== yjc
The hunt for the perfect oak: Researchers analyze wood for the doors of Nidaros Cathedral, Norway’s national sanctuary

Just like the cathedral itself, the wood that will be used for the new doors may hold secrets. That’s why researchers need to test the oak before the doors are built.

Heat-struck Italians cool off in ancient stone buildings

Once relics of a bygone way of life, the iconic dry-stone dwellings with conical roofs dotted across Puglia are in increasing demand as cool havens in Italy’s sweltering south.

Thirsty desert lizards inspire a new water-harvesting system

When the desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos) is thirsty, it cannot just lap up water or scoop it up like a bird because it lives in environments where water is extremely scarce. Typically, it’s found in damp soil or, even more rarely, in drops of rain.

Poor metabolic health can age the brain even in young people, finds new large-scale study

Two people of very different ages can have a similar level of biological aging in their brains. Such an occurrence is possible because aging and metabolic health follow two distinct pathways that influence brain health. While it is known that the brain changes as we get older, a recent study found that metabolic issues affect the brain through a different biological pathway than aging does.

‘Fingerprints’ of Black Hole’s Event Horizon Detected For First Time

The discovery was made by studying ripples in spacetime called gravitational waves that were created when two black holes violently smashed into each other.

A thermodynamic approach to gravity could explain cosmic acceleration without dark energy

While general relativity is now the central theory of gravity, it fails to explain some cosmological phenomena and mysteries, such as the so-called cosmological constant problem. This is the unexplained mismatch between the observed energy of empty space and the far greater values predicted by quantum theories.

How ‘catchy’ music is driven by rhythmic patterns

What makes a rhythm distinctive or catchy? The answer lies in the pattern that underlies the structure. Much of human creativity beyond rhythm and music is also shaped by the math underneath the patterns.

Is political polarization dangerous? Study provides clearer answers

Researchers and commentators have warned about what is known as affective polarization: that we are not only politically divided but also dislike one another.

How reading shapes and enhances our cognitive activity

Smartphones, online learning, generative AI: The way we read has changed more in the last decade than in the previous century. So what do we actually know about what reading does for the mind?

Hospital workers’ phones carry deadly superbugs

The largest study of its kind has found hospital workers’ phones are carrying the same superbugs that kill millions of people worldwide each year.

== yjc
The “Ramanujan Equation” That Broke the Internet — And What It Actually Teaches Us About Mathematical Thinking

Every few months, a deceptively simple-looking math problem tears through social media like wildfire. People argue in comment sections. Engineers get it wrong. PhD students second-guess themselves. And somewhere in the chaos, someone invokes the name of Srinivasa Ramanujan, the self-taught Indian genius who saw mathematical truths the way most people see colors.

European Space Agency’s Euclid captures the star-filled center of the Milky Way

This image by ESA’s (European Space Agency) Euclid (with color added using ground-based images) provides an earlier snapshot of a region of our galaxy that NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will repeatedly observe during the upcoming years.

New Study Shows That Tall Vehicle Hoods Cause Hundreds More Deaths Per Year

A new study conducted by the New York Times shows that the increase in vehicle hood height seen over the last two and a half decades, mainly due to the rise in popularity of large SUVs and trucks, has resulted in several thousand deaths that otherwise may not have happened.

Nasa rover detects potential signatures of ancient microbial life on Mars

Perseverance identifies organic carbon molecules in rocks on riverbed that carried water billions of years ago.

Garnet found in Mars meteorite surprises scientists

The meteorite, known as NWA 8171, contains a mineral that has not been discovered in Martian material before. And it might offer clues about how the planet was formed.

Mosquito-borne viruses avoid killing hosts by limiting protein output, study reveals

The increase in mosquito-borne virus infections is a growing public health concern. Diseases traditionally confined to tropical or subtropical regions, like dengue or West Nile virus, are expanding their geographic scope. Europe is no longer an exception, and autochthonous infections have already been recorded in Spain.

Hope for spinal injuries as pigs walk again after experimental gel treatment for severed spinal cords

In humans and other mammals, spinal cord injuries can be devastating, leading to permanent loss of movement, sensation and bladder control. When severed axons (the long fibers that carry messages between nerve cells) cannot regrow, a dense scar forms, preventing nerve signals from passing the injury site.

White barn owls may use moonlight to startle prey

White barn owls are effective killing machines. They fly silently through the night air and swoop down on unsuspecting prey with their sharp talons. But they have something you would think goes against being a stealth predator: their white feathers.

Europe: The World’s Fastest-warming Continent

The planet as a whole is around 1.4C warmer than in preindustrial times, defined as 1850-1900. By comparison, Europe is around 2.4C hotter than the preindustrial era, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Einstein Probe detects mysterious X-ray transient that doesn’t fit any known class

On March 5, 2024, a space telescope called the Einstein Probe—designed to scan the sky for sudden X-ray flashes—caught a brief, never-before-seen source called EP240305a. It produced two brief X-ray flares, one right after the other, separated by about 200 seconds of quiet.

Quebec town recognizes trees as living beings with rights

The International Observatory of Nature Rights says the town of about 2,000 also became the first municipality in Quebec and Canada to sign on to the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Tree, which is an international initiative spearheaded by environmental groups.

== yjc, use link in ‘Non-members can read the full blog here.’
Why AI Loves Em Dashes and Why Almost Every Explanation Is Wrong?

