JWST

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, April 2-8, 2023

/ Melanie Marttila / Leave a comment

My last thoughty Thursday! Parting is such sweet sorrow. Feel free to peruse the archives if you need to get your mental corn popping in the future.

Picture of a moon emerging from behind clouds.

Kaelyn Forde introduces us to the women fighting one of the harshest abortion laws in the Americas. The Walrus

Candace Maracle: Elisapie gets nostalgic with Inuktitut rendition of Blondie’s Heart of Glass. And it’s freakin’ awesome! CBC Indigenous

Guy Kawasaki interviews Temple Grandin: different minds for different times. The Remarkable People Podcast

Sagy Zwirn is all about the fire and brimstone, or how the dichotomy of heaven and hell came to be, and why it bears no resemblance to what the Bible actually says. JSTOR Daily

Lorne Cook and Matthew Lee: Finland joins NATO in major blow to Russia over Ukraine War. Associated Press

Anne Trafton reports that new nanoparticles can perform gene editing in the lungs, offering hope for Cystic Fibrosis and other lung disease patients. MIT News

Nicole Schmidt wonders, will groceries ever be affordable? The Walrus

Stephen Clark: NASA names crew for first human mission to the moon in over 50 years. Spaceflight Now

Brett Tingly explains why NASA’s Artemis II will only fly around the moon, not orbit, or land. Space.com

JWST scores another ringed world with new image of Uranus. Shiny! NASA

Gaia discovers a new family of black holes. Phys.org

Davide Castelvecchi: light waves squeezed through “slits in time.” Nature

Ashawnta Jackson: money, murder, and Mrs. Clem. JSTOR Daily

Erin Blakemore explains why England’s “lost king” ended up buried beneath a parking lot. National Geographic

Henry Grabar explains how Paris kicked out the cars. Slate

Bob Weber: scientists confirm first Canadian fossil of a dire wolf, Ice Age predator featured in Game of Thrones. The Globe and Mail

Researchers discover birds with neurotoxin-laden feathers in New Guinea. Phys.org

Annette McGivney takes us inside the stunning brains of natures hardest workers: “Bees are sentient.” The Guardian

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you took away something to inspire a future creative project.

Until my next chapter update (returning to it’s monthly format, so the first weekend in May), be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, March 26-April 1, 2023

/ Melanie Marttila / Leave a comment

It is time, once again, to get your mental corn popping 🙂

Annie Hylton: where the children are buried. The Walrus

Michele Cyca wonders why more people are claiming Indigenous ancestry. The Walrus

Kai Chenk Thom says that kids deserve a new gender paradigm. The Walrus

Nathaniel Wade and Marilyn Cornish explain how to forgive yourself. Psyche Guides

Heidi Ledford: “astonishing” molecular syringe ferries proteins into human cells. This could improve drug delivery systems. Nature

Chris Vallance says AI could replace the equivalent of 300 million jobs. Not a new story. We’ve been hearing similar messages one way or the other since the industrial revolution. Sometimes it’s as bad as predicted, and sometimes it’s not. We have to wait and see. BBC

Guy Kawasaki interviews Wanda Harding about her journey from stars to students. The Remarkable People Podcast

Genelle Weule: Change’e-5 samples reveal water on Moon stored in glass beads. ABC

Daniel Lawler reports that a large asteroid to zoom between Earth and Moon. Phys.org

Alexandra Witze: JWST gets best view yet of planet in hotly pursued star system. Nature

The obscure history of Japanese sea lords. PBS Origins

Amy McCaig reports that ancient DNA reveals entwined African and Asian ancestry along the Swahili coast. Rice University

Human cells help researchers understand squid camouflage. American Chemical Society

Why does every animal look like this? Be Smart

Robotic system offers hidden window into collective bee behaviour. École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you took away something to inspire a future creative project.

Until my next chapter weekly update, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, March 12-18, 2023

/ Melanie Marttila

We’re heading into the last week of March. Finish March off strong by getting your mental corn popping!

