Love and a Regurgitated Gift

In the world of fruit flies, romance can take surprising forms. The species Drosophila subobscura has a peculiar courtship ritual: before mating, a male must win over the female by giving her a gift. But instead of flowers or chocolates, he offers her a tiny mouth-to-mouth meal of regurgitated food. Interestingly, their close cousin Drosophila melanogaster—the fruit fly most often used in laboratories—doesn’t do this at all.

So what makes one species a generous suitor while the other skips the gift exchange? Japanese researchers discovered that the difference comes down to a single gene, called FruitlessM (FruM), which helps wire male brains for courtship behavior. In D. subobscura, this gene switches on in a group of brain cells that regulate feeding. When FruM is missing, the cells don’t grow the connections they need, and the males fail to present their nuptial gift.

Even more intriguing, when scientists turned on FruM in the same brain cells of D. melanogaster, something remarkable happened: the cells sprouted new connections, and the males began regurgitating food more often—hinting at a hidden potential for gift-giving buried in their biology.

This research shows how a small genetic change can spark big differences in behavior between species. What looks like a simple act of food sharing is, in fact, the product of evolutionary history written deep in the wiring of the brain.

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Christmas gift to the Holy Land

In the Christian - and nowadays, even among more secular Western people - Christmas emphasizes events over 2,000 years ago in the current territory of Israel, as well as the giving of gifts in commemoration of those events. That's why this Christmas, I want to remember the residents of the so-called Holy Land with a proposal for achieving lasting peace between them.

A new solution is needed for two reasons. The first is the nature of Israel as a Jewish state, and the second is the terrorist violence carried out by the Palestinian population who made a colossal mistake in the events of 1948-49 by following the proposal by other Arabs to leave their homes. Both have hindered the establishment of peace between the inhabitants of the Holy Land.

Therefore, a solution must be sought based on maintaining the nature of Israel as a Jewish state while putting an end to the terrorist activities of the Palestinian population. These conditions are not met by the widely discussed two-state model, and particularly, Jews are not interested in a single-state model where Palestinians who engage in terrorism year after year would be granted Israeli citizenship.

In this situation, creative thinking is needed. However, first, we must wait for the end of the ongoing war so that the biggest obstacle to peace, the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, is removed from the stage.

Afterward, there should be a negotiation table with representation from Jews and Palestinians living in Israel, as well as Jordan, Egypt, and potentially other Arab countries, along with impartial mediators. The result must be an acceptable solution, offering Palestinians the freedom to either move away from Israel to Jordan, Egypt, or other Arab nations, or alternatively, to await Israeli citizenship.

Palestinians relocating to Arab countries should be granted citizenship, for example, five years after settling in the country, provided they meet the conditions and behave appropriately. Those choosing to live in Israel would initially remain without citizenship, but it would generally be granted to them after 30 years. 

That is primarily because renouncing Palestinian terrorism would be a precondition for citizenship. Since achieving this is unlikely to happen overnight, a framework encouraging the abandonment of violence must be established.

Therefore, it should be decided that for each act of Palestinian terrorism within the first year of the agreement, the granting of citizenship would be postponed by one week. Similarly, from the second to the tenth year of the agreement, each act of terrorism would delay citizenship by one month. After that, for the next ten years, each act of terrorism would postpone citizenship by one year, and from then on, by five years.

Such a system would provide Palestinians with a way out of the current deadlock and strong motivation to refrain from terrorist acts. As violence diminishes, trust between Israeli Jews and Palestinians would gradually grow, leading to increasing economic integration over the years, which would further strengthen the peaceful development.

* * *

In the proposal I outlined earlier, it is crucial that the timeframe is long, at least 30 years. Presumably, a considerable number of Palestinians would not choose to wait in Israel for such an extended period and would instead opt for relocation to an Arab country, where obtaining full citizenship rights could happen in a substantially shorter time. This way, the character of Israel as a Jewish state would not be compromised, even if the remaining Palestinians were granted citizenship.

The extended timeframe is also essential because over three decades, an entirely new generation of Palestinians and Jews would grow up, whose lives would not be overshadowed by continuous violence and oppression but rather characterized by peaceful coexistence. This would lead to a decrease in the significance of ethnic and religious boundaries, strengthening society and ultimately creating a situation where the granting of citizenship to Palestinians would not provoke insurmountable reactions among Jews.

And thus, peace would eventually arrive at the birthplace of Christian Christmas! For the people living there, peace and goodwill toward each other would prevail.

With this proposal, I wish all my readers a Merry Christmas! I also extend my wishes to the residents of the Holy Land, hoping that my gift brings them peace!

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Nauttikaa joulusta! (in Finnish, but readable in English using e.g. Google translator)
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Preventing future fires in Hawaii is possible, but the question remains: Are animal activists and politicians prepared for the necessary measures?

Hawaiian researchers Daniel Rubinoff and Samuel M. ‘Ohukani‘ōhi‘a Gon III reported in the journal Science that the fire that devastated the city of Lahaina, Hawaii, has killed more people than any other U.S. wildfire in the past 100 years. According to them, the underlying causes of the wildfire were land-use mistakes that led to the proliferation of easily ignitable invasive species and a lack of control over feral goat grazing.

Therefore, the removal of invasive species, the restoration of native plants, and better management of feral goat populations are essential measures to prevent similar wildfires in the future. The latter is crucial because feral goats have played a significant role in the disappearance of Hawaii's native dry forest ecosystem.

Goats were originally introduced to Maui as a gift to King Kamehameha I in 1789. However, the problem arose when these goats escaped into the wild and became feral. As a result, they have consumed native plants and stripped the bark from native trees. This, coupled with previous fires and the decline of Maui's plantation industry, has created a cycle in which wildfires continue to increase, allowing invasive species to spread.

One potential solution to prevent wildfires, according to researchers, could be the intensive grazing of cattle, which would reduce the quantity of invasive species that serve as fuel. However, this solution would negatively impact reforestation efforts, carbon sequestration, and lead to erosion and increased flood risks during winter rains. It would also result in barren landscapes and fail to support Hawaii's native biota, which is a critical Hawaiian biocultural resource.

Instead, it would be better to restore native Hawaiian dry forests, which burn more slowly than invasive shrubby grasslands. This, in turn, would require the widespread eradication of goats.

It remains uncertain whether the wildfires witnessed this year will indeed prompt the envisioned changes in Hawaiian conservation practices. There could be resistance from animal rights activists opposing large-scale goat eradication operations, and politicians might be reluctant to allocate funding for these essential changes, considering the economic sacrifices involved.

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A gift from the free world to Ukraine

Germany finally allowed Leopard battle tanks to be given to Ukraine. And even promised to send them itself. 

This all is excellent and shows that the free world is ready to defend itself against brutality and tyranny represented by Vladimir Putin´s army in Ukraine. And I am happy that my home country, Finland, will participate in this movement by adding some Leopards into the common effort.

As normal, our tanks are in a great shape and may be provided as soon as they will have a trained crew. Unfortunately, the number of these armored gifts is restricted due to our position as a neighbor of Russia and yet unaccepted application to join NATO - in this situation we simply cannot risk our own defensive ability.  

Anyway, I am sure that this day will be remembered as one of the most important turning points in the process of getting invaders out of Ukraine. And my only advice to the Zelenskiy´s army is: please, use the Leopards efficiently, and push you enemies to there, where they belong! 

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