Sci-Tech news

• The Brain of Ben Barres

  07-08-2017 12:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  A neurobiologist’s legacy: rewriting how cells operate — and how they go rogue.
  
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• Ancient ring supposedly tied to Pontius Pilate may include a typo

  03-09-2026 20:01 via popsci.com
  
  The story of a 2,000-year-old ring potentially tied to one of the Christian Bible’s most impactful figures has yet another hypothesis. In a study recently published in the journal Palestine Exploration Quarterly, historian Catherine Bonesho argues that the letters on a ring often associated with the Roman governor Pontius Pilate refer to somebody named Pilate, and not necessarily the official who sentenced Jesus to death. The reason behind the mix-up? A common Roman translation error.The b
  
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• Bracelet-shaped robot just keeps jumping

  03-09-2026 18:42 via popsci.com
  
  Much like the earworm “The Song That Doesn’t End” from Shari Lewis’ Lamb Chops’ Play-Along, a new soft robot does not stop…curling up and jumping. A team of mechanical engineers from North Carolina State University say that they’ve created the bracelet-shaped bot that moves indefinitely when it’s exposed to infrared light. Called a Ring Leaper, the teardrop-shaped machine is made of a liquid crystal elastomer ring with a more rigid aluminum V
  
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• High school students spot two spiral galaxies colliding in Hawaiian constellation

  03-09-2026 17:30 via popsci.com
  
  High school students interning at an observatory in Hawaii have successfully imaged a pair of colliding spiral galaxies located deep within overlapping cultural constellations. Formally classified as NGC 7253, the two galaxies are over 200 million light-years away, and reside in both Pegasus and Ka Lupe o Kawelo, or “The Kite of Kawelo.”“NGC 7253 is a fascinating object because it’s two galaxies that are merging into one over billions of years,” said Project Hō
  
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• Pax Silica Expands Its Mission Into Elite Education With Foundry School

  03-09-2026 17:26 via technocracy.news
  
  This is largely a propaganda article, but Pax Silica has been on my radar as a Technocratic initiative since its founding in December 2025. Originally seen as building empire for Technocracy by spreading the US AI stack into blocks of nations worldwide. This Foundry School seems very elite-oriented, serving Pax Silica exclusively. ⁃ Patrick Wood, Editor.The Trump administration will launch Foundry School on Sept. 3, a national training program meant to prepare entrepreneurs, engineers, tec
  
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• Katmai brown bear cubs learning how to ‘walk on water’ to nab salmon

  03-09-2026 16:45 via popsci.com
  
  As salmon season winds down and Fat Bear Week approaches, the famous brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve have to get out and about while the eating is good. Bear #284 (Electra) was spotted out and about this week, looking healthy with her two cubs.Electra is part of a well-established bear lineage in Katmai. She was born in 2008 to Bear #708 (Amelia), who was likely born to Bear #468 (Reggie). Rangers first spotted her in  2011 as a subadult. She h
  
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• 16 glistening galaxies shine in new images form NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory

  03-09-2026 15:16 via popsci.com
  
  While we have months to wait for the first images from the freshly-launched Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, NASA’s other incredible observatories do not disappoint. The agency released a new collection of 16 galactic images taken with the Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes. Galaxies are separated into three main categories—spirals, ellipticals, and irregulars. Spirals are like our own Milky Way and appear to spin around a central focus. Ellipticals are older galax
  
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• Explore what Pompeii looked like before catastrophic eruption

  03-09-2026 15:03 via popsci.com
  
  A little less than 2,000 years ago, Mount Vesuvius became the antihero of the ancient world’s most well-known tragedy. The infamous explosion covered Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic debris, immortalizing the final moments of the ancient Roman cities and some of their unfortunate inhabitants in stunning detail. Now, however, visitors can witness the glory of Pompeii before it all came crashing down in 79 CE. A former game engineer from Illinois and his team have developed an applic
  
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• 3 killed, including gunman, in Minneapolis mass shooting

  03-09-2026 04:19 via nbcnews.com
  3 people were killed, and several others injured, after a gunman opened fire in a Minneapolis high-rise building. 3 police officers were injured in the shooting, including one who was in surgery as of Wednesday night. The shooter was found dead by police officers. NBC News' Steve Patterson reports.
  
