Full Width [alt+shift+f] Shortcuts [alt+shift+k]
Sign Up [alt+shift+s] Log In [alt+shift+l]
Top Categories > science
#all #programming #technology #startups #history #life #science #literature #architecture #creative #design #finance #travel #comics #AI #indiehacker #cartography Muted Categories [alt+←][alt+→]
NeuroLogica Blog
Cities on Fire Most major cities in the US experienced a major fire sometime between 1860 and 1920. Actually these...
a year ago
71
a year ago
Most major cities in the US experienced a major fire sometime between 1860 and 1920. Actually these fires, called conflagrations, have been occurring since colonial times and into the middle of the 20th century, but saw a peak in the late 19th and early 20th century. Many cities...
Asterisk
Beyond Staple Grains The Green Revolution saved a billion lives, but it left a legacy of homogenous diets and distorted...
over a year ago
19
over a year ago
The Green Revolution saved a billion lives, but it left a legacy of homogenous diets and distorted agricultural markets. What impact has this had on global health — and how can we move forward?
Eukaryote Writes...
I got dysentery so you don’t have to On turning 30 in a human challenge trial ward.
8 months ago
Blog - Practical...
Connecting Solar to the Grid is Harder Than You Think [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] On June 4, 2022, a small piece...
a year ago
109
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] On June 4, 2022, a small piece of equipment (called a lightning arrestor) at a power plant in Odessa, Texas failed, causing part of the plant to trip offline. It was a fairly typical fault that happens from...
Asterisk
Crash Testing GPT-4 Can we tell if an AI model is safe before it’s released? The group that tested GPT–4 is trying to...
over a year ago
16
over a year ago
Can we tell if an AI model is safe before it’s released? The group that tested GPT–4 is trying to figure out how.
Probably...
Young Americans are Marrying Later or Never I’ve written before about changes in marriage patterns in the U.S., and it’s one of the examples in...
6 months ago
12
6 months ago
I’ve written before about changes in marriage patterns in the U.S., and it’s one of the examples in Chapter 13 of the new third edition of Think Stats. My analysis uses data from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). Today they released the most recent data, from surveys...
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
5
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...
Quanta Magazine
The AI Tools Making Images Look Better Researchers have discovered ways around a fundamental trade-off between accuracy and beauty in...
a year ago
25
a year ago
Researchers have discovered ways around a fundamental trade-off between accuracy and beauty in digital images. The post The AI Tools Making Images Look Better first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Electronic Noses I am always sniffing around (pun intended) for new and interesting technology, especially anything...
8 months ago
63
8 months ago
I am always sniffing around (pun intended) for new and interesting technology, especially anything that I think is currently flying under the radar of public awareness but has the potential to transform our world in some way. I think electronic nose technology fits into this...
NeuroLogica Blog
Ghosts Are Not Real It’s Halloween, so there are a lot of fluff pieces about ghosts and similar phenomena circulating in...
a year ago
39
a year ago
It’s Halloween, so there are a lot of fluff pieces about ghosts and similar phenomena circulating in the media. There are some good skeptical pieces as well, which is always nice to see. For this piece I did not want to frame the headline as a question, which I think is...
nanoscale views
What are parastatistics? While I could certainly write more about what is going on in the US these days (ahh, trying to...
4 months ago
21
4 months ago
While I could certainly write more about what is going on in the US these days (ahh, trying to dismantle organizations you don't understand), instead I want to briefly highlight a very exciting result from my colleagues, published in Nature last month.  (I almost titled this post...
IEEE Spectrum
The Battle for Better, Broader, More Inclusive AI AI’s inclusivity problem is no secret. According to the ACLU, AI systems can perpetuate housing...
a year ago
91
a year ago
AI’s inclusivity problem is no secret. According to the ACLU, AI systems can perpetuate housing discrimination and bias in the justice system, among other harms. Bias in the data an AI model relies on is reproduced in its results. Large Language Models (LLMs) share this problem;...
NeuroLogica Blog
How Substance Abuse Affects the Brain I will acknowledge up front that I never drink, ever. The concept of deliberately consuming a known...
a year ago
21
a year ago
I will acknowledge up front that I never drink, ever. The concept of deliberately consuming a known poison to impair the functioning of your brain never appealed to me. Also, I am a bit of a supertaster, and the taste of alcohol to me is horrible – it overwhelms any other...
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
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
52
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...
Yale e360
Entries Invited for Yale Environment 360 Film Contest The 12th annual Yale Environment 360 Film Contest is now accepting entries. Read more on E360 →
2 months ago
Quanta Magazine
How ‘Embeddings’ Encode What Words Mean — Sort Of Machines work with words by embedding their relationships with other words in a string of numbers. ...
9 months ago
65
9 months ago
Machines work with words by embedding their relationships with other words in a string of numbers. The post How ‘Embeddings’ Encode What Words Mean — Sort Of first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
The Jersey Drones Are Likely Drones The latest flap over drone sightings in New Jersey and other states in the North East appears to be...
6 months ago
62
6 months ago
The latest flap over drone sightings in New Jersey and other states in the North East appears to be – essentially nothing. Or rather, it’s a classic example of a mass panic. There are reports of “unusual” drone activity, which prompts people to look for drones, which results in...
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
37
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
IEEE Spectrum
A Spy Satellite You’ve Never Heard of Helped Win the Cold War In the early 1970s, the Cold War had reached a particularly frigid moment, and U.S. military and...
5 months ago
58
5 months ago
In the early 1970s, the Cold War had reached a particularly frigid moment, and U.S. military and intelligence officials had a problem. The Soviet Navy was becoming a global maritime threat—and the United States did not have a global ocean-surveillance capability. Adding to the...
Blog - Practical...
Why Railroads Don't Need Expansion Joints [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] One of the most common...
a year ago
63
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] One of the most common attributes folks imagine when they think of trains is the clickety-clack sound they make as they roll down the tracks. The thing is, most trains don’t make that sound anymore. Or really,...
Uncharted...
Why Could Lebanon Be Rich, but Is so Chaotic? Mountains, seas, and a shitty region
9 months ago
brr
McMurdo Postal Mail How to mail things to and from Antarctica!
over a year ago
symmetry magazine
Celebrating Dark Matter Day in Latin America Scientists, artists, communicators and physics fans find creative ways to mark the unofficial...
a year ago
27
a year ago
Scientists, artists, communicators and physics fans find creative ways to mark the unofficial holiday devoted to dark matter.
Yale e360
Wildlife Returns to Site of Devastating Southern California Wildfire Four months after the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena, California, wildlife is making a...
2 months ago
Quantum Frontiers
Quantum Algorithms: A Call To Action Quantum computing finds itself in a peculiar situation. The number one question asked about quantum...
2 months ago
34
2 months ago
Quantum computing finds itself in a peculiar situation. The number one question asked about quantum computers by outsiders is very common sensical: What are they good for? The honest answer reveals an elephant in the room: We don’t fully know yet. For theorists like me, it’s an...
Asterisk
Growing Up Overnight A look at the past few years of LLM progress.
over a year ago
Quanta Magazine
What Makes Life Tick? Mitochondria May Keep Time for Cells Every species develops at its own unique tempo, leaving scientist to wonder what governed their...
a year ago
33
a year ago
Every species develops at its own unique tempo, leaving scientist to wonder what governed their timing. A suite of new findings suggests that cells use basic metabolic processes as clocks. The post What Makes Life Tick? Mitochondria May Keep Time for Cells first...
Quanta Magazine
How a Biofilm’s Strange Shape Emerges From Cellular Geometry Micro decisions can have macro consequences. A soft matter physicist reveals how interactions within...
2 months ago
26
2 months ago
Micro decisions can have macro consequences. A soft matter physicist reveals how interactions within simple cellular collectives can lead to emergent physical traits. The post How a Biofilm’s Strange Shape Emerges From Cellular Geometry first appeared on Quanta...
Beautiful Public...
The Naughty Words the FAA Removed From the Sky New FOIA records from the FAA shed light on the frantic effort in 2015 to rename navigation...
a year ago
117
a year ago
New FOIA records from the FAA shed light on the frantic effort in 2015 to rename navigation waypoints related to Donald Trump and reveal the list of naughty waypoint names that were changed over the years.
The Works in...
The entrepreneurial state How state competition – through war – can drive institutional progress
a year ago
The Works in...
The evolution of psychiatry How to separate order from disorder
a month ago
Yale e360
Grass-Fed Beef No Better for Climate Than Industrial Beef, Study Finds New research finds that, pound for pound, grazing cattle generate at least as much heat-trapping gas...
3 months ago
6
3 months ago
New research finds that, pound for pound, grazing cattle generate at least as much heat-trapping gas as those raised in feedlots. Read more on E360 →
symmetry magazine
Antimatter falls down Results from the ALPHA experiment confirm that matter and antimatter react to gravity in a similar...
a year ago
25
a year ago
Results from the ALPHA experiment confirm that matter and antimatter react to gravity in a similar way.
Quanta Magazine
Covid-19 mRNA Vaccines Win Nobel Prize for Medicine 2023 Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman have been awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine...
a year ago
14
a year ago
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman have been awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries leading to mRNA vaccines, such as those that protect against COVID-19. The post Covid-19 mRNA Vaccines Win Nobel Prize for Medicine 2023 first appeared on...
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
78
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...
Quanta Magazine
Physicists Pinpoint the Quantum Origin of the Greenhouse Effect Carbon dioxide’s powerful heat-trapping effect has been traced to a quirk of its quantum structure....
11 months ago
73
11 months ago
Carbon dioxide’s powerful heat-trapping effect has been traced to a quirk of its quantum structure. The finding may explain climate change better than any computer model. The post Physicists Pinpoint the Quantum Origin of the Greenhouse Effect first appeared on Quanta...
Asterisk
Why We Shut Down In international development, it’s not enough to try to do good. We need the tools to tell if a...
a year ago
15
a year ago
In international development, it’s not enough to try to do good. We need the tools to tell if a project is really working — and the incentive to end it if it’s not.
Wanderingspace
Goodbye Ingenuity Mission completed. Ingenuity is left alone on Mars after damage to one of its blades renders it...
a year ago
67
a year ago
Mission completed. Ingenuity is left alone on Mars after damage to one of its blades renders it inoperable..
