paleontology

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, Dec 1-3, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

Welcome to the return of thoughty Thursday (post-NaNo 2022)! It’s time to get your mental corn popping.

Matthew Wills reveals the origins of child protection. JSTOR Daily

Livia Gershon wonders what fundamentalism is. JSTOR Daily

Alexis Wright considers the inward migration in apocalyptic times. Emergence Magazine

Find your dark why. Struthless

Clémentine Pirlot takes you inside the autistic experience. Code Like a Girl

Elana Spivak: nightmares have plagued humans for millennia—have we finally learned how to tame them? InVerse

The unexpected measure that makes the modern world tick. Be Smart

Nergis Fertina reports that a small tweak to genes may finally enable us to regrow cartilage. Interesting Engineering

Dyani Lewis: ancient skull found in China could be million-year-old homo erectus. Nature

How do you find the Moon’s best picnic spot? SciShow Space

Will Dunham reports that scientists build “baby” wormhole as science fiction moves closer to fact. Reuters

Amelia Soth: Cairo’s Zabbaleen and the secret life of trash. JSTOR Daily

Thank you for visiting, and 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, Aug 21-27, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

And hello, September! Can I trot out the pumpkin spice guinea pigs, yet? Lots of stuff to get your mental corn popping this week.

Andrew Wolfson and Billy Kobin: former Louisville police officer pleads guilty to lying on Breonna Taylor search warrant. USA Today

Guy Foulconbridge provides this explainer: blood, treasure, and chaos — the cost of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Reuters

Rozina Ali: the Afgan women left behind. The New Yorker

Terry Spencer reports that defense for Parkland school shooter’s trial set to present its case. Associated Press

Singapore to end colonial-era ban on gay sex after years of debate. France24

Andrew Marshall and Josef Tanfani report on “Skew-Tube”: the new breed of video sites thriving on misinformation and hate. Reuters

Amy Meeker says, to keep people from procrastinating, don’t give them a deadline. Harvard Business Review

Jessica Stillman reveals that remote workers are wasting more than an hour a day on “productivity theatre,” new report finds. Inc.

Men are lonely … but should we care? Khadija Mbowe | You Can Always Change Your Mind

When Alzheimer’s degrades cells that cross hemispheres, visual memory suffers. The Picower Institute at MIT

The role of dementia proteins in normal memory. Flinders University

Noah Fromson: early blood tests predict death, severe disability for traumatic brain injury. University of Michigan Health Lab

Catherine Caruso explains what happens when recovery goes awry. Harvard Medical School

Matt Shipman reports that ancient skulls may place human and neanderthal interbreeding. Futurity

Brian Handwerk reveals that seven million years ago, the oldest-known early human was already walking. The Smithsonian Magazine

Daniel Jones and Hui Li report that scientists have discovered how to destroy “forever chemicals” (PFAS). Fast Company

Lauren Saria: this restaurant is run entirely by robots. Eater

The crime wave we can blame on … neutron stars? Be Smart

Devan McGuinness reports NASA just revealed what a black hole sounds like … and it’s haunting. Fatherly

Alise Fisher reveals Webb’s images showcasing Jupiter’s auroras and hazes. NASA JWST

Dr. Alfredo Carpineti: JWST detects “unequivocal” carbon dioxide in an exoplanet’s atmosphere for the first time. IFLS

Will Dunham announces that rock-hunting NASA rover reveals crater’s surprising geology. Yup. Percy’s still at it 🙂 Reuters

Vishwam Sankaran reports that researchers identify the first plant that should be grown on Mars. The Independent

Jack Wallington recommends a drought-resistant garden for a changing climate. The Guardian

Katie Hunt reports that dogs’ eyes well up with tears of joy when reunited with their people. CNN

And that was thoughty Thursday. Thanks for stopping by! I hope you took away something to inspire a future creative project.

This weekend, I should be posting my next chapter update for August.

Until then, keep staying safe and well.

