I was surprised by a recent study in the magazine Nature which upended the long-held thought that all-female species are evolutionary dead ends.   Edward Ricemeyer, computational biologist at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in Germany, and 10 other researchers found one remarkable fish that has survived for 100,000 years without males. It is the Amazon molly, named after the all-female warrior tribe in Greek mythology.

The molly has been puzzling scientists for decades.  Evolutionary theory suggests that asexual species should quickly die out, as without sex harmful mutations build up in their genomes over time. But the molly has endured, even if conventional thinking dictates that it should have been a fleeting blip in the tree of life.

How does it do it?  Though the molly drifts among her all-female shoal, its silver scales brush against males of closely related species.  In an unusual evolutionary twist, the genes of the male she selects play no part in her offspring. This biological heist is known as gynogenesis   ̶   a process where the molly uses the male's sperm only to trigger egg development but quickly discards his DNA.  She produces only daughters, each a clone of herself.

Could the gene conversion abilities of the molly have implications in the human world, given the break-neck speed of biotechnology, particularly molecular and reproductive cloning?  It might seem science fiction, but science is running ahead of man's ability to write fiction.

The question is not absurd, when one thinks that increasing number of women all over the world, not least in Malta, are remaining single but still wish to have children.  Some of them told a University of Malta researcher a year ago, "I don't need a husband."  In a thesis entitled "I'm not a Typical Maltese Woman: Stories of Single Women and the Contingency of the Single Status in Malta," Ramona Cuschieri tells their stories.

According to the recent Census, in 2021 there were almost 40,000 single women in Malta over 30   ̶   that's 7.7 percent of the population and 18.6 percent of all females.  Cuschieri didn't have the 2021 census figures in hand, but in the 16 years to 2011 the percentage of single women aged 30-39 increased by 82 percent.

Ms Cuschieri recounts how these women prefer to be independent and live alone, rather than conform to traditional norms.  They want freedom to follow their dreams and achieve their aspirations.  No doubt, though some choose a childless independence, others would like to be able to raise a child or two. At the moment that is practically impossible.

The situation is not sustainable.  Malta's rock-bottom fertility rate requires a fundamental cultural, social, and economic shift in societal attitudes and government policies.  Some welcome changes were announced in last year's Budget as well as in the electoral manifestos of both parties.  They are simply not enough.

I wouldn't suggest, for the moment, that biotechnology should enable Maltese women to do like the Amazon molly and clone themselves without a male DNA.  It isn't because of any affront to male dignity, but we don't need to go there yet.  There are other, less extreme solutions.   The Embryo Protection Act of 2018 already allows single women to undergo IVF treatment with donor sperm, but more needs to be done to make this avenue more accessible.

One other avenue would be giving women the right to enter into legal co-parenting agreements allowing them to raise a child with a friend, another single person, or a platonic partner, which helps share the physical and financial responsibilities of parenthood.

Magnificent encyclical. Pope Leo XIV's 42,000-word encyclical Magnifica Humanitas ('The Grandeur of Humanity') is a welcome document setting out the Catholic Church's teaching on the ethical and political implications of the growing power of AI.  One will not find a roadmap on how to respond to AI, but it frames a series of conversations about what it we might do to safeguard the best parts of being human in the time of AI.

Leo follows in the footsteps of the last pope to carry that name.  A century ago, Pope Leo XIII instituted what became known as the Catholic social tradition, in his encyclical Rerum Novarum ('Of New Things').  That document addressed the plight of workers in the Industrial Age, particularly "the enormous fortunes of some few individuals, and the utter poverty of the masses."

The enthusiasm with which Leo XIV's encyclical was received was partly due to the perception that few political or global leaders grasp the known and potential ramifications of AI's rapid rise.  Often, the common people view their political leaders as accommodating the tech industry, mesmerised by the need for economic growth, and along the way cozying up to wealthy CEOs.

In fact, a few critics took umbrage at Leo's decision to present his encyclical alongside Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah.  But the Vatican decided to involve the tech company as part of its decade-long effort to engage Silicon Valley in dialogue over the human cost of AI.  Olah's presence was just another sign that it is the church's responsibility to engage contemporary questions and challenges.

Infographics, memes, social media posts, and various analyses have highlighted particular snippets: the Lord of the Rings quote, the call to "disarm" A.I., and the comparison of the technology to the Tower of Babel.  However, the encyclical is in reality a manifesto for those wishing to check the ambitions of the tech gurus.

Some commentators see it as a vision for how humans should approach the A.I. future   ̶   one that acknowledges the very real harms that the new technology can inflict, while emphasising the potential to make it better.  In other words, it is not about countering the utopian promises promulgated by Silicon Valley but ensuring that the technology remains at the service of humanity.  It is all about machines at our side, not making gods out of machines.

Pope Leo insists that AI should not be just a tool for productivity gains and remuneration, but should also provide "context for expression, relationships and contributing to the community."  He agrees that a big advantage of tech is that it can relieve humans of arduous, repetitive, or dangerous tasks and provide intelligent support, but also warns of growing A.I.-induced inequality, which exacerbates poverty and forced migration.

Beyond the immediate reactions, what impact will the encyclical have?  Pope Leo has convened a commission to pursue his work, and one looks forward to that.  However effective all this will be in the face of rapid technological advances is open to question.

A blunder too many.  Last week, a man from Santa Venera was acquitted of all charges relating to unnecessary suffering caused to an animal, including keeping the animal without ensuring its proper cares. Not because the evidence didn't show he did it, but because the court found that the inspections relied upon by the prosecution were conducted at a property in Santa Venera whereas the charges listed in the summons referred to facts allegedly occurring elsewhere and during a different period.

Police blunders are becoming all too common, and last week's case is the latest in a series that calls into question the professionalism of the Police Force.  Police blunders can cause severe consequences, ranging from compromised criminal cases through severe miscarriages of justice to devastating losses of public trust.

Blunders of which I am aware include procedural or investigative errors, while some were even due to misconduct.  As the phrase goes, 'to err is human, but to persist in error is diabolical."   Police blunders have come on top of blunders in the Law Courts, with evidence or money going missing.  Such blunders or errors exact a big physical, financial, and emotional toll on victims, the community, and the broader legal system.

The dismissal of the charges in the case I mentioned was particularly galling to animal lovers.  Police officers visited the premises of the accused, Charles Mangion, and found a female dog confined to a small balcony. Testimony established that the space was smaller than the minimum size required by law. The balcony contained a small, broken plastic kennel and dog urine on the floor.  Since 2021, the accused had been given several warnings following other reports of cruelty.

What is wrong with such people?  They profess to be animal lovers but then fail to provide them with proper shelter or to take care of them adequately.  In this case, there was no excessive cruelty like in the case of the Japanese national Okamura Satoshi, who was found guilty of luring and brutally killing several cats across Malta.

However, the abuse is quite pervasive.  In the last few days, the Animal Welfare Directorate discovered a large number of budgies and pigeons living in severely poor conditions. Tragically, many of the animals were already dead when officers arrived on site.  Earlier this year, the Rangers Unit found a pet rabbit with all four legs deliberately snapped in Għajnsielem.  All these cases deserved to be investigated and prosecuted,

Back to my original point, the Commissioner of Police should examine whether Police blunders are the result of systemic or organisational failure, rather than individual errors or misconduct.  The most important thing to do is to identify the reasons why errors and blunders happen and ensure better performance in the future.

Quote of the week.   "You want the option to be able to take your foot off the gas and put your foot on the brake.  Right now, it's like the AI industry has a gas pedal, but it doesn't have a brake pedal." (Jack Clark, Anthropic co-founder)