Yale e360
A Third of Forests Lost This Century Will Likely Never Be Restored Of the forest lost so far this century, roughly a third was destroyed to make room for farms, a new...
3 weeks ago
12
3 weeks ago
Of the forest lost so far this century, roughly a third was destroyed to make room for farms, a new analysis finds. Those woodlands, which spanned an area larger than Mongolia, will likely never be restored, authors say. Read more on E360 →
Quanta Magazine
Are There Reasons to Believe in a Multiverse? Several areas of physics suggest reasons to think that unobservable universes with different natural...
over a year ago
122
over a year ago
Several areas of physics suggest reasons to think that unobservable universes with different natural laws could lie beyond ours. The theoretical physicist David Kaplan talks with Steven Strogatz about the mysteries that a multiverse would solve. The post Are There...
Quanta Magazine
Tight-Knit Microbes Live Together to Make a Vital Nutrient At sea, biologists discovered microbial partners that together produce nitrogen, a nutrient...
11 months ago
68
11 months ago
At sea, biologists discovered microbial partners that together produce nitrogen, a nutrient essential for life. The pair are in the process of merging into a single organism. The post Tight-Knit Microbes Live Together to Make a Vital Nutrient first appeared on Quanta...
Asterisk
The “TESCREAL” Bungle The TESCREAL “bundle of ideologies” is purportedly essential to understand the race to build...
a year ago
17
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?
Blog - Practical...
The Most Confusing Part of the Power Grid [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] In March of 1989, Earth...
a year ago
115
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] In March of 1989, Earth experienced one of its strongest geomagnetic storms in modern history. It all started when scientists observed a cluster of sunspots—active, magnetic areas on the sun's surface—emerging...
Yale e360
In War-Torn Sudan, a Gold Mining Boom Takes a Human Toll As civil war rages in Sudan, a surge in gold production is helping finance and arm the warring...
3 months ago
11
3 months ago
As civil war rages in Sudan, a surge in gold production is helping finance and arm the warring factions. Most of the mining is done on a small scale by villagers who process the gold using mercury and cyanide, posing serious threats to their health and to the environment. Read...
NeuroLogica Blog
Pentagon Report – No UFOs In response to a recent surge in interest in alien phenomena and claims that the US government is...
a year ago
50
a year ago
In response to a recent surge in interest in alien phenomena and claims that the US government is hiding what it knows about extraterrestrials, the Pentagon established a committee to investigate the question – the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). They have recently...
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
59
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...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
The New Ways Pharma Subsidizes Care | Out-Of-Pocket Is it right? Is it wrong? Is it just hard to track?
2 months ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
The New Price Transparency Laws And Turquoise Health | Out-Of-Pocket Are we actually moving to a healthcare shopping experience?
a year ago
Eukaryote Writes...
Internet Harvest (2020, 1) Internet Harvest is a selection of the most succulent links on the internet that I’ve recently...
over a year ago
52
over a year ago
Internet Harvest is a selection of the most succulent links on the internet that I’ve recently plucked from its fruitful boughs.
The Roots of...
2023 in review 2023 was another big year for me and The Roots of Progress. It was a year when ROP as an...
a year ago
48
a year ago
2023 was another big year for me and The Roots of Progress. It was a year when ROP as an organization really started to take off. Even though the org itself was formed in 2021, at first it was just a vehicle for my own intellectual work, plus a few side projects. Last year we...
Quanta Magazine
Can Quantum Gravity Be Created in the Lab? Quantum gravity could help physicists unite the currently incompatible worlds of quantum mechanics...
2 months ago
18
2 months ago
Quantum gravity could help physicists unite the currently incompatible worlds of quantum mechanics and gravity. In this episode, Monika Schleier-Smith discusses her pioneering experimental approach, using laser-cooled atoms to explore whether gravity could emerge from quantum...
Quanta Magazine
What Causes Alzheimer’s? Scientists Are Rethinking the Answer. (Pt 2) If plaques of amyloid protein in the brain aren’t the root cause of Alzheimer’s disease, what is?...
over a year ago
57
over a year ago
If plaques of amyloid protein in the brain aren’t the root cause of Alzheimer’s disease, what is? Researchers investigating alternative possibilities have faced resistance from the biomedical establishment for decades, but intriguing theories about the role of defects in protein...
Asterisk
Why Is Everyone Suddenly Furious About AI Regulation? Please tell us, because we're stumped.
a year ago
Quanta Magazine
The Simple Geometry That Predicts Molecular Mosaics By treating molecules as geometric tessellations, scientists devised a new way to forecast how 2D...
over a year ago
42
over a year ago
By treating molecules as geometric tessellations, scientists devised a new way to forecast how 2D materials might self-assemble. The post The Simple Geometry That Predicts Molecular Mosaics first appeared on Quanta Magazine
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
45
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...
NeuroLogica Blog
Flow Batteries – Now With Nanofluids Battery technology has been advancing nicely over the last few decades, with a fairly predictable...
a year ago
53
a year ago
Battery technology has been advancing nicely over the last few decades, with a fairly predictable incremental increase in energy density, charging time, stability, and lifecycle. We now have lithium-ion batteries with a specific energy of 296 Wh/kg – these are in use in existing...
Yale e360
Endangered Eels a Top Target for Traffickers in Europe Endangered eels, a top target for wildlife traffickers in Europe, are generating billions in profits...
a week ago
2
a week ago
Endangered eels, a top target for wildlife traffickers in Europe, are generating billions in profits for smugglers globally, according to two new reports. Read more on E360 →
Asterisk
Sins of the Children The circle of life on Chelicer 14d.
a year ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Patient Communities Should Change | Out-Of-Pocket Evolving from ads to outcomes
a year ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
The Ins-and-Outs of Cancer Care Navigators With Laura Stratte | Out-Of-Pocket What are cancer care navigators and what issues do they face?
a year ago
Yale e360
With NOAA Cuts, a Proud Legacy and Vital Science Are at Risk For more than 50 years, NOAA has pioneered climate research and been instrumental in advancing...
3 months ago
6
3 months ago
For more than 50 years, NOAA has pioneered climate research and been instrumental in advancing modern weather forecasting. Now labeled by Project 2025 as part of the “climate alarm industry” and facing DOGE-driven cuts, the future of this valuable public asset is in...
Damn Interesting
Fifteen Years Forsaken Editor’s Note: This article contains quotations from contemporaneous accounts which might be...
over a year ago
30
over a year ago
Editor’s Note: This article contains quotations from contemporaneous accounts which might be offensive for today’s readers. The moon was new on the night of 31 July 1761, and the wide expanse of the Indian Ocean uniformly black. But Captain Jean de Lafargue of the French cargo...
NeuroLogica Blog
World Events and the Conspiracy Instinct By now most people have heard that on Saturday there was a failed assassination attempt on candidate...
11 months ago
77
11 months ago
By now most people have heard that on Saturday there was a failed assassination attempt on candidate Trump at a rally. While it has only been a few days, preliminary investigation has found that 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, using a AR style rifle purchased legally by his...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
OOP's 3 year anniversary | Out-Of-Pocket some thoughts/reflections
a year ago
Sean Carroll
George B. Field, 1929-2024 George Field, brilliant theoretical astrophysicist and truly great human being, passed away on the...
11 months ago
81
11 months ago
George Field, brilliant theoretical astrophysicist and truly great human being, passed away on the morning of July 31. He was my Ph.D. thesis advisor and one of my favorite people in the world. I often tell my own students that the two most important people in your life who you...
Quanta Magazine
During Pregnancy, a Fake ‘Infection’ Protects the Fetus Cells in the placenta have an unusual trick for activating gentle immune defenses and keeping them...
a year ago
22
a year ago
Cells in the placenta have an unusual trick for activating gentle immune defenses and keeping them turned on when no infection is present. It involves crafting and deploying a fake virus. The post During Pregnancy, a Fake ‘Infection’ Protects the Fetus first appeared...
Quanta Magazine
Quaking Giants Might Solve the Mysteries of Stellar Magnetism In their jiggles and shakes, red giant stars encode a record of the magnetic fields near their...
a year ago
25
a year ago
In their jiggles and shakes, red giant stars encode a record of the magnetic fields near their cores. The post Quaking Giants Might Solve the Mysteries of Stellar Magnetism first appeared on Quanta Magazine
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
63
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
Is Dark Energy Getting Weaker? New Evidence Strengthens the Case. Last year, an enormous map of the cosmos hinted that the engine driving cosmic expansion might be...
3 months ago
45
3 months ago
Last year, an enormous map of the cosmos hinted that the engine driving cosmic expansion might be sputtering. Now physicists are back with an even bigger map, and a stronger conclusion. The post Is Dark Energy Getting Weaker? New Evidence Strengthens the Case. first...
Quantum Frontiers
Eight highlights from publishing a science book for the general public What’s it like to publish a book? I’ve faced the question again and again this year, as my book...
over a year ago
43
over a year ago
What’s it like to publish a book? I’ve faced the question again and again this year, as my book Quantum Steampunk hit bookshelves in April. Two responses suggest themselves. On the one hand, I channel the Beatles: It’s a hard … Continue reading →
Yale e360
As War Halts, the Environmental Devastation in Gaza Runs Deep The war in Gaza has taken a heavy toll on the environment, with water supplies contaminated, raw...
4 months ago
1
4 months ago
The war in Gaza has taken a heavy toll on the environment, with water supplies contaminated, raw sewage pouring into the Mediterranean, once-fertile soils ruined, and the land stripped of trees. Experts say the extent of the damage needs to be tallied to help plan for a...
The Works in...
The End of Combustion Vehicles The final section of Ch.2 of Stewart Brand's Maintenance on Books in Progress
a year ago
NeuroLogica Blog
What Kind of Social Media Do We Want? Recently Meta decided to end their fact-checkers on Facebook and Instagram. The move has been both...
5 months ago
55
5 months ago
Recently Meta decided to end their fact-checkers on Facebook and Instagram. The move has been both hailed and criticized. They are replacing the fact-checkers with an X-style “community notes”. Mark Zuckerberg summed up the move this way: “It means we’re going to catch less bad...
