== yjc, opinion piece, but…
When the going gets fake, the fakers turn pro

What’s behind the growing industry of faking experiences?

== hard to tell if this affected people in countries other than the US
Online gift card store exposed hundreds of thousands of people’s identity documents

A security researcher found the publicly exposed storage server late last year containing driving licenses, passports, and other identity documents.

== yjc, for those of us who put up Christmas decorations
== my parents put up the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve
== and we fasted for 24 hours until supper that day, which always included fish
The historic case for leaving your Christmas decorations up until February

Tradition is to leave decorations up well after December.

New ‘All-Optical’ Nanoscale Sensors of Force Access Previously Unreachable Environments

They are luminescent nanocrystals that can change intensity and/or color when you push or pull on them.

Huge hummingbird, ‘starry night’ gecko among new species of 2024

New armadillo, vegetarian piranha that looks like ‘Eye of Sauron’ also among finds.

== thought we had seen this before, but couldn’t easily find anything in last 7 or 8 lists
UK Develops Quantum Clock To Cut Military GPS Dependence

UK-built atomic clock will make military operations more secure through experimental quantum technology.

North Atlantic right whales should live past 100 years old

They’re dying around 22. Researcher says reduced lifespan due to ship strikes, entanglements, climate change.

== yjc
Boring Cities Are Bad for Your Health

Oppressive, unstimulating urban architecture isn’t just about eyesores; there’s evidence that it can cause actual harm to its residents.

== a little short on real data, but…
Exercise May Be the ‘Most Potent Medical Intervention Ever Known’

Euan Ashley joins Derek to discuss the benefits of exercise and our current scientific understanding of why it helps

Scientists Pin Down the Origins of a Fast Radio Burst

The fleeting cosmic firework likely emerged from the turbulent magnetosphere around a far-off neutron star.

A flood of products promises to ‘detox’ the body. But do you really need any of them?

Doctors warn there’s no silver bullet.

== yjc
UK’s biggest ever dinosaur footprint site unearthed

About 200 huge footprints, which were made 166 million years ago, criss-cross the limestone floor.

How AI is Unlocking Ancient Texts

From deciphering burnt Roman scrolls to reading crumbling cuneiform tablets, neural networks could give researchers more data than they’ve had in centuries.

Belgium Becomes First EU Country To Ban Sale of Disposable Vapes

A pollution nightmare in much of Europe, perhaps the Americas. Products banned on health and environmental grounds, while Milan outlaws outdoor smoking.

== should anyone be interested
It’s the start of a new year, which means a fresh crop of creative works have entered the public domain.

Many materials that were copyrighted in 1929, along with sound recordings from 1924, become fair game.

== UK perspective, but procedure not limited to UK
New bone test could rewrite British history, say scientists

Now researchers can identify subtler changes over just hundreds of years, providing clues as to how people migrated and interacted with locals.

== US perspective but this is true in Canada and, I expect, most of the world
== Canadian version, much longer: https://www.thestar.com/business/cereal-killer-why-the-cost-of-your-breakfast-is-getting-out-of-control/article_64366beb-5e57-5f3d-afc0-97a563481ddf.html
Why Breakfast Is Busting Your Food Budget

Market prices for coffee, orange juice hit record highs, fueling sharply higher bills for some grocery staples

Microplastics Found In Multiple Human Organ Tissues Correlated With Lesions

Positive correlations emerged between particle abundance and specific disorders.

Scientist’s ‘Ruthlessly Imaginative’ 1925 Predictions For the Future

Prof Low anticipated home speakers and gender neutral clothing, but missed his mark on herb-based street lighting.

California Grid Ran On 100% Renewables For a Record 98 Days

The takeaway – and the data backs it up – is that a large grid dominated by wind, water, and solar is not only feasible, it’s also reliable.

Far from dead in the water, N.S. sanctuary hopes whales arrive in 2025

Charity eyeing 2 orcas at soon-to-be-defunct Marineland park in France.

== I pretty much listen to clasical most days of the week
Not your grandma’s Shostakovich: How classical music is attracting younger audiences

Programmers, musicians, technology leading the changing face of centuries-old musical tradition.

What to look forward to in space in 2025

From meteor showers to lunar missions to Mars flybys, there’s a lot happening in 2025.

Seven celestial events to look out for in 2025

It is a brand new year and if you are a stargazer there are some wonderful celestial events for you to get excited about.

10 Million Trees To Be Planted in US To Replace Ones Destroyed By Hurricanes

Arbor Day Foundation non-profit to plant trees in six of the worst-hit states over the next four years.

China To Build Thorium Molten-Salt Reactor In 2025

hina’s demo reactor could breed nuclear fuel from rare earth waste.

Evolution Journal Editors Resign En Masse

Board members expressed concerns over high fees, editorial independence, and use of AI in editorial processes.

== yjc
Sea lion on B.C. highway gets police escort back to safety

150 kilogram California sea lion spotted far from the ocean by a driver who at first thought it was a bear.

Future of space travel: Could robots really replace human astronauts?

Robotic probes have been sent across the solar system for the last six decades, reaching destinations impossible for humans.

== I consider cyber intrusions by national APTs to be cyber-warfare
US Treasury says it was hacked by China in ‘major incident’

The hacker was able to remotely access several Treasury user workstations and certain unclassified documents that were kept by those users.

In a First, Surgical Robots Learned Tasks By Watching Videos

Robots have been trained to perform surgical tasks with the skill of human doctors, even learning to correct their own mistakes during surgeries.

== seems like a good idea. But, property in Brandon is likely a lot less expensive than in many locations–the Lower Mainland or Calgary for example.
1st-time Brandon homeowner says little homes could be a big thing in Manitoba

‘Pocket neighbourhood’ aims to make home ownership affordable in Manitoba’s 2nd-biggest city

== expect this is already under development, if not already underway
AI Tools May Soon Manipulate People’s Online Decision-Making, Say Researchers

The study claims that large language models (LLMs) will be used to “anticipate and steer” users based on “intentional, behavioural and psychological data”.

== seen plenty on this, but here’s a reminder and bit of history
Astronomers ready for dazzling but brief celestial show after 80-year wait

It is only going to be visible to the naked eye for a couple of days.

Can Money Buy You a Longer Life?

People with high salaries and net worth tend to live longer lives, research shows.

== yjc, no I am not taking part, though I did enjoy my brief exposure to C back in the 80s
== but in case one of you might be game to give it a go
‘International Obfuscated C Code Contest’ Will Relaunch, Celebrating 40th Anniversary

After a four-year hiatus, 2025 will see the return of the International Obfuscated C Code Contest.

Electric Air Taxis are Taking Flight. Can They Succeed as a Business?

Scaling the industry from a novelty ride for the wealthy to a broadly available commuter option will take billions.

Could a Sponge Made from Squid Bones Help Remove Microplastics?

One study from 2020 estimated there are 14 million metric tons of microplastics sitting on the ocean floor.

== koalas, bats, frogs,…
Chlamydia could make koalas extinct

Can a vaccine save them in time?