uspol
science
Scientists Have Just Successfully Grown Chickpeas In Simulated Moon Dirt For The First Time Using Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi To Absorb Nutrients And Water.
Edited 187d ago
It's strange and frustrating that most AI researchers don't seem interested in natural intelligence.
In the early days, when "neural networks" were seen as models of brains, many people seemed at least superficially interested in neuroscience. It's not like that now. I'm sure some folks would say "yeah, and aerospace engineers don't worry about bird flight, either!" but that feels wrong to me.
If all you care about is moving cargo, then sure, flight is solved, and who cares if our designs are "biologically realistic". Similarly, if all you care about is recognizing images, playing video games, and generating slop, then AI is solved. We'll just make the current solutions better.
But I think we've barely scratched the surface of what intelligence actually is! Current AI is so narrow and so shallow by comparison, yet I think people don't even notice that because they haven't actually thought about how intelligent living things are, and in how many different ways!
I wonder whether the digital age has led to a decline in the use of atlases, which in turn might be expected to imbue a false sense of increasing objectivity as scientific practitioners of become less acquainted with analog methods.
#science #PhilosophyOfScience #objectivity #digital
#science #PhilosophyOfScience #objectivity #digital
George Orwell called for a new way of thinking about science
In October 1945, George Orwell responded to a letter from Mr J. Stewart Cook in the leftwing weekly newspaper Tribune calling for more science education.
By Robert Colls
https://theconversation.com/george-orwell-called-for-a-new-way-of-thinking-about-science-274447
Science education at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=science+%2Beducation
SETI Institute In the News: January Roundup 2026
This month’s stories highlight how SETI Institute scientists combine rigorous analysis with curiosity, whether working alongside citizen astronomers, refining the identification of technosignatures, or improving the precision of radio observations that underpin both astrophysics and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
Read the full stories: https://www.seti.org/news/seti-institute-in-the-news-january-roundup-2026/
Under #Biden US national labs found themselves hamstrung by micromanagement, demands from the administration that resources be diverted away from #science while regulators repeatedly shut down programs much to the chagrin of our International partners.
It's been a breath of fresh air that the new administration has allowed us to actually get back to work. I don't even care if they know what they are doing, at least they are no longer interfering. Science is getting back on track now.
Regardless of everything else that #Trump might be getting into, and maybe it's just because he's just that incompetent, at least the US is getting back on track with its scientific endeavors. Our experiments are getting back up to speed after years of crippling bureaucracy, and we can start making progress again.
There's a lot to complain about with Trump, but I am very glad to see that the expectations for science are living up to what I'd hoped.
#PPOD: This very impressive, and little-known, image of a meandering squiggle of high-altitude clouds on Saturn was captured by the Cassini spacecraft on July 18, 2010. It almost looks like one of these fancy latte art designs! Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/CICLOPS/Jason Major
Largest complete dinosaur claw found in Gobi Desert
"Named Duonychus tsogtbaatari, the previously-unknown Cretaceous dinosaur had two-digit hands with lethal curved claws nearly a foot long."
https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/72808
Dinosaurs discovered in the past:
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Early bird tickets for The #DrakeAwards2025 are available!
You’re cordially invited to join the SETI Institute on May 20, 2025, for an unforgettable evening celebrating scientific discovery, innovation, and the search for life beyond Earth. Connect with pioneering researchers in #SETI, #astrobiology, and #space #science, enjoy a gala dinner and awards ceremony, and engage with the brightest minds in the field.
Act now! The Early Bird sale ends in five days!
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/drake-awards-2025-tickets-1251126907259
#OTD in 1930.
While studying photographs taken in January, Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto, making it by far the first known object in the Kuiper belt. It was immediately hailed as the ninth planet.
However, its planetary status was questioned when it was found to be much smaller than expected. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) formally redefined the term planet to exclude dwarf planets such as Pluto.
Si alguno conoce alguna data que muestre el experimento de Vicario (sobre desplazamiento acústico temporal) me avisa.
For the first time, scientists have detected the wind from a black hole.
New images show the supermassive one at the center of our galaxy is puffing away, clearing out a void about 20 trillion miles wide.
https://www.almaobservatory.org/en/press-releases/alma-finally-catches-the-milky-ways-black-hole-breathing/ #space #science #astronomy
On Wednesday, June 17, skywatchers in San Jose will have the opportunity to witness a rare celestial event: the waxing crescent Moon occulting Venus. During a lunar occultation, the Moon passes directly in front of a planet, causing it to disappear from view and then reappear later from behind the lunar limb. Venus is bright enough to be visible in daylight, making this one of the few planetary occultations that can be observed before sunset. The Moon will be a thin, 11%-illuminated waxing crescent. Venus will disappear behind the Moon’s dark limb and reappear near the bright, illuminated edge of the crescent Moon.
