science

<p>The SETI Institute invites nominations for the 2026 Jill Tarter Award for Innovation in the Search for Life Beyond Earth, an international honor recognizing individuals whose ideas, work, or leadership have meaningfully advanced humanity’s efforts to understand life and intelligence in the Universe. Artists, journalists, media, scientists, educators, law &amp; ethics, philosophers, and more – all disciplines are welcome.</p><p><a href="/tags/seti/" rel="tag">#seti</a> <a href="/tags/space/" rel="tag">#space</a> <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#science</a></p>

<p>DEADLINE APPROACHING: It&#x27;s that time of year! The SETI Institute, a non-profit private scientific research institution located in California’s Silicon Valley, invites you to apply for a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates program for highly motivated students who are interested in research related to astronomy, astrobiology, and planetary science.</p><p><a href="/tags/undergrad/" rel="tag">#undergrad</a> <a href="/tags/reu/" rel="tag">#reu</a> <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#science</a></p>

<p>Hey my new paper covering our recent dark matter search just got published</p><p><a href="https://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/2ydp-2gz9" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/2ydp-2gz9"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/</span><span class="invisible">10.1103/2ydp-2gz9</span></a></p><p>*psst* it&#x27;s also available for free on arxiv.org just google the title of the paper</p><p><a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#science</a> <a href="/tags/physics/" rel="tag">#physics</a></p>

<p>Yelp, don&#x27;t consider an AI service such as ChatGPT to be a store of important content. Always keep a backup you control (which is in general good advice when working with cloud-based services)</p><p>&gt; When I contacted OpenAI’s support, the first responses came from an AI agent. Only after repeated enquiries did a human employee respond</p><p>Err, yes, that is to be expected? We&#x27;ll see this much more in the future. Expectations will shift.</p><p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-04064-7" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-04064-7"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.nature.com/articles/d41586</span><span class="invisible">-025-04064-7</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/chatgpt/" rel="tag">#chatgpt</a> <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#science</a> <a href="/tags/nature/" rel="tag">#nature</a></p>

<p>A new <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#Science</a> review of 34,000 world-class performers shows a surprising pattern: most top scientists, athletes, musicians, and chess players were not child prodigies. About 90% of elite adults were different people than the early “stars.”</p><p>📄 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adt7790" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="doi.org/10.1126/science.adt7790"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">doi.org/10.1126/science.adt779</span><span class="invisible">0</span></a></p><p>Future champions often developed slower, explored multiple disciplines, and avoided early specialization. Early over-training may help kids win, but it rarely creates world leaders. 🤔 </p><p><a href="/tags/education/" rel="tag">#Education</a> <a href="/tags/creativity/" rel="tag">#Creativity</a> <a href="/tags/learning/" rel="tag">#Learning</a> <a href="/tags/metascience/" rel="tag">#Metascience</a></p>

<p>Neanderthals could be brought back within 20 years — but is it a good idea? Via @live_science <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#Science</a> 🔭🔬🧪🥼🧑‍🔬 <a href="/tags/paleontology/" rel="tag">#paleontology</a><br><br><a href="https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/human-evolution/neanderthals-could-be-brought-back-within-20-years-but-is-it-a-good-idea" rel="nofollow">Neanderthals could be brought ...</a></p>

<p>Trump Administration Orders USDA Employees to Investigate Foreign Researchers They Work With<br>---</p><p>The new directive asks workers to check the backgrounds of foreign nationals collaborating with the department’s scientists for evidence of “subversive or criminal activity.” Their names are being sent to national security experts at the agency.<br><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-usda-foreign-scientists?utm_source=mastodon&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=mastodon-post" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.propublica.org/article/trump-usda-foreign-scientists?utm_source=mastodon&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=mastodon-post"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.propublica.org/article/tru</span><span class="invisible">mp-usda-foreign-scientists?utm_source=mastodon&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=mastodon-post</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/news/" rel="tag">#News</a> <a href="/tags/usda/" rel="tag">#USDA</a> <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#Science</a> <a href="/tags/research/" rel="tag">#Research</a> <a href="/tags/academia/" rel="tag">#Academia</a> <a href="/tags/uspolitics/" rel="tag">#USPolitics</a> <a href="/tags/trump/" rel="tag">#Trump</a></p>

<p>Why Are So Many Millennials Getting Cancer?</p><p><a href="https://studyfinds.org/why-are-so-many-millennials-getting-cancer/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="studyfinds.org/why-are-so-many-millennials-getting-cancer/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">studyfinds.org/why-are-so-many</span><span class="invisible">-millennials-getting-cancer/</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/cancer/" rel="tag">#cancer</a> <a href="/tags/millenials/" rel="tag">#millenials</a> <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#science</a> <a href="/tags/press/" rel="tag">#press</a></p>