Steven John and Dannielle Beardsley: a historian explains the real history of St. Patrick’s Day. The Manual

Khaled A.: Palestinian Tatreez is embroidering resistance and remembrance. Atmos

Guy Kawasaki interviews Ginni Rometty about being the first female CEO of IBM. The Remarkable People Podcast

Dolly Church: heavenly bodies, or how space burials sell the promise of immortality. The Baffler

Spacesuit for NASA’s Artemis III Moon surface mission debuts. NASA

Will Dunham: new analysis reveals dynamic volcanism on Venus. Reuters

NASA’s JWST captures rarely seen prelude to a supernova. NASA

Visually navigating on foot uses unique brain region. National Eye Institute

Can we solve the air conditioning paradox? Be Smart

Kristin Toussaint says that growing crops under solar panels makes food—and healthier solar panels. Fast Company

True facts animal awards. Ze Frank

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you took away something to inspire a future creative project.

Until my next chapter weekly update, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, Feb 19-25, 2023

/ Melanie Marttila

Welcome March and the coming of spring by getting your mental corn popping.

Vicky Mochama says Black communities have known about mutual aid all along. Another pick from the archives for Black History Month. The Walrus

Matthew Wills says even the best Jim Crow school … was still a Jim Crow school. JSTOR Daily

Troy Sebastian/Nupqu ʔa·kǂ am̓ reports on the Nuchatlaht First Nation: how a legal battle could change land rights for good. The Walrus

Betsy Golden Killam: Mills Panoram and Soundies. JSTOR Daily

Sarah Gibbens and Amy McKeever list the top ten things to know about Mardi Gras. National Geographic

UEA scientists make breakthrough for next generation cancer treatment. University of East Anglia

Esteban Pardo: Germany’s Düsseldorf patient cured of HIV. Deutsche Welle

Guy Kawasaki interviews Jessica Wade about advocating for gender diversity in science. The Remarkable People Podcast

New aurorae found on Jupiter’s four largest moons. W.M. Keck Observatory

NASA’s planetary radar captures detailed view of oblong asteroid. Forgive me for being heretical, but it looks like a bobbing turd (!) Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Will Dunham reports that galaxies spotted by JWST rewrite understanding of early universe. Reuters

Space travel influences the way the brain works. Liège University

Bouncing seismic waves reveal distinct layer in Earth’s inner core. Phys.org

Nathaniel Scharping: paleotsunami detectives hunt for ancient disasters. So cool. Hakai

April Nowell explains what it was like to grow up in the last ice age. Aeon

The ancient promise of water. Archaeology Magazine

Thank you for visiting, and I hope you took away something to inspire a future creative project.

Until my next chapter weekly update, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, Dec 11-17, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

Merry Christmas (Sunday) and happy Kwanzaa (Monday) for those who celebrate! Prepare yourself for the holiday marathon by getting your mental corn popping.

Elisabeth De Mariaffi explains how period-tracking apps can be weaponized by pro-life activists. The Walrus

Helen Warrell reveals the secret lives of MI6’s top female spies. The Financial Times

Emily Zarevich considers Eleanor of Aquitaine’s “Court of Love.” JSTOR Daily

Nick Paul Taylor: Moderna, Merck & Co. mRNA cancer vaccine slashes melanoma recurrence in Keytruda combo trial. Fierce Biotech

Discovery could explain why women are more likely to get Alzheimer’s. Scripps

Scientists get first ever sound recording of dust devils on Mars. Purdue University

JWST “fingerprints” earliest galaxies. BBC

Four signs of alien life that JWST is looking for. Dr. Becky

Two exoplanets may be mostly water, NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer find. Jet Propulsion Laboratory

ALICE estimates how transparent the Milky Way is to antimatter. interactions.org

Fusion energy “breakthrough” revealed by US scientists. But as my spouse, AKA Mr. Science, who’s read the abstract, advises me, it’s not exactly what media are reporting. CBC

Samanth Subramanian reports on the epic task of shutting down a nuclear site: dismantling Sellafield. The Guardian 

Another nifty resource for historical fiction authors. Find out the weather in the time and setting of your novel … as long as they collected weather data. Historical weather. Weather Underground

