The Guild of Scientific Troubadours

The Guild of Scientific Troubadours

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Science

The UK has powered up an unusual fusion reactor.

5 November 2020 grant 0

Science magazine takes us inside the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) Upgrade, an experimental fusion reactor which has been switched on after a 7-year build and revamping. Ultimately,… Read the rest “The UK has powered up an unusual fusion reactor.”

Scientific illustration of some rock-cutting equipment from the 1920s. Dieselpunk machinery.

Science Art: Close-up view of a rock cutter in the Everglades Drainage District, c. 1920

1 November 2020 grant 0

Scientific illustration of some rock-cutting equipment from the 1920s. Dieselpunk machinery.Click to embiggen

This is a machine for cutting through rock in a swamp. Or really, in a very broad, very shallow river – which is what the Everglades really is. The rock in question would… Read the rest “Science Art: Close-up view of a rock cutter in the Everglades Drainage District, c. 1920”

Birdies with the big, cute eyes are in the most danger from deforestation.

30 October 2020 grant 0

Science explains the odd irony behind the fact that the cutest birds – the ones gazing out at you with those big eyes – are also the ones in the most imminent danger from chopping… Read the rest “Birdies with the big, cute eyes are in the most danger from deforestation.”

Our spaceship just grabbed a piece of asteroid.

27 October 2020 grant 0

Science News celebrates a long-shot success in space, as NASA’s OSIRIS-REx probe is steered close enough to the asteroid Bennu to grab a piece to take home:

“The spacecraft did everything

… Read the rest “Our spaceship just grabbed a piece of asteroid.”
Scientific illustration of prehistoric fish from the Devonian period.

Science Art: Hyneria, by ABelov2014

25 October 2020 grant 0

Scientific illustration of prehistoric fish from the Devonian period. Click to embiggen
A scene from the Devonian period, before dinosaurs ever emerged to rumble the earth. This lobe-finned fish measured between 8 and 15 feet long, and swam in freshwater rivers… Read the rest “Science Art: Hyneria, by ABelov2014”

Tasmanian devils are being reintroduced to mainland Australia

22 October 2020 grant 0

CNN and other outlets are covering some good news about the cutest of marsupial carnivores. Tasmanian devils are doing well enough (and so is their erstwhile environment) that ecologists… Read the rest “Tasmanian devils are being reintroduced to mainland Australia”

Sonifications turn telescope images of deep space into music.

22 October 2020 grant 0

Science News listens to astronomical data in a way that’s helping vision-impaired people and scientists find new ways to understand what our deep-space telescopes are showing … Read the rest “Sonifications turn telescope images of deep space into music.”

Scientific illustration of a space shuttle satellite payload from NASA's Technical Reports Server

Science Art: Astro-2 Observavory in STS-67 Payload Bay, 1995

18 October 2020 grant 0

Scientific illustration of a space shuttle satellite payload from NASA's Technical Reports Server

A space telescope inside a space shuttle, from the STS-67 mission.

The mission summary, from archive.org, is:

The Space Shuttle Endeavor, scheduled to launch March 2, 1995 from NASA’s

… Read the rest “Science Art: Astro-2 Observavory in STS-67 Payload Bay, 1995”

New superconductor has zero resistance at room temperature. With one catch….

16 October 2020 grant 0

New Scientist reports on a new material that conducts electricity with no resistance whatsoever at room temperature – something electronics and electrical engineers have been… Read the rest “New superconductor has zero resistance at room temperature. With one catch….”

Why do female moles grow testicles?

14 October 2020 grant 0

LiveScience answers that question: because a female mole’s underground life is brutal:

Just like a more typical mammalian ovary, ovotestes nurture and release eggs for fertilization.

… Read the rest “Why do female moles grow testicles?”
Scientific illustration of a dirigible hunt, a cartoon of balloons and zeppelins and blimps all aiming at a flock of birds in midair

Science Art: Chasse à courre en dirigeable, by Albert Guillaume.

11 October 2020 grant 0

Scientific illustration of a dirigible hunt, a cartoon of balloons and zeppelins and blimps all aiming at a flock of birds in midairClick to embiggen

This is a cartoon inspired by “the experiences of Santos-Dumont,” the famed Brazilian-born aviator who maybe might have kind of sort of had a powered flight… Read the rest “Science Art: Chasse à courre en dirigeable, by Albert Guillaume.”

Nobel CRISPR research as a sporting competition – or a war.

9 October 2020 grant 0

Defector, a media outlet I’m rooting for, basically came to be when a bunch of Deadspin staffers refused to follow the corporate edict, “Stick to sports.” Well, they’re… Read the rest “Nobel CRISPR research as a sporting competition – or a war.”

Using DNA to take snapshots of cells

7 October 2020 grant 0

Science magazine takes focus on a new form of microscopy, using DNA like a microscope to look inside cells:

To make the DNA microscope, postdoc Joshua Weinstein of the Broad Institute of

… Read the rest “Using DNA to take snapshots of cells”

Spaceport Cornwall?

6 October 2020 grant 0

In some ways, Cornwall seems to me like Britain’s Florida – a peninsula that juts into the Gulf Stream, with water warm enough that they’ve got populations of palm trees… Read the rest “Spaceport Cornwall?”

Light-loving algae survive, trapped under dark Arctic ice.

6 October 2020 grant 0

Science News plunges into the dark, icy depths to discover how it is that phytoplankton, which convert sunlight to energy, survive and even thrive under the ice in the long, lightless Arctic… Read the rest “Light-loving algae survive, trapped under dark Arctic ice.”

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Honorary Troubadours
  • Jonathan Coulton, Contributing Troubadour for Popular Science.
  • Laura Veirs, who knows her way around a polysyllable.
  • Thomas Dolby, godfather of scientific pop.
  • Squeaky, fact-based rock about fusion containment & rocket science.
  • Cosmos II, a.k.a. Boston University astronomer Alan Marscher.
  • Dr. Fiorella Terenzi, astrophysicist who makes music from cosmic radio sources.
  • Dr. Jim Webb, astronomy professor and acoustic guitarist.
  • Artichoke, the band behind 26 Scientists, Vols. I and II.
  • They Might Be Giants, unrelenting proponents of scientific popular song.
  • Symphonies of Science, the people who make Carl Sagan and others sing.
  • Giant Squid, doom metal about the sublime horrors of marine biology.
  • Gethan Dick,6 scientists, 6 musicians, 1 great album
Related Projects
  • Squid Pro Crow
  • Grant Bandcamp
  • Grant Soundcloud
  • Penitential Originals Playlist
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"Is it a fact—or have I dreamt it—that, by means of electricity, the world of matter has become a great nerve, vibrating thousands of miles in a breathless point of time?"
— Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables, 1851

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