Some more "sciency" articles that have caught my attention:
A recent article from Watts Up With That highlights recent climate developments in Antarctica, emphasizing that the continent has seen more snowfall and experienced record low temperatures in late winter 2023, particularly in July and August. These extreme cold events were widespread, affecting both East and West Antarctica, including the Ross Ice Shelf and the Antarctic Peninsula.
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[Update: the black sarcophagi portion, below, appears to be fake news from a site in Azerbaijan]
Meanwhile, recent reports describe the discovery of four mysterious black sarcophagi beneath Antarctica’s. These artifacts, unearthed by an international team of scientists from the United States, Russia, China, and India, have sparked widespread intrigue and speculation due to their unknown origins and design.
According to Baku.ws, the discovery of the black sarcophagi is unlike any other found in Antarctica. These objects were not just typical archaeological artifacts; they appeared to have an advanced design, one that did not fit with any known human history. Upon opening one of the sarcophagi, the scientists encountered an even more puzzling find. Inside was a hot metallic cylinder, etched with thin, mysterious lines. The object’s temperature and peculiar markings only added to the air of mystery surrounding the sarcophagi.
With the cylinder inside the sarcophagus seemingly capable of holding immense energy or power, the team of researchers made the decision to leave the sarcophagi undisturbed. They carefully returned the objects to their original location, citing safety concerns and an inability to fully comprehend the nature of the find. Yet, the unanswered questions surrounding the discovery continue to puzzle scientists worldwide.
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Meanwhile, scientists have recently detected unusual radio signals originating from beneath the Antarctic ice. These signals were picked up by the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) experiment, a NASA-funded project that uses balloon-borne instruments to detect radio waves from cosmic rays interacting with the Earth’s atmosphere.
Further analysis indicates the second star is six magnitudes fainter than Betelgeuse with a mass about 1.5 times that of the sun. It also is likely an A- or B-type pre-main-sequence star, meaning it is a young, hot blue-white star that isn’t yet burning hydrogen in its core.
Betelgeuse and its companion star were likely born at the same time, but their relationship won’t end well. According to the study’s authors, tidal forces will eventually cause the latter object to spiral into its partner, initiating an end to both of them. That said, astronomers estimate the pair’s finale will take place sometime within the next 10,000 years.
But before that, researchers hope to study the two stars even more. Their next chance will begin in November 2027, when the stellar companion’s orbit places it at its furthest distance from Betelgeuse.
Lindzen and Happer use physics to demonstrate that CO2’s warming effect is limited by its logarithmic absorption of infrared radiation. The warming effect of each molecule of CO2 decreases as its concentration increases. They estimate low climate sensitivity (~0.5–1.5°C per CO2 doubling), which is far below the IPCC’s range of 2.5–4°C.
They contend that Hurricanes, droughts, and floods exhibit no apparent increase in frequency driven by CO2, with natural variability dominating (e.g., NOAA’s stable hurricane frequency since 1980). They demonstrate that higher CO2 levels enhance photosynthesis, resulting in a 14% global greening trend (NASA, 1982–2015) and a 20% increase in crop yields (FAO, 2000–2020).
They then emphasize that phasing out fossil fuels, which supply 80% of global energy (IEA, 2023), will raise costs and harm developing nations, with minimal climate benefit. Their physics-based approach challenges high-sensitivity climate models, which have overestimated warming in periods such as 1998–2014. They also align with skepticism of alarmist policies, like EPA regulations, which they’ve called a “hoax” in prior work.
Draw a circle with a 2,485-mile radius around the southern Chinese city of Yuxi. British geographer Alasdair Rae did just that — and inside it resides 55% of the world’s population: some 4.3 billion people crammed into just 7% of Earth’s surface. The region includes China, India, much of Southeast Asia, and parts of Pakistan. Some of it — like the Tibetan Plateau and the Taklamakan Desert — is barren. But the rest is packed with cities, factories, and the aspirations of hundreds of millions clawing their way toward modern life.
Imagine if nearly a third of your DNA was composed of ancient viral remnants—genetic hitchhikers from infections that occurred millions of years ago.
Now imagine that these viral fragments aren’t just dead weight, but have quietly evolved to help control the way your genes work, potentially shaping what it means to be human.
That’s the startling insight behind a new study led by researchers at Kyoto University’s Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (ASHBi) and McGill University.
Studies indicate that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to have lower levels of vitamin D compared to their peers — the so-called “sunshine vitamin” is crucial for fetal brain development.
Unfortunately, research exploring the effects of traditional vitamin D supplementation on autism symptoms has produced mixed results.
Now, a new study out of Egypt suggests that a form of vitamin D3 known as nanoemulsion shows promise in improving symptoms.
In a deeply troubling development, Israeli military scientists have genetically modified one of the deadliest bioweapons known to man—Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes pneumonic plague—and then used its altered genetic material to engineer a new mRNA vaccine that programs human cells to manufacture plague proteins tied to virulence and immune system evasion.
I wonder if this was at the bioweapon facility targeted by Iran.
In the 30 years that biomedical researchers have worked determinedly to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, their counterparts have developed drugs that helped cut deaths from cardiovascular disease by more than half, and cancer drugs able to eliminate tumors that had been incurable. But for Alzheimer’s, not only is there no cure, there is not even a disease-slowing treatment.
The brain, Alzheimer’s researchers patiently explain, is hard — harder than the heart, harder even than cancer. While that may be true, it is increasingly apparent that there is another, more disturbing reason for the tragic lack of progress: The most influential researchers have long believed so dogmatically in one theory of Alzheimer’s that they systematically thwarted alternative approaches. Several scientists described those who controlled the Alzheimer’s agenda as “a cabal.”
