Memorable conversations from the 2021 Crosscut Festival
From local art and pandemic disruption to climate change and Black history, here are the discussions you don t want to miss.
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From top left: Erin Johnson, Sonia Shah, Abrahm Lustgarten, and Carmen Best; second row: Tim Lennon, Heather Cox Richardson, Teddy Phillips (AKA Stat the Artist), and Vivian Hua; third row: Monyee Chau, Steven Miller, Peter Singer, and Michelle Nijhuis.
After the onset of the pandemic canceled last year s Crosscut Festival, we were thrilled we could bring you into 33 conversations over this last week. Thank you all so much for joining us and for asking our speakers such thoughtful questions!
Date Time
Enzyme that could help 700 million people worldwide
University of South Australia researchers have identified an enzyme that may help to curb chronic kidney disease, which affects approximately 700 million people worldwide.
This enzyme, NEDD4-2, is critical for kidney health, says UniSA Centre for Cancer Biology scientist Dr Jantina Manning in a new paper published this month in Cell Death & Disease.
The early career researcher and her colleagues, including 2020 SA Scientist of the Year Professor Sharad Kumar, have shown in an animal study the correlation between a high salt diet, low levels of NEDD4-2 and advanced kidney disease.
Science Matters
Puty
As human activity continues to heat the planet and destroy wildlife habitat, plants and animals are responding based on their genetic makeup and ability to adapt to altered environments. Some are losing ground, landing on ever-growing species-at-risk lists or winking out altogether. Others are making gains, eking out their existence alongside us or even benefitting from habitat alteration we’ve caused raccoons, for instance.
Science writer Fred Pearce notes that “most of the losers are rare, endangered, and endemic species, while most of the winners are common, generalist, and invasive species rats, mosquitoes, water hyacinth and the like.”
Image of avid Suzuki courtesy of the David Suzuki Foundation
As human activity continues to heat the planet and destroy wildlife habitat, plants and animals are responding based on their genetic makeup and ability to adapt to altered environments. Some are losing ground, landing on ever-growing species-at-risk lists or winking out altogether. Others are making gains, eking out their existence alongside us or even benefitting from habitat alteration we’ve caused raccoons, for instance.
Science writer Fred Pearce notes that “most of the losers are rare, endangered, and endemic species, while most of the winners are common, generalist, and invasive species rats, mosquitoes, water hyacinth and the like.”