we are exposed to constant jeering and criticism. In our culture, we love making fun of our peers, and sometimes there are deep-rooted issues you would be surprised to learn that even the comedians we laugh with, or at, are working through their own mental-health issues, he said. People always have underlying thoughts that affect how we operate daily, without us even knowing, just subconsciously. If we figure out what is happening, then we can function much better.
Tamo Js counselling sessions which have a spiritual and meditational component havent been easy. Still, he is focused on becoming his best self. At the same time, he is a beacon in the music industry simply by sharing that writing and recording music alone is not therapy. Seeking professional guidance helps, and theres no need for the inaccurate stigma. The singer-songwriter revealed that one of the issues he had to work through was love of self.
I literally went through a process of self-discovery, learning to love and embrace myself to the fullest. It is the only way to be, the way you were meant to be. If you are constantly fighting with yourself, for some people, its their physical image. For me, it was much deeper, and that clouds your judgement, Tamo J said.
In the male-dominated music industry, it can often feel like the toughest battleground. With all of us trying to accomplish the same thing, some will start seeing their peers like competition. Now, I see everyone playing them part, and I communicate differently. I have more patience and understand timing better. Its a beautiful thing, and once you dig up what was buried, you cant unsee or unthink it, he continued.
He said that his music has evolved through therapy, helping him create more efficiently and approach his craft with an international (and intentional) mindset because he is able to express himself more freely.
Im able to tap into myself and trust myself more. When writing, an artiste will track back to things people said [up] to two years or more before, and these things can restrict you from expressing ourselves and make you want to try and put everybody elses thoughts into one song instead of trusting yourself. Now, Im taking on a new perspective and trusting myself, Tamo J said.
Tamo J first opened the doors of the music industry by stepping out of the safe space of his bedroom, where he produced his eight-track EP Eccentric, then began working with renowned producers like Mikey Bennett. His singles, Miss Jamaica and Life Too Short, earned him the respect of the industry, and he became a mainstay, writing for artistes like Kranium, Sean Paul, and Denyque. He is currently under the management of Christopher Townsend, attorney-at-law and owner of Genna Storm Productions.
According to Townsend, both emerging and established artistes can benefit from therapy, and he has seen the impact it has had on Tamo J.
Before Tamo J was added to my roster, his songs were of a certain quality high quality, nonetheless but since receiving the counselling, I find the energy is noticeably different, he shared.
The recommendation for an artiste to receive therapeutic counselling has become a regular course of action for the record label to better engage the artiste and industry professionals the label works with. Noting that Tamo Js talent and experience far exceed the local stomping ground, Townsend is comforted by the fact that when it is time for the artiste to get a major breakthrough, he is going to take music to another level because he is capable, physically and mentally, and he is bussing internationally because he has that flavour, that sound, and the look.
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Tamo J is 'digging up deep-rooted issues' in therapy - Jamaica Gleaner
The Wonders That Live at the Very Bottom of the Sea – The New York Times
The deep sea that Scales portrays is a largely unseen realm that is continually being plundered, often by people who have little notion of what they are destroying. Between the two writers, Scales is the more graceful storyteller, but Widder has (by far) the more compelling story to tell. Indeed, Scaless conceit of traveling aboard a research vessel for a couple of weeks in the Gulf of Mexico feels a bit thin, and not just by comparison to Widders heroics. She never physically ventures into the abyss, as Widder did, and as a fellow science writer, James Nestor, did in his excellent 2014 book, Deep. (In one nape-tingling chapter, he describes traveling to a depth of 2,500 feet in a homemade, unlicensed submarine cobbled together by a New Jersey eccentric.) But for its shortcomings, The Brilliant Abyss has many virtues. Scaless great gift is for transmuting our awe at the wonders of the deep sea into a kind of quiet rage that they could soon be no more.
In one of the books most appalling chapters, she describes the sad fate of the orange roughy, a remarkably slow-growing, deep-dwelling fish. Formerly known as the slimehead, the species was rebranded in the 1970s to better appeal to consumers. Demand spiked, and a gold rush mentality ensued. Trawl nets were dragged along the seafloor, hauling up not just roughies, but also the wreckage of coral reefs millennia-old, animal-grown forests which were tossed overboard as bycatch. Predictably, the fish population quickly collapsed, and they and the ecosystems that were razed to catch them have yet to return to their former vigor.
