[url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/02/when-evidence-says-no-but-doctors-say-yes/517368/]When Evidence Says No, but Doctors Say Yes[/url] - The Atlantic

Long but highly worthwhile read.

[QUOTE=ewmayer;454209][url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/02/when-evidence-says-no-but-doctors-say-yes/517368/]When Evidence Says No, but Doctors Say Yes[/url] - The Atlantic

Long but highly worthwhile read.[/QUOTE]

I think a lot of biases come into play as well as the fact that one set of symptoms could be 20 different things ( all a syndrome is classed as is a set of symptoms, I know the one I grew up with can have a good 5+ causes at the very least for example).

Since the International Space Station was completed well before it's deadline and costs only a fraction of the the budget, lets build a lunar space station....
[url]https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/03/the-trump-administration-has-unleashed-a-lunar-gold-rush/[/url]
Disclaimer: Trump alert!

o [url=https://phys.org/news/2017-03-once-in-a-billion-year-event-storm-ice-snowball.html]Explaining a 'once-in-a-billion-year event': A perfect storm of fire and ice may have led to snowball Earth[/url] | PhysOrg

One of my all-time favorite science research article titles was that of one in [i]Science[/i] ~20 years ago, "A [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoproterozoic]Neoproterozoic[/url] Snowball Earth". (The Sturtian glaciation - named after a river gorge in Australia - described in the PhysOrg article was the longest one of Cryogenic period of said geologic era.)

o And on the same theme: [url=http://www.nature.com/news/earth-s-lost-history-of-planet-altering-eruptions-revealed-1.21630]Earth’s lost history of planet-altering eruptions revealed[/url] | Nature

o Scientists discover vital clues to the original Brexit:

[url=https://theconversation.com/geologists-unveil-how-britain-first-separated-from-europe-and-it-was-catastrophic-75636]Geologists unveil how Britain first separated from Europe – and it was catastrophic[/url] | The Conversation

o Let's hope this finding proves to be more than a fluke: [url=https://qz.com/902840/scientists-finally-figured-out-why-whales-leap-into-the-air/]Scientists finally figured out why whales leap into the air[/url] | Quartz

[url]https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/unravelling-why-shoelace-knots-fail/[/url]

[QUOTE=Xyzzy;456651][URL]https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/unravelling-why-shoelace-knots-fail/[/URL][/QUOTE]
That is some really interesting research. I have observed that pants which are long enough to pile up a bit, especially on shoes or boots with higher tops, are very good at untying laces. I have often resorted to double knotting in this situation.

My most recent pair of boot/shoes has a clever dodge which seems to fight untying. The laces have some quite shiny fibers braided into them. These fibers are a bit harder than the rest of the lace, causing them to stick up more. They tend to catch on each other, effectively increasing slip resistance. This particular pair has to be laced quite loosely to avoid pressure that hurts my ankle bones. I would not be able to keep them tied with common round laces.

[url]https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/04/17/scientists-find-giant-elusive-clam-known-as-the-unicorn-of-mollusks/[/url][QUOTE]Unlike with other shipworms, named because they ate their way into the sides of wooden boats, no one knew where the giant shipworm lived.[/QUOTE]

[url=www.truth-out.org/news/item/40223-the-legacy-of-monsanto-s-pcbs-oozing-pus-birth-defects-and-immune-problems#14924205197651]The Legacy of Monsanto's PCBs: Oozing Pus, Birth Defects and Immune Problems[/url] | TruthOut

[QUOTE=ewmayer;182293]Post interesting science news links (which may not warrant their own thread) here. For instance, the following astronomical story, brought to you by DeBeers:


[URL="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3492919.stm"]Diamond star thrills astronomers[/URL]: [I]Twinkling in the sky is a diamond star of 10 billion trillion trillion carats, astronomers have discovered.[/I][/QUOTE]

Don't tell the Vulcans.

[QUOTE=Xyzzy;456970][URL]https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/04/17/scientists-find-giant-elusive-clam-known-as-the-unicorn-of-mollusks/[/URL][/QUOTE]
I'll see your giant ship worm, and raise with the [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoduck"]geoduck[/URL].

Bose-Einstein condensate shows [URL="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-39642992"]negative mass[/URL]

[url]http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2017/04/explaining_science_won_t_fix_information_illiteracy.html[/url][QUOTE]This is because the way most scientists think about science communication—that just explaining the real science better will help—is plain wrong. In fact, it’s so wrong that it may have the opposite effect of what they’re trying to achieve.[/QUOTE]

Some fascinating [URL="http://lhcb-public.web.cern.ch/lhcb-public/Welcome.html#RDst"]stuff from CERN[/URL]. Well below the 5σ level but also worth reading and keeping an eye on it IMAO.

[QUOTE=xilman;457123]Some fascinating [URL="http://lhcb-public.web.cern.ch/lhcb-public/Welcome.html#RDst"]stuff from CERN[/URL]. Well below the 5σ level but also worth reading and keeping an eye on it IMAO.[/QUOTE]
That's from 2015?

Compare: [url]https://arxiv.org/abs/1603.06711v1[/url]

[QUOTE=Dubslow;457403]That's from 2015?[/QUOTE]

xilman included a link which contained a relative link within a page in the URI (a hash symbol included in the URI before hashtags became all the rage).

If you scroll up to the top of the page there is a post dated 2017.04.18 which could be really quite exciting! :smile:

TLDR: [URL="http://lhcb-public.web.cern.ch/lhcb-public/Welcome.html"]For those who don't understand how the Wild Wobbly Web works[/URL], click this link and then scroll down. The only difference is it doesn't have a hash in the URI.

[QUOTE=chalsall;457407]xilman included a link which contained a relative link within a page in the URI (a hash symbol included in the URI before hashtags became all the rage).

If you scroll up to the top of the page there is a post dated 2017.04.18 which could be really quite exciting! :smile:

TLDR: [URL="http://lhcb-public.web.cern.ch/lhcb-public/Welcome.html"]For those who don't understand how the Wild Wobbly Web works[/URL], click this link and then scroll down. The only difference is it doesn't have a hash in the URI.[/QUOTE]

Aha, yes. I had actually noticed that but it hadn't occurred to me that it might not be intentional.

The original comment I was going to make, before noticing the date of the actually-if-not-intended-ly linked article, was something along the lines of "wasn't there some anomaly reported at 2sigma a couple years ago that went absolutely nowhere?"... which seems to be quite relevant to the possibly-intended 2017-04-18 article, by way of referencing the 2015 article. The two are nearly exactly the same, differing in the target in the decay of B0 to either a D* or K* meson with lepton byproducts, where the branching ratio of the different lepton byproducts seems to be measured at non-SM values. The D* non-SM-ness seems to have been debunked (or so I assume having heard nothing about it since) while the K* is currently where the D* was two years ago.

[QUOTE=Dubslow;457455]Aha, yes. I had actually noticed that but it hadn't occurred to me that it might not be intentional.[/QUOTE]Hanlon's Razor applies.

I have nothing to declare but my incompetence.

[QUOTE=Dubslow;457455]The D* non-SM-ness seems to have been debunked (or so I assume having heard nothing about it since) while the K* is currently where the D* was two years ago.[/QUOTE]

I don't understand the deep physics as well as others around here, but my take on it is the LHCb team would be unlikely to continue to publicly discuss this if there wasn't a _possibility_ that there's some "there there".

[QUOTE=chalsall;457493]I don't understand the deep physics as well as others around here, but my take on it is the LHCb team would be unlikely to continue to publicly discuss this if there wasn't a _possibility_ that there's some "there there".[/QUOTE]

Possible? Sure. 2 sigma isn't something to be sneezed at. However, as demonstrated 2 years ago, it also is still quite far away indeed from 5 sigma/being an actual confirmation of new physics. So I remain highly skeptical for now, if hopeful.

