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Global
Edition - Today's top story: Rogue taxonomists, competing
lists and accusations of anarchy: the complicated journey
toward a list of all life on Earth – podcast View
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Global
Edition | 2 February 2024 | |
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In
our chaotic, rapidly changing modern world, many of us have
come to rely on science to provide a sense of order. So it may
be disconcerting to learn that there is no single, definitive
list of all life on Earth. And there never has been.
In
this episode of The
Conversation Weekly podcast, we take you inside the world
of taxonomy, where competing lists, rogue taxonomists and
recent accusations of anarchy have revealed the messy struggle
to classify the world around us.
I
spoke with Signe
Dean, a science and technology editor for The
Conversation, and Stephen
Garnett, professor of conservation at Charles Darwin
University in Australia. We hope you enjoy the podcast and
encourage friends and colleagues to listen too. You can, of
course, also find here a selection of some of the week's best
content from across the network. |
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Gemma Ware
Editor and host, The Conversation Weekly
podcast | |
It’s not easy to create a list of all life on
Earth. Ingrid Prats via Shutterstock
Gemma Ware, The Conversation
Stephen
Garnett takes us inside a scientific spat about how to govern
the naming of new species. Listen to The Conversation Weekly
podcast. |
AP/Alex Brandon
Nicola Henry, RMIT University; Alice Witt, RMIT
University
There’s
nothing surprising about the fake explicit images going viral.
It happens to women celebrities frequently – but anyone can be
targeted. |
Students reported some curious mental effects
when using AI to generate ideas. SeventyFour via Getty Images
Sabrina Habib, University of South Carolina
A
study in which students brainstormed all the uses of a paper
clip shows that AI can both enhance and harm the creative
process. |
Miriam Makeba was the first African to win a
Grammy, but only when she partnered with a US star, Harry
Belafonte. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
Images
Eric Charry, Wesleyan University
African
artists with major US industry support have the advantage -
now more than ever. |
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Roy Maconachie, University of Bath
Cobalt
is a critical component in the production of
batteries, smartphones, jet engines and electric
vehicles. Yet miners who risk their lives digging it
up receive almost none of the profits.
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Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham;
Tetyana Malyarenko, National University Odesa Law
Academy
As
a new Russian offensive gets under way, Ukraine can
ill afford to be mired in scandal and disunity.
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Melina Jobbins, University of Zurich;
Christian Klug, University of Zurich; Martin Rücklin,
Leiden University
What
paleontologists had believed to be spiny fins turned
out to be elongated jaws. New examination of fossils
that were 365 million years old revealed a fish with a
remarkable lower jaw.
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Ashley Perl, University of Toronto
Norway
has become the first nation on earth to allow deep-sea
mineral exploration. But opening this industry could
put Norway in murky legal waters.
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Anne Irfan, UCL; Jo Kelcey, Lebanese
American University
Destroying
the main relief agency in Gaza would be a catastrophe
for its people, most of whom have been displaced by
the conflict and are desperate for food, shelter and
medical supplies.
-
Sam Edwards, Loughborough University
The
show explores the American role in the European air
war with care and sensitivity.
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Michael Hornberger, University of East
Anglia
Listening
to music, though, doesn’t have the same
benefits. | |
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Sent: Friday, February 02, 2024 10:31 AM
Subject: Why a list of life on earth is so
elusive | |
