tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/discovery-20522/articlesDiscovery – The Conversation2024-02-26T05:03:51Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2225992024-02-26T05:03:51Z2024-02-26T05:03:51ZSecrets in the canopy: scientists discover 8 striking new bee species in the Pacific<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577494/original/file-20240222-16-pcdtt5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2000&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">James Dorey Photography</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>After a decade searching for new species of bees in forests of the Pacific Islands, all we had to do was look up. </p>
<p>We soon found <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2024.1339446/full">eight new species</a> of masked bees in the forest canopy: six in Fiji, one in French Polynesia and another in Micronesia. Now we expect to find many more. </p>
<p>Forest-dwelling bees evolved for thousands of years alongside native plants, and play unique and important roles in nature. Studying these species can help us better understand bee evolution, diversity and conservation.</p>
<p>Almost <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-023-02626-w">21,000 bee species are known to science</a>. Many more remain undiscovered. But it’s a race against time, as the twin challenges of habitat loss and climate change threaten bee survival. We need to identify and protect bee species before they disappear forever.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577774/original/file-20240225-24-qvx9ve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of research students using stepping stones to cross a creek in the rainforest while carrying sampling nets on short poles" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577774/original/file-20240225-24-qvx9ve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577774/original/file-20240225-24-qvx9ve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577774/original/file-20240225-24-qvx9ve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577774/original/file-20240225-24-qvx9ve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577774/original/file-20240225-24-qvx9ve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577774/original/file-20240225-24-qvx9ve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577774/original/file-20240225-24-qvx9ve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Searching for bees in the rainforest on Vanua Levu, formerly known as Sandalwood Island, the second largest island of Fiji.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">James Dorey Photography</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Introducing the new masked bees</h2>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/brv.12947">Pollinators abound in forests</a>. But scientific research has tended to focus on bees living closer to the ground.</p>
<p>We believe this sampling bias is replicated across much of the world. For example, another related Oceanic masked bee, <em>Pharohylaeus lactiferus</em> (a cloaked bee), was recently found in the canopy <a href="https://theconversation.com/phantom-of-the-forest-after-100-years-in-hiding-i-rediscovered-the-rare-cloaked-bee-in-australia-156026">after 100 years in hiding</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577776/original/file-20240225-30-ni8m63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Closeup of one of the new masked bees showing the yellow markings on its face" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577776/original/file-20240225-30-ni8m63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577776/original/file-20240225-30-ni8m63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577776/original/file-20240225-30-ni8m63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577776/original/file-20240225-30-ni8m63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577776/original/file-20240225-30-ni8m63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577776/original/file-20240225-30-ni8m63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577776/original/file-20240225-30-ni8m63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This masked bee was collected from a canopy-flowering mistletoe near Mount Nadarivatu on Viti Levu, Fiji.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">James Dorey Photography</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4674.1.1">first decade of bee sampling</a> in Fiji turned up only one bee from the genus <em>Hylaeus</em>. This bee probably belonged in the canopy so we were very lucky to catch it near the ground. Targeted attempts over the next few years, using our standard short insect nets, failed to find any more. </p>
<p>But this changed when we turned our attention to searching the forest canopy. </p>
<p>Sampling in the canopy is physically challenging. Strength and skill are required to sweep a long, heavy net and pole through the treetops. It’s quite a workout. We limit our efforts to the edges of forests, where branches won’t tangle the whole contraption.</p>
<p>By lifting our gaze in this way, we discovered eight new bee species, all in the genus <em>Hylaeus</em>. They are mostly black with stunning yellow or white highlights, especially on their faces – hence the name, masked bees. </p>
<p>They appear to rely exclusively on the forest canopy. This behaviour is striking and has rarely been identified in bees before (perhaps because few scientists have been looking for bees up there). </p>
<p>Because the new species live in forests and native tree tops, they’re likely to be vulnerable to land clearing, cyclones and climate change. </p>
<p>More work is needed to uncover the secrets hidden in these dense tropical treetops. It may require engineering solutions such as canopy cranes and drones, as well as skilful tree-climbing using ropes, pulleys and harnesses.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/move-over-honeybees-aussie-native-bees-steal-the-show-with-unique-social-and-foraging-behaviours-200536">Move over, honeybees: Aussie native bees steal the show with unique social and foraging behaviours</a>
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</p>
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<h2>Michener’s missing links</h2>
<p>The journey of bees across the Pacific region is a tale of great dispersals and isolation.</p>
<p>Almost 60 years ago, world-renowned bee expert <a href="https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/787658">Charles Michener described</a> what was probably the most isolated masked bee around, <em>Hylaeus tuamotuensis</em>. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577779/original/file-20240225-16-iay0de.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Searching for bees on Fiji’s highest peak, Mount Tomanivi, here two researchers are picking a path through dense undergrowth while carrying nets on short poles" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577779/original/file-20240225-16-iay0de.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577779/original/file-20240225-16-iay0de.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577779/original/file-20240225-16-iay0de.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577779/original/file-20240225-16-iay0de.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577779/original/file-20240225-16-iay0de.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577779/original/file-20240225-16-iay0de.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577779/original/file-20240225-16-iay0de.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fiji’s highest peak, Mount Tomanivi, is home to unique bee species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">James Dorey Photography</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The specimen was found in French Polynesia. At the time, Michener said that was “entirely unexpected”, because the nearest relatives were, as the bee flies, 4,000km north in Hawaii, 5,000km southwest in New Zealand, and 6,000km west in Australia. </p>
<p>So how did it get there and where did it come from?</p>
<p>Our research helps to answer these questions. We found eight new <em>Hylaeus</em> species including one from French Polynesia. Using genetic analysis and other methods, we found strong links between these species and <em>H. tuamotuensis</em>. </p>
<p>So Michener’s bee was probably an ancient immigrant from Fiji, 3,000km away. A journey of that magnitude is no mean feat for bees smaller than a grain of rice.</p>
<p>Of course, there are <a href="https://geoscienceletters.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40562-016-0041-8">more than 1,700 islands in the Pacific</a>, which can serve as stepping stones for bees on their long journeys. </p>
<p>We don’t yet know how many new <em>Hylaeus</em> species might exist in the South Pacific, or the routes they took to get to their island homes. But we suspect there are many more to be found.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/phantom-of-the-forest-after-100-years-in-hiding-i-rediscovered-the-rare-cloaked-bee-in-australia-156026">Phantom of the forest: after 100 years in hiding, I rediscovered the rare cloaked bee in Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Our Pacific emissaries</h2>
<p>The early origins of Fijian bees – both <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03721426.2020.1740957">ground-dwelling <em>Homalictus</em></a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2012.10.018">forest-loving <em>Hylaeus</em></a> – can be traced to the ancient past when Australia and New Guinea were part of one land mass, known as Sahul. The ancestors of both groups then undertook epic oceanic journeys to travel from Sahul to the furthest reaches of the Pacific, where they diversified. But the <em>Hylaeus</em> travelled furthest, by thousands of kilometres.</p>
<p>These little emissaries have similarly brought together researchers across the region. We resolved difficulties sampling and gathering knowledge by working with people across the Pacific, including Fiji, French Polynesia, and Hawaii. It shows what can be accomplished with international collaboration. </p>
<p>Together we are making great strides towards understanding our shared bee biodiversity. Such collaborations are our best chance of discovering and conserving species while we can.</p>
<p><em>We would like to thank Ben Parslow and Karl Magnacca for their contribution to this article. We would further like to thank our collaborators and their home institutions, the Hawiian Department of Land and Natural Resources, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, University of the South Pacific, the South Australian Museum and Adelaide University.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222599/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James B. Dorey has received funding for this work from The Playford Trust as a PhD and Honours scholarship recipient, Flinders University through the AJ and IM Naylon PhD Scholarship, and the Australian Government through the New Colombo Plan . He is affiliated with both Flinders University and the University of Wollongong.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy-Marie Gilpin is affiliated with the School of Science and Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University. Funding to publish this work was in part provided by Western Sydney University. Amy-Marie is also a member of the IUCN Wild Bee Specialist Group Oceania. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Olivia Davies does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>By lifting their gaze to the treetops rather than poking around on the ground, researchers discovered eight new species of masked bees.James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of WollongongAmy-Marie Gilpin, Lecturer in Invertebrate Ecology, Western Sydney UniversityOlivia Davies, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2216062024-02-20T03:59:52Z2024-02-20T03:59:52ZThe art of ‘getting lost’: how re-discovering your city can be an antidote to capitalism<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576389/original/file-20240219-18-goulp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C23%2C3943%2C1947&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Do you remember what it was like to discover the magic of a city for the first time? Do you remember the noises, smells, flashing lights and pulsating crowds? Or do you mostly remember cities through the screen of your phone?</p>
<p>In 1967, French philosopher and filmmaker Guy Debord <a href="https://files.libcom.org/files/The%20Society%20of%20the%20Spectacle%20Annotated%20Edition.pdf">publicised the need</a> to move away from living our lives as bystanders continually tempted by the power of images. Today, we might see this in a young person flicking from one TikTok to the next – echoing the hold images have on us. But adults aren’t adverse to this window-shopping experience, either.</p>
<p>Debord notes we have a tendency to observe rather than engage. And this is to our detriment. Continually topping-up our image consumption leaves no space for the unplanned – the reveries to break the pattern of an ordered life. </p>
<p>Debord was a member of a group called the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Situationist-International">Situationist International</a>, dedicated to new ways we could reflect upon and experience our cities. Active for about 15 years, they believed we should experience our cities as an act of resistance, in direct opposition to the (profit-motivated) capitalistic structures that demand our attention and productivity every waking hour.</p>
<p>More than 50 years since the group dissolved, the Situationists’ philosophy points us to a continued need to attune ourselves – through our thoughts and senses – to the world we live in. We might consider them as early eco-warriors. And through better understanding their philosophy, we can develop a new relationship with our cities today. </p>
<h2>Understanding the ‘situation’</h2>
<p>The Situationist International movement was <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt183p61x">formed</a> in 1957 in Cosio di Arroscia, Italy, and became active in several European countries. It brought together radical artists inspired by spontaneity, experimentalism, intellectualism, protest and hedonism. Central figures included Danish artist <a href="https://museumjorn.dk/en/">Asger Jorn</a>, French novelist <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/author/michele-bernstein-10219/">Michèle Bernstein</a> and Italian musician and composer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Olmo">Walter Olmo</a>. </p>
<p>The Situationists were driven by a <a href="https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/34141">libertarian form of Marxism</a> that resisted mass consumerism. One of the group’s early terms was “unitary urbanism”, which sought to join avant-garde art with the critique of mass production and technology. They rejected “urbanism’s” conventional emphasis on function, and instead thought about art and the environment as inexorably interrelated.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576377/original/file-20240219-20-4pucih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576377/original/file-20240219-20-4pucih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576377/original/file-20240219-20-4pucih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576377/original/file-20240219-20-4pucih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576377/original/file-20240219-20-4pucih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576377/original/file-20240219-20-4pucih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576377/original/file-20240219-20-4pucih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576377/original/file-20240219-20-4pucih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Times Square in the modern day. The Situationists viewed consumerism as oppressive forces that should be rebelled against.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By rebelling against the invasiveness of consumption, the Situationists proposed a turn towards artistically-inspired individuality and creativity.</p>