Fossil site reveals giant arthropods dominated the seas 470 million years ago. University of Exeter

Laura Baisas reveals that giant wombats the size of small cars once roamed Australia. Popular Science

Rachel Fobar: critics slam USDA’s toothless and “paltry” fines for animal welfare violations. National Geographic

Gena Steffens lets us get a glimpse into the hidden lives of Amazonian manatees. National Geographic

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you took away something to inspire your next creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, Dec 4-10, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

I know I said I was going to trim down thoughty Thursday, but there were so many interesting non-newsy things to share this week! In any case, it’s tome to get your mental corn popping 🙂

Matthew Wills: kidnappers of color versus the cause of antislavery. JSTOR Daily

Danielle Han discusses grave matters: conflict in reburial and repatriation. JSTOR Daily

From Anne Bonney to Zheng Yi Sao: the notorious women of piracy. PBS Origins

Heidi Ledford reports that severe covid may cause markers of old age in the brain. Nature

The Next Big Idea Club explains how to make the most of the brain you have, according to neuroscience. Fast Company

K.J. Aiello wonders who gets to be mentally ill? The Walrus

Zach Sweger: many genes linked to alcohol and tobacco use are share among diverse ancestries. Penn State University

In conversation with Dr. Jake Taylor. Dr. Becky

Dr. Alfredo Carpineti: JWST spots clouds and even a sea on Saturn’s moon, Titan. IFLS

Beth Miller reports that Marianna Safronova and collaborators say quantum clocks could be used to detect dark matter. University of Delaware Daily

Unusual gamma-ray burst reveals previously undetected hybrid neutron-star merger event. Los Alamos National Laboratory

Researchers use ultrasound waves to move objects. University of Minnesota

A resource for your next apocalyptic science fiction novel: asteroid launcher. Or just have fun lobbing space rocks at Earth. Your choice. neal.fun

And here’s another, scarier app: NukeMap. For fictional purposes, of course … Alex Wellerstein

Hallie Golden reports that an Indigenous reservation has a novel way to grow food—below the earth’s surface. The Guardian

In search of the blackest thing on Earth. Be Smart

Feline genetics help pinpoint first-ever domestication of cats, MU study finds. University of Missouri

The end of year animal awards. Ze Frank

Thanks for stopping by for this week’s mixed bag of edutainment. I hope you took away something to inspire a future creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, Oct 16-22, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s time to bid farewell to October. Merry Samhain, to those who observe, and happy hallowe’en to everyone else 🙂

It’s time to get your mental corn popping!

Matthew Wills considers the reverse freedom rides in light of recent incidents of forced migration. JSTOR Daily

Guy Kawasaki interviews Dolly Chugh about how to drive social change. The Remarkable People Podcast

Putin tightens grip on Ukraine and Russia with martial law. Associated Press

Quiet quitting is the future of work culture. The Take

Eliza Strickland: with this bionic nose, covid survivors could smell the roses again. IEEE Spectrum

Fergus Walsh reports that BioNTech is using covid vaccine technology to crack cancer. BBC

Michelle Donovan explains how the Black Death shaped the evolution of immunity genes, setting the course for how we respond to disease today. Brighter World | McMaster University

Wyn Reynolds: DNA gives colloidal crystals shape-shifting and memory. Northwestern University

Sheon Han explains how to prove you know a secret without giving it away. The zero-knowledge proof. It’s a computer science thing. Quanta

NASA’s Webb takes star-filled portrait of Pillars of Creation. NASA

Jennifer Ouellette says, “It’s the BOAT”: astronomers observe brightest of all time gamma-ray burst. Ars Technica

Elizabeth Howell: entire known universe recreated in Minecraft by an 18-year-old. Watch the video. Both insane and awesome. Space.com

Jo Marchant reveals that first known map of night sky found hidden in medieval manuscript. Nature

A resource you can lose yourself in: old maps online.

