AN IMPORTANT PROGRAM IS EXPANDING
EMILY MULLIN WRITES IN WIRED, July 15, 2024, “It Will Soon be Easier for Americans to Recycle Batteries.” “This month,” Mullin writes, “the US Department of Energy announced a $14 million … Continue reading
SAN FRANCISCO’S HYDROGEN FERRY
THE FIRST HYDROGEN FUEL-CELL FERRY is now operating in San Francisco Bay. Marika Price Spitulski gives details at Nice News, July 15, 2024. Cutting Pollution. Hitherto, conventional diesel engines power … Continue reading
A.I. AND A SENSE OF MORALITY
A NEW BOOK, THE AI MIRROR, offers the views of philosopher Shannon Vallor, who at PhilPeople says, “My research explores how emerging technologies reshape human moral and intellectual character, and … Continue reading
ON A GOSSAMER VEIL OF SILENCE
IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE: MIT researchers have developed a silk fabric that can suppress unwanted noise and reduce noise transmission in a large room. Adam Zewe reports … Continue reading
REULEAUX FUN: VENN ARRANGED JUST SO
A REULEAUX TRIANGLE, according to Wikipedia, is “a curved triangle with constant width, the simpliest and best known curve of constant width other than the circle.” By the way, it … Continue reading
BENEFITS OF SPACE TOURISM PART 2
YESTERDAY IN PART 1, we met the four crew members of Inspiration4, the first privately funded orbital mission on a private rocket carrying private citizens. This endeavor benefited St. Jude … Continue reading
BENEFITS OF SPACE TOURISM PART 1
SPACE TOURISM ALREADY EXISTS. AAAS Science, June 14, 2024, reports, “In 2021, four passengers, including billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman, rode into space on a SpaceX rocket, orbiting Earth for 3 days … Continue reading
BIRD FLU—YET ANOTHER CHALLENGE FOR HUMANITY?
THE BIRD FLU VIRUS H5N1 has been spreading around the world for two decades now. However, current assessments are that most of us have little need to worry. Those who … Continue reading
CONGRESSIONAL GOOFING AROUND WITH GOF PART 2
YESTERDAY WE BEGAN SHARING A DIALOGUE of two scientists commenting at AAAS’s Community Forum about the virological term “gain of function.” Today we continue this knowledgable commentary from Drs. Robert … Continue reading
CONGRESSIONAL GOOFING AROUND WITH GOF PART 1
THERE’S A POLITICIZING OF SCIENCE THESE DAYS. Lamentable but not surprising, given the current dysfunction of our national legislative body. As a case in point, Republicans are keen on convincing … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 