LIGHTSABERS & INVISIBILITY CLOAKS page 14
CLIMATE CHANGE CAUSES CONFLICT? page 23
Winter 2014
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Building a Superhuman How Princeton science is updating humanity
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STAFF What is Innovation?
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Innovation Journal is a undergraduate-led publication that highlights Princeton’s science news.
Featured Interviewees Manu Mannoor, Grad Student Adam Finkelstein (COS) Alexei Korennykh (MOL) Jeffry Stock (CHM) Dr. Frederiksen (University of Copenhagen, Denmark) Jean Schwarzbauer (MOL) Jeffrey Schwarts (CHM)
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 4
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Art and Algorithm
Bionic Ear More than your average ear
Realistic Digital Paint
Intruder Alert
Coffee and Brain Health
Studying kinases within the immune system
Find out why decaf might be better
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The Science of
Meditation
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Charting Conciousness
Lightsabers and Invisibility Cloaks
An interview with Professor Michael Graziano
The Science behind Science Fiction
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A Brief History of Fall Semester
On every odd page.
Hot Weather, Hot Heads Are rising temperatures making people more violent?
Making Friends with your Implants The latest improvements in the field of implants
FiscalNote Changing our political landscape with machine learning
September 7, 2013 First Day of Princeton Did you know that the reason why it is so hard to remember new names is because your brain purposefully creates memory lapses to avoid overloading with information?
engineering
BIONIC
Ear
The integration of electronics with the human body has fascinated scientists and science fiction fans alike for many decades now. They are enthralled by the bionic organ, an organ made of human tissue with an abiotic (nonliving) element. However, electronics are made from silver and other metals that are toxic to cells and can cause
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them to die. Researchers are trying to find a way to work around this compatibility problem and incorporate electronics into the body so that the transition from cell to metal is seamless. The cells and the abiotic molecules would be right next to each other with no space between the two. Current methods are complex and have yet to yield
I. PRINT II. GROW THE OUTER COIL IS PRINTED. 1 HOUR THE EAR IS PRINTED LAYER BY LAYER, ALTERNATING MATERIALS WHEN NECESSARY. THE FULLY PRINTED EAR IS READY FOR CULTURING.
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by nancy song interviewing manu mannoor designed by julia wang and hyewon kim
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4 HOURS
THE BIONIC EAR IS INCUBATED AND CULTURED FOR 70 DAYS. THE CELLS EXCRETE AN EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX, GIVING THE EAR STRUCTURAL SUPPORT. TESTS CONFIRM THAT THE COIL IS FULLY INTEGRATED INTO THE TISSUE.
III. HEAR THE COIL ALLOWS THE EAR TO LISTEN TO AND TRANSMIT RADIO WAVES.
a true bionic organ: either the cells are inactive or the electronic component is not functioning. Manu Mannoor, a Princeton graduate student with the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) department, took a novel approach to solving this problem when he constructed a completely functioning bionic ear.
CELL GROWTH SILICON COATING SILVER COIL
in what ways can we integrate electronics with the human body? THE BIONIC EAR Mannoor’s bionic ear is like any other ear, except for the fact that it does not listen to sound waves. Instead, the ear “listens” to radio waves. The eardrum and cochlea are replaced by a coil made of silver in the bionic ear. The coil acts as an antenna that picks up radio waves. The signal from the radio waves is then transmitted through a wire that comes out the other side of the ear. Not only is the bionic ear the first functioning bionic organ, but it is also the first to be created using a 3D printer. 3D printing first begins with the computer-assisted design (CAD). The CAD is just a computer-simulated object that one can adjust and design on a computer. Mannoor and his team loaded a design of an ear and then modified it to include their electronic component of an antenna. They also labeled which parts were made of different materials; the ear itself is composed of cells, but the antenna is made of silver and coated with silicon. The silicon neutralizes the toxicity of the silver, and provides structural support for the ear. After all the modifications to the CAD are complete, the software then splits the 3D design into near microscopic layers from the bottom-up. The design is now ready to print. The printer operates by aligning a syringe containing the printing material along an x-y-z coordinate system. With each layer, the z component shifts up. The syringe dispenses a select amount of material at the specified coordinate according to the software. Progress can be monitored on the computer and when a new material is reached, the syringe is just replaced with another containing the appropriate substance. After printing, the bionic ear must be
incubated and cultured for seventy days because the cells have not fully “settled” yet—the cells don’t interact with each other like they do in a tissue or an organ. While in incubation, the cells begin to secrete an extracellular matrix, which gives structural support and promotes interaction between neighboring cells. The ear has now become a tissue. Several tests are run to ensure the validity of the ear: are the cells active? Does it have the correct shape and hardness? The functionality of the antenna—whether it picked up radio waves and how well it transmitted the signals—must be tested as well. Mannoor’s bionic ear was validated and fully functional. For the first time, a bionic organ was successfully created. While much of the buzz has focused on the use of the 3D printer, Mannoor emphasizes that “the 3D printer was just a tool” to achieve the integration between electronics and the human body. He wants the focus to be the big picture of intertwining electronics with biology. 3D printing provides a resourceful method in attaining that goal, but a question arises: in what other ways can we integrate electronics with the human body?
The Future of Integration The possibilities that accompany an organ with electronic components are endless. An organ can either be replaced or enhanced. Scientists have already created an electronic nose, and there is now a prosthetic leg that can be controlled by the brain with wires that are attached to nerve endings in the leg. But Mannoor would still like to see a biological component with cells and tissue in addition to the electronic ones. According to Mannoor, “If it’s completely abiotic, it still doesn’t do the entire func-
Attached sensors show the applied pressure on the knee’s menisci through an embedded display.
tionality, it’s not a replacement organ. I still believe it’s better to have a bionic organ with a biological component and then integrate electronics that are not invasive and are not harmful, only beneficial.” In Mannoor’s vision, the electronics would only be enhancing the original biological functions of the body. Mannoor elaborates upon this idea with knee meniscus surgery as an example. Mannoor still advocates for the original surgery, which replaces the tissue, but would also use an embedded display on the knee. The display would be connected to a sensor, which “would measure the pressure on the meniscus. Stress sensors on bones can then tell you about your movement to prevent injury.” The display would indicate when you are putting too much pressure on the knee. With an ordinary surgery, there is always the possibility of tearing the meniscus. But now with the electronic component, you could possibly prevent future injuries. The concept of enhanced functionality with electronics has intrigued many, including Princeton students. After the bionic ear, at least four undergraduates have joined research teams within the MAE department. Mannoor and other MAE research groups are interested in finding more ways to integrate electronics and the human body. As more research is done and more innovative approaches taken, the day when everyone can have a bionic organ is not far away. September 15, 2013 Princeton Lawnparties Do you remember the ringing in your ears after Fall Lawnparties? It was because hair-like extensions inside your ear have actually broken off, and mistakenly sends false information to your auditory nerves.