Yale e360
To Breed Heat-Proof Cows, Nigerian Farmers Source Brazilian Bull Genes As the planet warms, Nigerian farmers are looking to breed cattle that can take the heat, importing...
5 months ago
4
5 months ago
As the planet warms, Nigerian farmers are looking to breed cattle that can take the heat, importing semen from a Brazilian breed suited to balmy tropical weather. Read more on E360 →
Yale e360
How Herbicide Drift from Farms Is Harming Trees in Midwest Researchers are starting to pay closer attention to the widespread damage wrought by agricultural...
2 months ago
1
2 months ago
Researchers are starting to pay closer attention to the widespread damage wrought by agricultural herbicides. Drifting sprays may not kill trees, shrubs, and other nontarget plants outright, but experts believe they are making them vulnerable to insects, fungi, and disease. Read...
Quanta Magazine
‘Magical’ Error Correction Scheme Proved Inherently Inefficient Locally correctable codes need barely any information to fix errors, but they’re extremely long. Now...
a year ago
52
a year ago
Locally correctable codes need barely any information to fix errors, but they’re extremely long. Now we know that the simplest versions can’t get any shorter. The post ‘Magical’ Error Correction Scheme Proved Inherently Inefficient first appeared on Quanta Magazine
IEEE Spectrum
Designing the First Apple Macintosh: The Engineers’ Story In 1979 the Macintosh personal computer existed only as the pet idea of Jef Raskin, a veteran of the...
over a year ago
33
over a year ago
In 1979 the Macintosh personal computer existed only as the pet idea of Jef Raskin, a veteran of the Apple II team, who had proposed that Apple Computer Inc. make a low-cost “appliance”-type computer that would be as easy to use as a toaster. Mr. Raskin believed the computer he...
Explorations of an...
A Month In Northern Peru, Part 14: River Islands And Explorama Lodge (February 18 - 19, 2024) February 18, 2024 (continued)     Where I last left off, Laura and I had just completed our...
5 months ago
18
5 months ago
February 18, 2024 (continued)     Where I last left off, Laura and I had just completed our sixteen-day loop through the mountains and deserts of northern Peru with the rental car. We dropped the vehicle off at the airport with no issues and boarded our flight. We were heading to...
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
71
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...
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
7
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 →
ToughSF
Moto-Orion: Mechanized Nuclear Pulse Propulsion The Orion nuclear pulse propulsion concept has been around for over six decades now. It is powerful...
over a year ago
26
over a year ago
The Orion nuclear pulse propulsion concept has been around for over six decades now. It is powerful and robust, but lacks the flexibility and features we expect from many more modern designs. Can we give it those additional capabilities? That cutaway is one of Matthew Paul...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
How to measure ROI in healthcare (the right way) | Out-Of-Pocket The good, better, and best way to do it (+ a calculator)
a week ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
SWORD Health And Virtual Musculoskeletal Care | Out-Of-Pocket A first person account
a year ago
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
63
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
Interaction Magic -...
Interaction20 Round-up Summary of all the amazing, curious and challenging ideas from last week's IXDA Interaction 20...
over a year ago
The Works in...
Anemia and Malaria In malaria endemic regions, being anemic could be keeping children safe
8 months ago
Yale e360
Spread of Dark Algae Could Hasten Melt of Greenland Ice Sheet Dark algae are spreading across the Greenland ice sheet as snow retreats. Their dark color causes...
4 months ago
5
4 months ago
Dark algae are spreading across the Greenland ice sheet as snow retreats. Their dark color causes ice to absorb more heat from the sun, accelerating melting, and according to a new study, the harsh conditions atop the ice sheet will do little to slow their advance. Read more on...
Quanta Magazine
Researchers Approach New Speed Limit for Seminal Problem Integer linear programming can help find the answer to a variety of real-world problems. Now...
a year ago
37
a year ago
Integer linear programming can help find the answer to a variety of real-world problems. Now researchers have found a much faster way to do it. The post Researchers Approach New Speed Limit for Seminal Problem first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale e360
Up to 98 Percent of Cropland in Gaza Destroyed The ongoing war in the Gaza Strip has obliterated farms and orchards, according to a new assessment...
4 weeks ago
1
4 weeks ago
The ongoing war in the Gaza Strip has obliterated farms and orchards, according to a new assessment of the impact. Read more on E360 →
Yale e360
Toxic Algae Spurs Sea Lion Attacks in Southern California A sea lion sickened by toxic algae attacked a teenage girl in Long Beach, California, on Sunday, the...
3 months ago
8
3 months ago
A sea lion sickened by toxic algae attacked a teenage girl in Long Beach, California, on Sunday, the latest episode of erratic behavior from affected animals. Read more on E360 →
NeuroLogica Blog
Framing and Global Warming When we talk publicly about the effects of human activity on the climate should we refer to “global...
10 months ago
61
10 months ago
When we talk publicly about the effects of human activity on the climate should we refer to “global warming”, “climate change”, the “climate crisis” or to “climate justice”? Perhaps we should also be more technical and say specifically, “anthropogenic climate change”. This kind...
Asterisk
The Virtue of Wonder: Martha Nussbaum’s Justice for Animals Martha Nussbaum’s latest book challenges us to change the way we think — and feel — about animals....
over a year ago
17
over a year ago
Martha Nussbaum’s latest book challenges us to change the way we think — and feel — about animals. What role can wonder and awe play when pathos comes up short?
Quanta Magazine
The Best Qubits for Quantum Computing Might Just Be Atoms In the search for the most scalable hardware to use for quantum computers, qubits made of individual...
a year ago
65
a year ago
In the search for the most scalable hardware to use for quantum computers, qubits made of individual atoms are having a breakout moment. The post The Best Qubits for Quantum Computing Might Just Be Atoms first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale e360
Push to Rewild in Wealthy Countries Fueling Destruction in Poorer Ones A new study details how, as wealthy countries rewild farmland, they are driving the destruction of...
4 months ago
6
4 months ago
A new study details how, as wealthy countries rewild farmland, they are driving the destruction of forests in poorer countries that are more abundant in wildlife. Read more on E360 →
Quanta Magazine
What Happens in a Mind That Can’t ‘See’ Mental Images Neuroscience research into people with aphantasia, who don’t experience mental imagery, is revealing...
11 months ago
74
11 months ago
Neuroscience research into people with aphantasia, who don’t experience mental imagery, is revealing how imagination works and demonstrating the sweeping variety in our subjective experiences. The post What Happens in a Mind That Can’t ‘See’ Mental Images first...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Completely new healthcare markets and what to build for them | Out-Of-Pocket that new new
a year ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
The weird CPT code process you need to understand | Out-Of-Pocket “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words are billed CPT 99245”
a year ago
Asterisk
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart AIs Are? Scientists have repeatedly failed to recognize the complexity of animal cognition. Will we make the...
over a year ago
16
over a year ago
Scientists have repeatedly failed to recognize the complexity of animal cognition. Will we make the same mistakes with AI?
nanoscale views
Nanopasta, no, really Fig. 1 from the linked paper Here is a light-hearted bit of research that touches on some fun...
7 months ago
17
7 months ago
Fig. 1 from the linked paper Here is a light-hearted bit of research that touches on some fun physics.  As you might readily imagine, there is a good deal of interdisciplinary and industrial interest in wanting to create fine fibers out of solution-based materials.  One...
Casey Handmer's blog
Potentially undervalued companies I am routinely solicited for my technical opinion on new and interesting technologies and companies...
10 months ago
28
10 months ago
I am routinely solicited for my technical opinion on new and interesting technologies and companies developing them. 90% of the time, my answer is “I don’t know” but it continues to concern me that aspects of technical feasibility are evidently not legible to financial types (and...
Blog - Practical...
Is the World Really Running Out of Sand? [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] If you have to know the answer...
9 months ago
111
9 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] If you have to know the answer right away, it’s no; or at least, my goal with this video is to convince you that the world is not running out of sand. But if it were that simple, I wouldn’t be here (right?) and...
Yale e360
A Third of Forests Lost This Century Will Likely Never Be Restored Of the forest lost so far this century, roughly a third was destroyed to make room for farms, a new...
3 weeks ago
1
3 weeks ago
Of the forest lost so far this century, roughly a third was destroyed to make room for farms, a new analysis finds. Those woodlands, which spanned an area larger than Mongolia, will likely never be restored, authors say. Read more on E360 →
Asterisk
They May as Well Grow on Trees The Future of Genetically Engineered Livestock
over a year ago
Yale e360
Renewables Did Not Cause Spanish Blackout, Investigations Find In the aftermath of a massive blackout that hit Spain and Portugal in April, some pundits were quick...
2 weeks ago
9
2 weeks ago
In the aftermath of a massive blackout that hit Spain and Portugal in April, some pundits were quick to blame wind and solar for the loss of power. But official inquiries have found that a shortfall in conventional power led to the outages. Read more on E360 →
Uncharted...
🪐 How Will We Ride to Mars? Do we need a station on the Moon? How hard is it to get to Mars? What are the main challenges?
8 months ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Germany and Nuclear Power Germany has been thrown around a lot as an example of both what to do and what not to do in terms of...
over a year ago
49
over a year ago
Germany has been thrown around a lot as an example of both what to do and what not to do in terms of addressing global warming by embracing green energy technology. It’s possible to look back now and review the numbers, to see what the effect was of its decision to embrace...
Yale e360
Discarded U.K. Clothing Dumped in Protected Wetlands in Ghana Heaps of discarded clothing from the U.K. have been dumped in protected wetlands in Ghana, an...
2 weeks ago
10
2 weeks ago
Heaps of discarded clothing from the U.K. have been dumped in protected wetlands in Ghana, an investigation found. Read more on E360 →
Out-of-Pocket Blog
How Data Transformed Small Group Underwriting | Out-Of-Pocket Paper forms be gone, now we anonymize and risk it all (literally).
11 months ago
Yale e360
Expelling Indigenous Batwa from Their Lands Did Not Help Endangered Gorillas, Study Finds For decades, Congolese officials have barred the Batwa from their ancestral lands in the name of...
