Human #brain is two separate organs, Stanford Medicine-led research finds A new study found brain is two separate organs adjacent to one another. Finding could aid research into #neurological diseases. Human brain consists of two ancient nervous systems packaged together — more primitive part that regulates our hearts’ beating, our breathing and other functions, and another that makes us distinctly human, capable of poetry, mathematics and wondering about our own origins. https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2026/09/two-separate-brains.html

News Center

Human brain is two separate organs, Stanford Medicine-led research finds

Stanford Health Care delivers the highest levels of care and compassion. SHC treats cancer, heart disease, brain disorders, primary care issues, and many more.

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 5mo ago

#Chernobyl #Fungus Seems to Have #Evolved an Incredible Ability Clinging to walls of one of most #radioactive buildings on Earth, scientists have found a strange black fungus curiously living its best life. Fungus called Cladosporium sphaerospermum, and scientists think its dark pigment – melanin – may allow it to harness ionizing #radiation through a process similar to the way plants harness light for photosynthesis. Proposed mechanism is referred to as #radiosynthesis. https://www.sciencealert.com/chernobyl-fungus-seems-to-have-evolved-an-incredible-ability

sciencealert.com

353

301

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 1w ago

As temperatures get hotter, #pesticides are more dangerous to #farmworkers Heat stresses the body, making it more vulnerable to pesticides and other toxicants, and protective clothing worn in heat only adds to this stress. Hotter temperatures can also lead to higher evaporation rates, increasing farmworkers’ exposure as more pesticides are applied to crops. And heat can boost rates of chemical transformation of pesticides into more toxic compounds https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/08/as-temperatures-get-hotter-pesticides-are-more-dangerous-to-farmworkers/ #climate #climatechange

arstechnica.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 3mo ago

Sick and wrong: Ontario auditors find doctors' #AI note takers routinely blow basic facts Findings from Office of Auditor General of Ontario, included in report about state of AI usage by public services. They specifically address #AIScribe, Ontario Ministry of Health initiated for #physicians, #nursepractitioners, and other #healthcare professionals across broader #health sector. 60% of evaluated AI Scribe systems mixed up prescribed drugs in patient notes, auditors say https://www.theregister.com/ai-ml/2026/05/14/ontario-auditors-find-doctors-ai-note-takers-routinely-blow-basic-facts/5240771

theregister.com

110

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2w ago

#GrapheneOS Isn't Happy With #Google Over Pixel's Widening Head Start A three-month patch delay, a paused API rollout, a two-week wait on source code—each is the kind of thing that could pass as a one-off. Taken together, however, they point to a recurring theme. Google is holding security fixes back from the wider Android ecosystem, withholding new APIs from #AOSP for first time in over a decade, and slow-walking #GPL compliance it's required to meet. https://itsfoss.com/news/grapheneos-android-17-qpr1-fiasco/ #Android #Security

It's FOSS

GrapheneOS Isn't Happy With Google Over Pixel's Widening Head Start

GrapheneOS is calling out Google over its negligence in providing certain patches.

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

#AI is more likely than humans to form #bias when #hiring AI doesn’t just learn stereotypes from its training. It can cook up new ones, too. New research suggests that #LLM can also develop their own #biases from experience—and stereotype #job applicants more than humans do. As AI companies race to build #agentic models that remember the tiniest details about users, they may be handing them ammunition for forming those biases. https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/07/20/1140655/ai-biases-hiring-humans/ https://archive.ph/0CPBv

MIT Technology Review

AI is more likely than humans to form biases when hiring

AI doesn’t just learn stereotypes from its training. It can cook up new ones, too.