by isabelle Ingato, interviewing Professor Adam FinkelStein (COS) Designed by RorY Fitzpatrick
We usually consider art to be synonymous with creativity, originality, and abstraction— not precision. We see art as unpredictable. Nevertheless, art can be technical and even scientific. While we may never be able to systematically explain the processes behind abstract works, we can now understand and predict where brush will meet paper when it comes to artists’ renderings of objects: “algorithmic art” is no longer an oxymoron. Research by Professor Adam Finkelstein of the Computer Science Department has found that algorithms are indeed capable of modeling where artists will draw lines, specifically those making up a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional figure. “Mathematicians had wondered [about this] before,” says Professor Finkelstein, but the way to accurately study this prediction was not always clear. In order to find the answer, his team developed a careful protocol, asking artists of varying levels to make drawings and then tracings of 3D shapes to see how those compared to the computer graphics (CG) renderings and with other artists’ drawings. Comparisons were made by the proximity of pixels 6
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and lines in human drawings to pixels and lines in CG renderings. In drawings done by hand, they found that “across all prompts, approximately 75% of human drawing pixels were within 1 mm of a drawn pixel in all other drawings for that prompt.” It is “good that people are consistent,” says Professor Finkelstein, and it “means that there is hope that you can develop an algorithmic model for how people make drawings.” Yet, despite the possibilities implied by the ability to develop these models, Professor Finkelstein is certainly not looking to replace human artists with computer applications. In fact, much of his research is devoted to making the transition to digital media better for traditional artists. The goal is to capture the best aspects of working in natural media and to combine them with the benefits of digital painting systems, rather than to exclude one space from the other. Professor Finkelstein believes that the tactile, vibrant quality of traditional media, including feeling “the connection of brush to paper,” is “part of the artist’s engagement with medium.” He suggests that this is one reason “why artists will continue to work in that traditional me-
dium.” Still, he points out, digital media has its own advantages, such as the undo key, an elusive option when one is working with real paints. Professor Finkelstein notes that the fluidity of cut and paste has really benefited comic book artists, for example, because they can now extrapolate, alter, and replace aspects of their artistic creations efficiently. Other advantages include the level of detail and precision that some systems offer artists. Nonetheless, despite the advancements, most tools, such as Photoshop, while applicable for certain artistic forms, fall short when it comes to digital painting. Indeed, making “plausible strokes” and stroke interactions (blending, layering, etc.) is somewhat limited with CG: “All of these systems suffer from a common limitation… they can only support a small range of deformations of example strokes before the altered appearance becomes unrealistic.” There are many challenges facing computer graphics—for instance, one would have to simulate the interaction of light at the molecular level with photons in order to perfectly represent a figure from every viewpoint and with every lighting effect—yet strides have
When an artist makes a stroke, RealBrush searches its library for the particular style selected by the artist and finds strokes with curves that match the shape of the stroke that’s been drawn. Then, the program synthesizes the stored strokes into a new stroke that matches the artist’s line.
RealBrush’s library contains styles each artist can choose from when creating designs.
been made in terms of creating the same effect as natural media using CG. These strides include RealBrush, a project on which Professor Finkelstien has worked in conjunction with graduate student Jingwan Lu and researchers from Google Inc. and Adobe Systems. RealBrush, a new digital painting system that interacts with natural media, does not “restrict an artist with preprogrammed media.” Rather it allows artists to capture (with a photograph uploaded to the computer) the texture, for example, of a squeeze of toothpaste and use it in their digital creations. This system uses a factored algorithm, breaking the task of “data acquisition and search” into four separate “bases” - shape, smear, smudge, and composite - which thus decreases the amount of memory required of the data-driven system. It also better aligns the “trial and error” decision-making process of the artist with the exemplification of real media in CG and improves the realistic appearance of texture and stroke interaction on the screen. According to the paper, specifically “for common natural media (oil and watercolor), synthesized individual strokes are indistinguishable from
real examples to casual viewers… [while] synthesized smears and smudges often look plausible, but are not indistinguishable from real examples.” The unique foundation for RealBrush is a library that stores style. The authors state that “[w]ithin RealBrush, the user can select this library and make new strokes that are synthesized using the library to create novel marks in the same style.” These tools, which capture, register, record, and recapitulate parts of works from artists in their original media, are meant to “enhance what [professional] artists can do” as well as make digital stylized content creation more accessible for amateur artists. Professor Finkelstein mentions that developing more interactive video editing tools, which—in their current versions—are often cumbersome and “unusable by non-professionals,” could be a further step in extending access to art for these so-called non-artists. But as Professor Finkelstein points out: “Who are artists?” Are we not all part of the “spectrum of artists” in some way? The focus is not just to connect the computer to the artist, but on “connecting inside the computer to the outside” world.
In other words, we are “designing in the computer” and “realizing” our creations physically. Perhaps nothing emphasizes this point more than the result of a previous project of Professor Finkelstein’s: a physical, 3D dragon model carefully made so that perception of it at each angle matches that of the computer rendering originally used to create it. In a way, this dragon is as much a piece of art as one of science, a literal combination of the fantastical imagination within the constraints of reality. Upon seeing such work, it is no surprise to know that the possibilities of the real world are expanding through the collaboration of painters and computer scientists, of art and algorithms.
September 22, 2013 President Eisgruber’s Installation Since the university is 267 years old and there have been 20 presidents since the first, your class is one of eighty to witness a president’s installation.
Studying Strange Kinases within the Innate Immune System BY SWETHA DOPPALAPUDI INTERVIEWING PROFESSOR ALEXEI KORENNYKH DESIGNED BY EUGENE LEE, JULIA WANG, AND MARISA CHOW
“Make sure to keep your immune system healthy!” How many times have you heard your doctor tell you to take care of your immune system? Perhaps when you think about your immune system you picture T-cells and B-cells actively gorging themselves on disease-causing microorganisms and viruses in your body. This picture, although mostly correct, only represents the active immune system. The active immune system is the facet of the overall immune system that utilizes T-cells and B-cells to recognize, remember, and destroy invading pathogens. The other facet of the immune system that is often glossed over is the innate immune system. The innate immune system is the first line of defense against invading pathogens in the human body; it consists of cells, receptors, signaling cascades, and inflammatory responses that defend the body against invaders and recruit the active immune system to the site of the infection. Much is unknown about the underlying molecular mechanisms that dictate the workings of the innate immune system. Yet we do know that it has a wide array of responsibilities, ranging from immune function to aging to longevity.
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kinase - An enzyme that modifies other proteins by adding phosphate groups to them.
THE INNATE IMMUNE SYSTEM: tosis - essentially, cell suicide. For now, Dr. RNASE L and IRE1 - partners in Korennykh is focusing on the RNase L pathway in the cell. crime Innate immune system research is at the interface between basic science and healthcare. Understanding the pathways involved in this system will lead to better disease models, early diagnostic tools, and possibly even disease treatments. Here at Princeton University, Professor Alexei Korennykh is working on elucidating the basic signaling pathways of RNase L and Ire1, two proteins in the innate immune system that exhibit highly unusual behavior. These two proteins are kinases, or enzymes that modify other proteins by adding phosphate groups to them. Kinases are mostly implicated in sending signals within cellular pathways. They are part of the overall human kinome, which consists of all the protein kinases in an organism’s genome.
