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Yale E360
A Third of Slum Dwellers at Risk of 'Disastrous' Floods Close to 900 million people across the Global South live in densely packed urban slums, which often...
8 hours ago
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8 hours ago
Close to 900 million people across the Global South live in densely packed urban slums, which often sit in floodplains. A new study finds that one in three slum dwellers is at risk of "disastrous" flooding, a risk that is set to grow as warming spurs more intense rainfall around...
Quanta Magazine
Quantum Scientists Have Built a New Math of Cryptography In theory, quantum physics can bypass the hard mathematical problems at the root of modern...
8 hours ago
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8 hours ago
In theory, quantum physics can bypass the hard mathematical problems at the root of modern encryption. A new proof shows how. The post Quantum Scientists Have Built a New Math of Cryptography first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale E360
On Controlling Fire, New Lessons from a Deep Indigenous Past For centuries, the Native people of North America used controlled burns to manage the continent's...
yesterday
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yesterday
For centuries, the Native people of North America used controlled burns to manage the continent's forests. In an e360 interview, ecologist Loris Daniels talks about the long history of Indigenous burning and why the practice must be restored to protect against catastrophic...
nanoscale views
Research experience for teachers - why NSF education funds matter The beginning of a RET poster session Research Experience for Teachers (RET) programs are an...
2 days ago
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2 days ago
The beginning of a RET poster session Research Experience for Teachers (RET) programs are an example of the kind of programs that the National Science Foundation funds which are focused on K12 (and broader) education. This summer I hosted a high school physics teacher in my lab...
The Works in...
Tram trains How to build cheap transit in smaller towns
2 days ago
Quanta Magazine
The Cells That Breathe Two Ways In a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park, a microbe does something that life shouldn’t be able...
2 days ago
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2 days ago
In a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park, a microbe does something that life shouldn’t be able to do: It breathes oxygen and sulfur at the same time. The post The Cells That Breathe Two Ways first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale E360
Lightning Kills 320 Million Trees Yearly. With Warming, the Toll Could Rise A new study finds that lightning kills some 320 million trees around the world each year, more than...
2 days ago
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2 days ago
A new study finds that lightning kills some 320 million trees around the world each year, more than was previously thought. And the figure could rise in the years ahead as increasingly hot and humid weather fuels more lightning, particularly in forested parts of the Far...
NeuroLogica Blog
Avi Loeb and the Alien Technology Hypothesis Avi Loeb is at it again. He is the Harvard astrophysicist who first gained notoriety when he...
3 days ago
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3 days ago
Avi Loeb is at it again. He is the Harvard astrophysicist who first gained notoriety when he hypothesized that Oumuamua, the first detected interstellar object, might be an alien artifact. His arguments were pretty thin, not taken very seriously by the scientific community, and...
Yale E360
China Breaks Ground on Colossal Dam Project in Asia's Grand Canyon China has begun construction on a massive dam project in the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon in Tibet,...
3 days ago
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3 days ago
China has begun construction on a massive dam project in the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon in Tibet, the longest and deepest canyon in the world. Experts fear the impact on wildlife in the river gorge, which is home to snow leopards and Bengal tigers, as well as some of the...
Damn Interesting
Omiword, a Word Game In certain dialects of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese, the word for ‘four’ sounds very...
4 days ago
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4 days ago
In certain dialects of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese, the word for ‘four’ sounds very similar to the word for ‘death’1. Consequently, the number 4 is considered by many people in East Asian nations to be unlucky. It is not unusual for buildings in that region to skip...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
What goes into SOC 2 and HITRUST? (with Vanta) | Out-Of-Pocket
4 days ago
Quanta Magazine
AI Comes Up with Bizarre Physics Experiments. But They Work. Artificial intelligence software is designing novel experimental protocols that improve upon the...
4 days ago
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Artificial intelligence software is designing novel experimental protocols that improve upon the work of human physicists, although the humans are still “doing a lot of baby-sitting.” The post AI Comes Up with Bizarre Physics Experiments. But They Work. first appeared...
NeuroLogica Blog
The Epstein Files Hubbub I have been away on vacation for the last week and a half, so I thought I would ease back into...
4 days ago
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4 days ago
I have been away on vacation for the last week and a half, so I thought I would ease back into blogging with a light non-controversial topic – the Epstein Files. OK – let’s all take a collective deep breath. Everyone – and I mean everyone – I talk to about this issue has strong...
Yale E360
Paying the People: Liberia’s Novel Plan to Save Its Forests Plagued by illegal logging and corruption, Liberia has been losing its forests at an alarming rate....
4 days ago
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4 days ago
Plagued by illegal logging and corruption, Liberia has been losing its forests at an alarming rate. But its new strategy to make direct payments to communities that agree to prohibit cutting and protect their trees is seen as a potential model for other developing nations. Read...
Chris Grossack's...
Free Things Are Complicated (Especially the Sphere Spectrum!) I’ve spent the last week at CT2025, which has just come to a close. It was great getting to see so...
5 days ago
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5 days ago
I’ve spent the last week at CT2025, which has just come to a close. It was great getting to see so many old friends and meet so many new ones, and every time I go to a CT I’m reminded of just how much category theory there is in the world, as well as just how much I enjoy all...
nanoscale views
The latest on US science funding The US House and Senate appropriations subcommittees have now completed their markups on the bills...
a week ago
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a week ago
The US House and Senate appropriations subcommittees have now completed their markups on the bills relevant to the FY26 appropriations for NSF, NASA, and NIST.  The AAAS has an interactive dashboard with current information here if you want to click and look at all the...
Yale E360
Paying the People: Liberia’s Novel Plan to Save Its Forests Plagued by illegal logging and corruption, Liberia has been losing its forests at an alarming rate....
a week ago
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a week ago
Plagued by illegal logging and corruption, Liberia has been losing its forests at an alarming rate. But its new strategy to make direct payments to communities that agree to prohibit cutting and protect their trees is seen as a potential model for other developing nations. Read...
Quanta Magazine
How Distillation Makes AI Models Smaller and Cheaper Fundamental technique lets researchers use a big, expensive “teacher” model to train a “student”...
a week ago
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Fundamental technique lets researchers use a big, expensive “teacher” model to train a “student” model for less. The post How Distillation Makes AI Models Smaller and Cheaper first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale E360
Research Details Devastating Toll of Colonization on Pacific Northwest Wildlife When Europeans arrived to the Pacific Northwest, they spread smallpox that devastated the Indigenous...
a week ago
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a week ago
When Europeans arrived to the Pacific Northwest, they spread smallpox that devastated the Indigenous people, plundered stocks of salmon and herring, hunted down deer and other game, and built sprawling cities and ports. New research tallies the profound impact on wildlife. Read...
Drew Ex Machina
The Soviet Zond 3 Lunar Flyby: Revealing the Rest of the Far Side Naturally, the early history of space exploration is filled with firsts. Just six decades ago at...
a week ago
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a week ago
Naturally, the early history of space exploration is filled with firsts. Just six decades ago at this time, the world watched as NASA’s Mariner 4 spacecraft […]
Yale E360
Clearcutting Can Lead to Devastating Floods, But It Doesn’t Have To It has long been understood that clearcutting forests leads to more runoff, worsening flooding. But...
a week ago
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a week ago
It has long been understood that clearcutting forests leads to more runoff, worsening flooding. But a new study finds that logging can reshape watersheds in surprising ways, leading to dramatically more flooding in some forests, while having little effect on others. Read more on...