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

Scientists race to collect the last #seeds from a critically #endangered #tree on Robinson Crusoe Island in #Chile before it goes #extinct Seeds from the last surviving wild Dendroseris neriifolia tree are now stored in Kew Gardens' Millennium #SeedBank, a botanic garden in West Sussex, England, where scientists are conducting germination trials and storing material for long-term conservation as researchers work to find ways to reintroduce the species into the wild. https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/scientists-race-to-collect-the-last-seeds-from-a-critically-endangered-tree-before-it-goes-extinct

livescience.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 3mo ago

The #balconysolar boom is coming to the #US Plug-in #solarpanels are getting popular—how do we make sure they’re safe? Balcony #solar is already popular in Europe, and proponents say that the systems could make solar power more accessible for more people in the US, including renters. As popularity rises, though, some experts caution that there are safety concerns with how balcony solar would work with existing electrical equipment in homes. https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/07/1136933/balcony-solar-boom/ https://archive.ph/pz5l8

technologyreview.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

‘Stop all outdoor activities’: #SouthKorea records its highest ever temperature More than 20 localities in South Korea were under emergency #heatwave alerts on Sunday -- a new warning category introduced this year to better address rising temperatures. An emergency alert is issued when areas experiencing a heatwave are forecast to hit perceived temperatures of 38C or an actual temperature of 39C for the day. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/03/south-korea-highest-temperature #climate #climatechange #globalheating #globalwarming

theguardian.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

A Device Hidden in #Cars Across the #US Leaves Them Vulnerable to Hacking and Paralysis. Patch It Now That's the disturbing discovery of a team of security researchers at UC San Diego, who found that a model of aftermarket #caralarm known as the #KARR Security System, installed in more than 2 million vehicles across the US can let any hacker within Bluetooth range send commands to silently unlock, turn off alarm, honk horn, or even disable ignition https://www.wired.com/story/a-device-hidden-in-cars-across-the-us-leaves-them-vulnerable-to-hacking-and-paralysis-patch-it-now/ https://archive.ph/EvBjc

wired.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 3mo ago

Boosted by @czarbucks@vmst.io

Alaskans will be flying blind after #NSF decommissions #ocean monitoring network #Alaska’s multibillion-dollar #fishing industry and vulnerable coastal communities at risk. The real-time information from these ocean observatories helps scientists, fishery managers, coastal hazard planners, and even the military plan and prepare for the future. Whether that’s calculating how much fish can be harvested or when a marine heatwave or giant wave action may be occurring. https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/alaskans-will-be-flying-blind-after-nsf-decommissions-ocean-monitoring-network/

arstechnica.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

Boosted by @kcarruthers@infosec.exchange

The World's First #NuclearWaste Tomb Is Nearly Ready to Open With space for 6,500 tons of #uranium, #Onkalo is aimed at providing permanent storage for spent fuel from #Finland's five #nuclear reactors – three of them located in Olkiluoto. Spent fuel is planned to be deposited in Onkalo's massive network of tunnels for 100yrs, but operations may be extended if new nuclear reactors are built. Subsequently, it will be sealed to provide safe storage for at least 100,000yrs. https://www.sciencealert.com/the-worlds-first-nuclear-waste-tomb-is-nearly-ready-to-open

ScienceAlert

The World's First Nuclear Waste Tomb Is Nearly Ready to Open

The elevator display reads "433", the number of meters below ground.

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 3mo ago

The Secret Reason Bosses Want Everyone Back in the Office, Every Day of the Week Case by case, there may be good reasons for teams to work together in person. As a general rule, though, it turns out that ordering people back to the office full time is a power and status move. The only trait that consistently predicted objections to #remotework was narcissism — the tendency to be self-centered and entitled https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/22/opinion/office-work-wfh-bosses.html https://archive.ph/QpMio #WFH #RTO

nytimes.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

Scientists spot #sugar in interstellar #space for the first time ever #Erythrulose, a sugar found in raspberries, kiwis, fruits, also apparently exists in a giant molecular cloud of gas and dust near the center of our galaxy. First time sugar has been seen in #interstellarspace Question is: How did sugar get there? For life as we know it, sugars are vital, both as energy-storage molecules and as ingredients in bio building blocks such as DNA & RNA https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-spot-sugar-in-interstellar-space-for-the-first-time-ever/ https://archive.ph/qqxYH

scientificamerican.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

Landmark #MIT study debunks persistent myths about #electricvehicles Think #EV don't make sense in cold climates, or dirty power grid cancels out benefits? Researchers find opposite is true—EVs cost no more to own than a comparable gas car almost anywhere in #US No matter where you live in US or what your driving habits are, #electricvehicle is likely to have a smaller #carbonfootprint and cost less overall than comparable #gasoline-powered vehicle, according to analysis. https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/05/a-landmark-mit-study-debunks-persistent-myths-about-electric-vehicles/

