Science for the weekend! I haven’t forgotten about monster theory, I’ve been working on a project involving Frankenstein and climate change…

• Classifying viruses isn’t easy, but it’s important
• I went down the rabbit hole of weird viruses, and am enchanted by the term “genomic accordions.” Basically, some viruses are good at rapidly expanding and contracting their genomes by adding or subtracting extra copies of genes. More copies helps respond to stress and develop new mutations. This paper describes the process in poxvirus. Or if you prefer, an episode of one of my favorite podcasts about it.
• Speaking of fun viruses, check this one out! It splits its genome into separate pieces that each infect different cells…
• Hopeful stories about endangered languages
• I had no idea that Nature published science fiction…
• Huh…colliding plates near the tropics could cool the planet by exposing rocks that absorb CO2…(or here)
• I have been impressed by how seriously a lot of CRISPR scientists have taken the possibilities and ethical questions of their work. Here is a call for a global moratorium on heritable gene editing until we’re really ready.