Mathematicians Attempt to Glimpse Past the Big Bang
“Researchers already knew that in a universe with so-called dark energy, but without matter, the start of inflation identified in the BGV theorem is a coordinate singularity that can be eliminated. But the real universe has matter, of course. Might mathematical tricks also make it possible to get around its singularity? The researchers showed that if the amount of matter is negligible compared to the amount of dark energy, then the singularity can be eliminated.”
Mathematicians Attempt to Glimpse Past the Big Bang
“Researchers already knew that in a universe with so-called dark energy, but without matter, the start of inflation identified in the BGV theorem is a coordinate singularity that can be eliminated. But the real universe has matter, of course. Might mathematical tricks also make it possible to get around its singularity? The researchers showed that if the amount of matter is negligible compared to the amount of dark energy, then the singularity can be eliminated.”
Earliest, most distant galaxy discovered with James Webb Space Telescope
“The two earliest and most distant galaxies yet confirmed, dating back to only 300 million years after the Big Bang, have been discovered using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an international team of astronomers today announced.”
Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder by Richard Dawkins, 2020
With the wit, insight, and spellbinding prose that have made him a bestselling author, Dawkins takes up the most important and compelling topics in modern science, from astronomy and genetics to language and virtual reality, combining them in a landmark statement of the human appetite for wonder.
I mustn't let May go by without a nod to my 2009 article on the discovery, during the 19th century, of same-sex copulation among Maybugs (also known as Maybeetles, cockchafers, doodlebugs). Do look out for them at it in your garden! 🌈🌳
#Books | Dans ce #livre, la théorie scientifique de la sélection naturelle est discutée à la lumière des données récentes issues du séquençage de nombreux génomes. La #biologie synthétique, la modification et réécriture des génomes sont aussi abordées.
#Books | Le libre arbitre existe-t-il? La beauté est-elle dans l’œil du spectateur? Faut-il limiter la liberté? Abordez les grandes questions philosophiques –avec des cartes mentales, des questions-réponses et des illustrations pour mieux s’orienter.
“When you say there aren’t enough jobs, it’s because we’re training so many Ph.D.’s and convincing them all that the only way to remain a scientist is to stay in academia. It’s not, and that hasn’t been true for a long time.”
Fossil viruses hidden in our DNA thousands of years ago could be the cause of depression, study finds
“Ancient DNA present in humans may be linked to major psychiatric disorders like depression, researchers have said.
DNA sequences originating from ancient infections are found in the brain, with some contributing to susceptibility for conditions like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression, a study found”
Fossil viruses hidden in our DNA thousands of years ago could be the cause of depression, study finds
“_Ancient DNA present in humans may be linked to major psychiatric disorders like depression, researchers have said.
DNA sequences originating from ancient infections are found in the brain, with some contributing to susceptibility for conditions like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression, a study found_”
Ancient genomes revealed the complex human interactions of the ancient western Tibetans
“Outside the Tibetan Plateau, the western Tibetan Plateau populations interacted with both South and Central Asian populations at least 2,000 years ago, and the South Asian-related genetic influence, despite being very limited, was from the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) migrants in Central Asia instead of the IVC populations from the Indus Valley.”
New Review Essay on @lmesseri tremendous new book, ethnography & tech, social hopes, & false dreams of tech solutionism. Also discussing work of Andrew Brock, Zeynep Tufekci & Kelsie Nabben on Black Twitter, Twitter & ethnographies of DAOs.
Mesmerising microbes: bacteria as you’ve never seen it before – in pictures
“As a side hustle he manipulates and photographs the microbial world; his images are collected in a book, Beautiful Bacteria. Taking bacteria from substances such as wastewater, dental plaque or kimchi, Danino lets them multiply in a petri dish, adding dyes. The results are artworks differing from the digital enhancements often made in scientific photography to make images more informative.”
"She criticized my organizational skills and told me that she didn’t see a passion or spark for doing research in me."
Pleading to passion are cop outs for not paying your, or providing sufficient guidance. This was squarely on the PI to begin with, by not reading the room or asking for timely feedback on workload. The the response left a culture of fear (nor one of responsibility and disclosure). Poor management as ever.
“The first known calculation of the Earth’s circumference was made 2300 years ago by a man called Eratosthenes. I remember in school, how impressed I was by how accurately the Earth’s circumference was measured such long time ago. Today we’re going to take a closer look on how his calculation was made.”
“The Harvard team established the practical makings of the first quantum internet by entangling two quantum memory nodes separated by optical fiber link deployed over a roughly 22-mile loop through Cambridge, Somerville, Watertown, and Boston.”
You can tell #Kuhn is thinking of #Wittgenstein, PI here: "to imagine a language means to imagine a form of life." This is from "Scientific Knowledge as Historical Product," 1977, first essay in The Essential Tension and also in The Last Writings of Thomas S. Kuhn.
Have any good investigative journalists done pieces on how the slant of donors, the power of large universities "strategic communications" departments, and the evisceration of newsrooms have affected how the public gets access to reliable scientific research and information in the public interest? #Science#Newstodon#Journalism@academicchatter
Environmental historian Vicki Szabo and her team of archaeologists, historians, folklorists and geneticists are trying to figure out medieval Icelanders' attitudes to blue whales. Did they revere them as their protectors? Did they hunt them for food? Was it both? @hakaimagazine's Andrew Chapman reports on the work of this multi-disciplinary team, and what their findings might tell us about historical and modern whale populations.
Backstabbing, bluffing and playing dead: has AI learned to deceive? – podcast
“Dr Peter Park, an AI existential safety researcher at MIT and author of the research, tells Ian Sample about the different examples of deception he uncovered, and why they will be so difficult to tackle as long as AI remains a black box.”
How did vitamins come to be called after letters of the alphabet? National Geographic's Erin Blakemore looks at the history and discovery of these vital dietary components, and why vitamin K bucks the naming trend.
‘Treat food companies like cigarette companies who are trying to get us addicted’
“Ultra-processed foods are designed to make us overeat and are causing both the obesity and mental health crises in the UK, says scientist and author Tim Spector.”