How did you spend the past few years as the COVID pandemic raged and limited our leisure options? Software developer Josh Wardle and his partner passed the time with crossword puzzles from the New York Times. At one point, Wardle remembered an idea for a similar game he had thought up a few years earlier. The word game… Continue reading Information Theory Finds the Best Wordle Starting Words
Strange Material Breaks a Classic Rule of Physics
A basic tenet of college physics is that as pressure increases, thermal conductivity—a material’s ability to conduct heat—increases, too, because atoms that are squeezed together interact more. More than a century of research has confirmed this rule. But engineers have now found an exception: when they applied intense pressure to boron arsenide, a recently discovered… Continue reading Strange Material Breaks a Classic Rule of Physics
A Mutation Turned Ants Into Parasites in One Generation
These workerless social parasites, sometimes called inquilines (from the Latin word for “tenants”), have a distinctive appearance that to human eyes easily sets them apart from their hosts. But their parasitic scheme succeeds because they have evolved ways to steal chemical odors from the host nest to camouflage themselves. Genomic analyses have shown that ant… Continue reading A Mutation Turned Ants Into Parasites in One Generation
This Pioneering Nuclear Fusion Lab Is Gearing Up to Break More Records
Last month, the US National Ignition Facility (NIF) fired its lasers up to full power for the first time since December, when it achieved its decades-long goal of ‘ignition’ by producing more energy during a nuclear reaction than it consumed. The latest run didn’t come close to matching up: NIF achieved only 4% of the output it… Continue reading This Pioneering Nuclear Fusion Lab Is Gearing Up to Break More Records
Leo Tolstoy the Free Thinker: Yet Another ‘New’ Look at ‘War and Peace’
For mountain climbers, one imagines that Mt. Everest looms as the ultimate climb to validate one’s ability. For runners, it would be the Boston Marathon, for triathletes the Iron Man? For readers, it’s no reach to say that Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace is the Mt. Everest, Boston Marathon, or Iron Man of reading. Coming… Continue reading Leo Tolstoy the Free Thinker: Yet Another ‘New’ Look at ‘War and Peace’
With a Planned Moon Launch, NASA Must Put Safety First
The U.S. is once again sending people to the moon. The world met the crew of the planned Artemis II mission in early April and celebrated an upcoming 10-day voyage that should both stir nostalgia and fuel a new generation’s love of crewed spaceflight. But after multiple space catastrophes in the past 60 years, Project… Continue reading With a Planned Moon Launch, NASA Must Put Safety First
Help Meet America’s Need for Honest and Independent Journalism
By David DesRosiers, PublisherMay 2023 Honest journalism—nonpartisan, evenhanded, and striving toward objectivity—faces resistance within many corners of the media and other powerful institutions. According to a Pew survey, 55% of journalists believe that every side does not always deserve equal coverage. That portion rises to 63% among younger members of the profession. Major papers of… Continue reading Help Meet America’s Need for Honest and Independent Journalism
The Amazing Story of “Iron Mike” Malloy (Michael Malloy, Mike the Durable, Murder Trust)
Podcast: Download MYS257: Michael Malloy was an Irishman living in NYC in the 1930s who left a mysterious legacy. Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli discuss his unbelievable death-defying story that earned him the nickname “Iron Mike” and “Mike the Durable.” Get all new episodes automatically and for free: Follow by Email | Watch this episode… Continue reading The Amazing Story of “Iron Mike” Malloy (Michael Malloy, Mike the Durable, Murder Trust)
These Are the Places at Greatest Risk from Extreme Heat
CLIMATEWIRE | A record-shattering heat wave that blistered the Pacific Northwest in 2021 carried an important lesson, scientists say. Places that historically haven’t had to deal with extreme heat may not be prepared when it strikes. That was true across the lush, temperate regions of Oregon, Washington state and British Columbia, where air conditioning was still… Continue reading These Are the Places at Greatest Risk from Extreme Heat
Why Is China Strengthening Its Military? It’s Not All About War
China’s rapid military modernization has spurred considerable fear that the country could provoke a war with the United States. Such fear may owe to an exaggerated view of the importance of war preparation as a driver of the People’s Liberation Army’s buildup. In fact, a broad variety of political and security drivers underpin the military’s… Continue reading Why Is China Strengthening Its Military? It’s Not All About War