Sunspots 989

 

Things that I have spotted that may be of interest to others:

Gizmodo reports that spending too much time reading or scrolling while defecating increases your likelihood of getting hemorrhoids. 

Gizmodo also reports that some ant queens are capable of producing offspring of a different species.

Politico reports that Artificial Intelligence war games have a disturbing tendency to escalate into global war.

Biologos points out that several of the most important Christian thinkers of the past did not believe that the Genesis 1-2 were to be taken as describing literal 24 hour days, in sequence.   These thinkers included Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and B..B. Warlield.

Ken Schenck discusses the concept of creation out of nothing, and concludes that our current understanding of that idea has not existed (!) until recently.

Politico says that Apple is making a forthcoming artificial intelligence ability so that it's more likely to please Donald Trump.

Nature reports that scientists are discussing the possibility of producing "mirror life," organisms made from  molecules that are mirror images of those naturally occurring in living things.

Today is "square root day" -  9 + 16 = 25.

Thanks for reading!

Sunspots 901

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*:

Christianity: Christianity Today tells us about the faith of the late Queen Elizabeth.

Computing: NPR explains why social media is likely to polarize our opinions more and more.

Finances: A Conversation writer gives some tips on evaluating charities before contributing to them.

Science: A Conversation writer discusses the ability of ants to walk straight up a wall.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 802

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: A Christianity Today writer argues that telling churches to close, because of COVID, is not persecution..

Ethics: The Daily Mail reports that one of the medications administered to President Trump was developed from an aborted fetus. The company does not consider the product to be from an aborted fetus. ScienceMag, an important scientific journal explains further, and says that aborted fetal cells were not used. Gizmodo discusses the situation. It's complicated.

Health: Gizmodo reports on studies about how long the COVID virus lasts, on device screens. Too long.

Politics: The Washington Post has what appears to be an accurate and unbiased page on where Trump and Biden stand on several issues.

FiveThirtyEight reports that nobody really knows why crime becomes more, or less, common.

FiveThirtyEight also discusses how the reputation of the Supreme Court has dropped in recent years.

Science: Gizmodo reports that a couple of dozen planets, orbiting other stars, seem to be well suited for life.

Gizmodo also reports on a water-loving species of mouse from Africa.

Gizmodo also reports that the US Department of Agriculture killed over a million wild animals last year.

Gizmodo also reports on a poisonous caterpillar, found in Virginia.

And Gizmodo reports on tool use by ants.

Science Alert reports on evidence that the artery structure in our arms is evolving.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking!

 

Sunspots 674

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: Relevant cites polls which show that most people in the US, who claim to be Christians, don't read the Bible.

Relevant talks to the head of the Evangelical Environment Network, who has some suggestions as to how to get Christians to see that climate change is real, and is potentially disastrous.

History: FiveThirtyEight considers the questions: "who built the first house?" "what is a house?"

Humor: (not exactly) National Public Radio reports that tumbleweeds have piled up as high as 7 feet in Victorville, California, and it has been difficult to remove them.

Relevant reports that someone decided to make a playable record (the kind that goes round and round) out of breakfast cereal.


Politics: Many former intelligence officers, including those with the highest rank, have petitioned the US Supreme Court to strike down the Trump travel ban, on the grounds that it decreases national security, according to NPR.

Science: Gizmodo reports on a newly-discovered enzyme that breaks down some plastics.

NPR reports on studies that show that tiny ocean animals can cause significant movement of ocean water, and the things that that water carries.

Scientific American (and other outlets) report on a study that indicates that prehistoric humans caused the extinction of many species of large mammals.

Gizmodo reports on ants that break open (and die) to attack invading insects with the goop that comes from their bodies.

And Gizmodo asks some experts "which animal kills the most humans?"

Sports: With the death of head coach Gregg Popovich's wife, and his absence, assistant coach Becky Hammon moved from behind the San Antonio Spurs bench to the front row thereof, and joined acting head coach Ettore Messina, and another assistant coach, in huddles during time-outs. I'm pretty sure that this is a first for women in men's professional sports in the US.

Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 665

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: Gizmodo reports that Crayola is coming out with a pen that turns pieces of crayons into ink that will write on any surface.

Christianity: (Or, at least, outstanding generosity) Listverse tells 10 heartwarming stories of unselfishness, around the world.


Food: (and maybe Finance) Listverse tells us, and shows us, some really expensive desserts, such as a $1,685 Krispy Kreme doughnut.

Health: (and, maybe, humor) National Public Radio posts a poem about a woman who (really) had 14 roundworms in her eye.