Scales excoriates not just the killers of the orange roughy, but the entire industry. Globally, she writes, deep-sea trawlers pull in profits of just $60 million a year, and yet they receive subsidies of $152 million. If it costs so much, provides so little food, and reaps such huge ecological damage, the glaring question is, why trawl for fish in the deep at all? Scales asks. Some have begun calling for a global ban on deep-sea trawling. Scales goes a step further. Looking into the future, where the mining of rare earth metals and the dumping of carbon in the deep sea promise to become lucrative (if destructive) industries, she urges us to err on the side of preservation: no deep-sea mining, fishing, oil drilling or extraction of any kind. The deep, she argues, is too vulnerable, and too crucial to the working of the planet to blindly ransack. (Among other things, the ocean acts as an enormous carbon sequestration device, one we are determinedly, if inadvertently, breaking.)
She concludes: If industrialists and powerful states have their way, and the deep is opened up to them, then it raises the ironic and dismal prospect that the deep sea will become empty and lifeless, just as people once thought it was.
Comparisons are often made between the deep sea and the cosmos. One obvious difference between the two is that the abyss below teems with life. Another is that, unlike the stars, the twinkling lights of the deep sea are hidden from view. As soon as you stop thinking about it, the deep can so easily vanish out of mind, Scales warns. She and Widder have worked hard to bring the abyss to light. It is our duty, as clumsy land-bound dwellers of a water planet, to look, and to remember.
Robert Moor is the author of On Trails: An Exploration.
BELOW THE EDGE OF DARKNESS A Memoir of Exploring Light and Life in the Deep Sea, By Edith Widder | 353 pp. Random House. $28.
THE BRILLIANT ABYSS Exploring the Majestic Hidden Life of the Deep Ocean, and the Looming Threat That Imperils It, By Helen Scales | 288 pp. Atlantic Monthly Press. $27.
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The Wonders That Live at the Very Bottom of the Sea - The New York Times
Review: ‘Sister Sorry’ plunges deep into a shadowy abyss of the psyche. But are its characters worth caring about? – Berkshire Eagle
Theater Review
What: Sister Sorry by Alec Wilkinson. Inspired by Alec Wilkinsons The Confession, originally published in The New Yorker. Directed by Joe Calarco
With: Jennifer Van Dyck, Christopher Sears
Who: Barrington Stage Company
Where: Boyd-Quinson Stage, 30 Union St., Pittsfield
When: Through Aug. 29. 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
Running time: 1 hour, 9 minutes (no intermission)
Tickets: $25-$69
Reservations and information:413-236-8888,barringtonstageco.org
COVID-19 SAFETY PROTOCOL: All patrons must provide proof of vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 test (PCR test within 72 hours or an antigen test within 6 hours) and a form of identification.
PITTSFIELD In a recent interview with The Berkshire Eagle, director Joe Calarco said that one of the reasons he was attracted to Alec Wilkinsons new play, Sister Sorry, is its theatricality.
In Calarcos hands and with the remarkably gifted Jennifer Van Dyck in the title, there is more than enough theatricality to go around at Barrington Stage Companys Boyd-Quinson Stage, where Wilkinsons two-character theater work, as he calls it, is being given a vigorously played, brilliantly staged world premiere. The question is whether, given all its theatrical accomplishment onstage from design to performance, it is all worth it; whether, like the true-life article Wilkinson penned for The New Yorker Magazine in 1993, Sister Sorry gives us people who are worth caring about? Im not convinced that it does.
Sister Sorry is a narrative spun by a conceptual artist as she looks back from present day to a time in 1993 when she conceived the idea of creating a conceptual art work she called the Sorry Line. She set up a phone line in her loft apartment and invited people to call anonymously to apologize for or confess to any sins, wrongdoings, misdeeds,crimes they may have committed at any time in their lives. When she had enough, she played them back through a telephone installation she exhibited in a small New York gallery. Afterward, she shut the line down and then restarted it, this time giving callers the opportunity to either leave their own confessions or listen to the confessions of others or both. Needless to say, Sorry Line does not attract a sunny Disneyland crowd.