Quanta Magazine
A New Geometry for Einstein’s Theory of Relativity A team of mathematicians based in Vienna is developing tools to extend the scope of general...
a week ago
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A team of mathematicians based in Vienna is developing tools to extend the scope of general relativity. The post A New Geometry for Einstein’s Theory of Relativity first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Works in...
A $50 million foundation model to predict earthquakes Achieving a 10-minute warning would save thousands of lives
a week ago
Yale E360
Ice Recovered from European Alps Holds 12,000-Year Record of History Glacial ice offers a detailed record of the atmosphere, preserved in discrete layers, providing...
a week ago
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a week ago
Glacial ice offers a detailed record of the atmosphere, preserved in discrete layers, providing researchers with a valuable tool for studying human history. A sample taken from a glacier in the European Alps dates back at least 12,000 years, making it the oldest ice yet recovered...
Blog - Practical...
The Hidden Engineering of Floating Bridges [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] In the early 1900s, Seattle...
a week ago
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a week ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] In the early 1900s, Seattle was a growing city hemmed in by geography. To the west was Puget Sound, a vital link to the Pacific Ocean. To the east, Lake Washington stood between the city and the farmland and...
Yale E360
Drop in Air Pollution Drove a Surge in Warming, Study Finds Scientists have been scrambling to make sense of a recent acceleration in warming, which may be...
a week ago
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a week ago
Scientists have been scrambling to make sense of a recent acceleration in warming, which may be attributable, they say, to changes in solar output or to shifts in cloud cover. A new study finds the biggest driver may be a drop in air pollution in East Asia, primarily in...
Quanta Magazine
RNA Is the Cell’s Emergency Alert System How does a cell know when it’s been damaged? A molecular alarm, set off by mutated RNA and colliding...
a week ago
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a week ago
How does a cell know when it’s been damaged? A molecular alarm, set off by mutated RNA and colliding ribosomes, signals danger. The post RNA Is the Cell’s Emergency Alert System first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale E360
Trump’s Logging Push Thrusts a Dagger at the Heart of Wilderness Alaska’s Tongass is the world’s largest temperate rainforest and a sanctuary for wildlife. The Trump...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Alaska’s Tongass is the world’s largest temperate rainforest and a sanctuary for wildlife. The Trump administration’s plan to rescind a rule banning roads in wild areas of National Forests would open untouched parts of the Tongass and other forests to logging and...
Quanta Magazine
The Biggest-Ever Digital Camera Is This Cosmologist’s Magnum Opus Tony Tyson’s cameras revealed the universe’s dark contents. Now, with the Rubin Observatory’s...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Tony Tyson’s cameras revealed the universe’s dark contents. Now, with the Rubin Observatory’s 3.2-billion-pixel camera, he’s ready to study dark matter and dark energy in unprecedented detail. The post The Biggest-Ever Digital Camera Is This Cosmologist’s Magnum Opus...
nanoscale views
US science funding - now time to push on the House appropriators Some not-actively-discouraging news out of Washington DC yesterday:  The Senate appropriations...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Some not-actively-discouraging news out of Washington DC yesterday:  The Senate appropriations committee is doing its markups of the various funding bills (which all technically originated in the House), and it appears that they have pushed to keep the funding for NASA and NSF...
Yale E360
In a First, Solar Was Europe's Biggest Source of Power Last Month For the first time, solar was the largest source of electricity in the EU last month, supplying a...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
For the first time, solar was the largest source of electricity in the EU last month, supplying a record 22 percent of the bloc's power. Read more on E360 →
The Works in...
Stian Westlake on the intangible economy and paying for social science Episode two of The Works in Progress Podcast is out now
2 weeks ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Announcing…our next event this fall!!! And other fun stuff!! | Out-Of-Pocket Calling all the builders
2 weeks ago
Quanta Magazine
How Can Regional Models Advance Climate Science? Elfatih Eltahir explains why we need more local and social data, like disease spread and population...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Elfatih Eltahir explains why we need more local and social data, like disease spread and population growth, to better predict and address climate-related challenges. The post How Can Regional Models Advance Climate Science? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale E360
In Pakistan, a Solar Revolution Is Bringing Power to the People Fed up with pricey electricity from an unreliable grid, Pakistanis have gobbled up cheap solar...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Fed up with pricey electricity from an unreliable grid, Pakistanis have gobbled up cheap solar panels. In an interview, Muhammad Mustafa Amjad, of Islamabad-based Renewables First, says his country can stand as a model for other nations as they transition away from fossil...
Quanta Magazine
Computer Scientists Figure Out How To Prove Lies An attack on a fundamental proof technique reveals a glaring security issue for blockchains and...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
An attack on a fundamental proof technique reveals a glaring security issue for blockchains and other digital encryption schemes. The post Computer Scientists Figure Out How To Prove Lies first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Works in...
What's new in biology, summer 2025 edition The first gonorrhea vaccination program, contact lenses that see infrared light, the protein behind...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
The first gonorrhea vaccination program, contact lenses that see infrared light, the protein behind sweet tastes, a baby cured with gene therapy, and more
Yale E360
Koalas Spend Just 10 Minutes a Day on the Ground — That's Usually When They're Killed Koalas, which spend most of their lives high up in eucalyptus trees, usually die while on the...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Koalas, which spend most of their lives high up in eucalyptus trees, usually die while on the ground, often mauled by dogs or hit by cars. More striking, a new study reveals that the amount of time they spend on the ground is only around 10 minutes a day. Read more on E360 →
nanoscale views
New updates + tetrahedra, tunneling times, and more Here are a number of items from the past week or so that I think readers of this blog might find...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Here are a number of items from the past week or so that I think readers of this blog might find interesting: Essentially all the news pertaining to the US federal funding of science continues to be awful.  This article from Science summarizes the situation well, as does this...
Yale E360
In Uganda, Deadly Landslides Force an Agricultural Reckoning As growing populations denude its slopes and heavy rain intensifies, Mount Elgon has become...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
As growing populations denude its slopes and heavy rain intensifies, Mount Elgon has become increasingly vulnerable to landslides. In response, Ugandan farmers are planting native trees and changing the crops they plant in efforts to build resilience against future...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Common ROI mistakes in healthcare | Out-Of-Pocket Plus some benchmark ROI numbers for you to think about
2 weeks ago
Quanta Magazine
New Sphere-Packing Record Stems From an Unexpected Source After just a few months of work, a complete newcomer to the world of sphere packing has solved one...
2 weeks ago
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After just a few months of work, a complete newcomer to the world of sphere packing has solved one of its biggest open problems. The post New Sphere-Packing Record Stems From an Unexpected Source first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale E360
With 'Big Beautiful Bill,' U.S. to Reverse Course on Clean Energy The Republican spending bill, signed into law Friday, will reset the course for the U.S. energy...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
The Republican spending bill, signed into law Friday, will reset the course for the U.S. energy sector, analyses show. The law rapidly phases out tax credits for wind, solar, and electric cars, while making it cheaper to drill and mine for fossil fuels on federal lands.  Read...
NeuroLogica Blog
The Real Risk of AI Artificial Intelligence (AI) is unavoidable. It’s now a part of our daily lives as it has been...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is unavoidable. It’s now a part of our daily lives as it has been steadily infiltrating the technology we use every day, whether you realize it or not. I remain somewhat in the middle in terms of the hype-to-technological-miracle spectrum. I don’t...
