Well, at least these probably didn't float around and land on you.
This Arachnid in Illinois Had Armored Spikes on Its 8 Legs - The new species is too strange to be assigned a category, by Olivia Young May 30, 2024
"...“This is the big question,” says Jason Dunlop, co-author of the study. “The new fossil resembles some (but not all) living harvestmen”—aka daddy longlegs—“with spiny legs, and has some vague similarities to mites,” although he says its body is much bigger. The segmentation pattern and slight constriction between the head area and abdomen suggest that it may belong in a group with whip spiders and whip scorpions, “but unfortunately we can’t see the mouthparts, which would help us to confirm this hypothesis.”
So, maybe giant biting mites, possibly poisonous (ala daddy longlegs). Sounds fun [not].
Plate Tectonics Has a Surprise Silver Lining - Without this restless geologic process, which triggers destructive earthquakes, Earth would not be habitable, by Robin George Andrews May 29, 2024
"...on geologic timescales, plate tectonics ensures that Earth won’t grow so catastrophically hot that its surface becomes unlivable. Without plate tectonics, Earth would turn into Venus. And no planet aspires to be more like Venus.
...And, had it not been for—among other things—our world’s endlessly shifting tectonic plates, Earth could have shared the same grim fate as Venus.
Yes, those tectonic plates buckle and stretch, slip and slide, creating faults that jolt and snap, which generate earthquakes—sometimes devastatingly so. But these tremors are the vital sign of a planet with a beating geologic heart, an orb with a transmogrifying face..."
[I immediately thought of Calvin and Hobbes here, lol.]
Step back! The #MAGAts are doing #science! LMFAO 🤣 Grand juries comprised of #Florida citizens don't determine scientific #truth. That's not their job, and they are utterly lacking in the requisite knowledge, education, and expertise to evaluate scientific claims. And these are the same people who don't believe the NY grand jury is capable of returning an indictment on #Trump. But, I guess this is how dem Florida MAGAts do the science and book learnin'!
This seems to be being handled very badly. Denial and apparent coverup serve to spark rumours, hysteria and conspiracy theories.
The source is a well known, respected scientist. And the population is not large, 200 cases in in 2012. Compare it with possibly similar prion based diseases.
#PPOD: This scene is a mosaic of two Right Mastcam-Z camera images taken by NASA's Perseverance rover on 27 May 2024 at a local time of 3:15 pm. The color approximates natural human vision. Most boulders are largely basaltic, with evidence of being rounded by wind. We can't wait to learn the composition of the lighter-toned one in the middle of the scene, though, as it appears to be something different. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Paul Byrne
1/4 "All those protoplanetary discs will be lost, like tears in a rain of ultraviolet photons."
Ok, it doesn't sound as cool as the actual quote, but still 😉
This tear-shaped object is a protoplanetary disc –the birthplace of planets around another star– observed with ESO's Very Large Telescope. Material from the disc is being stripped away by a bright star beyond the upper-right corner, outside of the field of view, hence this cometary shape.
'Damage to knee cartilage and bone can limit mobility and cause chronic pain. Now, researchers have developed an off-the-shelf synthetic ‘plug’ that heals the joint and could be an alternative to current treatments like total knee replacement surgery'
This week's Featured Links post has links to articles about how an update to the Drake equation suggests we may be alone in the galaxy, how Hispanics in South Florida are fighting disinformation, will Musk's Starlink satellites lead to Kessler syndrome, and more.
Opus caementicium, also known as Roman concrete, was an ultradurable building material used in the construction of countless monumental buildings that survived extremely harsh conditions for thousands of years. What was the Romans' secret? Heritage Daily has more: https://flip.it/ay8Q9N #Science#Construction#Concrete#RomanEmpire
Right: A kid from a local high school got in touch with me over LinkedIn--they are starting a neuroscience club, and wanted to talk about neuroimaging, and any other advice for the club.
Anyone out there know anything about running a neuroscience club in high school, want to weigh in with advice? Now's the time!
I can tell them about neuroimaging research and academic life etc. but other than that I'm a blank.
Guglielmo Marconi applies for a patent for his wireless telegraph.
On 13 May 1897, Marconi sent the first ever wireless communication over open sea – a message was transmitted over the Bristol Channel from Flat Holm Island to Lavernock Point near Cardiff, a distance of 6 kilometres. The message read "Are you ready".