Hello again, fans of science,
“nuqneH, QeD parmaq,” (I found no data on how many Klingons are in the Bay Area.)
Find a “Stand Up for Science” gathering that’s accessible for you. Go with or without a sign. Go with or without a costume. Go with or without your family and friends. But go.
Now is an especially important time to communicate with the President, the Vice President, and your three Congressional members: two Senators and a Member of the House of Representative. Here is a site for looking them up. The address for the President and Vice President is:
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington DC 20500
Hmmmm. I wonder what would happen if we all mailed letters to the White House on the same day – March 15?
BIOLOGY / ETHOLOGY
The “National Nature Assessment” was prepared by 150 scientists and experts under the auspices of the Environmental Protection Agency. It was about to go to the printers when it was cancelled on January 30 by Executive Order. Its twelve chapters include one on nature’s effects on human health, and another one on the dependence of the nation’s economy on nature. The nation’s Sixth National Climate Assessment is due in 2026 or 2027, but climate scientists doubt it will be scientifically accurate regardless whether it is allowed to be published.
By a January Executive Order, each individual has an “immutable biological classification” based on the size of their gametes. Females have large gametes and males have small. Except this doesn’t apply to everyone. People with Swyer syndrome have the chromosomes of normal males – XY – but develop with female anatomy although they produce no gametes. Some Swyer syndrome ‘wives’ have wondered why they don’t get pregnant. Some Jacobs syndrome – XYY – ‘men’ develop normally but others may not be able to produce sperm – the small gamete. Turner syndrome – a second X chromosome is partially or wholly missing – persons are unlikely to produce eggs. Persons with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia [CAH] can develop as males even though chromosomally they are female – XX. Roughly 1.7% of babies are born with ambiguous genitalia – intersex. Surgery to render the child as one sex or the other is usually up to the parents.
In spite of Executive Orders to remove “gender identity” from federal agency websites, i found this on an NIH website last Thursday: “Gender identity is the self-defined experience of one’s gender.” [Shhh. Don’t tell anyone.]
CHEMISTRY
Ron Hipschman has an entertaining YouTube channel called “Tales from the Periodic Table” that i highly recommend. Individual videos range from 20 to 40 minutes.
CLIMATE
Good news:
Investment in the U.S. for clean energy and clean transportation increased 16% in 2024 over 2023. Investment in EV supply chains was up 79%. Battery technology investment was up 91%. [New York Times] During 2024 in the European Union, electricity generation from sunshine exceeded generation from coal. [The Guardian]
Globally, however, electricity from coal far exceeds all other sources, and solar lags far behind. But the International Energy Agency predicts that electricity generation from solar photovoltaics will exceed all other forms of production just 8 years from now.
You might find it interesting that 37% of campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry in 1990 went to Democrats, but that dropped to 11% in the 2024 elections.
THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK – My Picks
Airborne – Life in a Breath Livestream with Carl Zimmer – Monday 3pm, $
Clear Thinking about Climate Livestream with Bill Nye – Thurs 4pm
SPACE
This last week all of the other 7 planets have been visible at night. (I suppose if you also looked down at your feet, you could also count the planet Earth) ¿So where is the barycenter – the center of mass of the solar system around which the planets orbit? Normally it is near the physical center of the Sun, but with all of the planets on one side of the solar system, the barycenter is currently outside of the Sun. Even the Sun is orbiting around that external location, albeit slowly.
The Blue Ghost just landed on the Moon – upright and healthy. It settled down within a hundred meters of its intended target and has been phoning home with data and selfies. That got me to wondering – ¿How does the surface area of the Moon compare to the surface area of the United States? Answer: The Moon’s surface area is 3.86 times that of the U.S.
FUN (?) NERDY VIDEOS
Catastrophic Sinkholes in Brazil City – Reuters – 2 mins
Purple Isn’t Real – Slice of Science – Alexander Wynn – 2 mins
Homeopathy – Show & Tell – Joe Schwarcz – 4 mins
Gila Monster – U.S. Geological Survey – Cecil Schwalbe – 4 mins
Mexican Mole Lizard – Bizarre Beasts – Hank Green – 5 mins
¿Rain in Antarctica? – Dr. Gilbz – Ella Gilbert – 6 mins
Kessler Syndrome Update – Sabine Hossenfelder – 6 mins
Mars, Pareidolia, and Belief – StarTalk – Neil deGrasse Tyson – 9 mins
¿Fungal Infection, Mammalian Selection? – PBS Eons – Michelle Barbosa-Ramirez – 10 mins
Big Oil Has $7 TRILLION of Our Money – Just Have a Think – Dave Borlace -11 mins
What Actual Aliens Might Look Like – Kurzgesagt – 13 mins
¿Black Holes in the Solar System? – PBS SpaceTime – Matt O’Dowd – 18 mins
We Can’t Explain Spiral Galaxies – Dr. Becky – Becky Smethurst – 20 mins
Goal: Microscopes That See Atoms – Veritaseum – Derek Muller – 21 mins
Homo floresiensis: ¿Extinct Species? – History with Kayleigh – Kayleigh A.N. – 28 mins
Continuous videos. Move the cursor on the red line to explore earlier views.
ISS Earth Cam
Namib Desert Cam
Okaukuejo Waterhole, Namibia
Don’t lose your ability to be empathetic. Practice daily.
Dave Almandsmith, Bay Area Skeptics
“Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.”
— John F. Kennedy (1917 – 1963) 35th President of the United States