A landmark MIT study debunks persistent myths about electric vehicles

Anthropocene

A landmark MIT study debunks persistent myths about electric vehicles

Think EVs don't make sense in cold climates, or that a dirty power grid cancels out the benefits? Researchers find the opposite is true—and that EVs cost no more to own than a comparable gas car almost anywhere in the U.S.

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

Tiny alienlike blue #octopus discovered lurking off the #Galápagos Islands On an underwater mountainside some 1,773 meters below the #ocean’s surface, they discovered a little blue octopus. On a video of the excursion, the scientists can be heard chuckling and cooing over the creature: “Is that a cute little guy or what,” says one team member, followed by another, “Oh my goodness, that is adorable.” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tiny-alien-like-blue-octopus-discovered-lurking-off-the-galapagos-islands/ https://archive.ph/8uGBy

scientificamerican.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

This #ElNiño is set to be the largest on record by a ‘mind-blowing margin’ Forecasters predict that the monster #climate pattern will combine with #globalwarming to push global temperatures in 2027 to new heights. According to the projections from a suite of climate models, the peak of this El Niño is set to surpass the previous record-holder by “truly, a mind-blowing margin”, says Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at Berkeley Earth. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02293-y #climatechange

nature.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 3mo ago

Collapse of #Atlantic Currents May Already Be ‘Locked In’ A vast system of Atlantic currents delivers warmth to northern #Europe is at risk of collapse, according to a growing body of research. Latest study to warn of its demise finds there is at least 10% chance that collapse of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or #AMOC, may already be “locked in.” If AMOC were to collapse, its flow slowing to a near halt, temps in northern Europe would drop by 9-27F (5-15C). https://e360.yale.edu/digest/amoc-collapse-10-percent

e360.yale.edu

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 5mo ago

#AI #datacenter #bans are rapidly multiplying across the #US — 69 jurisdictions block new builds, with four permanent
Number of bans enacted against #datacenters is increasing across US, with one tracker listing 14 new bans from March to April. According to the U.S. Data Center Moratorium Tracker, there are currently 50 active bans across different jurisdictions. #Hyperscalersare rushing to build data centers, especially as they rush to become the dominant force in AI.
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/ai-data-center-bans-are-rapidly-multiplying-across-the-us-69-jurisdictions-block-new-builds-with-four-moves-noted-as-permanent

hachyderm.io

Hachyderm.io

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 1mo ago

#US Is Pulling Back on #EnergyEfficiency Just as Prices Are Rising Trump admin is undoing fuel-saving efforts even as war in Iran, data centers and heat waves are pushing up #gasoline and #electricity costs Consumers end up using more electricity and burning more gas when electricity costs are rising faster than inflation and gasoline is $4. While more efficient cars or appliances can be more expensive, often save money because they use less energy https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/21/climate/trump-energy-efficiency-standards.html https://archive.ph/BVzTr

nytimes.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

#Solar just became #Europe's biggest source of #electricity – here's the milestone it hit Generating a record 52 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity and supplying 25% of all electricity used in the #EuropeanUnion in June 2026. That’s the first time solar has provided a quarter of the EU’s monthly electricity. It also made solar the bloc’s largest source of electricity for the month, ahead of nuclear (21%), gas (15%), wind (14%), hydro (12%), and coal (8%). https://electrek.co/2026/07/15/solar-just-became-europes-biggest-source-of-electricity-heres-the-milestone-it-hit/

electrek.co

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

Drying Lakebeds Are Releasing Massive Amounts of #Carbon, Study Finds The #AralSea Has Been Drying Up For 60 Years. New Research Shows It's Also Releasing Massive Amounts of Carbon The study estimates that between 1960 and 2022, the evaporating sea has released 204 megatons of #carbondioxide into the atmosphere, based on site surveys and core samples collected from across the dry lakebed. https://www.sciencealert.com/the-worlds-largest-dried-lakebed-is-leaking-vast-amounts-of-carbon-but-scientists-say-theres-a-solution #climate #climatechange