6 months ago
5
6 months ago
For decades, Congolese officials have barred the Batwa from their ancestral lands in the name of preserving the critically endangered eastern lowland gorilla. But a new study suggests the Batwa were never a threat to the creatures. Read more on E360 →
Yale e360
Taiwan to Ramp Up Gas Imports After Shuttering Last Nuclear Plant Having shut down its last remaining nuclear plant Saturday, Taiwan is working to secure new imports...
a month ago
16
a month ago
Having shut down its last remaining nuclear plant Saturday, Taiwan is working to secure new imports of natural gas. Read more on E360 →
IEEE Spectrum
Inside the Three-Way Race to Create the Most Widely Used Laser The semiconductor laser, invented more than 60 years ago, is the foundation of many of today’s...
11 months ago
69
11 months ago
The semiconductor laser, invented more than 60 years ago, is the foundation of many of today’s technologies including barcode scanners, fiber-optic communications, medical imaging, and remote controls. The tiny, versatile device is now an IEEE Milestone. The possibilities of...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Patient Messaging Conundrum pt. 2 | Out-Of-Pocket Some thoughts from an academic, a behavioral scientist, a patient, and more
a year ago
Damn Interesting
Pushing the Envelope As is often the case with people in dangerous professions, the Apollo astronauts found that life...
over a year ago
24
over a year ago
As is often the case with people in dangerous professions, the Apollo astronauts found that life insurance policies were prohibitively expensive. Rather than pay the exorbitant insurance fees, the astronauts devised a system to ensure their wives and children would be financially...
The Works in...
Youtube Rules A new section from Stewart Brand's Maintenance on Books in Progress
a year ago
Quanta Magazine
Radio Maps May Reveal the Universe’s Biggest Magnetic Fields A controversial technique has produced detailed maps of the magnetic fields in colossal galaxy...
a year ago
36
a year ago
A controversial technique has produced detailed maps of the magnetic fields in colossal galaxy clusters. If confirmed, the approach could be used to reveal where cosmic magnetic fields come from. The post Radio Maps May Reveal the Universe’s Biggest Magnetic Fields...
Quanta Magazine
Debate May Help AI Models Converge on Truth How do we know if a large language model is lying? Letting AI systems argue with each other may help...
7 months ago
57
7 months ago
How do we know if a large language model is lying? Letting AI systems argue with each other may help expose the truth. The post Debate May Help AI Models Converge on Truth first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Works in...
ARIA: Betting on science An inside look at Britain's new DARPA
over a year ago
pcloadletter
Coding interviews are effective Coding interviews are controversial. It can be unpleasant to code in front of someone else, knowing...
a year ago
46
a year ago
Coding interviews are controversial. It can be unpleasant to code in front of someone else, knowing you're being judged. And who likes failing? Especially when it feels like you failed intellectually. But, coding interviews are effective. One big criticism of coding interviews is...
Yale e360
Trump Administration Fires Hundreds of Climate and Weather Specialists The Trump administration has re-fired hundreds of probationary workers at NOAA after a court ruling...
2 months ago
9
2 months ago
The Trump administration has re-fired hundreds of probationary workers at NOAA after a court ruling cleared the way. Read more on E360 →
Quanta Magazine
A New Proof Smooths Out the Math of Melting A powerful mathematical technique is used to model melting ice and other phenomena. But it has long...
3 months ago
35
3 months ago
A powerful mathematical technique is used to model melting ice and other phenomena. But it has long been imperiled by certain “nightmare scenarios.” A new proof has removed that obstacle. The post A New Proof Smooths Out the Math of Melting first appeared on Quanta...
NeuroLogica Blog
Are Electric Vehicles Worth It One of the key components of the plan to get our civilization to net zero by 2050 is to transform...
a year ago
27
a year ago
One of the key components of the plan to get our civilization to net zero by 2050 is to transform the motor vehicle fleet into all electric vehicles (EVs). This is a worthy goal, as it would eliminate burning gasoline for transportation. In fact it’s necessary if we want to get...
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
48
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...
Quanta Magazine
New Proof Shows That ‘Expander’ Graphs Synchronize The proof establishes new conditions that cause connected oscillators to sway in sync. ...
a year ago
29
a year ago
The proof establishes new conditions that cause connected oscillators to sway in sync. The post New Proof Shows That ‘Expander’ Graphs Synchronize first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Quiet Supersonic Aircraft Ready for Testing It was six years ago that I first wrote about NASA’s X-59 QueSST project, contracted to Lockheed...
a year ago
50
a year ago
It was six years ago that I first wrote about NASA’s X-59 QueSST project, contracted to Lockheed Martin. Now the plane has finally been built and is ready for testing. At the time it was reported that NASA “had a design” for a quiet supersonic jet, one that would not create a...
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
19
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...
Quanta Magazine
The #1 Clue to Quantum Gravity Sits on the Surfaces of Black Holes A black hole formula worked out in the 1970s remains the most concrete clue physicists have about...
9 months ago
48
9 months ago
A black hole formula worked out in the 1970s remains the most concrete clue physicists have about the threads of the space-time fabric. The post The #1 Clue to Quantum Gravity Sits on the Surfaces of Black Holes first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
An Enormous Gravity ‘Hum’ Moves Through the Universe Astronomers have found a background din of exceptionally long-wavelength gravitational waves...
over a year ago
43
over a year ago
Astronomers have found a background din of exceptionally long-wavelength gravitational waves pervading the cosmos. The post An Enormous Gravity ‘Hum’ Moves Through the Universe first appeared on Quanta Magazine
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
51
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...
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
24
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...
Quanta Magazine
Where Do Scientists Think This Is All Going? We asked some of the world’s foremost experts an impossible question. Amazingly, they answered. ...
2 months ago
8
2 months ago
We asked some of the world’s foremost experts an impossible question. Amazingly, they answered. The post Where Do Scientists Think This Is All Going? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Converting CO2 to Carbon Nanofibers One of the dreams of a green economy where the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is stable, and not...
a year ago
37
a year ago
One of the dreams of a green economy where the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is stable, and not slowly increasing, is the ability to draw CO2 from the atmosphere and convert it to a solid form. Often referred to as carbon capture, some form of this is going to be necessary...
Drew Ex Machina
Epsilon Indi’s Super Jovian Exoplanet – Background & New Observations by JWST On July 24, 2024, an international team of scientists, headed by Dr. Elisabeth Matthews of the Max...
11 months ago
72
11 months ago
On July 24, 2024, an international team of scientists, headed by Dr. Elisabeth Matthews of the Max Plank Institute for Astronomy, announced that they had used […]
Yale e360
A Decade After a Lead Crisis, Flint Has At Last Replaced Its Pipes A decade after Flint, Michigan, was beset by widespread lead contamination, officials confirmed the...
4 days ago
2
4 days ago
A decade after Flint, Michigan, was beset by widespread lead contamination, officials confirmed the city has replaced its lead pipes, as ordered by a federal court. Read more on E360 →
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
110
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
Damn Interesting
From Where the Sun Now Stands An American Indian man on horseback stood outlined against a steely sky past midday on 05 October...
over a year ago
39
over a year ago
An American Indian man on horseback stood outlined against a steely sky past midday on 05 October 1877. Winter was already settling into the prairies of what would soon become the state of Montana. Five white men stood in the swaying grass on the other side of the field,...
Quanta Magazine
What Can Cave Life Tell Us About Alien Ecosystems? Extremophiles, or microbes that live in the most seemingly hostile environments, are the darlings of...
9 months ago
72
9 months ago
Extremophiles, or microbes that live in the most seemingly hostile environments, are the darlings of astrobiologists, who study the potential for life beyond Earth. In this episode, co-host Janna Levin speaks with astrobiologist and cave explorer Penelope Boston about how life...
NeuroLogica Blog
Deep South – A Neuromorphic Supercomputer Australian researchers at the International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems (ICNS) at Western Sydney...
a year ago
29
a year ago
Australian researchers at the International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems (ICNS) at Western Sydney University have announced they are building what they are calling Deep South (based on IBM’s Deep Blue). This will be the world’s largest neuromorphic supercomputer, with 228...
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...
Blog - Practical...
Why are the Dutch So Famous for Waterworks? [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] This is the Veluwemeer...
5 months ago
70
5 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] This is the Veluwemeer (velOOwemeer) Aqueduct in Harderwijk (HAR-der-vehk), Netherlands. It solves a pretty simple problem. If you put a bridge for vehicles over a navigable waterway, you often have to make it...
Quanta Magazine
Pierre de Fermat’s Link to a High School Student’s Prime Math Proof How Fermat’s less famous ‘little theorem’ got mathematicians young and old to play with prime-like...
a year ago
47
a year ago
How Fermat’s less famous ‘little theorem’ got mathematicians young and old to play with prime-like Carmichael numbers. The post Pierre de Fermat’s Link to a High School Student’s Prime Math Proof first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale e360
U.S. Solar and Batteries Headed for Record Year Solar panels and batteries will account for more than 80 percent of new power capacity installed in...
4 months ago
1
4 months ago
Solar panels and batteries will account for more than 80 percent of new power capacity installed in the U.S. this year, officials say. Both technologies are set for record growth, helping to hasten the decline of coal power. Read more on E360 →
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
2
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...
Blog - Practical...
When Natural Gas Had No Smell [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Excitement and hope permeated...
11 months ago
102
11 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Excitement and hope permeated the crowds gathered in a dusty farm carved from the piney woods in east Texas. The rumor was that Columbus Joiner had struck oil. At 70 years old, Joiner had already won and lost...
Blog - Practical...
Why Engineers Can't Control Rivers [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] This is the Old River Control...
over a year ago
100
over a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] This is the Old River Control Structure, a relatively innocuous complex of floodgates and levees off the Mississippi River in central Louisiana. It was built in the 1950s to solve a serious problem. Typically...
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
The Works in...
Unending World A foretaste of Ch. 11 of Stewart Brand’s Maintenance on Books in Progress
8 months ago
IEEE Spectrum
How the Computer Graphics Industry Got Started at the University of Utah Animation has come a long way since 1900, when J. Stuart Blackton created The Enchanted Drawing, the...
over a year ago
21
over a year ago
Animation has come a long way since 1900, when J. Stuart Blackton created The Enchanted Drawing, the earliest known animated film. The 90-second movie was created using stop-motion techniques, as flat characters, props, and backgrounds were drawn on an easel or made from...