[QUOTE=Dubslow;457506]So I remain highly skeptical for now, if hopeful.[/QUOTE]

As you should. As we all should.

"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!" but 'That's funny...'" - Issac Asimov

Cassini survived the dive in between the planet and the rings- even the un-processed images are looking incredible...

[URL="https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/3032/nasa-spacecraft-dives-between-saturn-and-its-rings/"]https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/3032/nasa-spacecraft-dives-between-saturn-and-its-rings/[/URL]

We live in amazing times-

Norm

[QUOTE=Spherical Cow;457677]Cassini survived the dive in between the planet and the rings- even the un-processed images are looking incredible...[/QUOTE]I had a chance to talk with Carolyn Porco (head of the imaging team) about 2 years ago. If she had her way, the last orbit or 2 would be around a 1 degree or less inclination. This was only if they were willing to take a big risk for a big reward of imaging ring particles.

[QUOTE=Uncwilly;457693]I had a chance to talk with Carolyn Porco (head of the imaging team) about 2 years ago. If she had her way, the last orbit or 2 would be around a 1 degree or less inclination. This was only if they were willing to take a big risk for a big reward of imaging ring particles.[/QUOTE]

That could have been spectacular. Do you happen to know if these dives through the gap were in the original plans back in the 90s when it was launched, or was this a more recent addition to the tour?

Norm

Some of the end of life was planned, but not the grand finale like is being done. (Iirc)

[url]https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/04/a-migrating-butterfly-a-poisonous-plant-and-their-remarkable-coevolution/[/url]

[url=https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v544/n7651/full/nature22065.html]A 130,000-year-old archaeological site in southern California, USA[/url] | Nature

Note that the 2nd-most-recent Pleistocene glacial episode, the Riss glaciation, ended ~130,000 years ago – there was a Bering land bridge during that one, too. The approximate ending time coincides with the 130,000-year estimate cited in the above article. Which makes sense, because early in an interglacial would seem optimal for crossing such a cold-climate land bridge - weather warm enough to ease follow-the-food travel and open some ice-blocked corridors, but ocean levels still not risen enough to flood the bridge. But we're gonna need an actual hominid skeleton to settle the was-there-truly-such-an-early-migration issue, then let the debate as to the means proceed.

Trump won't finance army with science budget cut.
[url]http://www.nature.com/news/science-wins-reprieve-in-us-budget-deal-1.21835[/url]

I would have posted more, but some websites require me to accept cookies so they can display ads and won't show the article if cookies are disabled.

[URL="https://www.statnews.com/2016/03/31/dna-shape-double-helix-dekker/"]Episode 5: Everything you thought you knew about the shape of DNA is wrong[/URL]

[URL="http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/03/27/471600733/when-an-autism-diagnosis-comes-in-adulthood"]When An Autism Diagnosis Comes In Adulthood[/URL]

[URL="http://www.popsci.com/who-will-be-first-to-hack-code-aging?dom=rss-default&src=syn"]Who Will Be First To "Hack The Code" Of Aging?[/URL]

[URL="https://www.sciencenews.org/article/one-earths-missing-minerals-found-locked-inside-meteorite"]One of Earth’s missing minerals found locked inside meteorite[/URL]

[URL="https://aeon.co/ideas/how-clever-is-it-to-dismiss-iq-tests"]How clever is it to dismiss IQ tests?[/URL]

[URL="https://qz.com/956839/men-and-womens-brains-are-shaped-differently-according-to-the-biggest-brain-study-yet/"]Women have bigger brain regions associated with intelligence[/URL]

[URL="http://www.us.mensa.org/featured-content/film-producer-seeks-honest-portrayal-of-growing-up-gifted/"]Film producer seeks honest portrayal of growing up gifted[/URL]

[URL="http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/virtual-reality-industry-revenue-2017-1202027920/"]Virtual Reality Projected to Become a $7 Billion Business This Year[/URL]

[URL="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170419170259.htm"]Closer look at brain circuits reveals important role of genetics[/URL]

[URL="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-39642992"]Physicists observe 'negative mass'[/URL]

[URL="http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/bizwomen/news/latest-news/2017/04/science-ai-systems-have-biases.html"]Science: AI systems have biases, just like the humans who program them[/URL]

[URL="https://www.inc.com/kevin-j-ryan/tim-berners-lee-computers-will-create-new-companies.html"]The Inventor of the World Wide Web Says Computers Will Someday Run Companies Without Humans[/URL]

[URL="https://aeon.co/ideas/science-has-outgrown-the-human-mind-and-its-limited-capacities"]Science has outgrown the human mind and its limited capacities[/URL]

[URL="https://thewalrus.ca/the-benefits-of-solitude/"]The Benefits of Solitude[/URL]

[url=https://phys.org/news/2017-04-ancient-stone-pillars-clues-comet.html]Ancient stone pillars offer clues of comet strike that changed human history[/url] | PhysOrg

And an in-depth article from 1997 on what may have been a similarly-dated comet strike (or extremely close near-miss) in what is now the Carolinas:

[url=cosmictusk.com/the-carolina-bays-george-howards-orignal-essay-1997/]The Carolina Bays: George Howard's Original 1997 Web Essay[/url] - The Cosmic Tusk

VISTA peeks through the Small Magellanic Cloud's dusty veil
 

VISTA, the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope, was designed to image [URL="https://phys.org/tags/infrared+radiation/"]infrared radiation[/URL].
[url]https://phys.org/news/2017-05-vista-peeks-small-magellanic-cloud.html#nRlv[/url]
[QUOTE]The SMC (Small Magellanic Cloud) is full of dust, and the visible light emitted by its stars suffers significant extinction. Fortunately, not all electromagnetic radiation is equally affected by dust. Infrared radiation passes through interstellar dust much more easily than visible light, so by looking at the infrared light from a galaxy we can learn about the new stars forming within the clouds of dust and gas.[/QUOTE]
[URL="https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1714a/zoomable/"]Zoomable version[/URL] of the 1.6 gigapixel image. :w00t:

[QUOTE=kladner;458313][URL="https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1714a/zoomable/"]Zoomable version[/URL] of the 1.6 gigapixel image. :w00t:[/QUOTE]

Wow! That is really neat.

[URL]http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-39922998[/URL][QUOTE]They know now the energy that went into making the crater when the 15km-wide asteroid struck - equivalent to 10 billion Hiroshima A-bombs.[/QUOTE]

[url]http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-39931042[/url][QUOTE]The joint Australian and British study said the rubbish amounted to 671 items per square metre and a total of 17 tonnes.[/QUOTE]

[url=http://m.digitaljournal.com/science/40-000-year-old-bracelet-from-extinct-human-species-discovered/article/432798]40,000-year-old bracelet made by extinct human species found[/url]

Typically, the article is full of quotes from professional researchers who confirm that the persistent trend of us moderns to underestimate our forebears is alive and well. 'Thought to be primitive', '30,000 years ahead of its time', etc.

It seems even that august science journal, [i]Nature[/i], is getting into the fake-news business:

"Global optimum attained in coordination tasks by centrally placed agents making a few mistakes."

abstract: [url]http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v545/n7654/full/545297a.html[/url]
article: [url]http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v545/n7654/full/nature22332.html[/url]
[i]
The underlying message is: when nobody is able to see the big picture then it is better for the whole that well connected individuals take deviant decisions a few times in their localized -small picture- part of the world. The fundamental reason for this result (as shown in Fig. 1 of the first link) is that when a few local mistakes occur in a well connected node then other individuals in the vicinity react to correct those mistakes thus incidentally solving some intractable intractable coordination hurdles that when everybody act optimally (locally) will not be resolved.
[/i]
"Fake news" here in the sense that this is not news - these kinds of algorithms go back nearly 40 years, and are collected under the rubric [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulated_Annealing]Simulated Annealing[/url]. Now new and improved with social-media connectivity-graph flummery!

