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brr
Last Flight Out Good-byes, and the beginning of winter isolation.
over a year ago
Yale E360
Out of the Wild: How A.I. Is Transforming Conservation Science Artificial intelligence is being called a game changer for enabling scientists and conservationists...
a month ago
2
a month ago
Artificial intelligence is being called a game changer for enabling scientists and conservationists to process vast troves of data collected remotely. But some warn its use could keep biologists from getting out in the field with the animals and ecosystems they are studying. Read...
Asterisk
The Case for Insect Consciousness The evidence that insects feel pain is mounting, however we approach the issue.
6 months ago
Asterisk
Can We Build a Five Gigawatt Data Center? By 2030, leading AI labs will need data centers so massive they will require the power equivalent of...
6 months ago
21
6 months ago
By 2030, leading AI labs will need data centers so massive they will require the power equivalent of some of America’s largest cities. Will they be able to find it?
The Works in...
How New Zealand invented inflation targeting The political gamble that made modern central banking
2 weeks ago
Wanderingspace
OSIRIS-REX Leaves Bennu The OSIRIS-REX mission in on a two year trajectory back to Earth after capturing fragments of the...
over a year ago
33
over a year ago
The OSIRIS-REX mission in on a two year trajectory back to Earth after capturing fragments of the near Earth asteroid Bennu after successfully executing a sample touchdown last fall. [LINK] The sampling of of the asteroid’s surface is shown above.
symmetry magazine
A collaboration pairs Fermilab with fashion students Fashion students at the College of DuPage successfully designed gear to protect Fermilab’s SPOT...
over a year ago
41
over a year ago
Fashion students at the College of DuPage successfully designed gear to protect Fermilab’s SPOT robot from radioactive dust. In a recent demonstration for Engineers Week in Chicago, an engineering physicist took the stage accompanied by an unusual guest: a...
Quanta Magazine
Chatbots Don’t Know What Stuff Isn’t Today’s language models are more sophisticated than ever, but they still struggle with the concept...
over a year ago
142
over a year ago
Today’s language models are more sophisticated than ever, but they still struggle with the concept of negation. That’s unlikely to change anytime soon. The post Chatbots Don’t Know What Stuff Isn’t first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Blog - Practical...
What Happens When a Reservoir Goes Dry? [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] In June of 2022, the level in...
over a year ago
60
over a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] In June of 2022, the level in Lake Mead, the largest water reservoir in the United States formed by the Hoover Dam, reached yet another all-time low of 175 feet or 53 meters below full, a level that hasn’t been...
NeuroLogica Blog
About Those Lab Leak Documents It was recently revealed that the House subcommittee probing the origins of COVID-19 accidentally...
a year ago
32
a year ago
It was recently revealed that the House subcommittee probing the origins of COVID-19 accidentally released a “trove” of documents related to their investigations. The documents include e-mails and internal communications among the scientists and experts who put together the first...
Stephen Wolfram...
Launching Version 14.2 of Wolfram Language & Mathematica: Big Data Meets Computation & AI The Drumbeat of Releases Continues… Notebook Assistant Chat inside Any Notebook Bring Us Your...
5 months ago
71
5 months ago
The Drumbeat of Releases Continues… Notebook Assistant Chat inside Any Notebook Bring Us Your Gigabytes! Introducing Tabular Manipulating Data in Tabular Getting Data into Tabular Cleaning Data for Tabular The Structure of Tabular Tabular Everywhere Algebra with Symbolic Arrays...
Asterisk
The Biggest Community Development Program You’ve Never Heard Of The pilot of the Indian Community Development Program — among the first holistic development...
8 months ago
22
8 months ago
The pilot of the Indian Community Development Program — among the first holistic development interventions to elicit widespread community participation — was a resounding success. Why did it fail to scale? And what can that tell us about development programs today?
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Did The FDA Mess Up With Aduhelm? | Out-Of-Pocket Rethinking the approval, coverage, and reimbursement dynamic
a year ago
Quanta Magazine
Clashing Cosmic Numbers Challenge Our Best Theory of the Universe As measurements of distant stars and galaxies become more precise, cosmologists are struggling to...
a year ago
52
a year ago
As measurements of distant stars and galaxies become more precise, cosmologists are struggling to make sense of sparring values. The post Clashing Cosmic Numbers Challenge Our Best Theory of the Universe first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Chris Grossack's...
Talk - Where Are The Open Sets? I was invited to give a talk at HoTTEST 2022, and was more than happy to accept! Ever since I was...
over a year ago
31
over a year ago
I was invited to give a talk at HoTTEST 2022, and was more than happy to accept! Ever since I was first learning HoTT I was curious how we could be sure that theorems in HoTT give us corresponding theorems in “classical” homotopy theory. Earlier this summer I spent a lot of...
NeuroLogica Blog
Eclipse 2024 I am currently in Dallas Texas waiting to see, hopefully, the 2024 total solar eclipse. This would...
a year ago
92
a year ago
I am currently in Dallas Texas waiting to see, hopefully, the 2024 total solar eclipse. This would be my first total eclipse, and everything I have heard indicates that it is an incredible experience. Unfortunately, the weather calls for some clouds, although forecasts have been...
Yale E360
Extreme Heat May Cause People to Age Faster New research suggests that extreme heat may cause people to age faster at a molecular level. Read...
7 months ago
4
7 months ago
New research suggests that extreme heat may cause people to age faster at a molecular level. Read more on E360 →
Out-of-Pocket Blog
More 2023 predictions | Out-Of-Pocket should just start 2024 predictions I guess
a year ago
Yale E360
China's Disastrous Summer Floods Linked to Unusually Warm Spring in Tibet A new study links devastating summer floods in southern China to unusually warm spring weather over...
5 months ago
5
5 months ago
A new study links devastating summer floods in southern China to unusually warm spring weather over the Tibetan plateau. Read more on E360 →
Quanta Magazine
New ‘Superdiffusion’ Proof Probes the Mysterious Math of Turbulence Turbulence is a notoriously difficult phenomenon to study. Mathematicians are now starting to...
a month ago
32
a month ago
Turbulence is a notoriously difficult phenomenon to study. Mathematicians are now starting to untangle it at its smallest scales. The post New ‘Superdiffusion’ Proof Probes the Mysterious Math of Turbulence first appeared on Quanta Magazine
IEEE Spectrum
Ethernet is Still Going Strong After 50 Years The Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in California has spawned many pioneering computer technologies...
a year ago
55
a year ago
The Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in California has spawned many pioneering computer technologies including the Alto—the first personal computer to use a graphical user interface—and the first laser printer. The PARC facility also is known for the invention of Ethernet, a...
Drew Ex Machina
The Hurricane Hunter Satellites: A Weather Nanosatellite Constellation As part of ongoing outreach efforts by Tropical Weather Analytics (TWA) to the meteorological...
2 months ago
32
2 months ago
As part of ongoing outreach efforts by Tropical Weather Analytics (TWA) to the meteorological community, TWA’s Chief Scientist, Andrew LePage, attended the National Tropical Weather Conference […]
Blog - Practical...
This Bridge Should Have Been Closed Years Before It Collapsed [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] On January 28, 2022, about an...
a year ago
101
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] On January 28, 2022, about an hour before dawn, the four-lane Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, collapsed without warning. Five vehicles, including an articulating bus, fell with the bridge, and...
Quanta Magazine
What Could Explain the Gallium Anomaly? Physicists have ruled out a mundane explanation for the strange findings of an old Soviet...
12 months ago
81
12 months ago
Physicists have ruled out a mundane explanation for the strange findings of an old Soviet experiment, leaving open the possibility that the results point to a new fundamental particle. The post What Could Explain the Gallium Anomaly? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Damn Interesting
A Trail Gone Cold Iceland is known to the rest of the world as the land of Vikings and volcanos, an island caught...
a year ago
106
a year ago
Iceland is known to the rest of the world as the land of Vikings and volcanos, an island caught between continents at the extremities of the map. Remote and comparatively inhospitable, it was settled only as long ago as the 9th century, and has seen little additional in-migration...
Casey Handmer's blog
Part 6 Guns Under The Table Part of the Mars Trilogy Technical Commentary Series. Contains spoilers for this chapter and earlier...
7 months ago
57
7 months ago
Part of the Mars Trilogy Technical Commentary Series. Contains spoilers for this chapter and earlier chapters. Google Mars .kml. Literary commentary podcast. It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since the last update of this – in that time I read my children all of Green Mars...
NeuroLogica Blog
Immune Cells to Fight Cancer There is a recent medical advance that you may not have heard about unless you are a healthcare...
a year ago
38
a year ago
There is a recent medical advance that you may not have heard about unless you are a healthcare professional or encountered it from the patient side – CAR-T cell therapy. A recent study shows the potential for continued incremental advance of this technology, but already it is a...
Cremieux Recueil
Lessons About the Civil Service and Political Appointees What does history tell us about how the executive branch can run the government?
5 months ago
The Works in...
The ultra-selfish gene Genetically modifying malaria-carrying mosquitoes could allow us to wipe out humanity’s most deadly...
8 months ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Should You Get a Heat Pump? Starting around 1550 and lasting through the 1600s, England had an energy crisis. They were running...
over a year ago
74
over a year ago
Starting around 1550 and lasting through the 1600s, England had an energy crisis. They were running out of wood, which was the main source of fuel for residential and commercial heating. England also needed a lot of wood for their massive navy – it took about 2,000 trees to build...
Asterisk
Rarely is the Question Asked: Is Our Children Learning? Across the world, more students than ever are in school. But it’s not clear that they're learning...
7 months ago
41
7 months ago
Across the world, more students than ever are in school. But it’s not clear that they're learning more while there — or if that’s even the goal.
Yale E360
Environmental Enforcement Slows Under Trump Federal enforcement of environmental laws has slowed significantly under President Trump. Read more...
2 months ago
17
2 months ago
Federal enforcement of environmental laws has slowed significantly under President Trump. Read more on E360 →
Quanta Magazine
Never-Repeating Tiles Can Safeguard Quantum Information Two researchers have proved that Penrose tilings, famous patterns that never repeat, are...
a year ago
60
a year ago
Two researchers have proved that Penrose tilings, famous patterns that never repeat, are mathematically equivalent to a kind of quantum error correction. The post Never-Repeating Tiles Can Safeguard Quantum Information first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Asterisk
Artificial Wombs When? What to expect when you’re expecting in 2050.
a year ago
Quanta Magazine
Diminishing Dark Energy May Evade the ‘Swampland’ of Impossible Universes The largest-ever 3D map of the cosmos hints that the dark energy that’s fueling the universe’s...
10 months ago
108
10 months ago
The largest-ever 3D map of the cosmos hints that the dark energy that’s fueling the universe’s expansion may be weakening. One community of theoretical physicists expected as much. The post Diminishing Dark Energy May Evade the ‘Swampland’ of Impossible Universes...
Quanta Magazine
Andreas Wagner Pursues the Secrets to Evolutionary Success Why did mammals, grasses and some other groups of organisms explode in diversity only after millions...
a year ago
18
a year ago
Why did mammals, grasses and some other groups of organisms explode in diversity only after millions of years? The evolutionary biologist Andreas Wagner plumbs the secrets of those “sleeping beauties.” The post Andreas Wagner Pursues the Secrets to Evolutionary...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
The College Health Opportunity | Out-Of-Pocket We can make college healthcare better! And honestly we have to
a year ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Finding Small Primordial Black Holes Astrophysicists come up with a lot of whacky ideas, some of which actually turn out to be possibly...
7 months ago
69
7 months ago
Astrophysicists come up with a lot of whacky ideas, some of which actually turn out to be possibly true (like the Big Bang, black holes, accelerating cosmic expansion, dark matter). Of course, all of these conclusions are provisional, but some are now backed by compelling...
