Word: akin
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...become at once something we can't live without and something akin to a global serial killer. As with aircraft, human error rather than mechanical failure is the prime cause of car crashes, typically exacerbated by speed or alcohol, and often both. Many people who love their god, their children and their job nevertheless drive as though there is no tomorrow, foot down, mobile phone to hand, rude and reckless kings and queens of the road. But for 40,000 E.U. citizens each year, the road ends. Peeled from asphalt, picked in pieces from twisted steel and plastic, body-bagged...
...works, they do not waste time writing software that will malfunction. By contrast, a biotechnology company does exactly that. The myriad proteins that make up a living cell are still mostly mysterious to scientists. Thus, making chemicals that cause the cells to do one thing and not another is akin to writing a program for a computer about which you know very little. Drug discovery is like poker. You can give yourself the best odds, but you’re still probably going to lose...
...some effect, but international demand and a willingness to pay top dollar for reef delicacies like the napoleon wrasse make it difficult for conservationists to get their message across. Over the past 10 years the situation has worsened. The coral reefs of Indonesia may ultimately be a tourist destination akin to the Amazon rain forests: see them while they still exist...
...sheer size to be a global power. But it isn't, and until such time as that moment arrives, futebol provides the proud Brazilians with their best chance to be taken seriously as undisputed world leaders. That's why failure to bring home the cup is almost akin to treason. Less so for the Germans, who take their dominance in stride, as a mere byproduct of the Prussian efficiency they are so proud...
...correlation isn't 100%, however. "Most of the heritability is in the range of 30% to 40%," Kendler says. That's a fairly moderate genetic impact, he notes, akin to the chances that you will have the same cholesterol count as your parents. "Your genes set your general vulnerability," he concludes. "You can be a low-vulnerable, intermediate-vulnerable or a high-vulnerable person." But your upbringing and your experiences still have a major role to play. Someone with a low genetic vulnerability, for example, could easily develop a fear of flying after surviving a horrific plane crash...