The Aral Sea Has Been Drying Up For 60 Years. New Research Shows It's Also Releasing Massive Amounts of Carbon

ScienceAlert

The Aral Sea Has Been Drying Up For 60 Years. New Research Shows It's Also Releasing Massive Amounts of Carbon

If you've ever walked past a drying lakebed in the peak of summer, you might have noticed some very unpleasant smells emanating from the mud.

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

The Document Foundation says #Microsoft's file formats keep users on a short leash #OOXML may carry an ISO certificate, but only #MicrosoftOffice can be trusted to render it properly "The practical effect is that the format used daily by hundreds of millions of people is the one that only Microsoft's own software implements correctly, whilst the cleaner variant – which other software could actually support – is not used, and has now even disappeared from some versions." https://www.theregister.com/applications/2026/07/20/the-document-foundation-says-microsofts-file-formats-keep-users-on-a-short-leash/5274960

theregister

The Document Foundation says Microsoft

OOXML may carry an ISO certificate, but only Office can be trusted to render it properly

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 1mo ago

Boosted by @kcarruthers@infosec.exchange

Gym rat asks #AIagent to book him a class, it hacks a waitlist #API to bump him up the list Australian broadcaster ABC identified gym-goer only as “Andrew.” The report says Andrew was using the #OpenClaw agent with #Anthropic’s #Claude #AI service. Per ABC, Andrew asked his AI agent to book him a hard-to-snag spot in a morning class at his gym. It first responded by telling him that it managed to book him in classes several weeks out, which isn’t supposed to be possible. https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/08/10/gym-rat-asks-ai-agent-to-book-him-a-class-it-hacks-a-waitlist-api-to-bump-him-up-the-list/5285591

theregister.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 5mo ago

Boosted by @Dragofix@veganism.social

#ExtremeHeat is cutting the time people can safely be active #outdoors Using #globalheat, #humidity and demographic data, scientists found that sweltry conditions now limit light physical activity for #adults ages 18 to 40 for about 50 hours a year, on average. That’s double what young adults faced from 1950 to 1979. Meanwhile, adults over 65 now experience an average of about 900 hours of activity-limiting conditions each year. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/extreme-heat-outdoor-activity-unsafe https://archive.ph/GTkYK

sciencenews.org

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 3mo ago

A robot swarm is on a mission to map #Greenland’s perilous #icesheets The fleet of drones, subs and sensors will map ice melt to forecast #climate #tippingpoints Data from expedition funded by #UK’s secretive new inventions agency, will feed into climate models. Idea is to forecast when #ice melt will tip climate-regulating ocean currents into shutdown, and try to develop early warning system that would let humanity know when #glaciers are changing https://www.sciencenews.org/article/robot-mission-map-greenland-ice-climate https://archive.ph/OaxnC

Science News

A robot swarm is on a mission to map Greenland's perilous ice sheets

The ambitious expedition aims to fill data gaps about the glacier-sea boundary to predict when the world might tip into a catastrophic climate regime.

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 5mo ago

#China Pressure Canceled World’s Largest Digital #HumanRights Conference
The Chinese government pressured Zambia to cancel #RightsCon, the world’s largest digital human rights conference, at the last minute, according to the conference’s organizers. Beijing was upset that the speaker’s list included prominent figures from Taiwan civil society, AccessNow, the group that organizes RightsCon said.
https://www.404media.co/china-pressure-canceled-worlds-largest-digital-human-rights-conference/
https://archive.ph/Hmbmw

hachyderm.io

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

Great Visual Story on US Marine Sanctuaries and Monuments The largest #conservation areas in the #US are in the #Pacific #Ocean. President Trump is rolling back their protections. Last year, President Trump opened parts of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument to allow commercial #fishing beyond 57mi from shore. In June, Trump proclaimed that #commercialfishing be allowed in the deep waters of three other Pacific monuments, including Papahānaumokuākea. https://apps.npr.org/troubled-waters/

