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A Natural History of the Future by Rob Dunn Reviewed by Norbert Hoeller and Philip Ling
cost of flexibility outweighed the benefits. “Embracing Diversity to Balance Risk” describes our agricultural system that has been successful through controlling variability, yet research shows that countries with high crop diversity with an even distribution of crop species delivered more stable and high average yields. “The Law of Dependence” emphasises that despite our technological prowess, we remain dependent on nature. Dunn explores how we develop a diverse gut microbiome that can have a significant impact on our health, just as many of our crops and domestic animals are dependent on their microbial communities. “Humpty-Dumpty and the Robotic Sex Bees” points out
that we are good at taking systems apart, but less successful at putting them back together. Attempts to recreate nature have rarely been successful - it is better to protect a watershed than try to recreate the purification services provided by that watershed. When we are forced to create technical solutions for natural systems that we have broken, the results are often not what we expect because we have a simplified model of how nature works. “Living with Evolution” explores bacterial resistance through an example of realtime evolution in the Harvard “megaplate” [1] experiment that exposed bacteria to increasing concentrations of antibiotics. The animation below is mesmerising and
The Evolution of Bacteria on a “Mega-Plate” Petri Dish Video: Harvard Medical School, 2017 | https://vimeo.com/180908160
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