In other tech news, autonomous-vehicle startup GriftMo granted patent for "High-efficiency locomotion system based on circular road-contacting disc rotating about a central axis". Disruptive!

[URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KIC_8462852"]Tabby's star[/URL] has started dipping again.

[QUOTE=xilman;459359][URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KIC_8462852"]Tabby's star[/URL] has started dipping again.[/QUOTE]
Cool! There will probably be a natural exaplanation found eventually, but I like to think aliens are constructing a Dyson sphere :).

[url]https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/19/15664298/svalbard-global-seed-vault-norway-doomsday-climate-change[/url][QUOTE]The seed bank designed to preserve the world’s crops and plants in the event of global disaster isn’t prepared to withstand the greatest global disaster facing our planet: global warming.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=VictordeHolland;459386]Cool! There will probably be a natural exaplanation found eventually, but I like to think aliens are constructing a Dyson sphere :).[/QUOTE]People are really paying attention now. Beautiful spectra already been tweeted.

[QUOTE=ewmayer;459355]It seems even that ..[/QUOTE]
Haha, nice! Thanks for sharing it. You don't play [URL="https://fold.it/portal/"]foldit[/URL], do you? This is what I do when I can't get a better score by "honest shaking and wiggling" those proteins, and I am totally stuck on the "mental image" side (i.e. I have no freaking idea how I could fold it better and how the other guys there got a better score) - I just change one chain or node in a totally illogical position, or use a rubber band that will totally deform a part of the respective mucus in some impossible contorted way, and start again with "honest shaking and wiggling", hehe. Sometimes that results in better score :razz:

[QUOTE=LaurV;459579]Haha, nice! Thanks for sharing it. You don't play [URL="https://fold.it/portal/"]foldit[/URL], do you? This is what I do when I can't get a better score by "honest shaking and wiggling" those proteins, and I am totally stuck on the "mental image" side (i.e. I have no freaking idea how I could fold it better and how the other guys there got a better score) - I just change one chain or node in a totally illogical position, or use a rubber band that will totally deform a part of the respective mucus in some impossible contorted way, and start again with "honest shaking and wiggling", hehe. Sometimes that results in better score :razz:[/QUOTE]

Never played Foldit, but I am quite adept with mucus, I'm told.

I thought [URL="https://arxiv.org/abs/1603.08614"]this was interesting[/URL].
Neat classification of astronomical bodies into Terran, Neptunian, Jovian and stellar worlds based on a mass-radius relationship.

Everything from Rhea to the Earth in our solar system is well described as "Terran"; Neptune and Uranus, of course, are Neptunian; Saturn is a borderline Jovian/Neptunian; brown dwarfs are nothing special, just high-mass Jovians in this classification. Stars are everything which burn hydrogen, though the classification effort drew a line at which their expected lifetime exceeds a Hubble time, or circa 0.9 times the mass of the Sun.

There is also a well-argued that the "super-earth" category of exoplanets is a figment. The Terran-Neptunian boundary occurs at twice the Earth's mass whereas the low end of the Terran worlds have 4e-5 Earth masses, so the Earth (and Venus) is a typical "super-earth".

[QUOTE=xilman;459880]I thought [URL="https://arxiv.org/abs/1603.08614"]this was interesting[/URL].[/QUOTE]

Indeed.

We should soon be sending out micro probes into deep interstellar space (driven by lasers) to take measurements as they fly by at high speed.

[url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170525141532.htm]The big star that couldn't become a supernova: One star's 'massive fail' could help solve a mystery[/url] | ScienceDaily

Looks like someone forgot to use enough lighter fluid.

[Also check out the catnip-as-mosquito-repellent story linked on the same page. Interesting, but what are people who don't like the taste of the stuff or whom it makes hyperactive supposed to do? Feed it to our cat and then rub ourselves all over with the cat? :)]

[QUOTE=xilman;459880]I thought [URL="https://arxiv.org/abs/1603.08614"]this was interesting[/URL].
Neat classification of astronomical bodies into Terran, Neptunian, Jovian and stellar worlds based on a mass-radius relationship.[/QUOTE]
I had been thinking about a system of classification system for single objects (as opposed to groups or structures that would handle all sorts.
Basically the first divide would be for any object that has in the past, is currently, or will in its future fuse. The fusors would be subdivide and adjectives would get added as needed to identify things like proto-stars.
The planetary objects would be divided some what similar to the way this paper suggests. My classification would allow a rouge planet to still be a planet. It would also deal with moons and moons of moons, etc.

Objects could change categories (if mass gets added or removed) and may get adjectives changed, but a full description would include any important past history.

[QUOTE=Uncwilly;459919]I had been thinking about a system of classification system for single objects (as opposed to groups or structures that would handle all sorts.
Basically the first divide would be for any object that has in the past, is currently, or will in its future fuse. The fusors would be subdivide and adjectives would get added as needed to identify things like proto-stars.
The planetary objects would be divided some what similar to the way this paper suggests. My classification would allow a rouge planet to still be a planet. It would also deal with moons and moons of moons, etc.

Objects could change categories (if mass gets added or removed) and may get adjectives changed, but a full description would include any important past history.[/QUOTE]

I think you mean a rogue planet ...

[QUOTE=Uncwilly;459919]... rouge planet ...[/QUOTE]I suppose in a infinite universe[sup][Citation needed][/sup] such things as planets made of [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouge_%28cosmetics%29]rouge[/url] could exist:

Bogoslof Island/volcano, North of Aleutians erupts
 

We flew from Chicago to Hong Kong, once. The plane went North out of OHare. Coming down the "other side" of the arc could have been impacted by one of these plumes. Fortunately, that did not happen.
[URL]https://weather.com/news/news/alaska-volcano-erupts-aviation-red-alert-ash-cloud[/URL]
Sorry for the cheesy source. There are some good links, and the article itself is not bad.
Here some Alaska Volcano Observatory pages on Bogoslof:
[URL]https://www.avo.alaska.edu/volcanoes/volcinfo.php?volcname=Bogoslof[/URL]
[URL]https://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/Bogoslof.php[/URL]
Major issue: the ash plumes above 20,000 ft affect North American<->Asian air routes. Bogoslof puts some ash plumes up to 35,000 - 45,00 ft.
Nice electron microscope image of ash particles-
[URL]http://www.avo.alaska.edu/images/image.php?id=105011[/URL]
[URL]http://www.avo.alaska.edu/images/image.php?id=105071[/URL]
Many more here:
[URL]https://www.avo.alaska.edu/images/image_search_results.php?volcano=ak29&year[/URL][]=&type=&caption=&lastname=&firstname=&recent=&limit=50&page=2

[QUOTE=science_man_88;459920]I think you mean a rogue planet ...[/QUOTE]
Blame spell check and dyslexia.

From the "servers as space heaters" article in another thread, I picked up this story on sharks puking. Under stress, they may disgorge all sort of things, from feathers and other indigestible items, to entire seals. If that weren't enough, they can also bring up the entire stomach, essentially to clean it, and then gulp it back down.

