Latest news with #Americangovernment
New York Times
09-04-2025
- Science
- New York Times
Scientists Map Miles of Wiring in a Speck of Mouse Brain
The human brain is so complex that scientific brains have a hard time making sense of it. A piece of neural tissue the size of a grain of sand might be packed with hundreds of thousands of cells linked together by miles of wiring. In 1979, Francis Crick, the Nobel-prize-winning scientist, concluded that the anatomy and activity in just a cubic millimeter of brain matter would forever exceed our understanding. 'It is no use asking for the impossible,' Dr. Crick wrote. Forty-six years later, a team of more than 100 scientists has achieved that impossible, by recording the cellular activity and mapping the structure in a cubic millimeter of a mouse's brain — less than one percent of its full volume. In accomplishing this feat, they amassed 1.6 petabytes of data — the equivalent of 22 years of nonstop high-definition video. 'This is a milestone,' said Davi Bock, a neuroscientist at the University of Vermont who was not involved in the study, which was published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Dr. Bock said that the advances that made it possible to chart a cubic millimeter of brain boded well for a new goal: mapping the wiring of the entire brain of a mouse. 'It's totally doable, and I think it's worth doing,' he said. More than 130 years have passed since the Spanish neuroscientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal first spied individual neurons under a microscope, making out their peculiar branched shapes. Later generations of scientists worked out many of the details of how a neuron sends a spike of voltage down a long arm, called an axon. Each axon makes contact with tiny branches, or dendrites, of neighboring neurons. Some neurons excite their neighbors into firing voltage spikes of their own. Some quiet other neurons. Human thought somehow emerges from this mix of excitation and inhibition. But how that happens has remained a tremendous mystery, largely because scientists have been able to study only a few neurons at a time. In recent decades, technological advances have allowed scientists to start mapping brains in their entirety. In 1986, British researchers published the circuitry of a tiny worm, made up of 302 neurons. In subsequent years, researchers charted bigger brains, such as the 140,000 neurons in the brain of a fly. Could Dr. Crick's impossible dream be possible after all? In 2016, the American government began a $100 million effort to scan a cubic millimeter of a mouse brain. The project — called Machine Intelligence from Cortical Networks, or MICrONS — was led by scientists at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, Princeton University and Baylor College of Medicine. The researchers zeroed in on a portion of the mouse brain that receives signals from the eyes and reconstructs what the animal sees. In the first stage of the research, the team recorded the activity of neurons in that region as it showed a mouse videos of different landscapes. The researchers then dissected the mouse brain and doused the cubic millimeter with hardening chemicals. Then they shaved off 28,000 slices from the block of tissue, capturing an image of each one. Computers were trained to recognize the outlines of cells in each slice and link the slices together into three-dimensional shapes. All told, the team charted 200,000 neurons and other types of brain cells, along with 523 million neural connections. For Nuno da Costa, a biologist at the Allen Institute and one of the leaders of the project, just watching the cells take shape on his computer screen was breathtaking. 'These neurons are absolutely stunning — it gives me pleasure,' he said. To understand how this mesh of neurons functioned, Dr. da Costa and his colleagues mapped the activity that had been recorded when the mouse looked at videos. 'Imagine that you come to a party that has 80,000 people, and you can be aware of every conversation, but you don't know who is talking to whom,' Dr. da Costa said. 'And now imagine that you have a way to know who is talking to whom, but you have no idea what they're saying. If you have these two things, you can tell a better story about what's happening at the party.' Analyzing the data, the researchers discovered patterns in the wiring of the brain that had escaped notice until now. They identified distinct kinds of inhibitory neurons, for instance, that link only to certain other types of neurons. 'When you go into studying the brain, it seems kind of hopeless — there are just so many connections and so much complexity,' said Mariela Petkova, a biophysicist at Harvard who was not involved in the MICrONS project. 'Finding wiring rules is a win. The brain is a lot less messy than people thought,' she said. Many of the MICrONS researchers are now pitching in on a bigger project: mapping an entire mouse's brain. With a volume of 500 cubic millimeters, a full brain would take decades or centuries to chart with current methods. The scientists will have to find additional tricks in order to finish the project in a decade. 'What they've already had to do to get here is heroic,' said Gregory Jefferis, a neuroscientist at the University of Cambridge who was not involved in the MICrONS project. 'But we've still got a mountain to climb.' Forrest Collman, a member of the MICrONS project at the Allen Institute, is optimistic. He and his colleagues recently discovered how to make microscopically thin sections from an entire mouse brain. 'Some of these barriers are starting to fall,' Dr. Collman said. But our own brain, which is about a thousand times bigger than a mouse's, presents a much bigger challenge, he added. 'The human brain right now feels like outside the range of what is possible,' he said. 'We are not going there anytime soon.' But Sebastian Seung, a neuroscientist at Princeton and a member of the MICrONS project, noted that mouse brains and human brains are similar enough that researchers might glean clues that could help them find medications to effectively treat psychological disorders without causing harmful side effects. 'Our current methods of manipulating the nervous system are incredibly blunt instruments,' Dr. Seung said. 'You put in a drug, and it goes everywhere,' he added. 'But being able to actually reach in and manipulate a cell type — that's precision.' The efforts to map a whole mouse brain are supported by funding from a long-running National Institutes of Health program called the BRAIN initiative. But the future of the endeavor is uncertain. Last year, Congress cut funding to the BRAIN initiative by 40 percent, and last month President Trump signed a bill cutting support by another 20 percent. Dr. Bock noted that brain-mapping efforts like MICrONS take years, partly because they require the invention of new technologies and software along the way. 'We need consistency and predictability of science funding to realize these long-term goals,' Dr. Bock said.