Getting into the spirit of the season, Nathan Strauss suggests 16 spooky places to visit. National Geographic

Alex Lawson wonders, is the great hydrogen gamble: hot air, or the net-zero holy grail? The Guardian

James Ashworth reports that Siberian remains could represent the first known neanderthal community. Natural History Museum

Drs. Georg Hochberg and Tobias Erb (et al.) go back to the future of photosynthesis. Max Planck Gesellschaft

Scientists peel back banana DNA to reveal mystery ancestors. Phys.org

Tim Vernimmen reports that the world’s biggest marine reserve seems to be doing its job. National Geographic

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you found something to inspire a future creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, Sept 25-Oct 1, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

We’re rounding the bend to the weekend. Fortify yourself by getting your mental corn popping.

Amanda Connolly reports that Black public servants face trauma amid class action. Global News

Kimmy Yam and Shakshi Venkatraman reveal that Adnan Syed faced racial stereotypes in court that weren’t scrutinized. NBC News

Torture and ill-treatment of Haitian asylum-seekers rooted in anti-Black racism. Amnesty International

Jon Gambrell and Adam Schreck: Russia’s call-up splits EU; Ukraine says it shows weakness. Associated Press

Nadeem Badshah summarizes what we know on day 214 of the invasion. The Guardian

Ivana Saric: Nord Stream pipeline leaks were an act of sabotage, EU says. Axios

Amir-Hussein Radjy says Iran’s anti-veil protests draw on long history of resistance. Associated Press

Darren Major: on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Murray Sinclair challenges Canadians to be mindful, year-round. CBC

Peter Sagal puts a face on the senseless gun violence in the US: killed for walking a dog. The Atlantic

Rob Ferguson reports that Ontario tries to delay shutdown of Pickering nuclear station amid electricity “supply crunch,” sources say. The Toronto Star

Julia Simone-Rutgers: no place to live. One person’s search for a place to call home reveals a public housing system stretched to its limits. The Walrus

Jessica Stillman: a neuroscientist explains when it’s time to start worrying about your memory. Inc.

Shape-shifting fat cells fuel breast cancer growth. And they may lead to new treatments (!) Medical Xpress

Allie Volpe shares the sleep advice no one tells you. Vox

Ashawnta Jackson: vampires and public health. JSTOR Daily

Jenna Benchetrit says “quiet quitting” isn’t really quitting, but it’s forcing employers to adapt. Essentially, it’s the backlash against hustle culture. CBC

Clark Quinn considers the power of emotion. Learnlets

The fatal physics of falling objects. Veritasium

James Doubek: Jupiter is coming its closest to Earth in decades. NPR

NASA’s Juno shares first image from flyby of Jupiter’s moon Europa. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Ashley Strickland reports that NASA’s DART mission successfully slams into an asteroid. One small collision for humankind … 🙂 Then, Webb, Hubble space telescopes share images of DART slamming into an asteroid. CNN

Sarah Collins says there’s new evidence of liquid water beneath the south polar ice cap of Mars. University of Cambridge

Smriti Mallapaty: China’s Mars rover finds evidence of catastrophic floods. Nature

Elizabeth Howell announces that SpaceX’s Crew-5 mission will carry Native American woman to orbit for first time. Space.com

Grace Toohey reports that Mexico earthquake triggers “desert tsunami” 1,500 miles away in Death Valley cave. Phys.org

John Bartlett: Gran Abuelo in Chile could be the world’s oldest tree. The Guardian

Dogs love the smell of stress. SciShow

More on the same: dogs can smell when we’re stressed, study finds. Phys.org

Thank you for spending a little time with me, and I hope you found something to inspire a future creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, Sept 18-24, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

As we say farewell to September, fortify yourself for the last quarter of the year by getting your mental corn popping 🙂

Janelle Griffith: ex-Minneapolis police office sentenced to three years in George Floyd’s murder. NBC News

Erin Doherty: Cambridge joins elite universities grappling with ties to slavery. Axios

Erin Doherty reports that another nuclear power plant is at risk from Russian missiles. Axios

Karl Ritter: Putin issues partial military call-up, risking protests. Associated Press

Kim Fahner says Laurentian must rebuild, appeal to a variety of students. The Sudbury Star

The sharp axe method. Struthless

Theresa Massony says six planets are retrograde right now, which explains everything. Pop Sugar