The seal story was of a great white shark which had a larger shark come up behind it. The smaller shark ejected the seal and swam away, while the larger one ate the seal.
[url]https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2017/6/2/15725932/shark-puking-behavior-stress[/url]

"Wow!" was a comet
 

[url]http://planetary-science.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Paris_WAS_103_02.pdf[/url]

[url]https://phys.org/news/2017-06-wow-mystery-space.html[/url]

[QUOTE=retina;460719][url]http://planetary-science.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Paris_WAS_103_02.pdf[/url]

[url]https://phys.org/news/2017-06-wow-mystery-space.html[/url][/QUOTE]
:fusion:
I saw the clickbait version of that on Yahoo and avoided clicking on it because it was very clickbaity and I thought it was going to be a nutjob explanation.

[URL="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170531103325.htm"]Think you know how to improve your memory? Think again[/URL]

[URL="http://www.sciencealert.com/this-wearable-ai-warns-you-when-the-voice-you-re-talking-to-isn-t-human"]This Dystopian Device Warns You When AI Is Trying to Impersonate Actual Humans[/URL]

[URL="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/01/science/black-holes-collision-ligo-gravitational-waves.html?&_r=0"]Third Gravitational Wave Detection, From Black-Hole Merger 3 Billion Light Years Away[/URL]

[URL="http://www.theage.com.au/good-weekend/anaesthesia-what-we-still-dont-know-about-the-gift-of-oblivion-20170511-gw2uhh.html"]Anaesthesia: what we still don't know about the 'gift of oblivion'[/URL]

[URL="http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/05/22/529116034/at-94-lithium-ion-pioneer-eyes-a-new-longer-lasting-battery"]At 94, Lithium-Ion Pioneer Eyes A New Longer-Lasting Battery[/URL]

[URL="http://www.wbur.org/onlyagame/2017/05/19/elam-ending-basketball-tournament-mugar"]A Mensa Member's Decade-Long Quest To Fix Basketball[/URL]

[URL="https://www.brainpickings.org/2017/02/23/beautiful-brain-santiago-ramon-y-cajal/"]Beautiful Brain: The Stunning Drawings of Neuroscience Founding Father Santiago Ramón y Cajal[/URL]

[URL="https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/space/technology-could-help-us-build-huge-structures-space-n760701"]This Technology Could Help Us Build Huge Structures in Space[/URL]

[URL="https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/want-to-be-a-lot-happier-science-says-do-any-one-of-these-9-things.html"]Want to Be a Lot Happier? Science Says Do Any 1 of These 9 Things[/URL]

[URL="http://www.sapiens.org/language/anumeric-people/"]How Do You Count Without Numbers?[/URL]

[URL="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/06/lying-hoax-false-fibs-science/"]WHY WE LIE: THE SCIENCE BEHIND OUR DECEPTIVE WAYS[/URL]

[URL="https://phys.org/news/2017-05-large-uncovers-genes-linked-intelligence.html"]Large study uncovers genes linked to intelligence[/URL]

[URL="http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/05/22/529550254/at-the-dawn-of-recorded-sound-no-one-cared"]At The Dawn Of Recorded Sound, No One Cared[/URL]

[URL="https://mosaicscience.com/story/what-its-be-struck-lightning"]This is what it’s like to be struck by lightning[/URL]

[URL="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2129880-parasite-living-inside-fish-eyeball-controls-its-behaviour/"]Parasite living inside fish eyeball controls its behaviour[/URL]

[URL="http://nautil.us/issue/47/consciousness/roger-penrose-on-why-consciousness-does-not-compute"]Roger Penrose On Why Consciousness Does Not Compute[/URL]

[URL="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/first-ever-lsd-microdosing-study-will-pit-the-human-brain-against-ai"]First-Ever LSD Microdosing Study Will Pit the Human Brain Against AI[/URL]

[URL="http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/05/06/20-things-dont-do-anymore-because-technology.html"]20 things we don't do anymore because of technology[/URL]

[URL="http://www.nature.com/news/the-secret-war-against-counterfeit-science-1.21960"]The secret war against counterfeit science[/URL]

[URL="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608000/how-the-brain-seeks-pleasure-and-avoids-pain/"]How the Brain Seeks Pleasure and Avoids Pain[/URL]

[URL="https://phys.org/news/2017-06-hackers-brainwaves-passwords.html"]Study finds hackers could use brainwaves to steal password[/URL]

[URL="http://nautil.us/issue/49/the-absurd/what-is-space"]What is Space? It's not what you think[/URL]

[URL="https://journal.thriveglobal.com/start-journaling-54ea2edb104"]The Life-Changing Habit of Journaling [/URL]

[URL="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/3kz3nb/physicists-made-the-brightest-light-ever"]Physicists Made the Brightest Light Ever[/URL]

[URL="https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-06-bananas-scientists-harness-mind-technology.html"]Beyond bananas: Scientists harness 'mind reading' technology to decode complex thoughts[/URL]

[URL="https://longreads.com/2017/06/28/how-do-words-get-added-to-the-dictionary/"]How Do Words Get Added to the Dictionary?[/URL]

[URL="https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/tech/what-rise-sentient-robots-will-mean-human-beings-ncna773146"]What the Rise of Sentient Robots Will Mean for Human Beings[/URL]

[URL="https://pionic.org/a-researcher-has-come-up-with-a-mathematical-model-for-a-viable-time-machine"]A Researcher Has Come Up With A Mathematical Model For A Viable Time Machine[/URL]

[URL="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170622103824.htm"]Video games can change your brain[/URL]

[URL="https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/first-complete-genome-data-extracted-from-ancient-egyptian-mummies"]First complete genome data extracted from ancient Egyptian mummies[/URL]

[URL="https://www.quantamagazine.org/where-gravity-is-weak-and-naked-singularities-are-verboten-20170620"]Where Gravity Is Weak and Naked Singularities Are Verboten[/URL]

[URL="https://www.us.mensa.org/read/bulletin/features/tensions-in-an-accelerating-world/"]Tensions in an Accelerating World[/URL]

[URL="http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/06/15/532920899/the-roots-of-consciousness-were-of-two-minds"]The Roots Of Consciousness: We're Of 2 Minds[/URL]

[URL="http://www.newsweek.com/brain-augmentation-human-super-intelligence-cyborgs-future-625507"]BRAIN AUGMENTATION: HOW SCIENTISTS ARE WORKING TO CREATE CYBORG HUMANS WITH SUPER INTELLIGENCE[/URL]

[URL="https://www.brainpickings.org/2017/06/09/the-topography-of-tears-rose-lynn-fisher/"]The Topography of Tears: A Stunning Aerial Tour of the Landscape of Human Emotion Through an Optical Microscope[/URL]

[URL="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/06/explore-alexander-graham-bell-progress/"]100 Years Ago, Alexander Graham Bell Predicted Life in 2017[/URL]

[URL="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/295885"]Neuroscience Tells Us How to Hack Our Brains for Success[/URL]

[URL="http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/how-music-and-songs-boost-language-learning/education"]How music and songs boost language learning[/URL]

[URL="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170614120407.htm"]Robot uses deep learning and big data to write and play its own music[/URL]

[url=www.nature.com/news/the-strange-topology-that-is-reshaping-physics-1.22316]The strange topology that is reshaping physics[/url] | Nature News & Comment

[url]http://nautil.us/issue/47/consciousness/roger-penrose-on-why-consciousness-does-not-compute[/url]
``It was Hameroff’s idea that quantum coherence happens in microtubules, protein structures inside the brain’s neurons. And what are microtubules, you ask? ``

Weird or What? Personality Transplant Documentary | Episode aired 2 June 2010
Interesting episode with a possible tie-in to the first link. The following link is a popular press expositon of this behaviour.
[url]http://people.com/archive/organ-transplants-can-a-new-heart-change-your-life-and-your-taste-in-music-vol-63-no-13/[/url]

Microtubules..
Are there any specialists (M.D`s, bio-informaticians, geneticists..) with an educated opinion on these possibly connected phenomena and their causal link.