New York Times
08-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Panama Canal Ship Pilot Navigates Tricky Waters, and Trump
Hanging from a ladder attached to the hull of a giant, bobbing tanker, Capt. Efraín Hallax began his climb up to the crew awaiting him atop the Athina, a ship anchored in Panama Bay and third in line to transit the Panama Canal. The daunting ascent up the shifting ship was nothing new for Captain Hallax, 73. He has been a ship's pilot in the Panama Canal for over 40 years, responsible for guiding vessels through the trade-critical corridor that connects the Pacific Ocean with the Caribbean Sea. On this night in February, Captain Hallax reported for work a half-hour before midnight — and just a few hours after President Trump had canceled a call with President José Raúl Mulino of Panama to continue their negotiations over the future of the canal, which the U.S. president wants returned to American control. The overnight crossing was nothing out of the ordinary for the captain. With about 3 percent of the world's maritime trade carried through its locks, the Panama Canal is a 24-hour operation. 'Business as usual,' said Captain Hallax. 'Always business as usual in the Panama Canal, no matter Christmas, no matter rain, no matter fog, no matter nothing, no matter Trump.' As he took his first sip of the night's many coffees, Captain Hallax said alertness was a pilot's essential ally, and he counts on the caffeine — plus ice over his eyes — to help keep him awake. 'You see nothing at this time, just little lights,' he said. 'Blinking can cost you your life.' Captain Hallax is one of 310 pilots — six are women — authorized by the Authority of the Panama Canal to steer a ship through the waterway. These pilots are the only ones allowed to make the 50-mile transit, with the ship's captain required to cede control for the complex journey through the isthmus passage. Informed by the marine traffic control tower about the night's traffic, he knew what to expect: which ship to follow and what restrictions were in place. 'It's a bit like chess, a constant calculation,' he said. The Athina is small enough to fit through the three sets of locks, named Miraflores, Pedro Miguel and Gatun, which were built by the American government and have been operating since the canal opened in 1914. (In 2006, wider locks for bigger ships were opened.) In good weather, the transit takes about 10 hours. About 40 ships can make the journey daily, and the more ships that cross, the more money Panama makes. And it's a lot. Always profitable, the canal 'is a cash cow for the country,' Captain Hallax said. In 2024, it contributed $2.4 billion to government coffers. The canal is narrow and crowded, and job No. 1 for the pilots is using their expert local knowledge to make sure the ships they are helming don't hit the sides, or another vessel. 'They are highly specialized drivers,' said John Feeley, a former United States ambassador to Panama, 'trained to move the biggest moving structures on Planet Earth, like watching a horizontal skyscraper move.' As was made clear by the global trade bottleneck created when a container ship got stuck in the Suez Canal, a mistake made in a canal's constricted waterway can have consequences felt around the world. Captain Hallax was told the Miraflores locks were available at 2:30 a.m., so as soon as he arrived on deck, he took command of the ship. 'Sometimes there is friction with some of the captains,' he said of the power transfer. 'It's like asking someone for his wife.' Steering from inside the bridge on a foggy night or during a downpour can get especially difficult, and dangerous. 'I sometimes cannot see my nose,' Captain Hallax said. But tonight's crossing would at least start out easy. 'Sea is calm now,' Captain Hallax said as he surveyed the water around him, 'but this time of the year the winds can be tricky out there.' While tankers like the Athina are common assignments, the range of ships he pilots is wide. 'Anything that floats,' he said, including military vessels. 'U.S. submarines pop up often, he said. Raised in a semirural neighborhood on the outskirts of Panama City, Captain Hallax said that from a young age he had always wanted to see what the outside world looked like. Both his father and stepfather were seamen, 'so that was an influence,' he said. But it was the advice he received at a young age from an American canal pilot who was a family friend that really stuck. 'If you want a future in this country,' the American pilot told him, 'find yourself a job in the Panama Canal.' At the time, that dream was out of reach. The U.S. Canal Zone was a mostly forbidden fantasy land — except for a once-a-month visit with an aunt to visit her friend in the Zone. To the boy living at times without water and electricity, 'everything was perfect in the Zone,' he recalled. 'The streets, the trees, the mangoes. The lightbulbs worked. The buses ran.' When he reached adulthood, the Canal Zone was still shut to Panamanians. 'It was impossible to go knock on the door of a maritime agency, he said. 