RNASE L: THE CELL’s LAST STAND
RNase L has evolved from Ire1, which is a classic receptor of the unfolded protein response. The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a cellular stress response that originates in the Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) of a cell. When misfolded proteins are found in the ER, the UPR is activated and attempts to fix the problem. If the problem is found to be irresolvable, the cell undergoes apop-
Yet we do know that the innate immune system has a wide array of responsibilities; from immune function to aging to longevity.
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WE CAN LIVE LONGER… BUT SUFFER INFLAMMATION?
RNase L is a receptor in the inflammatory response and has been shown to be very important in longevity; RNase L knockout mice, which lack this receptor, live 30% longer than normal mice, but also suffer from heavy inflammation. Thus the elongated lifespan comes at the cost of generally reduced health quality. This varied response attests to the involvement of this pathway not only in antiviral defense, as exhibitefd by the heavy inflammation, but also in the normal cell cycle, as attested to by the longevity of the mice. Since RNase L is present in all cells and seems to have an interesting function, it has the potential to be targeted for therapeutic use. But in order to manipulate or use the RNase L pathway in a medically beneficial way, one must first elucidate the inner workings of the pathway itself.
THE RNASE L PATHWAY
Dr. Korennykh’s lab is currently working on dissecting the RNase L pathway, finding its key proteins, and fully understanding its underlying mechanisms. Although the lab uses computational modeling to rule out prospective hypotheses concerning protein interactions, they focus mostly on actual experimental work. They use time-dependent experiments to study the events of the signaling cascade. They also use x-ray diffraction and other structural biology methods to study the key proteins in the pathway. Dr. Korennykh says, “I really believe in the experiment. We always want some crystal [structure], or high-resolution structure, of the receptors of the unknown receptor…
Meanwhile, in the immune System...
1. ALERT! Misfolded proteins are found in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of the cell
2. RESPONSE The cell activates the unfolded protein response (UPR) in an attempt to fix the problem
3. LAST RESORT
If the problem is irresolvable, the cell undergoes apoptosis and self-destructs
the fastest way to get the structure Eventually the lab hopes to find applications of their research in is to crystallize the protein and solve the early detection and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, it. We really belike Alzheimer’s, which displays high levels of inflammation. lieve in the experimental approach to structural bioloapplications. But, solving the crystal struc- like Alzheimer’s, which cause high levels gy; computational methods, for us, is mosttures of certain key molecules can definitely of inflammation. Maybe soon we will have ly useful in ruling out certain hypotheses.” provide an application of their own. Dr. Ko- simple blood tests for the early diagnoThe Korennykh lab has elucidated many rennykh hopes that some of the structures sis of Alzheimer’s and other diseases structures in the RNase L and Ire1 paththat his lab has already found, structures characterized by inflammation. ways as of late. Identifying the key proteins that are reporters for inflammation, will be of the pathways is the first step to fully unused in the diagnosis of inflammatory disderstanding the mechanisms behind them. eases. The idea is to test human samples for the presence of these initial indicators of inFUTURE: SIMPLE BLOOD TEST FOR flammation. This would in turn help identify ALZHEIMERS? inflammatory diseases early in their onset. This is just the beginning: the elucidation Eventually the lab hopes to find applications October 3, 2013 of a pathway and its mechanisms is the ini- of their research in the early detection and Sixth case of meningitis tial stage on the path to eventual medical treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, The Center for Disease Control defines a meningococcal disease outbreak as 3 cases in a defined area. Princeton has had twice this number.
Coffee drinkers live longer and have a reduced risk of diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. So, caffeine is good for you, right? Maybe not. Evidence shows that caffeine actually causes adverse effects such as elevated blood pressure and hypertension. So how can coffee be providing benefits? Jeffry B. Stock, a professor in the Molecular Biology department and the co-founder of the biopharmaceutical company Signum Biosciences, has a new take on the beneficial effects of coffee. His research indicates that, EHT, a relatively minor component of coffee, rather than caffeine, may be responsible for the health benefits of coffee consumption. Professor Stock searched for compounds in coffee that interact with protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), an enzyme that acts as a master regulator of neuronal function. PP2A plays a central role in responses to chronic stresses that lead to neurodegeneration and senile dementia. So, it was logical to look and see if there was anything in coffee that interacted with PP2A so as to maintain it in a healthy state. This led to the discovery
Did I drink my coffee today?
Without any EHT-containing coffee and no activated PP2A, the individual may be more susceptible to Alzheimer’s.
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of EHT’s neuroprotective effects. In a va- preclinical experiments with animal modriety of mouse and rat neurodegenerative els for neurodegeneration have employed disease models, dietary supplementation well-controlled doses of synthetic EHT, but with EHT had beneficial effects. In studies Professor Stock does not intend to develop with dopaminergic neurons, EHT protects synthetic EHT as an FDA-approved pharagainst toxins that can cause Parkinsonian maceutical drug. To accomplish this would disorders, EHT also provides dramatic take hundreds of millions of dollars and behavioral benefits in a mouse model for many years. Instead, Dr. Stock’s compaLewy Body Disease and Parkinsonian De- ny has produced a caffeine-free extract of coffee that is highly mentia. Moreover, in a transgenic rat Besides having reduced risk enriched in natural EHT and will be model for demenof neurodegeneration, commercially availtia of the Alzheiable to the general mer’s type, EHT coffee drinkers seem to public by the end produced draof this year. People matic increases in be protected from Type 2 who have regularly memory functions. diabetes taken pre-launch Fortunately, there samples of the is no indication of any harmful side effects of EHT, for in- supplement report a variety of health benstance, mice and rats fed high levels of EHT efits. Besides having reduced risk of neufor more than a year exhibit no negative rodegeneration, coffee drinkers seem to be protected from Type 2 diabetes, and Dr. side effects. Levels of EHT vary greatly between Stock thinks that EHT could be of benefit in different types of coffee. It is removed this respect as well. Moreover, because of by some, but not all, decaffeination pro- its neuroprotective potential, athletes who cesses, and varies with different methods are prone to experience repeated brain of brewing with higher concentrations in trauma might also benefit from EHT dietary espresso and lower in French press. The supplementation. PP2A
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The EHT molecules in the coffee still activate PP2A which may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s, but the caffeine has undesirable side-effects.
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EHT molecules in the decaffinated coffee activate the PP2A molecules in the brain, which potetially reduces the drinker’s chances of developing Alzheimer’s.
DECAF DRINKERS
REGULAR DRINKERS October 21, 2013 Beginning of Midterms Week Didn’t you wish you knew that the most efficient chunk of time for studying is between 30 to 60 minutes? The most important part of studying is long term repetition.
