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After record temperatures in 2024, climate scientists had expected this year to be cooler, but instead the planet seems to be heading for a second year above the 1.5°C climate goal

In the new Jesus and Mo post, “draw,” Mo draws a self-portrait. Apparently, though pictures of Mohammed are prohibited by nearly all Muslim sects, that prohibition doesn’t hold for Mo himself.  He seems to have a bit of a gut, doubtlessly from drinking too many pints with Jesus at the local bar.  There’s also this note:

Deadline for entry in to the annual Draw Mohammed Day Contest is May 16. Find out more here https://exmuslims.org/

But I can’t find where one enters on that site. However, I did find instructions on their Facebook page, and here they are:

 Deadline is close: Draw Muhammad Day Contest closes May 16! 

 Got blasphemy skills? Put them to paper (or pixels) for a shot at:
 $1st & 2nd place cash prizes
 EXMNA merch for runner-ups
 Bonus points for humor and satire
 AI entries welcome—just label them!

Email your entry to info@exmuslims.org with “Draw Muhammad Day Contest” in the subject line. Don’t forget to follow IG/FB [Instagram/Facebook] guidelines.

Heresy has never paid better.

Here is a sample entry from EXMNA:

Finally, the Jesus and Mo cartoon:

Today’s photos from the Pacific Northwest come from reader Jim Blilie. Jim’s captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them.

Spring has sprung in the Pacific Northwest after a long, cool tapering off of winter.  We have finally hit the 70°s our area (20+°C), in May.  This is a set of spring flowers (mostly).  We live in Klickitat County, Washington, at the extreme southern edge of Washington state, just east of the Cascade mountain range.  These photos, except the last two, are taken in Klickitat County.

First, two photos from a hike we take on local ranch land (the landowners are kind enough to allow public access to their land, except during calving season).  These are Grass Widows (Olsynium douglasii).

Next are two photos of some ornamental flowers that were originally planted but now run wild in our yard in the early spring.  Empress Lilies (Fritillaria imperialis), which smell almost exactly like skunk cabbage, which is probably why the deer don’t eat them.

Next are two photos from our local daily exercise walk, down the gravel road we live on.  Again, from early Spring:  Calypso Orchids (Calypso bulbosa) and Trillium (probably:  Trillium ovatum)

Next are three photos of Balsam Root (probably:  Balsamorhiza sagittata) and Lupine (probably:  Lupinus latifolius) flowers on a local hillside that we like to hike especially during the Spring and winter (it’s much too hot in the summer as it faces south). In the third photo, you can see Mount Hood (highest peak in Oregon) and Mount Jefferson (second highest in Oregon) at the top.

Next are three photos that show the prize view for hiking up this local hillside (aside from the beautiful flowers in the Spring):  On this day (5-May-2025), it was as clear as we’ve ever seen on this hike.  To get the view to the north (Mount Adams, Mount Rainier, Goat Rocks), you have to ascend 1200 feet (366m) to the top of the ridge.

Mount Adams near and large and Mount Rainier over the northern shoulder of Mount Adams.

Mount Jefferson, second highest in Oregon:

Three Sisters in central Oregon:

These are shot at the 35mm equivalent of only 200mm, so you can see how clear the day was.  We could see almost every Cascade volcano from South Sister to Mount Rainier (some were hidden from our viewpoint), a span of about 190 miles (306 km).

Finally are two photos taken yesterday (7-May) in neighboring Skamania County on a hike.  Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nuttallii), which is in full bloom in our woods now.  And finally, Oregon Anemone (Anemonoides oregana):

An analysis of compounds in chilli peppers has revealed chemicals that seem to negate their heat-giving capsaicinoids. This explains why the Scoville scale for measuring spicyness isn't always accurate, and could eventually lead to the development of an "anti-spice" condiment

Have you heard of brainspotting? It’s been around since 2003 when it was invented out of whole cloth (not “discovered”) by psychotherapist David Grand. It seems to be gaining in popularity recently, so it is worth the SBM treatment. Here is how proponents describe the alleged phenomenon: “Brainspotting makes use of this natural phenomenon through its use of relevant eye positions. This […]

The post Brainspotting is Classic Pseudoscience first appeared on Science-Based Medicine.

Not knowing how much milk a baby consumes when breastfeeding can cause anxiety for parents, but an innovative device seems to provide objective measurements

Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, looks more Earth-like on its surface than any other place in the Solar System. With its thick atmosphere and liquid methane rain, it has lakes, rivers, sand dunes and seas. But appearances can be deceiving and in other ways, Titan is in fact a very alien world. One baffling difference, recently discovered, is that Titan's rivers do not seem to form deltas when they reach the sea.