apps.npr.org

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

As Trump Promotes Critical Mineral #Mining, a Company Eyes the #Seafloor in Coastal #Virginia A proposed mining project off the #DelmarvaPeninsula is after minerals in heavy sands. Locals worry it would harm an important ecosystem. #KatieDawson, a commercial fisher, is worried that the ecosystem that supports her livelihood could be in jeopardy: A company wants to mine almost 2,500sq mi of the seafloor, an area larger than Delaware, 3-64 mi east of the Delmarva Peninsula. https://insideclimatenews.org/news/31072026/virginia-seabed-mining-proposal/

insideclimatenews.org

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 5mo ago

$1.4B saved: #Massachusetts locks in cheaper #offshorewind power
Massachusetts has activated long-term contracts for #VineyardWind, the state’s first #utilityscale offshore wind project. Officials say the move will stabilize prices for 20 years and cut a projected $1.4 billion from customer electricity bills over that period.
The contracts, signed by utilities on behalf of customers, are expected to deliver average direct savings of about 1.4 cents per kilowatt-hour.
https://electrek.co/2026/05/01/1-4b-saved-massachusetts-locks-in-cheaper-offshore-wind-power/

hachyderm.io

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 3mo ago

#Meta Tapped a# Pentagon Supplier to Prototype #FacialRecognition for Its #SmartGlasses The arrangement is documented in a software license, obtained by WIRED, that was issued by #RankOne Computing—a Denver-based company that derives roughly 80 percent of its revenue from government clients (#US Marshalls, #NCIS, US Special Operations Command)—and is tied to a test version of the Meta #AI app that powers Meta's Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses. https://www.wired.com/story/meta-rank-one-computing-face-recognition-smart-glasses/ https://archive.ph/xXeGB

wired.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

#GrapheneOS Defends Data-Wiping Function That Blocked US Border Search The foundation behind the ultra-secure Android-based OS is speaking out after an activist was indicted for using a 'duress password' to prevent federal agents from searching his phone #GrapheneOS, explained it offers a range of #privacy features to prevent data extraction. For example, one safeguard is the "auto-reboot timer" that'll reboot a locked device, leaving all files inside encrypted. https://www.pcmag.com/news/grapheneos-defends-data-wiping-function-that-blocked-us-border-search

PCMAG

GrapheneOS Defends Data-Wiping Function That Blocked US Border Search

The foundation behind the ultra-secure Android-based OS is speaking out after an activist was indicted for using a 'duress password' to prevent federal agents from searching his phone.

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

How #Cops Use #Flock to Track People, Not Cars Cops have used Flock's FreeForm search feature to look for people with tattoos and wearing specific sport shirts, and searches sometimes include the target's race, according to data. Highlights while people associate Flock cameras with scanning license plates and tracking vehicles, cameras are also capable of following the movements of particular people or groups of people. https://www.404media.co/how-cops-use-flock-to-track-people-not-cars/ https://archive.ph/k4E8q #privacy #surveillance

404 Media

How Cops Use Flock to Track People, Not Cars

Cops have used Flock's FreeForm search feature to look for people with tattoos and wearing specific sport shirts, and searches sometimes include the target's race, according to data reviewed by 404 Media.

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

#US accuses American, a #CopCity #protester, of allegedly wiping his phone using a ‘duress’ password during border search Concern over US effort to prosecute #SamTunick, accused by authorities of wiping his phone using the #OpenSource #GrapheneOS Experts said it may be the first time law has been aimed at operating system, which works on Google Pixel phones, and expressed concerns about a technology created for #privacy and security being used to criminalize protesters. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/23/cop-city-protester-phone