This is among the last favorable Venus occultations visible from North America until the end of the decade.
Where to look: Look almost due east at midday. The Moon will be high in the sky (at an altitude of roughly 33 degrees).
When to look: For San Jose, the event occurs in broad daylight:
11:35 am Venus disappears behind the Moon
12:10 pm Mid-occultation
12:46 pm Venus reappears from behind the Moon
Duration of occultation: 71 minutes
Crucial Safety Warning
Because this event occurs during the day, the Moon and Venus will be relatively close to the Sun in the sky. Never look directly at or point a telescope/binoculars near the Sun without specialized solar filters, as doing so can cause permanent blindness. Find a viewing spot in the shadow of a building or a tree to completely block out the Sun while keeping the Moon in view.
After sunset, the show continues. The crescent Moon and Venus will remain close together low in the western sky, with Jupiter and Mercury nearby, creating an attractive grouping.
Madness #AmericanAutocracy
‘Vaguely Threatening’: #Trump Federal Prosecutor #EdMartin Queries Leading #Medical Journal
The New England Journal of Medicine [#NEJM] received a letter suggesting that it was biased & compromised by external pressure. Other journals have also received the letter.
#law #censorship #FirstAmendment #Constitution #democracy #AbuseOfPower #authoritarianism #tyranny #dictatorship #AntiIntellectualism #science #medicine
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/25/health/nejm-prosecutor-letter.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=p&pvid=68CE025A-703F-4C94-87AA-8D0D7D06D23B
Recreating the smells of history
Using chemistry, archival records and AI, scientists are reviving the aromas of old libraries, mummies and battlefields
By Kaja Šeruga
Smells of history at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=smells+of+history
James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879) was born #OTD, 13 June. As a physicist, he ranks alongside Newton & Einstein (“He achieved greatness unequalled”—Max Planck; “I stand on the shoulders of Maxwell”—Albert Einstein).
Maxwell also wrote poetry: “Rigid Body Sings” is based on “Comin’ Through the Rye” by Robert Burns
#Scottish #literature #poetry #19thcentury #Victorian #Scots #Scotslanguage #Physics #science #physicist
Why Do Colors Matter in Our Lives?
"Have you ever wondered why certain colors were chosen in your favorite designs? In this piece, we uncover the science of colors and how they impact us psychologically."
https://www.thecollector.com/why-do-colors-matter-in-our-lives/
"Goethe's Theory of Colours" at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50572
Books by Jung at PG:
PRESS RELEASE: https://www.seti.org/press-release/seti-institute-honor-contributions-exoplanet-research-its-carl-sagan-center-directors-award
The SETI Institute will recognize Dr. Joseph Twicken, Senior Data Scientist at the SETI Institute, with its 2025 Carl Sagan Center (CSC) Director’s Award. The CSC Director's Award honors SETI Institute scientists for outstanding achievements in astrobiology, technology, and exploration of life in the universe.
This. I mean…. I can’t even….
#Trump: …I’ve been meeting w/heads of… #forest countries, call themselves forest, Austria & others... they say we're a forest nation. We live in forest…In one case you know they say our #trees are much more flammable than #California but we don’t have #ForestFires because we clean the floor. We sweep the floor….
#Idiocracy #kakistocracy #science #nature #FEMA #Interior #ForestManagement #forests #wildfires #Climate #ClimateCrisis #ClimateChange
I'm making a pilgrimage to 3 great observatories in Chile's Atacama desert (ALMA, CCAT, and the Simons Observatory). It's a trip I've dreamed about for years. Will try to post updates as I go.
Just getting there--from Santiago to Calama to San Pedro--is spectacular. Such raw geology.
Researchers Say They’ve Discovered “Unprecedented” New Color No One Has Ever Seen Before
By Regina Sienra
Original article:
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adu1052
Goethe's Theory of Colours at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50572
Running ‘Doom’ on E. coli cells… very, very slowly via @yashgarg https://lobste.rs/s/mjblex #games #science
https://www.popsci.com/science/doom-e-coli-cells/
"A scientist worthy of the name, above all a mathematician, experiences in his work the same impression as an artist; his pleasure is as great and of the same nature. "
~Henri Poincaré (29 April 1854 – 17 July 1912)
Poincaré at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/5958
Mercury is weird because of a 'hit-and-run' incident in its youth
Books about the planet Mercury at PG
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Mercury+%28planet%29&submit_search=Search
APPARENT MAGNITUDES OF THE SUN, AS SEEN FROM THE DIFFERENT PLANETS. - from the book "Letters on Astronomy" by Denison Olmsted (1855)
Edited 1y ago