Noteworthy
We are living through interesting times, to say the least. Not long ago, though now it may feel that it's been eons, we could freely celebrate microbial diversity, biodiversity, structural diversity, diversity of opinions, diversity of interests and, yes, human diversity even! Now, it seems, diversity could quickly become "verbum non gratum" as evidenced by recently enacted instructions that federal grant proposals be scanned for its presence. Finding it might serve as a criterion for disqualification.
To counter this trend the German-American writer Joachim Frank offers us an essay, posted a few days ago in the long-running blog OffCourse, celebrating diversity in many languages. We urge you to read it! Joachim Frank is (also) a scientist, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and of Biological Sciences at Columbia University and Distinguished Professor of the State University of New York at Albany. His many contributions include the development of cryo-electron microscopy, in recognition of which he shared the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. We are grateful to Joachim for his diversity of interests!
("Noteworthy" is the new format for STC's Thursday posts. Please read our Jan 20, 2025 post outlining this and other changes in our blog.)
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