<p>PBS News Hour - Segments <a href="https://flex2.acast.com/s/pbs-newshour-segments/u/d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2025/10/braindrain.mp3" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="flex2.acast.com/s/pbs-newshour-segments/u/d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2025/10/braindrain.mp3"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">flex2.acast.com/s/pbs-newshour</span><span class="invisible">-segments/u/d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2025/10/braindrain.mp3</span></a> </p><p>US scientists appear to be giving serious consideration to fleeing to other places as <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#science</a> remains under serious threat there.</p>

<p>Lifting Mt. Everest</p><p>Do I have this correct?</p><p>1 joule can lift ~102 grams 1 meter against Earth&#x27;s gravity</p><p>Let&#x27;s call 102 g an EMU</p><p>Given e = mc², 1 kg of rest mass represents ~10¹⁷ J of energy</p><p>Mt. Everest&#x27;s mass is estimated to be ~1.75 × 10¹⁴ kg = 1.75 × 10¹⁷ g = 1.75 × 10¹⁷ ÷ 102 g = ~1.7157 × 10¹⁵ EMU</p><p> therefore,</p><p>Applying 10¹⁷ joules to lifting ~1.7157 × 10¹⁵ EMU means Mt. Everest could be lifted 10¹⁷ ÷ 1.7157 × 10¹⁵ = 58 metres with the energy of 1 kg rest mass</p><p><a href="/tags/physics/" rel="tag">#physics</a> <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#science</a></p>

<p>Astronomers sure do conjure up a lot of spooky images when they look out into deep space. A short Halloween thread:</p><p>Let&#x27;s start with the Cosmic Bat Nebula (LDN 43).</p><p><a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241027.html" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241027.html"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241027.ht</span><span class="invisible">ml</span></a> <a href="/tags/space/" rel="tag">#space</a> <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#science</a> <a href="/tags/art/" rel="tag">#art</a> <a href="/tags/halloween/" rel="tag">#halloween</a></p>

<p><a href="/tags/newspecies/" rel="tag">#NewSpecies</a>!<br>New springtail from the <a href="/tags/caucasus/" rel="tag">#caucasus</a> just sprang in:</p><p>Ceratophysella dobrolyubovae</p><p>Treatment: <a href="https://treatment.plazi.org/id/038187EB-FFD6-603A-FF03-FE9AD588FC72" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="treatment.plazi.org/id/038187EB-FFD6-603A-FF03-FE9AD588FC72"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">treatment.plazi.org/id/038187E</span><span class="invisible">B-FFD6-603A-FF03-FE9AD588FC72</span></a><br>Publication: <a href="https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5725.3.4" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5725.3.4"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5725.</span><span class="invisible">3.4</span></a><br><a href="/tags/zootaxa/" rel="tag">#Zootaxa</a> <a href="/tags/ceratophyselladobrolyubovae/" rel="tag">#CeratophysellaDobrolyubovae</a></p><p><a href="/tags/fairdata/" rel="tag">#FAIRdata</a><br><a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#science</a> <a href="/tags/oa/" rel="tag">#OA</a> <a href="/tags/openaccess/" rel="tag">#openaccess</a> <a href="/tags/biology/" rel="tag">#biology</a> <a href="/tags/taxonomy/" rel="tag">#taxonomy</a> <a href="/tags/ecology/" rel="tag">#ecology</a> <a href="/tags/biodiversity/" rel="tag">#biodiversity</a> <a href="/tags/nature/" rel="tag">#nature</a> <a href="/tags/wildlife/" rel="tag">#wildlife</a> <a href="/tags/conservation/" rel="tag">#conservation</a> <a href="/tags/animals/" rel="tag">#animals</a> <a href="/tags/invertebrates/" rel="tag">#invertebrates</a> <a href="/tags/collembola/" rel="tag">#collembola</a> <a href="/tags/springtails/" rel="tag">#springtails</a></p>

<p>A research group looked at results for over 97,000,000 people, and found</p><p><p>COVID-19 was associated with a 49% increased risk of new-onset autoimmune-related diseases </p></p><p>and flat out:</p><p><p>SARS-CoV-2 infection increases the risk of autoimmune diseases, particularly those affecting vascular and connective tissue. Risk is amplified by severe infection and attenuated by vaccination</p></p><p>and it&#x27;s hard to imagine a stronger proof - most countries don&#x27;t have 97 million people in them!</p><p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41452424/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41452424/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/414524</span><span class="invisible">24/</span></a></p><p>(via AJ Leonardi quoting Hannah Davis)</p><p><a href="/tags/covid/" rel="tag">#COVID</a> <a href="/tags/covid19/" rel="tag">#COVID19</a> <a href="/tags/sarscov2/" rel="tag">#SARSCoV2</a> <a href="/tags/longcovid/" rel="tag">#LongCOVID</a> <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#science</a></p>

