10/25/2016
Expert: Universal Basic Income is an Alternative to Unemployment and Low­Paying Jobs
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Expert: Universal Basic Income is an
Alternative to Unemployment and LowPaying Jobs
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IN BRIEF
A Finnish businessman and economist has proposed universal basic income as a means to combat the displacement of workers by
automation.
With more jobs going to robots, a basic income can ensure worker survival in a more computerized economy.
THE CREEPING QUANDARY OF AUTOMATION
Automation is becoming more prominent as of late with robots and computers taking over jobs ranging from clerical
jobs (http://futurism.com/the-age-of-the-automaton-walmart-cuts-7000-office-jobs-in-the-u-s/) to manufacturing
jobs (http://futurism.com/the-new-age-of-automation-how-robots-produce-100000-computers-a-week/). While it
has certainly helped humanity increase its production capabilities, it also runs the risk of replacing human labor. In
fact, a 2013 study (http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf)
conducted by the Oxford University estimates that 47 percent of all US employment is at risk of “computerization.”
With this increasing worry of job security, a banker proposes a solution to this problem.
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Björn Wahlroos Credit: Yle
Björn Wahlroos, a Finnish business guru currently holds the chairman of the board of multiple companies including
the Swedish-owned Nordea Bank AB, the Finnish financial company Sampo Group and the Finnish forest industry
company UPM-Kymmene Corporation. His solution is to introduce a universal basic income.
SOFTEN THE BLOW
He argues that the increasing automation of jobs will lead to massive unemployment in middle income industrial
jobs. This displacement of human labor would force these blue collar workers to make two choices, which is either to
accept low wage jobs or become unemployed. He says during his interview
(http://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/banker_wahlroos_basic_income_only_viable_solution_in_face_of_massive_job_loss
es/9246444) with Yle’s show Ykkösaamu that a basic income would solve this, “We have to be careful that a new
proletariat isn’t born. The solution is to introduce a universal basic income, with everyone free to do work to
supplement it.”
He proposes that a basic income could replace Finland’s already existing state assistance for its citizens. He has
been a staunch proponent of this since 2001.
Next year, Finland will give some of its citizens a Universal Basic Income (http://futurism.com/thousands-to-receivebasic-income-in-finland/) to test whether it could solve poverty while increasing employment. Time will tell if
Wahlroos is right.
References: Yle Uutiset (http://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/banker_wahlroos_basic_income_only_viable_solution_in_face_of_massive_job_losses/9246444),
Pew Research Center (http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/03/10/public-predictions-for-the-future-of-workforce-automation/)
AUTHOR
eleazercorpuz
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10/25/2016
Expert: Universal Basic Income is an Alternative to Unemployment and Low­Paying Jobs
eleazercorpuz
EDITOR
Patrick Caughill
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New Discovery Could Give Scientists a Way
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 Victo Ngai
IN BRIEF
The number of people living beyond a cancer diagnosis is expected to rise to almost 19 million by 2024.
This new compound was able to block a protein that is essential for the sustained growth of up to a quarter of all cancers.
CELLS THAT AVOID DEATH
A new compound, discovered by international pharmaceutical companies Servier and Vernalis (R&D), has the
potential to prevent several kinds of cancers that afflict humans.
The study, published in (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature19830.html)Nature
(http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature19830.html), notes that cancers manifest in the
abnormal and harmful growth of cells in the body. Cancer cells are particularly resilient because they can avoid
apoptosis (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26873/)—a cell mechanism that regulates the rate of cell
division, in which cell masses that are no longer needed commit suicide. Cancer cells avoid this by possessing a
protein called myeloid cell leukemia 1 (MCL1).
“MCL1 is important for many cancers because it is a pro-survival protein that allows the cancerous cells to evade the
process of programmed cell death that normally removes cancer cells from the body,” said Guillaume Lessene
(http://www.wehi.edu.au/news/new-compound-shows-promise-treating-multiple-human-cancers)of Walter and
Eliza Hall Institute, one of the study’s partner industries.
New compound shows promise in treating multiple human cancers
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The researchers propose to resolve this using a compound called S63845, a molecule synthesized by Servier.
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“Extensive studies performed in a variety of cancer models have shown that S63845 potently targets cancer cells
dependent on MCL1 for their survival,” said Lessene (http://www.wehi.edu.au/news/new-compound-shows-promisetreating-multiple-human-cancers). Essentially, use this to block the protein, and cancer can’t grow.
CANCER-FREE TOMORROWS
Lessene’s research group, together with hematologists from The Alfred Hospital and Servier scientists,
demonstrated that the compound was effective against several cancer types, including acute myeloid leukemia,
lymphoma and multiple myeloma, as well as solid cancers such as melanoma and cancers of the lung and breast.
They also report that S63845 can be administered to patients in doses that can be tolerated by normal cells.
Lessene believes that the study drives forward previous research on how cancers survive, and how to treat them.
S63845 is a member of a new class of of anti-cancer drugs called BH3 mimetics. “BH3 mimetics inhibit a group of
proteins known as the ‘pro-survival BCL-2 proteins’. MCL1 is a member of this protein family,” he said.
The study is in its early stages and probably won’t be tested on people soon, but it’s another step towards securing a
better future safe from cancer.
References: Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (http://www.wehi.edu.au/news/new-compound-shows-promise-treating-multiple-humancancers), Nature (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature19830.html)
(http://futurism.com/3d-why-we-have-stereoscopic-vision/)
AUTHOR
Jess Vilvestre
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Sarah Marquart
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