Quanta Magazine
How Smell Guides Our Inner World A better understanding of human smell is emerging as scientists interrogate its fundamental...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
A better understanding of human smell is emerging as scientists interrogate its fundamental elements: the odor molecules that enter your nose and the individual neurons that translate them into perception in your brain. The post How Smell Guides Our Inner World first...
IEEE Spectrum
This 1945 TV Console Showed Two Programs at Once As I try to write this article, my friend and I have six different screens attached to three types...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
As I try to write this article, my friend and I have six different screens attached to three types of devices. We’re working in the same room but on our own projects—separate yet together, a comfortable companionship. I had never really thought of the proliferation of screens as...
The Works in...
The end of lead How a single taxi ride saved millions of lives
3 weeks ago
Yale E360
Meta Said A.I. Could Help Tackle Warming. An Early Experiment Underwhelmed Last year Meta identified 135 materials that could potentially be used to draw down carbon dioxide,...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Last year Meta identified 135 materials that could potentially be used to draw down carbon dioxide, work it described as "groundbreaking." But when scientists tried to reproduce the results, they found that none of the materials could perform as promised and that some did not...
Quanta Magazine
Physicists Start To Pin Down How Stars Forge Heavy Atoms The precursors of heavy elements might arise in the plasma underbellies of swollen stars or in...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
The precursors of heavy elements might arise in the plasma underbellies of swollen stars or in smoldering stellar corpses. They definitely exist in East Lansing, Michigan. The post Physicists Start To Pin Down How Stars Forge Heavy Atoms first appeared on Quanta...
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...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks 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 →
Blog - Practical...
The Hidden Engineering of Liquid Dampers in Skyscrapers [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] There’s a new trend in...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] There’s a new trend in high-rise building design. Maybe you’ve seen this in your city. The best lots are all taken, so developers are stretching the limits to make use of space that isn’t always ideal for...
Yale E360
London Inches Closer to Running Transit System Entirely on Renewable Power Under a new agreement, London will source enough solar power to run its light railway and tram...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Under a new agreement, London will source enough solar power to run its light railway and tram networks entirely on renewable energy. Read more on E360 →
nanoscale views
Science slow down - not a simple question I participated in a program about 15 years ago that looked at science and technology challenges...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
I participated in a program about 15 years ago that looked at science and technology challenges faced by a subset of the US government. I came away thinking that such problems fall into three broad categories. Actual science and engineering challenges, which require...
Quanta Magazine
Researchers Uncover Hidden Ingredients Behind AI Creativity Image generators are designed to mimic their training data, so where does their apparent creativity...
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3 weeks ago
Image generators are designed to mimic their training data, so where does their apparent creativity come from? A recent study suggests that it’s an inevitable by-product of their architecture. The post Researchers Uncover Hidden Ingredients Behind AI Creativity first...
NeuroLogica Blog
Animals Adapting to Cities Humans are dramatically changing the environment of the Earth in many ways. Only about 23% of the...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks 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,...
nanoscale views
Cryogenic CMOS - a key need for solid state quantum information processing The basis for much of modern electronics is a set of silicon technologies called CMOS, which stands...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
The basis for much of modern electronics is a set of silicon technologies called CMOS, which stands for complementary metal oxide semiconductor devices and processes.  "Complementary" means using semiconductors (typically silicon) that is locally chemically doped so that you can...
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...
4 weeks ago
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4 weeks 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...
Quanta Magazine
When Did Nature Burst Into Vivid Color? Scientists reconstructed 500 million years of evolutionary history to reveal which came first:...
4 weeks ago
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4 weeks ago
Scientists reconstructed 500 million years of evolutionary history to reveal which came first: colorful signals or the color vision needed to see them. The post When Did Nature Burst Into Vivid Color? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Works in...
Samuel Hughes on The Great Downzoning Episode one of The Works in Progress Podcast is out now
4 weeks ago
Yale E360
City Lights Extend Growing Season for Urban Trees From New York to Paris to Beijing, urban trees are enjoying an extra-long growing season, a new...
4 weeks ago
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4 weeks ago
From New York to Paris to Beijing, urban trees are enjoying an extra-long growing season, a new study finds. Read more on E360 →
Quanta Magazine
How Does Graph Theory Shape Our World? Maria Chudnovsky reflects on her journey in graph theory, her groundbreaking solution to the...
4 weeks ago
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4 weeks ago
Maria Chudnovsky reflects on her journey in graph theory, her groundbreaking solution to the long-standing perfect graph problem, and the unexpected ways this abstract field intersects with everyday life. The post How Does Graph Theory Shape Our World? first appeared...
NeuroLogica Blog
RFK Jr.’s Attack on Vaccines RFK Jr. is an anti-vaxxer. He will protest that, but it’s a dodge. He basically lied (and it was...
4 weeks ago
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4 weeks ago
RFK Jr. is an anti-vaxxer. He will protest that, but it’s a dodge. He basically lied (and it was quite transparent) to the senate confirmation committee, and I think Cassidy and others knew full well what they were getting when they approved him as HHS secretary. Those of us who...
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)
4 weeks ago
The Works in...
The first non-opioid painkiller Journavx was approved this year. Why did it take so long to develop?
4 weeks ago
Yale E360
Planned EV Battery Plant Threatens Uncontacted Tribe in Indonesia A planned EV battery factory in Indonesia poses a grave threat to an uncontacted tribe, a watchdog...
4 weeks ago
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4 weeks ago
A planned EV battery factory in Indonesia poses a grave threat to an uncontacted tribe, a watchdog warns. Read more on E360 →
Quanta Magazine
A New Pyramid-Like Shape Always Lands the Same Side Up A tetrahedron is the simplest Platonic solid. Mathematicians have now made one that’s stable only on...
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a month ago
A tetrahedron is the simplest Platonic solid. Mathematicians have now made one that’s stable only on one side, confirming a decades-old conjecture. The post A New Pyramid-Like Shape Always Lands the Same Side Up first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Andrew Fraknoi –...
New Telescope to Take Movie of Entire Sky Astronomers unveiled first pictures from the amazing Rubin Observatory, which is getting ready to...
a month ago
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a month ago
Astronomers unveiled first pictures from the amazing Rubin Observatory, which is getting ready to take the deepest, widest movie of the entire sky. The post New Telescope to Take Movie of Entire Sky appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education...
Eukaryote Writes...
Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant: a review of Skibidi Toilet Art has died and been reborn a thousand times now. Join me at its graveside once again. Let us speak...
a month ago
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a month ago
Art has died and been reborn a thousand times now. Join me at its graveside once again. Let us speak a few words for what once was. Let us imagine the inconceivable and hollow future ahead without it. If you weep, I will pass you my handkerchief. And let us all pretend to be...
Yale E360
As Wind and Solar Grow, China Ships More Coal Overseas A slowing economy and the rapid growth of wind and solar have blunted demand for coal in China....
a month ago
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a month ago
A slowing economy and the rapid growth of wind and solar have blunted demand for coal in China. Increasingly, producers are selling coal overseas. Read more on E360 →
Damn Interesting
Much Ado About Adenoids Edmund Lawall must have felt cursed. He’d brought his family to New York in the late 1800s to carry...
a month ago
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a month ago
Edmund Lawall must have felt cursed. He’d brought his family to New York in the late 1800s to carry on his father’s business as a pharmacist, but fate—or perhaps the city itself—seemed determined to drive him back out again. Lawall’s health had been in decline since their...
The Works in...
How New Zealand invented inflation targeting The political gamble that made modern central banking
a month ago
Quanta Magazine
Matter vs. Force: Why There Are Exactly Two Types of Particles Every elementary particle falls into one of two categories. Collectivist bosons account for the...