[QUOTE=jwaltos;464002][url]http://nautil.us/issue/47/consciousness/roger-penrose-on-why-consciousness-does-not-compute[/url]
``It was Hameroff’s idea that quantum coherence happens in microtubules, protein structures inside the brain’s neurons. And what are microtubules, you ask? ``

Weird or What? Personality Transplant Documentary | Episode aired 2 June 2010
Interesting episode with a possible tie-in to the first link. The following link is a popular press expositon of this behaviour.
[url]http://people.com/archive/organ-transplants-can-a-new-heart-change-your-life-and-your-taste-in-music-vol-63-no-13/[/url]

Microtubules..
Are there any specialists (M.D`s, bio-informaticians, geneticists..) with an educated opinion on these possibly connected phenomena and their causal link.[/QUOTE]I only skimmed the article, so I may have missed it, but there's an obvious, but remarkable, fact about human consciousness that "quantum coherence" doesn't seem to address: when we sleep, our consciousness [i]goes away[/i]. And when we wake up, it comes back.

I did see an objection to the idea based on the temperature of the human brain, and that made sense. The term "quantum coherence" may perhaps apply to superconductivity, superfluidity, and Bose-Einstein condensates. These phenomena depend (as best I can make out) on there being a small enough amount of energy in the system, that there are many fewer quantum states available than the number of particles, so that huge collections of the particles are in the same state.

Sardonicus, rather than skim the opposite is required. There are some within this forum that have read (and understood) a vast amount of literature on a wide variety of topics. Synthesis of outliers, re-framing contextual perspectives and connecting seemingly disparate concepts in a unique and meaningful way requires experience and exposure. Professional longevity within evolving fields requires agile minds whose valued opinions I`m trying to elicit. My question involves sentience which parallels Penrose`s view and its origin from an initial state from some confluence of ``forces and fields`` to its present possible expression as a microtubule whose function may be modelled mathematically and virtually (slight pun).

As an addendum please read David Bohm`s works which are equally instructive.

[QUOTE=ewmayer;463996][URL="http://www.nature.com/news/the-strange-topology-that-is-reshaping-physics-1.22316"]The strange topology that is reshaping physics[/URL] | Nature News & Comment[/QUOTE]

The idea of a topology of biology dates back to 1940 (Conrad Waddington).
At last, the physicists are catching up!

[QUOTE=jwaltos;464016]Synthesis of outliers, re-framing contextual perspectives and connecting seemingly disparate concepts in a unique and meaningful way requires experience and exposure.[/QUOTE]

As Christopher Zeeman used to say:
[QUOTE]Good scholars tend to compartmentalise knowledge, while researchers try to synthesise it.[/QUOTE]

@rogue Those are two amazing collections! Many thanks. :tu:

[QUOTE=jwaltos;464016]Sardonicus, rather than skim the opposite is required. There are some within this forum that have read (and understood) a vast amount of literature on a wide variety of topics. Synthesis of outliers, re-framing contextual perspectives and connecting seemingly disparate concepts in a unique and meaningful way requires experience and exposure. Professional longevity within evolving fields requires agile minds whose valued opinions I`m trying to elicit. My question involves sentience which parallels Penrose`s view and its origin from an initial state from some confluence of ``forces and fields`` to its present possible expression as a microtubule whose function may be modelled mathematically and virtually (slight pun).

As an addendum please read David Bohm`s works which are equally instructive.[/QUOTE]

I wish I had the time. Meanwhile, back at the Forum, I mentioned a very basic fact about human consciousness:

When we sleep, our consciousness [i]goes away[/i]. And when we wake up, it comes back.

And I ask: Does "quantum coherence" address this fact?

If it doesn't address it, fine. If it does, so much the better. But if you want to say. "You haven't read the literature, so you're not entitled to an answer," the rules of the forum would not allow me to post a fitting reply.

Hi,
On a Science/Discovery channel recently there was an experiment on a person shown where when one is awake neuron firing will propagate through the brain whereas when one is asleep the same stimulus will remain localized. I do not know how quantum coherence/de-coherence is involved in such a process. The above study is being expanded and I am certain there are research papers available.


My communication skills aren't the best so I apologize for seeming officious. My intent was and is to state that there is no substitute for clear thinking regardless of how obtained.

[URL="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/light-powered-computers-brighten-ai-rsquo-s-future/"]Light-Powered Computers Brighten AI’s Futur[/URL]

[URL="http://nautil.us/issue/50/emergence/why-you-need-emoji"]Why You Need Emoji[/URL]

[URL="http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/is-doodling-good-for-your-brain/science-technology"]Is doodling good for your brain?[/URL]

[URL="https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-path-less-taken-to-the-peak-of-the-math-world-20170627/"]A Path Less Taken to the Peak of the Math World[/URL]

[URL="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/7/7/15792188/placebo-effect-explained"]The weird power of the placebo effect, explained[/URL]

[URL="https://aeon.co/ideas/before-you-can-be-with-others-first-learn-to-be-alone"]Before you can be with others, first learn to be alone[/URL]

[URL="http://nautil.us/issue/50/emergence/monsters-marvels-and-the-birth-of-science-rp"]Monsters, Marvels, and the Birth of Science[/URL]

[URL="https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2017/07/04/future-of-consumer-tech-all-about-timing/443220001/"]We're entering the world of invisible technology. Can we keep up?[/URL]

[URL="https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/14/15970710/galaxy-science-fiction-magazine-online-free-reading-archive"]One of the greatest science fiction magazines is now available for free online[/URL]

[URL="http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/demons-illustrations-dictionnaire-infernal"]The Best Demon Illustrations of All Time[/URL]

[URL="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/12/health/autism-faces-genes-brain-development.html"]Study of How We Look at Faces May Offer Insight Into Autism[/URL]

[URL="https://www.wired.com/story/your-brain-is-memories"]Your brain doesn't contain memories. It is memories[/URL]

[URL="https://news.science360.gov/obj/pic-day/638f9dc5-c039-4f87-b728-4930454f0d18/observing-alzheimers-through-new-prism"]Observing Alzheimer’s through a new prism[/URL]

[URL="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-self-talk-reveals-about-the-brain/"]What Self-Talk Reveals about the Brain[/URL]

[URL="http://nautil.us/issue/50/emergence/how-we-really-tamed-the-dog"]How We Really Tamed the Dog[/URL]

[URL="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/16/how-can-we-stop-algorithms-telling-lies"]How can we stop algorithms telling lies?[/URL]

[QUOTE=jwaltos;464235]Hi,
On a Science/Discovery channel recently there was an experiment on a person shown where when one is awake neuron firing will propagate through the brain whereas when one is asleep the same stimulus will remain localized. I do not know how quantum coherence/de-coherence is involved in such a process. The above study is being expanded and I am certain there are research papers available.[/quote]Interesting! I'm guessing it's a particular kind of neuron firing. After all, we have dreams, which involve activity in various parts of the brain. A curious thing about dreams: I have many times had rather vivid dreams, and can remember that I had them, but am unable to recall anything of what they were about. Sometimes I can feel the recollection of the dream slipping away as I wake up. I know that this is quite common.


[quote]My communication skills aren't the best so I apologize for seeming officious. My intent was and is to state that there is no substitute for clear thinking regardless of how obtained.[/QUOTE]Well, my own communications skills aren't so hot, so join the club
;-)

Alas, clear thinking, rationality, and the basic importance of facts, seem to have gone out of fashion here in the good ol' USA. The founders of this nation were very much Enlightenment figures, and saw science and rational thought as a way to improve peoples' lives. Now, it appears that the Enlightenment has ben repealed and replaced by a nation of brainwashed zombies.

