The first meteor shower of spring peaks soon, and another is close on its heels

The Lyrids will be most active early next week, around when the Eta Aquarids will start to appear.

Foraging on the wing: How can ecologically similar birds live together?

A new study used modern methods to reassess a foundational study in biology that explained how ecologically similar species of wood warblers coexist. The research team examined foraging behavior, physical characteristics, diet and evolutionary history of 13 warbler species.

Using vibrations to see into Yellowstone’s magma reservoir

sing artificial seismic waves, the team determined that the top of the chamber is 3.8 kilometers, or about 12,500 feet, below Earth’s surface, and it is sharply delineated from the rock strata above.

== yjc, we have pretry much always had a cat in the house
The complex origin story of domestic cats

Two studies point to Tunisia as the likely origin of the domestic cat.

Scientists find evidence that challenges theories of the origin of water on Earth

the hydrogen present in the meteorite was intrinsic, and not from contamination. This suggests that the material which our planet was built from was far richer in hydrogen than previously thought.

New pollen-replacing food for honey bees brings hope for survival

Scientists have unveiled a new food source designed to sustain honey bee colonies indefinitely without natural pollen.

Harvard’s RoboBee Masters Landing, Paving Way For Agricultural Pollination

New robotic landing gear draws on the crane fly’s unique appendages for landing on uneven surfaces.

=== yjc
‘We Are Not Programmed to Die,’ Says Nobel Laureate Venki Ramakrishnan

The structural biologist, who has devoted his life to studying the processes behind aging, discusses the surprising things he has learned and the public misunderstandings about longevity.

When an earthquake hit, these elephants formed a protective circle around their youngest

Called an ‘alert circle,’ the natural behaviour signals a strong family bond.

Ankylosaur footprints from Canada are first of their kind in the world

Three-toed prints from B.C., Alberta fill gap in fossil record.

Scientists find ‘strongest evidence yet’ of life on distant planet

Gases found on K2-18 b, 124 light years away, are generated on Earth by algae.

== yjc, found it an interesting perspective
When China and the U.S. fight, who wins?

David Rennie is a columnist with The Economist, where he formerly worked as the magazine’s Beijing correspondent.

Immigrant Founders Are the Norm in Key US AI Firms: Study

More than half of the top privately held AI companies based in the U.S. have at least one immigrant founder.

The coolest cars at the 2025 New York International Auto Show

There are tons of vehicles including all-new EVs, concepts and more.

Hubble tracks a roaming magnetar of unknown origin

Researchers say that this runaway magnetar is the likeliest candidate in our Milky Way galaxy for a magnetar that was not born in a supernova explosion as initially predicted.

Three burn parameters can make prescribed forest fires burn safer and cleaner

All fires, whether accidental or planned, produce smoke that can cause health and respiratory issues, especially in nearby communities.

Turkey-Syria temblors reveal missing piece in earthquake physics

The analysis identified eight areas outside the main rupture zone that saw localized changes in surface elevation triggered by the 2023 earthquake sequence, none of which were associated with known, discrete seismic events.

Evidence of dark matter-free dwarf galaxy challenges conventional galaxy formation models

The discovery challenges the traditional cosmological paradigm, which assumes dark matter is a fundamental component in galaxy formation.

Scientists trace hailstone origins using chemical fingerprints, overturning decades-old theories

Their methodology allowed them to determine the precise altitudes and temperatures at which each layer of the hailstones formed, effectively creating a vertical map of their journeys through storms.

Ancient rocks reveal how water helped shape the world

Research has revealed that water played a far bigger role than previously thought in shaping Earth’s first continents.

Optical device mimics both black and white holes

Dependent on polarization, this optical device can either absorb or reject light almost entirely, analogous to the behavior of a gravitational black or white hole in space.

Airborne microplastics infiltrate plant leaves

Researchers have found that plant leaves can directly absorb microplastics (MPs) from the atmosphere, leading to a widespread presence of plastic polymers in vegetation.

Cybersecurity World On Edge As CVE Program Prepares To Go Dark

A critical cybersecurity lifeline is at risk as MITRE’s CVE program faces an uncertain future.