Breck's Blog
Knowledge
2 months ago
The Works in...
How Airbus took off Why you can build a European airliner, but not a European Google
3 months ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Maternity Care and Payer Contracting with Marta Bralic Kerns | Out-Of-Pocket and some good tips for consultants working at startups
a year ago
Cremieux Recueil
The Demise of the Flynn Effect Massive changes in IQ scores over time are much less meaningful than people think
2 months ago
Quanta Magazine
Simple Equation Predicts the Shapes of Carbon-Capturing Wetlands To calculate the amount of carbon stored inside peatlands, researchers developed a unified theory of...
a year ago
106
a year ago
To calculate the amount of carbon stored inside peatlands, researchers developed a unified theory of “bog physics” applicable around the world. The post Simple Equation Predicts the Shapes of Carbon-Capturing Wetlands first appeared on Quanta Magazine
symmetry magazine
Encouraging a new community Physicists advocate for getting community college students involved in research.
over a year ago
nanoscale views
So you want to build a science/engineering laboratory building A very quick summary of some non-negative news developments: The NSF awarded 500 more graduate...
3 weeks ago
15
3 weeks ago
A very quick summary of some non-negative news developments: The NSF awarded 500 more graduate fellowships this week, bringing the total for this year up to 1500.  (Apologies for the X link.)  This is still 25% lower than last year's number, and of course far below the original...
Quanta Magazine
Undergraduate Upends a 40-Year-Old Data Science Conjecture A young computer scientist and two colleagues show that searches within data structures called hash...
5 months ago
52
5 months ago
A young computer scientist and two colleagues show that searches within data structures called hash tables can be much faster than previously deemed possible. The post Undergraduate Upends a 40-Year-Old Data Science Conjecture first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale E360
Peatland Algae to Soak Up More Carbon as Planet Warms New research finds that microalgae in northern peat bogs will absorb more carbon dioxide as the...
3 months ago
1
3 months ago
New research finds that microalgae in northern peat bogs will absorb more carbon dioxide as the planet warms, helping to take a bite out of emissions. Read more on E360 →
Tikalon Blog by Dev...
Spiderweb Microphone Microphones convert sound into an electrical signal for subsequent amplification, as in auditorium...
10 months ago
35
10 months ago
Microphones convert sound into an electrical signal for subsequent amplification, as in auditorium public address systems; or transmission, as in landline and mobile phones. The most common types of microphones are carbon, used in early telephones, condenser, electret, dynamic,...
Quanta Magazine
Matter vs. Force: Why There Are Exactly Two Types of Particles Every elementary particle falls into one of two categories. Collectivist bosons account for the...
2 weeks ago
14
2 weeks ago
Every elementary particle falls into one of two categories. Collectivist bosons account for the forces that move us while individualist fermions keep our atoms from collapsing. The post Matter vs. Force: Why There Are Exactly Two Types of Particles first appeared on...
Drew Ex Machina
GOES Video of Solar Eclipse – October 14, 2023 Solar eclipses have fascinated humanity since ancient times and the annular eclipse of October 14,...
a year ago
62
a year ago
Solar eclipses have fascinated humanity since ancient times and the annular eclipse of October 14, 2023 was no different. Unlike a total solar eclipse where the […]
Quanta Magazine
Mathematicians Marvel at ‘Crazy’ Cuts Through Four Dimensions Topologists prove two new results that bring some order to the confoundingly difficult study of...
a year ago
119
a year ago
Topologists prove two new results that bring some order to the confoundingly difficult study of four-dimensional shapes. The post Mathematicians Marvel at ‘Crazy’ Cuts Through Four Dimensions first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Works in...
The bad science behind expensive nuclear How an arcane model makes nuclear power expensive and why it's time might be up
a month ago
Quantum Frontiers
A (quantum) complex legacy Early in the fourth year of my PhD, I received a most John-ish email from John Preskill, my PhD...
over a year ago
44
over a year ago
Early in the fourth year of my PhD, I received a most John-ish email from John Preskill, my PhD advisor. The title read, “thermodynamics of complexity,” and the message was concise the way that the Amazon River is damp: “Might … Continue reading →
nanoscale views
Pushing back on US science cuts: Now is a critical time Every week has brought more news about actions that, either as a collateral effect or a deliberate...
a month ago
13
a month ago
Every week has brought more news about actions that, either as a collateral effect or a deliberate goal, will deeply damage science and engineering research in the US.  Put aside for a moment the tremendously important issue of student visas (where there seems to be a policy of...
Quanta Magazine
The ‘Beautiful Confusion’ of the First Billion Years Comes Into View Astronomers are reveling in the James Webb Space Telescope’s discoveries about the formative epoch...
9 months ago
55
9 months ago
Astronomers are reveling in the James Webb Space Telescope’s discoveries about the formative epoch of cosmic history. The post The ‘Beautiful Confusion’ of the First Billion Years Comes Into View first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
The Tiny Physics Behind Immense Cosmic Eruptions A new theory describes how particle interactions fuel fast magnetic reconnection, the process behind...
over a year ago
58
over a year ago
A new theory describes how particle interactions fuel fast magnetic reconnection, the process behind solar flares and other astrophysical jets. The post The Tiny Physics Behind Immense Cosmic Eruptions first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Asterisk
The Science of Woo A conversation about neuroscience, meditation, and the many paths to insight.
4 months ago
Yale E360
Despite Biotech Efforts to Revive Species, Extinction Is Still Forever In the last decade, laboratory initiatives to recreate long-extinct species have stirred...
6 months ago
2
6 months ago
In the last decade, laboratory initiatives to recreate long-extinct species have stirred controversy. Now, scientists increasingly agree "de-extinction" is not possible, but breeding living animals with genes similar to those lost species can be a useful conservation tool. Read...
Yale E360
In Uganda, Deadly Landslides Force an Agricultural Reckoning As growing populations denude its slopes and heavy rain intensifies, Mount Elgon has become...
4 days ago
3
4 days ago
As growing populations denude its slopes and heavy rain intensifies, Mount Elgon has become increasingly vulnerable to landslides. In response, Ugandan farmers are planting native trees and changing the crops they plant in efforts to build resilience against future...
Asterisk
AI Isn’t Coming for Tech Jobs—Yet LLMs can make a developer’s job easier and faster. When might they make them obsolete?
over a year ago
Yale E360
U.S. Aid Cuts Are Hitting Global Conservation Projects Hard The Trump Administration’s dismantling of USAID has done more than cut off life-saving humanitarian...
2 months ago
5
2 months ago
The Trump Administration’s dismantling of USAID has done more than cut off life-saving humanitarian assistance. It has also eliminated funding for environmental protection and conservation work in dozens of countries, with many programs now being forced to shut down. Read more on...
Yale E360
Global Economy More Vulnerable to Warming Than Previously Thought A new study finds warming could inflict far more damage to the global economy than previously...
3 months ago
Eukaryote Writes...
Who invented knitting? The plot thickens Last time on Eukaryote Writes Blog: You learned about knitting history. You thought you were done...
over a year ago
46
over a year ago
Last time on Eukaryote Writes Blog: You learned about knitting history. You thought you were done learning about knitting history? You fool. You buffoon. I wanted to double check some things in the last post and found out that the origins of knitting are even weirder than I...
NeuroLogica Blog
The Role of Plausibility in Science I have been writing blog posts and engaging in science communication long enough that I have a...
over a year ago
77
over a year ago
I have been writing blog posts and engaging in science communication long enough that I have a pretty good sense how much engagement I am going to get from a particular topic. Some topics are simply more divisive than others (although there is an unpredictable element from social...
Cremieux Recueil
"Yes, and..." Urbanism What can the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth teach us about effective zoning law?
2 months ago
The Works in...
Stian Westlake on the intangible economy and paying for social science Episode two of The Works in Progress Podcast is out now
18 hours ago
IEEE Spectrum
Xerox Donates Legendary PARC Research Center Xerox is donating its legendary research lab PARC to the nonprofit research institute SRI...
over a year ago
22
over a year ago
Xerox is donating its legendary research lab PARC to the nonprofit research institute SRI International. The subsidiary’s pioneering research in the 1970s helped give birth to the era of personal computing. Xerox says the move will allow it to focus on its core business. The...
Beautiful Public...
Highway Photologs Highway departments all around the country had "photolog" programs, some dating back as early as...
over a year ago
44
over a year ago
Highway departments all around the country had "photolog" programs, some dating back as early as 1961. Each year, specially tricked out vans would drive each mile of state road snapping photos to document the status of roadways.
Quanta Magazine
Insects and Other Animals Have Consciousness, Experts Declare A group of prominent biologists and philosophers announced a new consensus: There’s “a realistic...
a year ago
102
a year ago
A group of prominent biologists and philosophers announced a new consensus: There’s “a realistic possibility” that insects, octopuses, crustaceans, fish and other overlooked animals experience consciousness. The post Insects and Other Animals Have Consciousness,...
Asterisk
Through a Glass Darkly Nobody predicted the AI revolution, except for the 352 experts who were asked to predict it.
over a year ago
17
over a year ago
Nobody predicted the AI revolution, except for the 352 experts who were asked to predict it.
Yale E360
London Inches Closer to Running Transit System Entirely on Renewable Power Under a new agreement, London will source enough solar power to run its light railway and tram...
a week ago
11
a week ago
Under a new agreement, London will source enough solar power to run its light railway and tram networks entirely on renewable energy. Read more on E360 →
Breck's Blog
Movement
3 months ago
Quanta Magazine
Evolution: Fast or Slow? Lizards Help Resolve a Paradox. Why does natural selection appear to happen slowly on long timescales and quickly on short ones? A...
a year ago
86
a year ago
Why does natural selection appear to happen slowly on long timescales and quickly on short ones? A multigenerational study of four lizard species addresses biology’s “paradox of stasis.” The post Evolution: Fast or Slow? Lizards Help Resolve a Paradox. first appeared...
Quanta Magazine
Mathematicians Attempt to Glimpse Past the Big Bang By studying the geometry of model space-times, researchers offer alternative views of the universe’s...
a year ago
106
a year ago
By studying the geometry of model space-times, researchers offer alternative views of the universe’s first moments. The post Mathematicians Attempt to Glimpse Past the Big Bang first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Asterisk
Animal Welfare in the Anthropocene Wild animals outnumber farmed animals by orders of magnitude. Are we obligated to help them? And...
over a year ago
20
over a year ago
Wild animals outnumber farmed animals by orders of magnitude. Are we obligated to help them? And even if we wanted to, do we know how?
IEEE Spectrum
Assistive Tech at the End of Sight Seeing his words on the printed page is a big deal to Andrew Leland—as it is to all writers. But the...
a year ago
25
a year ago
Seeing his words on the printed page is a big deal to Andrew Leland—as it is to all writers. But the sight of his thoughts in written form is much more precious to him than to most scribes. Leland is gradually losing his vision due to a congenital condition called retinitis...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
What Do Hospitals Care About? | Out-Of-Pocket Let’s look at three big priorities and a real hospital
5 months ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Luminescent Solar Concentrators for Solar Power Solar power is on the upswing. In 2023, 407–446 GW of solar power was installed globally, bringing...
10 months ago
72
10 months ago
Solar power is on the upswing. In 2023, 407–446 GW of solar power was installed globally, bringing the total to 1.6 TWdc. To put this into perspective, this was 55% of new power capacity added to energy production. For the first time, a renewable energy source contributed the...
Uncharted...
Ten New US Cities: Reviving Lakes Some lakes died before they could birth cities. Could we revive the lakes, and give them a 2nd...
5 months ago
46
5 months ago
Some lakes died before they could birth cities. Could we revive the lakes, and give them a 2nd chance at creating cities?
The Works in...
