Notices by Flipboard Science Desk (sciencedesk@flipboard.social), page 2

The dream of traversing the depths of space and planting the seed of human civilization on another planet has existed for generations. With the dawn of the Space Age, this idea was no longer just the stuff of science fiction and became a matter of scientific study. But, as you’re probably aware, the challenges are plenty. @ScienceAlert has more on the radical plan to build a spaceship to carry humans. https://flip.it/423xih
#Science #Space #SpaceExploration #Spaceship #SpaceTravel

Some people fear renewable power grids are more prone to blackouts. The data say otherwise.

@AnthropoceneMag reports: "In the big picture — across a 20-year data set — more renewables actually appear to make electric grids more resilient."

https://flip.it/i8vCty

#Energy #Renewables #ClimateChange #Solar #Wind #Environment

A rallying cry from @damemagazine as Kaitlin Byrd asks, “Can anything stop Trump now?”

“The system would not stop Donald Trump. Ballots didn’t either,” she writes. “But we will be enough. We will not acquiesce. And when we meet our next turn at the crossroads of time, we will know that we did everything we could.”

https://www.damemagazine.com/2024/11/12/can-anything-stop-trump-now/

🧵 7/12

#Trump #Newstodon #USPolitics

Don’t worry, America, Elon Musk is coming to save you — or so the AI slop going megaviral on Facebook would have you believe. @404mediaco reports on proliferating nonsense about how Trump’s latest BFF is going to solve climate change and the housing crisis.

[This story may be paywalled]

https://www.404media.co/absurd-ai-slop-about-how-elon-musk-will-fix-america-is-megaviral-on-facebook/

🧵 2/12

#ElonMusk #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Facebook #Slop #Technology #Tech #Newstodon #NewstodonFriday #FollowFriday

Scientists just discovered a sea creature as large as two basketball courts.

@Vox reports: "Roughly the size of two basketball courts, it’s neither a whale nor a giant squid. It is a single piece of coral."

https://flip.it/kAsrCv

#Ocean #Coral #Science #Animals

Can we expect to see more headlines like this if RFK Jr. is confirmed as America's top health official?

"Measles cases rose 20% worldwide in 2023, per new report."

From @STAT: https://flip.it/Dra90v

#RFKJr #PublicHealth #Vaccines #Measles #Disease #Science

You've no doubt encountered those ads for apps that promise to increase your IQ or keep your brain "young." But are any of these legit? 🧠

Two psychology professors explore the question for @ConversationUS, looking at the sorts of activities proven to benefit cognitive functioning.

https://flip.it/oEtSGM

#Psychology #Brain #IQ #Aging #Science

Dogs, cats, even pot-belly pigs can be pets. Why not clouds? New Zealand’s “Taieri Pet” is a lenticular cloud that forms when conditions are right over the Rock and Pillar Range on the country’s South Island. @ScienceAlert has timelapse images of this phenomenon in action: https://flip.it/mTN-hC
#Science #Meteorology #Clouds #NewZealand #Weather

Norway’s Kon-Tiki Museum returns artifacts to Chile’s remote Easter Island.

@AssociatedPress reports: "In 1947, explorer Thor Heyerdahl sailed on a log raft named Kon-Tiki from Peru to Polynesia in 101 days to prove his theory — that the South Sea Islands were settled by seafarers from South America. He brought 5,600 objects back from Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui. This is the third time objects taken by him are being returned."

https://flip.it/UvLji_

#EasterIsland #Archaeology #Anthropology #Norway #Chile #Science

There are some things the Crew-8 astronauts aren’t ready to talk about.

@arstechnica reports: "The astronauts who came home from the International Space Station last month experienced some drama on the high frontier, and some of it accompanied them back to Earth."

https://flip.it/VzddmD

#Space #Astronaut #ISS #Science

Have you ever wondered why wet dogs shake so much? Science has an answer. 🐕

From @PopularScience: "Lab mice experiments reveal the nerves that trigger this behavior in hairy mammals."

https://flip.it/uyCRYH

#Dogs #Animals #Science #Pets

Scientists warn that a key Atlantic current could collapse, among other climate tipping points.

From @NBCNews: "A new report describes the dire state of Earth’s snow and ice, suggesting several major tipping points are likelier than scientists once thought."

https://flip.it/2yrSmv

#ClimateChange #AtlanticOcean #GlobalWarming #Climate #Science

"Skywatchers, get ready to witness some celestial activity as the Leonids and Northern Taurids meteor showers peak in mid-November."

From @USAToday: "The Leonid meteor shower is caused by space debris from Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, which collides with Earth's atmosphere. Two independent discoveries of the comet were made by Ernst Tempel in 1865 and Horace Tuttle in 1866, according to NASA."

https://flip.it/k3nvnh

#Meteors #Astronomy #Leonids #Space #Science

Feeling eye strain from staring at this screen all day? 👀

@popsci reports: "Is your monitor causing computer vision syndrome? Here’s how to find out and how to help fix it."

https://flip.it/Cd85gA

#Eyes #Vision #Computer #Health #Science #Tech

When to catch the last supermoon of the year.

From @AssociatedPress: "More a popular term than a scientific one, a supermoon occurs when a full lunar phase syncs up with an especially close swing around Earth. This usually happens only three or four times a year and consecutively, given the moon’s constantly shifting, oval-shaped orbit."

https://flip.it/aITXzL

#Moon #Supermoon #Astronomy #Space #Science

Last week, we had a story about scientists who put bats on a treadmill. This week, a neuroscientist teaches rats to drive. And they love it!

From @ConversationUS: "We crafted our first rodent car from a plastic cereal container. After trial and error, my colleagues and I found that rats could learn to drive forward by grasping a small wire that acted like a gas pedal."

https://flip.it/kYvhJ6

And here's the treadmill bats story ICYMI: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/vampire-bats-treadmills-metabolism

#Animals #Rats #Bats #Science #Psychology

COP29 opened today in Baku, Azerbaijan — a controversial host city for several reasons.

@AssociatedPress reports on the petrostate, run by the same authoritarian leader for more than two decades. AP journalists were not permitted to report inside the country before the conference started: https://flip.it/tsdb6G

@BBCNews reports a COP29 chief executive was filmed promoting fossil fuel deals: https://flip.it/MwjnJs

For more COP29 coverage, follow @cop29-euronews

#COP29 #ClimateChange #Climate #Baku #Azerbaijan

Astronomers are excited after discovering a nearby “interstellar tunnel” that could lead to other star systems. As detailed in the journal "Astronomy & Astrophysics, the tunnel exists as part of an enormous structure of hot gas with a radius of hundreds of light years that surrounds our solar system known as the Local Hot Bubble. Could it connect to another even larger bubble? @Futurism has more: https://flip.it/KXuTL8
#Science #Space #SolarSystem #Astronomy #Astrophysics

Dogs will eat just about anything: mud, slugs, and non-existent homework. But why do they eat grass and poop? @sciencefocus tries to get to the bottom of these questions. https://flip.it/oblGRe
#Science #Dogs #Biology #Pets

From @LiveScience: Emerging evidence suggests that plate tectonics may have begun much earlier than previously thought — and may be a big reason that our planet harbors life. Some scientists are now arguing that plate tectonics emerged very soon after Earth's formation — perhaps predating life itself. Read more: https://flip.it/9nLsjW
#Science #Earth #Geology #Life #Aliens