== fup, enough?
Database for cybersecurity vulnerabilities secures last-minute government funding

The CVE program gets an 11th hour, 11 month reprieve.

To Make Language Models Work Better, Researchers Sidestep Language

We insist that large language models repeatedly translate their mathematical processes into words. There may be a better way.

Colossal squid filmed in ocean for the first time

They also captured footage of a glacial glass squid for the first time ever.

Uber Cofounder Kalanick Says AI Means Some Consultants Are in ‘Big Trouble’

Deloitte, EY, and others already use AI agents to automate core consulting work.

You Should Still Learn To Code, Says GitHub CEO

And you should start as soon as possible.

== a couple of articles on the Hubble tension in the list
A slowly spinning universe could solve the Hubble tension

To paraphrase the Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus, who famously said ‘panta rhei’ (everything moves), we thought that perhaps panta kykloutai—everything turns.

New strategy may enable cancer monitoring from blood tests alone

The method, based on whole-genome sequencing of DNA, also represents an important step toward the goal of routine blood test-based screening for early cancer detection.

Do Inuit languages really have many words for snow? The most interesting finds from our study of 616 languages

Languages are windows into the worlds of the people who speak them—reflecting what they value and experience daily.

New model can generate audio and music tracks from diverse data inputs

Researchers introduced a model that can generate high quality audio and music tracks using texts, video footage, images, music and audio recordings as inputs.

Scientists observe exotic quantum phase once thought impossible

Known as a superradiant phase transition (SRPT), the phenomenon occurs when two groups of quantum particles begin to fluctuate in a coordinated, collective way without any external trigger.

Crows can recognize geometric regularity

Intruder detection task. Two carrion crows were trained to detect an intruder stimulus in an array of six simultaneously presented stimuli

Google created a new AI model for talking to dolphins

DolphinGemma will get its first test run this summer.

Hertz Says Customers’ Personal Data, Driver’s Licenses Stolen In Data Breach

The rental company, which also owns the Dollar and Thrifty brands, said that the breach relates to a cyberattack on one of its vendors between October 2024 and December 2024.

China Halts Rare Earth Exports Globally

Shipments of seven rare earths placed on an export control list last week by Beijing have ground to halt raising the risk of shortages overseas.

Climate crisis has tripled length of deadly ocean heatwaves

Hotter seas supercharge storms and destroy critical ecosystems such as kelp forests and coral reefs.

== yjc, and at least one of you has some experience with building minatures; though not 3D printed ones
Man making miniatures of every pub in Edinburgh has his work cut out for him

The Scottish city has hundreds of pubs, many of which are, architecturally speaking, ‘higgledy-piggledey’.

== yjc
Hacked crosswalks in Bay Area play deepfake-style messages from tech billionaires

Several crosswalk buttons in Palo Alto, Calif., were tampered with over the weekend, producing fake rants by Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.

Scientists discover new microbes in Earth’s deep soil

CSP1-3’s ancestors lived in the water—hot springs and fresh water—many millions of years ago. They underwent at least one major habitat transition to colonize soil environments—first topsoil and, later, deep soils, during its evolutionary history.

== why does this scare me?
Can AI Help Manage Nuclear Reactors?

The average age of nuclear power plants in the U.S. is 42.

== yjc
Samsung’s latest rugged devices are keeping old-school mobile traditions alive

The company’s new smartphone and tablet have user-replaceable batteries.

Three Million Child Deaths Linked To Drug Resistance, Study Shows

Escherichia coli bacteria - also known as E. coli, the bug that causes food poisoning - is one of the bacteria that is showing greater resistance to front-line antibiotics.

== https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/living-well/food-and-nutrition/nutrients/food-sources-vitamin-k
New research deepens understanding of how vitamin K affects brain health

Brussels sprouts, kale, collard greens, and spinach are foods that are rich in vitamin K.

How a Secretive Gambler Called ‘The Joker’ Beat the Texas Lottery

In the spring of 2023, a London banker-turned-bookmaker reached out to a few contacts with an audacious request: Can you help me take down the Texas lottery?

== lot of obseity in the world, not just India
Indian pot belly: From status symbol to silent killer

In rural settings, it was once considered a status symbol - a sign that “this man eats well”.

