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4 Reasons To Let This Halloween Be A Treat For Kids

4 Reasons To Let This Halloween Be A Treat For Kids

Oct 29 2021 | comment(s)

Children have a higher tolerance for thrills than most parents believe.  In 1989, when Disney returned to form with "The Little Mermaid", Ursula was among the scariest villains ever. She got impaled by the mast of a ship. That didn't bother kids a bit.

It's more often parents that are overthinking this stuff. I am not saying you should hand your 6-year-old a "Saw" DVD but for the second consecutive year of the pandemic let's stop the usual apocalyptic worry about sugary treats plus the concern about COVID-19. They'll be okay on both counts. 

Here are 4 reasons why we as a society need to dial it down on Sunday, and maybe every day after that.

CW Leonis: A Cosmic Eye Of Sauron For Halloween

CW Leonis: A Cosmic Eye Of Sauron For Halloween

Oct 28 2021 | comment(s)

If there is an Eye of Sauron in space, ot at least a Marvel villain like Apocalypse, it might look a lot like CW Leonis, roughly 400 light-years away in the constellation Leo.
MicroBooNE Finds No Hint Of Sterile Neutrino. Science Advances By What We Do Not Find Too.

MicroBooNE Finds No Hint Of Sterile Neutrino. Science Advances By What We Do Not Find Too.

Oct 27 2021 | comment(s)

MicroBooNE did not find the sterile neutrino which it was designed to instead it found the absence of the sterile neutrino. That too is finding something. In fundamental research sciences we learn both by what we find and do not find. To make a prediction and falsify it also advances science by eliminating possibilities. Gradually we can zero in on what is possible.

Understanding Quantum Primacy And How We Got There

Understanding Quantum Primacy And How We Got There

Oct 27 2021 | comment(s)

A quantum computer is a remarkable device. While, at current, it's still limited in its application, we now know that it can be faster than the fastest computers we currently have access to.
Ribosomes And Nuclear Pores: Researchers Film Fundamental Life Process

Ribosomes And Nuclear Pores: Researchers Film Fundamental Life Process

Oct 27 2021 | comment(s)

All proteins in a cell are assembled by complicated molecular machines. The cell nucleus is a kind of vault: It is located in the cell and guards the DNA, which contains the building instructions for all the cell's proteins. When the cell needs a protein for a specific task, it orders a transcript of the matching DNA segment in the nucleus. This copy leaves the nucleus and reaches the ribosomes, complex molecular machines. These then work through the instructions step by step to produce the desired protein.
Will Climate Change Also Change The Taste Of Coffee?

Will Climate Change Also Change The Taste Of Coffee?

Oct 26 2021 | comment(s)

Did french fries taste better when they were cooked in fat? How about Coca-Cola when it was made with cane sugar or Fritos when they were salty?

People will insist they can tell the difference and they probably can, but sales show that different is not worse. Today, adults are nostalgic about the stuff that older people say is no good.

What about the taste of coffee? It is entirely subjective. Dark roast or light, Arabica or Robusta, you like what you like. What if what you like changes?

A new paper seeks to sound the climate change around using coffee growing conditions. 
Cheap Space Flight Can Lead To Clean Space Based Solar Power. So Why Do Environmentalist Oppose Space Science?

Cheap Space Flight Can Lead To Clean Space Based Solar Power. So Why Do Environmentalist Oppose Space Science?

Oct 26 2021 | comment(s)

Generating energy from solar power satellites in space is the long-term final solution to the energy needs of humanity. Cheap easy access to space is crucial for this. In fact, we live at an important time where if we do not use the energy, we have wisely we may squander this chance. If we used all the energy resources available on Earth alone we could only put into orbit a mass equal to that of Mt Everest. After that we are trapped here. Environmentalist claim, as always, that a big project will poison the water and make an animal endangered. They claim this though multiple environmental studies have shown this to be false.

Sri Lanka Has Abandoned Its Ill-Informed Organic Only Law

Sri Lanka Has Abandoned Its Ill-Informed Organic Only Law

Oct 25 2021 | comment(s)

It's great for alternative energy groups to tout how much more solar and wind there is than 10 years ago, and how if some cosmic curve of installations continues indefinitely, fossil fuels and nuclear power will go extinct - but in the real world, where California has to jettison emissions standards and Germany has to go under the control of Russia to prevent blackouts, a world where everyone pays a fortune to get rationed energy is bleak.
Climate Tipping Points From The Past Can Help Better Predict What May Happen Next

Climate Tipping Points From The Past Can Help Better Predict What May Happen Next

Oct 25 2021 | comment(s)

A tipping point in climate computer estimates is a threshold where large and perhaps irreversible changes occur. Some estimates are silly, 20 foot ocean rises, etc., but without data from recent times it is hard to make models more reliable. There was a period of high warming nearly 1,100 years ago and in 10,000 B.C. we were still in an ice age, but with only accurate temperature readings for the last 40 years, and formal observation at all only done for the last 150 years, the only way for climate models of the future to be calibrated is to 'predict the past.'
Literal Touch Screens Let You Feel Before You Buy

Literal Touch Screens Let You Feel Before You Buy

Oct 25 2021 | comment(s)

A research team is working to better define how the finger interacts with a device to create technology that goes beyond sensing and reacting to touch - they want the ability to mimic the feeling of physical objects.