theguardian.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 5mo ago

The invisible force making #food less #nutritious
Plants depend on #carbondioxide to perform photosynthesis — but that doesn’t mean they grow better when there’s more carbon in the #air, scientists say. A sweeping survey of changes among 32 compounds in 43 crops found that nearly every plant that humans eat is harmed by rising #CO2 levels.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/interactive/2026/carbon-pollution-diluting-key-nutrients-food/
https://archive.ph/x1ZM2
#climate #climatechange

hachyderm.io

Hachyderm.io

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 5mo ago

#FiberOptic cables reveal a serious problem at the heart of modern #farming
#Tilling helps farmers control weeds and boost #soil fertility. But that also degrades a field's ability to hold #water and #carbon
Using distributed acoustic sensing scientists analyzed how seismic waves disturbed cable as they rippled through harrowed fields compared to adjacent undisturbed plots. Showing that plowing obliterates “capillaries” that carry water like tiny interconnected reservoirs
https://grist.org/drought/fiber-optic-cables-reveal-a-serious-problem-at-the-heart-of-modern-farming/

hachyderm.io

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

#AIslop writing has taken over the internet, particularly #LinkedIn and #X With more than one million posts analyzed from users who opted in to share data through their browser extension since its launch, #Pangram has concluded that, while AI slop is flooding #socialmedia, it’s hitting longform content particularly hard, defined in its study as any post over 250 words, Pangram found that a full 25% of such posts across all the platforms it studies were fully AI-generated. https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/07/09/ai-slop-writing-has-taken-over-the-internet-particularly-linkedin-and-x/5269525

theregister.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 5mo ago

New Gas-Powered #DataCenters Could Emit More #GreenhouseGases Than Entire Nations
A WIRED review of permits for #datacenter projects using #naturalgas and linked to #OpenAI, #Meta, #Microsoft, and #xAI shows they could emit more than 129 million tons of #greenhousegas per year.
https://www.wired.com/story/new-gas-powered-data-centers-could-emit-more-greenhouse-gases-than-entire-nations/
https://archive.ph/L1twq

hachyderm.io

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 3mo ago

#Microsoft Announces Public Preview For #Linux #Containers On #WSL Microsoft shipped the first public preview of #WSLContainers "#WSLC" as their latest extension of the Windows Subsystem for Linux on #Windows11. The WSLC preview brings all the capabilities for container lifecycle management, various networking options, GPU support is working from day one, SDK integration for C++ and C#/WinRT, and other tooling and capabilities. https://www.phoronix.com/news/Microsoft-Preview-WSL-WSLC

phoronix.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 5mo ago

#Humans Had #Dogs Before They Had #Farming, Ancient #DNA Confirms
New research pushes the first genetic evidence of dogs back by 5,000 years and suggests that #huntergatherer groups may have acquired dogs from one another.
The studies provide the first definitive #genetic evidence that dogs existed during the #Paleolithic period, before humans developed #agriculture.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/science/paleontology-humans-dogs-dna.html
https://archive.ph/7SqWh

hachyderm.io

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 5mo ago

#NationalAcademiesOfSciences says no to demands it remove #climate info
If political actors can determine which fields of established #science are disfavored and off-limits to judicial education, every scientific discipline relevant to complex litigation becomes vulnerable to the same tactic. The integrity of the process by which #judges evaluate scientific evidence should not be subject to political interference or veto.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/03/national-academies-of-sciences-resisting-pressure-to-pull-climate-info/
#ClimateChange

hachyderm.io

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 5mo ago

Trump Slashed #Science Funding. Now the #US Could Face a Costly #BrainDrain.
The White House’s continued attacks on #academia and its funding cuts to scientific research have provided an opening for other countries to poach the type of researchers and #scientists who have helped make #America the world’s leader in medical and technology breakthroughs. That brain drain could be very costly for the U.S. economy.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/04/business/dealbook/trump-brain-drain-academia.html
https://archive.ph/AcSbc

