Turns out, boredom may have some advantages. @ScienceAlert explains in more detail, including how we all need to “embrace the pause.”
Edited 254d ago
science
A new atomic clock in space could help us measure elevations on Earth.
@technologyreview reports: "The European Space Agency’s ACES mission could ultimately pave the way for a global network of atomic clocks that make these measurements far more accurate."
Subscription may be required: https://flip.it/dbCEJp
An object called 2017 OF201 is shaking up our ideas about the outer zone of our solar system.
It follows an extreme, 25,000-year orbit.
It may be one of a hundred or so similar bodies filling a seemingly vacant region.
And its existence casts doubt on searches for Planet 9.
https://www.ias.edu/news/extreme-cousin-pluto-possible-dwarf-planet-discovered-solar-systems-edge #space #science #nature #astronomy
My niece, almost 2, showed me a couple of her books today. 😁
My sister and her husband are definitely raising a nerdling!
The qubits were represented by rainbow-coloured large dots, so she flipped through the pages, pointed at them in turn, and said: "Ball! Ball! Ball!" 😊
Edited 249d ago
The light beyond sight
Only a tiny sliver of the Universe’s light can be seen by human eyes. But today we’re catching glimpses of the invisible
By Corey S Powell
Herschel at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=william+herschel
#PPOD: JWST's NIRCam captured this picture of the surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa. JWST identified carbon dioxide on the icy surface of Europa, which likely originated in the moon’s subsurface ocean. This discovery has important implications for the potential habitability of Europa’s ocean. The moon appears blue primarily because it is brighter at shorter infrared wavelengths. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, G. Villanueva (NASA/GSFC), S. Trumbo (Cornell Univ.), A. Pagan (STScI)
#PNW #Washington #NLC #Clouds #Night #WaWx #Nature #Photo #PhotoOfTheDay #Astronomy #Space #SpaceWeather #Science #sciencemastodon
Edited 239d ago
Shattered Science: The Research Lost as Trump Targets NIH Funding
—
The Trump administration cut research funding that sought cures for future pandemics, examined the causes of dementia and tried to prevent HIV transmission. ProPublica heard from more than 150 researchers to understand the work that’s been lost.
https://projects.propublica.org/nih-cuts-research-lost-trump/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #NIH #Trump #Science #Research #Health #PublicHealth #Medicine
If you haven't muted me yet, here's a debunking of John Bell's "Heart attacks in Lille and Lyon".
Bell tells us the same logic applies to heart attack rates in Lille and Lyon as does to EPR-B, so he can ignore the rules of probability theory. Because, he says, neither city's causal influences can AFFECT the other's.
Note we are writing PROBABILITY THEORY. What can AFFECT does not matter—it is what is CORRELATED that matters!
So a counterexample is trivial to make...
Edited 234d ago
James Hutton (1726–1797), father of modern geology, was born #OTD, 14 June (NS; 3 June OS). One of the first European proponents of “deep time”, the conclusion of his 1788 paper “Theory of the Earth” has been called one of the most lyrical sentences in all of science:
The result, therefore, of our present enquiry is, that we find no vestige of a beginning,—no prospect of an end.
1/3
https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/2808
#Scottish #literature #Enlightenment #18thcentury #DeepTime #science #geology
The American Public Health Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and several other major medical organizations are suing U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy over vaccines. Also listed as a plaintiff is an anonymous pregnant woman who lives in Massachusetts, where the suit was filed, and who says she was unable to get a COVID-19 vaccination after Kennedy changed the recommendations. Dr. Jason Goldman, president of the American College of Physicians, which is also involved with the suit, said during a briefing on the matter that adults who come to his practice are “hesitant” about vaccines. “They are not trusting the system anymore, and this is a direct impact on the health of our patients, because if they don’t get vaccinated, they can get sicker, they can end up hospitalized or even die."
#Health #Medicine #Science #Vaccines #RFKJr. #RobertFKennedy #HealthSecretary #COVID
It's been a while since I first introduced myself here, so thought I'd post an up to date #Introduction.
48 year old with he/him pronouns living in #Manchester in #England. Proud father of two great kids.
A bit of a #Science geek, concerned about #ClimateChange.
Hates fascism and bigotry, and frequently screams into the void exasperated about the global lurch to the right, #NewsTooter
Keen #Cyclist. Enjoys watching #Cricket. Interested in #History.