I come to feel that a third of the calls are true, a third are not, and a third are a mixture of truth and fiction, she says. Someone making a confession is attempting to turn his or her life into a moral tale. A beginning, a middle, and an end. A confession becomes a story, and stories are what give our lives purpose and meaning, correct?
She remains purposefully disengaged above it all, she says. Not superior, just not drawn into the fray, until, that is, there is that one call, the "main event, she labels it, from someone calling himself Jack Flash (played with near hyper-hysteria and intensity by Christopher Sears), who confesses to a brutal crime, a murder, that he may or may not have committed. Not only is Sister Sorry drawn into the fray, she plunges deep into a shadowy abyss in her psyche that is well beyond anything she could have imagined or dared recognize within herself.
Theirs is by no means an easy relationship, especially when Sister Sorry has good reason to believe that Jacks confession may be false.
Jennifer Van Dyck and Christopher Sears star in Barrington Stage's world premiere of "Sister Sorry."
Sister Sorrys safe haven, her territory, is her loft a sizable platform center stage on which are two desk/tables with rolling chairs, two phones. Sears Jack races around the edges of the platform rear, front, sides; eventually literally invading her space, pinning her, at one point, against one of her table/desks, her back to him as she talks to him on the phone. He would be in her face, literally, were she to turn and face him. All at once, the vast, open, exposed confines of Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams evocative set, becomes claustrophobic.
Wilkinsons play poses a range of questions, not the least of them having to do with the nature of art; the relationship between the artist and the work they created. As an artist Im entitled to use the world and its thousand-and-one things any way I care to, any trespass is permissible in pursuit of art, right? Sister Sorry asks rhetorically. But, really, on reflection, what am I an artist of?
Sister Sorry also is interested in what happens when an artist is consumed, taken over, by their creation; when a work of art becomes its own creation.
Also at issue in Sister Sorry is the responsibility we hold for the choices we make in our lives; our responsibility for choices others around us make.
Wilkinson also explores the voyeur instinct within us; that impulse that allows us to look at a horrible car accident, for example, as we drive by, even if we dont want to; that draws our interest to the seedier side of human interaction, our grudging attraction to the tabloid side of life in our culture; the tacit permission that is given that behavior.
In a performance that is as untidy as his characters calculated disheveled appearance, Sears Jack Flash is an exercise in mounting hysteria that robs Jack of a dont-look attraction.
Christopher Sears plays Jack Flash, who calls in to the Sorry Line and confesses to a murder that he may or may not have committed.
On the other hand, as played by the never-less-than-astonishing Van Dyck, there is no lack of clarity, other than her own, in Sister Sorrys obsessive pursuit of Jack; her fascination with him; her surrender to the power she has over her creation, in essence.
Right from a propulsive get-go that never lets go, Van Dycks Sister Sorry catches us with a series of astonishing confessions backstory that establish the wealth of contradictions that define Sister Sorry and which we accept at face value.
Van Dycks Sister Sorry is a supremely smart woman, clearly a loner, who walks the edge of the wild side until one day, with one phone call, she goes over the edge. Her struggle in the 30 years since has been to find her way back.
I see this now, that there is a boundary in the psyche, she says near the end of the play, the mind, the unconscious, whatever you want to call it, that you can approach, but that its not safe to cross. You can never get all the way back. Even if it looks the same, it isnt.
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Review: 'Sister Sorry' plunges deep into a shadowy abyss of the psyche. But are its characters worth caring about? - Berkshire Eagle
How to use ‘progressive muscle relaxation’ to calms stress and ease anxiety – GLAMOUR UK
After a year and a half of living through a pandemic, its no wonder that our mental health is suffering and we're struggling to get a good nights sleep. As somebody who already suffered from bad anxiety before Coronavirus, now restrictions are unlocking and life goes back to normal a little my anxiety is worse than ever, causing me to have sleepless nights, which put simply, isn't really much fun at all.