M E D I TAT I O N A N D M I N D F U L N E S S By Fred Shaykis interviewing Dr. Frederiksen “Mindfulness” is a craze that is sweeping the world right now, and nowhere is it spreading faster than in Copenhagen, Denmark. There, counseling psychologist Dr. Line Frederiksen is doing her best to prevent mindfulness from just being a fad. What exactly is mindfulness? Simply put, it is the process of bringing one’s full attention to the experience of the present moment in an accepting and nonjudgmental way. While Dr. Frederiksen’s research focuses on the benefits of receiving mindfulness training for clinical therapists, she hopes that mindfulness will soon be widely accepted around the world, and not just practiced by her fellow therapists. Mindfulness, a practice which stems from Buddhist philosophy, is most commonly practiced through meditation. It typically begins with a focus on breathing to ground oneself in the present moment. Love and kindness meditation, which fosters feelings of love and increases openness to oneself and others, and bodyscan meditation, which fosters relaxation by sequentially bringing awareness to each part of the body, are two of the most common forms. Mindfulness, however, is not limited to meditation, and can be applied to everyday activities like exercising, driving, or eating. Meditation is simply the “purest” form of mindfulness because it involves doing nothing other than focusing on the current experience. Research on the effects of mindfulness meditation has been extensive, and the findings quite promising. Mindfulness meditation training actually leads to a detectable thickening of the cerebral cortex in re-
designed by Sonia Hashim and Erica Tsai
gions crucial to learning, memory, attention, emotional regulation, and perspective taking. Furthermore, studies have shown differences in brain electrical activity, increased myelination, and improved immune system function after undergoing mindfulness training. Amazingly, these changes are seen not after a lifetime devoted to meditation, but after only an 8-week mindfulness meditation course called Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MSBR), developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn. In this short but intensive course, a certified teacher leads students through meditations and other exercises that help develop the skills of mindfulness. In addition, students are assigned homework exercises, such as meditating on their own or performing a specific activity mindfully. While the majority of the scientific research illustrating the positive effects of mindfulness is quantitative, Dr. Frederiksen chose to perform a qualitative investigation of the effects of mindfulness training for therapists working in clinical psychology for her doctoral research. As Dr. Frederiksen explains it, quantitative research can be useful for objectively determining “universal truths” but is constrained by measurement parameters, instead of being able to report the entire range of outcomes seen. In addition, because mindfulness is such a personal experience, it can be difficult to study it in depth using quantitative methods. In Dr. Frederiksen’s study, a group of practicing clinical therapists were taught the skills of mindfulness from an 8-week course similar
BECOMING MINDFUL... Sit in an upright position that you can maintain for the duration of the exercise One of the major goals of meditation is to calm the mind. To do so effectively, you must be comfortable.
Observe your thoughts individually. Cast them away one by one. Eventually, you should reach a state of peace where you are free from distraction even by your thoughts.
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Calming effects of breathing anxiety
awareness
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Increased awareness and acceptance of bodily sensations
Improved attention towards thoughts and feelings
Increased openness to self and others
to MSBR. After the training was complete, Dr. Frederiksen closely examined the effects of the mindfulness training on the therapists through semi-structured inquiry and analysis of interview transcripts. Open-ended questions aimed at understanding what the experience of mindfulness was like were posed to the participants, such as “Did you experience any new body sensations during or after the mindfulness training?” While inherently subjective, Dr. Frederiksen’s intent was to identify some common themes in the experience and effects of mindfulness. After scrutinizing the interview transcripts, Dr. Frederiksen identified six such themes among the participants, including increased openness to self and others; the “embodied experience” – increased bodily awareness, acceptance of bodily sensations, and calming effects of breathing; and improved attention towards thoughts and feelings. While the above phenomena were all somewhat abstract, participants also reported that the training had helped them directly in their capacity as therapists because it reduced their anxiety and increased their awareness, empathy and connectedness to clients. Furthermore, several participants even reported personal benefits from the training, such as being better able to bear the grief of bereavement and coping better with chronic back pain. Dr. Frederiksen’s findings contribute to the great body of research on mindfulness, and she hopes that more psychotherapists will soon receive mindfulness training themselves and use it with their clients.
She already employs mindfulness in her Copenhagen clinic in one-onone and group settings and she believes it has been quite helpful for many of her patients suffering from depression, anxiety disorders, addiction, and other psychological problems. In addition, a significant proportion of psychotherapists around the world, particularly existential therapists, have begun to incorporate mindfulness into their therapeutic practice. However, the uses of mindfulness extend far beyond the treatment of psychological disorders. Convinced by the research, many organizations and schools are beginning to offer courses in mindfulness in order to reduce stress and increase well-being and productivity. While she is optimistic about the future of mindfulness, Dr. Frederiksen acknowledges that widespread acceptance and practice of mindfulness will take a considerable amount of time, hard work, active promotion, and financial investment. There are many people who mistakenly believe that mindfulness is a religious practice, are skeptical of its benefits, or doubt their own ability to meditate. Furthermore, mindfulness is not easy or quick – it takes genuine effort and a good deal of practice for most people to learn and benefit from it. Nevertheless, Dr. Frederiksen firmly believes that mindfulness can be a useful skill for everyone. In this fast-paced world that we live in, learning how to slow down, de-stress, and be more present in our lives could do us all a great deal of good.
. . A N D I T S P H Y S I O LO G I C A L E F F E C T S Practicing meditation and mindfulness, through “Love and Kindness” or “Body Scan” meditation, or just practicing mindful awareness in everyday activities, can have these physiological effects:
Measurable difference in electric activity of the brain Thickening of the myelin sheath Increased thickness of the cerebral cortex
Improved immune system function
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October 26, 2013 Princetoween Do you like being scared? When the brain knows that there is no risk of harm, the rush that one gets when scared actually becomes satisfying.
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Imagine using your lightsaber to cut through any door without your prox. Or how about sneaking in and out of Thomas Sweets after hours with your invisibility cloak? After reading a Harry Potter novel or watching a Star Wars movie, it’s easy to imagine how life would be different if we had some of the astounding technology that these worlds have. Many, if not most, of these technologies will never exist; trying to recreate them in the real world seems unfathomable, if not impossible. However, this hasn’t stopped scientists from trying. Science fiction technologies that were once considered impractical or unfeasible have found new life in the scientific research community. New science is making it more and more likely that sci-fi technology will escape from the confines of fantasy and enter into the world of reality. Without further ado, here are some technologies that you might be seeing sooner than you think: 14
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Where it’s from: Star Wars
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The (Real) Technology Photon-photon “pseudomolecules”
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The Science Behind It: First, some quick background. Normally, photons, the particles which make up light, don’t interact with each other in the same way that atoms in the periodic table do. Atoms interact with each other via electromagnetic forces. The positively-charged protons in one atom’s nucleus attract the negatively charged electrons of another atom. Electromagnetic forces allow atoms to bond together into molecules. Since photons don’t have charges, they can’t do that. However, scientists at the MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms have recently shown that, given the right conditions, photons can be forced into binding together. When photons enter any medium, some of their energy is given to the particles that make up that medium. However, when the light leaves the medium, it’s still the same light that entered it. Think about shining a flashlight through a glass of water. Using this principle, Physicists Mikhail Lukin and Vladan Valetic fired photons into a specially developed medium. When the photons give energy to the medium, they slow down, preventing other photons from giving their energy to the medium, just like waiting at a line to pay after you’ve entered a store. Thus, when two photons were fired into the medium at the same time, one of the photons had to ‘wait’ to excite atoms until the other had moved on. As a result, the photons pushed and pulled the other along, eventually exiting together like atoms in a molecule.
