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Scarce information and human capital may make it difficult for residents of developingcountries to produce accurate forecasts, limiting responses to uncertain future eventslike air pollution. We study two randomized interventions in Lahore, Pakistan: 1)provision of air pollution forecasts; 2) general training in forecasting. Both reducedsubjects’ own air pollution forecast errors; the training effect suggests that modesteducational interventions can durably improve forecasting skills. Forecast receiptincreased demand for protective masks and increased the responsiveness of outdoortime to pollution. Forecast recipients were willing to pay 60 percent of the cost ofmobile internet for continued access.

How do people in developing countries respond to extreme temperatures? Using individual-level panel data over two decades and relying on plausibly exogenous variation in weather, we estimate how extreme temperatures affect time use in China. Extreme temperatures reduce time spent working, and this effect is largest for female farmers. Hot days reduce time spent by women on outdoor chores, but we find no such effects for men. Finally, hot days dramatically reduce time spent on childcare, reflecting large effects on home production. Taken together, our results suggest time use is an important margin of response to extreme temperatures.

BACKGROUND: The ability to efficiently visualize and manipulate chromosomes is fundamental to understanding the genome architecture of organisms. Conventional chromosome preparation protocols developed for mammalian cells and those relying on species-specific conditions are not suitable for many invertebrates. Hence, a simple and inexpensive chromosome preparation protocol, adaptable to multiple invertebrate species, is needed. RESULTS: We optimized a chromosome preparation protocol and applied it to several planarian species (phylum Platyhelminthes), the freshwater apple snail Pomacea canaliculata (phylum Mollusca), and the starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis (phylum Cnidaria). We demonstrated that both mitotically active adult tissues and embryos can be used as sources of metaphase chromosomes, expanding the potential use of this technique to invertebrates lacking cell lines and/or with limited access to the complete life cycle. Simple hypotonic treatment with deionized water was sufficient for karyotyping; growing cells in culture was not necessary. The obtained karyotypes allowed the identification of differences in ploidy and chromosome architecture among otherwise morphologically indistinguishable organisms, as in the case of a mixed population of planarians collected in the wild. Furthermore, we showed that in all tested organisms representing three different phyla this protocol could be effectively coupled with downstream applications, such as chromosome fluorescent in situ hybridization. CONCLUSIONS: Our simple and inexpensive chromosome preparation protocol can be readily adapted to new invertebrate research organisms to accelerate the discovery of novel genomic patterns across the branches of the tree of life.

Model organisms are widely used in research as accessible and convenient systems to study a particular area or question in biology. Traditionally only a handful of organisms have been widely studied, but modern research tools are enabling researchers to extend the set of model organisms to include less-studied and more unusual systems. This Forum highlights a range of 'non-model model organisms' as emerging systems for tackling questions across the whole spectrum of biology (and beyond), the opportunities and challenges, and the outlook for the future.

While economists have long been interested in effects of health and human capital on productivity, less attention has been paid to the influence of time use. We investigate the productivity effects of the single largest use of time--sleep. Because sleep influences performance on memory and focus intensive tasks, it plausibly affects economic outcomes. We identify the effect of sleep on wages by exploiting the relationship between sunset time and sleep duration. Using a large, nationally representative set of time use diaries from the United States, we provide the first causal estimates of the impact of sleep on wages: a one-hour increase in long-run average sleep increases wages by 16%, equivalent to more than one year of schooling. We also document the nonlinearity of the sleep-wage relationship. Our results highlight the economic importance of sleep and pose potentially fruitful questions about the effects of time use on labor market outcomes. (JEL No. J22, J24, J31)

We evaluate whether driving restrictions improve air quality.  While Milan's restriction decreases overall air pollution, there is a significant behavioral response that attenuates the effect.  Our study expoits the natural experiment created by an unanticipated court injunction suspending Milan's restriction.  Drivers respond to the restriction with: 1) intertemporal substituion toward the unpriced period; 2) substitution toward exempt vehicles; and 3) spatial substitution toward unpriced roads.  Importantly, the net effect on traffic varies with public transit availability.