== this one is for Hank, we were talking about the Boss at the gym last week
Legendary grizzly ‘The Boss’ and other Alberta bears emerging from winter dens

Province issues safety advisory, urges backcountry users to be careful.

Germany’s ‘Universal Basic Income’ Experiment Proves It Doesn’t Encourage Unmployment

A universal basic income experiment found that the tax-free bonus increased life satisfaction and rest without affecting work ethic.

Can Canada grow more of its own food?

Greenhouses, vertical farming make it possible, experts say. U.S. supplies 67 per cent of Canada’s vegetable imports and 36 per cent of its fruit imports.

A fluid battery that can take any shape

Using electrodes in a fluid form, researchers at Linköping University have developed a battery that can take any shape.

High school student uses AI to reveal 1.5 million previously unknown objects in space

A new AI algorithm he developed that led to these discoveries and that can be adapted by other astronomers and astrophysicists for their own research.

Satellite galaxies gone awry: Andromeda’s asymmetrical companions challenge cosmology

The Andromeda galaxy is surrounded by a constellation of dwarf galaxies that are arranged in a highly lopsided manner.

From boring to bursting: A giant black hole awakens

In contrast to the popular idea of black holes constantly “gobbling up” matter, these gravitational monsters can spend long periods of time in a dormant, inactive phase.

Scalable graphene membranes could supercharge carbon capture

The team has developed a scalable technique to create porous graphene membranes that selectively filter CO2 from gas mixtures.

== not sure this is actually a good thing
ChatGPT will remember everything you tell it now - like a real personal assistant

The chatbot’s memory feature now offers even more personalized responses.

== expect this is true in most western world countries
US political rhetoric: Analysis of 8 million speeches shows increased reliance on personal beliefs over facts

he team noticed a significant decline in the use of evidence-based political rhetoric since the 1970s, with a historic low in the present.

== US data only
Hantavirus hotspots revealed: Six new rodent species identified as carriers

The most common carrier of the hantavirus in North America is the deer mouse.

Venom characteristics of a deadly snake can be predicted from local climate

Russell’s viper (Daboia russelii) is found across the Indian subcontinent and is responsible for over 40% of snake bite-related deaths in India each year.

Coral reefs exude myriad chemicals, fueling dynamic microbial recycling of nutrients

The study provides crucial insights into the intricate relationships between coral reefs, marine microorganisms, and the carbon cycle.

‘Hidden galaxies’ could be smoking gun in universe riddle

If their existence is confirmed it would “effectively break current models of galaxy numbers and evolution.”

Ancient tools from a South African cave reveal connections between prehistoric people

By examining tiny details in the chipped edges of the blades and stones, archaeologists are able to tell how the tools were made.

New experiment halves weight limit of elusive neutrinos

Since the existence of neutrinos was proposed nearly a century ago, scientists around the world have struggled to learn much about them—particularly their mass.

First new plant tissue discovered in 160 years boosts crop yields

Understanding how plants detect successful fertilization is important for maximizing yields from crop species during breeding.

Energy densities offer new path to resolving the Hubble tension

Researchers from the University of Waterloo have proposed a new method to measure the Hubble constant that could help resolve one of modern cosmology’s pressing puzzles: the Hubble tension.

== yjc
The exercise you need for a healthy, happy life – and eight ways to make it easier

Fast, free and phenomenally effective, push-ups are an unbeatable way to build the muscle you need every day – all the way into old age.

== paywall?
New Maps of the Bizarre, Chaotic Space-Time Inside Black Holes

Physicists hope that understanding the churning region near singularities might help them reconcile gravity and quantum mechanics.

== another on the subject, paywall?
Data centres will use twice as much energy by 2030 — driven by AI

Data centres accounted for roughly 1.5% of global electricity consumption in 2024.

This isn’t a galaxy — it’s a map of a mouse’s brain

Scientists mapped a mouse’s brain to record how its cells lit up as it watched parts of a movie.

Global emissions due to AI-related chipmaking grew more than four times in 2024

The US may soon consume more electricity on AI than on the manufacture of all energy-intensive goods combined.