How America Made Machines Make Machines A new section from Stewart Brand's Maintenance on Books in Progress
a year ago
Wanderingspace
Cassini’s Final Look at Enceladus Taken on August 28, 2017. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute This is from images...
over a year ago
43
over a year ago
Taken on August 28, 2017. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute This is from images obtained by Cassini shortly before plunging into the Saturnian atmosphere. The images were taken over 14 hours and compiled into this animation.
The Works in...
The purpose of a building is how it looks True functionalism combines utility and beauty
2 months ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Biofrequency Gadgets are a Total Scam I was recently asked what I thought about the Solex AO Scan. The website for the product includes...
a year ago
63
a year ago
I was recently asked what I thought about the Solex AO Scan. The website for the product includes this claim: AO Scan Technology by Solex is an elegant, yet simple-to-use frequency technology based on Tesla, Einstein, and other prominent scientists’ discoveries. It uses delicate...
Yale E360
After 17 Years Underground, Massive Cicada Brood to Swarm U.S. After hiding underground for the last 17 years, billions of cicadas will take to the skies this...
2 months ago
2
2 months ago
After hiding underground for the last 17 years, billions of cicadas will take to the skies this summer, from Tennessee to Cape Cod.  Read more on E360 →
ToughSF
The Expanse's Epstein Drive We aim to take a fictional propulsion technology from The Expanse, and apply the appropriate science...
over a year ago
21
over a year ago
We aim to take a fictional propulsion technology from The Expanse, and apply the appropriate science to explain its features in a realistic manner. This also applies to other SciFi settings that want a similar engine for their own spacecraft. The Epstein Drive Title art...
Yale E360
Russia's War Is Driving Up Emissions by Forcing Planes to Reroute Since war broke out in Ukraine, Western airlines have been charting longer routes to avoid flying...
4 months ago
2
4 months ago
Since war broke out in Ukraine, Western airlines have been charting longer routes to avoid flying over Russia, with a discernible impact on emissions. Read more on E360 →
Many Worlds
Getting To Know Rogue Planets In our Earthling minds, planets exist in solar systems with a Sun in the middle and objects large...
a year ago
34
a year ago
In our Earthling minds, planets exist in solar systems with a Sun in the middle and objects large and small orbiting around it.   This is hardly surprising since planets are pretty much exclusively illustrated in solar systems and, until the onset of the 21st century, no other...
Interaction Magic -...
Metaphors mold minds Every good design is founded on a great metaphor. How to use metaphors to design more a inclusive...
over a year ago
16
over a year ago
Every good design is founded on a great metaphor. How to use metaphors to design more a inclusive future for our cities. My IXDA Interaction 22 conference talk.
ToughSF
Piracy in Space is Possible Part II: Armed Merchants and Pirate Patrols There's more to piracy than just attacking a target and running away afterwards.  Put yourself in...
over a year ago
14
over a year ago
There's more to piracy than just attacking a target and running away afterwards.  Put yourself in the shoes of a pirate, a merchant or the authorities. What would you do? Fighting back Pirates intercepting, attacking and ransoming a merchant crew should be...
NeuroLogica Blog
The Gender Boxing Hubub Both Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan and Imane Khelif of Algeria earned medals in female boxing competition at...
11 months ago
57
11 months ago
Both Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan and Imane Khelif of Algeria earned medals in female boxing competition at the 2024 Olympics. This has caused a controversy because both boxers, according to reports, have some form of DSD – difference of sex development. This means they have been caught...
symmetry magazine
What the Higgs boson tells us about the universe The Higgs boson is the only fundamental particle known to be scalar, meaning it has no quantum spin....
over a year ago
43
over a year ago
The Higgs boson is the only fundamental particle known to be scalar, meaning it has no quantum spin. This fact answers questions about our universe, but it also raises new ones. When it was first discovered in 2012, the Higgs boson captured the popular...
Quanta Magazine
How a Problem About Pigeons Powers Complexity Theory When pigeons outnumber pigeonholes, some birds must double up. This obvious statement — and its...
3 months ago
33
3 months ago
When pigeons outnumber pigeonholes, some birds must double up. This obvious statement — and its inverse — have deep connections to many areas of math and computer science. The post How a Problem About Pigeons Powers Complexity Theory first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
What Can Birdsong Teach Us About Human Language? We often consider spoken language to be a feature that distinguishes humans from other forms of...
7 months ago
53
7 months ago
We often consider spoken language to be a feature that distinguishes humans from other forms of animal life. Brain research, however, suggests that other creatures — including certain birds — share some of our neural circuitry related to language. In this episode, co-host Janna...
The Works in...
Write for Notes in Progress We're looking for new authors and article pitches
2 months ago
Asterisk
What Comes After COVID The next pandemic is coming. Is it possible to say when?
over a year ago
IEEE Spectrum
Granville T. Woods: Smartest Guy in the Room Any home baker will confirm that, even if you have all the right ingredients and follow the recipe,...
a year ago
28
a year ago
Any home baker will confirm that, even if you have all the right ingredients and follow the recipe, things don’t always turn out the way you envisioned. Such was the life of inventor extraordinaire Granville T. Woods. Who was Granville T. Woods? Woods was endowed with...
NeuroLogica Blog
Using Plants as Biofactories When you think about it, plants are self-reproducing solar-powered biological factories. They are...
over a year ago
45
over a year ago
When you think about it, plants are self-reproducing solar-powered biological factories. They are powered by the sun, extract raw material from the air and soil, and make all sorts of useful molecules. Mostly we use them to make edible molecules (food), but also to make textiles,...
IEEE Spectrum
50 Years Later, We’re Still Living in the Xerox Alto’s World I’m sitting in front of a computer, looking at its graphical user interface with overlapping windows...
over a year ago
24
over a year ago
I’m sitting in front of a computer, looking at its graphical user interface with overlapping windows on a high-resolution screen. I interact with the computer by pointing and clicking with a mouse and typing on a keyboard. I’m using a word processor with the core features and...
Yale E360
'Green Grab': Solar and Wind Boom Sparks Conflicts on Land Use Solar and wind farms are proliferating and increasingly taking up land worldwide, prompting...
4 months ago
1
4 months ago
Solar and wind farms are proliferating and increasingly taking up land worldwide, prompting criticism from rural communities and environmentalists. Solutions range from growing crops or grazing livestock under PV panels to putting floating solar farms on lakes and...
Quanta Magazine
Quantum Computers Cross Critical Error Threshold In a first, researchers have shown that adding more “qubits” to a quantum computer can make it more...
7 months ago
109
7 months ago
In a first, researchers have shown that adding more “qubits” to a quantum computer can make it more resilient. It’s an essential step on the long road to practical applications. The post Quantum Computers Cross Critical Error Threshold first appeared on Quanta...
Yale E360
How Tearing Down Small Dams Is Helping Restore Northeast Rivers More than 30,000 small dams currently block river tributaries from Maine to Maryland. New...
5 months ago
4
5 months ago
More than 30,000 small dams currently block river tributaries from Maine to Maryland. New initiatives to remove them are aimed at restoring natural flows, improving habitat for aquatic life, and reopening thousands of river miles to migratory fish, from shad to American...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Big Changes Coming | Out-Of-Pocket What's temporary vs. permanent?
a year ago
Quanta Magazine
The Webb Telescope Further Deepens the Biggest Controversy in Cosmology A long-awaited study of the cosmic expansion rate suggests that when it comes to the Hubble tension,...
11 months ago
70
11 months ago
A long-awaited study of the cosmic expansion rate suggests that when it comes to the Hubble tension, cosmologists are still missing something. The post The Webb Telescope Further Deepens the Biggest Controversy in Cosmology first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quantum Frontiers
Identical twins and quantum entanglement “If I had a nickel for every unsolicited and very personal health question I’ve gotten at parties,...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
“If I had a nickel for every unsolicited and very personal health question I’ve gotten at parties, I’d have paid off my medical school loans by now,” my doctor friend complained. As a physicist, I can somewhat relate. I occasionally … Continue reading →
Yale E360
A.I. Is Quietly Powering a Revolution in Weather Prediction Weather forecasts powered by artificial intelligence are usually more accurate — and require less...
2 months ago
8
2 months ago
Weather forecasts powered by artificial intelligence are usually more accurate — and require less computational energy and fewer human hours — than conventional predictions. But questions remain about A.I. systems’ reliability and their ability to forecast extreme weather...
Tikalon Blog by Dev...
Quantum Year 2025 Children decide early in life to become scientists when they find that topics such as the...
11 months ago
21
11 months ago
Children decide early in life to become scientists when they find that topics such as the Pythagorean theorem and the hydrological cycle are more interesting and more important than knowing which state is noted for corn. My childhood was notable for witnessing the launch of the...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Why don’t we screen healthy people to catch diseases early? | Out-Of-Pocket the fight that comes up every month
a year ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Can patients be good healthcare shoppers? | Out-Of-Pocket Should their be limits to patient agency?
11 months ago
Quanta Magazine
The Computing Pioneer Helping AI See Alexei Efros has spent his career learning how machines see differently from humans. Now he’s...
a year ago
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a year ago
Alexei Efros has spent his career learning how machines see differently from humans. Now he’s helping to bridge the gap. The post The Computing Pioneer Helping AI See first appeared on Quanta Magazine
symmetry magazine
Applications of quantum mechanics at the beach How does sunscreen work on the atomic level?
a year ago
Drew Ex Machina
Webb’s First Glimpse of Jupiter, Its Moons & Rings A long time ago when I was a budding amateur astronomer, one of the first targets I would observe...
over a year ago
35
over a year ago
A long time ago when I was a budding amateur astronomer, one of the first targets I would observe each evening with my new telescope was […]
Quanta Magazine
He’s Gleaning the Design Rules of Life to Re-Create It Yizhi “Patrick” Cai is coordinating a global effort to write a complete synthetic yeast genome. If...
8 months ago
74
8 months ago
Yizhi “Patrick” Cai is coordinating a global effort to write a complete synthetic yeast genome. If he succeeds, the resulting cell will be the artificial life most closely related to humans to date. The post He’s Gleaning the Design Rules of Life to Re-Create It first...
Quanta Magazine
What Is the Nature of Consciousness? Consciousness, our experience of being in the world, is one of the mind’s greatest mysteries, but as...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
Consciousness, our experience of being in the world, is one of the mind’s greatest mysteries, but as the neuroscientist Anil Seth explains to Steven Strogatz, research is making progress in understanding this elusive phenomenon. The post What Is the Nature of...
The Roots of...
Neither EA nor e/acc is what we need to build the future Over the last few years, effective altruism has gone through a rise-and-fall story arc worthy of any...
a year ago
39
a year ago
Over the last few years, effective altruism has gone through a rise-and-fall story arc worthy of any dramatic tragedy. The pandemic made them look prescient for warning about global catastrophic risks, including biosafety. A masterful book launch put them on the cover of TIME....
Yale E360
How a Former Herder Protected Mongolia's Vast Grasslands Batmunkh Luvsandash has fought to protect more than a million acres of steppe lands in his native...
2 months ago
8
2 months ago
Batmunkh Luvsandash has fought to protect more than a million acres of steppe lands in his native Mongolia. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, he explains how, by drawing on the knowledge of local herders, he was able to take on the powerful mining industry and win. Read...
Yale E360
Amid Devastation in Gaza, a Deepening Environmental Wound The ongoing war in the Gaza Strip has obliterated crops and trees, according to a new assessment of...
a month ago
2
a month ago
The ongoing war in the Gaza Strip has obliterated crops and trees, according to a new assessment of the impact. Read more on E360 →
Quanta Magazine
Cosmologists Try a New Way to Measure the Shape of the Universe Is the universe flat and infinite, or something more complex? We can’t say for sure, but a new...