NeuroLogica Blog
Do We Have Free Will? Let’s dive head first into one of the internet’s most contentious questions – do we have true free...
a year ago
22
a year ago
Let’s dive head first into one of the internet’s most contentious questions – do we have true free will? This comes up not infrequently whenever I write here about neuroscience, most recently when I wrote about hunger circuitry, because the notion of the brain as a physical...
SubAnima
When Does Life Begin? What *actually* makes conception special?
over a year ago
Wanderingspace
ISS Looks Like a Toy These animated gifs of The International Space Station look just like metal toys — but they are...
over a year ago
47
over a year ago
These animated gifs of The International Space Station look just like metal toys — but they are real. Each frame is taken with ground based amateur telescopes and then pieced together with common image software like Adobe Photoshop. It is incredible to me that there are people...
Asterisk
Making Sense of Moral Change A conversation about abolitionism, moral progress, and the pitfalls of historical counterfactuals.
over a year ago
20
over a year ago
A conversation about abolitionism, moral progress, and the pitfalls of historical counterfactuals.
NeuroLogica Blog
A Lifecycle Analysis of Electric Vehicles This article is part of my informal series on EVs, sorting through the claims, reality, and...
a year ago
34
a year ago
This article is part of my informal series on EVs, sorting through the claims, reality, and propaganda. There are many complicated factors to sort through, but overall, in my opinion, most concerns about EVs are outdated or overblown. There are definitely locations and use...
NeuroLogica Blog
Meteostat-12 Meets Flat Earthers I know this wasn’t the purpose of sending up a €4.3bn satellite into geostationary orbit, but...
over a year ago
63
over a year ago
I know this wasn’t the purpose of sending up a €4.3bn satellite into geostationary orbit, but tweaking flat earthers is a fun side effect. European countries have collaborated on this project, having weather satellites in orbit since 1977. The latest iteration is Meteostat-12,...
Quanta Magazine
A New Idea for How to Assemble Life If we want to understand complex constructions, such as ourselves, assembly theory says we must...
over a year ago
70
over a year ago
If we want to understand complex constructions, such as ourselves, assembly theory says we must account for the entire history of how such entities came to be. The post A New Idea for How to Assemble Life first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Washington Post on Past Lives Generally speaking the mainstream media does a terrible job of reporting anything in the realm of...
a year ago
103
a year ago
Generally speaking the mainstream media does a terrible job of reporting anything in the realm of pseudoscience or the paranormal. The Washington Post’s recent article on children who apparently remember their past lives is no exception. Journalists generally don’t have the...
IEEE Spectrum
The Marimba Virtuoso’s Desktop Planetarium The United States was at the time approaching “peak space.” The previous year, cosmonaut Yuri...
a year ago
22
a year ago
The United States was at the time approaching “peak space.” The previous year, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin had become the first human to reach outer space, and on 12 September 1962 President Kennedy would announce the United States’ intention to put a man on the moon before the...
Eukaryote Writes...
Defending against hypothetical moon life during Apollo 11 This is how a completely abstract argument about alien germs was taken seriously and mitigated at...
a year ago
88
a year ago
This is how a completely abstract argument about alien germs was taken seriously and mitigated at great effort and expense during the 1969 Apollo landing.
Quanta Magazine
In a Monster Star’s Light, a Hint of Darkness Astronomers are scouring the cosmos for fingerprints of the invisible — tiny clumps of pure dark...
a year ago
23
a year ago
Astronomers are scouring the cosmos for fingerprints of the invisible — tiny clumps of pure dark matter that might solve a long-standing cosmic mystery. The post In a Monster Star’s Light, a Hint of Darkness 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
25
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...
Quantum Frontiers
Now published: Building Quantum Computers Building Quantum Computers: A Practical Introduction by Shayan Majidy, Christopher Wilson, and...
9 months ago
78
9 months ago
Building Quantum Computers: A Practical Introduction by Shayan Majidy, Christopher Wilson, and Raymond Laflamme has been published by Cambridge University Press and will be released in the US on September 30. The authors invited me to write a Foreword for … Continue reading →
Beautiful Public...
The United States Frequency Allocation Chart This crazy, beautiful chart illustrates the incredible complexity of managing one of our nation’s...
over a year ago
69
over a year ago
This crazy, beautiful chart illustrates the incredible complexity of managing one of our nation’s most crucial – and invisible – national assets: the radio spectrum.
The Works in...
King of fruits Ordinary yellow pineapples were once so precious they were rented for display at dinner parties, but...
3 months ago
24
3 months ago
Ordinary yellow pineapples were once so precious they were rented for display at dinner parties, but centuries of innovation made them commonplace.
Wanderingspace
Hope for Mars Nothing really. Just a gorgeous image of Mars from the UAE Hope mission.
over a year ago
Quanta Magazine
How a NASA Probe Solved a Scorching Solar Mystery The outer layers of the sun’s atmosphere are a blistering million degrees hotter than its surface....
a year ago
85
a year ago
The outer layers of the sun’s atmosphere are a blistering million degrees hotter than its surface. The hidden culprit? Magnetic activity. The post How a NASA Probe Solved a Scorching Solar Mystery first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Eukaryote Writes...
Book Review: Cuisine and Empire Things people nigh-universally like to eat: salt, fat, sugar, starch, sauces, meat, drugs...
a year ago
Asterisk
Rebuilding After the Replication Crisis Over a decade has passed since scientists realized many of their studies were failing to replicate....
over a year ago
15
over a year ago
Over a decade has passed since scientists realized many of their studies were failing to replicate. How well have their attempts to fix the problem actually worked?
Quanta Magazine
A Multitalented Scientist Seeks the Origins of Multicellularity The pathbreaking geneticist Cassandra Extavour pursues the secrets of multicellular life while...
a year ago
53
a year ago
The pathbreaking geneticist Cassandra Extavour pursues the secrets of multicellular life while balancing careers in both science and singing. The post A Multitalented Scientist Seeks the Origins of Multicellularity first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Rats! What killed off the dodo? Humans first arrived at Mauritius island in the late 1500s. They found on...
a year ago
107
a year ago
What killed off the dodo? Humans first arrived at Mauritius island in the late 1500s. They found on this island fat flightless birds who nested on the ground and were a convenient way to restock their ship’s food supply. Within 80 years the dodo went extinct. But hunting was not...
Quanta Magazine
Physicists Discover ‘Unobservable’ Phase Transition in Quantum Entanglement Measurement and entanglement both have a “spooky” nonlocal flavor to them. Now physicists are...
a year ago
24
a year ago
Measurement and entanglement both have a “spooky” nonlocal flavor to them. Now physicists are harnessing that nonlocality to probe the spread of quantum information and control it. The post Physicists Discover ‘Unobservable’ Phase Transition in Quantum Entanglement...
Quanta Magazine
Can Thermodynamics Go Quantum? The Industrial Revolution brought us the laws of thermodynamics, and new ideas about work, energy...
9 months ago
63
9 months ago
The Industrial Revolution brought us the laws of thermodynamics, and new ideas about work, energy and efficiency. In this episode, co-host Steven Strogatz speaks with theoretical physicist Nicole Yunger Halpern about what these concepts might mean in the age of quantum mechanics....
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
7
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...
NeuroLogica Blog
Will Hydrogen BEV Hybrids Be A Thing? I recently recorded a YouTube video on the notion of hydrogen fuel cell cars (it will be posted...
over a year ago
98
over a year ago
I recently recorded a YouTube video on the notion of hydrogen fuel cell cars (it will be posted soon, and I will add the link when it’s up). One question I did not get into in the video, but which is an interesting thought experiment, is hydrogen – plug-in battery hybrid...
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
39
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....
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Special Edition - WoW | Out-Of-Pocket World Of Warcraft vs. COVID-19
a year ago
Asterisk
Better Living Through Group Chemistry Inside the San Francisco group house scene.
a year ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
The Out-Of-Pocket Game plan | Out-Of-Pocket How to build the on-boarding system for healthcare
a year ago
Confessions of a...
Marine Ecology or Marine Biology….what’s the difference!?!?!? A few of you may be wondering why the blog is called ‘Confessions of a Marine Ecologist” and not...
over a year ago
47
over a year ago
A few of you may be wondering why the blog is called ‘Confessions of a Marine Ecologist” and not ‘Confessions of a Marine Biologist”.  After all, if you ask a group of school kids what they want to be when they grow up, more than a handful would happily answer “marine biologist”,...
brr
McMurdo's Automated Teller Machines Cash, in Antarctica!
over a year ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
The Curious Case of Professional Employer Organizations | Out-Of-Pocket A tale about complexity, risk skimming, and what counts as an “employee” or “company”
9 months ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Anxiety Biomarkers Psychiatry, psychology, and all aspects of mental health are a challenging area because the clinical...
over a year ago
47
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...
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
1
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...
Yale e360
Why U.S. Geothermal May Advance, Despite Political Headwinds The Trump administration is outwardly hostile to clean energy sourced from solar and wind. But...
a week ago
1
a week ago
The Trump administration is outwardly hostile to clean energy sourced from solar and wind. But thanks to close ties to the fossil fuel industry and new technological breakthroughs, U.S. geothermal power may survive the GOP assaults on support for renewables and even thrive. Read...
Damn Interesting
The Unceasing Cessna Hacienda Warren “Doc” Bayley was a man of the people. When he and his wife Judy opened their Las Vegas resort...
over a year ago
30
over a year ago
Warren “Doc” Bayley was a man of the people. When he and his wife Judy opened their Las Vegas resort in 1956, Bayley had no plans to compete with the flashier, corporate casinos at the center of the Strip. Instead, the Hacienda Hotel catered to families, as well as to locals who...
NeuroLogica Blog
Spotting Misinformation There is an interesting disconnect in our culture recently. About 90% of people claim that they...
a year ago
105
a year ago
There is an interesting disconnect in our culture recently. About 90% of people claim that they verify information they encounter in the news and on social media, and 96% of Americans say that we need to limit the spread of misinformation online. And yet, the spread of...
