Sunspots 1004

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

An extensive web site on Charles Wesley.

Gizmodo reports on terrible conditions for living things in ancient times. Probably these threats were caused, or enhanced, by ferns. That's right, ferns.

An article in The Conversation, discusses testosterone levels carefully. Unlike some.

NPR, and other outlets on a rogue artificial intelligence, which hacked into another AI, without help from real humans.

SpaceDaily reports on exploration, deep in ocean tranches, by a Chinese group, which found large ecosystems, getting their energy from methane and other molecules.

Joel Duff has posted a careful analysis of Intelligent Design ideas.

Heart, Mind,, Soul and Strength gives a list of Greek words for kinds of love, and, also, Greek words for love that weren't used in the New Testament.

Sunspots 907

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

Christianity: Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength has posted a word cloud, showing how often a word is used, based on use of words in Proverbs. There are (to me, anyway) some surprises.

Computing: Gizmodo reports that Russia is assessing fines on Internet companies, mostly for disagreeing with the Russian characterization of the war with Ukraine.

Environment: NPR reports that fires in California and elsewhere in the west make storms in other parts of the US worse.

Politics: A Conversation writer examines trends in crime in the US. Is crime rising? It's complicated.

Science: A Conversation writer discusses the presence of virus genes in the human genome. There are a lot of them.

The Scientist reports that scientists have been able to determine what words a subject is thinking of, by scanning the subject's brain, non-invasively, under experimental conditions.

The Scientist also reports that swarms of bees can produce a substantial electric charge.

Gizmodo says that if you live in Pennsylvania, or states near it, you have probably seen spotted lanternflies. They are easy to identify, and, as far as I'm concerned, rather pretty. They are also destructive pests, eating several kinds of trees. I have seen them in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Here's the Wikipedia article on the insect.

NPR reports on a study that indicates that a protective mutation helped people survive the black death. It is still found in human populations, and makes carriers more susceptible to auto-immune diseases.

Sports: A Conversation writer tells us that abuse by coaches, and people with similar positions, is not just individual bad behavior, but part of the whole atmosphere of sports.

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

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 703

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

The Arts: Christianity: He Lives considers the image of God, and humanity's relationship to non-human creatures.


Health: Relevant reports on a study that shows we are having less sex than in the recent past.

Humor: The President of Finland says that he has never talked to President Trump about raking the forests of Finland. But the Finns (and others) are hilariously demonstrating how raking Finnish forests might look.


Politics: Two Senators, one from each party, are pushing legislation that would seriously slow down robocalling, according to Gizmodo.

Science: Earther points out that air conditioners contribute significantly to global warming.

Gizmodo has another report on what is probably the world's largest organism, a fungus in Michigan that weighs 440 tons. Scientific American has another candidate for the world's largest organism, which is a grove of connected aspen trees in Utah.

Gizmodo also reports on the effects of rain in Chile's Atacama Desert, which, until recently, hadn't had a rain in 500 years. Microbes adapted to such dry conditions were devastated.

Gizmodo also reports on the discovery of millions of termite mounds, approximately 4,000 years old, in Brazil. They are large enough that they can be seen from space.

Scientific American reports that city buildings can make hurricanes striking cities more serious.

Scientific American also tells us why we don't forget how to ride a bicycle.

FiveThirtyEight explains the abundance of fires in California.


The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, I believe, it is public domain.

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 702

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

The Arts: (and computing) Scientific American considers the question of whether artificial intelligence can create true art. (Aside: The article doesn't say much about the fundamental question: "can you define true art?")

Christianity: He Lives points out some difficulties in taking all scripture literally.


Health: NPR (and other outlets) report on new guidelines on exercise, from the government.

History: (and humor) Listverse tells us about 10 common traditions, and that they are not really long-standing (most less than a century).

Humor: (sort of) NPR reports that a train, with  no crew (or passengers) on board, went for a 57-mile ride, at a good speed, until it was wrecked by remote control.


Politics: Sojourners reports on a survey. Their summary: "White evangelicals are proving to be far more white than evangelical."

(and science) Gizmodo reports on a CNN meteorologist's response to President Trump's tweet about the causes of the fires in California. National Public Radio also writes about the causes. President Trump is correct that part of the problem is (and has been for a long time) management. Some previous fires should have been allowed to burn, so that less fuel was available, or underbrush should have been cleared out. But climate change is an even larger cause of the increase in frequency and strength of the fires.

Science: Gizmodo reports on genetic studies of ancient humans in the Americas, and on how such studies indicate that humans migrated through the New World.

Gizmodo also reports on tool-making in cockatoos.

NPR reports that the kilogram, worldwide, will no longer be defined by a metal object in France.


The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, I believe, it is public domain.
too
Thanks for looking!