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Every elementary particle falls into one of two categories. Collectivist bosons account for the forces that move us while individualist fermions keep our atoms from collapsing. The post Matter vs. Force: Why There Are Exactly Two Types of Particles first appeared on...
Yale E360
Endangered Eels a Top Target for Traffickers in Europe Endangered eels are a top target for wildlife traffickers in Europe and generating billions in...
a month ago
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a month ago
Endangered eels are a top target for wildlife traffickers in Europe and generating billions in profits for smugglers globally, according to two new reports. Read more on E360 →
NeuroLogica Blog
Plastic Bag Policies Have An Effect There is a lot of talk concerning the growing plastic waste problem in the world, and that’s because...
a month ago
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a month ago
There is a lot of talk concerning the growing plastic waste problem in the world, and that’s because it is a real and serious problem. The world produces about 430 tons of plastic waste per year, and this is steadily increasing over time. About 6 millions tons of this will end up...
IEEE Spectrum
How the Rubin Observatory Will Reinvent Astronomy Night is falling on Cerro Pachón. Stray clouds reflect the last few rays of golden light as the...
a month ago
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a month ago
Night is falling on Cerro Pachón. Stray clouds reflect the last few rays of golden light as the sun dips below the horizon. I focus my camera across the summit to the westernmost peak of the mountain. Silhouetted within a dying blaze of red and orange light looms the sphinxlike...
Quantum Frontiers
A (quantum) complex legacy: Part trois When I worked in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a friend reported that MIT’s postdoc association had...
a month ago
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a month ago
When I worked in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a friend reported that MIT’s postdoc association had asked its members how it could improve their lives. The friend confided his suggestion to me: throw more parties.1 This year grants his wish on a … Continue reading →
nanoscale views
Brief items - fresh perspectives, some news bits As usual, I hope to write more about particular physics topics soon, but in the meantime I wanted to...
a month ago
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a month ago
As usual, I hope to write more about particular physics topics soon, but in the meantime I wanted to share a sampling of news items: First, it's a pleasure to see new long-form writing about condensed matter subjects, in an era where science blogging has unquestionably shrunk...
Chris Grossack's...
An Explicit Computation in Derived Algebraic Geoemtry Earlier this week my friend Shane and I took a day and just did a bunch of computations. In the...
a month ago
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a month ago
Earlier this week my friend Shane and I took a day and just did a bunch of computations. In the morning we did some differential geometry, where he told me some things about what he’s doing with symplectic lie algebroids. We went to get lunch, and then in the afternoon we did...
Yale E360
In War Zones, a Race to Save Key Seeds Needed to Feed the World In conflict areas from Ukraine to Palestine, storage facilities holding seeds vital for future plant...
a month ago
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a month ago
In conflict areas from Ukraine to Palestine, storage facilities holding seeds vital for future plant breeding are being lost. Scientists are rushing to send some remaining seeds to a “doomsday” vault in Norway so they can be available to provide food crops in a warming...
Quanta Magazine
Is Mathematics Mostly Chaos or Mostly Order? Two new notions of infinity challenge a long-standing plan to define the mathematical universe. ...
a month ago
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a month ago
Two new notions of infinity challenge a long-standing plan to define the mathematical universe. The post Is Mathematics Mostly Chaos or Mostly Order? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
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...
a month ago
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a month 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 →
Chris Grossack's...
Explicitly Computing The Action Lie Algebroid for $SL_2(\mathbb{R}) \curvearrowright \mathbb{R}^2$ This is going to be a very classic post, where we’ll chat about a computation my friend Shane did...
a month ago
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a month ago
This is going to be a very classic post, where we’ll chat about a computation my friend Shane did earlier today. His research is largely about symplectic lie algebroids, and recently we’ve been trying to understand the rich connections between poisson geometry, lie algebroids,...
Quanta Magazine
How AI Models Are Helping to Understand — and Control — the Brain Martin Schrimpf is crafting bespoke AI models that can induce control over high-level brain...
a month ago
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a month ago
Martin Schrimpf is crafting bespoke AI models that can induce control over high-level brain activity. The post How AI Models Are Helping to Understand — and Control — the Brain first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale E360
Lightning Strikes the Arctic: What Will It Mean for the Far North? A warmer world is expected to bring more thunderstorms, especially at higher latitudes. Scientists...
a month ago
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a month ago
A warmer world is expected to bring more thunderstorms, especially at higher latitudes. Scientists are now reporting a dramatic surge in lightning in the far north and are scrambling to parse how this could affect wildfires, the chemistry of the atmosphere, and Arctic...
The Works in...
How to redraw a city The planning trick that created Japan's famous urbanism
a month ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Wet Labs Shouldn’t Be Boring (for young scientists) | Out-Of-Pocket This is the first touchpoint for science, we should make it more enticing
a month ago
Blog - Practical...
How Sewage Recycling Works [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Wichita Falls, Texas, went...
a month ago
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a month ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Wichita Falls, Texas, went through the worst drought in its history in 2011 and 2012. For two years in a row, the area saw its average annual rainfall roughly cut in half, decimating the levels in the three...
IEEE Spectrum
Why JPEGs Still Rule the Web A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, Ernie Smith’s newsletter, which hunts for the...
a month ago
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a month ago
A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, Ernie Smith’s newsletter, which hunts for the end of the long tail. For roughly three decades, the JPEG has been the World Wide Web’s primary image format. But it wasn’t the one the Web started with. In fact, the first...
The Works in...
The magic of through running By weaving together existing railway lines, some cities can get the best transit in the world
a month ago
Andrew Fraknoi –...
Friday is the Summer Solstice — Caused by Earth’s Ancient Accident Friday is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. We explain why. The post Friday is the...
a month ago
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a month ago
Friday is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. We explain why. The post Friday is the Summer Solstice — Caused by Earth’s Ancient Accident appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
Quanta Magazine
The Ecosystem Dynamics That Can Make or Break an Invasion By speedrunning ecosystems with microbes, researchers revealed intrinsic properties that may make a...
a month ago
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a month ago
By speedrunning ecosystems with microbes, researchers revealed intrinsic properties that may make a community susceptible to invasion. The post The Ecosystem Dynamics That Can Make or Break an Invasion first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale E360
A Win for Farmers and Tribes Brings New Hope to the Klamath In the long-contentious Klamath River watershed, an experiment that turned a barley field into a...
a month ago
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a month ago
In the long-contentious Klamath River watershed, an experiment that turned a barley field into a wetland not only improved water quality. It also offered a path forward for restoring populations of two endangered fish species that are of cultural importance to Native tribes. Read...
nanoscale views
So you want to build a science/engineering laboratory building A very quick summary of some non-negative news developments: The NSF awarded 500 more graduate...
a month ago
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a month ago
A very quick summary of some non-negative news developments: The NSF awarded 500 more graduate fellowships this week, bringing the total for this year up to 1500.  (Apologies for the X link.)  This is still 25% lower than last year's number, and of course far below the original...
Eukaryote Writes...
Book review: Air-borne by Carl Zimmer Man, it’s embarrassing to be part of a field of study (biosecurity, in this case) that had such a...
a month ago
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a month ago
Man, it’s embarrassing to be part of a field of study (biosecurity, in this case) that had such a public moment of unambiguously whiffing it.