<h2>Think on your own two feet</h2>
<p>According to the 1960 <a href="https://hts3.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/situationist-international-manifesto.pdf">Situationist Manifesto</a> we are all to be artists of our own “situations”, crafting independent identities as we stand on our own two feet. They believed this could be achieved, in part, through “<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/p/psychogeography#:%7E:text=Psychogeography%20describes%20the%20effect%20of,emotions%20and%20behaviour%20of%20individuals">psychogeography</a>”: the idea that geographical locations exert a unique psychological effect on us.</p>
<p>For instance, when you walk down a street, the architecture around you may be deliberately designed to encourage a certain kind of experience. Crossing a vibrant city square on a sunny morning evokes joy and a feeling of connection with others. There’s also usually a public event taking place. </p>
<p>The Situationists valued drift, or <em>dérive</em> in French. This alludes to unplanned movement through a landscape during journeys on foot. By drifting aimlessly, we unintentionally redefine the traditional rules imposed by private or public land owners and property developers. We make ourselves open to the new unexpected and, in doing so, are liberated from the shackles of everyday routine.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-10-8100-2">our research</a>, my colleagues and I consider cities as places in which “getting lost” means exposing yourself to discovering the new and taken-for-granted. </p>
<h2>Forge your own path</h2>
<p>By understanding the Situationists – by looking away from our phones and allowing ourselves to get lost – we can rediscover our cities. We can see them for what they are beneath the blankets of posters, billboards and advertisements. How might we take back the image and make it work for us?</p>
<p>The practise of geo-tagging images on social media, and sharing our location with others, could be considered close to the spirit of the Situationists. Although it’s often met with claims of <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/when-why-not-to-use-geotagging-overtourism-security">over-fuelling tourism</a> (especially regarding idyllic or otherwise protected sites), geo-tagging could <a href="https://www.melaninbasecamp.com/trip-reports/2019/5/1/five-reasons-why-you-should-keep-geotagging">inspire us</a> to actively seek out new places through visiting the source of an image. </p>
<p>This could lead to culturally respectful engagement, and new-found respect for the rights of traditional custodians as we experience their lands in real life, rather than just through images on our phones.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576619/original/file-20240219-28-6bptso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576619/original/file-20240219-28-6bptso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576619/original/file-20240219-28-6bptso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576619/original/file-20240219-28-6bptso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576619/original/file-20240219-28-6bptso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576619/original/file-20240219-28-6bptso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576619/original/file-20240219-28-6bptso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576619/original/file-20240219-28-6bptso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Online, there’s a strong temptation to fall into the spectator role by merely consuming other people’s content. Geo-tagging offers a way to share experiences.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Then there are uniquely personal and anarchistic forms of resistance, wherein we can learn about the world around us by interweaving ourselves with our histories. In doing so we offer a new meaning to a historical message, and a new purpose. The Situationists called this process <em><a href="https://www.theartstory.org/movement/situationist-international/">détournement</a></em>, or hijacking. </p>
<p>For instance, from my grandfather I inherited a biscuit tin of black and white photographs I believe were taken in the 1960s. They showed images of parks and wildlife, perhaps even of the same park, and cityscapes of London with people, streets and buildings. </p>
<p>I have spent many hours wandering the London streets tracking down the exact places these images were snapped. I was juxtaposing past with present, and experiencing both continuity and change in the dialogues I had with my grandfather. In this way, I used images to augment (rather than replace) my lived experience of the material world. </p>
<p>Urban art installations can also be examples of detournment as they make us re-think everyday conceptions. <a href="https://www.cityartsydney.com.au/artwork/forgotten-songs/">Forgotten Songs</a> by Michael Hill is one such example. A canopy of empty birdcages commemorates the songs of 50 different birds once heard in central Sydney, but which are now lost due to habitat removal as a result of urban development. </p>
<p>There are also a number of groups, often with a strong environmental or civic rights focus, that partake in detournment. <a href="https://popularresistance.org/dancing-revolution-how-90s-protests-used-rave-culture-to-reclaim-the-streets/">Reclaim the Streets</a> is a movement with a long history in Australia. The group advocates for communities having ownership of and agency within public spaces. They may, for instance, “invade” a highway to throw a “<a href="https://pasttenseblog.files.wordpress.com/2022/02/road-rave.pdf">road rave</a>” as an act of reclamation. </p>
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<p>As French avant-garde philosopher <a href="https://www.themarginalian.org/2014/07/24/the-poetics-of-reverie-gaston-bachelard/">Gaston Bachelard</a> might have put it, when we’re bombarded by images there is no space left to daydream. We lose the opportunity to explore and question the world capitalism serves us through images. </p>
<p>Perhaps now is a good time to set down the phone and follow in the Situationists’ footsteps. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-you-want-size-with-that-the-mcmansion-malaise-1563">Do you want size with that? The McMansion malaise</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221606/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Dobson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>‘Situationists’ believe the physical spaces around us, and how we interact with them, has a significant impact on how we feel.Stephen Dobson, Professor and Dean of Education and the Arts, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2191362023-12-12T14:42:58Z2023-12-12T14:42:58ZMadagascar cave art hints at ancient connections between Africa and Asia<p>Unique, prehistoric rock art drawings have been discovered in the Andriamamelo Cave in western Madagascar. </p>
<p>I was part of a team that <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15564894.2020.1749735">discovered and described</a> these ancient treasures. They’re the first truly pictorial art, depicting images of nature with human-like and animal-like figures, to be seen on the island. Until recently, rock art in Madagascar had only yielded a few sites with basic symbols.</p>
<p>The dramatic discoveries contained several surprises, including hints at some remarkable cultural connections. </p>
<p>First, scenes depicted in some cases linked up fairly directly to Egyptian religious motifs from the Ptolemaic period (300-30 BCE). </p>
<p>Second, other inferences from symbols and writing on the walls showed connections to the Ethiopian and Afro-Arab worlds. </p>
<p>Finally, prevalent symbology and motifs evoked a two-millennia-old cave art style from Borneo. </p>
<p>An additional realm of surprises: at least three extinct animals of Madagascar (thought to have been extinct for many centuries) may be depicted – a giant sloth lemur, elephant birds and a giant tortoise. </p>
<p>It has long been believed – and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/30846019_The_Culture_History_of_Madagascar">evidence</a> has confirmed – that the people, language, and culture of Madagascar are rooted in distant ancient connections to Borneo, an island in south-east Asia, combined with strong influences from continental eastern Africa.</p>
<p>However, who the first Malagasy were, when they arrived, and what they did after that, are all hotly <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277379119303282?via%3Dihub">debated</a> topics.</p>
<p>Though our findings are speculative, any information that might be derived from the Andriamamelo Cave evidence is of considerable interest to the reconstruction of Malagasy early history.</p>
<h2>Connections beyond Madagascar</h2>
<p>Our research group – including Malagasy scientists from local institutions, and American, British and Australian specialists – visited the site near the village of Anahidrano on the north-west edge of the 17,100-hectare Beanka protected area in 2013. </p>
<p>Our team spent several days recording the images, surveying and mapping the entire cave, searching for associated archaeological sites, and interviewing local villagers regarding the art. It took several years, however, to search through relevant literature and museum archives to confirm the uniqueness and significance of what we’d found.</p>
<p>We made digital copies and hand-drawings of 72 cave-art objects. These were drawn in black pigment and included 16 animals, six human forms, two human-animal hybrid forms, two geometric designs, 16 examples of an M-shaped symbol, and many other patterns and indistinct forms. </p>
<p>Egyptian connections are hinted at in eight major images, including a falcon (Horus); the bird-headed god Thoth; the ostrich goddess Ma`at and two human-animal figures which were similar to Anubis – an ancient Egyptian god usually depicted as a man with a canine head. </p>
<p>The ubiquitous and mysterious M-figures demand explanation: we suggested, after searching many relevant alphabets, that it is a perfect match for only one, the letter “hawt” (ሐ) in the ancient Ethiopian Amharic alphabet, pronounced “ha”.</p>
<p>Surprisingly, though, we also found this symbol in cave art from Borneo thought to be about 2,000 years old, and in no other cave or rock art throughout the Indo-Pacific region. In some Austronesian languages (the diverse language family that extends from Malagasy on the west to distant Hawaii and Rapa Nui in the Pacific), the word “ha” is a term for the “breath of life”. </p>
<p>All these possible connections remind us that Madagascar’s people, language, and culture are in themselves syncretic, blending African and Asian influences to produce a unique Malagasy people.</p>
<p>The richly detailed and diverse art is notable also for what it doesn’t show. </p>
<p>No Christian, Muslim or Hindu symbolism is depicted, and no relatively modern motifs such as the Latin alphabet, cars, airplanes or flags. Even the ubiquitous zebu (cattle), the culturally paramount symbol of the last thousand years or more in Madagascar, are absent.</p>
<h2>When and whose</h2>
<p>It’s hard to know exactly when these drawings were made. Direct dating of cave art is notoriously difficult, and proved so in this case as the black pigment was made from dark inorganic minerals with only a small component of charcoal we could use for radiocarbon dating. </p>
<p>The presence of extinct animals, and the lack of modern motifs and the alphabet used in modern Malagasy, weigh heavily against the notion of a recent origin for the art.</p>
<p>We suspect that the art is about 2,000 years old – dating back to the time of Cleopatra or before, based on the religious motifs. If it is, that is remarkable and useful to know because it may provide evidence for who colonised Madagascar and when.</p>
<p>If, on the other hand, a set of pre-Christian religious beliefs has survived for centuries or even millennia among certain ethnic groups in very remote areas of the immense island – retaining recognisable influences from Egypt, Ethiopia and Borneo – that would be perhaps more remarkable. Village informants hinted at that possibility, by insisting that the “sorcerer” pictured was a member of a mysterious group of “Vazimba” or “Bosy”) who lived in the forest nearby.</p>
<p>So, whose art is this? We wish we knew, but clues are mostly lacking. The only possible writing, besides the M-figures, is a line of faint script in the lower right corner of this rock-art extravaganza. </p>
<p>Our best guess is that the legible middle six of eight characters, inferred to be <em>sorabe</em>, archaic Malagasy writing in Arabic script, may say “D-A-NT-IA-R-K”. </p>
<p>Does that refer to Antiochus IV Epiphanes? This king of the Seleucid Empire (western Asia) in the Ptolemaic period built a large navy, conquered much of Egypt in 170 BCE, and sent exploring and trading expeditions down the Red Sea and the east African coast. Ivory traders in that period <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/200009">spread</a> Roman goods as far south as ports in Tanzania south of Zanzibar, to trade with Azania. </p>
<p>Until more art or relevant archaeological evidence turns up for ancient African and Asian influences in Madagascar, we can only speculate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219136/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Burney received funding from the National Geographic Society for the field research leading to these discoveries.</span></em></p>Rock art from a Malagasy cave hints at some remarkable cultural connections.David Burney, Professor of Conservation Paleobiology, National Tropical Botanical Garden, and Adjunct Professor, University of HawaiiLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1960532023-01-01T19:39:45Z2023-01-01T19:39:45ZExploring the mathematical universe – connections, contradictions, and kale<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502042/original/file-20221220-22-x7dzft.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=443%2C71%2C3293%2C1886&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/The Conversation</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Science and maths skills are widely celebrated as keys to economic and technological progress, but abstract mathematics may seem bafflingly far from industrial optimisation or medical imaging. Pure mathematics often yields unanticipated applications, but without a time machine to look into the future, how do mathematicians like me choose what to study?</p>
<p>Over Thai noodles, I asked some colleagues what makes a problem interesting, and they offered a slew of suggestions: surprises, contradictions, patterns, exceptions, special cases, connections. These answers might sound quite different, but they all support a view of the mathematical universe as a structure to explore. </p>