In his 1838 [url=http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/lyceum.htm]Lyceum Address[/url], Abraham Lincoln said [quote]Passion has helped us; but can do so no more. It will in future be our enemy. Reason, cold, calculating, unimpassioned reason, must furnish all the materials for our future support and defence.[/quote]

From that standpoint, I'd say our nation is in a [i]heap[/i] o' trouble.

[url]https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/08/evidence-that-humans-had-farms-30000-years-earlier-than-previously-thought/[/url]

[url]http://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/features/could-this-stunning-bracelet-be-65000-to-70000-years-old/[/url]

[URL="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608563/the-thorny-question-of-whether-humans-can-observe-single-photons/"]The Thorny Question of Whether Humans Can Observe Single Photons[/URL]

[URL="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170807120521.htm"]Women have more active brains than men[/URL]

[URL="https://theconversation.com/what-a-new-map-of-the-universe-tells-us-about-dark-matter-82074"]What a new map of the universe tells us about dark matter[/URL]

[URL="https://aeon.co/essays/from-philosophy-to-psychoanalysis-a-classic-freudian-move"]Freud the philosopher[/URL]

[URL="http://nautil.us/issue/51/limits/emotional-intelligence-needs-a-rewrite"]Emotional Intelligence Needs a Rewrite[/URL]

[URL="https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/can-coloring-or-playing-sudoku-really-boost-your-brain-power-ncna761031"]Can Coloring or Playing Sudoku Really Boost Your Brain Power?[/URL]

[URL="http://www.spoon-tamago.com/2017/08/01/nature-is-reclaiming-fukushimas-abandoned-areas/"]Nature is Reclaiming Fukushima’s Abandoned Areas[/URL]

[URL="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608388/biological-teleporter-could-seed-life-through-galaxy/"]Biological Teleporter Could Seed Life Through Galaxy[/URL]

[URL="http://neurosciencenews.com/magic-illusion-thinking-7216/"]MAGIC HELPS UNLOCK HOW THE BRAIN WORKS[/URL]

[URL="https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia21775/jupiter-s-great-red-spot-in-true-color"]Jupiter’s Great Red Spot in True Color[/URL]

[URL="https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/07/neural-stem-cells-linked-to-maintenance-of-youth/"]Specific area of the brain helps keep the body young[/URL]

[URL="http://neurosciencenews.com/third-person-self-emotion-7182/"]Talking to Yourself in the Third Person Can Help You Control Stressful Emotions[/URL]

[URL="http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/brain-scans-show-fathers-respond-differently-to-daughters-than-sons/mental-healthcare"]Brain scans show fathers respond differently to daughters than sons[/URL]

[URL="http://neurosciencenews.com/near-death-experience-7180/"]Do All People Experience Similar Near-Death-Experiences?[/URL]

[URL="https://www.us.mensa.org/read/bulletin/features/pick-your-brain/"]Pick Your Brain[/URL]

[url=www.nature.com/news/supernova-s-messy-birth-casts-doubt-on-reliability-of-astronomical-yardstick-1.22066]Supernova’s messy birth casts doubt on reliability of astronomical yardstick[/url] | Nature News & Comment

Snip, with some required added qualifiers in [], based on the now-established non-standardness of said 'candles':
[quote]The findings, which have been posted on the arXiv preprint server and accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, could help astronomers to calibrate measurements of the Universe’s expansion. Tracking type Ia supernovae [appeared to show] that the Universe is expanding at an ever-increasing rate, and [allegedly] helped to prove the existence of dark energy — [purported] advances that secured the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics.

The fact that scientists don’t fully understand these cosmological tools is embarrassing, says the latest study’s lead author, Griffin Hosseinzadeh, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “One of the greatest [supposed] discoveries of the century is based on these things and we don’t even know what they are, really.”[/quote]

[QUOTE=rogue;466015]

[URL="https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/07/neural-stem-cells-linked-to-maintenance-of-youth/"]Specific area of the brain helps keep the body young[/URL]

[/QUOTE]

makes sense ... the two parts that I know of where the nervous system and endocrine both cross are the hypothalamus and the adrenals ( both parts of the HPAA ( hypothalmic- pituitary-adrenal axis), which also regulate the endocrine system a lot at last check).

[QUOTE=ewmayer;466023][url=www.nature.com/news/supernova-s-messy-birth-casts-doubt-on-reliability-of-astronomical-yardstick-1.22066]Supernova’s messy birth casts doubt on reliability of astronomical yardstick[/url] | Nature News & Comment

Snip, with some required added qualifiers in [], based on the now-established non-standardness of said 'candles':[/quote] (and snipped some more)
[quote]“One of the greatest [supposed] discoveries of the century is based on these things and we don’t even know what they are, really.”[/quote]

It's always bothered me that folks sounded so [i]certain[/i] about the "standardness" of type 1a supernovae. The basic explanation seemed to go, "When they accumulate x amount of mass from a companion, BOOM!"

Or maybe, "accumulate enough mass to reach critical mass x." Apparently, the white dwarf just has to be compressed enough to get carbon and oxygen to start fusing into iron.

I had thought of possible variations -- in the white dwarf's starting size, or in its composition -- that might affect when the fireworks go off, and how big the bang might be. But I hadn't thought of a collision with its companion!

[QUOTE=Dr Sardonicus;466057]It's always bothered me that folks sounded so [i]certain[/i] about the "standardness" of type 1a supernovae. [/QUOTE]

maybe some of the thought "standardness" was from a newtonian viewpoint? under relativity are there any times when two things can look the same brightness etc. but not actually be ? if so maybe that's a cause ?

[QUOTE=science_man_88;466063]maybe some of the thought "standardness" was from a newtonian viewpoint? under relativity are there any times when two things can look the same brightness etc. but not actually be ? if so maybe that's a cause ?[/QUOTE]Yes but ...

Light loses energy (as seen from infinity) as it leaves a massive body. It becomes fainter. Two bodies of equal brightness as measured at their surfaces will have different brightness as measured from infinity. However, their light also becomes redder (this effect is also better known as the gravitational red-shift) and an observer at infinity can distinguish between the two on the basis of their spectrum. I'm guessing that this effect is included in your "etc."

[QUOTE=science_man_88;466063]maybe some of the thought "standardness" was from a newtonian viewpoint? under relativity are there any times when two things can look the same brightness etc. but not actually be ? if so maybe that's a cause ?[/QUOTE]
I don't think the "nonstandardness" has much to do with relativistic effects on light already emitted. Rather, it's in differences in how type 1a supernovas blow up. Some differences have already been mentioned, for example, in a 3-YO article fron [b]National Geographic[/b], [url=http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/08/28/type-1a-supernovas-cosmic-candle-mystery/]Type 1a Supernovae: Why Our Standard Candle Isn’t Really Standard[/url].

This isn't the only supernova-related orthodoxy to come into question in recent years. Another is, how elements with atomic number greater than that of iron (26) have been formed. It used to be cut-and-dried, they come from supernovas. In more recent years, it has been suggested that (1) Supernovas really aren't very good at producing heavy elements (e.g. gold), and (2) Colliding neutron stars can produce elements like gold in much greater amounts. Now, neutron stars don't collide very often, but still -- it does happen.

Iron is important here, because trying to form heavier elements via fusion [i]absorbs[/i] energy. Fusion forming lighter elements gives off energy.

@sm88: Trust me, any study of such cosmological-scale phenomena which does not properly take account of basic effects such as redshift due to the expansion of the universe will never appear in the peer-reviewed literature. In the literature redshift-with-distance appears as a parameter called z - it's really, really basic stuff. The only things that ever need updating in that regard are ongoing refinements to the precise values resulting from better data and models. Very, very low-% stuff.

