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Future

Look Who Tops New World University Rankings

THE GUARDIAN (UK), LE FIGARO (France), WALL ST. JOURNAL (U.S.)

Worldcrunch

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has risen to the top spot of the annual QS University World Rankings.

Last year's top two universities, Cambridge and Harvard, both lost out to the science and technology university, being bumped down to second and third place respectively.

Ben Sowter, head of research for Quacquarelli Symonds, the publishers of the university rankings, said in a statement Tuesday morning: "The rise of MIT coincides with a global shift in emphasis toward science and technology ... MIT perfects a blueprint that is now being followed by a new wave of cutting-edge tech-focused institutions, especially in Asia.”

The US and the UK dominate the top 10, with American institutions claiming 13 places in the top 20 universities and 31 places in the overall top 100.

The Guardian commented that continental Europe has a disappointing record in the table with no German institutions appearing in the top 50. Switzerland has two universities in the top 30, including the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at number 13, and there are two French schools in the top 50: the École Normale Supérieure and the École Polytechnique.

Le Figaro today reported that the nine leading French universities that appear in the rankings have all dropped down the list. The daily newspaper reported that there is a worrying decline in the number of foreign students choosing to study in France.

However, Asian universities continue to fight their way up the table, with universities from South Korea, Hong Kong, China and Japan all doing well. Hong Kong University, the University of Tokyo and the National University of Singapore all appeared in the top 30.

Latin American and Middle Eastern countries are also making progress.

The statement also read: "A record 72 countries are featured in the top 700, following a rapid acceleration in international mobility. The top 100 universities average nearly 10% more international students than in 2011, the biggest single-year increase in the rankings’ nine-year history."

“The unprecedented acceleration in international recruitment reflects an escalating global battle for talent. Total number of international students now exceeds 4.1 million globally,” Sowter said.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday on a new university ranking system named the "Alumni Factor." Based on data collected from alumni in the US, some of the outcomes are suprising, with several Ivy League schools falling short.

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Green

Forest Networks? Revisiting The Science Of Trees And Funghi "Reaching Out"

A compelling story about how forest fungal networks communicate has garnered much public interest. Is any of it true?

Thomas Brail films the roots of a cut tree with his smartphone.

Arborist and conservationist Thomas Brail at a clearcutting near his hometown of Mazamet in the Tarn, France.

Melanie Jones, Jason Hoeksema, & Justine Karst

Over the past few years, a fascinating narrative about forests and fungi has captured the public imagination. It holds that the roots of neighboring trees can be connected by fungal filaments, forming massive underground networks that can span entire forests — a so-called wood-wide web. Through this web, the story goes, trees share carbon, water, and other nutrients, and even send chemical warnings of dangers such as insect attacks. The narrative — recounted in books, podcasts, TV series, documentaries, and news articles — has prompted some experts to rethink not only forest management but the relationships between self-interest and altruism in human society.

But is any of it true?

The three of us have studied forest fungi for our whole careers, and even we were surprised by some of the more extraordinary claims surfacing in the media about the wood-wide web. Thinking we had missed something, we thoroughly reviewed 26 field studies, including several of our own, that looked at the role fungal networks play in resource transfer in forests. What we found shows how easily confirmation bias, unchecked claims, and credulous news reporting can, over time, distort research findings beyond recognition. It should serve as a cautionary tale for scientists and journalists alike.

First, let’s be clear: Fungi do grow inside and on tree roots, forming a symbiosis called a mycorrhiza, or fungus-root. Mycorrhizae are essential for the normal growth of trees. Among other things, the fungi can take up from the soil, and transfer to the tree, nutrients that roots could not otherwise access. In return, fungi receive from the roots sugars they need to grow.

As fungal filaments spread out through forest soil, they will often, at least temporarily, physically connect the roots of two neighboring trees. The resulting system of interconnected tree roots is called a common mycorrhizal network, or CMN.

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