The Works in...
Making american milk safe How good ideas spread
a month ago
The Works in...
Notes on Progress: A winter's tale Melting snow can make the season easier
over a year ago
Beautiful Public...
Visualizing Rivers and Floodplains with USGS Data Using USGS elevation data to visualize stunning views of the flow of water through rivers and...
over a year 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...
Issue 09: Cheap shots and killer bots Plus: Why scientific writing is so bad, how to stop snakebites from killing 100,000 people every...
over a year ago
33
over a year ago
Plus: Why scientific writing is so bad, how to stop snakebites from killing 100,000 people every year, and what science can learn from the fight against global poverty.
NeuroLogica Blog
Trust in New Technology In an optimally rational person, what should govern their perception of risk? Of course, people are...
12 months ago
87
12 months 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
Rethinking organization structures | Out-Of-Pocket Is there something beyond top-down hierarchies?
a year ago
Quanta Magazine
How America’s Fastest Swimmers Use Math to Win Gold Number theorist Ken Ono is teaching Olympians to swim more efficiently. The post How...
12 months ago
86
12 months ago
Number theorist Ken Ono is teaching Olympians to swim more efficiently. The post How America’s Fastest Swimmers Use Math to Win Gold first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Birds Separately Evolved Complex Brains The evolution of the human brain is a fascinating subject. The brain is arguably the most complex...
4 months ago
32
4 months ago
The evolution of the human brain is a fascinating subject. The brain is arguably the most complex structure in the known (to us) universe, and is the feature that makes humanity unique and has allowed us to dominate (for good or ill) the fate of this planet. But of course we are...
Yale e360
Penguin Droppings May Be Seeding Clouds, Study Finds Penguin droppings may play a role in the formation of clouds over Antarctica, new research...
a month ago
10
a month ago
Penguin droppings may play a role in the formation of clouds over Antarctica, new research finds. Read more on E360 →
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
68
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...
Interaction Magic -...
The last design you'll ever make Designing from cradle to grave is no longer good enough. We need to postpone that grave as long as...
over a year ago
15
over a year ago
Designing from cradle to grave is no longer good enough. We need to postpone that grave as long as possible. This is how to design for a right to repair.
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...
6 months ago
76
6 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 […]
NeuroLogica Blog
AI Video Recently OpenAI launched a website showcasing their latest AI application, Sora. This app, based on...
a year ago
48
a year ago
Recently OpenAI launched a website showcasing their latest AI application, Sora. This app, based on prompts similar to what you would use for ChatGPT or the image creation applications, like Midjourney or Dalle-2, creates a one minute photorealistic video without sound. Take a...
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
4
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 →
Quanta Magazine
Chatbot Software Begins to Face Fundamental Limitations Recent results show that large language models struggle with compositional tasks, suggesting a hard...
5 months ago
51
5 months ago
Recent results show that large language models struggle with compositional tasks, suggesting a hard limit to their abilities. The post Chatbot Software Begins to Face Fundamental Limitations first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Neuralink Implants Chip in Human Elon Musk has announced that his company, Neuralink, has implanted their first wireless computer...
a year ago
93
a year ago
Elon Musk has announced that his company, Neuralink, has implanted their first wireless computer chip into a human. The chip, which they plan on calling Telepathy (not sure how I feel about that) connects with 64 thin hair-like electrodes, is battery powered and can be recharged...
The Works in...
Invisible College: Applications close on 28th April Apply to come to our premier event for students
2 months ago
Yale e360
Brazilian Judge Orders Seizure of Illegally Cleared Lands A justice on the Brazilian Supreme Court has directed the government to seize private lands where...
2 months ago
4
2 months ago
A justice on the Brazilian Supreme Court has directed the government to seize private lands where forests have been illegally razed.  Read more on E360 →
Yale e360
Penguin Droppings May Be Seeding Clouds, Study Finds Penguin droppings may play a role in the formation of clouds over Antarctica, new research...
a month ago
1
a month ago
Penguin droppings may play a role in the formation of clouds over Antarctica, new research finds. Read more on E360 →
Quanta Magazine
How Is Science Even Possible? How are scientists able to crack fundamental questions about nature and life? How does math make the...
a year ago
88
a year ago
How are scientists able to crack fundamental questions about nature and life? How does math make the complex cosmos understandable? In this episode, the physicist Nigel Goldenfeld and co-host Steven Strogatz explore the deep foundations of the scientific process. The...
Wanderingspace
JUPITER FROM JUNO An unusual perspective, captured by NASA's Juno spacecraft in 2018.
a year ago
Yale e360
Will U.S. Push on Seabed Mining End Global Consensus on Oceans? President Trump’s recent order to expedite permits to begin deep-sea mining bypasses international...
a month ago
1
a month ago
President Trump’s recent order to expedite permits to begin deep-sea mining bypasses international agreements that protect oceans. By moving unilaterally, says the Ocean Conservancy’s Jeff Watters, the U.S. could endanger fragile marine ecosystems and set a troubling...
The Works in...
Issue 16: I dream of genes Plus: how humans are outdoing nature's shiniest creations; the history of measuring price rises; and...
10 months ago
72
10 months ago
Plus: how humans are outdoing nature's shiniest creations; the history of measuring price rises; and how America's favourite type of coffee got really, really good.
The Works in...
Issue 18: Urbanism with Chinese characteristics Plus: Reducing the motherhood penalty by extending fertility, the steam networks of New York City,...
3 months ago
24
3 months ago
Plus: Reducing the motherhood penalty by extending fertility, the steam networks of New York City, and the rise and fall of the Hanseatic league.
Eukaryote Writes...
Internet Harvest (2024, 1) Free covid treatment for everyone in the US, a novel orthopox virus, a really big machine, cameras...
a year ago
136
a year ago
Free covid treatment for everyone in the US, a novel orthopox virus, a really big machine, cameras used for good and evil, ant heaven now, and more.
Quanta Magazine
The Hidden Brain Connections Between Our Hands and Tongues Sticking out your tongue while doing delicate work with your hands reveals a history of evolutionary...
a year ago
48
a year ago
Sticking out your tongue while doing delicate work with your hands reveals a history of evolutionary relationships. The post The Hidden Brain Connections Between Our Hands and Tongues first appeared on Quanta Magazine
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...
4 months ago
1
4 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 →
IEEE Spectrum
The Rise of Groupware A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, Ernie Smith’s newsletter, which hunts for the...
11 months ago
70
11 months ago
A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, Ernie Smith’s newsletter, which hunts for the end of the long tail. These days, computer users take collaboration software for granted. Google Docs, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Salesforce, and so on, are such a big part of many...
Andrew Fraknoi –...
Total Eclipse of the Moon Coming Mar. 13-14 There will be a total eclipse of the Moon visible in the Americas the night of March 13-14 The post...
4 months ago
36
4 months ago
There will be a total eclipse of the Moon visible in the Americas the night of March 13-14 The post Total Eclipse of the Moon Coming Mar. 13-14 appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
Yale e360
Cheap Chinese Solar Panels Sparking a Renewable Boom in the Global South Facing trade barriers in the U.S. and other wealthy nations, Chinese solar firms are exporting cheap...
4 months ago
1
4 months ago
Facing trade barriers in the U.S. and other wealthy nations, Chinese solar firms are exporting cheap panels to poorer countries, fueling a surge in solar installations in parts of the developing world. Read more on E360 →
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
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
91
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
wadertales
When mates behave differently Iceland’s 40,000 Oystercatchers are an interesting mix of resident birds and migrants, providing an...
over a year ago
47
over a year ago
Iceland’s 40,000 Oystercatchers are an interesting mix of resident birds and migrants, providing an ideal system in which to study the costs and benefits of the two options, and to try to work out what influences whether an individual becomes a ‘resident’ or a ‘migrant’. I’ve...
Yale e360
World Likely to Breach 1.5-Degree Target, Research Finds The world is set to blow past its goal to limit warming to 1.5 degrees C, new research shows. Read...
4 months ago
Quanta Magazine
Cellular Self-Destruction May Be Ancient. But Why? How did cells evolve a process to end their own lives? Recent research suggests that apoptosis, a...
a year ago
62
a year ago
How did cells evolve a process to end their own lives? Recent research suggests that apoptosis, a form of programmed cell death, first arose billions of years ago in bacteria with a primitive sociality. The post Cellular Self-Destruction May Be Ancient. But Why? first...
Asterisk
A User’s Guide to Building a Subculture First, you’re going to need something to care about.
8 months ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Did They Find Amelia Earhart’s Plane Is this sonar image taken at 16,000 feet below the surface about 100 miles from Howland island, that...
a year ago
36
a year ago
Is this sonar image taken at 16,000 feet below the surface about 100 miles from Howland island, that of a downed Lockheed Model 10-E Electra plane? Tony Romeo hopes it is. He spent $9 million to purchase an underwater drone, the Hugan 6000, then hired a crew and scoured 5,200...
The Works in...
Fixing retail with land value capture How to create beautiful shopping streets everywhere
a year ago
Quanta Magazine
The (Often) Overlooked Experiment That Revealed the Quantum World A century ago, the Stern-Gerlach experiment established the truth of quantum mechanics. Now it’s...
a year ago
62
a year ago
A century ago, the Stern-Gerlach experiment established the truth of quantum mechanics. Now it’s being used to probe the clash of quantum theory and gravity. The post The (Often) Overlooked Experiment That Revealed the Quantum World first appeared on Quanta Magazine
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
5
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 →
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
Quanta Magazine
The S-Matrix Is the Oracle Physicists Turn To in Times of Crisis Particle physicists in search of the next theory of reality are consulting a mathematical structure...
a year ago
77
a year ago
Particle physicists in search of the next theory of reality are consulting a mathematical structure that they know will never fail: a table of possibilities known as the S-matrix. The post The S-Matrix Is the Oracle Physicists Turn To in Times of Crisis first appeared...
