A measles outbreak is growing in a Texas county with dangerously low vaccination rates. In late January, two school-age children from Gaines County were hospitalized with measles. Since an estimated 1 in 5 people with the disease end up in the hospital, the two cases suggested a larger outbreak. As of Feb. 12, there were… Continue reading Measles Outbreak in Children Grows in One of Texas’ Least Vaccinated Counties
‘Once in a Century’ Proof Settles Math’s Kakeya Conjecture
And even in cases where the grains all conspired to provide maximum overlap, they found, the number of grains intersecting any given point couldn’t be too big. Starting from the 2.5 bound, they were able to prove that the grains couldn’t overlap enough to result in a dimension slightly above that bound either. Then, starting… Continue reading ‘Once in a Century’ Proof Settles Math’s Kakeya Conjecture
Animal-to-Human Organ Transplants Hit Long-Awaited Testing Milestone
February 13, 2025 4 min read Animal-to-Human Organ Transplants Hit Long-Awaited Testing Milestone Up to 50 transplant patients will receive a genetically modified pig kidney in a clinical trial that will launch this summer By Tanya Lewis edited by Dean Visser Towana Looney, 53, received a gene-edited pig kidney transplant at NYU Langone Health in… Continue reading Animal-to-Human Organ Transplants Hit Long-Awaited Testing Milestone
A New Beltway Intrigue: Follow the Biden EPA Money
When the Biden administration announced $27 billion in environmental grants last April, it set the clock ticking on a predicament: how to get the unprecedented sums for the President’s envisioned NetZero future out the door before the fiscal year ended on Sept. 30? Lee Zeldin, Trump EPA Administrator: Sees “a deeply entrenched pattern of political… Continue reading A New Beltway Intrigue: Follow the Biden EPA Money
UFO Observables (Unidentified Flying Objects, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, UAPs)
UFO Observables (Unidentified Flying Objects, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, UAPs) < !- end of Google Analytics Code Snippet by GA4WP–> // tabnab protection window.addEventListener(‘load’, function () { // make all links have rel=”noopener noreferrer” document.querySelectorAll(‘a[target=”_blank”]’).forEach(link => { link.setAttribute(‘rel’, ‘noopener noreferrer’); }); }); ]]> Podcast: Download MYS355: Strange things are flying in our skies, and the US… Continue reading UFO Observables (Unidentified Flying Objects, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, UAPs)
Scientists React to RFK, Jr.’s Confirmation as HHS Secretary
February 13, 2025 4 min read Scientists React to RFK, Jr.’s Confirmation as HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has expressed support for some fields of science but has also declared he’d like a “break” in infectious-disease research. Here’s what he might do as the U.S.’s newly confirmed secretary of health and human services By… Continue reading Scientists React to RFK, Jr.’s Confirmation as HHS Secretary
The Upstart ‘Classic Learning Test’ Gets a Testy Welcome From the SAT
A lobbyist for the College Board delivered a sharp warning to William Slater last month. She was not happy that the Tennessee Republican lawmaker had recently introduced a bill to allow the state’s public universities to accept the Classic Learning Test, an upstart competitor to the College Board’s famed SAT, as an admissions exam. Jeremy… Continue reading The Upstart ‘Classic Learning Test’ Gets a Testy Welcome From the SAT
Why Do Researchers Care About Small Language Models?
Large language models work well because they’re so large. The latest models from OpenAI, Meta and DeepSeek use hundreds of billions of “parameters” — the adjustable knobs that determine connections among data and get tweaked during the training process. With more parameters, the models are better able to identify patterns and connections, which in turn… Continue reading Why Do Researchers Care About Small Language Models?
John Marshall and the ‘Province’ of the Judicial Branch
The Supreme Court’s ruling in Marbury v. Madison (1803) has long been recognized for its important articulation of the constitutional doctrine of judicial review. Chief Justice John Marshall’s opinion famously identified a section of the 1789 Judiciary Act to be contrary to the judicial powers prescribed by the Constitution. Accordingly, he asserted the Supreme Court’s authority to… Continue reading John Marshall and the ‘Province’ of the Judicial Branch
Men Actually Crave Romantic Relationships More Than Women Do
February 14, 2025 2 min read Men Actually Crave Romantic Relationships More Than Women Do Multiple-study analysis looks at why men’s emotional intimacy is much more difficult outside of romantic relationships By Clarissa Brincat edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier Research explores why men seem to find romantic relationships more important than women do. Thomas Barwick/Getty… Continue reading Men Actually Crave Romantic Relationships More Than Women Do