<p>In this view, mathematicians are like anatomists learning how a body works, or navigators charting new waters. The questions we ask take many forms, but the most interesting ones are those that help us see the big picture more clearly. </p>
<h2>Making maps</h2>
<p>Mathematical objects come in many forms. Some of them are probably quite familiar, like numbers and shapes. Others might seem more exotic, like equations, functions and symmetries.</p>
<p>Instead of just naming objects, a mathematicians might ask how some class of objects is organised. Take prime numbers: we know there are infinitely many of them, but we need a structural understanding to work out how frequently they occur or to identify them in an efficient way.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500648/original/file-20221213-9515-576dx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A grid of blue dots" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500648/original/file-20221213-9515-576dx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500648/original/file-20221213-9515-576dx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500648/original/file-20221213-9515-576dx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500648/original/file-20221213-9515-576dx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500648/original/file-20221213-9515-576dx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500648/original/file-20221213-9515-576dx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500648/original/file-20221213-9515-576dx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The ‘Ulam spiral’ reveals some structure in the primes. If you arrange the counting numbers in squares spiralling outward, it becomes clear that many prime numbers fall on diagonal lines.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulam_spiral#/media/File:Spirale_Ulam_150.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>Other good questions explore relationships between apparently different objects. For example, shapes have symmetry, but so do the solutions to some equations. </p>
<p>Classifying objects and finding connections between them help us assemble a coherent map of the mathematical world. Along the way, we sometimes encounter surprising examples that defy the patterns we’ve inferred. </p>
<p>Such apparent contradictions reveal where our understanding is still lacking, and resolving them provides valuable insight.</p>
<h2>Consider the triangle</h2>
<p>The humble triangle provides a famous example of an apparent contradiction. Most people think of a triangle as the shape formed by three connecting line segments, and this works well for the geometry we can draw on a sheet of paper. </p>
<p>However, this notion of triangle is limited. On a surface with no straight lines, like a sphere or a curly kale leaf, we need a more flexible definition. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pythagoras-revenge-humans-didnt-invent-mathematics-its-what-the-world-is-made-of-172034">Pythagoras’ revenge: humans didn’t invent mathematics, it’s what the world is made of</a>
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<p>So, to extend geometry to surfaces that aren’t flat, an open-minded mathematician might propose a new definition of a triangle: pick three points and connect each pair by the shortest path between them. </p>
<p>This is a great generalisation because it matches the familiar definition in the familiar setting, but it also opens up new terrain. When mathematicians first studied these generalised triangles in the 19th century, they solved a millennia-old mystery and revolutionised mathematics.</p>
<h2>The parallel postulate problem</h2>
<p>Around 300 BC, the Greek mathematician Euclid wrote a treatise on planar geometry called The Elements. This work presented both fundamental principles and results that were logically derived from them. </p>
<p>One of his principles, called the parallel postulate, is equivalent to the statement that the sum of the angles in any triangle is 180°. This is exactly what you’ll measure in every flat triangle, but later mathematicians debated whether the parallel postulate should be a foundational principle or just a consequence of the other fundamental assumptions. </p>
<p>This puzzle persisted until the 1800s, when mathematicians realised why a proof had remained so elusive: the parallel postulate is false on some surfaces. </p>
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<img alt="Image showing that a triangle on the surface of a sphere will have angles that add up to more than 180°, but on a hyperbolic surface will add up to less than 180°." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502079/original/file-20221220-18-yelmip.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502079/original/file-20221220-18-yelmip.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=265&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502079/original/file-20221220-18-yelmip.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=265&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502079/original/file-20221220-18-yelmip.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=265&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502079/original/file-20221220-18-yelmip.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502079/original/file-20221220-18-yelmip.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502079/original/file-20221220-18-yelmip.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>On a sphere, the sides of a triangle bend away from each other and the angles add up to more than 180°. On a rippled kale leaf, the sides bow in towards each other and the angle sum is less than 180°. </p>
<p>Triangles where the angle sum breaks the apparent rule led to the revelation that there are kinds of geometry Euclid never imagined. This is a deep truth, with applications in physics, computer graphics, fast algorithms, and beyond. </p>
<h2>Salad days</h2>
<p>People sometimes debate whether mathematics is discovered or invented, but both points of view feel real to those of us who study mathematics for a living. Triangles on a piece of kale are skinny whether or not we notice them, but selecting which questions to study is a creative enterprise. </p>
<p>Interesting questions arise from the friction between patterns we understand and the exceptions that challenge them. Progress comes when we reconcile apparent contradictions that pave the way to identify new ones. </p>
<p>Today we understand the geometry of two-dimensional surfaces well, so we’re equipped to test ourselves against similar questions about higher-dimensional objects.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/corals-crochet-and-the-cosmos-how-hyperbolic-geometry-pervades-the-universe-53382">Corals, crochet and the cosmos: how hyperbolic geometry pervades the universe</a>
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<p>In the past few decades we’ve learned that three-dimensional spaces also have their own innate geometries. The most interesting one is called hyperbolic geometry, and it turns out to act like a three-dimensional version of curly kale. We know this geometry exists, but it remains mysterious: in my own research field, there are lots of questions we can answer for any three-dimensional space … except the hyperbolic ones.</p>
<p>In higher dimensions we still have more questions than answers, but it’s safe to say that study of four-dimensional geometry is entering its salad days.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196053/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joan Licata does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Mathematicians are like anatomists learning how a body works, or navigators charting new waters.Joan Licata, Associate Professor, Mathematics, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1931652022-10-31T10:48:33Z2022-10-31T10:48:33ZCelibacy: family history of Tibetan monks reveals evolutionary advantages in monasticism – podcast<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491889/original/file-20221026-2505-can6ka.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C35%2C2606%2C1712&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tibetan monks at a monastry in Gansu province in China. New research shows sending a child to a monastery can have surprising evolutionary advantages for a family. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/xiahe-china-august-25-2018-buddhist-1847914357">Matyas Rehak/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the first episode of Discovery, an ongoing series available via <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/the-conversation-weekly-98901">The Conversation Weekly podcast</a>, we hear about new research with the families of Tibetan monks that suggests celibacy might have some surprising evolutionary advantages. </p>
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<p>High up on the Tibetan plateau in a remote province of China called Gansu, lie clues to help answer an enduring puzzle about human behaviour. Why would somebody do something that, on the face of it, appears costly to their chance of evolutionary success?</p>
<p>In the case of the Amdo Tibetan people, why would parents choose to send one of their young sons off to a life of celibacy in a monastery if it meant reducing the chance of having grandchildren? And by extension, reducing what they could pass down to future generations, be it genes, learning or cultural practices. </p>
<p>There are historical accounts of one in seven boys being sent to monasteries in this region of China, often at around the age of seven. “It has been described as mass monasticism,” explains Ruth Mace, a professor of anthropology at University College London in the UK.</p>
<p>After interviewing family members of monks in Gansu about their families and their livelihoods, Mace and her colleagues recently <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.0965">published research which found</a> that people with a monk for a brother had <a href="https://academic.oup.com/beheco/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/beheco/arac059/6708494?redirectedFrom=fulltext">higher reproductive success than others</a>. </p>
<p>Listen to the full episode to find out more about how Mace and her team went about their research and what it reveals about evolutionary biology. </p>
<p>More episodes of the Discovery series will be published via The Conversation Weekly every couple of weeks. </p>
<p><a href="https://podfollow.com/the-conversation-weekly/view"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491907/original/file-20221026-21-6c8otc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=212&fit=crop&dpr=1" alt="Promotional image for podcast" width="100%"></a>
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<em>Listen to episodes of Discovery by searching for <a href="https://podfollow.com/the-conversation-weekly/view">The Conversation Weekly</a> wherever you listen to podcasts.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>This episode was produced by Mend Mariwany, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. The executive producer was Gemma Ware. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. </p>
<p>You can find us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TC_Audio">@TC_Audio</a>, on Instagram at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theconversationdotcom/">theconversationdotcom</a> or <a href="mailto:podcast@theconversation.com">via email</a>. You can also sign up to The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/newsletter">free daily email here</a>. A transcript of this episode is <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2794/Discovery_Ep1_Celibacy_Transcript.pdf?1694452945">now available</a>.</p>
<p>Listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our <a href="https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/60087127b9687759d637bade">RSS feed</a>, or find out <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-listen-to-the-conversations-podcasts-154131">how else to listen here</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193165/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruth Mace receives funding from the European Research Council (ERC grant EvoBias). She is Editor-in-Chief of Evolutionary Human Sciences (a Cambridge University Press open access journal). She has previously been affiliated with The Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and Lanzhou University. Ruth Mace is currently a visitor at the Institute of Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST). </span></em></p>Listen to the first episode of Discovery, a new series available via The Conversation Weekly podcast, telling the stories of fascinating new research discoveries from around the world.Gemma Ware, Editor and Co-Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1469012020-09-30T18:53:12Z2020-09-30T18:53:12ZThe world’s southernmost tree hangs on in one of the windiest places on Earth – but climate change is shifting those winds<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360639/original/file-20200929-20-1q01p3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=507%2C0%2C3518%2C2854&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">On Isla Hornos, Magellan's beech trees grow in wind-protected nooks and crannies. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andres Holz</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>In 2019, my research team and I <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.05075">found the world’s southernmost tree</a> on an island at the edge of South America. The diminutive tree is 42 years old, stretches several meters along the ground but is only half a meter, or about a foot and a half, tall. In some other place, this tree would grow tall and upright, but here, incredible winds warp and constrain the tree both in height and in where it grows. And due to climate change, those winds are changing.</p>
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<p>Standing on the southern side of that wind-battered tree means all trees in the world are to your north, with nothing behind you but some grasses, ocean and Antarctica. Isla Hornos, also known as Cape Horn, supports a small population of <em>Nothofagus betuloides</em> – the Magellan’s beech or coigüe. Wind is omnipresent. Cape Horn is one of the windiest places on the planet, and during the expedition, our team faced hurricane-force winds of 75 mph for days at a time.</p>