Tossing and turning most nights with anxious thoughts ticking around in our heads is something that most of us are familiar with, but something that can aid us with sleeping more soundly and helping to keep anxiety at bay, is Progressive Muscle Relaxation also known as PMR.
Julie Leonard, a life coach who has over 30 years of experience in psychology, says that progressive muscle relaxation is a method to release stress and tension from the body. It's a deep relaxation technique that can be used to control stress, anxiety, insomnia, and in some cases chronic pain.
Julie believes that PMR is a simple but effective way to calm you down, as it means youre focusing your mind and body in the present moment which stops us ruminating or worrying about the 'what ifs'.
[PMR] is great for anyone as a preventative health, however, research shows it is extremely effective in treating anxiety, stress, and sleep issues," she adds.
It has been reported that doctors have used progressive muscle relaxation in combination with other medicinal treatments for relief from pain relating to cancer and headaches, with it also working well on high blood pressure and digestive issues.
Here's how to practice PMR, according to Julie:
Julie loves to practice PMR as part of a guided meditation, so I dont have to think about which part of my body I should relax next, she tells us, I can give all my attention to my breath and tensing and relaxing my muscles. Some ways to enhance the technique are to breathe so that you can hear the sound of your breath rhythmically, like the sound of the waves rolling in and out".
Julie recommends making an event out of this calming ritual, by setting the scene with essential oils. I burn frankincense and sweet orange that are fantastic for meditation and calming the mind".
It stimulates the relaxation response, Julie says, an innate response that is the opposite of the stress response".
Julie explains how we often tense our muscles in our jaw, shoulders and hands, which can lead to headaches, muscle pain and backaches too. When practicing PMR you focus on breathing while releasing tension in our muscles. When we are focusing on our breath and relaxing our muscles, our mind is diverted from the overthinking part of the brain where our anxious thoughts are and we are distracted from the anxiety and we instead focus on relaxing".
Blogger and writer Lisa opened up to GLAMOUR about her experience with PMR. I find it really helpful, she said, having to take time out to concentrate on each set of muscles means your mind can't wander. It's very mindful. Tensing and relaxing the muscles, in turn, dampens the physically held stress in my body. It helps me switch off at the end of the day.
Lisa was recommended PMR by a mental health nurse during a particularly bad episode of anxiety. I was sceptical at first thinking it couldnt possibly help but after trying it a time or two I found it really very helpful to ease the symptoms of anxiety both mentally and physically.
She continued: You cant think bad thoughts whilst you are actively doing it and the tensing and relaxing of the muscles is really calming physically it gives you a feeling similar to what you get after a massage".
Lisa still uses the PMR technique if her anxiety takes over and she cant sleep, Its easy for your mind to race when trying to get to sleep so doing PMR settles you down and puts you in a better position to be able to fall asleep".
If your feelings of anxiety feel overwhelming and you'd like some advice, visit mind.org.uk or speak to your GP.
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How to use 'progressive muscle relaxation' to calms stress and ease anxiety - GLAMOUR UK
Always on your mind – The New Indian Express
Express News Service
We recently celebrated our 75th Independence Day, but I know many of us are still struggling with our need for freedom from stress, depression and anxiety, among many other issues. We must take care of our mental health and our brain to keep our overall health in place including our immunity, skin and hair. Our body is made of trillions of cells that are dependent not just on the food we eat but also on our lifestyle, our stress and our emotional and mental fatigue that we keep on feeding the brain.
We have to take equal care of our mental health because there will be no communication in our body without the brain. All communication, be it nerve function, responses, detoxification, etc. happens through the brain as it plays the role of the centre point, the core. We cant see the brain and thus we take it for granted. Its working every second of the day doing multiple activities and thats why giving it rest, whenever required, is very important to keep its function and performance at the optimum level.