There’s a single punctuation mark that has quietly become the most reliable fingerprint of AI-generated writing.

Crane pair dances follow hidden rules, with performances revealing partner-driven timing

Animal pairs engage in mutual signaling by simultaneously performing a diverse repertoire of behaviors. A famous example is the sophisticated dance (mutual displays) performed by bird pairs.

Robot ‘Floaty’ rides the wind like a bird, staying stable without propellers

Current flying objects face a trade-off: Drones with propellers, for instance, are very agile and able to hover; however, they use up a lot of energy. Airplanes, on the other hand, feature fixed wings that allow them to fly very efficiently. The downside: They can’t remain suspended in the air like a kestrel on the lookout for prey.

Shake-powered capsule tests and disinfects unsafe drinking water

It is a sobering fact that in the 21st century, 1 in 4 people still lack access to safe, clean drinking water, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The figures increase slightly during natural disasters, when infrastructure or supplies are damaged.

Third known interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS may be billions of years older than the solar system

The comet 3I/ATLAS is just the third visitor from beyond our solar system that humanity has ever observed, its unusual brightness offering scientists an unprecedented opportunity to study something that came from elsewhere in the galaxy.

How much clothing is too much? The math behind having a sustainable wardrobe

Most people suspect they own too many clothes, but they aren’t sure exactly what the “right amount” is. Recent wardrobe studies, in which researchers literally peek inside people’s closets, show the scale of the problem is far greater than most of us imagine.

Deep in Libya’s Sahara, tiny primate fossils are rewriting how our ancient cousins got to Africa

Hidden beneath the scorched expanse of the central Libyan Sahara lies a prehistoric graveyard that was once a lush, green gateway to a continent. For decades, the origin of Africa’s higher primates has been one of evolution’s most enduring mysteries.

Radiocarbon dating confirms 10,000 years of continuous human occupation in the Pyrenees

The results confirm evidence of continuous human presence above 2,000 meters (6,562 feet) for more than 10,000 years and point out that three of the excavated sites present continuous dates spanning several thousand years

NASA should build a biocontainment facility on the moon to protect Earth, researchers advise

While the existence of extraterrestrial life remains unconfirmed, the authors caution that the introduction of any novel form of life to the Earth’s biosphere would pose unpredictable ecological consequences. The history of invasive species on Earth serves as a warning, they said.

== personally think nuclear is a brain dead idea
Canada Plans ‘Nuclear Renaissance’ With Up To 10 Reactors Built By 2040

Canada is looking to build up to 10 new nuclear reactors over the next 15 years, sell Canadian-made reactors to more countries and double uranium exports. New federal nuclear strategy could cost more than $100B, officials say.

Spider which uses spring trap to capture prey discovered in Australia

Researchers believe the nocturnal predator developed the unique hunting method to make meals of aggressive ants which are notoriously dangerous - and unusual - prey for arachnids.

== yjc, use the “Get the access to full article for free!” link
How AI Finds Results Without Searching Everything: ANN, IVF, and HNSW Explained

An accessible guide to approximate nearest neighbor search, inverted file indexes, and hierarchical navigable small worlds — the algorithms behind fast AI retrieval.

== yjc, use the “Get the access to full article for free!” link
Why We Actually Use Vectors: The Conceptual Link Between Linear Algebra and Machine Learning

An intuitive guide to vector embeddings, cosine similarity, and the hidden coordinate systems that power Spotify recommendations and GPT-4.

Could lightning-inspired fertilizer be a climate-friendly option for Canadian farmers?

Strait of Hormuz crisis has disrupted supply of chemical fertilizers relied on in agriculture.

== yjc
Mosquito dunks are selling out as bug season and ‘bucket of doom’ trend collide

DIY traps are going viral as potentially worse-than-usual season starts to bite.

OpenAI Announces Benchmarks for AI Life Sciences Research. Its Best Model Failed 63.9% of the Test

Artificial intelligence companies love to talk about how their models are transforming science. Depending on who you ask, AI is either on the verge of curing diseases, discovering new drugs, or completely reinventing research itself. OpenAI’s newly announced LifeSciBench benchmark, however, offers a much more grounded reality check.

NASA’s Swift Boost mission will launch later this month to rescue a falling telescope

The NASA Swift Boost mission is on track to launch later this month to rescue the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, whose orbit is decaying faster than anticipated.

How a brainless sea blob still ‘feels’ touch and crawls away in seconds without nerves or muscles

For a flat sea creature just a few millimeters across, a gentle poke is instantly recognized as danger. Trichoplax adhaerens—a translucent blob with no head, brain or muscles—scuttles away in seconds when touched.

Powerful seismic waves from Japan’s 2011 earthquake struck Earth’s core and bounced back up

In 2011, Japan reeled from the effects of a devastating magnitude 9.0 earthquake. But unnoticed in the chaos resulting from the quake, its major aftershocks and the tsunami it caused, something strange happened.

Scientists discover ‘hyperparasite’ in Malaysia Borneo jungle

Malaysian scientists have discovered a new species of parasitic fungus in Borneo’s jungles that preys on “zombie fungi” known to infect insects before subjecting them to a gruesome death.

People consciously recognize the meaning of words they can no longer see, study finds

When humans are awake, they are typically aware of specific sounds, movements, objects and other stimuli in their surroundings. Most of these are stimuli that they can see, hear or perceive with any of their other senses.