Lori Cuthbert explains why the autumn equinox ushers in fall. National Geographic

Emily Zarevich introduces us to the lady who might have been Queen of England. JSTOR Daily

Rachel E. Gross: “feminist science” is not an oxymoron. Slate

Marshall Sheppard shares lessons from a mermaid about representation in science and engineering. Forbes

Mitochondia are the powerhouses of … Alzheimer’s? SciShow

Leila Gray take us beyond AlphaFold: AI excels at creating new proteins. University of Washington (UW) Medicine

Moss repair team also works in humans. Potential progress for the treatment of hereditary diseases. University of Bonn

Nina Bai announces that Emmanuel Mignot wins Breakthrough Prize for discovering the cause of narcolepsy. Stanford Medicine

New and ancient lessons from lunar eclipses. SciShow Space

NASA’s InSight “hears” its first meteoroid impacts on Mars. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Robert Lea: JWST’s first images of Mars reveal atmospheric secrets. Space.com

Laura Betz, Hannah Braun, and Christine Pulliam: new Webb image captures the clearest view of Neptune’s rings in decades. NASA

Grace Ebert: a rare glimpse of Comet Leonard’s last moments wins Astronomy Photographer of the Year contest. And the runners up aren’t bad, either. This is Colossal

Why it took 200,000 years to invent the wheel. Answer in Progress

Jesus Diaz says this new wind turbine concept isn’t like any we’ve seen before. Fast Company

Check out Audubon’s new Bird Migration Explorer! I could get lost in this for HOURS.

Rivka Galchen: peak cuteness and other revelations from the science of puppies. The New Yorker

Thanks for visiting! I hope you took away something to inspire a future creative project.

I should be posting my next chapter update for September this weekend.

Until then, keep staying safe and well!

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, Aug 28-Sept 3, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

We’re rounding the bend and almost to the weekend. Pour on that last bit of speed by getting your mental corn popping!

Dr. Torvi, mid-operation.

No charges in police killing of Rayshard Brooks. BBC

How did Al Sharpton become a joke? Princess Weekes

Yessica Fisch reports that Russia, Ukraine trade claims of nuclear plant attacks. Associated Press

Dave Lawler: Ukraine launches counteroffensive to retake Russian-occupied Kherson. Axios

Jamey Keaten and Edith M. Lederer announce that the UN cites possible crimes against humanity in China’s Xinjiang. Associated Press

Jessica Stillman explains how to spot an emotional vampire and a 5-step process to defeat one, when you do. Inc.

Dr. Patricia Lockwood: scientists pinpoint the brain area responsible for effortful helping behaviour (AKA altruism). The University of Birmingham

Bill Hathaway wonders what makes the human brain different? Yale neuroscientists reveal clues. Yale News

Stefan Van der Stigchel reveals what the science says about daydreaming and concentration. The MIT Press Reader

Guy Kawasaki interviews Fran Houser about how to kindly, gently, and powerfully embrace your work. The Remarkable People Podcast

Laura Ungar: zombie cells central to quest for active, vital old age. Associated Press

The world’s highest jumping robot. Veritasium

Tariq Malik reports that NASA calls off Artemis I moon rocket launch over engine cooling issue. Space.com

Webb inspects the heart of the phantom galaxy. The European Space Agency

Hannah Devlin reveals historic JWST images showing exoplanet in unprecedented detail. The Guardian

S.N. Johnson-Roehr: Caroline Herschel claims her comet. JSTOR Daily

The ominous reason Phobos has lines on it. SciShow Space

Mount Sinai Hospital researchers find spaceflight may be associated with DNA mutations, increased risk of heart disease, and cancer. Phys.org

Dinah Voyles Pulver: melting Greenland ice sheet will raise sea levels nearly a foot, study finds. USA Today

Leo Sands reports on the Pakistan floods: one third of the country is under water, minister says. BBC News

Abir Ahmar: parched UAE turns to science to squeeze more rainfall from clouds. Reuters

Sarah Keartes explains how giant isopods got supersized. Hakai Magazine

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you found something to inspire a future creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!