NASA

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 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, Feb 5-11, 2023

/ Melanie Marttila

We’re rounding the bend to the weekend. It’s time to get your mental corn popping 🙂

Charmaine A. Nelson: the Canadian narrative about slavery is wrong. From 2020, but a good reminder. The Walrus

Ashawnta Jackson reveals the connection between secret societies and the fight for Black freedom. JSTOR Daily

Justin Gamble: MRIs show poverty and racism may alter brain development in Black children. CNN

Guy Kawasaki interviews Gretchen Carlson about how to be fierce. The Remarkable People Podcast

Dr. Alfredo Carpineti says major breakthrough paves the way for more powerful quantum computers today. IFLS

Hubble captures the start of a new spoke season at Saturn. NASA

Will Dunham: astronomers astonished by rings around frigid distant world Quaoar. Reuters

Partly melted rock under Earth’s surface offers insight into what makes plate tectonics possible. Brown University

Jules Bernstein reports that fungi and bacteria are binging on burnt soil. UC Riverside

Rita Da Silva is taking is slow: what turtles can teach us about living longer. The Walrus

Eloisa Lopez: love of sea turtles turns poachers into protectors. Reuters

Martha Henriques introduces us to the unknown giants of the deep oceans. BBC

Thanks for visiting, and I hope to 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, Jan 8-14, 2023

/ Melanie Marttila

Has it been a long January week? Refresh yourself in time for the weekend by getting your mental corn popping 🙂

Nina Bai reports that nasal injections could treat long-term COVID-19-related smell loss. Stanford Medicine

Researchers identify protein that helps skin cancer spread throughout the body. Queen Mary University of London

Tony Parrottet introduces us to the misunderstood Roman empress who willed her way to the top. The Smithsonian Magazine

Aja Romano says Friday the 13th isn’t unlucky. It’s a meme disguised as superstition. Vox

Joshua Rothman: how should we think about our different styles of thinking? The New Yorker

Abelardo Riojas provides a natural language playlist that will generate a playlist you can plug into Spotify based on keywords and phrases you enter. Fun, if nothing else.

J.R. Patterson wonders, why do kids hate music lessons? The Walrus

Joni Mitchell to be first Canadian recipient of prestigious Gershwin Prize. CBC

Monica Hesse considers a woman on the moon: why has one small step taken so long? The Washington Post

Ivan Pereira reveals that a rare, green comet to pass by Earth this week. ABC News

NASA’s TESS discovers planetary system’s second Earth-sized world. Jet Propulsion Laboratory

The Future search for life. SciShow Space

Adam Symington presents a cool resource: mapping the world’s river basins by continent. Visual Capitalist

Bruce Bower reports that complex supply chains may have appeared more than 3,000 years ago. Science News

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 18-24, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

For the last time in 2022, it’s time to get your mental corn popping!

Amy Briggs explains how an ancient revolt sparked the festival of lights. Hanukkah. National Geographic

Dedi Hayoun reports that signs of Salome, said to be nurse to baby Jesus, unearthed in Israel. Reuters 

Christin Bohnke introduces us to the Onna-Bugeisha, the female samurai warriors of feudal Japan. JSTOR Daily

Why do we get embarrassed? Be Smart

Brain circuit that converts spatial goals to escape actions discovered. Sainsbury Wellcome Centre

Eric Berger reports that after a long struggle with Martian dust, NASA’s InSight probe has gone quiet. Ars Technica

In conversation with Dr. Jo Barstow. Dr. Becky

40-year study finds mysterious patterns in temperatures at Jupiter. NASA

Researchers find over 100 new ancient designs in Peru’s Nazca lines. CNN

Bob Yirka reveals a huge, 2,000-year-old Mayan civilization discovered in northern Guatemala. Phys.org

Jill Gralow reports that scientists freeze Great Barrier Reef coral in world-first trial. They’re preserving coral larvae in the hope of future restoration. Reuters

Jules Bernstein is decoding the secret language of photosynthesis. UC Riverside

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

I hope to have my next chapter update and year-end round up posted on the weekend.