Is it possible? While the results are exciting, it doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing Jedis in the near future. The experiment was the first of its kind, and many more questions have to be answered before lightsabers hit the market. For one, the interaction has only been shown to work in these specific circumstances. However, Lukin and Valetic are still optimistic that the results could be useful. The experiments could one day lead to advanced technological materials and more powerful computers.
D es ig n ed b y Eu g en e Le e
November 8, 2013 The What Would I Say? App created at HackPrinceton went viral, amassing millions of hits days after it launched. It’s been featured by Buzzfeed, the New York Times, and USA Today.
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“Engage computers. Prepare for warp-speed!”
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Where it’s from Star Trek
The (Real) Technology Alcubierre Drive.
The Science Behind It This one requires some background too. The basic problem with faster than light speed travel has to do with Albert Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity. Einstein found that as objects approach the speed of light, objects contract and time moves slower. Thus, to go faster than light would mean that time would have to move backward. However, physicist Miguel Alcubierre postulated in 1994 that it’s possible for a ship to move effectively faster than light by changing the shape of the space around the craft. Expanding space behind the spaceship and contracting the space in front of it would allow for a sort of “warp drive,” similar to the technology used in Star Trek. The spaceship itself would travel in a ‘bubble’ of normal space, while the space around it contorts. However, Alcubierre’s model requires that the spaceship would need to use a specific type of exotic material, one that has only been theorized. This would require a massive amount of energy, too much for any spacecraft to carry in the form of traditional fuels. A team of NASA engineers, led by physicist Harold White, is trying to determine whether or not this type of travel is possible. Their work aims to understand the fundamental physics behind Alcubierre drive as well as solve the host of problems that manipulating the laws of physics tends to produce. So far, they’ve developed a concept design that greatly reduced the amount of energy needed to warp spacetime.
Is it possible? This one’s a little bit more unclear. While the equations make this type of travel theoretically possible, the practicality of faster-than-light travel is questionable. As is always the case, many important questions remain unanswered. Before we try to manipulate space and time, we have to first understand them. Still, NASA has dedicated $50,000 to Dr. White’s experiments, and their discoveries may open the door to many future technologies. 16 innovation
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Where it’s From Harry Potter
The (Real) Technology Optical Camouflage Technology
The Science Behind It When light passes through any medium, it bends. Think about how objects look when you’re looking at them through a glass of water; that distortion comes from the refraction of light through the water. In 2006, scientists at Duke University decided to use this principle, as well as special, synthetically prepared materials, to create a device that made small, two-dimensional objects undetectable by a certain type of light called microwaves. This light would have normally bounced back from the objects, creating a sort of “shadow”. The cloaking device instead bent the light around the objects, making it invisible. However, the device only worked for one type of light. Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UT-Austin Andrea Alú claims to have invented a new type of cloak that works in a much less limited way. However, this is only one way that cloaking technology can work. Scientists at the University of Toronto are working on a more active type of camouflage. When light hits an object, some of it bounces back. This is how the object is ‘visible’. The Toronto scientists are working with another type of light called radio waves; instead of trying to bend the light, their device sends the opposite radio waves back. The two waves ‘cancel out’ and the object becomes invisible to radar wave detection. These two competing technologies have created a US-Canada invisibility cloak “arms race” – both technologies are viable; it’s just a question of which one works best in the end.
k!”
Ha ry Po ter the boy who live
Is it possible? Preliminary results from Duke and the University of Toronto have demonstrated that it is possible to make objects appear invisible in certain wavelengths of light. Much of the current focus is based on the military applications; cloaking devices can be used to shield military vehicles from detection. However, if Alú’s invention works as promised, then it’s possible, if not likely, that we’ll see James Potter’s famous cloak sooner than you might think.
November 11, 2013 The Orange and Black Ball Ever wonder how lipstick works? When applying lipstick, friction causes it to melt briefly. After the formula is transferred onto your lip, it cools, forming a film of color.
Making friends with your transplants
Integrating Cells with Synthetic Materials BY BENNETT MCINTOSH, INTERVIEWING PROFs. SCHWARZBAUER AND SCHWARTZ
Bone cell inflammation
Original hydroxyapatite coating The coating is so thick that it clogs the natural pores titanium forms. Osteoblasts (boneforming cells) cannot adhere to the implant and inflammation is common. 500 µm
A little over ten years ago, Professor Jeff Schwartz from the Chemistry department decided to redirect his studies. It all began when, in the course of a medical examination, he had been told that orthopedic implants could fail because of poor tissue integration with the implant materials and, in particular, titanium. This was a well-known problem with implants – though cells may initially interface with titanium bone implants, they will eventually reject it, necessitating replacement. The body surrounds the foreign implant material with inflammatory cells, driving the implant away from the bone and tissue it is supposed to connect to. Schwartz however, who had previously been building catalysts by attaching metallic complexes to oxide surfaces, felt that the implant problem was something he could change. He decided to address this problem by coating metals with phosphonates – a wide class of organic molecules with various chains of atoms branching off a central phosphorus atom. These groups can be changed individually, creating structures with properties that can easily be fine-tuned. If cells could be induced to adhere to these phosphonates, the implant technique could be adapted to improve orthopedic technology. If bone forming cells – osteoblasts – were encouraged to adhere to the implants, Schwartz thought, this effect could be reversed.
