The latest links…

1. “The new study shows for the first time that the burgeoning brain of a newborn rat will accept human neurons and allow them to mature, while also integrating them into local circuits capable of driving the rat’s behavior” — the science and ethics of transplanting human brain organoids into animals
2. “Everything about grad school was a surprise to me… it was the first time in my life that I felt truly out of my league, and I worked hard until I felt I could be the best at it” — Justin Caouette (Bridgewater State) is interviewed about his life, education, and work
3. Animal consciousness — a discussion with Jonathan Birch (LSE), Rachael Brown (ANU), Dan Burston (Tulane), and Liz Irvine (Cardiff)
4. “Relaxation, then, will bring out the worst in foolish people, but in the wise it will bring out the best” — Plato and Philo on whether the wise person will get drunk
5. “Why don’t we have the right to end our lives not just when we want to but to also do so in style?” — Daniel Callcut on designer deaths
6. “If ugly people are told repeatedly that they are not ugly or that their woes are not due to them being ugly, even though they are, then this social taboo of being ugly and telling someone they might be ugly, are what puts those people at a hermeneutic disadvantage of interpreting the social world and their place in it” — Thomas J. Spiegel (Potsdam) on the epistemic injustice of lookism
7. There was a competition for criticisms of effective altruism, with $120,000 in prizes — here are the winning entries (via MR)

Discussion welcome.

Mini-Heap posts usually appear when 7 or so new items accumulate in the Heap of Links, a collection of items from around the web that may be of interest to philosophers. The Heap of Links consists partly of suggestions from readers; if you find something online that you think would be of interest to the philosophical community, please send it in for consideration for the Heap. Thanks!