[QUOTE=ewmayer;466090]@sm88: Trust me, any study of such cosmological-scale phenomena which does not properly take account of basic effects such as redshift due to the expansion of the universe will never appear in the peer-reviewed literature. In the literature redshift-with-distance appears as a parameter called z - it's really, really basic stuff. The only things that ever need updating in that regard are ongoing refinements to the precise values resulting from better data and models. Very, very low-% stuff.[/QUOTE]

problem is is not recession rate related to standard candles and redshift if so we don't need to care if it was taken into account it could be wrong as accounted for.

[url]https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/08/ancient-tablet-reveals-babylonians-discovered-trigonometry/[/url]

[url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/aug/26/alzheimers-disease-shock-for-genetic-ancestry-hunters]Warnings over shock dementia revelations from ancestry DNA tests[/url] | Science | The Guardian

[URL="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/science/utah-paleontologists-turn-to-crowdfunding-for-raptor-project.html?em_pos=medium&emc=edit_sc_20170829&nl=science-times&nl_art=1&nlid=69988982&ref=headline&te=1"]Interesting dinosaur fossil story[/URL]. I donated to help support the cause.

That is really exciting! It sounds like the site was somewhat analogous to tar pits. Prey creatures get stuck, and predators coming after them get stuck.

Houston, We have a problem.....
 

Meant to post in Climate Change. :unsure:

[URL="https://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2017/08/spitting-lines"]How hip-hop is introducing children to coding and technology[/URL]

[URL="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170831123028.htm"]Scents and social preference: Neuroscientists ID the roots of attraction[/URL]

[URL="https://flowingdata.com/2017/08/28/occupation-matchmaker/"]Occupation Matchmaker[/URL]

[URL="https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/20/microsofts-speech-recognition-system-hits-a-new-accuracy-milestone/"]Microsoft’s speech recognition system hits a new accuracy milestone[/URL]

[URL="http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/flip-ocean-research-platform-scripps"]This Ship Is Not Sinking—It’s Flipping for Science[/URL]

[URL="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2144937-exclusive-we-may-have-detected-a-new-kind-of-gravitational-wave/"]Exclusive: We may have detected a new kind of gravitational wave[/URL]

[URL="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/07/water-moon-formed-volcanoes-glass-space-science/"]Water Found Deep Inside the Moon—Get the Facts[/URL]

[URL="https://hbr.org/2017/08/to-come-up-with-a-good-idea-start-by-imagining-the-worst-idea-possible"]To Come Up with a Good Idea, Start by Imagining the Worst Idea Possible[/URL]

[URL="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170821085707.htm"]People who 'hear voices' can detect hidden speech in unusual sounds[/URL]

[URL="https://www.fastcompany.com/40451692/this-is-the-only-type-of-brain-training-that-works-according-to-science"]This Is The Only Type Of Brain Training That Works, According To Science[/URL]

[URL="http://news.mit.edu/2017/neuroscientists-discover-brain-circuit-retrieving-memories-0817"]How we recall the past[/URL]

[URL="http://www.sciencealert.com/disney-s-latest-ai-knows-how-good-or-bad-your-short-stories-are"]Disney Is Developing an AI That Can Judge What Makes For a Truly Great Story[/URL]

[URL="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/08/28/why-freud-survives"]Why Freud Survives[/URL]

[URL="http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/15/health/medical-3d-printing-body-smart/index.html"]The 'doctor's bag of the future' could be a 3-D printer[/URL]

[URL="http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/08/09/542215646/video-games-may-affect-the-brain-differently-depending-on-what-you-play"]Video Games May Affect The Brain Differently, Depending On What You Play[/URL]

I wonder how long before we find out if this is true.

[URL="https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/09/the-mysterious-voynich-manuscript-has-finally-been-decoded/"]Voynich Manuscript has been Decoded[/URL]

[QUOTE=rogue;467513]I wonder how long before we find out if this is true.

[URL="https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/09/the-mysterious-voynich-manuscript-has-finally-been-decoded/"]Voynich Manuscript has been Decoded[/URL][/QUOTE]

see update in the first paragraph about scholar's starting to debunk the claims.

Famous Viking Warrior Was a Woman, DNA Reveals
 

[URL]http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/09/viking-warrior-woman-archaeology-spd/[/URL]
A patriarchal myth bites the dust.
[QUOTE]More than a millennium ago in what’s now southeastern Sweden, a wealthy Viking warrior was laid to rest, in a resplendent grave filled with swords, arrowheads, and two sacrificed horses. The site reflected the ideal of Viking male warrior life, or so many archaeologists had thought.

New DNA analyses of the bones, however, confirm a revelatory find: the grave belonged to a woman.[/QUOTE]On DNA testing:
[QUOTE]The results were clear: The team didn’t detect any Y chromosomes in the bones, and the mitochondrial DNA from the various bones all matched. The remains represented one person—and that person was a woman.

Hedenstierna-Jonson and her colleagues say that the woman was likely a warrior—and a respected tactician, at that. “On her lap she had gaming pieces,” said Hedenstierna-Jonson in a previous interview. “This suggests that she was the one planning the tactics and that she was a leader.”
[/QUOTE]

[URL="http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/dinosaurs-art-paleoartists-mistakes"]The Bad Hair, Incorrect Feathering, and Missing Skin Flaps of Dinosaur Art[/URL]

[URL="http://www.vulture.com/article/100-hardest-video-game-bosses-ranked.html"]The 100 Hardest Video-Game Bosses, Ranked[/URL]

[URL="http://cbs4indy.com/2017/09/26/indianas-very-own-an-indy-school-full-of-young-sheldons/"]Indiana’s Very Own: An Indy school full of young Sheldons[/URL]

[URL="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/09/is-beaming-down-in-star-trek-a-death-sentence/"]Is beaming down in Star Trek a death sentence?[/URL]

[URL="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/22/how-technology-is-turning-museums-into-a-booming-industry.html"]Virtual reality and Van Gogh collide — technology is turning museums into a booming industry[/URL]

[URL="https://aeon.co/ideas/when-you-split-the-brain-do-you-split-the-person"]When you split the brain, do you split the person?[/URL]

[URL="https://www.wired.com/2017/01/happens-algorithms-design-concert-hall-stunning-elbphilharmonie"]WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ALGORITHMS DESIGN A CONCERT HALL? THE STUNNING ELBPHILHARMONIE[/URL]

[URL="http://time.com/4929170/inside-teen-teenage-brain/"]Why Teenage Brains Are So Hard to Understand[/URL]

[URL="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608430/growing-up-with-alexa/"]Growing up with Alexa[/URL]

[URL="https://futurism.com/the-bionic-lens-could-push-eyesight-beyond-2020-vision/"The Bionic Lens Could Push Eyesight Beyond 20/20 Vision[/URL]

[URL="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/08/a-cosmic-whodunit/538482/"]Solving a 600-Year-Old Cosmic Mystery[/URL]

[URL="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/08/28/why-freud-survives"]Why Freud Survives[/URL]

[URL="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170831123028.htm"]Scents and social preference: Neuroscientists ID the roots of attraction[/URL]

Maybe this is the right link?

[URL="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/08/a-cosmic-whodunit/538482/"]Solving a 600-Year-Old Cosmic Mystery[/URL]

Two of the links were jumbled because I deleted a ']'.