Osteoblasts
Titanium implant Coating Bone Bone marrow
New SAMP coating SAMP is one million times thinner than hydroxyapatite and doesn’t clog titanium pores. Ostoeblasts can bind to the implant, creating a stronger connection.
article Designed by Erika Davidoff 18 innovation
A COLLABORATION BORN To test the coating, he called a colleague he had never met before, Professor Jean Schwarzbauer of the Molecular Biology department. Her research focused on how cells adhere to and interact with the natural organizing structure of the extracellular matrix, so she was ideally situated to test cells’ adhesion to Schwartz’s material. She agreed to run the tests, but not out of passion for the research; she says “I said
yeah, sure, thinking, you know, I’ll never hear from this guy again … and like two weeks later, he calls me back ‘Oh, we figured it all out, we’re ready to go!’” Small teams from each lab began collaborating – coating titanium samples in Schwartz’s lab, then testing in Schwarzbauer’s. They found that the cells adhered well to the treated metal – and that the teams were integrating as well. “We could tell pretty early that there was a good rapport and a good interest on both sides,” says Schwarzbauer, noting that poor collaboration could have ruined the project as surely as any scientific issue. TESTING THE TECHNIQUE Schwartz’s technique for coating the titanium with phosphonates exploits the natural titanium oxide layer which forms at the metal’s surface when it is exposed to air. When titanium is placed in phosphonate solution, dissolved phosphonates will assemble a molecule-thick layer on the oxide, creating what Schwartz calls a SAMP – Self-Assembling Monolayer of Phosphonates. The phosphonates present a surface to which cells will readily and directly adhere. Animal trials yielded promising results. In rabbits, SAMP-coated titanium implants consistently integrated with the bone better than the industry-standard hydroxyapatitecoated implants. The monolayer’s thinness also proved advantageous: Titanium implants often have a porous surface to provide more surface area for the bone to adhere to, but hydroxyapatite coatings are so thick that they block these pores, rendering them useless. The phosphonate coating is one million times thinner than the hydroxyapatite coating, and can coat the insides of the pores without blocking them. The bone is thus encouraged to grow within the implant, further increasing the implant’s strength and lifetime. NEW FRONTIERS To fully exploit the SAMP process, the team began to apply SAMPs to softer materials, moving beyond rigid titanium. They focused on organic polymers, whose huge variety allows an equally large collection of applications. But first, Schwarzbauer says, “Jeff had to develop a new type of chemistry” to attach the
+ SAMP treatment
creates new possibilities for implants that mimic bone
silk + SAMP treatment
allows for implants that degrade once cells grow back
phosphonates to the polymers, which lack the oxide anchor found on titanium. The basic process is similar to that for titanium – SAMPs still bind to a metal oxide layer – but the oxide (often zirconium-based) must be artificially attached, adding another step to the process. Here, the diversity of polymers works against the researchers, as slightly different coating techniques must be developed for each substrate. However, each material yields exciting new possibilities. For example, consider the difference between polyether ether ketone (PEEK, a rigid plastic), and silk, a quintessentially soft polymer. PEEK, when combined with carbon fiber, mimics the properties of bone more closely than titanium. It is seldom used in orthopedics, though, because the plastic is even less adhesive to cells than titanium is. SAMP treatment, however, opens the door to new bone-like implants from this material. Silk, on the other hand, does not mimic bones, but SAMP-treated silk can act as a temporary soft-tissue graft, degrading once cells have grown back around it. The substrates do not even have to be used structurally – fixing cells to silicon, for instance, could create extremely sensitive biosensors, as silicon microchips would interface directly with cells. Beyond simply applying SAMPs haphazardly, the two professors are now laying down the phosphonates in specific patterns, organizing the cells in whatever pattern is expressed on the substrate. If this technique can be applied to guide cells as they regrow over damaged tissue, it could promote faster healing with far more cell organization, reducing scarring. Since the strength of tendons and ligaments
is derived from parallel cell growth, this guided healing would provide improved functionality and strength to torn connective tissue, when compared to unsupported regrowth. These advantages have caught the attention of none other than the National Football League, a significant sponsor of Schwartz’s research. To Schwartz and Schwarzbauer, new regenerative techniques are just over the horizon; “And then we’re going to use that on Jean’s knee and on my back!”, Schwartz quips. LONG-TERM SUCCESS The patterned SAMPs have allowed Schwarzbauer to return to projects from before Schwartz contacted her, with a new perspective. She had long hoped to construct an artificial extracellular matrix to explore how matrix organization affects cell behavior. Schwarzbauer’s previous collaborators had failed to order the matrix on a small enough scale, as they were simply “painting” arbitrarily arranged matrix proteins. Now, with her and Schwartz’s technique, she can arrange the cells in incredibly precise patterns and have them generate a well-ordered matrix on their own. Such fine control allows Schwarzbauer to explore matrix properties in ways not previously possible, including studying how the extracellular matrix affects tumors and stem cells. When Schwartz first called Schwarzbauer, he wanted to only test a few samples, and she never thought he’d come through with anything. Now, the collaboration between the two has pushed the limits of medical science and prodded Schwarzbauer’s work in exciting new directions. With fascinating research in the pipeline and a strong team that continues to collaborate with passion and cohesiveness, the Schwartz and Schwarzbauer labs have produced a new biochemical interface between cells and synthetics – and a new collaborative interface between chemistry and biology. November 18, 2013 The university decides to sponsor two rounds of meningitis vaccines that the federal government approved for Princeton. This vaccine has not yet been approved by the US government, but has been approved in Europe and Australia.
CHARTING CONSCIOUSNESS BY BENNETT MCINTOSH, INTERVIEWING PROF. michael graziano Designed by Erika Davidoff
When I enter Professor Michael Graziano’s office, his brain immediately perceives my humanity and adjusts his expectations of my behavior accordingly. As my brain does the same, we shake hands and exchange appropriate pleasantries for a student meeting a professor. His eyes follow mine as they glance around the office, from the puppets sitting on his bookshelf, to the window in the back, to the musical notations displayed on his monitor. Knowing my attention is directed at the musical software, he interprets my singleword question “composing?” accurately and explains that he is attempting to get the software working on his computer.
These everyday social interactions – tracking gaze, interpreting body language –seem to be mundane instances of social awareness. But Professor Graziano believes such social awareness is a product of something more inextricably linked with what makes us human, our consciousness. Neuroscientists have seldom directly addressed consciousness; Graziano says this is because people tend to associate it with a sort of supernatural or magical force precluding rational study. But he rejects the idea that consciousness cannot be explained like any other mental process – it’s not magic, so to speak. “Once you attribute magic” to consciousness, he claims, “you can’t make any progress” in studying it. According to Professor Graziano’s theory, explained in his recent book, the everyday social awareness we take for granted is the result of a complex model we construct of others’ minds. This same modeling process – millions of years of evolution in the making – is what allows us to be aware of our own minds, and thus, be conscious. Having a model of other minds enables us to interact socially with others of our species by acknowledging that their verbal and body language is an indication of their awareness. Therefore, we hold what Graziano calls an “attention schema” – a model of what others are attending to – in our minds. SOCIAL ATTRIBUTION AND ATTENTION This social attribution has been shown to be a major role of the temporoparietal
Temperoparietal Junction junction, or TPJ, a part of the brain that Graziano says may also be important for attention in general. Previous studies have indicated that the TPJ had an important role in integrating social cues such as verbal and body language, but Graziano found evidence that it was involved in general attention as well. He noted that damage to the TPJ causes hemispatial neglect, a condition in which patients fail to notice anything on one side of themselves. This deficit of awareness implies that the two processes, social attribution and attention, are linked. Results from fMRI studies also support Graziano’s hypothesis. These studies show that the TPJ is active in response to surprise or unexpected events, which might indicate a change in attention. Social attribution turns out to be November 22, 2013 an incredibly Princeton Pitch powerf ul
The winner of the entrepreneurship track, Splashed.me, sharing media based on location. Saheli, a catering service that helps Indian women escape the sex trade won the social entrepreneurship track.
