Where the dark matter hides.
Caltech says that, thanks to an NSF grant, they’ve found where all the dark matter has been hiding. That’s up to 50 percent of matter in the universe, the stuff that doesn’t… Read the rest “Where the dark matter hides.”
Month: July 2025
Massive study finds the lifestyle to keep your brain young.
NPR reports on a study of 2,100 ordinary, not super fit people in their 60s and 70s who spent two years on an intensive regimen of diet, exercise, socializing, and brain training, and found… Read the rest “Massive study finds the lifestyle to keep your brain young.”
Dragon? Or weasel?
OK, not weasel but marten – which is close enough. Asahi Shimbun writes on the identity of a dragon mummy known as a Koryu held in the Shosoin Repository being finally revealed by X-ray… Read the rest “Dragon? Or weasel?”
Science Art: A four stage sequential game with a foresight bound, Marco Mantovani
This is a game theory diagram from the paper, “Limited backward induction: foresight and behavior in sequential games,” though I found it on Wikimedia Commons.
It’s… Read the rest “Science Art: A four stage sequential game with a foresight bound, Marco Mantovani”
SONG: Something’s Knocking on the Door
SONG: “Something’s Knocking on the Door”. (OGG version here.)
ARTIST: grant.
SOURCE: Based on “China’s Bold Plan Unveiled: A Deep-Sea Space Station 6560 Feet… Read the rest “SONG: Something’s Knocking on the Door”
Science Art: A New Hummingbird From Ecuador, 1926
From the pages of the November-December 1926 issue of Natural History magazine (found on archive.org) flies “The Aethereal Sylph (Cyanolesbia coelestis aetherius Chapman)”.… Read the rest “Science Art: A New Hummingbird From Ecuador, 1926”
Salt Typhoon (probably) has peeked into all sorts of U.S. gov’t computers.
IT Pro echoes the warning of cybersecurity professionals that, since the Pentagon reported on China’s Salt Typhoon group broaching a U.S. National Guard system, we should assume… Read the rest “Salt Typhoon (probably) has peeked into all sorts of U.S. gov’t computers.”
A self-healing rechargeable battery made of cheap elements.
Ars Technica reports on a new sort of cathode that’s made of materials that are abundant (therefore cheap), that store electrons and let them move rapidly (so it’s a good conductor),… Read the rest “A self-healing rechargeable battery made of cheap elements.”
Science Art: The “Rotterdam Ship” was one of the earliest submarines…, 1934
This image is actually much older than 1934; it’s just that that is when William Beebe published it (courtesy of the New York Public Library) in his book Half Mile Down, which is both… Read the rest “Science Art: The “Rotterdam Ship” was one of the earliest submarines…, 1934”
Hungry caterpillars eat plastic pollution
IFL Science introduces us to “plastivores” — a species of waxworm caterpillars (often thought of as beehive pests) that get fat gorging themselves on plastic waste… Read the rest “Hungry caterpillars eat plastic pollution”
Shrooms ease cancer-patient depression for two years.
Science Daily looks at an American Cancer Society study that found psilocybin mushrooms can help lift depression symptoms in cancer patients for as long as two years after a single psychedelic… Read the rest “Shrooms ease cancer-patient depression for two years.”
Why fund weird science.
American Scientist provides a spirited defense against funding cuts for research into oddball subjects … by listing a lot of strange projects that suddenly led to world-changing… Read the rest “Why fund weird science.”
Looking Denisovans in the face for the first time.
Cell reconstructs a prehistoric face, thanks to DNA analysis of an unusual skull that proved to be the first-known skull of a Denisovan, the other prehistoric human besides Neanderthals… Read the rest “Looking Denisovans in the face for the first time.”
Science Art: Cyamus boopis, Lütken, 1895.
Cyamis boopis is one of the cyamidae better known as a whale louse.
This particular species is from Scandinavia, as illustrated in the book An account of the Crustacea of Norway, with short… Read the rest “Science Art: Cyamus boopis, Lütken, 1895.”
USDA finds what caused America’s biggest bee die-off.
Science shares research that identifies a massive killer of honeybees — a virus that’s carried by pesticide-resistant mites:
… Read the rest “USDA finds what caused America’s biggest bee die-off.”U.S. beekeepers had a disastrous winter. Between