Science reporting relevant to current events with an emphasis on the San Francisco Bay Area
Happy Labor Day dear reader, I recall the first time i saw a geochron clock on the wall of my hometown bank. Instantly i knew where in the world there was sunrise, sunset, night, and day. It lifted me for several minutes from living in a town in California with a few thousand others to … Read more
Hello again science fans, Daniela Rößler (‘ß’ is a double-s symbol used in Deutschland) has gathered fascinating data suggesting that jumping spiders might actually dream while sleeping. ¿Sleeping spiders? Well, yes. Just about every animal has been observed in behaviors that seem to indicate sleep. REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is associated with dreaming in humans, … Read more
Bless you, Étienne Klein, for bringing levity and wisdom to us last week. Levity came in claiming that his photo of a slice of chorizo was a JWST photo of Proxima Centauri, and the wisdom came in the physicist’s following Tweet: “Well, when it’s time for the aperitif, cognitive biases seem to have a field … Read more
Hello again, student of reality, Wow, what a life to celebrate. Daughter of the town mayor, dancer, singer, model, actress, and for most of us, Lieutenant Uhura on Star Trek. Nichelle Nichols had roles on stage, television, and in more than 25 movies. She worked to interest children in science and she recruited a number … Read more
Dear science fan, thank you for joining me. The Declaration of Independence extolls “safety” and “happiness” so please enjoy a safe and happy Fourth of July. The privileged white male Declaration signers accepted this passage: “… merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.” Six of … Read more
It was given knowledge that a musk ox is protected from concussive brain injury by having an intracranial air pocket and a very broad horn. Research now shows they suffer from chronic traumatic encephalopathy – just like boxers and American football players – and may suffer some degree of dementia. The researchers surmise that mild dementia in … Read more
The U.S. Constitution as of 1791 held that: Slavery was legal; For census purposes, slaves counted as ⅗ of a person; Slaves and women were not entitled to vote; People had the right to bear muzzle-loaded firearms. The only “Arms” covered by the Constitution’s 2nd Amendment were single shot weapons that had to be manually reloaded … Read more
Recently your SciSchmooze has come all too often with ‘cosmic’ images: Sunday’s lunar eclipse, a solar eclipse by Phobos, low temperatures of the James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble’s image of Earendel, etc., etc. This week i was planning on an image of something closer to home, but along came the image of the supermassive black hole that … Read more
Hello again, dear reader, Of all the unexpected phenomena in our unfathomable universe, ambergris shat by sperm whales rates pretty high. A lump the size of a Costco muffin could sell for thousands of dollars – if it had floated in the ocean for a long time. Bafflingly, the stinky excrement is used in high-end perfumes. A surprising situation 70 … Read more
Submitted by David Almandsmith Mon, 04-04-2022 : 04:51 Dear friend of science and reality, Thank you for putting up with my bent on reality. Today i’m starting out on the topic of ‘Space’ since the above photo is so amazing, but don’t miss the section on ‘Optimism’. SPACE The mirrors of the James Webb Space Telescope are currently … Read more