Until then, 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, Oct 23-29, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

Welcome to the last thoughty Thursday until December 15th.  Get your mental corn popping while you can 🙂

I won’t disappear completely, though. I’ll be doing my NaNo mini updates every weekend.

Bill Hutchinson reports that former police officer J. Alexander Kueng pleads guilty in George Floyd death case. ABC News

Amy Romer explains how a First Nation rallied against the foster care system: “The new residential school system.” The Walrus

Jonathan Landay: Russia rehearses response to nuclear attack as tensions rise over “dirty bomb” allegation. Reuters

John Paul Tasker reports that Canadian handgun sales freeze takes effect. CBC

Laura Hensley wonders, why was the Lyme Disease vaccine thrown away? The Walrus

Harmeet Kaur says Diwali is having a mainstream moment in the US. CNN 

Ellen Walker unveils the horror of our favourite monsters. JSTOR Daily

Go inside the Great Pyramid of Giza. A virtual experience you can get lost in. The Giza Project

Amelia Soth: walking streetlamps for hire in seventeenth-century London. JSTOR Daily

Jessica Stillman says pretending to be extroverted doesn’t help introverts be more successful. Inc.

Marguerite Ward says the “glass cliff” is a serious problem in corporate America. Here’s how to dismantle it. Insider

Diana dove in a nuclear submarine. Physics Girl

Andreas Muller: a physicist explains what quantum entanglement is. Fast Company

Alex Wilkins: the lightest neutron star ever found could contain compressed quarks. New Scientist

Will Sullivan reports that NASA team begins study of UFOs. The Smithsonian Magazine

Camille Fine shares the last solar eclipse of the year in photos. USA Today

Steve Gorman: NASA instrument detects dozens of methane super-emitters from space. Reuters

Thomas Gualtieri and Kati Pohjanpalo explain how cold seawater can heat Helsinki’s homes. Bloomberg

Why eight eyes are better than two (if you’re a spider). Be Smart

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

Until my first NaNo mini update, 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, Oct 9-15, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

Happy Friday eve! It’s time, once again, to get your mental corn popping 🙂

Austen McCoy: After Floyd. What has changed and what has not since George Floyd was killed. The Baffler

Baltimore prosecutors drop charges against Adnan Syed after receiving DNA test results. WBAL

Eteng Ettah explains how Abbott Elementary shows us schools without police. Scalawag

Aoife Walsh: Crimea Bridge: Putin accuses Ukraine of “terrorism.” BBC News

Jon Gambrell: protests over Mahsa Amini’s death reach key oil industry. Associated Press

Joseph Pierce says your land acknowledgement isn’t enough. Hyperallergic

John Loepky and Alex Green point out that politicians with disabilities are rare because of barriers, discrimination. Teen Vogue

Varena Coscia explains how SARS-CoV-2 communicates with human cells. And how this “contactome” might result in new therapies. Phys.org

Gabrielle Blair: Why the Least a Man Can Do Is Ejaculate Responsibly. The Remarkable People Podcast

History in Three Dimensions | Daniele Cybulskie | TEDxMilton

Will Sullivan reports that scientists find fungi in cancerous tumors. But what does it mean? The Smithsonian Magazine

Aria Bendix: in a novel experiment, brain-like human tissue implanted in rat brains influenced the rodents’ behavior. NBC News

Hunter’s moon shines in October skies. USA Today

Mark Belan presents this animated map: where to find water on Mars. Visual Capitalist

Jonathan Amos: NASA’s Dart changed the path of asteroid. BBC

The heaviest element yet detected in an exoplanet’s atmosphere. It might rain iron?! Phys.org

The unbelievable story of the earth’s most epic flood. Be Smart

Franco Mariotti says, protecting Laurentian’s greenspace would be visionary. Sudbury.com

Adele Peters: these mini wind turbines are designed for rooftops. Fast Company

True facts: sea cucumbers. Ze Frank

Thank you for visiting. 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!