Quanta Magazine
Is Gravity Just Entropy Rising? Long-Shot Idea Gets Another Look. A new argument explores how the growth of disorder could cause massive objects to move toward one...
a month ago
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a month ago
A new argument explores how the growth of disorder could cause massive objects to move toward one another. Physicists are both interested and skeptical. The post Is Gravity Just Entropy Rising? Long-Shot Idea Gets Another Look. first appeared on Quanta Magazine
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...
a month ago
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a month 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 →
Out-of-Pocket Blog
OOP Slack Application is Open! And A New FREE Course!! | Out-Of-Pocket Plus we’re running an experiment…
a month ago
Quanta Magazine
Does Form Really Shape Function? From brain folds to insect architecture, L. Mahadevan explains how complex biological forms and...
a month ago
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a month ago
From brain folds to insect architecture, L. Mahadevan explains how complex biological forms and behaviors emerge through the interplay of physical forces, environment and embodiment. The post Does Form Really Shape Function? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Works in...
Issue 19: American S-Bahn Plus: How to redraw cities with tangled property rights, the secret history of inflation targeting,...
a month ago
18
a month ago
Plus: How to redraw cities with tangled property rights, the secret history of inflation targeting, and the end of lead pollution in the developing world
NeuroLogica Blog
How Humans Solve Problems The human brain is extremely good at problem-solving, at least relatively speaking. Cognitive...
a month ago
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a month ago
The human brain is extremely good at problem-solving, at least relatively speaking. Cognitive scientists have been exploring how, exactly, people approach and solve problems – what cognitive strategies do we use, and how optimal are they. A recent study extends this research and...
Yale E360
Deconstructing Buildings: The Quest for New Life for Old Wood A growing number of cities have launched initiatives to reuse the wood waste from construction and...
a month ago
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a month ago
A growing number of cities have launched initiatives to reuse the wood waste from construction and demolition that now ends up in landfills. The challenge, proponents say, is to deploy new techniques for disassembling old buildings and markets for repurposing the salvaged...
Quanta Magazine
Epic Effort to Ground Physics in Math Opens Up the Secrets of Time By mathematically proving how individual molecules create the complex motion of fluids, three...
a month ago
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a month ago
By mathematically proving how individual molecules create the complex motion of fluids, three mathematicians have illuminated why time can’t flow in reverse. The post Epic Effort to Ground Physics in Math Opens Up the Secrets of Time first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Works in...
Lenacapavir: can this drug end AIDS? Hard Drugs: Episode one is out now.
a month ago
Yale E360
How Restored Wetlands Can Protect Europe from Russian Invasion The flooding of a Ukraine’s Irpin valley thwarted Russia’s assault on Kyiv in 2022. Now, scientists...
a month ago
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a month ago
The flooding of a 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
Some VoiceAI in Healthcare thoughts | Out-Of-Pocket Features vs. companies, AI scribes can do more, and pricing questions
a month ago
Quantum Frontiers
Congratulations, class of 2025! Words from a new graduate Editor’s note (Nicole Yunger Halpern): Jade LeSchack, the Quantum Steampunk Laboratory’s first...
a month ago
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a month ago
Editor’s note (Nicole Yunger Halpern): Jade LeSchack, the Quantum Steampunk Laboratory’s first undergraduate, received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland this spring. Kermit the Frog presented the valedictory address, but Jade gave the following speech at the...
Chris Grossack's...
A Proof that there's No Constructive Proof of the Intermediate Value Theorem The other day my friend Lucas Salim was asking me some questions about categorical logic and...
a month ago
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a month ago
The other day my friend Lucas Salim was asking me some questions about categorical logic and constructive math, and he mentioned he’d never seen a proof that there’s no constructive proof of the intermediate value theorem before. I showed him the usual counterexample, and...
The Works in...
Gentrification as a housing problem The root cause is inflexible supply
a month ago
Quanta Magazine
New Quantum Algorithm Factors Numbers With One Qubit The catch: It would require the energy of a few medium-size stars. The post New Quantum...
a month ago
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a month ago
The catch: It would require the energy of a few medium-size stars. The post New Quantum Algorithm Factors Numbers With One Qubit first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale E360
To Protect Amazon from Drug Traffickers, Title Indigenous Lands, Report Says Drug traffickers are violently seizing Indigenous lands in the Peruvian Amazon to clear rainforest...
a month ago
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a month ago
Drug traffickers are violently seizing Indigenous lands in the Peruvian Amazon to clear rainforest and grow coca. To combat the drug trade, a new report calls for titling Indigenous territories along major trafficking routes.  Read more on E360 →
NeuroLogica Blog
GMOs May Save Florida Citrus Citrus greening (also called Huanglongbing or HLB) is an infectious disease affecting citrus trees...
a month ago
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a month ago
Citrus greening (also called Huanglongbing or HLB) is an infectious disease affecting citrus trees in Florida. It is a bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, and spread by an invasive fly, the Asian citrus psyllid. Since 2004 it has caused a reduction in the Florida citrus...
nanoscale views
A precision measurement science mystery - new physics or incomplete calculations? Again, as a distraction from persistently concerning news, here is a science mystery of which I was...
a month ago
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a month ago
Again, as a distraction from persistently concerning news, here is a science mystery of which I was previously unaware. The role of approximations in physics is something that very often comes as a shock to new students.  There is this cultural expectation out there that because...
Quanta Magazine
First Map Made of a Solid’s Secret Quantum Geometry Physicists recently mapped the hidden shape that underlies the quantum behaviors of a crystal, using...
a month ago
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a month ago
Physicists recently mapped the hidden shape that underlies the quantum behaviors of a crystal, using a new method that’s expected to become ubiquitous. The post First Map Made of a Solid’s Secret Quantum Geometry first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
New Potential mRNA HIV Treatment First, don’t get too excited, this is a laboratory study, which means if all goes well we are about...
a month ago
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a month ago
First, don’t get too excited, this is a laboratory study, which means if all goes well we are about a decade or more from an actual treatment. The study, however, is a nice demonstration of the potential of recent biotechnology, specifically mRNA technology and lipid...
Yale E360
Amid Devastation in Gaza, a Deepening Environmental Wound The ongoing war in the Gaza Strip has obliterated crops and trees, according to a new assessment of...
a month ago
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a month ago
The ongoing war in the Gaza Strip has obliterated crops and trees, according to a new assessment of the impact. Read more on E360 →
The Works in...
How the world's first electric grid was built When Britain actually made something
a month ago
Yale E360
Birds vs. Wind Turbines: New Research Aims to Prevent Conflict Window collisions and cats kill more birds than wind farms do, but ornithologists say turbine...
a month ago
10
a month ago
Window collisions and cats kill more birds than wind farms do, but ornithologists say turbine impacts must be taken seriously. Scientists are testing a range of technologies to reduce bird strikes — from painting stripes to using artificial intelligence — to keep birds safe. Read...
IEEE Spectrum
The Birth of the University as Innovation Incubator This article is excerpted from Every American an Innovator: How Innovation Became a Way of Life, by...
a month ago
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a month ago
This article is excerpted from Every American an Innovator: How Innovation Became a Way of Life, by Matthew Wisnioski (The MIT Press, 2025). Imagine a point-to-point transportation service in which two parties communicate at a distance. A passenger in need of a ride contacts the...
The Works in...
