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!