5 months ago
97
5 months ago
Is the universe flat and infinite, or something more complex? We can’t say for sure, but a new search strategy is mapping out the subtle signals that could reveal if the universe had a shape. The post Cosmologists Try a New Way to Measure the Shape of the Universe...
The Works in...
Notes on Progress: Selective breeding and chicken welfare We've bred larger and larger chickens. Now can we breed happier ones?
over a year ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Is Mars the New Frontier? In the excellent sci fi show, The Expanse, which takes place a couple hundred years in the future,...
a year ago
39
a year ago
In the excellent sci fi show, The Expanse, which takes place a couple hundred years in the future, Mars has been settled and is an independent self-sustaining society. In fact, Mars is presented as the most scientifically and technologically advanced society of humans in the...
Quanta Magazine
New AI Tools Predict How Life’s Building Blocks Assemble Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold3 and other deep learning algorithms can now predict the shapes of...
a year ago
112
a year ago
Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold3 and other deep learning algorithms can now predict the shapes of interacting complexes of protein, DNA, RNA and other molecules, better capturing cells’ biological landscapes. The post New AI Tools Predict How Life’s Building Blocks...
The Works in...
Notes on Progress: In pursuit of decent coffee No great stagnation in home espresso
over a year ago
Eukaryote Writes...
Book review: Air-borne by Carl Zimmer Man, it’s embarrassing to be part of a field of study (biosecurity, in this case) that had such a...
3 weeks ago
17
3 weeks ago
Man, it’s embarrassing to be part of a field of study (biosecurity, in this case) that had such a public moment of unambiguously whiffing it.
Eukaryote Writes...
Eukaryote writes for Asterisk Magazine See my piece on the history of microbiology and the vast, invisible worlds that come into focus...
9 months ago
79
9 months ago
See my piece on the history of microbiology and the vast, invisible worlds that come into focus every time we figure out how to look closer: Through the Looking Glass, and What Zheludev et al. (2024) Found There at Asterisk Magazine I’ve written for Asterisk before: What I won’t...
Yale E360
Exposure to Air Pollution Can Make It Harder to Focus, Study Finds A person’s ability to focus on everyday tasks is affected by short-term exposure to air pollution, a...
5 months ago
6
5 months ago
A person’s ability to focus on everyday tasks is affected by short-term exposure to air pollution, a study has found. Read more on E360 →
Yale E360
The ‘Green’ Aviation Fuel That Would Increase Carbon Emissions The U.S. agriculture lobby has long promoted ethanol for cars. If President Trump’s “Big Beautiful...
a month ago
2
a month ago
The U.S. agriculture lobby has long promoted ethanol for cars. If President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” becomes law, the industry would be given tax credits for producing crop-based fuel for planes, too, despite evidence it would spur deforestation and increase emissions. Read...
Yale E360
In War Zones, a Race to Save Key Seeds Needed to Feed the World In conflict areas from Ukraine to Palestine, storage facilities holding seeds vital for future plant...
3 weeks ago
1
3 weeks ago
In conflict areas from Ukraine to Palestine, storage facilities holding seeds vital for future plant breeding are being lost. Scientists are rushing to send some remaining seeds to a “doomsday” vault in Norway so they can be available to provide food crops in a warming...
nanoscale views
Really doing mechanics at the quantum level A helpful ad from Science Made Stupid. Since before the development of micro- and...
7 months ago
13
7 months ago
A helpful ad from Science Made Stupid. Since before the development of micro- and nanoelectromechanical techniques, there has been an interest in making actual mechanical widgets that show quantum behavior.  There is no reason that we should not be able to make a mechanical...
NeuroLogica Blog
Passive Solar Water Desalination I know we are supposed to be worried about the world supply of fresh water. I have been hearing that...
a year ago
21
a year ago
I know we are supposed to be worried about the world supply of fresh water. I have been hearing that at least for the last 40 years, and the statistics are alarming. According to the Global Commission on the Economics of Water: “We are seeing the consequences not of freak events,...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
My investing theses | Out-Of-Pocket Hit up ya boi
a year ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Scheduling, Medicaid Opportunities, and Health MBAs with Sandy Varatharajah | Out-Of-Pocket misconceptions, opportunities, and more
a year ago
brr
The Beer Can Connecting old and new.
over a year ago
Uncharted...
Why Japan Succeeds Despite Stagnation Demographics & lending vs housing, culture & immigration
4 months ago
Quanta Magazine
How Failure Has Made Mathematics Stronger The topologist Danny Calegari discusses the inevitability of disappointment in math, and how to...
a year ago
79
a year ago
The topologist Danny Calegari discusses the inevitability of disappointment in math, and how to learn from it. The post How Failure Has Made Mathematics Stronger first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale E360
Severe Cold Spells May Persist Because of Warming, Not in Spite of It Huge swaths of North America are facing subfreezing temperatures this week as cold Arctic air pushes...
6 months ago
6
6 months ago
Huge swaths of North America are facing subfreezing temperatures this week as cold Arctic air pushes southward. Paradoxically, such cold spells may persist or even become more common as the planet warms, scientists say. Read more on E360 →
Quanta Magazine
‘Turbocharged’ Mitochondria Power Birds’ Epic Migratory Journeys Slight changes in the number, shape, efficiency and interconnectedness of organelles in the cells of...
a month ago
29
a month ago
Slight changes in the number, shape, efficiency and interconnectedness of organelles in the cells of flight muscles provide extra energy for birds’ continent-spanning feats. The post ‘Turbocharged’ Mitochondria Power Birds’ Epic Migratory Journeys first appeared on...
Quantum Frontiers
The spirit of relativity One of the most immersive steampunk novels I’ve read winks at an experiment performed in a...
over a year ago
38
over a year ago
One of the most immersive steampunk novels I’ve read winks at an experiment performed in a university I visited this month. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, by Natasha Pulley, features a budding scientist named Grace Carrow. Grace attends Oxford as … Continue reading →
Quanta Magazine
The Year in Computer Science Artificial intelligence learned how to generate text and art better than ever before, while computer...
a year ago
28
a year ago
Artificial intelligence learned how to generate text and art better than ever before, while computer scientists developed algorithms that solved long-standing problems. The post The Year in Computer Science first appeared on Quanta Magazine
IEEE Spectrum
This Little Mars Rover Stayed Home Sojourner sent back photos of the Martian surface during the summer of 1997. I was not alone. The...
a month ago
14
a month ago
Sojourner sent back photos of the Martian surface during the summer of 1997. I was not alone. The servers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab slowed to a crawl when they got more than 47 million hits (a record number!) from people attempting to download those early images of the Red...
symmetry magazine
A cosmological headache For over a century, scientists have wondered what is counteracting the force of gravity in the...
over a year ago
61
over a year ago
For over a century, scientists have wondered what is counteracting the force of gravity in the universe.
symmetry magazine
Physics on tour A group called the Big Bang Collective sets up physics discovery stations at rather unexpected...
over a year ago
72
over a year ago
A group called the Big Bang Collective sets up physics discovery stations at rather unexpected venues: music festivals.
NeuroLogica Blog
Coaching with Empathy The show Ted Lasso is about to wrap up its final season. I am one of the many people who really...
over a year ago
56
over a year ago
The show Ted Lasso is about to wrap up its final season. I am one of the many people who really enjoy the show, which turns on a group of likable people helping each other through various life challenges with care and empathy. Lasso is an American college football coach who was...
Asterisk
It’s 2024 and Drought is Optional In the early 20th century, the United States diverted and dammed nearly every major river that runs...
a year ago
15
a year ago
In the early 20th century, the United States diverted and dammed nearly every major river that runs through the West, ushering in an era of unparalleled dominion over water. Today, California once again struggles with water scarcity — but solar energy could change all that.
Uncharted...
Become a World-Class Communicator I’m running a 2nd cohort of my course: How to Become a World-Class Communicator, starting in two...
8 months ago
36
8 months ago
I’m running a 2nd cohort of my course: How to Become a World-Class Communicator, starting in two weeks, on November 4th!
NeuroLogica Blog
The 80-20 Rule From the Topic Suggestions (Lal Mclennan): What is the 80/20 theory portrayed in Netflix’s...
3 months ago
29
3 months ago
From the Topic Suggestions (Lal Mclennan): What is the 80/20 theory portrayed in Netflix’s Adolescence? The 80/20 rule was first posed as a Pareto principle that suggests that approximately 80 per cent of outcomes stem from just 20 per cent of causes. This concept takes its name...
Quanta Magazine
How Math Has Changed the Shape of Gerrymandering New tools make it possible to detect hidden manipulation of maps. The post How Math Has...
over a year ago
85
over a year ago
New tools make it possible to detect hidden manipulation of maps. The post How Math Has Changed the Shape of Gerrymandering first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale E360
In Vermont, a Push to Prevent Flooding or Get Out of the Way An increase in extreme precipitation events has hit the tiny, mountainous state of Vermont...
5 months ago
6
5 months ago
An increase in extreme precipitation events has hit the tiny, mountainous state of Vermont especially hard. As disaster declarations mount, state officials and community groups are collaborating to restore floodplains, reduce runoff from slopes, and buy out vulnerable...
Apoorva Srinivasan
getting started with bayesian inference In my previous post, we spoke about hypothesis testing from a frequentist perspective. This is the...
over a year ago
13
over a year ago
In my previous post, we spoke about hypothesis testing from a frequentist perspective. This is the method that is commonly taught in STAT101 classes. But for many decades, some statisticians have argued for another approach to conduct statistical analysis based on bayes...
Yale E360
Ten Remarkable Plants and Fungi Named by Science This Year In 2024, researchers at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, recorded 172 new species of plants and fungi...
6 months ago
5
6 months ago
In 2024, researchers at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, recorded 172 new species of plants and fungi across the globe, from England to Cameroon. Read more on E360 →
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Thirty Madison and Condition-Specific Care | Out-Of-Pocket I wanted to use this as an opportunity to talk a little bit about scalable telemedicine + specialist...
a year ago
Tikalon Blog by Dev...
Ice Formation In today's bigger is better world, you don't order a large coffee, you order a 20 fluid ounce Venti...
10 months ago
22
10 months ago
In today's bigger is better world, you don't order a large coffee, you order a 20 fluid ounce Venti coffee. From 1987 through 2004, McDonald's restaurants had a supersize option for larger than large portions of its French fries and soft drinks. The prefix, super, has been used...
Uncharted...
Ten New US Cities: 1. Guantanamo City Why we should turn Guantanamo Bay into Guantanamo City
5 months ago
The Roots of...
Levels of safety for AI and other technologies What does it mean for AI to be “safe”? Right now there is a lot of debate about AI safety. But...
over a year ago
43
over a year ago
What does it mean for AI to be “safe”? Right now there is a lot of debate about AI safety. But people often end up talking past each other because they’re not using the same definitions or standards. For the sake of productive debates, let me propose some distinctions to add...
Quanta Magazine
What Is Entropy? A Measure of Just How Little We Really Know. Exactly 200 years ago, a French engineer introduced an idea that would quantify the universe’s...
7 months ago
74
7 months ago
Exactly 200 years ago, a French engineer introduced an idea that would quantify the universe’s inexorable slide into decay. But entropy, as it’s currently understood, is less a fact about the world than a reflection of our growing ignorance. Embracing that truth is leading to a...
NeuroLogica Blog
Artificial Diamond Boom The history of aluminum, and what is now happening in the artificial diamond market, may tell us...
a year ago
51
a year ago
The history of aluminum, and what is now happening in the artificial diamond market, may tell us something about a post-scarcity world. Aluminum is the most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust. However, it like to form with other elements and therefore it was very difficulty to...