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• Inside a Ukrainian maternity ward as Russian strikes intensify

  03-09-2026 03:12 via nbcnews.com
  As Russia ramps up strikes on Ukrainian cities, one underground maternity ward is allowing women to deliver babies safely amid a brutal war. NBC News' Richard Engel went inside.
  
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• Hundreds of teens swarm Colorado shopping center for so-called ‘takeover’

  03-09-2026 02:17 via nbcnews.com
  Hundreds of teens swarmed a shopping center in Colorado in what’s been dubbed a ‘‘takeover.’ It’s part of a growing trend where streets and businesses are overrun, usually organized on social media. NBC News' Steve Patterson reports.
  
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• A Newly Discovered ‘Devil Flower’ Hides Beneath the Forest Floor Before Emerging With Black Petals and Demon-Like Eyes

  03-09-2026 00:30 via discovermagazine.com
  
  Learn about Thismia daemona, the “devil flower” recently found in a Thai national park that survives without sunlight.
  
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• Hubble Images Uncover Massive 10-Sided Wave Brewing at Saturn's South Pole

  03-09-2026 00:10 via discovermagazine.com
  
  Learn about the decagon wave that has appeared at Saturn's south pole, offering an opportunity to study an evolving atmospheric structure.
  
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• Medieval Farmers Kept Their Cattle Alive Longer Than Expected, Until Horses Took Over

  02-09-2026 23:52 via discovermagazine.com
  
  Learn how 1,000 years of animal bones reveal when cattle powered farms, sheep fueled the wool trade, and horses took over more fieldwork.
  
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• At Least 60,000 Years Ago, the “Hobbit” of Flores Walked Upright With Human-Like Hips, Despite One Unusual Pelvic Bone

  02-09-2026 23:01 via discovermagazine.com
  
  Learn how the pelvis of Homo floresiensis showed that it walked upright with more human-like hip mechanics than researchers once believed.
  
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• Nose Blindness Can Prevent You From Smelling Some Odors in Your Home — Here's Why

  02-09-2026 22:01 via discovermagazine.com
  
  Learn more about nose blindness, why it happens, and ways to tell if you're surrounded by unpleasant odors. 
  
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• Restroom Archive gives public bathrooms their due

  02-09-2026 21:30 via popsci.com
  
  People generally want to spend as little time as possible in a public restroom. The vulnerability, the crass graffiti, the (lack of) cleanliness, uncomfortable toilet seats—the list of reasons is lengthy. But despite their infamy, public bathrooms remain an absolute societal necessity that deserve much more appreciation. At least, that’s what designer Jake Welch believes.“There is perhaps no space in society which better captures the creativity and impertinence of humans when t
  
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• The 89 best REI Labor Day deals, from a $16 sock to a $1,499-off e-bike

  02-09-2026 21:07 via popsci.com
  
  REI runs two big sales a year and the Labor Day event is where the co-op clears summer stock before winter inventory needs the shelf space. That means tents, sleeping pads, camp chairs, and trail shoes get cut hardest just in time to enjoy the tail end of warm weather. The Labor Day sale runs through September 7, and REI members who spend $50 or more also earn a $30 single-use promo card during the same window. I went through roughly 2,500 discounted items and pulled the size runs on every pair
  
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• One of the rarest dimes in the U.S. sells for $1.25 million

  02-09-2026 20:17 via popsci.com
  
  A rare dime that inadvertently launched one of most successful coin collecting careers in history has sold for an astounding $1.25 million. The coveted 1894 S-Dime was auctioned during Stack’s Bowers Galleries “Rarities Night” on September 1, and was this particular coin’s fourth auction appearance. Known as a Barber Dime for its designer, United States Bureau of the Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber, only 24 of the 10-cent pieces were ever manufactured. Of those, jus
  
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• Mamdani announces ban on AI for young students in NYC public schools

  02-09-2026 19:37 via nbcnews.com
  New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a one-year ban on artificial intelligence for students from 2-K through 8th grade in public schools. NBC News' Tyler Kingkade reports.
  
