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Posts tagged with science

Well Said

surreal image of a 'mad scientist' type (Dolby) amid a wild tangle of tubes, wires, and electronic boardsDetail from Thomas Dolby album The Golden Age of Wireless

She BLINDED me, with one of these several distinct, though interrelated, things! biogeo breaks down what we mean when we say "science."

04/14/24
by taz

It all comes down to physics

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) drone image of Francis Scott Key Bridge and Cargo Ship Dali

In hydra77's thread about the cargo ship crashing into the bridge, two comments in particular stand out. First, automatronic’s experience gives a look at the various issues of of maintaining and running a ship. Then WaylandSmith notes the physics involved that caused the collapse. Fascinating and enlightening information!

What some mice do while you sleep!

Stargate

Let's check in on humanity's solar system exploration before 2024 kicks in: doctornemo has made a fantastic post about the current state of developments in space, including asteroid bits, fast spaceships, JuMBOs, a space battle, and a space cat video .

12/23/23
by taz

Everything you could ever want to know about softening kelp noodles

photo of a bowl of kelp noodlesA bowl of kelp noodles In Ask Metafilter, 'music for skeletons' asked about softening kelp noodles and another member, 'flug', responded with an incredibly informative answer to the chemistry behind the softening.

How do you pronounce "Blizzard"?

antarctica research baseantarctica research base by ▓▒░ TORLEY ░▒▓ (cc by-sa)

Mefi member chariot pulled by cassowaries posted How Scientists Working in Antarctica Inadvertently Developed a New Accent. A 2019 study of scientists over-wintering in Antarctica revealed subtle but measurable changes in the participants’ speech.

09/18/23
by taz

scratch this podcast itch

My Podcast Set IMy Podcast Set I by brainblogger (cc by)

Shepherd is looking for "debunky, chatty, science-y" podcast recs: "I love Maintenance Phase and If Books Could Kill and would like more podcasts like this..."

06/12/23
by taz

"The Titanic is the Marilyn Monroe of shipwrecks."

visualization of the underwater wreck of the Titanic in its current statevia BBC.com

Fizz posted Titanic: First ever full-sized scans reveal wreck as never seen before, the first full-sized digital scan of the Titanic, with visualizations pieced together from 700,000 images collected by remote controlled submersibles. (Title via pthomas745 in the comments!)

05/23/23
by taz

"his failure was epic"

depiction of nearly 20 men on the pitching deck of a ship, crewmen, guards, and five fancily dressed gentlemen, all focusing on a huge wooden telescope suspended and supported by ropes. One man is taking notes, while another prepares to look through the telescope. Woodcut of Guillaume Le Gentil's attempted shipboard observation of the 1761 transit of Venus

Great question and answers in storybored's Ask Metafilter post "Who are some lesser known scientists who failed heroically?"

03/11/23
by taz

Children of the Ice Age

A depiction of 4 Ice Age children dressed in skins and furs. One of the taller ones wears a mask and what looks like a bearskin and headpiece, while the other older child carries a wooden spear. In the background, the huge, bleached skull bone and tusk of a giant animal.Image via Aeon Magazine

"For more than 200 years, children have been neglected by archaeologists. It was part of a disciplinary bias towards adult men in archaeological interpretations. This began to change in the 1970s and ’80s with the rise of feminist archaeology and the archaeology of gender..." cgc373 posted Aeon Magazine's article by April Nowell.

02/26/23
by taz

"Thank you, addictive zoom tree"

Amazon milk frogAmazon milk frog by hehaden (cc by-nc)

blue_beetle posted the Zoomable Tree of Life: All known species in one zoomable fractal.

02/20/23
by taz

"Mystery Science Theater Club, that odd tiny little corner of MeFi that shows bad and weird movies Thursdays every week, is doing a day-long show on Tuesday for US Election Day": JHarris in Metatalk. 🇺🇸

11/08/22
taz

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

screen shot of tiny toad jumping

Itsy frog will make you feel positively competent: moonmilk offers a post that asks Why Is This Tiny Frog So Awful At Jumping?, an interesting discussion ensues, and the primroses were over observes, who among us has not been so bad at something that our sheer incompetence has become a matter of scientific inquiry? Excellent point.

06/19/22
by taz

gut microbiota & you

uBiome - Microbiome Sequencing Gut Bacteria Sample KituBiome - Microbiome Sequencing Gut Bacteria Sample Kit by Tony Webster (cc by)

In an interesting thread about "rethinking healthy eating in light of the gut microbiome," ASF Tod und Schwerkraft shares some enlightening commentary on why the results of microbiome research is always much more complicated and less definitive than science reporting makes it sound.

06/10/22
by taz

Ore You Going to Eat That?

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