NeuroLogica Blog
JET Fusion Experiment Sets New Record Don’t get excited. It’s always nice to see incremental progress being made with the various fusion...
a year ago
42
a year ago
Don’t get excited. It’s always nice to see incremental progress being made with the various fusion experiments happening around the world, but we are still a long way off from commercial fusion power, and this experiment doesn’t really bring us any close, despite the headlines....
Blog - Practical...
The Wild Story of the Taum Sauk Dam Failure [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Early in the morning of...
8 months ago
97
8 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Early in the morning of December 14, 2005, pumps were nearly finished filling the upper reservoir at the Taum Sauk power station, marking the end of the daily cycle. Water rose to the top of the rockfill...
Apoorva Srinivasan
what's happened since the human genome project When the human genome project was deemed “complete” in 2003, it was met with incredible fanfare. The...
over a year ago
23
over a year ago
When the human genome project was deemed “complete” in 2003, it was met with incredible fanfare. The entire project leading up to that moment had all the drama to keep its audience enthralled. Fierce rivalry between a public and private institution, multiple countries involved,...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
How MainStreet gets you government $ | Out-Of-Pocket Get government tax credits for your health startup
a year ago
Yale E360
Despite Ukraine War, Europe Imported Even More Russian Gas Last Year The EU is getting further from its goal of weaning off Russian fossil fuels by 2027. Imports of...
3 months ago
7
3 months ago
The EU is getting further from its goal of weaning off Russian fossil fuels by 2027. Imports of Russian gas rose by 18 percent last year, a new analysis finds. Read more on E360 →
Blog - Practical...
Why Are Beach Holes So Deadly? [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Even though it’s a favorite...
3 months ago
56
3 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Even though it’s a favorite vacation destination, the beach is surprisingly dangerous. Consider the lifeguard: There aren’t that many recreational activities in our lives that have explicit staff whose only job...
NeuroLogica Blog
Trust in New Technology In an optimally rational person, what should govern their perception of risk? Of course, people are...
a year ago
88
a year ago
In an optimally rational person, what should govern their perception of risk? Of course, people are generally not “optimally rational”. It’s therefore an interesting thought experiment – what would be optimal, and how does that differ from how people actually assess risk? Risk is...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
The Ro Breakdown | Out-Of-Pocket The idea of “goal oriented care” and the big questions around direct-to-patient care
a year ago
Quanta Magazine
How (Nearly) Nothing Might Solve Cosmology’s Biggest Questions By measuring the universe’s emptiest spaces, scientists can study how matter clumps together and how...
a year ago
24
a year ago
By measuring the universe’s emptiest spaces, scientists can study how matter clumps together and how fast it flies apart. The post How (Nearly) Nothing Might Solve Cosmology’s Biggest Questions first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Asterisk
The EA-Progress Studies War is Here, and It’s a Constructive Dialogue! We’re hoping Marc Andreessen doesn’t read this and polarize everyone again.
a year ago
Blog - Practical...
How Railroad Crossings Work [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] If you’ve ever ridden a bike,...
a year ago
111
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] If you’ve ever ridden a bike, driven a car, or operated pretty much any other vehicle on earth, there’s a fact you’ve probably taken for granted: you can see farther than it takes to stop. Within the span...
Quanta Magazine
To Pack Spheres Tightly, Mathematicians Throw Them at Random Four mathematicians broke a 75-year-old record by finding a denser way to pack high-dimensional...
a year ago
99
a year ago
Four mathematicians broke a 75-year-old record by finding a denser way to pack high-dimensional spheres. The post To Pack Spheres Tightly, Mathematicians Throw Them at Random first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Confessions of a...
A first step into the unknown world of academia……. At the beginning of this blog I did promise to include some writings that would at least be...
over a year ago
40
over a year ago
At the beginning of this blog I did promise to include some writings that would at least be semi-useful (hopefully!) to future students hoping to move into a career in marine science; so here it goes! From today I am beginning a year long Postgraduate Teaching Internship at UWA....
Yale E360
U.S. Support and New Investments Buoy Hopes for Marine Energy Producing energy from waves and tides has a stop-and-start history. But with a new U.S. testing site...
6 months ago
2
6 months ago
Producing energy from waves and tides has a stop-and-start history. But with a new U.S. testing site opening in 2026, recent federal investment, and accelerating efforts to reach net zero emissions, developers aiming to harness the vast power of the sea are feeling...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Healthcare Private Equity, More Thoughts | Out-Of-Pocket From a doctor, an ex-PE person, and way smarter people than me
a year ago
Casey Handmer's blog
Anti-aging tech fixes demographic collapse With the latest studies on GLP-1 drugs showing not just a drop in all-cause mortality but also an...
10 months ago
32
10 months ago
With the latest studies on GLP-1 drugs showing not just a drop in all-cause mortality but also an apparent slowing of aging, I thought I’d write a quick note on how I think this technology, if it replicates, can drastically improve our lives. It’s hard to believe I’m writing...
Interaction Magic -...
Life beyond the screen Since early 2020, I've been teaching courses in Interaction Technologies and Prototyping. Switches,...
over a year ago
17
over a year ago
Since early 2020, I've been teaching courses in Interaction Technologies and Prototyping. Switches, light, gesture, motion, sound, haptics: this is all about exploring life beyond the screen.
IEEE Spectrum
The Forgotten History of Chinese Keyboards Today, typing in Chinese works by converting QWERTY keystrokes into Chinese characters via a...
a year ago
117
a year ago
Today, typing in Chinese works by converting QWERTY keystrokes into Chinese characters via a software interface, known as an input method editor. But this was not always the case. Thomas S. Mullaney’s new book, The Chinese Computer: A Global History of the Information Age,...
Quantum Frontiers
Noncommuting charges are much like Batman Understanding a character’s origins enriches their narrative and motivates their actions. Take...
a year ago
51
a year ago
Understanding a character’s origins enriches their narrative and motivates their actions. Take Batman as an example: without knowing his backstory, he appears merely as a billionaire who might achieve more by donating his wealth rather than masquerading as a bat … Continue...
Quanta Magazine
Scientists Re-Create the Microbial Dance That Sparked Complex Life Evolution was fueled by endosymbiosis, cellular alliances in which one microbe makes a permanent...
6 months ago
64
6 months ago
Evolution was fueled by endosymbiosis, cellular alliances in which one microbe makes a permanent home inside another. For the first time, biologists made it happen in the lab. The post Scientists Re-Create the Microbial Dance That Sparked Complex Life first appeared...
Quanta Magazine
How Do Merging Supermassive Black Holes Pass the Final Parsec? The giant holes in galaxies’ centers shouldn’t be able to merge, yet merge they do. Scientists...
8 months ago
77
8 months ago
The giant holes in galaxies’ centers shouldn’t be able to merge, yet merge they do. Scientists suggest that an unusual form of dark matter may be the solution. The post How Do Merging Supermassive Black Holes Pass the Final Parsec? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
Tiny Language Models Come of Age To better understand how neural networks learn to simulate writing, researchers trained simpler...
a year ago
25
a year ago
To better understand how neural networks learn to simulate writing, researchers trained simpler versions on synthetic children’s stories. The post Tiny Language Models Come of Age first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
How To Keep AIs From Lying We had a fascinating discussion on this week’s SGU that I wanted to bring here – the subject of...
3 months ago
35
3 months ago
We had a fascinating discussion on this week’s SGU that I wanted to bring here – the subject of artificial intelligence programs (AI), specifically large language models (LLMs), lying. The starting point for the discussion was this study, which looked at punishing LLMs as a...
NeuroLogica Blog
Transgene-Free Gene Editing in Plants Regulations are a classic example of a proverbial double-edged sword. They are essential to create...
2 months ago
89
2 months ago
Regulations are a classic example of a proverbial double-edged sword. They are essential to create and maintain a free and fair market, to prevent exploitation, and to promote safety and the public interest. Just look at 19th century America for countless examples of what happens...
IEEE Spectrum
How Engineers at Digital Equipment Corp. Saved Ethernet I’ve enjoyed reading magazine articles about Ethernet’s 50th anniversary, including one in the The...
a year ago
98
a year ago
I’ve enjoyed reading magazine articles about Ethernet’s 50th anniversary, including one in the The Institute. Invented by computer scientists Robert Metcalfe and David Boggs, Ethernet has been extraordinarily impactful. Metcalfe, an IEEE Fellow, received the 1996 IEEE Medal of...
NeuroLogica Blog
The Fight over Education There is an ongoing culture war, and not just in the US, over the content of childhood education,...
over a year ago
127
over a year ago
There is an ongoing culture war, and not just in the US, over the content of childhood education, both public and private. This seems to be flaring up recently, but is never truly gone. Republicans in the US have recently escalated this war by banning over 500 books in several...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Six Stages Of Health Tech Grief Pt. 1 | Out-Of-Pocket we should pay people to be healthy + building a new EMR
a year ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Digital health needs more creative financing options | Out-Of-Pocket And does venture actually work for healthcare services?
a year ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Starship Explodes in Successful Launch A common joke in the medical world is, “The operation was a success, but the patient died.” The...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
A common joke in the medical world is, “The operation was a success, but the patient died.” The irony comes from how we might define “success”. On April 20th SpaceX conducted the maiden launch of the fully assembled Starship, including a Starship rocket on top of a super heavy...
NeuroLogica Blog
Coal vs Natural Gas In the last 18 years, since 2005, the US has decreased our CO2 emissions due to electricity...
a year ago
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a year ago
In the last 18 years, since 2005, the US has decreased our CO2 emissions due to electricity generation by 32%, 819 million metric tons of CO2 per year. Thirty percent of this decline can be attributed to renewable energy generation. But 65% is attributed to essentially replacing...
Uncharted...
Deserts, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Snow, Paradises, Swamps: Why Do People Live Where They Live in the... Deserts, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Snow, Paradises, Swamps
6 months ago
NeuroLogica Blog
How Much Do Couples Share Traits? Do birds of a feather flock together, or do opposites attract? These are both common aphorisms,...
a year ago
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a year ago
Do birds of a feather flock together, or do opposites attract? These are both common aphorisms, which means that they are commonly offered as generally accepted truths, but also that they may by wrong. People like pithy phrases, so they spread prolifically, but that does not mean...
Asterisk
What I Won’t Eat A reflection on ethics, animal cognition, and chocolate cake.
over a year ago
Quanta Magazine
How Selective Forgetting Can Help AI Learn Better Erasing key information during training results in machine learning models that can learn new...
a year ago
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a year ago
Erasing key information during training results in machine learning models that can learn new languages faster and more easily. The post How Selective Forgetting Can Help AI Learn Better first appeared on Quanta Magazine
nanoscale views
NSF targeted with mass layoffs, acc to Politico; huge cuts in president’s budget request According to this article at politico, there was an all-hands meeting at NSF today (at least for the...
5 months ago
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5 months ago
According to this article at politico, there was an all-hands meeting at NSF today (at least for the engineering directorate) where they were told that there will be staff layoffs of 25-50% over the next two months. This is an absolute catastrophe if it is accurately reported and...
IEEE Spectrum
Quantum Technology’s Unsung Heroes In a world where quantum technologies are on the rise in computing, cryptography, materials,...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
In a world where quantum technologies are on the rise in computing, cryptography, materials, sensors, telecom, biomed, and AI, it’s easy to forget that not so long ago the words “quantum” and “technology” rarely fit comfortably into a sentence together. A range of trailblazers...
Quanta Magazine
The Physical Process That Powers a New Type of Generative AI Some modern image generators rely on the principles of diffusion to create images. Alternatives...
a year ago
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a year ago
Some modern image generators rely on the principles of diffusion to create images. Alternatives based on the process behind the distribution of charged particles may yield even better results. The post The Physical Process That Powers a New Type of Generative AI first...
Wanderingspace
Enter Prometheus “Here's a view of Saturn's moon Prometheus, made from images captured with the narrow-angle camera...