[URL="https://futurism.com/the-bionic-lens-could-push-eyesight-beyond-2020-vision/"]The Bionic Lens Could Push Eyesight Beyond 20/20 Vision[/URL]

[URL="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/08/a-cosmic-whodunit/538482/"]Solving a 600-Year-Old Cosmic Mystery[/URL]

[URL="https://www.us.mensa.org/read/bulletin/features/where-should-americans-look-for-health-care/"]Where Should Americans Look for Health Care[/URL]

[URL="http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/researchers-identify-brain-area-responsible-for-hearing-voices-in-schizophr/medical-allied-healthcare"]Researchers identify brain area responsible for hearing voices in schizophrenia[/URL]

[URL="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609070/inside-the-moonshot-effort-to-finally-figure-out-the-brain/"]Inside the Moonshot Effort to Finally Figure Out the Brain[/URL]

[URL="https://gamehistory.org/aladdin-source-code/"]Digging for treasure in Aladdin’s source code[/URL]

[URL="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/04/well/move/for-your-brains-sake-keep-moving.html"]For Your Brain’s Sake, Keep Moving[/URL]

[URL="https://aeon.co/ideas/does-acupuncture-work-by-re-mapping-the-brain"]Does acupuncture work by re-mapping the brain?[/URL]

[URL="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-smart-people-do-foolish-things/"]Why Do Smart People Do Foolish Things?[/URL]

[URL="https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-build-a-self-conscious-ai-machine/"]HOW TO BUILD A SELF-CONSCIOUS MACHINE[/URL]

[URL="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319641.php"]The human brain contains 'waste pipes,' study reveals[/URL]

[URL="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319614.php"]Playing video games may 'enhance learning'[/URL]

[URL="http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/promoting-sleep-brain-muscle-or-both/medical-allied-healthcare"]Promoting sleep — brain, muscle or both?[/URL]

[URL="https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/have-scientists-found-way-turbocharge-human-brain-ncna810291"]Have Scientists Found a Way to 'Turbocharge' the Human Brain?[/URL]

[URL="https://phys.org/news/2017-10-future-news-bracing-technology.html"]Future of news: bracing for next wave of technology[/URL]

[URL="https://www.fastcompany.com/40480528/since-your-brain-constantly-compares-you-with-everyone-else-try-this"]Since Your Brain Constantly Compares You With Everyone Else, Try This[/URL]

[URL="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2149742-half-the-universes-missing-matter-has-just-been-finally-found/"]Half the universe’s missing matter has just been finally found[/URL]

The "Aladin" one is brilliant. Thanks for sharing it. I read every word of it. Take it from a guy who spent a lot of time on disassembling code and Sourcer (mainly virus programs) from which I learned heaps and heaps!

First confirmed [URL="http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/astronomers-spot-first-known-interstellar-comet/"]natural object on a hyperbolic heliocentric orbit[/URL] discovered.

[URL="http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/10/23/558767704/in-memory-training-smackdown-one-method-dominates"]In Memory Training Smackdown, One Method Dominates[/URL]

[URL="http://time.com/4991828/halloween-trick-or-treating-history/"]How Trick-or-Treating Became Part of Halloween Tradition[/URL]

[URL="https://psychcentral.com/news/2017/10/25/daydreaming-may-be-sign-of-intelligence/127905.html"]Daydreaming May Be Sign of Intelligence[/URL]

[URL="https://newatlas.com/x3-hall-thruster-test-record-nasa/51869/"]NASA's X3 ion thruster smashes records in test firings[/URL]

[URL="http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/10/25/559819023/scientists-and-surgeons-team-up-to-create-models-of-living-human-brain-cells"]Scientists And Surgeons Team Up To Create Virtual Human Brain Cells[/URL]

[URL="http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/saving-lives-with-smart-tattoos/medical-allied-healthcare"]Saving lives with smart tattoos[/URL]

[URL="http://internetofthingsagenda.techtarget.com/blog/IoT-Agenda/How-connected-stadiums-are-revolutionizing-live-fan-experiences"]How connected stadiums are revolutionizing live fan experiences[/URL]

[URL="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/25/well/move/the-battle-of-brains-vs-brawn.html"]The Battle of Brains vs. Brawn[/URL]

[URL="http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/10/16/558087458/studies-skewed-by-focus-on-well-off-educated-brains"]Studies Skewed By Focus On Well-Off, Educated Brains[/URL]

[URL="https://www.quantamagazine.org/neutron-star-collision-shakes-space-time-and-lights-up-the-sky-20171016/"]Neutron-Star Collision Shakes Space-Time and Lights Up the Sky[/URL]

[URL="https://futurism.com/heres-how-sleeping-too-little-literally-transforms-your-brain/"]Here’s How Sleeping Too Little Literally Transforms Your Brain[/URL]

[URL="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-missions-catch-first-light-from-a-gravitational-wave-event"]NASA Missions Catch First Light from a Gravitational-Wave Event[/URL]

[URL="http://www.newsweek.com/google-earth-brains-scientists-use-xrays-make-3d-maps-brain-slices-687973"]GOOGLE EARTH FOR BRAINS? SCIENTISTS ZOOM IN WITH X-RAYS TO MAKE 3-D MAPS OF BRAIN SLICES[/URL]

[URL="https://www.news-medical.net/news/20171019/Brain-function-does-not-die-immediately-after-the-heart-stops-finds-study.aspx"]Brain function does not die immediately after the heart stops finds study[/URL]

The neutron star collision story is fascinating.

[QUOTE=kladner;423288][URL="http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/01/scientist-who-killed-pluto-now-concludes-there-is-a-ninth-major-planet/"]Ars Technica on the research[/URL] suggesting another distant planet.[/QUOTE]I had the opportunity recently to talk to a professional astronomer. It seems that there is a rumble going around that there may 'soon' be an announced confirmation. The vibe I got is that the time scale is (weeks to) months with n<6.

The underground story of Cobra, the 1980s’ illicit handmade computer
 

Shout out to LaurV. Were you in on the digital scene when this happened?
[QUOTE]What Moldovanu’s holding isn’t some hobbyist kit potentially familiar to tech tinkerers back in the states. In the mid-1980s, Romania was a poverty-stricken, Communist country. So like a handful of his fellow students with a similar undeniable passion for computing, Moldovanu soon became one of only a few dozen underground computer builders in the country. They illegally manufactured computers using parts smuggled from factories and heaps of manually soldered wires. But armed with very few resources and plenty of creativity, people like Moldovanu soon fueled an underground hardware industry that would birth some of the country’s best future tech professionals.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Uncwilly;470696]It seems that there is a rumble going around that there may 'soon' be an announced confirmation. The vibe I got is that the time scale is (weeks to) months with n<6.[/QUOTE]BTW, my best guess on the delay of the announcement is that, the astronomer that is heading the effort is having to wait for the earth to move enough for the parallax for the 3rd image in the sequence. Planet 9 would be far enough away and moving so slowly that parallax would be the key to defining its orbit.

[QUOTE=Uncwilly;470848]BTW, my best guess on the delay of the announcement is that, the astronomer that is heading the effort is having to wait for the earth to move enough for the parallax for the 3rd image in the sequence. Planet 9 would be far enough away and moving so slowly that parallax would be the key to defining its orbit.[/QUOTE]There's been a vigorous debate on the Planet 9 hypothesis, one Ethan Siegel being a notable skeptic. One of the reasons given for skepticism is selection bias in Kuiper Belt objects. See, e.g.

[url=http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/06/new-haul-distant-worlds-casts-doubt-planet-nine]New haul of distant worlds casts doubt on Planet Nine[/url]
My favorite quote from the article:
[quote]“Perhaps the most attractive thing about the Planet Nine hypothesis is that it has a well-defined observational resolution,” Batygin says. “It’s either there or not.”[/quote]This thing is thought to be [i]way[/i] out there, so would be [i]incredibly[/i] faint. An actual photographic image would be a great achievement.