CHARTING CONSCIOUSNESS mechanism in other parts of our lives. Not only does it allow us to interact with other humans, but also with other animals. Domestication of dogs may have occurred because our ancestors saw the same attention directions in our pets as in themselves. Our brains are so powerful in their recognition of others’ attention, in fact, that we can even make attributions to inanimate objects. This last was explained to me by one of Graziano’s puppets, a frog whose eyes I tracked and whose emotions I responded to despite knowing that the neuroscientist’s hand was manipulating the puppet. EXISTENCE OF A GOD? This theory has come under criticism from others studying the brain for a couple of reasons. It provides a more physical explanation for consciousness, which has
generally been regarded as ethereal and separate from the rest of the physical brain. It also implies, in Graziano’s words, that “God is just a construct” of our social attribution of awareness, which could be potentially divisive. FUTURE APPLICATIONS On a less controversial note, his attention schema theory has a number of applications for moving beyond just the theory. Graziano noted potential applications for improvements in artificial intelligence technologies – if computers can be encouraged to track its attention and make models of their internal processes, they could more rapidly analyze external input and other data, and perhaps even develop a consciousness. As with any scientific advances, however, there are concerns. Though he thinks we’re
still extremely far away from “anything like Data from Star Trek,” an artificial human mind, Professor Graziano thinks it will eventually be possible to copy a human brain into a computer. Whether this amounts to creating a copy of one’s self is questionable, but it treads on unsteady moral grounds. Graziano, who has co-written a science fiction novel with his sister in addition to his main literary focus on children’s books and novels, fears a dystopian future where those with the power to upload brains use it as the ultimate control system – promising a paradisiacal virtual life or threatening eternal punishment for our uploaded brains. Though the future of attention schema is unclear and is met with significant resistance, Professor Graziano hopes that his rational approach to studying the consciousness will continue to shed further light on what makes us human.
H ot W e at h e r Hot Heads H o w a n d w h y c l i m at e c h a n g e i s c a u s i n g g lo b a l s o c i a l c o n f l i c t s
By: Bridget Zakrzewski Design by: Sonia Hashim Eugene Lee
Remember the Heat Miser from The Year Without a Santa Clause? The Heat Miser, an animated character otherwise known as “Mr. Green Christmas”, sports warm colors, has fire for hair (a literal hot head), and upholds an irate scowl while singing his painfully catchy theme song. The Heat Miser lives in the warmest possible climate conditions and isn’t afraid to show his hot-temper. But what was the Heat Miser so worked up about? According to researchers from Princeton University and the University of California - Berkeley, warm temperatures – caused by climate change – may be the cause for increased violence. November 24, 2013 Bonfire 2013 The bonfire for winning the football games against Harvard and Yale was nearly postponed due to windy conditions forecasted for that Sunday. Not only does wind spread fire, but fire itself can develop wind patterns that feed back into the fire.
Eff e c t s o f h e a t o n v i o HONK
!
! HONK
Drivers are more likely to honk.
More Ice cream!
Riots are more likely to form.
ence
I quit!
Major changes in governing occur more often.
Although the researchers admit that cli- already fairly consistent. They were not, – Berkeley researchers have uncovered. mate change is not the sole contributor to however, consistently analyzed. Temperature rise implies more social the rise in vicious behavior, they found that To analyze the data, researchers devised changes than you might think – higher temthe influential role of temperature increases three main categories of violence: personal peratures can cause rampant drought, reis undeniable. Data from the study predict violence/crime (murder, assault, or rape), sulting in a food shortage, and, ultimately, that a single standard deviation change in intergroup violence/political instability (civil increased social aggression. Additionally, cliEarth’s temperature increases the risk of wars and riots), and institutional break- mate change can increase the risk of heat-ingroup conflict by nearly 14% and interper- downs (major changes in governing or even duced health problems. Data gathered by sonal violence by 4%. To put this in per- overall societal collapse). The data suggests the World Health Organization (WHO) spective, a single standard deviation rise in increased violence in all three categories, and Earth Policy Institute (EPI) show thoutemperature is about 5.2 degrees Fahren- regardless of location, century, or national sands of heat-related deaths during a Euheit for a given month in the United States. wealth. In short: climate change is impact- ropean heat wave in 2003, demonstrating Considering that Earth’s temperature is ing more than just sea levels, and everyone just how life-changing temperature rise can predicted to rise about 3.6 degrees Fahr- needs to take action to hamper its progress. be. In urban areas, climate change can even enheit by 2050, we can reasonably conresult in increased pollution-related reclude that there will be more than just a spiratory problems. Weather forecasts few hot-heads surfacing in the decades should be viewed with greater signifiHigher temperatures can ahead. cance than simply a determining factor cause rampant drought, Furthermore, there is more than in what to wear. Climate change is not purely scientific data to validate the just something to get used to. Although resulting in a food shortage researchers’ conclusions. Though this the road to reducing climate change is study focuses largely on quantitative long and improvement is, by no means, and, ultimately, increased geological values, it also includes a meimmediate, an investment in stopping social aggression. ta-analysis of about 60 studies from climate change should be viewed as an other fields, ranging from anthropology investment in the future. to criminology, in order to achieve the Now that we know that Earth’s most comprehensive conclusion. Still not convinced that climate change rising temperature results in a higher freThe study was largely conducted using increases violence? To further corrobo- quency of human violence, what can we data from previous studies that analyzed rate the conclusions from the research, a do? To start, there are hundreds of ways to the effects of climate change on society. 1994 study of policemen in identical situ- reduce your carbon footprint, whether by Data taken from times ranging from 10,000 ations, but different external temperatures, taking one less napkin at lunch, eating fewBCE to present day was gathered from ex- showed that officers are more likely to use er red-meat products, or using hand dryers periments around the world. After the data their weapons when they are uncomfort- instead of paper towels in the bathrooms. was collected, the main task was determin- ably warm. In essence, this study is just a Additionally, the established relationship ing a better way to analyze it. According to small-scale version of the research on cli- between temperature and violence can the lead author of the study, Princeton’s mate-influenced violence that Princeton be useful to policymakers who may try to Soloman Hsiang, the acquired results were University and the University of California pinpoint impending social dilemmas and in24 innovation
TEMPERS
BY THE NUMBERS Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 60 studies to determine the answer to the question:
Chill out man!
does climate change induce conflict?
Interpersonal violence increases by
+2.3 %/5.2 F Policemen are more likely to use their weapon.
Climate change can be measured by the standard deviation of temperature.
σ = 5.2 F Intergroup violence increases by
tervene before civil violence sets in. Hsiang believes that, by understanding the important implications of climate change, “we can think about designing effective policies or institutions to manage or interrupt the link between climate and conflict.”