<p>This wind appears to be the main constraint for arboreal life on the island – trees are found only in sheltered locations behind cliffs and hills. While the area hasn’t <a href="https://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/maps/index_v4.html">warmed dramatically</a>, climate change is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1197219">intensifying the westerly winds</a> that rake the region. Evidence from the nearby Falkland Islands also indicates that the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.4434">wind direction is shifting too</a>. Because of this, forests on Cape Horn that were previously growing in sheltered areas are now exposed to wind. We found long stretches of dead trees along the edges of the small forests, suggesting that shifting winds caused by climate change may be killing off trees even as new sheltered areas emerge.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360641/original/file-20200929-20-mvyzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two researchers stand behind a short, horizontally growing tree among grasses and backed by a large bay." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360641/original/file-20200929-20-mvyzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360641/original/file-20200929-20-mvyzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360641/original/file-20200929-20-mvyzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360641/original/file-20200929-20-mvyzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360641/original/file-20200929-20-mvyzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360641/original/file-20200929-20-mvyzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360641/original/file-20200929-20-mvyzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The researchers stand tall over the shrunken tree in the foreground during a rare break from the relentless, often hurricane-force winds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andres Holz</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Species must either migrate, adapt or die <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2013.04.003">in response to climate change</a>. By monitoring the geographic edges of where a species lives – like the southernmost tree our team found – scientists can get a handle on the migration ability of various species. This is important for prioritizing conservation plans or when considering more extreme measures, like assisted migration, to help species keep pace with climate change. </p>
<p>Wind has received relatively little attention in regards to setting the limits of species, but it is quite important on <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=1Dx-2ht4t0kC&oi=fnd&pg=PR3&dq=korner+treeline&ots=DAc3mTNNSl&sig=zRyGGyOLIaUKyzXQhhrbgtuZhuo">mountains</a>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ecog.01266">oceanic islands</a> and, as we now know, the overall global extent of trees. Changes in temperature and precipitation are often discussed as worries on a changing planet, but in places like Isla Hornos, climate change’s effect on wind matters just as much.</p>
<p>Additionally, this area is relatively pristine – we didn’t find a single invasive species, and there has been little human presence in the island, ever. As the climate changes, documenting this location so that scientists can know what is there and how it is changing is critical for future conservation.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Researchers still know relatively little about the southernmost forests of the world. While there is evidence that the winds have changed, the specific cause of death for forests can be determined only with long-term research. </p>
<p>Further, there are only short climatic records from the island. Even basic information – like the length of the growing season – is still unknown. Repeat studies will need to be done if scientists really want to learn how life is changing in this remote but globally significant locale.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360640/original/file-20200929-24-1fvkdga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A view from a boat of Isla Hornos, a small mountainous island covered in greens and browns." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360640/original/file-20200929-24-1fvkdga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360640/original/file-20200929-24-1fvkdga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360640/original/file-20200929-24-1fvkdga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360640/original/file-20200929-24-1fvkdga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360640/original/file-20200929-24-1fvkdga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360640/original/file-20200929-24-1fvkdga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360640/original/file-20200929-24-1fvkdga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Isla Hornos is remote, inhospitable and nearly untouched by humanity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brian Buma</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>Revisiting this landscape to set up long-term research is important given the unique nature of this global signpost – the world’s southernmost tree. More than that, however, I hope this expedition can rally people to study range edges around their own homes. </p>
<p>Together with <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/07/journey-to-the-worlds-southernmost-tree/">National Geographic</a>, <a href="https://www.esri.com/en-us/home">ESRI</a> and <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/">iNaturalist</a>, on Sept. 26, I launched an interactive exploration challenge called <a href="https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/29c6ac1c2f4e4f93beabba73a42ac7b1">The Edges of (All) Life exploration project</a>. Anybody can <a href="https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/29c6ac1c2f4e4f93beabba73a42ac7b1">look up the edges of species ranges in their own neighborhood</a> and go searching for an individual that will push those boundaries out farther. I may have found the world’s southernmost tree, but you could find the northernmost dogwood, the northernmost Douglas fir or the southernmost maidenhair fern. No matter where you live, there is likely a unique edge nearby, and finding these ranges is critically important for the conservation of that particular species.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146901/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian Buma receives funding from National Geographic.</span></em></p>A team of researchers found the southernmost tree and forest on Earth at the extreme tip of South America. Wind limits where trees grow on Isla Hornos and those wind patterns are shifting.Brian Buma, Assistant Professor of Integrative Biology, University of Colorado DenverLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1438762020-09-15T19:28:25Z2020-09-15T19:28:25ZTo be a great innovator, learn to embrace and thrive in uncertainty<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357546/original/file-20200910-21-64uoh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=134%2C114%2C4055%2C2761&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Innovators are comfortable dealing with uncertainty. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/lost-and-confused-businessman-walking-in-meadow-royalty-free-image/1181272310?adppopup=true">Gremlin/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Madam C.J. Walker, born Sarah Breedlove, was America’s first <a href="https://theconversation.com/netflixs-self-made-miniseries-about-madam-c-j-walker-leaves-out-the-mark-she-made-through-generosity-132848">female self-made millionaire</a>. She pioneered a line of hair care and beauty products for people of color early in the 20th century, and the recent Netflix series “Self Made” details the story of this talented innovator and the challenges she overcame on the way to her success.</p>
<p>To accomplish her goals, she had to face overwhelming uncertainties. How would she finance her business? Would her partnerships fail? Would her products sell? Would ruthless competition and racism get in her way? Madame Walker’s future was far from certain when she began her journey, but that did not dissuade her.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/358220/original/file-20200915-24-194sryj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A historical photo of Madam C.J. Walker" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/358220/original/file-20200915-24-194sryj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/358220/original/file-20200915-24-194sryj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=884&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358220/original/file-20200915-24-194sryj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=884&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358220/original/file-20200915-24-194sryj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=884&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358220/original/file-20200915-24-194sryj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1110&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358220/original/file-20200915-24-194sryj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1110&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358220/original/file-20200915-24-194sryj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1110&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Madam Walker was willing and able to face uncertain situations as she grew her business.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madam_C._J._Walker#/media/File:Madam_CJ_Walker_face_circa_1914.jpg">The Smithsonian via Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>It is tempting to think that innovators are a breed apart or perhaps lucky to be in the right place and time. But research shows this is not the case. So what characteristics do innovators like Madam Walker have that lead them to the seemingly serendipitous moment? What makes for a successful innovator or entrepreneur? </p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=qxpLL24AAAAJ">researcher and professor</a> who studies strategy and entrepreneurship. I am also myself an entrepreneur, angel investor and board member for startups and innovative firms. Pop culture might have you believe it is a tolerance for or even an obsession with risk that makes great innovators. But in fact, research has for decades demonstrated that innovators and entrepreneurs are <a href="https://hbr.org/2009/12/the-innovators-dna">no more risk-taking than the average person</a>.</p>
<p>Generally, innovators are much more comfortable making decisions under conditions of uncertainty than the average person. Additionally, innovators tend to have a set of skills that allows them to better navigate this uncertainty. My experience and research has shown that not only are these abilities effective, but they can also be learned and practiced and anyone can improve their innovation skills.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357548/original/file-20200910-14-srmeoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Dice with different numbers of sides of different colors." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357548/original/file-20200910-14-srmeoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357548/original/file-20200910-14-srmeoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357548/original/file-20200910-14-srmeoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357548/original/file-20200910-14-srmeoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357548/original/file-20200910-14-srmeoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357548/original/file-20200910-14-srmeoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357548/original/file-20200910-14-srmeoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">With dice, the risks are known but out of your control.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dice#/media/File:Dice_(typical_role_playing_game_dice).jpg">Diacritica via Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What is risk? What is uncertainty?</h2>
<p>Risk is when the factors determining success or failure are out of your control but the odds of success are known – a game of dice, for example. You can’t control whether a 2 or a 12 is rolled, but you know the odds.</p>
<p>Uncertainty is when the factors determining success or failure are not necessarily out of your control, but are simply unknown. It is accepting a challenge to play a game that you do not completely know the rules of. Innovators tend to be more willing to venture into the unknown, and therefore are more likely to engage in ambitious projects even when <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0149206305279486">outcomes and probabilities</a> are a mystery.</p>
<p>Interestingly, risk and uncertainty appear to trigger <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00927">activity in different parts of the brain</a>. Functional magnetic resonance imaging has allowed researchers to discover that risk analysis is a largely rational and calculation-driven process, but uncertainty triggers the ancient fight-or-flight part of the brain. This research would suggest that experienced innovators are better able to maintain their analytical capabilities in spite of the adrenaline and instinctual response that arises when confronting uncertainty.</p>
<p>Innovators don’t ignore risk; they are just better able to analyze it in uncertain situations.</p>
<h2>Skills of innovation can be learned</h2>
<p>The chemical response to risk and uncertainty may be hardwired in our brains, but that doesn’t mean you are either born an innovator or not. Innovative capacity can be learned. </p>
<p>Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen and the late Clay Christensen spent years investigating the characteristics of successful innovators and broadly divide the skills of innovation into two categories: <a href="https://hbr.org/2009/12/the-innovators-dna">delivery skills and discovery skills</a>. </p>
<p>Delivery skills include quantitative analysis, planning, detail-oriented implementation and disciplined execution. These are certainly essential characteristics for success in many occupations, but for innovation, discovery must come before delivery.</p>
<p>Discovery skills are the ones more involved in developing ideas and managing uncertain situations. The most notable are:</p>
<ul>
<li>The ability to draw connections between seemingly disparate ideas and contexts.</li>
<li>A tendency to question assumptions and the status quo. </li>
<li>A habit of looking at what is contributing to a problem before rushing to a solution.</li>
<li>The frequent use of systematic experimentation to prove hypotheses about cause and effect. </li>
<li>The ability to network and broaden a set of relationships, even without an intentional purpose. </li>
</ul>
<p>Like any skills, these can be learned and cultivated through a combination of guidance, practice and experience. By asking the right questions, being observant or mindful, experimenting and networking with the right supporters, innovators will be more likely to identify opportunity and succeed.</p>
<p>My colleagues’ and my own research and experience are summed up in our book “<a href="https://www.titaniceffect.com">The Titanic Effect</a>.” We describe the PEP model of successful entrepreneurs and innovators. It stands for passion, experience and persistence. </p>
<p>Successful innovators are passionate about the problem they are solving and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1212">share this passion</a> with friends and family, potential customers, supporters and other stakeholders. </p>
<p>Innovators also tend to have personal experience with the problem they are solving, and this yields valuable insight and firsthand knowledge.</p>
