Remember how it felt in the 90s to wait for an image to load line by line on the internet? That's the feeling I get when I have to verify I'm a human for every new tab I open
Chelsea Whyte
@chelswhyte.bsky.social
Senior Editor at New Scientist. Co-host of Dead Planets Society podcast
My percussionist twin brother plays a lot of things I couldn't hack, but sometimes there are avant garde pieces where it's like dropping rocks in buckets of water, which I could def pull off. And I would nail Cage's 4'33'', which I have watched "performed" many times out of sisterly obligation.
Bethany Albertson@albertsonb2.bsky.social · 3w agoThought experiment- if you were suddenly appointed to do your sibling’s job, how badly would you suck at it?
this is part of my job. did you know jobs could do this
Move over, Colossal. A team in Japan hopes to "resurrect" mammoth chromosomes 🧬 🦣 in the cells of mice, after showing they can do this with a chromosome from a rat deep-frozen for over a year 🧪 www.newscientist.com/article/2529...
A chromosome from a frozen rat has been resurrected inside mice
Mice that contain cells with an added rat chromosome have been created by scientists. The next step is to try this with frozen elephant tissue – and if that works, the team will try it with frozen mam...
newscientist.com
Ted Chiang is brilliant. He takes the question of AI consciousness to its logical conclusion—really a must-read, right down to the last word: www.theatlantic.com/philosophy/2...
No, Artificial Intelligence Is Not Conscious
Taken to its logical conclusion, this line of thinking is absurd—and damning.
theatlantic.com
I've always loved Prufrock, and didn't think it could be improved. I guess I was wrong
Michael Jay McClure@mjmimages.bsky.social · 4mo agoYou: Girl, let us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherized upon a table Me: Drag her.
Conversations with colleagues at New Scientist: "So I was reading this book about Lord Kelvin..." "Ooh, I've been looking for a book about Lord Kelvin!"
Almost nothing is worth dealing with a website this broken, but this is "Where are the boys? I am in the town, looking outward. Time is space; the distance between me and the boys unravels the years before me. Come back to us, boys; come back to me."
Bradford Pearson@bradfordpearson.bsky.social · 4mo agoon the 50th anniversary of the release of The Boys Are Back in Town I'm morally obligated to share my favorite story of all time
This reminded me of a thought that crystallised last night while I was struggling to untangle a garden hose: I never want efficiency in things I pursue for joy. I'm sure there was a faster way to fix that hose, but that's not the point. I was spending time gardening, watching the sun set, etc etc
The New Yorker@newyorker.com · 4mo agoPeople are pining for old technologies—CD players, VCRs, Walkmans. What’s behind our longing for inconvenience? www.newyorker.com/culture/essa...
I'll be doing a reddit AMA on my recent visit to Chornobyl. Feel free to ping a question on contamination, the exclusion zone, the militarisation of the site - whatever - on the thread. www.reddit.com/r/chernobyl/...
From the chernobyl community on Reddit: I am a reporter for New Scientist who gained exclusive access to Chernobyl. AMA on Thursday 16 April.
Explore this post and more from the chernobyl community
reddit.com
Completely coincidentally, I only learned what the Diet of Worms was like a week ago and I'm so happy I read that Wikipedia page now
Wes Burdine@wesburdine.bsky.social · 4mo agoBREAKING: Following the American threat of an “Avignon Papacy,” Robert Kennedy has begun a Diet of Worms
When I was a kid, my dad's favorite lie about the moon was that it was the size of a quarter. "Hold one up there, it covers the whole thing." This reminded me of that grin he had when he said it
Today is maybe a good day to spend a while reading the entirety of @jonbois.bsky.social's masterpiece: 17776. I remember the original link sending you to SB Nation and then the page devolving into something totally strange, but I can't find that. So start here: www.sbnation.com/a/17776-foot...
This made me surprisingly emotional
Jonathan Serrie@jonathanserrie.bsky.social · 4mo ago"Hello, Artemis 2. This is Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell. Welcome to my old neighborhood." #Artemis2's wakeup call this morning included a message from the commander of Apollo 13, recorded prior to his passing last year. #Artemis2
I gasped at this part of the launch. Such a cool shot
Dave Levitan@davelevitan.bsky.social · 4mo agoLOOK AT THIS
As a Kármán line supporter I thought I would strongly disagree with this, but actually I think the argument - that the first people to see a black sky above the blue were the first in space - is pretty solid! www.newscientist.com/article/2517...
Why Yuri Gagarin wasn’t the first in space – and who beat him to it
Everyone knows Yuri Gagarin as the first person to go to space. But was he? Physicist Vladimir Brljak tells the tale of the intrepid balloonists who first flew beyond the blue terrestrial sky, challen...
newscientist.com
Decided to totally screw up my algorithm and listen to an album of shrimp sounds. Hit me with your best shot, Spotify
An excellent piece on the Ukrainians building and learning to pilot drones by @sparkes.bsky.social. In one factory, they're making 80,000 a month. www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
How Ukraine became a drone factory and invented the future of war
Ukraine has responded to a war it didn’t start by creating an industry it doesn’t want, but could the nation's drone expertise help it rebuild? To learn more, New Scientist gained exclusive access to ...
newscientist.com
My latest maths column is a plea to Hollywood - when are we going to get a Paul Erdős biopic starring Jeff Goldblum? www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
Jeff Goldblum should make a film about this legendary mathematician
Paul Erdős was one of the most prolific mathematicians to ever live, known for showing up at the door of others in the field and declaring they should host and feed him while they do maths together. H...
newscientist.com
@chelswhyte.bsky.social went to see the Vera Rubin observatory and though I am known space hater, I could not be more excited for all we are about to see in the night sky www.newscientist.com/article/2483...
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is about to totally transform astronomy
With the ability to scan the entire southern night sky every three days, the huge Vera C. Rubin Observatory could be about to start solving the mysteries of the universe, from dark matter to Planet Ni...
newscientist.com
We've got a great special report on quantum computing this week. First up, @kpc.bsky.social runs through all the big players in this growing industry, and asks who will be the first to make a machine that actually does something useful? www.newscientist.com/article/2467...
Quantum computers have finally arrived, but will they ever be useful?
Hundreds of quantum computing firms around the world are racing to commercialise these once-exotic devices, but the jury is still out on who is going to pull ahead and produce a machine that actually ...
newscientist.com
Listen, do I want the looming asteroid to hit anything? No, not deep down in my heart. But if it must, can it please hit the moon?? The DRAMATICS! The new crater! We could possibly see the explosion of impact! www.newscientist.com/article/2467...
There’s a tiny chance the asteroid headed for Earth could hit the moon
If asteroid 2024 YR4 does smash down on the lunar surface, the explosion might be visible from Earth and would leave a new crater on the near side of the moon
newscientist.com
My leader this week is a cheerful one: it is time to accept that we have broken the climate, and for us to look at what comes next www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
Are we entering a dangerous new phase of climate change?
A series of events, from the California wildfires to evidence we passed 1.5 degrees last year, suggests wild weather will become even more common
newscientist.com
Americans have been trying the Chinese-owned social media apps Red Note and Lemon8 as alternatives ahead of a looming US ban on TikTok. But those apps may not provide a refuge from US (or Chinese) government restrictions. Story with comments from @emmiehine.com www.newscientist.com/article/2464...
Red Note and Lemon8 are not the TikTok refuges you are looking for
The Chinese social media apps Red Note and Lemon8 have become popular alternatives for TikTok users ahead of a US government ban on TikTok. But government restrictions loom over those apps too
newscientist.com