'They were all inside the Zone.' Thanks to a scholarship, Captain Hallax attended the Arturo Prat Naval Academy in Chile, and his peripatetic sea career began. But the jobs open to a Panamanian weren't the best: 'From lousy tramp steamer to lousy tramp steamer,' he said. He picked up additional maritime training wherever he could, from New York to Italy. Some ships on which he served crossed the Panama Canal. 'I felt like I was in another country, not my own,' he said. In 1977, when the globe-sailing Captain Hallax was in his mid-20s, Panama signed the treaty with the United States that would give it full control of the canal in 20 years. Knowing it needed to fill a huge void of trained pilots, Panama's government put out an open call for all Panamanian seamen with a first officer license and at least eight years of navigation experience. At the time, Captain Hallax was working on a cruise ship in Oregon. He applied immediately, and in 1983, he became one of the nine Panamanians who made up the first batch of pilots hired to start replacing the Americans. Today, the pilots come from varied backgrounds, but share one thing. 'They are exquisitely paid,' said Mr. Feeley, the ex-ambassador. Pilots make about $350,000 a year — and double that if they're willing to forego a normal life and work all the time. But Captain Hallax opted not to spend every hour at sea. A single man until he was 62, his other jobs included owning three bars, two named after pirates. The most difficult moment of his canal-crossing career is one he has rarely talked about since: He once stopped a ship on purpose, in protest. During the final days of the dictatorship of Gen. Manuel Noriega, who ruled Panama from 1983 to 1989, Captain Hallax one day on his way to work saw 'a bunch of policemen beat up women indiscriminately.' A few hours later, as he piloted a Turkish boat through the Pedro Miguel locks, 'tears rolling down my face from rage,' he dropped the ship's anchor at the narrow entry to Gatun Lake and took to the ship's radio to announce his protest against Noriega. The stoppage — 'the dumbest thing I've ever done,' he said — lasted 15 minutes. He was fired, and with Noriega's goons looking for him, he went into hiding. But just two weeks later, President George H.W. Bush ordered an invasion of Panama. The canal was closed for a week, and Noriega was soon arrested. Captain Hallax's lawyer argued that his action should be considered heroic resistance, not insubordination, and weeks after 'that stupidity,' he said, he was rehired. The night's crossing of the Athina went off without a hitch, and Captain Hallax arrived home the next morning. 'Sleepy,' he said. He plans to keep piloting another two years, then retire to see more of the world — this time on foot. 'I've discovered I like to walk,' he said. Whatever becomes of Mr. Trump's Canal interest, Captain Hallax doesn't expect much to change for pilots. The sea, the wind, the fear, the exhaustion and the bad shipboard food will remain. 'Politics,' he said, 'won't change these things.'
BBC News
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Manic Street Preachers: The story behind David Hurn album cover
David Hurn has always had an eye for seizing the the acclaimed photographer has revealed the inspiration behind the new Manic Street Preachers album was while on his way to photograph the Navajo native Americans in Arizona that he saw the "strange" and drunken sight that has been used by the Welsh rockers for their latest release."I was given a bi-centennial fellowship award by the American government to go to Arizona and photograph," Hurn told Radio Wales Breakfast."The picture came about because I had contacts with the Navajo through doctors. "I was driving to the reservation and went through an area called Painted Desert."Suddenly through the windscreen I saw this strange wiggly line. It was almost as if someone drunk had been making a drawing on the road. So I photographed it." Critical Thinking is the Manics' 15th studio album and the first to feature the lead vocals of bassist Nicky Wire, a long-time admirer of Hurn who he has described as a "colossus" of of modern documentary 90-year-old has worked with a remarkable array of stars, including Michael Caine, Sean Connery and Sophia despite once spending weeks behind the scenes with the The Beatles, this is the first time any of his work has featured on the cover of a rock album."Back in the '60s I did a few classical album covers but I don't even have the copies of them because they were so bad," laughed Hurn."The request came through my agent and when I was asked if it was OK for them [Manics] to use the photo I immediately replied, 'obviously yes'." Raised in Cardiff but now living in Monmouthshire, Hurn was recently presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Journalism award at the 2024 Wales Media Awards for his near-70-year career."I never leave the house without a camera," he said."It's not that I go looking for a photo but for something that I find interesting and, hopefully, other people will find interesting."It's more to do with feeling than sight."