Few tips for brain health
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Always on your mind - The New Indian Express
This Former Pastor Is Changing Evangelicals’ Minds on COVID Vaccines Mother Jones – Mother Jones
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When Curtis Chang heard that many evangelical Christians were reluctant to get vaccinated against COVID-19, he suspected he could help. A former pastor who now consults on strategy and planning for governments and nonprofits, Chang knew he could mobilize pastors to educate and encourage their congregations. So earlier this year, Chang, who also serves on the faculty at Duke University Divinity School and at American Universitys School of International Service, launched a project called Christians and the Vaccine to change more minds.
His group produces videos that dispel some of the myths that circulate widely among evangelicalssome believe the vaccine is a form of government control or that it contains fetal tissue and is therefore pro-abortion. The group works with organizations including the National Association of Evangelicals and the Ad Council to distribute videos to churches and through social networks. His technique seems to be working: Researchers at Columbia University and the Stanford Polarization and Social Change Lab conducted a study on vaccine-hesitant Christians using a video featuring Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health and a devout Christian. Two groups were shown videos of Collins and an essay about medical experts endorsing vaccinations. In one group, the content was altered slightly to highlight the Christian identity of Collins and other medical experts. That group reported greater intentions to get vaccinated and an increased willingness to encourage others to get vaccinated, suggesting that shared values can help medical experts bridge the gap with vaccine-hesitant Christians. I talked to Chang about why its difficult for religious leaders to encourage vaccination, how to reach religious people who are vaccine-hesitant, and the dangers of American Christians exporting anti-vaccine beliefs abroad.
On evangelical distrust of institutions: There is not any one reason that is true for all evangelicals about why they are vaccine-hesitant. The key insight is that underneath those specific questions and fears is a pervasive distrust of institutions, especially secular institutions. Thats critical to realize here, because all of us, Christian or non-Christian, we only take the vaccine to the extent that we trust institutions. None of us, except for very few elite scientists truly understand in depth all the studies, all the details of the vaccine. The vast majority of people are taking the vaccine because they trust the CDC, the FDA, the federal government, and the state and local public health officials. Whats happened with American evangelicals is that the level of distrust of institutions has skyrocketed in the last five to 10 years. Thats why youre seeing so much pervasive distrust of the vaccine. Over 50 percent of white evangelicals in particular say theyre not getting the vaccine.
On the forces driving vaccine hesitancy among evangelicals: Historically, the evangelical movement has baked into it a certain wariness of dominant secular institutions. And this can be captured in the saying that Jesus called us to be in the world, not of the world. Were not of the world in the sense of just conforming automatically to the assumptions and beliefs the world. But whats happened is that this orientation of being being wary has gotten weaponized.
Theres been three main forces that I think have done that: One is that you can actually gain a lot of ratings by playing up those fears of what Washington is doing or what the left is doing. Christians are bombarded by so much conservative media that they automatically just assume theyre out to get us. Another one is that conservative politicians have realized that you can gain a lot of votes by playing up these fears. And then the third is sort of outside conspiracy movements. QAnon, the anti-vaxxer movementthey have realized that evangelicals are fertile hunting grounds for their theories, because they are already primed to be distrustful of institutions, and so they can be easily kind of recruited into their deep conspiracies of distrust.
On vaccine persuasion through biblical and spiritual grounds: Whats happening in these churches is that the pastors are under enormous pressure. Theyve already been caught in the sense of their congregation being more radicalized than they arethe polls show that the majority of evangelical pastors are pro-vaccine. But they realize that if they go up and speak very strongly about this Sunday morning, on Monday morning, theyre getting a raft of angry emails from people who have been listening to Tucker Carlson seven days a week. You talk to many evangelical pastors, theyre treading a fine line with realizing that they cannot go too far in the direction of masking or vaccines, even if they personally believe that thats the right thing to do, for fear of the backlash.
Were trying to put that message out there and not put all the burden on a local Christian pastor. If somebodys gonna get mad, theyll get mad at me, they wont get mad at a pastor. But because these are short, shareable videos, they can get injected into actually where I think a lot of this battle is being fought. Its not going to be fought on Sunday morning, because again, pastors are going to be too disincentivized to preach on this. Its being fought on social media and in social networks, between somebody in the church is willing to share some information about the vaccine that counters the mark of the beast fear or that theres a tracking chip, or this is a form of government control, and so forth. Its the extreme anti-vaxxers that really get a lot of publicity, but I think theres a large percentage of evangelicals that are still movable, and they are increasingly movable, because of what theyre theyre seeing with Delta and the increasing rates.
