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"Mel"
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A causal mechanism for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
In this Review, I present evidence supporting a multifactorial causation of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), a major subtype of paediatric cancer. ALL evolves in two discrete steps. First, in utero initiation by fusion gene formation or hyperdiploidy generates a covert, pre-leukaemic clone. Second, in a small fraction of these cases, the postnatal acquisition of secondary genetic changes (primarily V(D)J recombination-activating protein (RAG) and activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID)-driven copy number alterations in the case of ETS translocation variant 6 (ETV6)–runt-related transcription factor 1 (RUNX1)+ ALL) drives conversion to overt leukaemia. Epidemiological and modelling studies endorse a dual role for common infections. Microbial exposures earlier in life are protective but, in their absence, later infections trigger the critical secondary mutations. Risk is further modified by inherited genetics, chance and, probably, diet. Childhood ALL can be viewed as a paradoxical consequence of progress in modern societies, where behavioural changes have restrained early microbial exposure. This engenders an evolutionary mismatch between historical adaptations of the immune system and contemporary lifestyles. Childhood ALL may be a preventable cancer.
Journal Article
National Geographic angry birds : 50 true stories of the fed up, feathered, and furious /
\"This hilariously eye-popping book showcases real-world angry birds and 50 fantastic stories peppered with tips to avoid them, as well as fascinating facts about angry bird behavior. In addition to the funny and light-hearted real-life angry bird stories, National Geographic Angry Birds: Fed up, Feathered, and Furious will tell, for the first time ever, the story of the Angry Birds we all know and love from the hit game. Angry Bird fans will finally get to learn the personality, name, and all the details of each of the iconic Angry Birds.\"--Provided by publisher.
Book
Promoting inclusion and equity in education: lessons from international experiences
This paper focuses on a major challenge facing education systems around the world, that of finding ways of including all children in schools. In economically poorer countries this is mainly about the millions of children who are not able to attend formal education (UNESCO, 2015). Meanwhile, in wealthier countries many young people leave school with no worthwhile qualifications, whilst others are placed in special provision away from mainstream education and some choose to drop out since the lessons seem irrelevant (OECD, 2012). Faced with these challenges, there is evidence of an increased interest in the idea of making education more inclusive and equitable. However, the field remains confused as to the actions needed in order to move policy and practice forward.
Journal Article
Who killed Mr. Chippendale? : a mystery in poems
Free verse poems describe the reactions of students, colleagues, and others when a high school teacher is shot to death as the school day begins.
Book
Place illusion and plausibility can lead to realistic behaviour in immersive virtual environments
In this paper, I address the question as to why participants tend to respond realistically to situations and events portrayed within an immersive virtual reality system. The idea is put forward, based on the experience of a large number of experimental studies, that there are two orthogonal components that contribute to this realistic response. The first is ‘being there’, often called ‘presence’, the qualia of having a sensation of being in a real place. We call this place illusion (PI). Second, plausibility illusion (Psi) refers to the illusion that the scenario being depicted is actually occurring. In the case of both PI and Psi the participant knows for sure that they are not ‘there’ and that the events are not occurring. PI is constrained by the sensorimotor contingencies afforded by the virtual reality system. Psi is determined by the extent to which the system can produce events that directly relate to the participant, the overall credibility of the scenario being depicted in comparison with expectations. We argue that when both PI and Psi occur, participants will respond realistically to the virtual reality.
Journal Article
All new square foot gardening with kids
In \"Square Foot Gardening with Kids,\" Mel reveals the tips, tricks, and projects he uses to teach youngsters to build and grow their own SFGs. Because of its simple principles and fast payoff, Square Foot Gardening is perfect for children. The easy geometry of the gridded box breaks the complex world of gardening into digestible bites that are easy to approach, understand, and repeat.
BOOK
Thermoregulatory strategies in the heat varies among Australian insectivorous bats
Despite the threat of global warming, few studies have investigated inter- and intra-specific thermoregulatory variation in bats at high temperatures. Those from Europe and Africa suggest that individuals from warmer roosts tolerate higher temperatures than those from comparatively cooler roosts. However, because comparable data are lacking, it remains unclear whether these patterns apply more generally. We predicted that bats occupying cooler roosts (e.g., tree-cavities) would initiate evaporative cooling at lower air temperatures compared to those from warmer roosts (e.g., bark). We also predicted that, compared to males, females would: (a) have higher heat tolerance limits, and (b) be more conservative with water due to their warmer roost preferences during the breeding season. We conducted flow-through respirometry experiments in an Australian semi-arid ecosystem to make inter-specific comparisons of males from five bat species (
Chalinolobus gouldii
,
Vespadelus vulturnus
,
Nyctophilus geoffroyi
,
N. corbeni
, and
Ozimops petersi
), and intra-specific thermoregulatory patterns within
C. gouldii
,
V. vulturnus
and
N. geoffroyi
. Our results indicate that both inter and intra-specifically, the use of warmer, thermally unbuffered roosts is positively correlated with higher heat tolerance limits and greater evaporative cooling capacities. Understanding this variation can improve conservation decisions in ecosystems under the greatest threat of global warming.
Journal Article
The math is not the territory: navigating the free energy principle
Much has been written about the free energy principle (FEP), and much misunderstood. The principle has traditionally been put forth as a theory of brain function or biological self-organisation. Critiques of the framework have focused on its lack of empirical support and a failure to generate concrete, falsifiable predictions. I take both positive and negative evaluations of the FEP thus far to have been largely in error, and appeal to a robust literature on scientific modelling to rectify the situation. A prominent account of scientific modelling distinguishes between model structure and model construal. I propose that the FEP be reserved to designate a model structure, to which philosophers and scientists add various construals, leading to a plethora of models based on the formal structure of the FEP. An entailment of this position is that demands placed on the FEP that it be falsifiable or that it conform to some degree of biological realism rest on a category error. To this end, I deliver first an account of the phenomenon of model transfer and the breakdown between model structure and model construal. In the second section, I offer an overview of the formal elements of the framework, tracing their history of model transfer and illustrating how the formalism comes apart from any interpretation thereof. Next, I evaluate existing comprehensive critical assessments of the FEP, and hypothesise as to potential sources of existing confusions in the literature. In the final section, I distinguish between what I hold to be the FEP—taken to be a modelling language or modelling framework—and what I term “FEP models.”
Journal Article