+13.2 %/5.2 F
2050
By temperatures are expected to have risen by
3.6 Fahrenheit
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Insert Title Here
Designed by Marisa Chow
by Author Lastname, interviewing Prof Name public void temporaryMethod(Arbitrary arg) { //make empty Node for the inserted Node //bogus code here String name = new String(”FiscalNote”); //special case: throw a runtime exception just cuz if (first == null) { throw new RuntimeException(”hey, stop being stupid!”); } //other bogus condition else { think about.something(here); And another = new Line(of.code) * that.seems(bogus); //and in fact it is bogus; double dist = nothing.at.all(); //here’s a very long comment that I don’t know what to do with do { if (this code is bogus) boolean bogusness = true; else bogusness = false; //it’s actually not bogus } bogus.next(); } while (first != original);
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//insert Node into Tour //and another comment that I don’t know what to do with String title = new String(””); boolean heyThere = false;v
Changing the Political Landscape with Machine Learning by Eugene Tang, interviewing Tim Hwang ‘14 Public policy. State legislation. Court ju- not only gives real-time summaries of the risdiction. Upon hearing these words, some over 200,000 bills proposed across state associations that may pop up are perhaps legislatures as they go through the process the hours spent trying to digest the dense of becoming a law, but also predicts whethlanguage of political documents for a history er the bills will pass. With such capabilities, assignment, or just general frustration with a few questions arise: What secret political the unpredictable nature of politics. Having formula is FiscalNote using? What army of spent much time finding and analyzing in- politically savvy geniuses does FiscalNote formation on different pieces of legislation, employ? How is FiscalNote able to do so Tim Hwang ’14 from the Woodrow Wilson much so quickly? The answers, however, do School has much not lie in any magiInstead of wallowing in experience in cal political theory dealing with both. or group of politithe difficulty involved in Instead of wallowcally gifted people. ing in the difficulInstead, they lie the process, however, Tim ty involved in the in the realms of Hwang has taken matters process, however, computer science Tim Hwang has and statistics— into his own hands. taken matters into machine learning. his own hands. At its core, As CEO and founder of FiscalNote, a machine-learning algorithms are programs real-time government analysis startup, Tim that tell a computer how to learn a cerHwang has redefined the process of evalu- tain task rather than directly telling it how ating legislation. Currently, whenever peo- to perform the task. For example, it would ple want to analyze and see the effects of a be nearly impossible to manually tell a combill, they need a large staff to track and ex- puter how to play chess, for there are inamine the legislation, a lot of time, or both. numerable possibilities that could occur. FiscalNote aims to change all of that. Ana- However, if we give the computer inforlyzing state and local legislation, FiscalNote mation about lots and lots of chess games, 16 innovation
the computer could eventually develop a strategy for playing chess by observing the moves made and the outcomes of those moves. While machine-learning techniques are by no means 100% correct in what they predict, they are effective enough to help handle large amounts of data that would be tedious to look at manually. In a similar way, FiscalNote “teaches” its software how to find and analyze information on legislation by using various machine-learning techniques in three stages: finding, classifying, and predicting. In the “finding” stage, FiscalNote gathers information on state and local legislation by enlisting web crawlers, programs that scan the text of the desired websites and then record the relevant information. For example, a web crawler could look at all of the articles on the New Jersey state website and then save the text of any of the articles that contain the words “bill” or “law.” By building a web crawler that scans various public websites, such as state and local government websites, FiscalNote can constantly update information on new pieces of legislation. With the information it finds, FiscalNote then classifies the legislation it finds with
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FiscalNote: Three Stages of Analyzing Legislation FINDING
CLASSIFYING BILL
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
BILL
the following bill, presented by
LAW
PREDICTING
Natural Language Parsing: name, authors, description
physicians
Bills Enacted In 2013 Regular Session: Topic Clustering: healthcare industry
primary care
FAIL
health rights and coverage
insurance Medicare
LAW Web crawler programs scan legislation websites for relevant and current information on new bills and laws.
the different industries, such as healthcare or education, which the legislation may affect. To do this, FiscalNote uses two core subcategories of machine learning: natural language parsing and topic clustering. Natural language parsers are essentially programs that determine the “meaning” of a piece of text. Topic-clustering algorithms, on the other hand, divide a set of information into different categories. For instance, given a random article, the FiscalNote natural language parser could first determine the name, authors, and description of a bill while the topic-clustering algorithm could determine that the bill is associated with the health-care industry based on key words such as “doctor,” “medicine,” and “hospital.” Using a combination of the two, FiscalNote is thus able to determine what a piece of legislation is about and which industries the piece of legislation is likely to affect. What sets FiscalNote apart, however, is its final stage—“predicting.” By looking at thousands of different factors, such as the legislators’ demographics, political views, and previous decisions, FiscalNote can actually predict with greater than 90% accuracy whether the bill in question will pass. At first, the original algorithm took ap-
PASS
FiscalNote results: Pass Using thousands of factors, FiscalNote can predict, up to 90% accuracy, whether a bill will pass or not.
proximately six weeks to finish. However, analysis of bills, and expanding FiscalNote’s after much fine-tuning, the whole process reach into regulations, court cases, and now takes only a couple of minutes to go speeches as well. Although politics and machine learning from start to finish, allowing FiscalNote to provide real-time updates on bills as they seem at first to be on different ends of the academic spectrum, Tim Hwang has combecome law. With its capabilities, FiscalNote can have bined the two to create powerful results. far-reaching impacts on the relationship Essentially, with machine learning, he has between business and government. With “taught” a computer to do research and analyze legislation, someFiscalNote, businesses FiscalNote can thing that even many peowill no longer need a ple have difficulty doing tolarge team to analyze actually predict day. The power in machine new legislation, and with more information with 90+% accuracy learning lies in its ability not to do things correctly, on state and local legwhether a bill in but to do things correctislation, businesses will ly most of the time. Tim have more confidence question will pass. Hwang best summarizwhen developing their es the credo behind strategies. Furthermore, FiscalNote makes a government’s ac- machine learning when he says, tions more transparent by giving businesses “Even if you don’t produce easily accessible and clear information on 100%, even if you’re 80% of the government’s legislation, potentially the time right, it’s better changing the way governments interact with than guessing.” businesses. Outside of using FiscalNote in a business context, Tim Hwang is also considering offering FiscalNote’s services to December 9, 2013 universities for studying state and local govThe pending CDC final approval for ernments, providing more comprehensive Bexsero vaccine against meningococcal B was administered to only Princeton undergraduate and graduate students, and faculty at high risk.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Without our contributors, Innovation would not be possible. A special thanks to the following groups, departments, schools, people, and programs:
MIRTHE Andlinger Center for the Humanities PRISM Princeton Science and Tech Council Chemical and Biological Engineering Princeton Writing Program Keller Center Professor Saini Professor Stock Psychology Professor Gmachl Chemistry Ecological and Evolutionary Biology If interested in being a sponsor, email innov@princeton.edu for more information.
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