On coercion tactics to convince the unvaccinated: I understand people are frustrated, theyre losing patience, they just want to make things via mandate and give up trying to persuade people. I think thats short-sighted for a couple of reasons. If you just resort to sheer coercion, it confirms the narrative that theyre out to get us, that theyre shoving things down our throat. Youre just laying the groundwork for a deepening divide. The second reason is were still in the first or second inning of vaccine outreach globally. Parts of Africa and Asia are heavily influenced by Christian culture. A country like Uganda is like 90 percent Christian. Those churches, those places in Africa, they actually take their cultural cues to a great extent from American evangelicals, especially leading white evangelical voices. So America isunfortunately, through evangelical cultureexporting its vaccine hesitancy. A lot of the same conspiracy theories and doubts and fears that weve been battling here, we are definitely seeing emerge and being replicated in the rest of the world. Changing American culture is not just about getting more American evangelicals to take the vaccine, its going to be critical to getting the rest of the world vaccinated. And ultimately, for all of us, if we dont get the entire world vaccinated, were all at risk.
On the next phase of the pandemic: Whats going to be really important is for Christians to convey to other Christians is that its okay to change your mind. The virtues of grace and acceptance are going to be paramount here because people are going to be even more resistant if they think that in changing their mind they are going to be shamed.
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This Former Pastor Is Changing Evangelicals' Minds on COVID Vaccines Mother Jones - Mother Jones
How DeepMind’s John Jumper unlocked the 3D secret to proteins – Fast Company
When John Jumper joined Alphabet-owned, London-based AI lab DeepMind in 2017, he was tasked with building algorithms to predict the 3-D shape of proteins, which is key to developing an array of new drugsand a job that has long daunted mere humans. AlphaFold, the software his team he developed, went on to win a biannual protein-prediction competition called CASP last November, dazzling the scientific community and inspiring comparisons to such breakthroughs as the 1953 discovery of DNAs double-helix structure. I always believed it should be solvable, says Jumper, who has a background in physics, chemistry, and mathematics. He credits DeepMinds success to both concerted teamwork and a series of epiphanies along the way about how proteins work. In July , the company followed up on its achievement by publishing the scientific paper and source code behind AlphaFold, and then releasing predictions for all the human bodys proteins as well as those for 20 other organisms.
AlphaFolds real impact will come as researchers at DeepMind and elsewhere leverage its insights. When future pandemics strike, it could speed the creation of vaccines, for example. But Jumper is particularly excited by the potential to help treat rarer, under-researched ailments such as tropical diseases. And he stresses that AlphaFold will lead to additional breakthroughs: That this problem that was intractable for 50 years has been solved is really promising for what [AI-based medical research] is going to look like in five and 10 years.
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How DeepMind's John Jumper unlocked the 3D secret to proteins - Fast Company
How to avoid falling asleep during meditation – The Indian Express
If you are someone who finds themselves nodding off while trying to meditate and feels like meditation is an effort and not for you, you may be at the right place.
That is because Swami Purnachaitanya, a yogi and senior meditation teacher with The Art of Living, and author of Looking Inward: Meditation To Survive In A Changing World, has some very practical tips to help you power through it with ease and effortlessness.
These tips will make sure a practice like meditation, which is being done by about 500 million people world over, does not seem alien to you any more, he said.
Am I meditating or sleeping?
Sometimes we are not even sure of our experience as we begin the journey of meditation. We only relate to sleep as a form of deep rest, which is a limited understanding.
Many times when people say that they feel sleepy or dozed off during meditation, they are actually meditating properly, says Swami Purnachaitanya, The problem is that until now, most of us only associate deep rest with sleep, and therefore when we experience a state where the mind is so relaxed, and we are not so aware of our surroundings, we automatically think that we must have been sleeping or dozing off. However, if you are still aware of coming out of the meditation, or listening to any instructions in the case of a guided meditation, then know that you were not sleeping. Because if you would have been, you would not have heard those instructions either.
