A California Reparations Task Force hearing in Oakland last year. AP Task force members repeatedly stated that their damning historical analysis of American racism, and their proposed remedies, are intended to serve as a blueprint for the entire nation to adopt in atonement for what they see as the original sin of slavery and its… Continue reading After Supreme Court Ruling, Reparations Fight Lives On as ‘Not Race-Based’
What Can Jellyfish Teach Us About Fluid Dynamics?
The jellyfish that move through the seas by gently pulsing their saclike bodies may not seem to hold many secrets that would interest human engineers. But simple as the creatures are, jellyfish are masterful at harnessing and controlling the flow of the water around them, sometimes with surprising efficiency. As such, they embody sophisticated solutions… Continue reading What Can Jellyfish Teach Us About Fluid Dynamics?
An Enormous Gravity ‘Hum’ Moves Through the Universe
Most likely, the gravitational waves come from pairs of supermassive black holes that are spiraling around each other inside merging galaxies. But we might be seeing something else entirely, perhaps something exotic such as ruptures in space-time itself resulting from loops of energy called cosmic strings. “Finding for the first time the suggestion of background… Continue reading An Enormous Gravity ‘Hum’ Moves Through the Universe
Which Creature Was the First to Take a Nap?
“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality,” wrote Shirley Jackson in the first line of her 1959 horror novel The Haunting of Hill House. “Even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream.” Jackson penned this line to introduce her haunted house, where the line between… Continue reading Which Creature Was the First to Take a Nap?
Recovering Love of God and Country
I was ready to respond to those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me. I said: Here I am! Here I am! To a nation that did not invoke my name. –Isaiah 65:1 Mid-way through the new year, July brings us summer fun and vacations. And just as… Continue reading Recovering Love of God and Country
A New Map of the Universe, Painted With Cosmic Neutrinos
Probing Fundamental Physics Neutrinos offer rare clues that a more complete theory of particles must supersede the 50-year-old set of equations known as the Standard Model. This model describes elementary particles and forces with near-perfect precision, but it errs when it comes to neutrinos: It predicts that the neutral particles are massless, but they aren’t… Continue reading A New Map of the Universe, Painted With Cosmic Neutrinos
Neural Networks Need Data to Learn. Even If It’s Fake.
On a sunny day in late 1987, a Chevy van drove down a curvy wooded path on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. The hulking vehicle, named Navlab, wasn’t notable for its beauty or speed, but for its brain: It was an experimental version of an autonomous vehicle, guided by four powerful computers… Continue reading Neural Networks Need Data to Learn. Even If It’s Fake.
Extreme Heat Is Deadlier Than Hurricanes, Floods and Tornadoes Combined
On June 25, 2022, Esteban Chavez, Jr., started his day like any other, working his route in Pasadena, Calif., as a driver for UPS. But the city was in the middle of an intense heat wave, and by midafternoon the temperature was higher than 90 degrees Fahrenheit. After completing his last delivery of the day,… Continue reading Extreme Heat Is Deadlier Than Hurricanes, Floods and Tornadoes Combined
Caution Is Needed on Drug Touted as Opioid Game-Changer
The Biden administration’s much-heralded effort to promote distribution of buprenorphine may not be a game changer in our battle to subdue the opioid crisis. This new campaign resembles yet another social experiment in our national clash with addiction, especially when coupled with so-called harm reduction policies that promote drug abuse. Buprenorphine is a narcotic drug… Continue reading Caution Is Needed on Drug Touted as Opioid Game-Changer
On the Longing of Creation To Be Set Free
St. Paul speaks of the longing of creation to be set free. He almost personifies creation: For indeed, creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope… Continue reading On the Longing of Creation To Be Set Free