<p>Finally, innovation takes persistence. As Walker experienced, growing a business – even with proven products – does not happen overnight. It takes someone willing to push the boulder uphill to make it happen, and often, the more disruptive the innovation, the longer society may take to embrace it. Madam Walker amply <a href="https://www.titaniceffect.com/blog/2020/7/17/self-madewhat-can-startups-learn-from-madam-cj-walker">personifies the PEP model</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357549/original/file-20200910-18-1rvs6q2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A nurse setting up a telehealth appointment for an older man in his home." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357549/original/file-20200910-18-1rvs6q2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357549/original/file-20200910-18-1rvs6q2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357549/original/file-20200910-18-1rvs6q2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357549/original/file-20200910-18-1rvs6q2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357549/original/file-20200910-18-1rvs6q2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357549/original/file-20200910-18-1rvs6q2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357549/original/file-20200910-18-1rvs6q2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The pandemic has created dozens of new problems in need of innovative solutions, like telehealth, which has seen a huge boom in use.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Virus-Outbreak-Hospital-At-Home/3daf186c41be4dc0a715f759a45929f8/5/0">AP Photo/Elise Amendola</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Innovation now and in the future</h2>
<p>During this pandemic, many people might be inclined to batten down the hatches, tighten their belts and ride things out by sticking to what they already know.</p>
<p>But uncertainty and change create opportunity and a <a href="https://store.hbr.org/product/the-innovator-s-solution-creating-and-sustaining-successful-growth/16444">need for innovation</a>. The pandemic has created or exacerbated many problems that are ripe for innovative solutions.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Practices that were until recently on the fringe of acceptance – such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-telemedicine-is-great-when-you-want-to-stay-distant-from-your-doctor-but-older-laws-are-standing-in-the-way-134885">telehealth</a>, food or grocery delivery, <a href="https://theconversation.com/chess-is-taking-over-the-online-video-game-world-and-both-are-changing-from-this-unlikely-pairing-143790">e-sports</a> and online education – are now being accepted by mainstream society. As with anything relatively new, there is lots of room for radical improvement.</p>
<p>Now is not the time to put blinders on and close your eyes to uncertainty. If you build your discovery skills, you are more likely to create opportunity and persist through uncertainty. Like Walker, anyone can cultivate the abilities to navigate uncertainty and create positive change. Innovators are not a breed apart.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143876/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Todd Saxton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many great innovators have personality traits in common. Comfort with uncertainty is critical, but passion, curiosity and a number of other learnable skills can prime you for an innovate idea.Todd Saxton, Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, IUPUILicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1223622019-09-15T12:20:06Z2019-09-15T12:20:06ZCanada’s grand plan to explore the mysteries of the cosmos<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292088/original/file-20190911-190035-3yfsf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C2734%2C1747&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A composite image showing the distribution of dark matter, galaxies and hot gas in a merging galaxy cluster taken with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">NASA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There are about the same number of <a href="https://casca.ca/?page_id=61">professional astronomers in Canada</a> as there are active <a href="https://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/nationality-totals/active-nhl-players-career-stats.html">Canadian hockey players in the NHL</a>. Hockey players get a lot more press than do the astronomers, and that’s too bad. </p>
<p>Astronomy research is a spectacular Canadian success story, in which a small community of scientists has racked up decades of major discoveries. Canadian astronomers have used government and other funding to participate in the world’s leading telescope and supercomputer projects, making discoveries about black holes, planets and galaxies at <a href="https://www.scimagojr.com/countryrank.php?category=3103&area=3100&order=cd&ord=desc&min=1000&min_type=it">a rate well above our peer countries</a>.</p>
<p>Why should Canada support research in astronomy? Astronomy doesn’t directly cure disease or solve environmental problems. What it does do is <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/indigenous-astronomy-1.5077070">enrich our culture</a> by reminding us of the <a href="https://www.macleans.ca/society/the-2017-solar-eclipse-entranced-canadians-across-the-country-3/">larger context</a> in which our day-to-day lives are embedded. </p>
<p>Compared to the vast universe, we are minute creatures on a tiny planet in a typical galaxy and yet we have managed to use our minds and hands to understand many aspects of how the universe works. Every new discovery brings new questions, which serve to drive progress in physics and engineering — some of which does help to <a href="https://splinternews.com/your-computer-could-help-unlock-the-universes-mysteries-1793844660">cure disease</a>, <a href="https://www.citylab.com/life/2017/03/using-astronomy-to-fight-urban-blight/517911/">address social issues</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/05/science/drones-infrared-cameras-animals.html">protect endangered species</a> and <a href="https://www.wired.com/2015/06/space-tech-makes-everything-better-even-wind-farms/">advance renewable energy</a> — and inspire Canadians of all ages.</p>
<h2>Canadian achievements</h2>
<p>Canadians can be justifiably proud of our recent astronomy discoveries. The <a href="https://chime-experiment.ca/">Canadian-built CHIME telescope</a>, located near Penticton, B.C., is an entirely new type of radio telescope that is revolutionizing our understanding of <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/repeating-fast-radio-bursts-in-space-1.5249959">the mysterious phenomenon known as fast radio bursts</a>. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Zf64RZq4rXA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">CBC The National: The CHIME telescope will reveal new information about the cosmos.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Canadian scientists and engineers <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/news/archive/2007/04/nrc-scientists-produce-world-most-sensitive-radio-detectors-probe-universe.html">provided one of the key technologies</a> for the ALMA telescope in Chile, part of the <a href="https://eventhorizontelescope.org/">worldwide telescope</a> that recently produced <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-first-ever-photograph-of-a-black-hole/">the first images of a black hole</a>. A Canadian-led team were the first to ever directly witness <a href="https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/news/1404/a-four-planet-system-in-orbit-directly-imaged-and-remarkable/">planets orbiting another star</a>. </p>
<p>In 2016, McGill astronomer Victoria Kaspi was the youngest ever researcher and first woman to <a href="https://www.universityaffairs.ca/news/news-article/mcgill-astrophysicist-victoria-kaspi-wins-2016-herzberg-gold-medal/">win Canada’s top science prize</a>, the Gerhard Herzberg Gold Medal. Kaspi received the medal for her <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1000812107">groundbreaking research on neutron stars</a>.</p>
<p>Mark Halpern and Gary Hinshaw of the University of British Columbia shared the <a href="https://www.phas.ubc.ca/halpern-and-hinshaw-share-cosmologys-most-prestigious-prize">2012 Gruber Prize for Cosmology</a>, for their work to precisely determine the age of the universe. (The answer is <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2013/03/age-of-the-universe-planck-results-show-universe-is-13-82-billion-years-old.html">13.8 billion years old</a>, in case you were wondering.)</p>
<h2>Successful collaborations</h2>
<p>Some of the credit for Canadian astronomy success goes not only to brilliant individuals, but to a scientific community that works together. Astronomy research is enabled by technology, and the newest, most powerful telescopes are too expensive for any one scientist or university to build and operate on their own. These research facilities are designed, built and funded by huge national and international teams, and planning these large projects <a href="https://www.skatelescope.org/history-of-the-skaproject/">can take decades</a>. </p>
<p>To decide which facilities show the most promise for the future, Canadian astronomers have engaged in a series of “<a href="https://www.casca.ca/lrp2010/">long range plans</a>” in which the community debates and then makes a recommendation on the most exciting science questions and opportunities for the years ahead. Canadian involvement in nearly all of the discoveries and telescopes mentioned above was the result of priorities set out in previous long range plans. As the two co-chairs of Canadian astronomy’s long range plan for the next 10 years (2020-2030), our job is to co-ordinate the decisions on which big discoveries the nation’s astronomy community should pursue next and what telescopes will be needed to make this happen.</p>
<p>Science planning on such long time scales has its drawbacks as well as its advantages. International projects rely on co-operation from many partners and have complex schedules over which Canada has limited control. Canadian involvement in the <a href="https://www.tmt.org/">Thirty Meter Telescope</a> was strongly recommended in the 2010 Long Range Plan and <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/04/06/stephen-harper-announces-2435-million-in-funding-for-thirty-meter-telescope.html">funded by the federal government in 2015</a>, shortly before construction was slated to commence. However, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/07/24/mauna-kea-tmt-protests-rock-joins-hawaiian-protesters-kupuna/1823252001/">protests and court cases over its planned location</a> on Maunakea — a mountain <a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/7/24/20706930/mauna-kea-hawaii">sacred to Native Hawaiians</a> — means that construction <a href="http://www.maunakeaandtmt.org/tmt-process/#whats-next">has still not begun</a>. Canadian astronomers have not previously faced such a social issue in conjunction with their science and the community is grappling with <a href="http://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-02441-7">how to respond</a>.</p>
<p>In the near future, Canadian astronomers are looking forward to the launch of <a href="https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/">James Webb Space Telescope</a>. Canada has played a significant role in this $12-billion mission, providing <a href="http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/jwst/contribution.asp">one of the four cameras</a> that will fly on the telescope. Canadian astronomers hope to use it to study the atmospheres of planets around other stars, the most distant galaxies in the early universe and the building blocks of planets and life found between the stars.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291691/original/file-20190910-109931-1d5wzgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291691/original/file-20190910-109931-1d5wzgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291691/original/file-20190910-109931-1d5wzgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291691/original/file-20190910-109931-1d5wzgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291691/original/file-20190910-109931-1d5wzgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291691/original/file-20190910-109931-1d5wzgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291691/original/file-20190910-109931-1d5wzgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291691/original/file-20190910-109931-1d5wzgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The primary mirror of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope consists of 18 hexagonal mirrors and will collect light for the observatory to better understand our solar system and beyond.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000162/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000162~orig.jpg">NASA Goddard</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>The <a href="https://casca.ca/?page_id=75">2020 Long Range Plan Canadian astronomy</a> is now underway with an exciting array of future possibilities to consider. These include: participation in two new <a href="http://skatelescope.ca/">world-leading</a> <a href="https://ngvla.nrao.edu/">radio telescopes</a> currently being designed; the first observatory-class <a href="https://www.castormission.org/about">space telescope led by Canada</a>; <a href="https://mse.cfht.hawaii.edu/">transformations of existing telescopes with powerful new sensors</a>; and developing the technology <a href="http://www.exoplanetes.umontreal.ca/irex-astronomers-determine-earths-fingerprint-in-hopes-of-finding-habitable-planets-beyond-the-solar-system/">to find the signatures of life</a> on planets orbiting other stars.</p>
<p>The process will identify the critical present and future science questions and develop a vision for what cutting-edge equipment and facilities will be needed to advance Canadian astronomy. We couldn’t be more excited.</p>
<p>[ <em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/newsletters?utm_source=TCCA&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122362/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bryan Gaensler is the co-chair of the Canadian Astronomy Long Range Plan, 2020-2030. He receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canada Research Chairs Program, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, and the Ontario Research Fund.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pauline Barmby is the co-chair of the Canadian Astronomy Long Range Plan, 2020-2030. She receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy.</span></em></p>The Canadian Long Range Plan 2020 for astronomy and astrophysics builds on Canadian research’s previous success to extend Canada’s role.Bryan Gaensler, Director, Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of TorontoPauline Barmby, Professor, Physics & Astronomy, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1215282019-08-27T12:59:34Z2019-08-27T12:59:34ZWhat is the smallest animal ever?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289135/original/file-20190822-170927-hfk4mc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The world's smallest frog can fit on a dime.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paratype_of_Paedophryne_amauensis_(LSUMZ_95004).png">E.N. Rittmeyer et al. (2012)</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption"></span>
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>What is the smallest animal ever? – Peter, age 9, Brookline, Massachusetts</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>The biggest animal in the world is easy to see, if you know where to look. Living in every ocean except the Arctic, the blue whale is the <a href="https://www.natgeokids.com/nz/discover/animals/sea-life/10-blue-whale-facts/">largest animal on Earth</a> — weighing as much as 200 tons with a heartbeat that can be heard up to two miles away.</p>