Here are a few things one can do to help improve experience, and go deeper.
Tip 1: Let the body be comfortable
Meditation is the art of relaxing, of letting go. And for the mind to be able to relax and settle down, first the body needs to be comfortable. So make sure that you find a comfortable place to sit, where you can keep your back straight, but which is comfortable enough for you to be able to sit for some time without having to change your posture. It is perfectly okay to sit on a chair, sofa, or some comfortable cushion you need not sit on a deerskin on the hard floor to succeed in your meditation practice! Remember, when the body is not comfortable, the mind will also have a very difficult time settling down.
Tip 2: Moving a little before settling down for meditation
For the body, and mind, to be able to settle down more easily for some time, do some exercise before you sit for your meditation. Even five minutes is good enough, and anything that will help you spend some of the extra energy and get rid of that annoying restlessness will do the trick. Whether you want to jump up and down a little, dance, go for a jog, or anything else is up to you. See the mind as a little child it will not listen to reason, and it will not sit down quietly, unless you make it run around the house a few times. Then, when tired, it will sit quietly for sometime, even without you telling it to do so!
Tip 3: Stay still!
One secret to make the mind settle down and meditate more easily is to keep the body totally still at least for some time. The body and mind are connected, and just like the body will have difficulty sitting still when the mind is very restless, it works the other way around as well. Keep your body totally still, and you will start seeing that the mind will also become calmer and calmer, settling down gradually.
Tip 4: Attend to your breath
Another secret to make the mind slow down and become calmer, is to pay attention to the breath. When you slow down your breathing, breathing more deeply and steadily, the mind will also start settling down. Practicing a few minutes of breathwork techniques or pranayama can greatly enhance ones meditation experience, as it prepares the mind by energising and settling it even before you start your meditation.
Tip 5: Watch what you eat, for a superior meditative experience
At the risk of stating the obvious, it should also be mentioned that our meals have an impact on our state of mind and thus the quality of your meditation as well. As is said in Hindi jaisa ann, waisa mann, which could be translated loosely as the food you eat determines your state of mind. If you have a lot of fried, oily, sugary foods, the mind will naturally be more restless and agitated, or dull. Having more healthy, easily digestible food will lead to a more calm, peaceful and clear state of mind. And it helps to meditate when your stomach is a little empty, or your last meal is digested mostly. After you eat something, your metabolism goes up to digest the food, but during meditation, your metabolism goes down, as your whole system enters a state of deep rest and relaxation. Knowing this much would make it clear why both are quite opposite in nature, and do not go together that well. Of course, this does not mean that some people cannot meditate after a big meal, but here we would like to make it easier for people, rather than making it more difficult by quoting some exceptions. Let us take the easier path.
Tip 6: This is how you can deal with too many thoughts
A common misunderstanding about meditation is that you cannot, or should not, have any thoughts during meditation. A regular and proper meditation practice will no doubt reduce the number and intensity of thoughts that you get, even throughout the day, and result in more positive and pleasant thoughts, but this is more like a side-effect or natural result of meditation. Having a lot of thoughts does not necessarily mean that you are not meditating, or that you are not progressing. When the body and mind settle and experience deep rest, it is natural for the nervous system to unburden itself, and let go of stresses and strains that it has accumulated. These may be released on the physical level in the form of some sensations, pain, or stiffness, or on the mental level as random thoughts. In this case, therefore, having these thoughts come and go on their own is actually a sign that you are meditating properly.
However, when the thoughts coming up are not allowing you to settle down, or they are about some things that you still need to do, or upset about, or anxious about, then they may not allow you to meditate properly. If this happens regularly you can pay some attention to your diet (having some lighter, fresh food, and less spices, fried, oily and heavy items), and your exercise routine. Just doing a few minutes of exercise before you sit for your meditation may already help you to spend some of that pent-up extra energy or restlessness, that we call Rajas or Rajoguna.
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How to avoid falling asleep during meditation - The Indian Express