Why child benefits should be front loaded The timing of benefits matters to families, and doesn't change costs for governments
a month ago
Quanta Magazine
How Much Energy Does It Take To Think? Studies of neural metabolism reveal our brain’s effort to keep us alive and the evolutionary...
a month ago
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a month ago
Studies of neural metabolism reveal our brain’s effort to keep us alive and the evolutionary constraints that sculpted our most complex organ. The post How Much Energy Does It Take To Think? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale E360
Britain Sees Sunniest Spring on Record This spring was the warmest and sunniest on record in the U.K., a symptom of a rapidly warming...
a month ago
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a month ago
This spring was the warmest and sunniest on record in the U.K., a symptom of a rapidly warming climate, weather officials say. Read more on E360 →
Chris Grossack's...
An Empty Product of Nonempty Sets A few days ago I saw a cute question on mse asking about a particularly non-intuitive failing of...
a month ago
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a month ago
A few days ago I saw a cute question on mse asking about a particularly non-intuitive failing of the axiom of choice. I remember when I was an undergrad talking to a friend of mine about various statements equivalent to choice, and being particularly hung up on the same...
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
Blog - Practical...
Why are Smokestacks So Tall? [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] “The big black stacks of the...
a month ago
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a month ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] “The big black stacks of the Illium Works of the Federal Apparatus Corporation spewed acid fumes and soot over the hundreds of men and women who were lined up before the red-brick employment office.” That’s the...
NeuroLogica Blog
AI Therapists In the movie Blade Runner 2049 (an excellent film I highly recommend), Ryan Gosling’s character, K,...
a month ago
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a month ago
In the movie Blade Runner 2049 (an excellent film I highly recommend), Ryan Gosling’s character, K, has an AI “wife”, Joi, played by Ana de Armas. K is clearly in love with Joi, who is nothing but software and holograms. In one poignant scene, K is viewing a giant ad for AI...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
What does Innovaccer actually do? A look under the hood | Out-Of-Pocket A conversation about EHRs, who their customers actually are, and building apps
a month ago
Yale E360
Cambodian Forest Defenders at Risk for Exposing Illegal Logging The lush forests that have long sustained Cambodia’s Indigenous people have steadily fallen to...
a month ago
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a month ago
The lush forests that have long sustained Cambodia’s Indigenous people have steadily fallen to illicit logging. Now, community members face intimidation and risk arrest as they patrol their forests to document the losses and try to push the government to stop the cutting. Read...
Quanta Magazine
The Core of Fermat’s Last Theorem Just Got Superpowered By extending the scope of the key insight behind Fermat’s Last Theorem, four mathematicians have...
a month ago
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a month ago
By extending the scope of the key insight behind Fermat’s Last Theorem, four mathematicians have made great strides toward building a “grand unified theory” of math. The post The Core of Fermat’s Last Theorem Just Got Superpowered first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Works in...
The world of tomorrow When the future arrived, it felt… ordinary. What happened to the glamour of tomorrow?
a month ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Telepathy Tapes Promotes Pseudoscience I was away on vacation the last week, hence no posts, but am now back to my usual schedule. In fact,...
a month ago
18
a month ago
I was away on vacation the last week, hence no posts, but am now back to my usual schedule. In fact, I hope to be a little more consistent starting this summer because (if you follow me on the SGU you already know this) I am retiring from my day job at Yale at the […] The post...
Andrew Fraknoi –...
Two of My Science-Fiction Stories Published in May View this email in your browser A Change of Pace from Astronomy News  As you may know, I have been...
a month ago
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a month ago
View this email in your browser A Change of Pace from Astronomy News  As you may know, I have been writing science-fiction stories based on good astronomy as my retirement project.  After a good number of rejections from the finest sci-fi magazines the world over, I am now...
nanoscale views
Pushing back on US science cuts: Now is a critical time Every week has brought more news about actions that, either as a collateral effect or a deliberate...
a month ago
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a month ago
Every week has brought more news about actions that, either as a collateral effect or a deliberate goal, will deeply damage science and engineering research in the US.  Put aside for a moment the tremendously important issue of student visas (where there seems to be a policy of...
IEEE Spectrum
The Data Reveals Top Patent Portfolios Eight years is a long time in the world of patents. When we last published what we then called the...
a month ago
12
a month ago
Eight years is a long time in the world of patents. When we last published what we then called the Patent Power Scorecard, in 2017, it was a different technological and social landscape—Google had just filed a patent application on the transformer architecture, a momentous...
Quanta Magazine
How Can AI Researchers Save Energy? By Going Backward. Reversible programs run backward as easily as they run forward, saving energy in theory. After...
a month ago
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a month ago
Reversible programs run backward as easily as they run forward, saving energy in theory. After decades of research, they may soon power AI. The post How Can AI Researchers Save Energy? By Going Backward. first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Works in...
The End Kidney Deaths Act Congress should start compensating compassion
a month ago
Yale E360
In California, Hummingbird Beaks Have Been Transformed by Feeders The profusion of hummingbird feeders in California homes has not only allowed some hummingbirds to...
a month ago
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a month ago
The profusion of hummingbird feeders in California homes has not only allowed some hummingbirds to expand their range, but has also altered the shape of their beaks. Read more on E360 →
pcloadletter
Generative AI will probably make blogs better Generative AI will probably make blogs better. Have you ever searched for something on Google and...
a month ago
12
a month ago
Generative AI will probably make blogs better. Have you ever searched for something on Google and found the first one, two, or three blog posts to be utter nonsense? That's because these blog posts have been optimized not for human consumption, but rather to entertain the search...
nanoscale views
Quick survey - machine shops and maker spaces Recent events are very dire for research at US universities, and I will write further about those,...
a month ago
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a month ago
Recent events are very dire for research at US universities, and I will write further about those, but first a quick unrelated survey for those at such institutions.  Back in the day, it was common for physics and some other (mechanical engineering?) departments to have machine...
Quanta Magazine
Will We Ever Prove String Theory? Promise and controversy continues to surround string theory as a potential unified theory of...
a month ago
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a month ago
Promise and controversy continues to surround string theory as a potential unified theory of everything. In the latest episode of The Joy of Why, Cumrun Vafa discusses his progress in trying to find good, testable models hidden among the ‘swampland’ of impossible universes. ...
The Works in...
Computers of the future How to process information without waste
a month ago
Yale E360
To Cope With Extreme Heat, Clownfish Shrink During a severe heat wave in 2023, scientists scuba diving off the coast of Papua New Guinea...
a month ago
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a month ago
During a severe heat wave in 2023, scientists scuba diving off the coast of Papua New Guinea captured clownfish to measure their bodies. Between February and August, they calculated the length of 134 of these iconic, orange and white fish once a month, taking a total of six...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
OOP’s 2025 Healthcare AI Hackathon Projects | Out-Of-Pocket Copilots for parents, Chaining Agents, Talking to Your Genome, and more.
a month ago
ToughSF
The Laser Revolution Part II: Ground, Sea and Grid The revolution continues! Warfare on the ground and sea will be heavily affected by megawatt-class...
a month ago
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a month ago
The revolution continues! Warfare on the ground and sea will be heavily affected by megawatt-class lasers in the next two decades or so. And, as we'll see, there are transformative applications in industry, energy generation, transportation and remote sensing. Beams on the...
Probably...
Announcing Think Linear Algebra I’ve been thinking about Think Linear Algebra for more than a decade, and recently I started working...
a month ago
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a month ago
I’ve been thinking about Think Linear Algebra for more than a decade, and recently I started working on it in earnest. If you want to get a sense of it, I’ve posted a draft chapter as a Jupyter notebook. In one way, I am glad I waited — I think it will be better, faster [to...