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
13
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...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Things I’m watching in healthcare 2023 | Out-Of-Pocket it's been a weird year
a year ago
Quanta Magazine
New Theory Suggests Chatbots Can Understand Text Far from being “stochastic parrots,” the biggest large language models seem to learn enough skills...
a year ago
38
a year ago
Far from being “stochastic parrots,” the biggest large language models seem to learn enough skills to understand the words they’re processing. The post New Theory Suggests Chatbots Can Understand Text first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Damn Interesting
The Anticipated Future of the Moon When the Earth was young, shortly after the moon formed, our planet was spinning so fast that a day...
over a year ago
23
over a year ago
When the Earth was young, shortly after the moon formed, our planet was spinning so fast that a day was approximately five hours long. During the intervening billions of years, the dragging effect of the moon’s gravity slowed the Earth’s spin to the 24-hour day we now observe....
Yale e360
Deadly Encounter: Mountain Lion Attacks Spark Controversy A mountain lion attack that killed a young California man last year has reignited a debate over how...
5 months ago
3
5 months ago
A mountain lion attack that killed a young California man last year has reignited a debate over how the big cats should be managed. Some are calling for renewed hunting of the animals, while others are advocating nonlethal methods of instilling a fear of humans in the big...
Yale e360
How Restored Wetlands Can Protect Europe from Russian Invasion The flooding of Ukraine’s Irpin valley thwarted Russia’s assault on Kyiv in 2022. Now, scientists...
3 weeks ago
1
3 weeks ago
The flooding of Ukraine’s Irpin valley thwarted Russia’s assault on Kyiv in 2022. Now, scientists are proposing Europe create a band of restored and protected wetlands along its eastern borders to deter future Russian aggression, and military strategists are taking notice. Read...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Did The FDA Mess Up With Aduhelm? | Out-Of-Pocket Rethinking the approval, coverage, and reimbursement dynamic
a year ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Dental Insurance, Value-Based Dental, and Beam Benefits | Out-Of-Pocket Why doesn’t dental have value-based care?
a year ago
Yale e360
Saving U.S. Climate and Environmental Data Before It Goes Away Some 2,000 records went missing from government data sets after the Trump administration took office...
3 months ago
1
3 months ago
Some 2,000 records went missing from government data sets after the Trump administration took office in January. Canadian geographer Eric Nost talks about the work he and colleagues are doing to archive data related to climate and the environment while it is still...
Quanta Magazine
Mathematicians Discover Novel Way to Predict Structure in Graphs In new work on graphs’ hidden structure, mathematicians probe the limits of randomness. ...
over a year ago
50
over a year ago
In new work on graphs’ hidden structure, mathematicians probe the limits of randomness. The post Mathematicians Discover Novel Way to Predict Structure in Graphs first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
What Is Analog Computing? You don’t need 0s and 1s to perform computations, and in some cases it’s better to avoid them. ...
11 months ago
95
11 months ago
You don’t need 0s and 1s to perform computations, and in some cases it’s better to avoid them. The post What Is Analog Computing? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quantum Frontiers
How I didn’t become a philosopher (but wound up presenting a named philosophy lecture anyway) Many people ask why I became a theoretical physicist. The answer runs through philosophy—which I...
a year ago
139
a year ago
Many people ask why I became a theoretical physicist. The answer runs through philosophy—which I thought, for years, I’d left behind in college. My formal relationship with philosophy originated with Mr. Bohrer. My high school classified him as a religion … Continue reading →
Quanta Magazine
Intelligence Evolved at Least Twice in Vertebrate Animals Complex neural pathways likely arose independently in birds and mammals, suggesting that vertebrates...
2 months ago
26
2 months ago
Complex neural pathways likely arose independently in birds and mammals, suggesting that vertebrates evolved intelligence multiple times. The post Intelligence Evolved at Least Twice in Vertebrate Animals first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Many Worlds
The Makeup of Red Dwarf Solar Systems May Seriously Limit the Formation of Habitable Planets Jupiter is often described as the “big brother” planet of our solar system that made the formation...
over a year ago
26
over a year ago
Jupiter is often described as the “big brother” planet of our solar system that made the formation and evolution of Earth possible. In the early days of the solar system, massive Jupiter helped the planet grow rapidly while serving as a gravity well that shielded the planet from...
Casey Handmer's blog
We can Terraform the American West Why is there almost nothing on the left hand side of the USA? Water scarcity! We’re missing 300...
8 months ago
42
8 months ago
Why is there almost nothing on the left hand side of the USA? Water scarcity! We’re missing 300 million Americans. We’re missing  30 global cities west of 100 degrees longitude. We should do something about it! The western US is a parched opportunity to create millions of acres...
Asterisk
Community Organizing
8 months ago
Blog - Practical...
Why Bridges Don't Sink [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] The essence of a bridge is not...
a year ago
132
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] The essence of a bridge is not just that it goes over something, but that there’s clear space underneath for a river, railway, or road. Maybe this is already obvious to you, but bridges present a unique...
IEEE Spectrum
IEEE Recognizes Itaipu Dam’s Engineering Achievements Technology should benefit humanity. One of the most remarkable examples of technology’s potential to...
3 months ago
50
3 months ago
Technology should benefit humanity. One of the most remarkable examples of technology’s potential to provide enduring benefits is the Itaipu Hydroelectric Dam, a massive binational energy project between Brazil and Paraguay. Built on the Paraná River, which forms part of the...
Uncharted...
Ten New US Cities: The Salton Sea Salton City and Bombay Beach could flourish with industry and tourism
5 months ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
GTFO Employers | Out-Of-Pocket Back To The Future
a year ago
Quanta Magazine
Merging Fields, Mathematicians Go the Distance On Old Problem Mathematicians have illuminated what sets of points can look like if the distances between them are...
a year ago
92
a year ago
Mathematicians have illuminated what sets of points can look like if the distances between them are all whole numbers. The post Merging Fields, Mathematicians Go the Distance On Old Problem first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Many Worlds
Preparing For The Habitable Worlds Observatory, Our Best Shot at Finding ET Life In a solar system far, far away, life of some sort is just waiting to be found.  Or so the world of...
a year ago
32
a year ago
In a solar system far, far away, life of some sort is just waiting to be found.  Or so the world of astrobiology sure hopes it is. The new player in the astrobiology world, now called the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), is planned to launch in the 2040s if all goes well. ...
Drew Ex Machina
Top Ten Posts of 2023 Now that we are at the end of 2023, it is time to look back at this year’s material published on...
a year ago
57
a year ago
Now that we are at the end of 2023, it is time to look back at this year’s material published on Drew Ex Machina and see […]
NeuroLogica Blog
Tesla Demonstrated its Optimus Robot At a recent event Tesla showcased the capabilities of its humanoid autonomous robot, Optimus. The...
8 months ago
68
8 months ago
At a recent event Tesla showcased the capabilities of its humanoid autonomous robot, Optimus. The demonstration has come under some criticism, however, for not being fully transparent about the nature of the demonstration. We interviewed robotics expert, Christian Hubicki, on the...
Quanta Magazine
Cryptographers Solve Decades-Old Privacy Problem Three researchers have found a long-sought way to pull information from large databases secretly,...
a year ago
19
a year ago
Three researchers have found a long-sought way to pull information from large databases secretly, moving us closer to fully private internet searches. The post Cryptographers Solve Decades-Old Privacy Problem first appeared on Quanta Magazine
ToughSF
Nuclear Conversion for Starship There has been much discussion about converting the SpaceX Starship to use nuclear propulsion. It...
over a year ago
22
over a year ago
There has been much discussion about converting the SpaceX Starship to use nuclear propulsion. It would allow for a great increase in specific impulse and a massive extension of mission capabilities. But is it actually worthwhile? The image above is modified from...
symmetry magazine
How to put together an international physics experiment To build the DUNE neutrino experiment and its associated accelerator upgrade, experts invent...
over a year ago
51
over a year ago
To build the DUNE neutrino experiment and its associated accelerator upgrade, experts invent customized ways to transport fragile, expensive and highly specialized components. On a late-September day, in the high-bay building of Daresbury Laboratory in the...
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
Yale e360
Planned Indian Mega-Port Could 'Wipe Out' Isolated Tribe The Shompen, residents of a small island in the Indian Ocean, are among the world's last isolated...
2 months ago
7
2 months ago
The Shompen, residents of a small island in the Indian Ocean, are among the world's last isolated tribes. But that may soon change as the Indian government moves forward with plans for a massive port that could "wipe out" the tribe, a watchdog group says. Read more on E360 →
Yale e360
How Natural Solutions Can Help Islands Survive Sea Level Rise Atoll islands with healthy ecosystems are less likely to disappear as oceans rise, research shows....
a month ago
4
a month ago
Atoll islands with healthy ecosystems are less likely to disappear as oceans rise, research shows. Now, scientists are using nature-based solutions — like restoring coral reefs and native forests — to improve the odds that more vulnerable islands will withstand higher seas. Read...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Citizen fraud detection, self-experimentation, and OOP Updates | Out-Of-Pocket Some random musings and OOP announcements before the holiday
7 months ago
NeuroLogica Blog
The Transition to Agriculture It is generally accepted that the transition from hunter-gatherer communities to agriculture was the...
3 months ago
21
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,...
Asterisk
What I Won’t Eat A reflection on ethics, animal cognition, and chocolate cake.
over a year ago
Drew Ex Machina
Memories of Project RAMOS (Russian American Observation Satellites) 1991 – 2004 During the course of my professional career, one of the more important projects I had the pleasure...
a year ago
44
a year ago
During the course of my professional career, one of the more important projects I had the pleasure to work on was the joint US/Russian Federation (RF) […]
The Works in...
The beauty of concrete Why are buildings today austere, while buildings of the past were ornate and elaborately ornamented?
a month ago
The Works in...
History is in the making It's technology and ideas, not politics, that change our lives the most. History should reflect...
7 months ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Using Cement for Energy Storage Imagine if every house, every building, came with 1-2 days (or possibly more) of energy storage....
a year ago
35
a year ago
Imagine if every house, every building, came with 1-2 days (or possibly more) of energy storage. What if every wind turbine could store a day’s worth of the energy it produces on average? How beneficial would it be if the most common building material the world could be used to...