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, Jan 23-29, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s a real mixed bag of thoughty this week. Dig in and get your mental corn popping 🙂

Daniel Martinez HoSang , LeeAnn Hall , and Libero Della Piana: to tackle racial justice, organizing must change. The Forge

Susanna Ashton shares John B. Cade’s project to document the formerly enslaved. JSTOR Daily

Kelly Hayes interviews Bree Newsome Bass: “Capitalism has to collapse.” Truthout

Muriel Draaisma reports that Pickering’s Sir John A. Macdonald Public School to be renamed Biidassige Mandamin Public School. CBC

Bobby Hristova reveals that Burlington park is renamed Sweetgrass Park, no longer honouring residential school architect. CBC

Kirsten Grieshaber: 77 years after Auschwitz, Jews honor those who rescued them. Associated Press

Joe got omicron. Here’s what he learned. Be Smart

Evan Dyer reports that public outrage over the unvaccinated is driving a crisis in bioethics. CBC

Claire L. Evans is searching for Suzy Thunder. The Verge

Bob McDonald: researchers call for a new awareness of scientific colonialism. CBC’s “Quirks and Quarks”

Daniel Garisto: Euler’s 243-year-old “impossible” puzzle gets a quantum solution. Quanta Magazine

Amanda Morris reports that nearly 1,000 mysterious strands revealed in Milky Way’s center. Phys.org

Christy Somos: astronomers find mysterious object in space “unlike anything” seen before. CTV News

Ben Turner reveals that an “X particle” from the dawn of time discovered in the Large Hadron Collider. Space.com

Rahul Rao: curvature of space-time measured using “atomic fountain.” Space.com

Ashley Strickland reports that the JWST reaches its final destination a million miles from Earth. CNN

What’s next for the James Webb Space Telescope. SciShow Space

Rebecca Ruiz: politics is a huge stressor for some your people. That’s a huge problem. Mashable

Earliest human remains in eastern Africa dated to 230,000 years ago. Phys.org

Yessenia Funes examines the dark side of paper. Atmos

Sierra Garcia considers Bangalore’s green belt 50 years on. JSTOR Daily

Sophie Yeo reveals how Finland is restoring its river ecosystems: “We’re basically starting from zero.” The Guardian

Thank you for visiting, and 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: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Sept 6-12, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

Welcome to thoughty Thursday, a convenient way to research, inspire creative Ideas (what I call popping your mental corn), learn something cool, or otherwise support your creativity.

For the past several months, I’ve isolated posts related to anti-racism and the pandemic for your convenience.

Dani McClain shares some advice on how to talk to kids about racism and police violence. The Atlantic

Gabriela Fowler explains what it feels like to “pass as white” when you’re mixed race. Buzzfeed

How the death of George Floyd sparked a street art movement. The Smithsonian Magazine

Daniel King shares Ashima Yadava’s portraits of survival. Mother Jones

Rebecca Renner explains why every year—especially 2020—feels like the worst year ever. Doomscrolling, anyone? Anyone? Beuller? National Geographic

Why is it so hard to remember things right now? SciShow Psych

Eleanor Cummins says, the office will never be the same. Popular Science

Alexandra Jones: Jessica Meir returned from the ISS to a pandemic-ridden Earth. The Face

Tammy Chen is a dentist who’s seeing more cracked teeth. How is that connected to the pandemic? The New York Times

The biggest lie about renewable energy. ASAP Science

Paul Vallely explains how philanthropy benefits the super-rich. The Guardian

Alan Yuhas reveals that Roanoake’s “lost colony” was never lost (according to a new book). The New York times

Kat Lonsdorf revisits Fukushima: the ghost towns behind the gates. NPR

Amber Dance considers experiments on mice in space and how they’ll keep human bone and muscle strong on the ISS. Knowable

Gerardo Carrillo: “mammoth central” found at Mexican airport construction site. The Washington Post

Sarah Bahr announces that the Met will hire its first full-time Native American curator. The New York Times

Thanks for visiting and I hope you took away something to support your next creative project.

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

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Mar 24-30, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

Here’s your first batch of inspiration, research, and learning links for April.

Beth Gardiner reveals how the car industry hid the truth about diesel emissions. The Guardian

Michael Greshko: how a change in out diets may have altered the way we speak. National Geographic

SciShow News covers the cannonball pulsar and antibacterial metal.

