Scientists may have found a way to make biodegradable plastic from algae, a development that could potentially diminish the harmful effects of microplastics that linger for thousands of years. ABC News reports: https://flip.it/mizbsY #Science#Plastics#Environment
Van De Graaff (VDG) Generator kit - V2 - 150mm - 40,000V of sparky fun.
The 150mm Van De Graaff kit is designed for kids (or adults) to learn about "static" electricity by actually building a working device. A small High voltage generator that will achieve 30,000 to 40,000 volts of "static" electricity. The 150mm van De Graaff generator is a complete Van de Graaff system, comprising of a Polished Stainless Steel Dome, a high speed motor, dissimil... Read More #kits#makers#stem#science
This week on #SETILive, communications specialist Beth Johnson chatted with Dr. Tom Esposito, SETI researcher and Lead of the Unistellar Cosmic Cataclysms program, about the impending nova of T Coronae Borealis and the scientific efforts to catch it!
Do any of you do video editing ... perhaps for a podcast or maybe personal home videos? If so, what is the best, most easily used video editing software out there?
I don't need all the bells & whistles, but will need features like splicing video segments (from diff't sources) together, some nice (not over the top) transitions, ease of use, & good quality end results.
An interesting article on the time line of the universe.
The Universe passed through many epochs, from free quarks and gluons to stable protons and neutrons to neutral atoms to stars, galaxies, planets, and more. The precise time at which these various epochs occurred, including the (current) dark energy-dominated era, can be pinpointed with precision. Here’s how we know.
I’m going to do a longer video/newsletter on this Monday but here is why you might have been seeing the Northern Lights yesterday (and if you’ll see them again this weekend)
American astronomer Walter Sydney Adams died #OTD in 1956.
One of Adams' most notable achievements was his collaboration with the astronomer Theodore Dunham, Jr., in the early 20th century. Together, they developed a method for measuring the radial velocities of stars using spectroscopy, which involves analyzing the light emitted or absorbed by celestial objects. This method allowed them to determine the speed at which stars were moving toward or away from Earth.
Foreskin Morbidity in Uncircumcised Males
Sneppen and Thorup, Pediatrics 2016
"In our patient population, we found that 7.2% (95% CI 3.4–11.0) were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as a concomitant disease (Table 3). A recent Danish study calculated the prevalence of ASD in Denmark to be 1.5% among boys."
Association found between ASD and childhood penile surgeries. This is reference 1, next toot has #2.
Ritual circumcision and risk of autism spectrum disorder in 0- to 9-year-old boys: national cohort study in Denmark
Frisch & Simonsen, 2015 J. R. Soc. Med.
"We confirmed our hypothesis that boys who undergo ritual circumcision may run a greater risk of developing ASD. This finding, and the unexpected observation of an increased risk of hyperactivity disorder among circumcised boys in non-Muslim families, need attention"
Two different research groups have now found a relationship between early childhood penile surgeries and autism spectrum disorder. The two different studies had different goals, different recruitment approaches, different study variables, and yet the relationship between ASD and circumcision remains quite striking!
For boys undegoing penile genital cutting before age five, the risk of ASD is even higher.
You already know not to take an AI chatbot seriously. But there may be reason to be even more cautious. New research has found that many AI systems have already started to deliberately present human users with false information. Science Alert explains why "AI developers do not have a confident understanding of what causes undesirable AI behaviors like deception.” https://flip.it/ZbnJtj #Science#AI#ArtificialIntelligence#Chatbot#Tech
Complementary and Disparate: Conceptualising Female and Male Genital Cutting in Northern Tanzania
Mary-Anne Victoria Decatur, PhD dissertation, U of London 2023.
Yes, I do read your dissertations!
"It is the normal, functioning cells of all foreskins that are deemed dangerous. And yet it is specifically Black male bodies that are being constructed as promiscuous sources of infection in need of medical intervention."
Small but mighty, plankton are some of the most powerful creatures on Earth.
For @TheConversationUS, a marine conservationist writes: "Plankton are critical to marine ecosystems and to humans, but often glide under the radar of our interest."
Quand l'intelligence artificielle fait progresser la #neurostimulation | Découverte
Réparer des fonctions endommagées du #cerveau, voilà la promesse de la neurostimulation. Cette méthode utilise des courants électriques pour guider le fonctionnement des #neurones et elle a déjà permis de grandes avancées. L'immense complexité de cette approche l’empêche toutefois d’atteindre son plein potentiel...
Epic NASA video takes you to the heart of a black hole — and destroys you in seconds By Stephanie Pappas
published 5/7/24
"...Researchers created the new simulation using the Discover supercomputer at the NASA Center for Climate Simulation. It shows a viewer plunging through the accretion disk of glowing gas around a supermassive black hole like the one at the center of the Milky Way. The viewer cartwheels through the plunge, passing ghostly racetracks of light particles that have orbited the black hole multiple times, finally hitting the point of no return: the event horizon, where nothing, not even light, can escape..."