A small group of researchers controlling what is published--and, hence, what is funded--is probably a problem in many other fields. String theory, anyone? But there is hope: "Breakthrough as two FDA-approved drugs are found to reverse Alzheimer’s — including restoring memory"--New York Post. Using a theory that Alzheimer's interferes with gene expression, the researchers first looked for drugs that would reverse that gene expression and focused on two candidates: letrozole and irinotecan, both currently used as cancer treatments. Initial tests on mice showed the drugs could restore memory and learning in mice showing severe symptoms. The article also mentions a few other drugs that have shown promise in treating Alzheimer's.
For years, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee have carefully managed leftover materials like Uranium-233.
This highly radioactive isotope has been stockpiled since the 1940s, when it was used in the Manhattan Project to build the first atomic bombs.
During the disposal process, scientists discovered they could extract an extremely rare byproduct of aging uranium, called Thorium-229.
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As Thorium-229 breaks down, it produces Actinium-225 (Ac-225), an isotope that can destroy tumors without harming surrounding healthy tissue.
In April, researchers in China created a controlled field to detonate a hydrogen explosive bomb that produced devastating results but without nuclear materials. Created by the China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s (CSSC) 705 Research Institute, the device is 2kg (4.4 lbs) and has a firing temperature of 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 degrees Fahrenheit) for a total of two seconds. By comparison, this bomb’s short duration is 15 times longer than any TNT blast, while including no atomic components.
Instead, the new device uses a magnesium hydride compound. Magnesium hydride can uniquely store hydrogen in amounts exceeding a pressurized tank’s. This silvery powder was initially designed to deliver hydrogen to off-grid locations, where it could be used to power fuel cells for clean energy and heating.
CSSC research scientist Wang Xuefeng, the study lead, says, “Hydrogen gas explosions ignite with minimal ignition energy, have a broad explosion range, and unleash flames that race outward rapidly while spreading widely.”
Now, though, a couple of developments could finally push high-temperature superconductors into commercial use. One is the availability, at relatively moderate cost, of copper-oxide-based superconducting tape, which is being produced by a few companies for startups working on tokamak fusion reactors. The reactors use the superconducting tape, which is typically made of yttrium barium copper oxide, in powerful electromagnets. The other development involves a different group of startups that are using the tape to build electric motors with very high power-to-weight ratios, mainly for use in electric aircraft.
Among that latter group of startups is Hinetics, formed in 2017 to commercialize research led by Kiruba Haran at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. This past April, the company tested a prototype motor outfitted with superconducting rotor magnets. According to Haran, the tests, which included spinning a propeller in a laboratory setup, validated key components of the company’s designs for superconducting motors that will operate at power levels of 5 and 10 megawatts. Such levels would be high enough to power a regional passenger airliner with multiple motors. The work was funded in part by a grant from the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E).
Gone are the days when drone warfare meant operations conducted from sprawling airfields in friendly territory or military bases thousands of miles away. Recent events show that the cutting edge of unmanned combat lies in the ability to build, deploy, and launch drones from inside enemy lines—or close enough to bypass early warning systems entirely. This adaptability in modern warfare is a testament to the evolving nature of military tactics.
Covert drone operations now blur traditional lines of engagement. With new platforms hiding in forests, under civilian infrastructure, or even inside standard shipping containers, military planners are now facing a profound challenge: How do you defend against an attack that appears to come from your own backyard?
Anthropic said its latest artificial intelligence model resorted to blackmail when told it would be taken offline.
In a safety test, the AI company asked Claude Opus 4 to act as an assistant to a fictional company, but then gave it access to (also fictional) emails saying that it would be replaced, and also that the engineer behind the decision was cheating on his wife. Anthropic said the model “[threatened] to reveal the affair” if the replacement went ahead.
Those who prepared her body carefully arranged the severed pieces to appear almost intact, placing the hand beside the forearm.
Archaeologists said that it seemed the goal was to make the cut-off right arm match the unusual position of her left arm, which was bent sharply, more than a right angle, and tucked in very tightly.
The girl's body was also carefully aligned with the setting sun on the winter solstice, and her coffin pointed toward the rising of Sirius, the brightest star in the sky.
Experts suggest her burial may be the earliest sign of the Osiris and Isis myth, in which the goddess Isis reassembles the dismembered body of Osiris beneath the rising Sirius, symbolizing death, rebirth, and cosmic order.
Archaeologists have discovered a 2,500-year-old tomb in Turkey that is potentially connected to King Midas — and contains rare artifacts and cremated remains of a high-ranking individual.
“Based on these artifacts, we estimate that the person in the tomb chamber may be a member of the royal family associated with Gordion and Midas,” Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, the Turkish minister of culture and tourism, announced at a news conference earlier this month, Live Science reported.
Now, a team of Turkish researchers have uncovered dozens of clay and smoothed river rock sling stones, unearthed just outside what would have been the palace walls, along with arrowheads, charred buildings, and hastily buried human skeletons.
Together, experts say, the clues paint a chilling picture of close-range fighting and a sudden, catastrophic fall, just as the ancient Greeks described.
'This concentration of sling stones in such a small area suggests intense fighting, either a desperate defense or a full-scale assault,' said Professor Rustem Aslan of Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, who is leading the excavation.
- "The Clever Folds That Kept Letters Secret"--BBC Future (via Get Pocket). Discussing "letter locking": "the technique became common throughout Europe during the Late Middle Ages (1250-1500) and Early Modern periods (1500-1815). By folding and cutting letters in various clever patterns, people attempted to hide their correspondence from unwanted readers, and the 'locks' came in myriad types." It couldn't keep someone from reading the letter, but let you know if someone had opened the letter to read it.