Quanta Magazine
How Paradoxical Questions and Simple Wonder Lead to Great Science Manu Prakash works on the world’s most urgent problems and seemingly frivolous questions at the same...
a month ago
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a month ago
Manu Prakash works on the world’s most urgent problems and seemingly frivolous questions at the same time. They add up to a philosophy he calls “recreational biology.” The post How Paradoxical Questions and Simple Wonder Lead to Great Science first appeared on Quanta...
The Works in...
Why we stopped building subways cheaply We used to dig up roads to put trains underneath
a month ago
Yale E360
Warming Linked to Rising Cancer Rates Among Women in the Middle East New research finds a link between increasingly extreme heat in the Middle East and rising rates of...
a month ago
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a month ago
New research finds a link between increasingly extreme heat in the Middle East and rising rates of cancer in women. Read more on E360 →
Quantum Frontiers
I know I am but what are you? Mind and Matter in Quantum Mechanics Nowadays it is best to exercise caution when bringing the words “quantum” and “consciousness”...
a month ago
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a month ago
Nowadays it is best to exercise caution when bringing the words “quantum” and “consciousness” anywhere near each other, lest you be suspected of mysticism or quackery. Eugene Wigner did not concern himself with this when he wrote his “Remarks on … Continue reading →
Quanta Magazine
Singularities in Space-Time Prove Hard to Kill Black hole and Big Bang singularities break our best theory of gravity. A trilogy of theorems hints...
a month ago
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a month ago
Black hole and Big Bang singularities break our best theory of gravity. A trilogy of theorems hints that physicists will need to go to the ends of space and time to find a fix. The post Singularities in Space-Time Prove Hard to Kill first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Works in...
The bad science behind expensive nuclear How an arcane model makes nuclear power expensive and why it's time might be up
a month ago
Yale E360
The ‘Green’ Aviation Fuel That Would Increase Carbon Emissions The U.S. agriculture lobby has long promoted ethanol for cars. If President Trump’s “Big Beautiful...
a month ago
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a month ago
The U.S. agriculture lobby has long promoted ethanol for cars. If President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” becomes law, the industry would be given tax credits for producing crop-based fuel for planes, too, despite evidence it would spur deforestation and increase emissions. Read...
Quantum Frontiers
The most steampunk qubit I never imagined that an artist would update me about quantum-computing research. Last year,...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
I never imagined that an artist would update me about quantum-computing research. Last year, steampunk artist Bruce Rosenbaum forwarded me a notification about a news article published in Science. The article reported on an experiment performed in physicist Yiwen Chu’s … Continue...
The Works in...
Animals as chemical factories The price of purple
2 months ago
IEEE Spectrum
32 Bits That Changed Microprocessor Design In the late 1970s, a time when 8-bit processors were state of the art and CMOS was the underdog of...
2 months ago
92
2 months ago
In the late 1970s, a time when 8-bit processors were state of the art and CMOS was the underdog of semiconductor technology, engineers at AT&T’s Bell Labs took a bold leap into the future. They made a high-stakes bet to outpace IBM, Intel, and other competitors in chip...
Yale E360
In Test, A.I. Weather Model Fails to Predict Freak Storm Artificial intelligence is powering weather forecasts that are generally more accurate than...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
Artificial intelligence is powering weather forecasts that are generally more accurate than conventional forecasts and are faster and cheaper to produce. But new research shows A.I. may fail to predict unprecedented weather events, a troubling finding as warming fuels new...
Quanta Magazine
Graduate Student Solves Classic Problem About the Limits of Addition A new proof illuminates the hidden patterns that emerge when addition becomes impossible. ...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
A new proof illuminates the hidden patterns that emerge when addition becomes impossible. The post Graduate Student Solves Classic Problem About the Limits of Addition first appeared on Quanta Magazine
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...
2 months ago
4
2 months ago
Penguin droppings may play a role in the formation of clouds over Antarctica, new research finds. Read more on E360 →
Probably...
My very busy week I’m not sure who scheduled ODSC and PyConUS during the same week, but I am unhappy with their...
2 months ago
25
2 months ago
I’m not sure who scheduled ODSC and PyConUS during the same week, but I am unhappy with their decisions. Last Tuesday I presented a talk and co-presented a workshop at ODSC, and on Thursday I presented a tutorial at PyCon. If you would like to follow along with my very busy week,...
Beautiful Public...
NASA Ames Research Center Archives In the heart of Silicon Valley, NASA Ames Research Center has the world's largest wind tunnel, and a...
2 months ago
25
2 months ago
In the heart of Silicon Valley, NASA Ames Research Center has the world's largest wind tunnel, and a rich history of space and aeronautics innovation captured in a fascinating visual archive.
nanoscale views
How badly has NSF funding already been effectively cut? This NY Times feature lets you see how each piece of NSF's funding has been reduced this year...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
This NY Times feature lets you see how each piece of NSF's funding has been reduced this year relative to the normalized average spanning in the last decade.  Note: this fiscal year, thanks to the continuing resolution, the actual agency budget has not actually been cut like...
NeuroLogica Blog
Preserving Food About 30-40% of the produce we grow ends up wasted. This is a massive inefficiency in the food...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
About 30-40% of the produce we grow ends up wasted. This is a massive inefficiency in the food system. It occurs at every level, from the farm to the end user, and for a variety of reasons. This translates to enough food worldwide to feed 1.6 billion people. We also have to...
The Works in...
One simple deregulation that would save thousands of lives What we’ve been reading: urbanism, medicine, science, tech, AI, housing, energy, economics, culture,...
2 months ago
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...
2 months ago
16
2 months ago
Penguin droppings may play a role in the formation of clouds over Antarctica, new research finds. Read more on E360 →
Quanta Magazine
For Algorithms, a Little Memory Outweighs a Lot of Time One computer scientist’s “stunning” proof is the first progress in 50 years on one of the most...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
One computer scientist’s “stunning” proof is the first progress in 50 years on one of the most famous questions in computer science. The post For Algorithms, a Little Memory Outweighs a Lot of Time first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Works in...
NIMBYism and how to resolve it A diagnosis and a solution.
2 months ago
Yale E360
As Bird Flu Spreads, Vaccine Shows Promise for Protecting Cattle Since bird flu was first discovered in U.S. cattle last year, the virus has spread to more than...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
Since bird flu was first discovered in U.S. cattle last year, the virus has spread to more than 1,000 herds across the country. A new vaccine for cattle has performed well in early tests, raising hopes that it could protect livestock and help prevent an outbreak in humans. Read...
Blog - Practical...
The Most Implausible Tunneling Method [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] The original plan to get I-95...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] The original plan to get I-95 over the Baltimore Harbor was a double-deck bridge from Fort McHenry to Lazaretto Point. The problem with the plan was this: the bridge would have to be extremely high so that...
The Works in...
The wonder of modern drywall How gypsum changed construction
2 months ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Healthcare Data Camp Applications Due Today | Out-Of-Pocket Plus future hackathon ideas?
2 months ago
ToughSF
The Laser Revolution Part I: Megawatt beams to the skies There’s a laser revolution coming: a time when megawatt-scale beams will radically transform how we ...
2 months ago
36
2 months ago
There’s a laser revolution coming: a time when megawatt-scale beams will radically transform how we produce electricity, conduct war and even upset the nuclear world order. All they have to do it reach a certain convergence of price and power. And by current projections, it...
Yale E360
Out of the Wild: How A.I. Is Transforming Conservation Biology Artificial intelligence is being called a game changer for enabling scientists and conservationists...
2 months ago
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2 months 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...