Feel free to say hello!
PRESS RELEASE: https://www.seti.org/press-release/unusual-stellar-nurseries-near-our-galaxys-center-puzzle-scientists
New research led by Dr. James De Buizer at the SETI Institute and Dr. Wanggi Lim at IPAC at Caltech revealed that, although the central part of our Galaxy has a much higher density of star-forming material than the rest of the Milky Way, in the Galactic Center, the current rate of formation of massive stars (those larger than 8 times the mass of our Sun) appears to be lower compared to the rest of the Galaxy.
Today, *every* living prior leader of NASA's science directorate have released a joint letter condemning the proposed cuts to NASA science. These individuals every administration from Reagan to Biden, and all believe these cuts are insanely destructive.
Link: https://www.planetary.org/press-releases/nasa-science-chiefs-letter-press-release
#RFKJr Is Barely Even Pretending Anymor
America’s #AntiVaccine era is truly beginning.
#Trump #ConspiracyTheories #medicine #science #PublicHealth #policy #regulations #law #USpol
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2025/06/cdc-acip-anti-vaccine-rfk/683156/?gift=guxsrl_dAdXUP9zqbQPWxaLwqNRbI7I4IbkkdBen8-0
The world is getting hotter – this is what it is doing to our brains
"As heatwaves become more intense with climate change, scientists are racing to understand how extreme heat changes the way our brains work."
by Theres Lüthi
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250731-how-heatwaves-affect-our-brains?ocid=global_future_rss
An amateur astronomer may have just spotted the first known comet (or asteroid) impact on Saturn.
We've seen impact flashes on the Moon & Jupiter, but this would be by far the most distant one yet observed. 🧪🔭
https://earthsky.org/space/did-space-rock-hit-saturn-photo/ #space #science #nature #astronomy
Talking with Machines: Computer Programming as Language
The proliferation of different types of computing machines in the 1950s enabled—or perhaps forced—the creation of programming languages.
By: Danny Robb
A climate scientist in Texas writes about the devastating Texas floods: “Climate change isn’t creating new risks: rather, it’s amplifying existing ones.” Read more from @time:
NEW ESSAY: rather than reading the legalese #SCOTUS used to justify #Skrmetti, learn about how conspiracy theorists hijacked mainstream discourse on gender-affirming care, and why many ppl find these particular "conspiracies" so compelling:
on Substack (no paywall): https://juliaserano.substack.com/p/what-covid-lab-leak-and-rushing-kids
& Medium (friend link): https://juliaserano.medium.com/what-covid-lab-leak-and-rushing-kids-into-transition-have-in-common-2eb4e08ee3f4?sk=c866d22b9e29cc428fd73e02abba9881
please share & like etc! #trans #transgender #LGBTQ #lgbtqia #science #healthcare
In a recent #SETILive episode hosted by Beth Johnson, Dr. Ben Tutolo, an associate professor at the University of Calgary and a participating scientist on NASA's Curiosity Rover team, unveiled how an unassuming iron carbonate - siderite - is the key to unlocking #Mars's atmospheric secrets.
Learn more: https://www.seti.org/marss-ancient-carbon-cycle-how-rocks-mars-tell-story-vanishing-climate
You may think the future will exist in the intangible online world, but try using apps without a computer. We look at the crucial materials needed to build the physical world and consider the price of extracting them. It’s “Lithium Valley” on Big Picture Science.
Listen here: https://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/lithium-valley
#PPOD: This Magellan full-resolution mosaic shows an area 160 kilometers by 250 kilometers in the Eistla region of Venus. The prominent circular features are volcanic domes, 65 kilometers in diameter, with broad, flat tops less than one kilometer in height. Sometimes called 'pancake' domes, they represent a unique category of volcanic extrusions on Venus formed from viscous (sticky) lava. Credit: NASA/JPL
Next #SETILive: Could Aliens See Us?
TODAY, Thursday, Jun 12, 2025 2:30 PM PDT / 5:30 PM PDT
Join senior planetary astronomer Dr. Franck Marchis for a fascinating conversation with Dr. Jacob Haqq-Misra, astrobiologist and lead author of a groundbreaking study exploring 10 possible futures for Earth’s technosphere—the global network of our technologies—and what these futures mean for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).
WATCH LIVE: https://youtube.com/live/aOs7WU8Gd4c