<p>But the smallest animal in the world? Even if you knew where to look, could you see it? To track down the tiniest creature, scientists had to first decide what they were looking for and then, where they might find it. The first question – “What is an animal?” – is something that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/news060130-4">scientists have debated</a> for centuries.</p>
<p>I am an <a href="https://cvhs.okstate.edu/veterinary-medical-hospital/small-animal/avian-exotics-and-zoo-medicine/di-girolamo-publications.html">exotic animal veterinarian</a> especially fascinated by these types of questions.</p>
<h2>What is an animal?</h2>
<p>In the language of science, an animal is an organism made of multiple cells. Cells are the building blocks of all living things – a human body, for example, is made up of trillions of cells. Some organisms, like bacteria, are made of just one cell. They are not considered animals. </p>
<p>The simplest single-celled creatures – including bacteria – are called prokaryotes. They don’t contain a nucleus, the feature that acts like the main control center for a cell. More complex cells have an enclosed nucleus. They are called eukaryotes. Anything from an earthworm to a zebra or you are all eukaryotes and all are considered animals.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289168/original/file-20190823-170910-1wt2b01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289168/original/file-20190823-170910-1wt2b01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289168/original/file-20190823-170910-1wt2b01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289168/original/file-20190823-170910-1wt2b01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289168/original/file-20190823-170910-1wt2b01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289168/original/file-20190823-170910-1wt2b01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289168/original/file-20190823-170910-1wt2b01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The blue whale is the largest animal in the world. But what is the smallest?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17942391">NOAA Photo Library</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>If it can’t be seen, does that count?</h2>
<p>Based on this definition, an animal can be something so small that it’s not possible to see without a microscope. This is definitely not something that you would probably call an “animal.” A recent discovery is an organism that is invisible to the eye, a parasitic jellyfish called Myxozoa. They are very small and reaching barely 20 micrometers. Stretched out end to end, it would take more than 1,000 of these creatures to equal 1 inch.</p>
<p>Probably the smallest of these parasitic jellyfish is <em>Myxobolus shekel</em>, which <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4900514/">is no more than 8.5 micrometers when fully grown</a>.</p>
<p>This species was described in 2011, so is pretty new. So is the decision that Myxozoa are related to jellyfish, which scientists agreed on in 2015. The discovery of these types of jellyfish <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27330981">occur once in a while</a>, so it is possible that a new and even smaller animal will be discovered in the future.</p>
<h2>The process of elimination</h2>
<p>Let’s assume that you’re looking for the smallest “animal” that is visible to the human eye. Some invertebrates, or animals without a backbone, and other smaller organisms are not visible to the human eye. What is left are vertebrates, animals with backbones that include mammals such as a dog, a whale or you, reptiles such as snakes or crocodiles, birds, fishes and amphibians. <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/">Most amphibians</a>, like frogs, are born in water and breathe with gills until they mature, when they develop lungs and an ability to live on land. </p>
<p>In this group of animals, it is the amphibians that win the prize for the smallest animal known, for the moment.</p>
<p>Scientists traveled to New Guinea, the second largest island in the world, to study the the island’s wildlife. This is where they found the smallest known type of frog called <em>Paedophryne amauensis</em>. The body length of an average adult is reported at less than 8 mm, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/1/120111-smallest-frogs-vertebrates-new-species-science-animals/">about the size of a pea</a>. When it was discovered in 2009, it was immediately awarded the title of “<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0029797">world’s smallest vertebrate</a>.”</p>
<p>The smallest animal is a question that scientists have debated for many years. Don’t worry. The nature of science means the answers will keep changing as researchers make new discoveries. Maybe a smaller vertebrate will be discovered in a quiet forest, on an exotic island, at the bottom of a canyon or in the dark abyss of the ocean. Scientists will keep looking.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>.</em>
<em>Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121528/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicola Di Girolamo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Scientists have identified the world’s smallest animal – for now. It could be possible smaller creatures exist that have not yet been discovered.Nicola Di Girolamo, Associate Professor of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Oklahoma State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/812652017-07-19T23:15:22Z2017-07-19T23:15:22ZThe four-year treasure hunt for the hoodwinker sunfish<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178796/original/file-20170719-13593-iyx17a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A beached hoodwinker sunfish, the new species described by researchers from Murdoch University.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Murdoch University</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sunfish are famous for looking odd. They are the <a href="https://gigascience.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13742-016-0144-3">largest bony fish in the world</a>, can grow to over 3 metres in length and weigh up to 2 tonnes, and look a little bit like a suitcase with wings.</p>
<p>But when I began my PhD doing population studies on sunfish off Bali in Indonesia, I didn’t expect to discover an <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/doi/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx040/3979130/Hiding-in-broad-daylight-molecular-and?redirectedFrom=fulltext">entirely new species</a>. What began as something of a side project turned into a four-year treasure hunt, flying thousands of kilometres to track down evidence with the help of dozens of people. </p>
<p>As part of my PhD research, I analysed more than 150 samples of sunfish DNA. Genetic sequencing turned up four distinct species: <em>Masturus lanceolatus</em>, <em>Mola mola</em>, <em>Mola ramsayi</em> and a fourth that didn’t fit with any known species. </p>
<p>A new species had been hiding in plain sight for centuries, which is why we ended up calling it <em>Mola tecta</em>: the hoodwinker sunfish. But back then, in 2013, we didn’t even know what they looked like; all we had were skin samples containing the mysterious DNA. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178795/original/file-20170719-27090-15x02yz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178795/original/file-20170719-27090-15x02yz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178795/original/file-20170719-27090-15x02yz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178795/original/file-20170719-27090-15x02yz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178795/original/file-20170719-27090-15x02yz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178795/original/file-20170719-27090-15x02yz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178795/original/file-20170719-27090-15x02yz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178795/original/file-20170719-27090-15x02yz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The hoodwinker sunfish grows to at least 2.4 metres long, with a distinctive ‘backfold’ of smooth skin separating the back fin into two.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Illustration by Michelle Freeborn, Wellington Museum Te Papa Tongarewa.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Going on the hunt</h2>
<p>The next step was trying to figure out what these fish might look like. Superficially, all sunfish look the same (that is, slightly strange). Their bodies are flat and rigid, except for their fins; they don’t have a tail; and as they grow bigger they usually develop odd bumps on their head, chin and nose. </p>
<p>So I started looking at pictures of sunfish, especially on social media, searching for something different. I also spent a long time establishing a network of people across Australia and New Zealand who could alert me whenever a sunfish was found.</p>
<p>I finally got a break in 2014. Observers from New Zealand and Australian fisheries were sending me pictures of sunfish they found out at sea, usually just a fin in the water. But on one occasion they hauled a tiny fish on board to free it from a fishing line, and got a brilliant photo of the whole thing along with a genetic sample.</p>
<p>This fish had a little structure on its back fin that I’d never seen on a sunfish before. Just as I was wondering if this was a characteristic of the species, I hit the jackpot when four fish were stranded in one go on the same beach in New Zealand.</p>
<p>I flew down to Christchurch, landed at night and drove out on to the beach. I saw my first hoodwinker sunfish in the headlights of the car – it was incredibly exciting. This changed everything, because now we knew what we were looking for.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178793/original/file-20170719-27696-1rjl1no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178793/original/file-20170719-27696-1rjl1no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178793/original/file-20170719-27696-1rjl1no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=726&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178793/original/file-20170719-27696-1rjl1no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=726&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178793/original/file-20170719-27696-1rjl1no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=726&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178793/original/file-20170719-27696-1rjl1no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=912&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178793/original/file-20170719-27696-1rjl1no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=912&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178793/original/file-20170719-27696-1rjl1no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=912&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A hoodwinker sunfish off the coast of Chile.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">César Villarroel, ExploraSub</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What is the hoodwinker?</h2>
<p>Unravelling this mystery has been a huge puzzle. Sunfish are huge, largely solitary and fairly elusive, so you can’t just go out and sample a heap of them to study. You have to fly thousands of kilometres when there’s a stranding and hope it’s the right puzzle piece you’re looking for. </p>
<p>However, by looking at stranded specimens, photos and museum collections, and by verifying specimens genetically, we have been able to describe this species very accurately. </p>
<p>We found enough fish to describe this species on a size spectrum of 50cm to nearly 2.5m. Unlike the other species, they don’t develop lumps and bumps as they grow; instead their body dimensions stay pretty much the same between juveniles and adults. Their back fin is separated into an upper and lower part, with a small flexible piece of skin, which we have termed the “back-fold”, connecting the halves. </p>
<p>We don’t know exactly what their range is, but it seems to be the colder parts of the Southern Hemisphere. We’ve found them all around New Zealand (mostly around the South Island), off Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales (Australia), South Africa and southern Chile. </p>
<p>Sunfish aren’t particularly rare, but it’s tricky to study them as they simply live in parts of the ocean most humans don’t go. They dive hundreds of metres to feed, and then rise to the surface to bask in the sun on their sides (hence their name).</p>
<p>This habit of diving and rising throughout the day means they can be caught by a range of fishing gear, including tuna longlines or in drift gillnets and midwater trawls. Fishers have been turning them up for centuries. When we looked back through the literature to see if this species had been described before, we found sunfish in books that included mermen and unicorns, and one of the first written mentions comes from Pliny the Elder. </p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/161671783" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">This Chilean video identifies the fish as the common sunfish (<em>Mola mola</em>), but they have the separated back fin of the hoodwinker sunfish (<em>Mola tecta</em>).</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A sunny community</h2>
<p>Of course, this discovery didn’t happen in isolation. A group of researchers from Japan first identified the possibility of a new species from a single skin sample about 10 years ago. We were able to work with two sunfish experts from the University of Tokyo and the University of Hiroshima to describe the hoodwinker, and to compare it in detail with the other two <em>Mola</em> species. </p>
<p>We also collaborated with geneticists from the Gemmell Lab at the University of Otago and expert taxonomists from the Wellington Museum Te Papa Tongarewa, who prepared and now house the “holotype”, which is the name-bearing specimen and official representative of <em>Mola tecta</em>.</p>
<p>Fisheries observers from the Australian Fisheries Management Authority and the New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries have sent me around 120 samples from sunfish they sampled while on patrols, which was the basis for the initial study. </p>
<p>Finally, we’ve had invaluable support from the public. On one occasion, a gentleman and his young daughter even drove out on a quad bike to a remote beach just to gather samples. (I do believe sunfish bring out the best in people.)</p>