Quanta Magazine
How Math Achieved Transcendence Transcendental numbers include famous examples like e and π, but it took mathematicians centuries to...
over a year ago
63
over a year ago
Transcendental numbers include famous examples like e and π, but it took mathematicians centuries to understand them. The post How Math Achieved Transcendence first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Cremieux Recueil
Trump Should Finish What He Started A guestpost calling for Trump to finish radically reforming the tax system
7 months ago
Quanta Magazine
These Cells Spark Electricity in the Brain. They’re Not Neurons. For decades, researchers have debated whether brain cells called astrocytes can signal like neurons....
a year ago
24
a year ago
For decades, researchers have debated whether brain cells called astrocytes can signal like neurons. Researchers recently published the best evidence yet that some astrocytes are part of the electrical conversation. The post These Cells Spark Electricity in the Brain....
NeuroLogica Blog
GMOs and Butterflies Are attitudes towards genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in our agriculture softening? Back in...
a year ago
34
a year ago
Are attitudes towards genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in our agriculture softening? Back in 2015 a Pew survey found that the gap between public opinion and that of scientists was greatest on acceptance of GMOs (more than any other topic surveyed), with a 51% gap. But more...
NeuroLogica Blog
The Threat of Technology In my second book (shameless plug alert) – The Skeptics’ Guide to the Future – my coauthors and I...
a year ago
19
a year ago
In my second book (shameless plug alert) – The Skeptics’ Guide to the Future – my coauthors and I try to imagine both the utopian and dystopian versions of the future, brought about by technology, either individually or collectively. This topic has come up multiple times recently...
Yale e360
In Mexico’s ‘Avocado Belt,’ Villagers Stand Up to Protect Their Lands A boom in avocado production in Mexico has led to illegal deforestation and an influx of drug...
2 months ago
1
2 months ago
A boom in avocado production in Mexico has led to illegal deforestation and an influx of drug cartels dominating the lucrative trade. But Indigenous communities have fought back against the gangs and turned to traditional practices to grow avocados and save their forests.  Read...
NeuroLogica Blog
Ripples in Spacetime It’s always exciting when a scientific institution announces that they are going to make an...
over a year ago
55
over a year ago
It’s always exciting when a scientific institution announces that they are going to make an announcement. Earlier this week we were told that there was going to be a major announcement today (June 29th) regarding a gravitational wave discovery. The goal of the pre-announcement is...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Decentralizing Journals and Peer Review DAOs | Out-Of-Pocket the evolution of legitimacy in scientific publishing
a year ago
Blog - Practical...
How The Channel Tunnel Works [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] 2024 marks thirty years since...
a year ago
81
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] 2024 marks thirty years since the opening of the channel tunnel, or chunnel, or as they say in Calais, Le tunnel sous la Manche. This underground/undersea railroad tunnel connects England with France, crossing...
Cremieux Recueil
"Yes, and..." Urbanism What can the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth teach us about effective zoning law?
2 months ago
Quanta Magazine
A Brief History of Tricky Mathematical Tiling The discovery earlier this year of the “hat” tile marked the culmination of hundreds of years of...
a year ago
57
a year ago
The discovery earlier this year of the “hat” tile marked the culmination of hundreds of years of work into tiles and their symmetries. The post A Brief History of Tricky Mathematical Tiling first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Marmosets Call Each Other By Name Humans identify and call each other by specific names. So far this advanced cognitive behavior has...
10 months ago
62
10 months ago
Humans identify and call each other by specific names. So far this advanced cognitive behavior has only been identified in a few other species, dolphins, elephants, and some parrots. Interestingly, it has never been documented in our closest relatives, non-human primates – that...
NeuroLogica Blog
Animals Adapting to Cities Humans are dramatically changing the environment of the Earth in many ways. Only about 23% of the...
6 days ago
7
6 days ago
Humans are dramatically changing the environment of the Earth in many ways. Only about 23% of the land surface (excluding Antarctica) is considered to be “wilderness”, and this is rapidly decreasing. What wilderness is left is also mostly managed conservation areas. Meanwhile,...
IEEE Spectrum
Skylab: The Space Station That Fell on Australia end cap from one of Skylab’s oxygen tanks in the dirt. Cattle were drinking collected rainwater from...
over a year ago
45
over a year ago
end cap from one of Skylab’s oxygen tanks in the dirt. Cattle were drinking collected rainwater from the remains of a US $2.2 billion NASA investment. Skylab’s Failure and Recovery Skylab’s fate was sealed moments after lift-off when the sun shield and main solar panel were...
Quanta Magazine
Unfolding the Mysteries of Polygonal Billiards The surprisingly subtle geometry of a familiar game shows how quickly math gets complicated. ...
a year ago
64
a year ago
The surprisingly subtle geometry of a familiar game shows how quickly math gets complicated. The post Unfolding the Mysteries of Polygonal Billiards first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale e360
China Allows New Coal Plants, but With More Limited Role China will allow the construction of new coal power plants through at least 2027 but with...
2 months ago
8
2 months ago
China will allow the construction of new coal power plants through at least 2027 but with restrictions aimed at limiting emissions and boosting renewables, according to a newly released action plan. Read more on E360 →
IEEE Spectrum
Willie Hobbs Moore: STEM Trailblazer At a time in American history when even the most intelligent Black women were expected to become, at...
4 months ago
43
4 months ago
At a time in American history when even the most intelligent Black women were expected to become, at most, teachers or nurses, Willie Hobbs Moore broke with societal expectations to become a noted physicist and engineer. Moore probably is best known for being the first Black...
Asterisk
The Science of Woo A conversation about neuroscience, meditation, and the many paths to insight.
4 months ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Confidently Wrong How certain are you of anything that you believe? Do you even think about your confidence level, and...
8 months ago
56
8 months ago
How certain are you of anything that you believe? Do you even think about your confidence level, and do you have a process for determining what your confidence level should be or do you just follow your gut feelings? Thinking about confidence is a form of metacognition – thinking...
Uncharted...
Where to Build 10 New Cities in the US, Part 1 Plus vote on new types of content for Uncharted Territories!
5 months ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Oxygen As A Technosignature This is one of the biggest thought experiments in science today – as we look for life elsewhere in...
a year ago
33
a year ago
This is one of the biggest thought experiments in science today – as we look for life elsewhere in the universe, what should we be looking for, exactly? Other stellar systems are too far away to examine directly, and even our most powerful telescopes can only resolve points of...
Yale e360
Microplastics Block Blood Flow in Brains of Mice A new study finds microplastics can block the flow of blood in the brains of mice. The study comes...
5 months ago
1
5 months ago
A new study finds microplastics can block the flow of blood in the brains of mice. The study comes on the heels of other research showing, for the first time, that microplastics can lodge in human brains. Read more on E360 →
IEEE Spectrum
A Brief History of the World’s First Planetarium In 1912, Oskar von Miller, an electrical engineer and founder of the Deutsches Museum, had an idea:...
a year ago
101
a year ago
In 1912, Oskar von Miller, an electrical engineer and founder of the Deutsches Museum, had an idea: Could you project an artificial starry sky onto a dome, as a way of demonstrating astronomical principles to the public? It was such a novel concept that when von Miller approached...
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
U.S. Solar and Batteries Headed for Record Year Solar panels and batteries will account for more than 80 percent of new power capacity installed in...
4 months ago
4
4 months ago
Solar panels and batteries will account for more than 80 percent of new power capacity installed in the U.S. this year, officials say. Both technologies are set for record growth, helping to hasten the decline of coal power. Read more on E360 →
NeuroLogica Blog
England Allows Gene-Edited Crops This has been somewhat of a quiet revolution, but a new law in England may bring it to the...
over a year ago
70
over a year ago
This has been somewhat of a quiet revolution, but a new law in England may bring it to the foreground. The Precision Breeding Act will now allow gene-edited plants to be developed and marketed in England (not Northern Ireland, Wales, or Scotland). The innovation is that the law...
brr
The Last Egg Five more months until freshies...
over a year ago
Yale e360
India Doubled its Tiger Population in a Little More Than a Decade The number of tigers in India roughly doubled in a little more than a decade, a conservation success...
5 months ago
1
5 months ago
The number of tigers in India roughly doubled in a little more than a decade, a conservation success that is due in part to communities learning to live alongside the animals, new research finds. Read more on E360 →
Quanta Magazine
Mathematicians Solve Long-Standing Coloring Problem A new result shows how much of the plane can be colored by points that are never exactly one unit...
a year ago
22
a year ago
A new result shows how much of the plane can be colored by points that are never exactly one unit apart. The post Mathematicians Solve Long-Standing Coloring Problem first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Scams, Frauds, and Audits | Out-Of-Pocket Lots of money to be...not lost
a year ago
NeuroLogica Blog
GMOs – Ask a Farmer The topic of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is a great target for science communication...
11 months ago
76
11 months ago
The topic of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is a great target for science communication because public attitudes have largely been shaped by deliberate misinformation, and the research suggests that those attitudes can change in response to more accurate information. It is...
NeuroLogica Blog
Age of the Moon Revised There are a few interesting stories lurking in this news item, but lets start with the top level – a...
a year ago
23
a year ago
There are a few interesting stories lurking in this news item, but lets start with the top level – a new study revises the minimum age of the Moon to 4.46 billion years, 40 million years older than the previous estimate. That in itself is interesting, but not game-changing. It’s...
Wanderingspace
Apollo Lunar Rover Video Corrected Speed and Stabilized It is remarkable the difference watching this version where the time is corrected and camera...
over a year ago
24
over a year ago
It is remarkable the difference watching this version where the time is corrected and camera stabilized.. The film restorer behind DutchSteamMachine used AI to stabilize shaky footage and generate new frames in NASA moon landing films; increasing the frame rate, smoothed the...
Quanta Magazine
How Genetic Surprises Complicate the Old Doctrine of DNA For over a century, biologists have had to contend with a complicated picture of genetics, which...
a year ago
19
a year ago
For over a century, biologists have had to contend with a complicated picture of genetics, which they’ve only recently begun to understand. The post How Genetic Surprises Complicate the Old Doctrine of DNA first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Beautiful Public...
Aerial Glacier Photographs A collection of 100,000 striking high-resolution aerial photos of glaciers, photographed over 40...
a year ago
117
a year ago
A collection of 100,000 striking high-resolution aerial photos of glaciers, photographed over 40 years with a 63-pound WW II surveillance camera.