Politics: Russian entities began sowing discord soon after the Florida school shooting, according to National Public Radio.

Science: (or something) Gizmodo reports that a California woman is suing her state for Bigfoot Denial.

Listverse has 10 facts about the Andromeda Galaxy. Gizmodo also has a post on this group of stars.

Gizmodo, and other outlets, report that some ants administer medical care to their wounded sisters.

Gizmodo also reports that we don't know when rabbits (some of them) became domesticated.

Sports: FiveThirtyEight examines what would happen if men and women skiers competed against each other.

Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 499

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:
Christianity: Ben Watson, professional football player, and black man, has written a thoughtful piece on the events in Ferguson, Missouri.

Computing: (or something) National Public Radio on the Supreme Court hearing a case about a man who threatened to kill his wife on Facebook, and continued to do so, in spite of a restraining order and a visit from an FBI agent. He claims that this is free speech.
 
Humor: Relevant examines some Christmas songs carefully, and wonders why we listen to them.
 
Politics: Surprise! NPR reports on a study that says that making campaign contributions to candidates leads to lower taxes for companies that do so.
 
Science: (or something) Wired reports that ants efficiently clean food off the streets of New York City. (about one-fourth of the trash in that city is food.)
 
Wired also reports on treehoppers, some really strangely shaped, and sounding, insects.

Sports: A Clemson University football player, Artavis Scott, did an amazing ballet for the last few yards of a touchdown run, running sideways, and staying in bounds.

 Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 490

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to

someone else:

The Arts: (And Christianity) A fascinating discussion of so-called "white magic," which is illustrated thus:
Many Christians, including many parents, are practicing “white magic” whenever they fear and shun objects, symbols, and Things more than they fear Jesus Christ and hate inner sin.
Health: National Public Radio reports on how many days dying patients spend in hospitals, and what causes the variation. It varies widely, almost three times as much in New York and New Jersey as in Utah and Idaho.
Science: NPR reports on a portion of the brain that may be a main cause of unselfish behavior.
The BBC asks if all the ants on earth weigh more than all the people. I thank one of my brothers for this link.
Wired reports on a spider that lives its entire life underwater.
(And politics) Some right-wing news outlets are trumpeting a recent study, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as showing that global climate change is not caused by human activity. Not exactly. Here's a report on the study, from the Associated Press. To quote the AP: "The study ... does not question global warming but argues that there is evidence that in at least one place, local winds are a more important factor explaining ocean warming than greenhouse gases." Critics of the study have pointed out that local winds, themselves, are probably influenced by human activity. And, of course, even if human activity has no effect on winds, the report is not global, and it does not question that human activity effects ocean warming. Here's a press release, from NOAA, on the report.
Sports: The scoring summary of the September 21, 2014 NFL game between the New England Patriots and the Oakland Raiders. All of the scoring (a touchdown, an extra point, and six field goals) was done by three players, Sebastian Janikowski, Rob Gronkowski and Stephen Gostkowski. That must be some sort of record . . .

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 485

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: A post in Relevant says that complaining is a spiritual problem.
Education: National Public Radio reports on Turnitin, a service that checks the papers submitted by college students, for plagiarism.
Health: An amazing 3-minute video on what we look like to an ultraviolet camera. The video also shows graphic evidence that we should use sun-screen, aka sunblock, and that glass blocks UV waves. See here for a report on the video, in Slate.
Humor: (Or something) Coffee is now being made from coffee beans eaten, then passed through the gut, of elephants. Really, says National Public Radio.
Science:  Wired reports that city spiders grow bigger than spiders not in urban areas.
NPR reports on using people with Down syndrome as subjects for research into Alzheimer's. It turns out that, if they live long enough, all people with Down syndrome develop Alzheimer's.
Wired also reports on fungi that control the behavior of ants.

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 223

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Humor:
(or something) Jan links to reports that men spend more time ogling women than women do getting themselves ready.

Science:
CNN reports on a large patch of garbage in the Pacific Ocean.

Wired reports that we have learned more about an extra-solar planet, thanks to a new orbiting instrument, and that it's unlike any planet in our solar system, in several ways. CNN also reports on this .

The Smithsonian Institution has a splendid exhibit on ants, including a photo gallery .

Christianity:
An article in Christianity Today claims that most marriages should be taking place earlier than they do: "Most young Americans no longer think of marriage as a formative institution, but rather as the institution they enter once they think they are fully formed. Increasing numbers of young evangelicals think likewise . . ." One result is way too much pre-marital sex.


Image source (public domain)