In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim tells the hero that the secret to immortality can be found in a plant at the bottom of the ocean. And now I read there is an immortal jellyfish
‘When you kill it, it doesn’t die’: the jellyfish that has cracked the secret of immortality
Turritopsis dohrnii has the ability to turn back into a baby jellyfish and grow up all over again
theguardian.com
AI destroying books? I don't know what AI protends for our future, but I think of them like dogs: can you blame a dog if the owner doesn't control it?
Find it before it is gone! Great Barrier Reef microbiome mapped as researchers discover 500 bacterial species previously unknown to science
Great Barrier Reef microbiome mapped as researchers discover 500 bacterial species previously unknown to science
Research identifies 808,585 viral genomes belonging to what scientists estimate to be 362,802 different viruses
theguardian.com
Testosterone testing is wrong on so many levels: is there a baseline for each male soldier or a one size fits all? What about women? Vaccines are bad but testosterone dosing is good - what kind of logic is that? We are letting children govern us.
"The Trump administration has decried the use of hormones in gender affirming care, including both testosterone and estrogen, as “chemical and surgical mutilation”. Hegseth’s announcement did not address the more than 231,000 women who serve as active duty service members in the US military.
Pete Hegseth says soldiers over age 30 to be screened for testosterone deficiency
US defense secretary unveils plan that will work to ensure service members have the ‘right testosterone levels’
theguardian.com
Former employees of NOAA that were fired by the Trump administration launch an independent climate watch organization. This group provides climate information free of political and corporate interests. I'm impressed by their determination and showing us a path of resistance to monied interests.
Climate.us Home
independent, nonprofit, and immune to politics
climate.us
The Union of Concerned Scientists released "Attacks on Science Tracker" to document the second Trump administration’s 574 attacks on science and scientific integrity.
“In the spirit of friendship and mutual understanding, the United States is proud to welcome some of the most contagious bacteria and viruses ever to infect the human biome,” said Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
RFK Jr. Hosts Meet-And-Greet With Infectious Diseases
WASHINGTON—Hailing the exclusive gathering as an opportunity to usher in an era of peace and goodwill, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hosted a lively meet-and-greet Thursday with a variety of ...
theonion.com
A good article (though long) from the Union of Concerned Scientists on this administration's newest assault on science. Only a significant change in Congress resulting from the midterm elections can slow this Project 2025 juggernaut.
The President’s FY27 Budget Request: More Bad News For Science
The president's proposed budget would be bad for science—but it's not too late to change it.
blog.ucs.org
The anniversary of the June 8th 1917 Granite Mountain Speculator Mine disaster. Nice memorial piece
Granite Mountain Speculator Mine Memorial honors heroes of 1917
YouTube video by NBC Montana
youtube.com
Department Of Labor Cracks Down On People Getting Paid For Work https://theonion.com/department-of-labor-cracks-down-on-people-getting-paid-for-work/
Peter Hotez has been studying neglected diseases for over 30 years, he knows what he is talking about.
nativenewsonline.net/sovereignty/...
Land Back: Fond du Lac Band Celebrates Return of 3,400 Acres in Historic Transfer
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa marked a historic moment Wednesday as approximately 3,400 acres of land known as the Cloquet Forestry Center were officially returned to the Band through...
nativenewsonline.net
Thanks, Barney Frank, for all that you did for America and its people. So different from today's leadership. RIP
Barney Frank, groundbreaking gay congressman who coauthored key Wall Street legislation, has died - The Boston Globe
Frank died Tuesday evening in his Ogunquit, Maine, home of complications from congestive heart failure. He was 86.
bostonglobe.com
Robert Malley, lead negotiator for Iran nuclear deal “takeaways from Trump’s speech. 1. That so many still pay attention to what he says, which has no link to reality or to what he might or might not do; 2. that he so cavalierly threatens war crimes ... on behalf of an unlawful & unjustified war.”
"Last year the administration RIF'd most of the people responsible for science communication at the NIH, with the loss of most communications staff within the Institutes and Centers. At that time, they also put into place a requirement that public-facing content be approved by a political appointee
“As if the Ministry of Truth in Orwell’s 1984 ... with its motto ‘Ignorance is Strength,’ this Court is now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power it claims – to dissemble and disassemble historical truths when it has some domain over historical facts. It does not.”
US judge orders Trump administration to restore Philadelphia slavery exhibit
In ruling, judge cited quote from Orwell’s novel 1984 describing process by which authoritarians rewrite history
theguardian.com
Murderers of Alex Pretti identified www.propublica.org/article/alex...
Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting
The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raym...
propublica.org
Measles is not back because we forgot how to stop it. It’s back because we chose not to. Virginia’s first confirmed measles case of 2026 is not a medical mystery or a failure of science—it is a policy, trust, and systems failure playing out in real time. www.linkedin.com/pulse/return...
The Return of Measles Was Preventable: Virginia’s First Case and the Cost of Vaccine Hesitancy
Measles is not back because we forgot how to stop it. It’s back because we chose not to.
linkedin.com
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Rest In Power, Claudette Colvin, and a really useful thread debunking popular myths about her from @jeannetheoharis.bsky.social, whom we used as a source to write our entries about Colvin: stories.workingclasshistory.com/tag/11435/cl...
Working Class History
stories.workingclasshistory.com
Jeanne Theoharis@jeannetheoharis.bsky.social · 7mo agoFriends, Claudette Colvin—the 15-year-old who refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus in March 1955 & joined the federal case against bus segregation that went to the Supreme Court — died today at age 86. But there are lots of myths and mis-impressions about her. A short corrective thread:
Artist Mike Luckovich: Torch carrying-domestic terrorist
A good piece reflecting some of the same reasons I retired from the NIH on Dec 27th. My only criticism is the same I have for everything I have heard recently: people telling us to stand together and fight back but without a strategy for fighting effectively www.statnews.com/2026/01/10/n...
The NIH has lost its scientific integrity. So we left
“We can no longer lend our credibility to an organization that has lost its integrity,” write four scientists and administrators who recently resigned from the NIH.
statnews.com
Rogue planets traveling through the galaxy - cool. skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-ne...
Rogue Saturn Discovered Floating Through the Milky Way
Astronomers have measured the mass of a free-floating planet for the first time. Comparable to Saturn, it’s surprisingly massive for such worlds.
skyandtelescope.org
Copy Editing Matters, from HHS's release on the new childhood vaccine schedule: All the diseases will still be available to anyone who wants them
January 2nd, the 106th anniversary of the Palmer Raids. In the name of public safety government agents arrested/detained thousands, brutally assaulted innocent people, lacked sufficient warrants, and tried to deport many. Sounds familiar.