<p>After four years of work – and the help of many people – it’s great to be able to finally share the hoodwinker sunfish with the world!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81265/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marianne Nyegaard has received funding from the following bodies for her PhD research: The Systematics Research Fund (Linnean Society of London and the Systematics Association), Graduate Women (WA) inc, The PADI Foundation, and the Sea World Research and Rescue Foundation.</span></em></p>A four-year puzzle has ended with the discovery of a new species of sunfish. These famously strange-looking animals are the largest bony fish in the oceans.Marianne Nyegaard, PhD student, Murdoch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/613122016-06-21T14:09:06Z2016-06-21T14:09:06ZMeet 3-million-year-old Lucy – she’ll tell you a lot about modern African heritage<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127540/original/image-20160621-13012-sb7uig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A replica of the remains of "Lucy" at the National Museum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Barry Malone</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Lucy, you want to see Lucy?” young, would-be tour guides prompt in Ethiopia’s capital, <a href="http://global.britannica.com/place/Addis-Ababa">Addis Ababa</a>. <a href="http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141127-lucy-fossil-revealed-our-origins">Lucy</a> stars in tourist brochures as one of the East African country’s great attractions. She also appears in the cultural history collage at the entrance of the <a href="http://www.africa.com/countries/ethiopia/museum-guide/">Ethiopian National Museum</a>. Ethiopians are clearly proud of Lucy, a hominin specimen of special renown, a cultural heritage attraction.</p>
<p>You meet Lucy, or <a href="http://www.africanglobe.net/africa/ethiopia-celebrates-return-iconic-fossil-dinknesh/">Dinknesh</a>, meaning “you are marvellous” in <a href="http://www.omniglot.com/writing/amharic.htm">Amharic</a>, in the lobby of the Ethiopian National Museum. “Hi, I’m Lucy,” greets a sketch of <em>Australopithecus afarensis</em>. “I am almost 3.2 million years old, but am walking fully upright.” It goes on to suggest: “Please meet my world-famous ancestors and descendants, all from Ethiopia,” prompting a visit to the palaeoanthropological exhibit in the basement.</p>
<p>This is striking. Lucy, an ape-like creature, becomes a human-like cultural ambassador for African archaeological heritage in Ethiopia. What does it mean to humanise the remains of our ape ancestors? What kinds of things are they made to say about the countries that display them? And what do they say about Africa as a place of scientific “discovery”?</p>
<h2>Simplifying complicated science</h2>
<p>One reason why fossil remains are humanised is because it helps make confusing biological leftovers sensible. It also simplifies complicated scientific findings for the media. But this simplification of science also creates problems. These stories often hinge on the idea of “discovery”, a word linked to colonial exploitation, and recycle stereotypes about who is allowed to produce, and what counts as, new scientific knowledge. </p>
<p>Let’s take Lucy. Popular media accounts state that she was “discovered” by <a href="http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/djohanson.html">Donald Johanson</a> in Hadar, in Ethiopia’s Afar Valley, in 1974. He happened upon the remains by chance while walking back to his car near an ongoing archaeological dig. The team celebrated the find that night, playing music by the <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-beatles-mn0000754032/biography">Beatles</a>, which led to the specimen being named Lucy, after the song <a href="https://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds/"><em>Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds</em></a>. </p>
<p>Told differently, we could say, the remains of a female ape-like hominin were found in a developing African country by a highly educated man from America. This white man is portrayed as having the strength, expertise and skill to recover precious female fossil remains in black Africa. He takes credit for digging up, identifying and explaining its importance, as an <a href="http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0001063/bio">Indiana Jones</a>-like hero of science. </p>
<p>This is a common way of explaining how hominin fossils are recovered in Africa. Think about how <a href="http://ewn.co.za/Features/Naledi"><em>Homo naledi</em></a> was found northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa, and identified, and how Professor <a href="http://profleeberger.com/">Lee Berger</a> became the dominant voice in explaining its scientific importance. In reality, archaeology does not work like this. <a href="http://www.africanstudies.uct.ac.za/cas/staff/shepherd">Nick Shepherd</a>’s <a href="http://jsa.sagepub.com/content/3/3/334.full.pdf">article</a>, “When the Hand that Holds the Trowel is Black…”, shows that simple stories like these actively erase the black labour and nous that go into recovering such finds.</p>
<p>This shows that the unearthing of important fossil remains often entails the burying of important information about who should share in the prestige it brings.</p>
<h2>Story of our ancestors</h2>
<p>The palaeontology exhibition in Ethiopia’s National Museum uses Lucy’s remains to make claims about shifts in deep time. One panel declares, “These remains tell us a long story of great transformation in landscapes, living beings and techniques. They tell us the long story of our ancestors.” </p>
<p>Referencing human and spiritual predecessors, ancestors are a potent explanatory idiom in Africa. My <a href="https://www.academia.edu/26281014/An_African_Story_of_Creation_Heritage_Formation_at_Freedom_Park_South_Africa">original research</a> shows, for example, how “ancestors” informed the heritage claims made by <a href="http://www.freedompark.co.za/">Freedom Park</a> in South Africa. </p>
<p>Exhibition panels also flag Ethiopia as a special site of palaeoarchaeological remains. It has “the most complete and richest record of human ancestors and with the longest record of stone and tool making”. Indeed, one panel declares, “the oldest known remains of <em>Homo sapiens</em>, our very species, were discovered in Ethiopia around 200,000 years ago”.</p>
<p>Ethiopia makes a distinctive contribution to the African story of human evolution. “Hominid species are known only in Africa and nowhere else on earth,” a panel explains. Ethiopian fossils, however, complete the African story of human evolution. “Early hominids have been found in several African countries,” its says. “Together with Ethiopian fossils [they] contribute to a general understanding of evolution in Africa.” </p>
<h2>Where humankind originated</h2>
<p>Surprisingly, South African heritage sites make similar claims. Maropeng and the Sterkfontein Caves, for example, are <a href="http://www.maropeng.co.za/">described</a> as “the oldest and most continuous palaeontological dig in the world”. Known as the “Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site”, it is “widely recognised as the place from which all of humankind originated”. Visitors could take comfort in the company slogan, “Welcome Home”.</p>
<p>This was the site of major shifts in human evolution. It is the place where “the best evidence [has been unearthed] of the complex journey which our species has taken to make us what we are”. “Our ancestors were able to use and control fire at least one million years ago in the Cradle of Humankind,” the website <a href="http://www.maropeng.co.za/content/page/introduction_to_your_visit_to_the_cradle_of_humankind_world_heritage_site">states</a>. It is a special place in Africa, “the birthplace of humankind … where our collective umbilical cord lies buried”.</p>
<p>It is not surprising these countries appear to be making similar, competing claims. African fossils are valuable remains, and much is at stake. They reference problematic ways of talking about archaeology as a science of “discovery” in Africa. </p>
<p>The fossils serve as evidence distinguishing countries as important sites of archaeological research. They also allow countries to make claims to and about Africa, and the idea of Africa as the cradle of humankind. And finally, they have the potential to attract, entertain and educate visiting tourists, and generate revenue in the process.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61312/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Duane Jethro does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When it comes to valuable African fossils, much is at stake. They often unearth disputed ways of debating archaeology as a science of ‘discovery’.Duane Jethro, Postdoctoral Fellow, Archive and Public Culture Research Initiative, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/489402015-10-19T03:37:58Z2015-10-19T03:37:58ZExplainer: a new nanochip that will detect bacterial infections in 15 minutes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98672/original/image-20151016-25138-1rphveg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nanotechnology that can detect illnesses will become available next year. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A new <a href="http://www.sun.ac.za/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=1723">device</a> – a <a href="http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Biological+Sensors">biological sensor</a> inside a nanochip – that can detect bacterial infections in ten to 15 minutes will become available in 2016. </p>
<p>Devised by a team of scientists from South Africa’s Stellenbosch University, the device is currently being patented. The <a href="http://www.tia.org.za/about-us">Technology Innovation Agency</a> has funded a prototype in preparation for commercialisation by April 2016.</p>
<p>Pathogenic organisms infect about <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=tWWA_3s1lwcC&pg=PA183&lpg=PA183&dq=Pathogenic+organisms+infect+about+%5B250+million&source=bl&ots=x52cwqG1fq&sig=LwZPFhyv7eie9bR-l1czw9pRuf4&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Pathogenic%20organisms%20infect%20about%20%5B250%20million&f=false">250 million</a> people a year. At least 8%, around 20 million people, die. Early detection of infections can prevent many deaths.</p>
<p>Since the nanochip was announced as a project of the university in September 2014, progress has been made in developing additional sensing mechanisms, enhancing its capabilities.</p>
<h2>How the nanochip was born</h2>
<p>The nanochip for early detection of infection came after a chance meeting between the author and microbiologist <a href="http://www.innovus.co.za/pages/posts/meet-our-researcher-professor-leon-dicks-microbiology-76.php">Leon Dicks</a>, an expert in the field of superconductors and nanoelectrical devices. </p>
<p>While discussing individual current research, we agreed to work to find a way of detecting infections early and accurately.</p>
<p>The basis for our research was <a href="http://www.explainthatstuff.com/piezoelectricity.html">piezoelectricity</a>, which is how crystals convert mechanical energy into electricity or vice-versa. </p>
<p>The sensor that was developed for this purpose comprises a nanochip stacked with zinc oxide molecules on top of each other to create millions of nanowires.</p>
<p>Piezoelelectric energy plays a key role in the identification process. When certain materials, such as zinc oxide wires, are squeezed or pressed they generate an electric charge in response to applied mechanical stress. The slightest disturbance in the structure of the nanowires on the chip leads to piezoelectric energy. This is then converted to electrical energy and amplified to produce a voltage reading.</p>
<p>Microorganisms, such as bacteria, are known as flagellated micro-organisms. Flagella are almost like little tails that are fixed to the organism. Vigorous movement of the flagella is used to propel the organisms at quite a high speed. These movements disturb the nanowires to generate an electronic signal due to the piezoelectric effect.</p>
<h2>Biological flavour</h2>
<p>The nanochip will use a flexible substrate that would generate electricity by movement of a person’s body, thereby, for example, charging the battery of an electronic device, such as a <a href="http://www.medicinenet.com/pacemaker/page3.htm#what_is_a_pacemaker">pacemaker</a>.</p>
<p>To be able to use the nanochip for infection detection, a biological flavour was added to the sensor and application by adding a lure that would attract specific bacteria. A <a href="http://benthamscience.com/journals/current-nanoscience/volume/10/issue/6/page/827/">silicon chip</a>, measuring 1cm², was stacked with zinc oxide molecules on top of each other to create a nanowire.</p>
<p>The concept was tested by attaching lysozyme molecules to the tip of each nanowire. Bacteria buster <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lysozyme">lysozyme</a> was chosen for the test because it is in abundance in human saliva, tears and milk. </p>
<p>As soon as lysozyme-specific antibodies sticks to the nanowires, the zinc oxide molecules were realigned. This movement was detected by a change in the electrical output in 15 minutes. The lysozome-specific antibodies stuck to the lysozome molecules. The movement caused by this attraction and attachment process disturbed the nanowires, resulting in an electric signal being generated.</p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>The investigation showed that the zinc oxide nanowires are promising piezoelectric nanoforce transducers that may be developed into biomolecular detection systems.</p>
<p>Binding of antibodies to the biosensor surface indicates a strong piezoelectric effect on the biosensing signal. The designed nanoforce biosensor showed a linear relationship with respect to voltage output and antibody concentration.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925400514007655">results</a> showed that it is possible to detect biomolecular interactions by coupling the piezotronic and biosensing characteristics of zinc oxide nanowires.</p>
<h2>What does this mean</h2>
<p>A patient swallowing a capsule containing a nanochip for detecting infections caused by pathogens, such as E.coli, V.cholera or Salmonella will know immediately the cause of their illness. </p>
<p>The production of antibodies is the natural mechanism for humans and animals to fight bacterial infections. Antibodies are specific to pathogens and by choosing the specific antibodies to attach to the piezoelectric sensor, it becomes possible to detect the specific pathogen that is tested for. </p>
<p>The possibilities of utilising this concept for the detection of different infections or the presence of different types of bacteria are thus legion.</p>
<p>Using an antigen-specific nanochip could also provide an excellent platform for testing water quality in remote rural areas.</p>
<p>Testing for certain bacterial infections does not necessarily have to be done inside the patient’s body. A drop of blood or a patient’s sputum could be tested for diseases, such as tuberculosis, on a handheld nanochip testing station outside the body.</p>
<p>Furthermore, the nanochip biological sensor method could play an important role in the detection and control of post-operative infection. Surgeons could implant a nanochip during open heart or orthopaedic surgery. By doing this they are mindful of infections where early detection and treatment is key.</p>
<h2>Benefits</h2>
<p>The use of piezoelectric energy is not the only possible vehicle for detection of disease. The sensor also uses the piezoelectric effect to detect the pathogens by attaching antibodies to the sensor. The sensor attracts the specific pathogens.</p>
<p>Other mechanisms can be used to detect the presence of pathogens in a patient’s body. These mechanisms also use antibodies as bait.</p>
<p>The method of detection can be optical, when attracted pathogens interfere with the transmission of light through an optical fibre coated with a scaffolding structure with antibodies attached to it. It may be resistive when the pathogens alter the resistance of a sensing structure. It is capacitive when the pathogens change the dielectric constant of the sensing structure.</p>