<p>Glad UC Riverside still has a scientific glassblower. Fewer and fewer US campuses do.</p><p><a href="https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/employee-news/uc-people-stephen-lepore-scientific-glassblower/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/employee-news/uc-people-stephen-lepore-scientific-glassblower/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">ucnet.universityofcalifornia.e</span><span class="invisible">du/employee-news/uc-people-stephen-lepore-scientific-glassblower/</span></a> <a href="/tags/chemistry/" rel="tag">#Chemistry</a> <a href="/tags/biology/" rel="tag">#Biology</a> <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#Science</a> <a href="/tags/glassblowing/" rel="tag">#Glassblowing</a> <a href="/tags/craft/" rel="tag">#Craft</a></p>

<p>Dogs In Chornobyl are Mysteriously Turning Blue, But Radiation Is Not to Blame. Via @discover.magazine <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#Science</a> 🔭🔬🧪🥼🧑‍🔬<br><br><a href="https://www.discovermagazine.com/dogs-in-chornobyl-are-mysteriously-turning-blue-but-radiation-is-not-to-blame-48205" rel="nofollow">Dogs In Chornobyl are Mysterio...</a></p>

<p>Great white sharks are perhaps the most feared predators in the ocean. But what might they fear? Probably orcas. In the Gulf of California, the killer whales have been spotted hunting young great whites by flipping them over before eating their energy-filled liver. Blech. It’s wild out there. <span class="h-card"><a href="https://flipboard.com/@CBSNews" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>CBSNews</span></a></span> has the story:</p><p><a href="https://flip.it/qTaoHP" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>flip.it/qTaoHP</a></p><p><a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#Science</a> <a href="/tags/greatwhitesharks/" rel="tag">#GreatWhiteSharks</a> <a href="/tags/orcas/" rel="tag">#Orcas</a> <a href="/tags/animals/" rel="tag">#Animals</a> <a href="/tags/ocean/" rel="tag">#Ocean</a></p>

<p>Three Chinese astronauts who have been living on China&#x27;s Tiangong space station since April 24 were set to return to Earth Wednesday when a piece of suspected “space junk” struck their return capsule — just hours ahead of departure. Looks like they’re going to be there for a while. Read more from <span class="h-card"><a href="https://flipboard.com/@LiveScience" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>LiveScience</span></a></span>:</p><p><a href="https://flip.it/SGZBwV" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>flip.it/SGZBwV</a></p><p><a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#Science</a> <a href="/tags/space/" rel="tag">#Space</a> <a href="/tags/china/" rel="tag">#China</a> <a href="/tags/spaceexploration/" rel="tag">#SpaceExploration</a></p>

<p>1) Why do you love plants and how do you interact with plants in your life (intentionally/background)?</p><p>2) What makes learning about plants/ecology accessible/inaccessible to you (ie compare with birding)?</p><p>3) Do you prefer a formal or informal teaching environment, and why?</p><p>4) What are some subtopics relating to native plants that are of interest to you?</p><p>5) Would you prefer to learn to ID plants with or without phone apps?</p><p>6) How many plants would you be comfortable learning to ID in a 1 hour session?</p><p><a href="/tags/plants/" rel="tag">#Plants</a> <a href="/tags/ecology/" rel="tag">#Ecology</a> <a href="/tags/education/" rel="tag">#Education</a> <a href="/tags/gardening/" rel="tag">#Gardening</a> <a href="/tags/askfedi/" rel="tag">#AskFedi</a> <a href="/tags/conservation/" rel="tag">#Conservation</a> <a href="/tags/teaching/" rel="tag">#Teaching</a> <a href="/tags/environment/" rel="tag">#Environment</a> <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#Science</a></p>

<p>Rotational symmetry in physics.</p><p>- from Guido Tonelli&#x27;s &#x27;Genesis: the Story of How Everything Began&#x27;</p><p><a href="/tags/physics/" rel="tag">#physics</a> <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#science</a> <a href="/tags/humor/" rel="tag">#humor</a></p>

