John BaRoss

Each year, I find myself reflecting on the progress we have made on financial inclusion, but also on the challenges ahead and how we as CGAP can contribute towards tackling them. This question came into sharp focus for me in the closing months of 2018, when I attended two events focusing on fintech – the Singapore Fintech Festival and IFC’s annual meeting of its fintech investees. There is an incredible amount of excitement around fintech.

Figure 1 | Carbonate towers in hydrothermal vents at the Lost City site on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.Credit: Susan Lang, Univ. South Carolina/NSF/ROV Jason/2018. Copyright Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Robert Frost’s poem Fire and Ice ponders which of these two will eventually cause life on Earth to cease. Conversely, scientists have long been interested in whether life on this planet originated in hot or cold conditions.

AbstractTwo datasets, the geologic record and the genetic content of extant organisms, provide complementary insights into the history of how key molecular components have shaped or driven global environmental and macroevolutionary trends.