hachyderm.io

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

#ColossalBiosciences is growing #chickens in a 3D-printed container In an early step towards artificial wombs, a #biotech company claims it’s developed a “fully artificial” chicken #egg as part of its effort to resurrect extinct avian species, including birds like the dodo and the giant moa. Colossal was founded in 2021 with plans to use gene editing and reproductive technology to restore extinct species, including the woolly mammoth. https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/19/1137471/colossal-biosciences-is-growing-chickens-in-a-3d-printed-container/ https://archive.is/20260519123121/https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/19/1137471/colossal-biosciences-is-growing-chickens-in-a-3d-printed-container/

technologyreview.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 5mo ago

#Taiwan activates backup communications for outlying island after #underseacable breaks
Bad weather has caused a shipwreck sitting on the seafloor to shift its location, severing the underwater link.
The crucial Taiwan undersea cable was severed by an old shipwreck — backup microwave communications activated to keep population connected
Although this incident was caused by natural forces and not an action by a third-party actor, it still highlights Taiwan’s vulnerability.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-activates-backup-communications-outlying-island-after-undersea-cable-2026-04-30/

hachyderm.io

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

Celebrate #summer with two back-to-back #meteor shower bonanzas These #meteorshowers occur around the same time every year, with their peaks taking place over four days at the end of July First up are the #SouthernDeltaAquariids, scientists don’t know which #space rock the Southern Delta Aquariids originate from! Second the #AlphaCapricornids are famous for their slow, bright, colorful fireballs. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-southern-delta-aquariids-and-alpha-capricornids-meteor-showers-are-about-to-peak/ https://archive.ph/flQwU

scientificamerican.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

Boosted by @kcarruthers@infosec.exchange

Workplaces look for cheaper #AI as ‘#tokenmaxxing’ fades as a corporate fad Bain & Company management consultants said many of big businesses firm advises have been taking a closer look at returns on their AI investments. Those who still favor racking up as many #tokens as possible are having a field day with new open-source models from #China's startups like Moonshot’s Kimi or Zhipu’s GLM, which nearly match the capabilities of top U.S. models at a fraction of the price. https://apnews.com/article/ai-token-openai-anthropic-corporate-31bb80ac1cd7862d05f6397177d826b1

apnews.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

The Oldest Evidence of Animal Sex Has Been Found, and It’s Mind-Boggling Scientists have discovered the oldest #fossil evidence of #sexualreproduction and locomotion in animals at a remote site in Canada’s Northwest Territories that dates back 567 million years to the Ediacaran period. According to researchers, the finding pushes the origins of animal sex back by 5-10 million years. https://www.404media.co/the-oldest-evidence-of-animal-sex-has-been-found-and-its-mind-boggling/ https://archive.ph/LMFqH

404media.co

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 2mo ago

#Kids Can’t Stop Watching ‘#Moana.’ There’s a Scientific Explanation The 2016 release has become the most watched movie on #Disney+. Parents and experts explain why kids can’t get enough The #songs in almost every #Disney animated #musical film released in the past few decades have been a danger to parents’ peace and quiet. Disney deployed an age-old formula: Take a narrative with broad appeal, wrap it in hooky melodies and watch the views rack up https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/movies/moana-kids-obsession.html https://archive.ph/D4jIh

nytimes.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 3mo ago

Inside #Anduril and #Meta’s quest to make #smartglasses for #warfare It’s been a year since the duo entered the #US #Army’s troubled #augmentedreality contest. Here’s what it looks like so far. A smart glasses system tasked with identifying threats and recommending strikes would introduce massive new risks of errors. Even if the Army doesn't prefer EagleEye in the end, Barnett says, Anduril will attempt to sell the system to foreign militaries. https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/18/1137412/inside-anduril-and-metas-quest-to-make-smart-glasses-for-warfare/ https://archive.ph/vQbU0

technologyreview.com

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬 @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io

· 3mo ago

#NIH Announces World’s Largest Integrated #Health Database It contains more than half a million people’s #genomes, paired with clinical records and wearable tech data. #AllOfUs, which started in 2018, recruits participants from diverse backgrounds and combines genetic info with real-world data from health records, wearable technology like Fitbits and other sources to help scientists investigate potential causes of and treatments for disease. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/science/nih-announces-worlds-largest-integrated-health-database.html https://archive.ph/pJb9F

nytimes.com