 

Emily Underwood is listening to ketamine. Knowable

Eda Yu says, social media is ruining our memories. Vice

More SciShow News: neurogenesis may continue into your 80s and the mechanism of hallucinations.

 

Doug Bock Clark tells the harrowing tale of the underground railroad of North Korea. GQ

Douglas Preston reports on Robert DePalma’s discovery of evidence for the event that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. The New Yorker

This is the kind of behaviour we have to put up with in Torvi:

 

I hope at least one of these offerings got your mental corn popping, by which I mean, got those creative ideas ping-ponging around in your head.

This weekend, I’ll be writing up my next chapter update for March.

Until then, my friends, be well 🙂

thoughtythursday2016

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, June 4-10, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

And here’s how we get your mental corn popping 🙂

John Campo thinks it’s time to recognize mental health as essential as physical health. Stat

Emily Esfahani Smith: science says lasting relationships come down to kindness and generosity. The Atlantic

Janice Johnson reports on the assault victim who was jailed and had to wear shackles to testify. CBC

Scott Gilmore shows us the Canada most people don’t see. Maclean’s

Rise of the machines: who is “the internet of things” good for? Adam Greenfield for The Guardian.

Phil Plait: Einstein was right (again!). Astronomers watch as a star’s gravity bends light from another star. Blastr

It’s okay to be smart looks at the implications of CRISPR:

 

Ian Sample: the oldest homo sapiens bones ever found shake the foundations of the human story. The Guardian

Kelly Richman-Abdou looks at the ancient techniques and evolution of traditional Japanese tattoos. My Modern Met

Because this addresses Guardians of the Galaxy, volume 2, I’d normally put it in Tipsday … BUT because science is way too geeky for that!

 

I hope you have a few tasty ideas to take to the page.

Be well until the weekend! *waves*

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, March 1-7, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 5 Comments

How gardening, and specifically the microbes in soil, can make you happy. Gardening Know-How.

How healthy gut flora (bacteria) can also have an antidepressant effect. Scientific American.

Empathy might lead to social anxiety. Spirit Science and Metaphysics.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) affect your health. Includes an informative self-test. NPR.

More about your ACE score and a resilience quiz (as a bonus). ACES too high news.

And a supporting article from IFLS: childhood trauma affects the brain.

Surrender doesn’t mean defeat. OM Times shares the seven habits of surrendered people. It’s related to resilience.

How physicians and psychiatrists are medicating women rather than treating the underlying issues. Some of us don’t need prescriptions. Or we don’t need the prescriptions they think we do . . . The New York Times.

For the other side of the story, Emily Landau states that she has been helped immeasurably by prescription medications and that she doesn’t believe they’ve affected her adversely. CBC.

Eleven things introverts want you to know. Elephant Journal.

Last week, I shared the Desiderata text. For those of you who were curious, here’s the version set to music by Les Crane:

 

Stop procrastination by asking one question and considering the answer for three minutes. Inc.

Most consistently successful creative people say ‘NO.’ Business Insider.

The strange world of felt presences links Shackleton, sleep paralysis, and hearing voices. The Guardian.

Did the human alliance with dogs drive the Neanderthals to extinction? National Geographic.

New human fossil offers more detail for our family tree. National Geographic.

Here’s what scientists think methane-based life might look like (if they find it on Titan). From Quarks to Quasars.

Ancient Mars may have had an ocean. The New York Times.

Scientists have discovered another earth-like planet. Higher Perspective.

More on what’s coming up for Neil deGrasse Tyson. The Wall Street Journal.

Cats see things that are invisible to humans. Higher Perspective.

I’ve shared posts or videos about the rabbit island and the fox village in the past, now The Atlantic features some great pictures from a Japanese cat island.

I love crows and ravens and so this story about crows gifting the girl who’s fed them since she was four made me #furiouslyhappy.

This video shares an important message about equality and diversity.

 

It was a thoughty week!

Hope you find something to exercise your grey matter.

Until Saturday, be resilient 😉

Thoughty Thursday