<p>It may be resistive when the pathogens alter the resistance of a sensing structure. It is capacitive when the pathogens change the dielectric constant of the sensing structure.</p>
<p>We look at different sensing structures, obviously with the antibodies attached, to use different sensing techniques. Other methods, including optical, resistive and capacitive sensing techniques, are currently being looked at.</p>
<p>Apart from the lives saved by early detection and treatment of infections, the nanochip biological sensor approach could become a less expensive diagnostic method if manufactured on a large scale. Costs would be reduced.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/48940/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Willie Perold receives funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA). </span></em></p>A novel approach to detect bacterial infections in 10-15 minutes is expected to become commercially available next year.Willie Perold, Vice Dean (Research), Faculty of Engineering, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/490252015-10-15T04:13:25Z2015-10-15T04:13:25ZBenefits of knowing more about neutrinos which pass through our bodies unnoticed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98365/original/image-20151014-12654-1q4usks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Neutrinos, we're looking for you! Japan's Super-Kamiokande detector.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kamioka Observatory, ICRR (Institute for Cosmic Ray Research), The University of Tokyo</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The observation that <a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2015/">neutrinos</a> have mass, which led to the 2015 Nobel Prize for Physics being awarded jointly to Japan’s Takaaki Kajita Japan and Canada’s Arthur McDonald, is important for two key reasons. First, it provides a deeper knowledge of the fundamental tenets of nature. Second, as with any discovery, it comes with innovation in science and technology. </p>
<p>While we know of the existence of neutrinos, not much is known about them. Neutrinos exist in huge numbers in the universe. That is why understanding neutrinos is directly relevant to our knowledge of the universe. </p>
<p>Now that it has been established that neutrinos have <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151006083633.htm">mass</a>, we have a key to better understanding how mass is distributed in the universe. Neutrinos may also contribute to understanding why the universe is continuously expanding. </p>
<p>It sits on the similar scale as the discovery of the <a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2013/">Higgs boson</a> at the <a href="http://home.web.cern.ch/topics/large-hadron-collider">Large Hadron Collider</a> at European Organisation for Nuclear Research (<a href="http://home.web.cern.ch/about">CERN</a>), and the future discoveries expected from the <a href="http://www.ska.ac.za/about/project.php">Square Kilometre Array</a> (SKA) project. </p>
<p>Any discovery in experimental science is the result of titanic efforts to overcome technological difficulties and challenges. When the neutrino was first <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/hawking/strange/html/neutrinos.html">postulated</a> in 1930, many thought that it would be mission impossible to detect them, let alone to study its properties – such as its mass.</p>
<p>The relentless need to understand nature better forces scientists to innovate with which to push the boundaries of science and technology. The efforts exerted to demonstrate that neutrinos contain mass have bolstered science and technology in <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/canadian-s-nobel-prize-in-physics-highlights-why-basic-science-matters-1.3262835">Canada</a> and <a href="http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lite/story/539768">Japan</a>. South Africa’s <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2013-11-27-sa-will-feel-economic-benefits-of-ska-says-director-general">support</a> of projects at CERN, the SKA and other efforts already have a similar effect.</p>
<p>Boosting science and technology via large scientific projects brings the added value of human capacity development in high technology that South Africa is in so much need of.</p>
<h2>What are neutrinos?</h2>
<p>Before answering this question we need to backtrack a bit. Matter is made of <a href="http://education.jlab.org/atomtour/">atoms</a>. Atoms are made of positively charged <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nuclei">nuclei</a> and negatively charged <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/electron">electrons</a> travelling very fast around the nuclei. </p>
<p>The electro-magnetic force holds the electrons in orbit around the nuclei because opposite electric charges attract each other. Nuclei are very heavy compared to electrons and are composed of protons and neutrons. </p>
<p>Neutrinos can be thought of cousins of the electrons, only neutral. Neutrinos share some of the properties of the electrons – for instance, the spin. There is one type of neutrino coupled to the electron, which is called electron neutrino. The electron has an anti-particle, the positron, which has positive electric charge. There is also an electron anti-neutrino.</p>
<p>In nature there are other charged particles that are similar to the electron, which are called muons and taus. These are heavier than the electron. The muons and taus also have two other types of neutrinos respectively. In total we are aware of three types of neutrinos (electron, muon, and tau) and their anti-particles.</p>
<h2>Why are neutrinos elusive?</h2>
<p>Neutrinos do not have electric charge. Therefore, they do not get repelled or attracted to other charged particles in nature. They interact very weakly with matter so they very rarely leave a trace. </p>
<p>Vast amounts of neutrinos <a href="http://timeblimp.com/?page_id=1033">pass through us</a> every day, but we do not feel them because neutrinos hardly ever interact with the atoms that make up our bodies.</p>
<p>Most of the neutrinos that pass through earth come from the sun and are produced by nuclear fusion. These are called solar neutrinos. The other neutrinos are produced as a result of the collision of cosmic particles with the Earth’s atmosphere. These are called atmospheric neutrinos.</p>
<h2>How can we tell that neutrinos have mass?</h2>
<p>There are three types of neutrinos. If neutrinos were massless then they would travel forever unencumbered. If neutrinos have mass then, as they travel, they gradually “disappear” to become a different type of neutrino. </p>
<p>This is referred to as neutrino oscillation and it is a quantum mechanical effect. </p>
<p>For instance, the Sun creates electron neutrinos. By the time neutrinos reach Earth we only observe about one-third of the emitted neutrinos. The remaining two-thirds of the electron neutrinos becomes muon and tau neutrinos. Through this process, it is directly demonstrated that neutrinos have mass.</p>
<h2>Decades of research pay off</h2>
<p>Neutrinos were put forward in 1930 as a means to explain missing energy from a certain type of nuclear reactions. It was not until 1956 that neutrinos were detected unequivocally in laboratory conditions, for which a <a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1995/press.html">Nobel Prize in Physics</a> was awarded in 1995. </p>
<p>Scientists from all over the world have not stopped investigating the nature of these elusive particles. Neutrinos were known to be neutral and assumed to be massless. It was not until the late 1990s and early 2000s that experimental techniques became available in order to elucidate if neutrinos have mass. </p>
<p>The latter signifies a major discovery in physics, leading to a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2015. The fact of the matter is that to date we do not really know how neutrinos acquire mass. Unravelling this mystery may lead to other groundbreaking discoveries.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/49025/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Mellado receives funding from the DST, the NRF, Wits research office.</span></em></p>The Nobel Prize-winning research on neutrinos is expected to push the boundaries of science and technology.Bruce Mellado, Professor of Physics, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/477262015-09-28T04:42:27Z2015-09-28T04:42:27ZHomo naledi fossil discovery a triumph for open access and education<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95265/original/image-20150917-7498-1mw8l7t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Skulls of Homo naledi.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Hawks</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.wits.ac.za/newsroom/newsitems/201509/27319/news_item_27319.html"><em>Homo naledi</em></a> has made headlines around the world as one of the most significant fossil discoveries ever made. </p>
<p>The unprecedented sample of fossils represents a rich record of an ancient population of human relatives, preserving nearly every part of the skeleton and spanning the lifespan.</p>
<p>Many people around the world have been following the compelling story of discovery from the first days of the excavation.</p>
<h2>Using social media to tell the story</h2>
<p>As our cavers and scientists worked underground in challenging conditions, we kept the world up to date on Twitter, Facebook and with our Rising Star Expedition <a href="http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/blog/rising-star-expedition/">blog</a>.</p>
<p>Since those first days, the team has worked to build open access into every stage of the project. People can now share not only in the discovery but also in the process of understanding these ancient hominins.</p>
<p>After nearly two years of work, on September 10 we published our first scientific papers on this <a href="http://elifesciences.org/content/4/e09560">discovery</a> in the journal eLIFE. These original scientific descriptions of these fossils and their geological context are free for anyone in the world to download and share. </p>
<p>In the week since we published these papers, the lead paper describing <em>Homo naledi</em> has been viewed more than 170,000 times – an extraordinary figure for any scientific <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/half-academic-studies-are-never-read-more-three-people-180950222/?no-ist">paper</a>.</p>
<p>Our team has also moved quickly to make our data available to anyone in the world. Many of our fossils are now represented by research-quality 3D scans on <a href="http://morphosource.org">MorphoSource</a>. </p>
<p>This online archive of data from skeletal and fossil discoveries, maintained by Duke University, provides a way to share large data sets both for scientific work and teaching. </p>
<h2>3D technology used in classrooms</h2>
<p>Our team has generated virtual reams of scans that enable anyone to visualise these fossils, and even to use 3D printing technology to create their own physical copies.</p>
<p>Right now, teachers and researchers all around the world are printing 3D models of the fossils of <em>Homo naledi</em>. Kristina Killgrove, a leader in applying 3D printing technology in her anthropology classroom, <a href="http://www.poweredbyosteons.org/2015/09/homo-naledi-3d-scans-available-on.html">wrote</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I downloaded the model as an .STL file…and then printed it using my trusty old MakerBot. It took 20 minutes, tops. Then I gave the model to a grad student who was heading in to teach the undergraduate lab in biological anthropology. Bam! Species-announcement-to-teaching-cast in under 12 hours.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the first week after the announcement, more than 1700 copies of these data sets have been downloaded, with makers proudly showing off their printed models on Facebook and Twitter. </p>
<h2>Find broke boundaries</h2>
<p>Paleoanthropology has often been caricatured as the lone pursuit of fossils by Indiana-Jones-like characters. But in the 21st century, making new discoveries in paleoanthropology – as in all other areas of science – requires collaboration across many disciplines. </p>
<p>This project has involved a team of more than 60 scientists, each bringing their own distinctive expertise and data sets together to help solve the problems posed by these fossils. </p>
<p>The project is led from South Africa and stretches across international boundaries to impact the world. </p>
<p>At the event announcing <em>Homo naledi</em> at Maropeng, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand, Adam Habib, remarked on the importance of open access for building a 21st century science:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We often talk about science as having no boundaries, but in our world scientific knowledge has become commodified, and too often, what should be the bequest of the world, the bequest of a common humanity, is locked up under paywalls that postgraduate students and researchers cannot get access to. So what we did when we made this discovery, was we put cameras in the cave, and we streamed it live from day one. </p>
<p>We partnered with eLIFE, an open access journal, to make sure that the discovery was available to all of humanity. And what we did in that practice, is create the first elements of a common global academy….We are not simply going to be beneficiaries of open access, but we are going to be contributors to open access, to the knowledge of a common humanity.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>eLIFE editor Randy Schekman wrote about the benefits of open access publishing in 2013 when he won the Nobel Prize. His <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-break-free-from-the-stifling-grip-of-luxury-journals-21669">article</a>, entitled How to break free from the stifling grip of luxury journals, emphasised that by limiting access to publishing, traditional journals create artificial scarcity to distort the process of scientific communication. Open access makes for better science.</p>
<h2>Public engagement</h2>
<p>The open access philosophy has driven our work on <em>Homo naledi</em> from the beginning. Instead of keeping these discoveries veiled behind locked doors, we have tried to bring them to the public in ways that will drive greater curiosity and engagement with science. </p>
<p>We are proud to be able to share the original fossils with the public at Maropeng, where they will be on display until October 11. </p>
<p>Not only the public benefits from scientific open access; science itself benefits. Showing the process of science in action, we create better tools for educators to equip students with the scientific method. </p>
<p>As we train a new generation of scientists, we must give them the tools to build collaborations and work with massive data. By sharing data openly, we build a worldwide community of practice as we attempt to understand this and other future discoveries.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47726/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Hawks is a core scientist on the Rising Star Expedition team and coauthor on the papers describing Homo naledi.</span></em></p>The discovery of Homo naledi has been a social media sensation, recording an extraordinary number of views – more than 170,000 – for a scientific paper.John Hawks, Paleoanthropologist, University of Wisconsin-MadisonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.