If you’re looking for intergalactic eye candy and cosmic bling, it’s hard to beat Abell 3827, a crowded cluster of hundreds of galaxies about 1.3 billion light-years from Earth. Hubble Space Telescope images of the cluster show a bright central quartet of merging galaxies shimmering like diamonds and perched on an ethereal azure engagement ring.… Continue reading Many-Mirrored Galaxies Deepen Dark Matter Mystery
Night of the Living Ed: Zombie Public Schools, Drained of Pandemic Lifeblood, Haunt the Land
Call them “zombie” schools. A significant but unknown number of public schools across the U.S., particularly in big cities, have lost so many students in the last half-decade that many of their classrooms sit empty. Gone is the loud clatter of students bursting through crowded hallways and slamming lockers. Marguerite Roza: “Too many schools, not… Continue reading Night of the Living Ed: Zombie Public Schools, Drained of Pandemic Lifeblood, Haunt the Land
Your Brain Finds It Easy to Size Up Four Objects But Not Five–Here’s Why
October 11, 2023 3 min read Neuron activity shows that the brain uses different systems for counting up to four, and for five or more By Nature magazine & Mariana Lenharo How many apples? Humans can size up a grouping of four or fewer items in an instant, but larger quantities pose a challenge. For… Continue reading Your Brain Finds It Easy to Size Up Four Objects But Not Five–Here’s Why
I Lie About What Happened in Combat
The following is an excerpt from River City One: A Novel (Knox Press; November 7, 2023). “West and me took a walk around the big base,” I started. “We wanted to see all the things we’d been deprived of and enjoy the freedom of stretching our legs without fear. West wanted something from the exchange, a tin… Continue reading I Lie About What Happened in Combat
NASA Reveals Sneak Peek of Historic Asteroid Sample
October 11, 2023 3 min read OSIRIS-REx’s treasure trove from asteroid Bennu includes material rich in water and carbon By SPACE.com & Mike Wall Accumulated debris from asteroid Bennu covers a portion of the OSIRIS-REx sample collector (middle right). Scientists’ initial analysis of this material shows it contains both carbon and water, two essential ingredients… Continue reading NASA Reveals Sneak Peek of Historic Asteroid Sample
Researchers Refute a Widespread Belief About Online Algorithms
In life, we sometimes have to make decisions without all the information we want; that’s true in computer science, too. This is the realm of online algorithms — which, despite their name, don’t necessarily involve the internet. Instead, these are problem-solving strategies that respond to data as it arrives, without any knowledge of what might… Continue reading Researchers Refute a Widespread Belief About Online Algorithms
Let’s Give Thanks for America
The first Thanksgivings in America were about celebrating survival. Spanish and French explorers set aside days to give thanks to the Almighty for protecting them in a strange and hostile land. The Pilgrims held their famous Thanksgiving feast of 1623 to praise God for their bountiful harvest. From there, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln issued… Continue reading Let’s Give Thanks for America
In the Gut’s ‘Second Brain,’ Key Agents of Health Emerge
The experiment offered clear evidence that, in addition to other cells, “glial cells can also sense physical forces” through this mechanosensory channel, said Vassilis Pachnis, the head of the nervous system development and homeostasis laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute. Then, having sensed the change in force, they can shift the activity of neural circuits… Continue reading In the Gut’s ‘Second Brain,’ Key Agents of Health Emerge
When It Comes to BlackRock’s ESG Pullback, Don’t Take Larry Fink at His Word
BlackRock recently walked back its public commitments to ESG in various ways. And for good reason. BlackRock has lost billions of dollars from state pension funds and others pulling out of ESG funds while it has taken a brand beating for its support of ESG. The company has been the subject of ad campaigns, investigations,… Continue reading When It Comes to BlackRock’s ESG Pullback, Don’t Take Larry Fink at His Word
Pierre de Fermat’s Link to a High School Student’s Prime Math Proof
Like many math students, I had dreams of mathematical greatness. I thought I was close once. A difficult algebra problem in college kept me working late into the night. After hours of struggle, I felt a breakthrough coming. I deftly manipulated expressions. I factored, multiplied and simplified, until my discovery finally revealed itself: $latex 1… Continue reading Pierre de Fermat’s Link to a High School Student’s Prime Math Proof