The Works in...
Why it's so hard to scale up new materials Getting substances out of the lab
2 months ago
Quanta Magazine
‘Turbocharged’ Mitochondria Power Birds’ Epic Migratory Journeys Slight changes in the number, shape, efficiency and interconnectedness of organelles in the cells of...
2 months ago
33
2 months ago
Slight changes in the number, shape, efficiency and interconnectedness of organelles in the cells of flight muscles provide extra energy for birds’ continent-spanning feats. The post ‘Turbocharged’ Mitochondria Power Birds’ Epic Migratory Journeys first appeared on...
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...
2 months ago
20
2 months ago
Having shut down its last remaining nuclear plant Saturday, Taiwan is working to secure new imports of natural gas. Read more on E360 →
NeuroLogica Blog
End of Life on Earth Let’s talk about climate change and life on Earth. Not anthropogenic climate change – but long term...
2 months ago
24
2 months ago
Let’s talk about climate change and life on Earth. Not anthropogenic climate change – but long term natural changes in the Earth’s environment due to stellar evolution. Eventually, as our sun burns through its fuel, it will go through changes. It will begin to grow, becoming a...
nanoscale views
A science anecdote palate cleanser Apologies for slow posting.  Real life has been very intense, and I also was rather concerned when...
2 months ago
22
2 months ago
Apologies for slow posting.  Real life has been very intense, and I also was rather concerned when one of my readers mentioned last weekend that these days my blog was like concentrated doom-scrolling.  I will have more to say about the present university research crisis later,...
The Works in...
Making american milk safe How good ideas spread
2 months ago
Quanta Magazine
New ‘Superdiffusion’ Proof Probes the Mysterious Math of Turbulence Turbulence is a notoriously difficult phenomenon to study. Mathematicians are now starting to...
2 months ago
36
2 months ago
Turbulence is a notoriously difficult phenomenon to study. Mathematicians are now starting to untangle it at its smallest scales. The post New ‘Superdiffusion’ Proof Probes the Mysterious Math of Turbulence first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale E360
Scientists Look to Changing Tree Color to Predict Volcanic Eruptions NASA scientists believe it may be possible to predict when a volcano will erupt by using satellites...
2 months ago
25
2 months ago
NASA scientists believe it may be possible to predict when a volcano will erupt by using satellites to track changes in the color of surrounding trees. Read more on E360 →
Quanta Magazine
How Did Geometry Create Modern Physics? Geometry may have its origins thousands of years ago in ancient land surveying, but it has also had...
2 months ago
26
2 months ago
Geometry may have its origins thousands of years ago in ancient land surveying, but it has also had a surprising impact on modern physics. In the latest episode of The Joy of Why, Yang-Hui He explores geometry’s evolution and its future potential through AI. The post...
The Works in...
Nuclear reactors for dummies Fission basics #1
2 months ago
Yale E360
China’s Mega Dam Project Poses Big Risks for Asia’s Grand Canyon China’s plans to build a massive hydro project in Tibet have sparked fears about the environmental...
2 months ago
23
2 months ago
China’s plans to build a massive hydro project in Tibet have sparked fears about the environmental impacts on the world’s longest and deepest canyon. It has also alarmed neighboring India, which fears that China could hold back or even weaponize river water it depends on. Read...
Quanta Magazine
How the Universe Differs From Its Mirror Image From living matter to molecules to elementary particles, the world is made of “chiral” objects that...
2 months ago
31
2 months ago
From living matter to molecules to elementary particles, the world is made of “chiral” objects that differ from their reflected forms. The post How the Universe Differs From Its Mirror Image first appeared on Quanta Magazine
IEEE Spectrum
Teething Babies and Rainy Days Once Cut Calls Short Humans are messy. We spill drinks, smudge screens, and bring our electronic devices into countless...
2 months ago
33
2 months ago
Humans are messy. We spill drinks, smudge screens, and bring our electronic devices into countless sticky situations. As anyone who has accidentally dropped their phone into a toilet or pool knows, moisture poses a particular problem. And it’s not a new one: From early...
Yale E360
Chimps Found Treating Each Other's Wounds Chimpanzees in Uganda were found treating the injuries of other, unrelated chimps, including those...
2 months ago
21
2 months ago
Chimpanzees in Uganda were found treating the injuries of other, unrelated chimps, including those caught in hunting snares.  Read more on E360 →
Quanta Magazine
Introducing The Quanta Podcast Exploring the distant universe, the insides of cells, the abstractions of math, the complexity of...
2 months ago
25
2 months ago
Exploring the distant universe, the insides of cells, the abstractions of math, the complexity of information itself and much more, The Quanta Podcast will be a tour of the frontier between the known and the unknown. The post Introducing The Quanta Podcast first...
The Works in...
How ships escaped the great stagnation Agglomeration unmoored
2 months ago
NeuroLogica Blog
The AI Conundrum What the true impact of artificial intelligence (AI) is and soon will be remains a point of...
2 months ago
22
2 months ago
What the true impact of artificial intelligence (AI) is and soon will be remains a point of contention. Even among scientifically literate skeptics people tend to fall into decidedly different narratives. Also, when being interviewed I can almost guarantee now that I will be...
Yale E360
Foreign Trawlers Plunder Senegalese Waters, Driving Small Fishers to Migrate to Spain A foreign fleet of industrial trawlers is exhausting fish stocks in Senegal, driving artisanal...
2 months ago
25
2 months ago
A foreign fleet of industrial trawlers is exhausting fish stocks in Senegal, driving artisanal fishers to undertake a difficult, and sometimes deadly, migration to Spain. Read more on E360 →
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Paying for friends, Gaming Insurance Via Marriage, and hacking CPAP machines | Out-Of-Pocket What are some more fringe healthcare behaviors?
2 months ago
The Works in...
What's new in building beautifully Interesting developments from the last two decades
2 months ago
Quanta Magazine
The Fastest Way Yet to Color Graphs Researchers have devised a scheme for painting the edges of a graph that’s almost as speedy as...
2 months ago
37
2 months ago
Researchers have devised a scheme for painting the edges of a graph that’s almost as speedy as possible. The post The Fastest Way Yet to Color Graphs first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Floating Solar Farms My last post was about floating nuclear power plants. By coincidence I then ran across a news item...
2 months ago
27
2 months ago
My last post was about floating nuclear power plants. By coincidence I then ran across a news item about floating solar installations. This is also a potentially useful idea, and is already being implemented and increasing. It is estimated that in 2022 total installed floating...
Yale E360
How Natural Solutions Can Help Islands Survive Sea Level Rise Scientists have found that atoll islands with healthy forests and coral reefs are more resilient...
2 months ago
15
2 months ago
Scientists have found that atoll islands with healthy forests and coral reefs are more resilient against rising seas. To shore up vulnerable islands in the Pacific and Indian oceans, experts are working to restore native trees and seabirds and boost the growth of protective...
Quanta Magazine
Finding Beauty and Truth in Mundane Occurrences The physicist Sidney Nagel delights in solving mysteries of the universe that are hiding in plain...
2 months ago
101
2 months ago
The physicist Sidney Nagel delights in solving mysteries of the universe that are hiding in plain sight. The post Finding Beauty and Truth in Mundane Occurrences first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale E360
Environmental Enforcement Slows Under Trump Federal enforcement of environmental laws has slowed significantly under President Trump. Read more...
2 months ago
20
2 months ago
Federal enforcement of environmental laws has slowed significantly under President Trump. Read more on E360 →