Science, Technology, Culture, Society, Health, Medicine & Sundries Dec 20-21

Science & Technology

• Fairness, accountability, and transparency in big data models – Mathbabe
• SpaceX to attempt rocket landing at sea – Reuters
• Russia considers building its own space station: RIA – Reuters
• 17 Ridiculous Victorian Inventions That Didn’t Change the World – Wired
• New, tighter timeline confirms ancient volcanism aligned with dinosaurs’ extinction – Phy.org
• How the physics of champagne bubbles may help address the world’s future energy needs – Phys.org
• Research aims to improve rechargeable batteries by focusing on graphene oxide paper – Phys.org
• Computational clues into the structure of a promising energy conversion catalyst – Phys.org
• ‘4D Printing’ Makes Shape-Shifting Structures – LiveScience
• AI, eel production and cancer prevention drugs in the cards – Nikkei Asian Review
• Big Solar Step: Super-Efficient System Sets Record – LiveScience
• Mathematical description of relationship between thickness, temperature, and resistivity could spur advances – Phys.org
• New form of ice could help explore exciting avenues for energy production and storage – Phys.org
• ‘Fibonacci quasiparticle’ could form basis of future quantum computers – Phys.org
• Japan, Australia Selected for Pacific F-35 Sustainment – DefenseNews
• Material and manufacturing cost considerations for thermoelectrics are driving commercialization attempts more than just figures of merit (ZT) – Next Big Future
• Is String Theory About to Unravel? – Smithsonian
• Control on shape of light particles opens the way to ‘quantum internet’ – Phys.org
• Fraud-proof credit cards possible with quantum physics – Phys.org
• NASA rover finds organic molecules, methane gas on Mars – Reuters
• Buffett’s Smart-Grid Idea Takes Over Your Washing Machine – Bloomberg
• Using the power of a trillion light bulbs to map the nano-world – Phys.org
• Gravity’s Magic: New Seafloor Map Shows Earth’s Uncharted Depths – Universe Today

Medicine & Health

• Losing weight makes your lungs a potent CO2 emitter – LA Times
• A Feeling for Pain – The New Atlantis
• Testing Times for Alzheimer’s – Project-Syndicate
• Deadlier than cancer: Antibiotic-resistant superbugs could be one of the world’s top killers by 2050 – Salon
• How old you feel might predict how long you’ll live – Salon
• Gold nanorods target cancer cells – Phys.org
• Global population living six years longer than in 1990: study – Japan Times
• Autism risk linked to particulate air pollution – Reuters
• Obesity can be deemed a disability at work: EU court – Reuters

Environment, Global Warming & Nature

• Greenland ice loss more ‘local’ than thought, climate study says – LA Times
• Past global warming similar to today’s: Size, duration were like modern climate shift, but in two pulses – Phys.org
• Back to the future: Scientists want ‘rewilded’ crops to boost agriculture – Reuters
• Arctic Heating Up Twice As Fast As Rest Of The Earth: NOAA – IB Times
• Origin of ‘theta aurora’—long-standing space mystery—revealed – Phys.org
• How Australia Put Evolution on Darwin’s Mind – Smithsonian
• Where Has All the (Sea Trash) Plastic Gone? – National Geographic
• NOAA establishes ‘tipping points’ for sea level rise related flooding – Phys.org
• The combined forces of herpes and global warming are threatening to wipe out the world’s oysters – Salon
• Trash talk: 269,000 tons of plastic litter choke world’s oceans – Reuters
• Ancient DNA reveals history of horse domestication – Reuters
• Murder in the Rainforest – Rolling Stone

Society Politics & History

• Evolution and Ethics, Revisited – The New Atlantis
• Depression, conflicts with parents more often factors in teen suicides than bullying, study finds – National Post
• 47 Sacks of Coke: A Charter Pilot’s Run-In with Venezuelan Drug Lords – Der Spiegel
• The unbelievable rise of single motherhood in America over the last 50 years – Washington Post
• Private colleges are a waste of money for white, middle class kids – Washington Post
• Why You TGIF Even if You Don’t Have A Job – Priceonomics
• Good Riddance to a Ridiculous Cuba Policy – The Atlantic
• The Evidence That North Korea Hacked Sony Is Flimsy – Wired
• Voluntary Ghettos: A Radical Idea for Reclaiming Urban Space – Wired
• Here’s the surprising social trait that the English and Chinese have in common – Quartz
• The Sony hack is unprecedented—and the entire corporate world should take note – Quartz
• Law school enrollment has plummeted to a 27-year low – Quartz
• How the US government’s tiny statistical error is distorting the true cost of college – Quartz
• The Sony Hackers Stole Login Credentials To Gain High-Level Access To The Company’s Network – IB Times
• The West should not let Russia fall apart – Fortune
• A Cultural History of the Baseball Card – The Atlantic
• Black teen wins legal victory over South Carolina justice system — 70 years after the state executed him – National Post
• ‘Punk rock’ snail named for the Clash’s Joe Strummer – LA Times
• In five years, more Americans will have smart fridges than fitness trackers – Quartz
• The U.S. Appetite For Cuban Cigars Isn’t What It Used To Be – FiveThirtyEight
• SECRET LIFE OF A SHOE MODEL – Narratively
• Robert Plant exclusive: “I don’t want to be stuck in the ’70s or the ’80s” – Salon
• Secret meetings with Cuba finally pay off – Reuters
• Will Pakistan’s grief force it to cut ties with Islamic militants? – Reuters
• Prisoners of ‘Ingenious’ 1962 Alcatraz Escape Could Have Survived – LiveScience
• Beer and Beef: Why the Vikings’ Elaborate Feasts Died Out – LiveScience
• Why Video Games Deserve a Place in History – LiveScience
• Did Civil War Soldiers Have PTSD? – Smithsonian
• Respond to North Korea’s cyber attack with financial sanctions on Kim cronies – Reuters
• Strong or weak, bully or buffoon? Will the real Russia please stand up? – Reuters
• A 9-year-old told China’s president to lose some weight—and censors shut him down – Quartz
• People often withhold key facts to win negotiations, and don’t think they’ve done wrong – Phys.org
• Timeline of the Sony Pictures Entertainment hack – Phys.org
• Well That Didn’t Work: The Crazy Plan to Bring 6-Wheeled Cars to F1 – Wired
• The Secret Deal to Save the Planet – Rolling Stone
• Man could set foot on Mars sooner than you think – Salon

And finally

• It’s All Over Now, Baby Boom – Project Syndicate

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