China-U.S. Science Collaborations Are Declining, Slowing Key Research The U.S. and China are collaborating less on projects across scientific disciplines amid a culture of fear in both countries By Gemma Conroy & Nature magazine Manuel Augusto Moreno/Getty Images China’s scientific collaboration with other countries has declined since the pandemic, driven by falling partnerships with the… Continue reading China-U.S. Science Collaborations Are Declining, Slowing Key Research
Kamaflage: The Harris Policy Dump
The Harris-Walz campaign has been vibe-a-licious and content-free; its positions on domestic and foreign policy have (with apologies to Hollywood) essentially consisted of open defiance of any presidential campaign norms: “Policy? We ain’t got no policy. We don’t need no policy. We don’t have to show you any stinkin’ policy.” But the campaign’s policy on… Continue reading Kamaflage: The Harris Policy Dump
Major Breakthrough Puts Element 120—the Heaviest Ever—within Reach
New Superheavy Element Synthesis Points to Long-Sought ‘Island of Stability’ A novel way of making superheavy elements could soon add a new row to the periodic table, allowing scientists to explore uncharted atomic realms By Max Springer Jacklyn Gates, head of the Heavy Element Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, is leading an… Continue reading Major Breakthrough Puts Element 120—the Heaviest Ever—within Reach
Do We Need a New Theory of Gravity?
Observations of the cosmos suggest that unseen sources of gravity — dark matter — tug at the stars in galaxies, while another mysterious force — dark energy — drives the universe to expand at an ever-increasing rate. The evidence for both of them, however, hinges on assumptions that gravity works the same way at all… Continue reading Do We Need a New Theory of Gravity?
The Harris Campaign’s Facade of Freedom
Ever since Kamala Harris took the Democratic nomination away from Joe Biden, the Democratic messaging shifted gears from “protecting democracy” to promoting “freedom.” This was especially true as Democrats unveiled an ad titled “Freedom” at the Democratic National Convention coupled with one of Harris’ go-to stump speeches where she proudly proclaims, “We chose freedom.” As an immigrant,… Continue reading The Harris Campaign’s Facade of Freedom
Perplexing the Web, One Probability Puzzle at a Time
In late January, Daniel Litt posed an innocent probability puzzle on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) — and set a corner of the Twitterverse on fire. Imagine, he wrote, that you have an urn filled with 100 balls, some red and some green. You can’t see inside; all you know is… Continue reading Perplexing the Web, One Probability Puzzle at a Time
UCLA Failed Jewish Students Like Me
When I chose to attend UCLA, I never thought I’d be segregated from my peers for being a Jew. Nor did I suspect that my school’s administration would encourage and support antisemitic harassment, intimidation, and assault. This year, both nightmares became a reality for me and hundreds of Jews at UCLA. But following a federal… Continue reading UCLA Failed Jewish Students Like Me
Biden Enacted Landmark Heat Protections. Millions of Public Employees Are Still in Danger
CLIMATEWIRE | President Joe Biden heralded the nation’s first-ever proposal to protect workers from heat as a lifesaving measure at a time when searing temperatures are killing more Americans than any other disaster. But the draft rule announced this month is haunted by a 50-year-old loophole that would stop it from defending about 7.9 million… Continue reading Biden Enacted Landmark Heat Protections. Millions of Public Employees Are Still in Danger
First ‘Cocaine Sharks’ Discovered off Brazil
Sharks in Brazil Test Positive for a Surprising Contaminant: Cocaine Cocaine has been detected in sharks for the first time, but scientists aren’t sure of the impact By Stephanie Pappas Researchers found cocaine in sharpnose sharks off Brazil. These sharks are in the same genus as the Atlantic sharpnose shark, shown here with a student… Continue reading First ‘Cocaine Sharks’ Discovered off Brazil
George Washington’s Vision of the Virgin Mary (Patrons Questions!)
Podcast: Download MYS328: We regularly give Patrons the opportunity to ask Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli their mysterious questions and make them available exclusively to Patrons first and then later to the whole audience. This time the questions cover George Washington’s reported vision of the Virgin Mary; whether demons can reveal your confessed sins; the… Continue reading George Washington’s Vision of the Virgin Mary (Patrons Questions!)