7 months ago
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7 months ago
“Here's a view of Saturn's moon Prometheus, made from images captured with the narrow-angle camera on Cassini on December 6, 2015. Cassini was about 37,400 km from Prometheus when the images were acquired. Part of the F ring is visible in the background at the top.” — Jason Major
IEEE Spectrum
Franklin’s Franklins Were Freakishly Un-Fakeable To make something hard to fake, you can use exotic materials or clever tricks. Benjamin Franklin, a...
a year ago
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a year ago
To make something hard to fake, you can use exotic materials or clever tricks. Benjamin Franklin, a printer by vocation, a scientist by avocation, leaned on cleverness, developing measures that are still in use. Those black arts have now yielded to the latest analytical...
Quanta Magazine
Math Is Still Catching Up to the Mysterious Genius of Srinivasa Ramanujan Born poor in colonial India and dead at 32, Ramanujan had fantastical, out-of-nowhere visions that...
8 months ago
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8 months ago
Born poor in colonial India and dead at 32, Ramanujan had fantastical, out-of-nowhere visions that continue to shape the field today. The post Math Is Still Catching Up to the Mysterious Genius of Srinivasa Ramanujan first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Uncharted...
What Is Happening in Syria? Assad’s regime has fallen, leaving a power vacuum. Why? Who are the winners and losers? What will...
7 months ago
40
7 months ago
Assad’s regime has fallen, leaving a power vacuum. Why? Who are the winners and losers? What will happen next?
Out-of-Pocket Blog
All of the main problems with US healthcare | Out-Of-Pocket let's get all of our problems out on the table
a year ago
Quantum Frontiers
Memories of things past My best friend—who’s held the title of best friend since kindergarten—calls me the keeper of her...
over a year ago
45
over a year ago
My best friend—who’s held the title of best friend since kindergarten—calls me the keeper of her childhood memories. I recall which toys we played with, the first time I visited her house,1 and which beverages our classmates drank during snack … Continue reading →
The Roots of...
Why no Roman Industrial Revolution? Why didn’t the Roman Empire have an industrial revolution? Bret Devereaux has an essay addressing...
a year ago
29
a year ago
Why didn’t the Roman Empire have an industrial revolution? Bret Devereaux has an essay addressing that question, which multiple people have pointed me to at various times. In brief, Devereaux says that Britain industrialized through a very specific path, involving coal mines,...
Quanta Magazine
Physicists Puzzle Over Emergence of Strange Electron Aggregates Electrons have been seen uniting into entities with fractions of electric charge, this time without...
a year ago
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a year ago
Electrons have been seen uniting into entities with fractions of electric charge, this time without a magnetic field coaxing them into it. The post Physicists Puzzle Over Emergence of Strange Electron Aggregates first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Asterisk
My Primal Scream of Rage: The Big Alcohol Study That Didn't Happen Five years ago, the National Institutes of Health cancelled the largest study on alcohol ever...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
Five years ago, the National Institutes of Health cancelled the largest study on alcohol ever planned. Here’s why — and why you should be mad too.
Andrew Fraknoi –...
Two of My Science-Fiction Stories Published in May View this email in your browser A Change of Pace from Astronomy News  As you may know, I have been...
a month ago
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a month ago
View this email in your browser A Change of Pace from Astronomy News  As you may know, I have been writing science-fiction stories based on good astronomy as my retirement project.  After a good number of rejections from the finest sci-fi magazines the world over, I am now...
Quanta Magazine
Michel Talagrand Wins Abel Prize for Work Wrangling Randomness The French mathematician spent decades developing a set of tools now widely used for taming random...
a year ago
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a year ago
The French mathematician spent decades developing a set of tools now widely used for taming random processes. The post Michel Talagrand Wins Abel Prize for Work Wrangling Randomness first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Out-of-Pocket Blog
How are hospitals actually organized | Out-Of-Pocket We’re gonna need a whiteboard for this one
5 months ago
Wanderingspace
Phobos over mount Sharp Taken by the Curiosity rover. This is one of Mars tiny moons as seen from the ground. Impressive as...
over a year ago
37
over a year ago
Taken by the Curiosity rover. This is one of Mars tiny moons as seen from the ground. Impressive as it is only 14 long and you can actually see its shape from the surface. See Phobos below for reference.
Quanta Magazine
The ‘Accidental Activist’ Who Changed the Face of Mathematics Throughout her 60-year career, Lenore Blum has developed new perspectives on logic and computation...
a year ago
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a year ago
Throughout her 60-year career, Lenore Blum has developed new perspectives on logic and computation while championing women in mathematics and computer science. Now consciousness is on her mind. The post The ‘Accidental Activist’ Who Changed the Face of Mathematics...
Quanta Magazine
How Is AI Changing the Science of Prediction? With lots of data, a strong model and statistical thinking, scientists can make predictions about...
8 months ago
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8 months ago
With lots of data, a strong model and statistical thinking, scientists can make predictions about all sorts of complex phenomena. Today, this practice is evolving to harness the power of machine learning and massive datasets. In this episode, co-host Steven Strogatz speaks with...
Drew Ex Machina
Apollo A-002: Testing the Limits of the Launch Escape System One of the more dangerous parts of a space mission is launch which is why almost all crewed...
7 months ago
77
7 months ago
One of the more dangerous parts of a space mission is launch which is why almost all crewed spacecraft have had launch abort options to cover […]
Yale E360
How Wolves Could Help Bring Back Scottish Forests Wolves have been gone from the Scottish Highlands for more than 200 years, and in their absence red...
4 months ago
6
4 months ago
Wolves have been gone from the Scottish Highlands for more than 200 years, and in their absence red deer have proliferated. Researchers say that returning wolves to the Highlands would keep deer in check, allowing large areas of native woodland to regrow. Read more on E360 →
Quanta Magazine
The Year in Math Landmark results in geometry and number theory marked an exciting year for mathematics, at a time...
6 months ago
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6 months ago
Landmark results in geometry and number theory marked an exciting year for mathematics, at a time when advances in artificial intelligence are starting to transform the subject’s future. The post The Year in Math first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Works in...
The eye of the tiger What makes tigers different from one another?
over a year ago
Casey Handmer's blog
Why am I searched every time I go to Australia? The Australian Border Force won’t stop searching me and my personal devices when I visit Australia....
2 months ago
13
2 months ago
The Australian Border Force won’t stop searching me and my personal devices when I visit Australia. Despite being an Australian citizen, under Australian law, I have zero recourse to this continued flagrant invasion of my privacy. After two years of harassment I am publicizing...
The Works in...
Notes on Progress: Breakfast with g IQ, lived experience, and my boyfriend’s underpants
over a year ago
Yale E360
Peruvian Farmer Sues German Energy Giant Over Its Role in Climate Change Hearings began Monday in a landmark climate case in Hamm, Germany, where a Peruvian farmer is suing...
3 months ago
6
3 months ago
Hearings began Monday in a landmark climate case in Hamm, Germany, where a Peruvian farmer is suing energy giant RWE over its role in warming. Read more on E360 →
Explorations of an...
A Month In Northern Peru, Part 17: White-sand Birding At RN Allpahuayo-Mishana and Muyuna Lodge... February 24, 2024 Just outside of the city of Iquitos lies an expansive area containing white-sand...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
February 24, 2024 Just outside of the city of Iquitos lies an expansive area containing white-sand forest. The particular forest types that grow on white sand are somewhat uncommon in the Amazon, yet the stunted tree growth provides quite the contrast to "typical" Amazonian...
Blog - Practical...
How Would a Nuclear EMP Affect the Power Grid? [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Late in the morning of April...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Late in the morning of April 28, 1958, the USS Boxer aircraft carrier ship was about 70 miles off the coast of the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The crew of the Boxer was preparing to launch a...
Blog - Practical...
How Fish Survive Hydro Turbines [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Most of the largest dams in...
a year ago
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a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Most of the largest dams in the US were built before we really understood the impacts they would have on river ecosystems. Or at least they were built before we were conscientious enough to weigh those impacts...
SubAnima
Could There Be Laws Of Biology? Physics has such nice equations and universal laws. Could we ever expect to find similar principles...
over a year ago
17
over a year ago
Physics has such nice equations and universal laws. Could we ever expect to find similar principles or axioms for biology?
Quanta Magazine
How AI Revolutionized Protein Science, but Didn’t End It Three years ago, Google’s AlphaFold pulled off the biggest artificial intelligence breakthrough in...
a year ago
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a year ago
Three years ago, Google’s AlphaFold pulled off the biggest artificial intelligence breakthrough in science to date, accelerating molecular research and kindling deep questions about why we do science. The post How AI Revolutionized Protein Science, but Didn’t End It...
Yale E360
With the Great Mussel Die-Off, Scientists Scramble for Answers One of the most endangered animals in the world, freshwater mussels are threatened by pollution,...
3 months ago
5
3 months ago
One of the most endangered animals in the world, freshwater mussels are threatened by pollution, climate change, habitat loss, and invasive species. But in the epicenter of their diversity — the Southeastern U.S. — the root cause of a catastrophic die-off remains a mystery.  Read...
IEEE Spectrum
Why JPEGs Still Rule the Web A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, Ernie Smith’s newsletter, which hunts for the...
3 weeks ago
13
3 weeks ago
A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, Ernie Smith’s newsletter, which hunts for the end of the long tail. For roughly three decades, the JPEG has been the World Wide Web’s primary image format. But it wasn’t the one the Web started with. In fact, the first...
symmetry magazine
Kétévi Assamagan pays it forward Kétévi Assamagan's contributions to physics go beyond his research at the Large Hadron...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
Kétévi Assamagan's contributions to physics go beyond his research at the Large Hadron Collider. Kétévi Assamagan first became interested in physics in high school—because he had to be. His school in Togo, in West Africa, required students to declare a major....
Casey Handmer's blog
Solar and batteries for generic use cases A brief note on using solar and batteries as generic power sources. Over the last few years of work...
8 months ago
41
8 months ago
A brief note on using solar and batteries as generic power sources. Over the last few years of work at Terraform Industries, we’ve developed several useful heuristics to understand how rapid progress in solar and battery costs will change industry. This includes the bifurcation...
NeuroLogica Blog
Trust in Science How much does the public trust in science and scientists? Well, there’s some good news and some bad...
a year ago
20
a year ago
How much does the public trust in science and scientists? Well, there’s some good news and some bad news. Let’s start with the bad news – a recent Pew survey finds that trust in scientist has been in decline for the last few years. From its recent peak in 2019, those who answered...
Yale E360
Despite Biotech Efforts to Revive Species, Extinction Is Still Forever In the last decade, laboratory initiatives to recreate long-extinct species have stirred...
6 months ago
10
6 months ago
In the last decade, laboratory initiatives to recreate long-extinct species have stirred controversy. Now, scientists increasingly agree "de-extinction" is not possible, but breeding living animals with genes similar to those lost species can be a useful conservation tool. Read...
Casey Handmer's blog
California’s path to redemption California is by far the richest and most powerful polity led by Progressive ideals, and it has...
4 months ago
35
4 months ago
California is by far the richest and most powerful polity led by Progressive ideals, and it has taken a beating of late. In this post, I discuss a practical roadmap by which California must reclaim its mantle as the shining city on the hill, an embodiment of the positive...
IEEE Spectrum
35 Years Ago, Researchers Used Brain Waves to Control a Robot Using the brain to directly control an object was long the stuff of science fiction, and in 1988 the...
a year ago
26
a year ago
Using the brain to directly control an object was long the stuff of science fiction, and in 1988 the vision became a reality. IEEE Life Senior Member Stevo Bozinovski and Members Mihail Sestakov and Dr. Liljana Bozinovska used a student volunteer’s electroencephalogram (EEG)...
