GoKawiilResearchers are using airborne DNA to get snapshots of the make up of ecosystems. Plus, what scientists in Hungary think about the end of Viktor Orbán’s government and the penguins helping to monitor ‘forever chemicals’.
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Magellanic penguins join the handful of other species, including dogs and horses, that have been used to monitor the levels of ‘forever chemicals’ in the environment. (Ralph Vanstreels/UC Davis)
A new study in Argentine Patagonia has turned Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) into research assistants. The study equips the birds with silicone anklets that absorb per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — nicknamed ‘forever chemicals’ — to give researchers an indication of the abundance of these harmful substances in the penguins’ environment. “We have no better way of understanding the ocean [these animals] live in than letting them tell us the story themselves,” says veterinarian and study co-author Marcela Uhart. The penguins “are now our elite team of marine detectives,” she says.
Science | 5 min read
Reference: Earth: Environmental Sustainability paper
The electoral rout of Viktor Orbán after sixteen years in power is being welcomed by many scientists who watched his government dismantle academic freedoms, strip university autonomy and cause Hungary to be blocked from EU funding. “What will happen to Hungarian science now is still very uncertain and unpredictable, but at least we have some hope that the future will bring some change,” says neuroscientist Imola Wilhelm. “What we really need is stability and transparency.”
Nature | 7 min read
Read more: Hungarian government takes control of research institutes despite outcry (Nature | 5 min read, from 2019)
A key Chinese research organization is set to boycott the prestigious NeurIPS conference, which is run by a US-based non-profit organization, after a row over a policy that initially banned papers submitted by researchers associated with “US-sanctioned” institutions. The list included major Chinese tech companies such as Huawei, which had previously sponsored the conference. NeurIPS later apologized and watered down the policy. But the China Association for Science and Technology isn’t backing down — it will no longer pay for researchers to attend the conference and will discount NeurIPS papers in crucial researcher evaluations — which is a big deal for a conference for which the lion’s share of first authors are based in China.
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