“The Plague” and Our Pandemic Odyssey: Lessons from a Prophetic Past Albert Camus’ 1947 novel, “The Plague,” eerily mirrors the chaotic scramble of the COVID-19 pandemic. With its tale of Oran, a city gripped by a deadly disease, the book resonates with themes of isolation, fear, and the search for meaning amidst crisis. So, did…
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XENOBOTS by Sam Kriegman Title image: An AI-designed “parent” organism (C shape; red) beside stem cells that have been compressed into a ball (“offspring”; green). Credit: Douglas Blackiston and Sam Kriegman Amsterdam, December 28th 2021– AI-designed Xenobots reveal an entirely new form of biological self-replication—promising for regenerative medicine. To persist, life must reproduce. Over billions…
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This week, we’re putting the focus on Nobel Prize-winning French author Albert Camus. As 2020 saw France mark 60 years since his death in a car crash, Camus’s seminal work “The Plague” was unexpectedly thrust back into the spotlight by the Covid-19 pandemic. From the UK to Japan, the 1947 novel established itself as a global sensation, topping sales charts…
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Part III by: A. van Veelen Amsterdam, June 28th 2021– It is as if Amsterdam Football Club and Ajax’s selection escapes relegation in the post-competition and we still praise the coach: just go for it, he did it in the very end. Nothing seems to break our self-image. No pandemic, benefits disaster or corruption scandal. The…
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Part III Patricia de Martelaere Amsterdam, May 4 2021– But to whom or what the hell? Fate? That word is meaningless. I bet on savage grief for myself. Dylan Thomas: “Don’t go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” ”Maybe I’ll go to our house in France one more…
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