NeuroLogica Blog
Anxiety Biomarkers Psychiatry, psychology, and all aspects of mental health are a challenging area because the clinical...
over a year ago
48
over a year ago
Psychiatry, psychology, and all aspects of mental health are a challenging area because the clinical entities we are dealing with are complex and mostly subjective. Diagnoses are perhaps best understood as clinical constructs – a way of identifying and understanding a mental...
IEEE Spectrum
Tragedy Spurred the First Effective Land-Mine Detector Land mines have been around in one form or another for more than a thousand years. By now, you’d...
6 months ago
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6 months ago
Land mines have been around in one form or another for more than a thousand years. By now, you’d think a simple and safe way of locating and removing the devices would’ve been engineered. But that’s not the case. In fact, up until World War II, the most common method for finding...
Yale E360
The ‘Green’ Aviation Fuel That Would Increase Carbon Emissions The U.S. agriculture lobby has long promoted ethanol for cars. If President Trump’s “Big Beautiful...
a month ago
16
a month ago
The U.S. agriculture lobby has long promoted ethanol for cars. If President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” becomes law, the industry would be given tax credits for producing crop-based fuel for planes, too, despite evidence it would spur deforestation and increase emissions. Read...
Blog - Practical...
You Spend More on Rust Than Gasoline (Probably) [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] In July of 1995, Folsom Lake,...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] In July of 1995, Folsom Lake, a reservoir created by Folsom Dam in Northern California, reached its full capacity as snow continued to melt in the upstream Sierra. With the power plant shut down for...
Blog - Practical...
The Most Implausible Tunneling Method [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] The original plan to get I-95...
a month ago
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a month ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] The original plan to get I-95 over the Baltimore Harbor was a double-deck bridge from Fort McHenry to Lazaretto Point. The problem with the plan was this: the bridge would have to be extremely high so that...
Yale E360
Malaria Cases Rising Amid Worsening Floods Malaria killed almost 600,000 people in 2023, as cases rose for the fifth consecutive year,...
6 months ago
4
6 months ago
Malaria killed almost 600,000 people in 2023, as cases rose for the fifth consecutive year, according to a new report from the World Health Organization. Read more on E360 →
Yale E360
Planned EV Battery Plant Threatens Uncontacted Tribe in Indonesia A planned EV battery factory in Indonesia poses a grave threat to an uncontacted tribe, a watchdog...
2 weeks ago
8
2 weeks ago
A planned EV battery factory in Indonesia poses a grave threat to an uncontacted tribe, a watchdog warns. Read more on E360 →
Andrew Fraknoi –...
Friday is the Summer Solstice — Caused by Earth’s Ancient Accident Friday is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. We explain why. The post Friday is the...
3 weeks ago
14
3 weeks ago
Friday is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. We explain why. The post Friday is the Summer Solstice — Caused by Earth’s Ancient Accident appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
Quanta Magazine
‘The Rest of the World Disappears’: Claire Voisin on Mathematical Creativity The recipient of the 2024 Crafoord Prize in Mathematics discusses math as art, math as language, and...
a year ago
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a year ago
The recipient of the 2024 Crafoord Prize in Mathematics discusses math as art, math as language, and math as abstract thought. The post ‘The Rest of the World Disappears’: Claire Voisin on Mathematical Creativity first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
Elliptic Curve ‘Murmurations’ Found With AI Take Flight Mathematicians are working to fully explain unusual behaviors uncovered using artificial...
a year ago
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a year ago
Mathematicians are working to fully explain unusual behaviors uncovered using artificial intelligence. The post Elliptic Curve ‘Murmurations’ Found With AI Take Flight first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quantum Frontiers
A (quantum) complex legacy: Part trois When I worked in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a friend reported that MIT’s postdoc association had...
2 weeks ago
16
2 weeks ago
When I worked in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a friend reported that MIT’s postdoc association had asked its members how it could improve their lives. The friend confided his suggestion to me: throw more parties.1 This year grants his wish on a … Continue reading →
IEEE Spectrum
Who Really Invented the Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery? Fifty years after the birth of the rechargeable lithium-ion battery, it’s easy to see its value....
a year ago
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a year ago
Fifty years after the birth of the rechargeable lithium-ion battery, it’s easy to see its value. It’s used in billions of laptops, cellphones, power tools, and cars. Global sales top US $45 billion a year, on their way to more than $100 billion in the coming decade. The first...
NeuroLogica Blog
AI – Is It Time to Panic? I’m really excited about the recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and their potential...
over a year ago
46
over a year ago
I’m really excited about the recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and their potential as powerful tools. I am also concerned about unintended consequences. As with any really powerful tool, there is the potential for abuse and also disruption. But I also think that...
Quanta Magazine
How the Higgs Field (Actually) Gives Mass to Elementary Particles In this article adapted from his new book, "Waves in an Impossible Sea," physicist Matt Strassler...
10 months ago
53
10 months ago
In this article adapted from his new book, "Waves in an Impossible Sea," physicist Matt Strassler explains that the origin of mass in the universe has a lot to do with music. The post How the Higgs Field (Actually) Gives Mass to Elementary Particles first appeared on...
Quanta Magazine
The Key to Species Diversity May Be in Their Similarities New modeling work suggests why nature is more diverse than niche-based ecological theory predicts. ...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
New modeling work suggests why nature is more diverse than niche-based ecological theory predicts. The post The Key to Species Diversity May Be in Their Similarities first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Damn Interesting
Lofty Ambitions One summer day in 1933, in a brief pocket of time between the two World Wars, a British man named...
over a year ago
26
over a year ago
One summer day in 1933, in a brief pocket of time between the two World Wars, a British man named Maurice Wilson clutched the stick of his tiny, open air biplane and watched his fuel gauge dwindle. He had only learned to fly two months earlier, but inexperience was not his...
The Works in...
From MANUALS to YOUTUBE A new section from Stewart Brand's Maintenance on Books in Progress
a year ago
Blog - Practical...
When Infrastructure Gets Hacked [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] This is a water tower, or as...
9 months ago
91
9 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] This is a water tower, or as the pros would say, an elevated storage tank. Pretty common here in the US, especially in flatter areas where there’s no nearby hillside to build a ground-level tank. I have a whole...
The Roots of...
Quote quiz answer Here’s the answer to the recent quote quiz: The author was Ted Kaczynski, aka the Unabomber. The...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
Here’s the answer to the recent quote quiz: The author was Ted Kaczynski, aka the Unabomber. The quote was taken from his manifesto, “Industrial Society and Its Future.” Here’s a slightly longer, and unaltered, quote: First let us postulate that the computer scientists succeed in...
NeuroLogica Blog
Science News in 2023 This is not exactly a “best of” because I don’t know how that applies to science news, but here are...
a year ago
27
a year ago
This is not exactly a “best of” because I don’t know how that applies to science news, but here are what I consider to be the most impactful science news stories of 2023 (or at least the ones that caught by biased attention). This was a big year for medical breakthroughs. We are...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Transforming Healthcare Data with Tuva Health | Out-Of-Pocket The nitty, gritty, and shitty of working with health data
a year ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Making Computers More Efficient An analysis in 2021 found that 10% of the world’s electricity production is used by computers,...
a year ago
22
a year ago
An analysis in 2021 found that 10% of the world’s electricity production is used by computers, including personal use, data centers, the internet and communication centers. The same analysis projected that this was likely to increase to 20% by 2025. This may have been an...
NeuroLogica Blog
The Transition to Agriculture It is generally accepted that the transition from hunter-gatherer communities to agriculture was the...
3 months ago
23
3 months ago
It is generally accepted that the transition from hunter-gatherer communities to agriculture was the single most important event in human history, ultimately giving rise to all of civilization. The transition started to take place around 12,000 years ago in the Middle East,...
symmetry magazine
Practice makes perfect (particle detectors) Prototyping is an indispensable step in the development of particle physics experiments like DUNE...
over a year ago
39
over a year ago
Prototyping is an indispensable step in the development of particle physics experiments like DUNE and projects like PIP-II. When complete, the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, or DUNE, will be the world’s most comprehensive neutrino experiment—and...
Chris Grossack's...
An Explicit Computation in Derived Algebraic Geoemtry Earlier this week my friend Shane and I took a day and just did a bunch of computations. In the...
3 weeks ago
14
3 weeks ago
Earlier this week my friend Shane and I took a day and just did a bunch of computations. In the morning we did some differential geometry, where he told me some things about what he’s doing with symplectic lie algebroids. We went to get lunch, and then in the afternoon we did...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Mental Health And The Weird Fixation With Employers | Out-Of-Pocket an uncomfortable conversation about mental health access
a year ago
Asterisk
Development Finance Done Right A veteran diplomat explains how to navigate the U.S. development ecosystem, master the interagency...
a year ago
14
a year ago
A veteran diplomat explains how to navigate the U.S. development ecosystem, master the interagency process, and bring electricity to 200 million people.
NeuroLogica Blog
Is AI Sentient – Revisited This happened sooner than I thought. Last June I wrote about Google employee, Blake Lemoine, who...
over a year ago
64
over a year ago
This happened sooner than I thought. Last June I wrote about Google employee, Blake Lemoine, who claimed that the LaMDA  chatbot he was working on was probably sentient. I didn’t buy it then and I still don’t, but Lemoine is not backing away from his claims. In an interview on H3...
Casey Handmer's blog
It Is Time To Build The Monster Scope A shorter version of this post was published in Palladium on 10/18/24. This version incorporates...
7 months ago
43
7 months ago
A shorter version of this post was published in Palladium on 10/18/24. This version incorporates helpful feedback from a number of knowledgeable readers.  With the recent SpaceX Starship orbital flight tests, it is time to commit to building the largest physically possible space...
Quanta Magazine
What Has the Pandemic Taught Us About Vaccines? Should Covid-19 vaccines be judged by how well they prevent disease or how well they prevent death?...
over a year ago
47
over a year ago
Should Covid-19 vaccines be judged by how well they prevent disease or how well they prevent death? Anna Durbin, a public health expert and vaccine researcher, talks with Steven Strogatz about the science behind vaccines. The post What Has the Pandemic Taught Us About...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Christian Health Insurance | Out-Of-Pocket Love thy neighbor, pay for thy neighbor
a year ago
The Works in...
How Poor Maintenance Loses Wars - 2022, Ukraine Maintains A new section from Stewart Brand's Maintenance on Books in Progress
a year ago
Tikalon Blog by Dev...
A.I., Wine, and Beer There have been many studies using scientific instrumentation, mostly gas chromatography, in...
a year ago
17
a year ago
There have been many studies using scientific instrumentation, mostly gas chromatography, in attempts to find what distinguishes a superb wine from an inexpensive house wine. A typical wine can contain more than 800 different aroma compounds. One study examined two Australian...
NeuroLogica Blog
UFOs and SGU on John Oliver The most recent episode of John Oliver, Last Week Tonight, featured a discussion of the UFO...
a year ago
93
a year ago
The most recent episode of John Oliver, Last Week Tonight, featured a discussion of the UFO phenomenon. I’m always interested, and often disappointed, in how the mainstream media portrays skeptical topics. One interesting addition here is that Oliver actually referenced an SGU...
NeuroLogica Blog
Update on Self-Driving Cars The story has become a classic of failed futurism – driverless or self-driving cars were supposed...
a year ago
18
a year ago
The story has become a classic of failed futurism – driverless or self-driving cars were supposed start taking over the roads as early as 2020. But that didn’t happen – it turned that the last 5% of capability was about as difficult to develop as the first 95%. Around 2015 I...