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• Home-intruding bobcat no match for police drone

  02-09-2026 19:02 via popsci.com
  
  What began as a routine police response to a reported break-in turned into a brief standoff between nature and technology. Last week, law enforcement in the city of Kirkland, Washington (just northeast of Seattle) responded to a 911 call from a resident reporting loud banging inside their home. Officers arrived expecting a human intruder, but were instead greeted by a more literal cat burglar: a trapped and confused bobcat. Not wanting to risk a claw to the face, the officers backed out and
  
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• California Wildlife Day to honor beloved bald eagle Jackie

  02-09-2026 18:43 via popsci.com
  
  Following an outpouring of support for Jackie, a famous bald eagle mother watched by millions, the California State Senate passed Senate Resolution 140. The bipartisan measure honors Jackie and proclaims that Friday September 4, 2026 is California Wildlife Day to honor her memory and celebrate the Golden State’s biodiversity.The resolution was introduced by State Senator Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach) and is sponsored by KFI AM 640 in Los Angeles. It recognizes the eagle’s role
  
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• Tweet! Here are the winners of the 2026 Audubon Photography Awards

  02-09-2026 18:00 via popsci.com
  
  It’s a bird’s world, and we’re just living in it. Today, the National Audubon Society officially announced the winners of the 2026 Audubon Photography Awards. The contest is now in its 17th year and celebrates stunning photos (and even a few videos) that showcase the beauty of birds and the challenges they face. For the second year, the judges awarded prizes to residents of Chile and Colombia, as well as the United States and Canada, highlighting how avians connect us across ge
  
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• Your smartwatch may be overestimating calories burned by 25 percent

  02-09-2026 17:16 via popsci.com
  
  One of a smartwatch’s main selling points can be its ability to track the calories burned while exercising. But similar to the health tech industry’s “10,000 steps” selling point, new research strongly suggests a wearable’s workout assessment may overestimate your efforts—and in some cases, the readings are off by as much as 25 percent.“You can’t treat the calories burned number it gives you as an accurate number, because it’s not,” Flo
  
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• Overseas Book Review: The New Economics Of Technocracy

  02-09-2026 17:00 via technocracy.news
  
  This book review appeared in a professional journal in France. My books are written for all the people of the world, regardless of political or spiritual orientation. It is useful for my American readers to see outside the bubble that there are thoughtful people all around the world who see Technocracy as a major threat. ⁃ Patrick Wood, Editor.In the last issue, I reviewed Patrick Wood’s then most recent book (p. 68), The Final Betrayal, on how technocracy has gone into overdrive wit
  
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• Anger over planned AI data center drives Missouri city’s voters to recall council member

  02-09-2026 16:59 via nbcnews.com
  
  Residents of Independence also voted out two City Council members who supported data centers during a general election in April.
  
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• What shapes your personality? Your genes and environment play a big role.

  02-09-2026 15:03 via popsci.com
  
  I consider myself to have a somewhat challenging personality. The popular Myers-Briggs test labels me an ‘INTJ,’ commonly referred to as an “Architect.” We’re supposedly independent, determined, curious, and original, but we’re also considered combative, overly critical, dismissive of emotions, and more concerned with “rationality and success over politeness.” My family would generally agree with that description of me. Perhaps thankfully, we
  
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• Social media is supercharging the decades-old collectible craze

  02-09-2026 03:21 via nbcnews.com
  Children of the 80s and 90s probably remember the frenzy to collect the latest fad toy of the year, but far from dying out in our digital age, collectibles are hotter, and more valuable, than ever. NBC News' Yasmin Vossoughian reports.
  
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• Storytelling Around Ancient Campfires May Have Shaped Human Language

  02-09-2026 01:06 via discovermagazine.com
  
  Learn how firelight may have extended social life after dark, creating the conditions for storytelling to shape the evolution of human language.
  
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• These fish rely on teamwork to find food in murky water

  02-09-2026 01:05 via popsci.com
  
  Just like 20-somethings yelling or waving in a crowded, strobe light-filled club, three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) can change their social behavior for the benefit of the group. These small fish will change how they swim to help find food when they are in cloudy water. The findings are detailed in a study published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.There are eight known species of sticklebacks (order Gasterosteiformes). These small fish live in fresh, brac
  
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