There’s no question H5N1 bird flu has ‘pandemic potential.’ How likely is that worst-case scenario?

Unprecedented scale of outbreaks raises new concerns, scientists warn.

Lithium-Free Sodium Batteries Exit the Lab, Enter US Production

Natron Energy, a pioneer in sodium-ion battery technology, has officially commenced mass production of its lithium-free sodium batteries in its Holland, Michigan facility,

Methane Emissions From Gas Flaring Being Hidden From Satellite Monitors

Use of enclosed combustors leaves regulators heavily reliant on oil and gas companies’ own flaring data.

Humans Now Share the Web Equally With Bots, Report Warns

Sites such as Twitter/X have been overrun by automated accounts.

== yjc
The Japanese gown uniting Freddie Mercury, the Jedi and Bjork

This exhibition presented the kimono as a dynamic and constantly evolving icon of fashion, revealing the sartorial, aesthetic and social significance of the garment from the 1660s to the present day, both in Japan and the rest of the world.

Squirrels may have given medieval Britons leprosy

In medieval England, red squirrels were popular pets and their fur was widely used to trim and line clothes.

Hubble Network Makes Bluetooth Connection With a Satellite For the First Time

Potentially opening the door to connecting millions more devices anywhere in the world.

Technology can detect wildfires. Do humans still have to?

New technology and human solutions both have pros and cons.

== I’m betting the parrots truly knew the difference
Pet Parrots Prefer Live Video-Calls Over Watching Pre-Recorded Videos

Pet parrots given the choice to video-call each other or watch pre-recorded videos of other birds will flock to the opportunity for live chats, new research shows.

== including this because I have included previous ones on the drought in Alberta
== and because drought is an issue around the world
Alberta outlines the drought conditions that would lead to state of emergency

Declaration would allow government to suspend water licences, among other measures.

== do read this one
Wounded orangutan seen using plant as medicine

A Sumatran orangutan in Indonesia has self-medicated using a paste made from plants to heal a large wound on his cheek, say scientists.

== yjc, when windows 10 is no longer supported, I am not interested
== in windows 11, so am thinking I will switch to using Linux
== and equivalents of most these are available on current windows versions
Top 10 Essential Linux Commands

10 commands that are vital for troubleshooting network issues on Linux systems with real-world examples.

Scientists Find a Fast Way to Describe Quantum Systems

After years of false starts, a team of computer scientists has found a way to efficiently deduce the Hamiltonian of a physical system at any constant temperature.

PFAS Increase Likelihood of Death By Cardiovascular Disease, Study Shows

In a first, researchers were able to compare records of people who drank polluted water in Veneto, Italy, with neighbors who did not.

Honeybees invaded a reporter’s home, and upended everything she thought she knew about them

Honeybees are invasive to North America, and not at risk. In fact, they may pose a threat to native bees.

Face of 75,000-year-old Neanderthal woman revealed

What would it be like to meet one of our closest human relatives from 75,000 years ago in the flesh?

== first language I ever used on a home pc, though not the first,
== that was Fortran used during a physics course in college,
== in a subsequent course a year or two later I used Algol
The BASIC Programming Language Turns 60

Easy-to-use language that drove Apple, TRS-80, IBM, and Commodore PCs debuted in 1964.

== paywall??
Inside the quest to map the universe with mysterious bursts of radio energy

Astronomers still don’t know what causes fast radio bursts, but they’re starting to use them to illuminate the space between galaxies.

China Launches World’s Largest Electric Container Ship

China’s state-owned Cosco launches the Greenwater 01, the world’s largest fully electric container ship.

Bruce Perens Emits Draft Post-Open Zero Cost License

The new Post-Open Zero Cost License seeks to address the financial disparities in open source software use and includes provisions against using content to train AI models.

== see article on dam below
Extreme Heat Continues To Scorch Large Parts of Asia

Large swathes of Asia are sweltering through a heatwave that has topped temperature records from Myanmar to the Philippines and forced millions of children to stay home from school.

US will require all new cars to have advanced automatic braking systems by 2029

This could prevent 360 road deaths per year.

Problem of plastic pollution far from solved as Ottawa talks wrap up

UNEP head says there’s ‘a clear path to landing an ambitious deal’ but not everyone likes what’s in it.

Plastic-eating bacteria can help waste self-destruct

Scientists have developed a “self-digesting plastic”, which, they say, could help reduce pollution.

How a NASA Probe Solved a Scorching Solar Mystery

The outer layers of the sun’s atmosphere are a blistering million degrees hotter than its surface. The hidden culprit? Magnetic activity.

NASA’s Psyche Hits 25 Mbps From 140 Miles Away

Laser beam comms are fast, so long as the weather cooperates

Location, location location: /Why real estate’s golden rule also applies to morel mushrooms

Studies show morels pick up what’s in their environment, like heavy metals and toxins.

== yjc
Philippines: /Drought dries up dam to reveal centuries-old town

The ruins of an almost 300-year-old town have resurfaced as searing temperatures in the Philippines partially dried up a major dam.

America’s First Big-Rig Hydrogen Fuel Station Opens in California

The first commercial hydrogen fuel station for big-rig trucks in the U.S. is up and running at the Port of Oakland.

A Coal Billionaire is Building the World’s Biggest Clean Energy Plant - Five Times the Size of Paris

Enough electricity to power Switzerland.

How Einstein Lost the Battle To Explain Quantum Reality

By suppressing questions they considered too ‘philosophical’, post-war physicists created an unquestioning orthodoxy that influences science to this day.

Why Are Laptops Moving to Soldered RAM?

If there’s one thing and one thing only that soldered RAM is indisputably good for, it’s saving space.

Century of climbers’ notes from alpine shelter offer glimpse of changing peaks

Climate change reflected in Abbot Hut’s summit register

How Space Telescopes Spotted an Exoplanet With a Possible Hydrogen-Rich Atmosphere

Webb Discovers Methane, Carbon Dioxide in Atmosphere of K2-18 b

‘Buddy sap’ is no friend to maple syrup producers. Now local researchers have a test for it.

Carleton University team’s test strips could be in circulation by next year.

Japan’s Lunar Lander Made It Through Another Lunar Night

With telemetry showing that some of the electronics (temperature sensors) and battery cells were malfunctioning, the chances of the lander making it through a third lunar night seemed remote.

And, just cuz, have added a sample of the anime images generated by the DCGAN I coded.