Quantum Frontiers
Quantum physics proposes a new way to study biology – and the results could revolutionize our... By guest blogger Clarice D. Aiello, faculty at UCLA Imagine using your cellphone to control the...
over a year ago
64
over a year ago
By guest blogger Clarice D. Aiello, faculty at UCLA Imagine using your cellphone to control the activity of your own cells to treat injuries and disease. It sounds like something from the imagination of an overly optimistic science fiction writer. … Continue reading →
NeuroLogica Blog
Multipurpose Superconducting Highway When it comes to technology (and also probably many things) there is a pyramid of ideas. At the very...
over a year ago
51
over a year ago
When it comes to technology (and also probably many things) there is a pyramid of ideas. At the very bottom of the pyramid is pure speculation, just throwing out “what if” ideas to feed the conceptual pipeline. A subset of these ideas will pass the sniff test enough to justify...
Asterisk
The “TESCREAL” Bungle The TESCREAL “bundle of ideologies” is purportedly essential to understand the race to build...
a year ago
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a year ago
The TESCREAL “bundle of ideologies” is purportedly essential to understand the race to build artificial intelligence, the ethical milieu of those building it, and the philosophical underpinnings behind Silicon Valley as a whole. But does the label actually tell us anything?
Out-of-Pocket Blog
More 2022 predictions | Out-Of-Pocket A curation of your 2022 predictions
a year ago
NeuroLogica Blog
AI-Fueled Scams Digital life is getting more dangerous.  Literally every day I have to fend off attempts at scamming...
a year ago
54
a year ago
Digital life is getting more dangerous.  Literally every day I have to fend off attempts at scamming me in one way or another. I get texts trying to lure me into responding. I get e-mails hoping I will click a malicious link on a reflex. I get phone calls from people warning me...
NeuroLogica Blog
Should Tech Companies Be Liable for Content The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) is hearing a case that will have profound effects on social media – is...
over a year ago
80
over a year ago
The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) is hearing a case that will have profound effects on social media – is Google liable for a terrorist killing? The family of Nohemi Gonzalez is suing Google, because she was shot by an Islamic terrorist in 2015 and the family alleges this act was abetted...
Blog - Practical...
Do Droughts Make Floods Worse? [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Do you remember the summer of...
a year ago
138
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Do you remember the summer of 2022 when a record drought had gripped not only a large part of the United States, but most of Europe too? Reservoirs were empty, wildfires spread, crop yields dropped, and rivers...
Quanta Magazine
The Mystery of the Missing Multicellular Prokaryotes Why have bacteria never evolved complex multicellularity? A new hypothesis suggests that it could...
a year ago
70
a year ago
Why have bacteria never evolved complex multicellularity? A new hypothesis suggests that it could come down to how prokaryotic genomes respond to a small population size. The post The Mystery of the Missing Multicellular Prokaryotes first appeared on Quanta...
Yale E360
Antarctic Ice Sheet May Be Less Vulnerable Than Previously Thought A new study reveals the massive West Antarctic ice sheet did not completely collapse during the last...
5 months ago
4
5 months ago
A new study reveals the massive West Antarctic ice sheet did not completely collapse during the last warm period, as prior modeling had suggested. The findings offer some hope for the future of the ice sheet as the planet heats up. Read more on E360 →
Beautiful Public...
Visualizing Ship Movements with AIS Data Explore the beautiful, intricate paths of ships over a year—tracked from America's busiest ports to...
9 months ago
102
9 months ago
Explore the beautiful, intricate paths of ships over a year—tracked from America's busiest ports to the open ocean via AIS marine tracking data.
NeuroLogica Blog
The Alef Flying Car The flying car is an icon of futuristic technology – in more ways than one. This is partly why I...
4 months ago
41
4 months ago
The flying car is an icon of futuristic technology – in more ways than one. This is partly why I can’t resist a good flying car story. I was recently sent this YouTube video on the Alef flying car. The company says his is a street-legal flying car, with vertical take off and...
NeuroLogica Blog
Serial Dependence Bias As I have discussed numerous times on this blog, our brains did not evolve to be optimal precise...
over a year ago
44
over a year ago
As I have discussed numerous times on this blog, our brains did not evolve to be optimal precise perceivers and processors of information. Here is an infographic showing 188 documents cognitive biases. These biases are not all bad – they are tradeoffs. Evolutionary forces care...
Yale E360
As U.S. Scientists Look Abroad, China Aims to Lure Top Talent Chinese locales are looking to lure top scientific talent from overseas by offering lavish sums for...
a month ago
2
a month ago
Chinese locales are looking to lure top scientific talent from overseas by offering lavish sums for resettling, as well as housing, health care, and other perks. The moves come as the Trump administration cuts funding for science and works to expel Chinese students. Read more on...
Quanta Magazine
Hyperjumps Math Game Play Quanta Magazine’s daily interactive math game, Hyperjumps! The post Hyperjumps Math...
a year ago
45
a year ago
Play Quanta Magazine’s daily interactive math game, Hyperjumps! The post Hyperjumps Math Game first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale E360
Renewables Made Up More Than 90 Percent of New Power Installed Globally Last Year Renewables accounted for 92 percent of new power capacity worldwide last year, a new report...
3 months ago
Uncharted...
The Moral Case for More People on Earth Today we’re going to cover four points that have emerged from the last few articles on growing our...
7 months ago
40
7 months ago
Today we’re going to cover four points that have emerged from the last few articles on growing our population, but which I haven’t covered yet:
IEEE Spectrum
This Engineer Became a Star in Technology Publishing Donald Christiansen, who transformed IEEE Spectrum from a promising but erratic technology magazine...
8 months ago
67
8 months ago
Donald Christiansen, who transformed IEEE Spectrum from a promising but erratic technology magazine into a repeat National Magazine Award winner, died on 2 October 2024, at the age of 97, in Huntington, N.Y. served aboard the aircraft carrier San Jacinto, an experience that led...
NeuroLogica Blog
Dog Soundboards I am a lifelong dog owner, and like many dog owners am often impressed with how smart my dogs have...
10 months ago
62
10 months ago
I am a lifelong dog owner, and like many dog owners am often impressed with how smart my dogs have been. They pick up on subtle body language and non-verbal cues, they seem to understand specific words, and they are capable of successfully communicating their wants and desires....
Asterisk
China’s Silicon Future China dreams of competing with global superpowers in the semiconductor industry. Whether its efforts...
over a year ago
16
over a year ago
China dreams of competing with global superpowers in the semiconductor industry. Whether its efforts will succeed is far from clear.
Quanta Magazine
An Old Conjecture Falls, Making Spheres a Lot More Complicated The telescope conjecture gave mathematicians a handle on ways to map one sphere to another. Now that...
a year ago
39
a year ago
The telescope conjecture gave mathematicians a handle on ways to map one sphere to another. Now that it has been disproved, the universe of shapes has exploded. The post An Old Conjecture Falls, Making Spheres a Lot More Complicated first appeared on Quanta Magazine
brr
McMurdo Postal Mail How to mail things to and from Antarctica!
over a year ago
Quanta Magazine
Dark Energy May Be Weakening, Major Astrophysics Study Finds A generation of physicists has referred to the dark energy that permeates the universe as “the...
a year ago
62
a year ago
A generation of physicists has referred to the dark energy that permeates the universe as “the cosmological constant.” Now the largest map of the cosmos to date hints that this mysterious energy has been changing over billions of years. The post Dark Energy May Be...
NeuroLogica Blog
How Should We Talk About Autism RFK Jr.’s recent speech about autism has sparked a lot of deserved anger. But like many things in...
2 months ago
15
2 months ago
RFK Jr.’s recent speech about autism has sparked a lot of deserved anger. But like many things in life, it’s even more complicated than you think it is, and this is a good opportunity to explore some of the issues surrounding this diagnosis. While the definition has shifted over...
Eukaryote Writes...
I got dysentery so you don’t have to On turning 30 in a human challenge trial ward.
8 months ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
The New (Experimental) Ways To Tackle The Mental Health Crisis | Out-Of-Pocket let's try some new stuff to scale mental health care
a year ago
Cremieux Recueil
Food Deserts Are Not Real They're more like bad habit neighborhoods
10 months ago
ToughSF
Starship Lite: from rapid Interplanetary to Interstellar Elon Musk stated that a stripped-down SpaceX Starship could become an interplanetary boost vehicle...
over a year ago
19
over a year ago
Elon Musk stated that a stripped-down SpaceX Starship could become an interplanetary boost vehicle able to push probes towards the farthest objects in our Solar System.  What other missions could the Starship ‘Lite’ do, and how quickly? Near SSTO Rockets performance scales...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Introducing The OOP Talent Collective | Out-Of-Pocket if you're hiring, this will help you find the best candidates
a year ago
IEEE Spectrum
The Tremendous VR and CG Systems—of the 1960s Ivan Sutherland has blazed a truly unique trail through computing over the past six decades. One of...
over a year ago
27
over a year ago
Ivan Sutherland has blazed a truly unique trail through computing over the past six decades. One of the most influential figures in the story of computing, he helped to open new pathways for others to explore and dramatically extend: interactive computer graphics, virtual...
Light from Space
The Rosette Nebula Next to the Orion Nebula, the Rosette Nebula is definitely a must-do on the list of every aspiring...
over a year ago
42
over a year ago
Next to the Orion Nebula, the Rosette Nebula is definitely a must-do on the list of every aspiring astrophotographer. Located not too far from Orion in Monoceros, this large H II region has spectacular features, centered around a star cluster. Click or tap to...
Andrew Fraknoi –...
Perseid Meteor Shower Aug 12-13, 2023 We make suggestions for how best to see the 2023 Perseid meteor shower. The post Perseid Meteor...
a year ago
23
a year ago
We make suggestions for how best to see the 2023 Perseid meteor shower. The post Perseid Meteor Shower Aug 12-13, 2023 appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
Quanta Magazine
New Conversations, Deep Questions, Bold Ideas in Season Four of ‘The Joy of Why’ Steven Strogatz and Janna Levin return for a new season on major scientific and mathematical...
4 months ago
24
4 months ago
Steven Strogatz and Janna Levin return for a new season on major scientific and mathematical questions of our time, with 12 all-new episodes and a new format. The post New Conversations, Deep Questions, Bold Ideas in Season Four of ‘The Joy of Why’ first appeared on...
Damn Interesting
The Mount St. Helens Trespasser The Washington state deputy sheriff looked suspiciously at the motorcycle strapped to the back of...
over a year ago
26
over a year ago
The Washington state deputy sheriff looked suspiciously at the motorcycle strapped to the back of the odd little French car. The motorcycle was a recently repaired Honda 90, sporting a fresh coat of grey spray paint. The driver, Robert Rogers, kept a neutral expression as the...
Cremieux Recueil
2024 SAT Data Drop The College Board has just released the latest SAT data. Here's a review.
9 months ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Odysseus Lands on the Moon December 11, 1972, Apollo 17 soft landed on the lunar surface, carrying astronauts Gene Cernan and...
a year ago
43
a year ago
December 11, 1972, Apollo 17 soft landed on the lunar surface, carrying astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt. This was the last time anything American soft landed on the moon, over 50 years ago. It seems amazing that it’s been that long. On February 22, 2024, the Odysseus...
Beautiful Public...
Design for the People: The US Web Design System and the Public Sans Typeface The United States has an official web design system and a custom typeface that belongs to the...
a year ago
117
a year ago
The United States has an official web design system and a custom typeface that belongs to the people. This thoughtful public design system aims to make government websites not only look good, but to make them accessible and functional for all.
The Works in...
Anemia and Malaria In malaria endemic regions, being anemic could be keeping children safe
8 months ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Ins and Outs of Fundraising Today | Out-Of-Pocket Some stuff I’ve learned doing a little healthcare startup investing
a year ago
The Works in...
Rust never sleeps A new section from Stewart Brand's Maintenance on Books in Progress
a year ago