Sunspots 983

 

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

The BBC has fact-checked President Trump's meeting with the President of South Africa. His claims don't stand up. Other sources have published similar findings.

Earth.com reports on breakthroughs in identifying long-dead North American megafauna (mammoths, giant sloths, etc.)

The BBC discusses the so-called Golden Done defense system.

The BBC also discusses the noise associated with Bitcoin mining (whatever that is!). Apparently it's quite annoying and pervasive.

Gizmodo reports on a study of how giant sloths disappeared.

Gizmodo also reports that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy's recent paper on Making America Healthy Again refers to health studies that were never carried out.

Gizmodo also reports that two different species of termites are mating and producing hybrids, which may be really destructive.

Sunspots 978

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

SciTech Daily reports that fish can recognize and react to human divers.

Naturalis Historia concludes a series on the Bible and the geology of the Dead Sea,

ZDNet describes 10 on-line sites that carry free, or inexpensive digital books.

NPR and other outlets report on progress towards bringing live mammoths back, Their work has involved changing the genes of mice, so that they have long, fuzzy hair, and are able to use fat efficiently to keep warm.

Neuroscience News reports that detecting pain and itch is accomplished with two different sets of neurons.

NPR tries to keep track of President Trump's tariffs.

Thanks for reading!

Sunspots 904

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

Computing: Gizmodo reports that Google has a tool that helps you keep your identity from prying eyes.

Environment: Gizmodo reports that leasing off-shore areas to wind power devices gives us more energy than leasing the same areas to oil and gas extraction, and such leasing also yields more taxes.

FiveThirtyEight on the Waffle House storm index -- it's real.

Health: Gizmodo reports on a large study that indicates that coffee (including decaf) is good for you.

Politics: (or something) NPR explains gaslighting,

Science: Gizmodo reports on a company that is using taxpayer dollars to attempt to bring mammoths, tasmanian tigers, and maybe the dodo back from extinction. There are lots of questions about such a project!

Gizmodo tells us that there is an ongoing debate about whether are frozen lakes on Mars.

The Scientist, and other outlets, reports that Svante Pääbo has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the DNA of early humanoids.

Sports:

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

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 846

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

Christianity: (and computing) Christianity Today reports on a Facebook feature that is supposed to make praying for specific requests easier to do. There are concerns about privacy, of course -- this is Facebook. The feature is already in use by some churches and Muslim groups.

Science: Gizmodo reports an a study that follows the movement of a mammoth throughout its life, a few thousand years ago.

Gizmodo, and other outlets, report that murder hornets continue to be found in Washington state.

Gizmodo also reports on the calculation of pi to over 60 trillion decimal places. Don't try to memorize it.

And Gizmodo reports on the origin of one of the main dog color genes.

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

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

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 754

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to

someone else:

Christianity: Relevant has an article about how the Bible says to treat refugees, with Bible quotes. They missed at least one. To quote my own blog: The Bible also says, in reference to a specific refugee crisis:
Isaiah 16:3 Give counsel! Execute justice! Make your shade like the night in the middle of the noonday! Hide the outcasts! Don’t betray the fugitive! 4a Let my outcasts dwell with you! As for Moab, be a hiding place for him from the face of the destroyer. (This was in spite of the fact that the Moabites hadn’t always been good to Israel. See Joshua 24:9, Judges 3:12-30, 1 Samuel 12:9.)

(And politics) Christianity Today has an article decrying our current immigration policies. The article also points to a suggestion, endorsed by several evangelical leaders, that a path to citizenship, for illegals, be created, including restitution -- not amnesty.
 
Politics: Relevant reports that there were NO refugees settled in the US in October.

NPR on how the Chinese government is trying to control Tibetan Buddhists, for example in the recognition of the next Dalai Lama.
FiveThirtyEight discusses the electability of Pete Buttigieg, including a discussion of how his homosexuality might influence voters.
Science: The Scientist report on the use of CRISPR genetic engineering to alter cancer patients' cells, and the introduction of such altered cells back into the patients. The alterations were designed to attack cancer cells. It's not yet clear whether the treatment has successfully fought the cancer.
Gizmodo, and other outlets, report that a trap for catching mammoths has been discovered. It's a large trap.
NPR discusses the uses of Helium, the only chemical element that easily escapes the earth.


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

Sunspots 519

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

Christianity: Todd Wood, dedicated Young-Earth Creationist, and Darrell Falk, dedicated evolutionary creationist, have been having a long, loving discussion.
Computing: Gizmo's Freeware points to a page of "Best Free PC Games."
Education: Infotopia is a site that links to sources which would be useful in school, and especially for home schoolers.
Health: (and sex, and ethics) National Public Radio reports on a question that troubles many: "Can a Person With Dementia Consent to Sex?"
Philosophy: (Or something) Chimpanzees have been given some legal rights, according to an article in Wired.
Politics: (And Christianity) An interesting essay on "Shouldn't Christians Just Obey the Law." The author uses Martin Luther King, jr's argument to argue that laws requiring businesses to serve homosexuals are unjust. Hmmm.
Science: (or something) Wired reports on "The Surprisingly Complex Design of the Ziploc Bag."
The BBC on the sequencing of the genome of the wooly mammoth.

Image source (public domain)