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What I learned trying to classify abortion access across the rich world
Rich countries are not monolithic. However, outside the US and a few microstates, they vary in a limited range.
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Science & Space
The most popular blog posts about science & space on Hacker News. 399 posts.
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Study urges caution when comparing neural networks to the brain
Neuroscientists often use neural networks to model the kind of tasks the brain performs, in hopes that the models could suggest new hypotheses regarding how the brain itself performs those tasks. But a group of MIT researchers urges that more caution should be taken when interpreting these models.
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An open letter on E.O. Wilson's legacy
Response to Scientific American's "The Complicated Legacy..."
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Do success stories cause false beliefs about success?
Does explicitly acknowledging bias make us less likely to make biased decisions? A new study examining how people justify decisions based on biased data finds that this is not necessarily the case.
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Study links omega-3s to improved brain structure, cognition at midlife
Holy mackerel! Could eating salmon, cod, tuna, herring or sardines keep our brains healthy and our thinking agile in middle age? New research makes this connection. Contact: Will Sansom, (210) 567-2579, sansom@uthscsa.edu SAN ANTONIO (Oct. 5, 2022) — Eating cold-water fish and other sources of omega-3 fatty acids may…
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Deep learning on electronic medical records is doomed to fail
A few years ago, I worked on a project to investigate the potential of machine learning to transform healthcare through modeling electronic medical records. I walked away deeply disillusioned with the whole field and I really don’t think that the field needs machine learning right now. What it does need is plenty of…
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Capsaicin is a psychoactive substance
Capsaicin, the active substance in chili peppers, acts on vanilloid receptors (TRPV1) and alters adrenaline and endorphine levels.
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Joro spiders likely to spread beyond Georgia
New research suggests the invasive but relatively harmless Joro spider could colonize the entire East Coast.
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Got food cravings? What’s living in your gut may be responsible
A new Pitt study shows that the gut microbiome of mice influences their preferred diet. The results, researchers say, could apply to humans, too.
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Perl Saved the Human Genome Project (1996)
The human genome project was inaugurated at the beginning of the decade as an ambitious international effort to determine the complete DNA sequence of human beings and several experimental animals. The justification for this undertaking is both scientific and medical. By understanding the genetic makeup of an organism…
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We don't know how the universe began, and we will never know
Science News, Physics, Science, Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
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How long would society last during a total grid collapse?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] In February 2021, a winter storm that swept through Texas caused one of the most severe power crises in American history. The cold weather created shockingly high electricity demands as people tried to keep their homes warm. But
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Fasting boosts stem cells’ regenerative capacity (2018)
Age-related declines in stem cell function can be reversed by a 24-hour fast, according to a new study from MIT. Biologists found fasting dramatically improves stem cells’ ability to regenerate, in both aged and young mice.
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What is a black start of the power grid?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] November 1965 saw one of the most widespread power outages in North American history. On the freezing cold evening of the 9th, the grid was operating at maximum capacity as people tried to stay warm when a misconfigured relay tr
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Mouse Heaven or Mouse Hell?
Explore how biologist John Calhoun's controversial mouse experiments sparked debates about overpopulation, urban life, and human society's future.
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Why does my diet soda taste off? Aspartame hydrolysis
If you’ve ever been given a can of Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi and it tastes a little off, or way off, you probably just toss it out. Why does this happen and what can you do about it? Many diet soft d…
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Monsanto’s ghostwriting to influence science and media
While most ghostwriting scandals in science involve physicians, the agrichemical company ran a unique and sophisticated campaign to promote GMO technology and attack critics.
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Geometry from Another Universe
You start on an enclosed lawn, surrounded by four walls with a doorway in one of them. If you go in and explore, you might begin to feel trapped. You'll find you can visit five different rooms in the house, or go back outside to the lawn, but there's no way to go anywhere else. It's not because there are walls…
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I finally understand methane lifetimes
How to arrive at a number you can trust
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Sleep helps process emotions
Researchers at the Department of Neurology of the University of Bern and University Hospital Bern identified how the brain triages emotions during dream sleep to consolidate the storage of positive emotions while dampening the consolidation of negative ones. The work expands the importance of sleep in mental health…
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Tandem solar cell achieves 32.5 percent efficiency
The tandem solar cell converts 32.5% of the incident solar radiation into electrical energy. This value is now officially certified and included in the NREL chart.
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Protons are probably smaller than long thought
Our office chair, the air we breathe, the stars in the night sky: they are all made of atoms, which in turn are composed of electrons, protons and neutrons. Electrons are negatively charged; according to current knowledge, they have no expansion, but are point-like. The positively charged protons are different …
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We found no evidence that Bionic Reading has a positive effect on reading speed
Actually no, the results will probably not surprise you.
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How a razor blade can be damaged as it cuts human hair (2020)
A new study by MIT engineers shows how shaving can damage blades. Human hair, 50 times softer than steel, can chip away a razor’s edge, the engineers found.