We lost a titan of programming languages, programming methodology, software engineering and hardware design. Niklaus Wirth passed away on the first of January. We mourn a pioneer, colleague, mentor and friend.

A mind-blowing paper has come out today in @Nature In 2016, JC Venter Institute scientists trimmed a bacterial genome to its barest minimum required for life to synthesize what they called a "minimal genome" (science.org/doi/10.1126/scie…). Today, a group of scientists from Indiana University reports how that minimal genome evolved over 2000 generations in comparison to the non-minimal genome. The authors found that even when you reduce a bacterial genome to its absolute minimum where every nucleotide matters, the genome undergoes mutational events generation after generation as much as the non-minimal genome. One simply cannot stop the evolution. Just over 300 days of evolution (equivalent to 40,000 years in humans) the minimal cell has gained everything it lacked in fitness on day one in comparison to the non-minimal cell. When comparing the evolved traits between the minimal and non-minimal cells, the scientists found something striking. The evolutionary process increased the cell size of non-minimal cells but not that of the minimal cell. But that is not the striking part. The scientists were able to identify the key mutation that resulted in cell size evolution. And it turned out that the mutation that helped the non-minimal cells to grow bigger is the same that helped the minimal cells to stay smaller. Growing bigger had a survival advantage for non-minimal cells and not growing bigger had a survival advantage for minimal cells. So, the mutation had a context-dependent effect. This just demonstrates that the evolutionary effects on traits have no absolute direction. All that matter is what is beneficial for the organism's survival. The conclusion of the paper is metaphorically a quote from the Jurassic Park movie: “Listen, if there’s one thing the history of evolution has taught us is that life will not be contained. Life breaks free. It expands to new territories, and it crashes through barriers painfully, maybe even dangerously, but . . . life finds a way". (scienmag.com/artificial-cell…) nature.com/articles/s41586-0…

“She gone” Multiple fires in NW British Columbia and Yukon have grown significantly today. Multiple areas are under evacuation notice. #wildfire #canada Very warm weather, dry conditions, and many new starts have created what you see in this photo. Went straight up nuclear. We are yet to see one of these in the States this year… only a matter of time.

Lots of attention this week on wildfire smoke hitting the NE part of the U.S. If you're in NY or NJ, everyone here in WA feels your pain! We've got tips on protecting yourself from smoke and a video on making a simple and effective air filter fan - ecology.wa.gov/Air-Climate/A….

Lots of exciting announcements at #MSBuild this year! Every session is 100% worth tuning into but don't miss my data engineering session and @nelliegson data science session! 😉🎉 Check out the blog for a full list: powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/…

Which is the most ignored generation?

NEW. Cassidy Hutchinson claims Trump lawyer urged her not to recall things — and Trump Allie’s offered jobs — to influence her testimony - The Washington Post washingtonpost.com/national-…