Like virtual shopping experience that would let the user feel the texture of materials before purchasing them. And that's actually better for us in many ways.
Prop Guns And Movie Sets: We Are Filmmakers Who Work With Firearms And This Is What Is Important For Safety

Prop Guns And Movie Sets: We Are Filmmakers Who Work With Firearms And This Is What Is Important For Safety

Oct 22 2021 | comment(s)

In a horrendous accident, a cinematographer has died and a director has been injured after Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun while filming in New Mexico.

When shooting a film with guns, there are many choices to make: each prop needs to be appropriate for the character, and appropriate for the scene. There is also the choice of whether you will use replica weapons, real weapons, or a mix.

But most importantly, everyone on set needs to know how to work alongside guns.

What Would The Effects Be Of A Major Solar Storm? Short Term Local Power Cuts For Hours - Not Widespread Blackout For Months

What Would The Effects Be Of A Major Solar Storm? Short Term Local Power Cuts For Hours - Not Widespread Blackout For Months

Oct 20 2021 | comment(s)

From time to time we get larger solar storms. One of the last major ones was the one in March 1989 geomagnetic storm which caused a nine hour power cut in Quebec. That happened because they weren’t prepared for it. Modern power supplies are hardened against this, making such events much less likely.

There were earlier studies suggesting widespread damage to transformers which could cause months to years to repair, widespread power supply problems that would take a long time to resolve, and trillions of dollars of damage, so a large economic impact.

No COP26 Would NOT Fail If USA Removes Climate Measures From Reconciliation Bill - COP26 And Paris Agreement Is Already A Succes

No COP26 Would NOT Fail If USA Removes Climate Measures From Reconciliation Bill - COP26 And Paris Agreement Is Already A Succes

Oct 20 2021 | comment(s)

This is for people who worry that the Democrats in the USA will never come to agreement on their climate policies. It’s tough work for them, because they have to get agreement of 50 senators, even one abstention and they will lose the vote.

IMHO this is also a strength- the bill is getting intense scrutiny. Everyone’s concerns need to be listened to. Joe Manchin seems genuine and he represents centrist politicians in the USA - a bill is more likely to work if he is behind it too.

How To Motivate Your Self, And Others To Act On Climate Change, Biodiversity Or Anything Else - Tips From Psychology

How To Motivate Your Self, And Others To Act On Climate Change, Biodiversity Or Anything Else - Tips From Psychology

Oct 20 2021 | comment(s)

How to motivate your self, and others to act on climate change, biodiversity or anything else - tips from psychology

This talk may help you if you are thinking about how to motivate both yourself and others, and also governments, to act on climate change, biodiversity loss or indeed anything. The way you might do it instinctively, to focus on all the negatives that need to be fixed, is actually not the best approach. Psychologists call this negative framing.

Psychology says, in order to create engagement, we should present, on balance, three positive or supportive framings for each climate threat we mention.

Epsen Stokes, 8:49 into this video.

Yet Another Over-Hyped Study Alleging Phthalates As The Cause Of All Human Misery

Yet Another Over-Hyped Study Alleging Phthalates As The Cause Of All Human Misery

Oct 20 2021 | comment(s)

I’ve written in the past about the tendency of some researchers to compensate for weak study design or small sample size by over-hyping their research findings, particularly with the news media.

More Than Chromosomes: The Genetic Cause Of Transgender Identity. A Sincerely Held Religion Like Belief

More Than Chromosomes: The Genetic Cause Of Transgender Identity. A Sincerely Held Religion Like Belief

Oct 19 2021 | comment(s)

Multiple studies have shown that to be transgender is not simply a matter of choice, or a sense of identity like religion. An aspect of a person which our laws rightly protect. Indeed, a sincerely held belief religious or not should be as protected as worship or speech in a free country. However, we live in a time of science and the science on transgender identity is clear. Being trans is in fact much more like being born with a certain skin, hair, or eye color than a choice or belief. In this brief report we will look at the results from published meta-analyses of the literature on the interaction between sex hormones and hormone receptor genes in transgender people. Most of the literature focuses on transgender women, as we are the most controversial.

Only 7% of Americans Trust Media. Katie Couric Is A Symptom, Not The Disease

Only 7% of Americans Trust Media. Katie Couric Is A Symptom, Not The Disease

Oct 19 2021 | comment(s)

Katie Couric recently revealed that she cut some comments by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who said in an interview that she thought kneeling during the national anthem was wrong, because she ‘wanted to protect’ her. Couric said she felt racial justice was a ‘blind spot’ for RBG so she was doing her a favor.
You Can Soon Own Darwin's Microscope

You Can Soon Own Darwin's Microscope

Oct 18 2021 | comment(s)

In 1864, Charles Darwin gave a microscope (designed by Charles Gould for the firm Cary) to his 14-year-old son Leonard. Leonard died in 1943 but it stayed in the family - and now it is going up for auction; the only one ever offered to the public.

Other microscopes he owned are still at Charles Darwin’s family home, Down House, and the Whipple Museum.

Of this one, Darwin once wrote in a letter to his eldest son, ‘Lenny was dissecting under my microscope and he turned round very gravely and said “don’t you think, papa, that I shall be very glad of this all my future life”.’


Science Journalists Are Optimistic About Their Field

Science Journalists Are Optimistic About Their Field

Oct 18 2021 | comment(s)

Recent survey results by SciDev.Net/CABI reveal that the majority of science journalists (633 respondents from 77 countries) believe that the field is not consolidating the way some other mainstream/legacy journalism specialties are.