<p>Robots are cool and all, but have you tried shooting squishy humans into space so that they can use their eyeballs to appreciate the features on the surface of the Moon with more nuance??</p><p><a href="https://stefanbohacek.online/@stefan/116359651867951775" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="stefanbohacek.online/@stefan/116359651867951775"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">stefanbohacek.online/@stefan/1</span><span class="invisible">16359651867951775</span></a> </p><p><a href="/tags/space/" rel="tag">#space</a> <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#science</a> <a href="/tags/artemisii/" rel="tag">#ArtemisII</a> <a href="/tags/moon/" rel="tag">#moon</a> <a href="/tags/humans/" rel="tag">#humans</a> <a href="/tags/robots/" rel="tag">#robots</a></p>

<p>Next time you catch yourself saying: &#x27;Fuck. That was stupid. Why did I do that?&#x27;</p><p>--- rewrite it: ---</p><p>&#x27;Fuck. That was thoughtless. Why did I do that?&#x27;</p><p>Then it becomes a problem you can work on vs. a reprimand from a shitty boss. </p><p>Be kind to yourself.</p><p><a href="/tags/kindness/" rel="tag">#kindness</a> <a href="/tags/selfcare/" rel="tag">#selfcare</a> <a href="/tags/health/" rel="tag">#health</a> <a href="/tags/mentalhealth/" rel="tag">#mentalhealth</a> <a href="/tags/psychology/" rel="tag">#psychology</a> <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#science</a> <a href="/tags/alttext/" rel="tag">#alttext</a> <a href="/tags/art/" rel="tag">#art</a> <a href="/tags/photography/" rel="tag">#photography</a></p>

<p>Finally joined mastodon in search of a sane online space! Where are my scientists at? <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#science</a> <a href="/tags/biology/" rel="tag">#biology</a> <a href="/tags/engineering/" rel="tag">#engineering</a></p>

<p>Still blown away by Veronika, the tool-using cow. <a href="/tags/cows/" rel="tag">#cows</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jan/19/back-scratching-cow-veronika-bovine-intelligence" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jan/19/back-scratching-cow-veronika-bovine-intelligence"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.theguardian.com/science/20</span><span class="invisible">26/jan/19/back-scratching-cow-veronika-bovine-intelligence</span></a> <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#science</a></p>

<p>Fascinating <a href="/tags/documentary/" rel="tag">#documentary</a> on the <a href="/tags/challenger/" rel="tag">#Challenger</a> space shuttle <a href="/tags/disaster/" rel="tag">#disaster</a>. Apparently <a href="/tags/nasa/" rel="tag">#NASA</a> withheld quite a bit of <a href="/tags/information/" rel="tag">#information</a> from the <a href="/tags/public/" rel="tag">#public</a> for decades.</p><p>While it was true the rubber O rings failed due to subfreezing temperatures, NASA ignored engineers warnings and proceeded with the launch. What isn&#x27;t true is the <a href="/tags/astronauts/" rel="tag">#astronauts</a> vaporizing due to the <a href="/tags/explosion/" rel="tag">#explosion</a>. Withheld <a href="/tags/evidence/" rel="tag">#evidence</a> showed not only were they aware, they activated <a href="/tags/emergency/" rel="tag">#emergency</a> air tanks and were passengers trapped in a cabin on a <a href="/tags/terrifying/" rel="tag">#terrifying</a> high speed freefall which slammed into the ocean.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjwDA9euytQ" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjwDA9euytQ"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjwDA9</span><span class="invisible">euytQ</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/space/" rel="tag">#space</a> <a href="/tags/launch/" rel="tag">#launch</a> <a href="/tags/failure/" rel="tag">#failure</a> <a href="/tags/death/" rel="tag">#death</a> <a href="/tags/investigation/" rel="tag">#investigation</a> <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#science</a> <a href="/tags/wow/" rel="tag">#wow</a></p>

<p>Last month, we released Rx Inspector, a groundbreaking tool that lets you find the factories where your generic drugs were manufactured.</p><p>See the never-before-released data that ties everything together.<br><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/rx-inspector-generic-drugs-data?utm_source=mastodon&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=mastodon-post" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.propublica.org/article/rx-inspector-generic-drugs-data?utm_source=mastodon&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=mastodon-post"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.propublica.org/article/rx-</span><span class="invisible">inspector-generic-drugs-data?utm_source=mastodon&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=mastodon-post</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/health/" rel="tag">#Health</a> <a href="/tags/medicine/" rel="tag">#Medicine</a> <a href="/tags/data/" rel="tag">#Data</a> <a href="/tags/research/" rel="tag">#Research</a> <a href="/tags/fda/" rel="tag">#FDA</a> <a href="/tags/drugs/" rel="tag">#Drugs</a> <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#Science</a> <a href="/tags/journalism/" rel="tag">#Journalism</a></p>