What steps can be taken to enhance in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) for future astronauts on Mars? This is what a recent study presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as an international team of researchers investigated the reasons, benefits, and challenges of conducting ISRU on Mars. This study has the potential to help astronauts, scientists, engineers, and mission planners develop new methods for enhancing the survivability of future Mars astronauts while also maximizing mission success.

Biologists and chemists have a new programming language to uncover previously unknown environmental pollutants at breakneck speed -- without requiring them to code.

Biologists and chemists have a new programming language to uncover previously unknown environmental pollutants at breakneck speed -- without requiring them to code.

Engineers built E-BAR, a mobile robot designed to physically support the elderly and prevent them from falling as they move around their homes. E-BAR acts as a set of robotic handlebars that follows a person from behind, allowing them to walk independently or lean on the robot's arms for support.

Engineers built E-BAR, a mobile robot designed to physically support the elderly and prevent them from falling as they move around their homes. E-BAR acts as a set of robotic handlebars that follows a person from behind, allowing them to walk independently or lean on the robot's arms for support.

Spacecraft are expensive and intricately engineered machines designed to perform complex missions in harsh space environments. They're costly and require a long time to design and build. Due to their uniqueness and high value, and the need to keep them sterilized, they're assembled in cleanrooms that limit the amount of dust and microbes. New research shows that microbes are adapting to these clean rooms and learning how to thrive in them.

Technology Readiness Levels (or TRL levels, because repeating the last word of initialisms is common in English) is a metric commonly used by NASA to define how developed a technology for use on a mission is. These typically range from 1-9, with 1 being an idea in someone's head, and 9 having been successfully flown on a mission. One of the assessments of new projects that NASA does is a check of the TRL levels of its constituent components - those with a higher level get higher marks, since it is assumed that the technology necessary to get them ready will require less work. So, sometimes, NASA and other organizations will sponsor smaller missions to work on a specific technology needed for one of its big flagship programs. That seems to be the approach from a team led by Keri Hoadley of the University of Florida, who recently laid out a mission concept for the Ultraviolet Type Ia Supernova CubeSat (UVIa).

Researchers have developed a new workflow for designing enzymes from scratch, paving the way toward more efficient, powerful and environmentally benign chemistry. The new method allows designers to combine a variety of desirable properties into new-to-nature catalysts for an array of applications, from drug development to materials design.

For a while now, there has been a problematic mystery at the heart of the standard cosmological model. Although all observations support the expanding Universe model, observations of the early period of the cosmos give a lower rate of acceleration than more local observations. We call it the Hubble tension problem, and we have no idea how to solve it. Naturally, there have been several proposed ideas: what if general relativity is wrong; what if dark matter doesn't exist; what if the rate of time isn't uniform; heck, what if the entire Universe rotates. So, let's add a new idea to the pile: what if dark matter evolves?

Tracking the sources of photons is a hobby of many astrophysicists. Some types of photons are tied so closely to particular phenomena that tracking their sources would help answer some larger questions in astrophysics itself. Photons on the "511 keV line" are one such type of photon, and they have been overrepresented near the galactic core, with no known source being prolific enough to create them. A new paper from Zachary Metzler and Zorawar Wadiasingh of the University of Maryland and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center suggests one potential source - millisecond pulsar (MSP) binaries.

Insomnia has rendered me nearly insensate today, but I plan a nice science post tomorrow, assuming I’ll be able to write and think. Today we get music.

“Free Man in Paris” is a song written, sung, and performed by Joni Mitchell, describing record and film producer David Geffen kvetching about busy life in the US, where many people importuned him constantly. It’s about his celebrating his freedom from that importuning in Paris. The song first appeared on Mitchell’s “Court and Spark” album in 1974.

Geffen originally signed Joni to Asylum Records (part of Atlantic), and here’s a bit more about the song from the Wikipedia links above:

Joni Mitchell and Geffen were close friends and, in the early 1970s, made a trip to Paris with Robbie Robertson and Robertson’s wife, Dominique. As a result of that trip, Mitchell wrote “Free Man in Paris“ about Geffen.

The song is about music agent/promoter David Geffen, a close friend of Mitchell in the early 1970s, and describes Geffen during a trip the two made to Paris with Robbie Robertson and Dominique Robertson. While Geffen is never mentioned by name, Mitchell describes how he works hard creating hits and launching careers but can find some peace while vacationing in Paris. Mitchell sings “I was a free man in Paris. I felt unfettered and alive. Nobody calling me up for favors. No one’s future to decide.”

I love this song, as I love Joni—at the top of singers/songwriters/musicians of our era. Here she is playing it in 1979. The sax is great, and Joni plays electric. (The recorded version is here.)

A lunchbox-sized radar system could help the FBI detect moving or stationary people by peering through walls via radio waves

Imagine a T-shirt that could monitor your heart rate or blood pressure. Or a pair of socks that could provide feedback on your running stride. It may be closer than you think, with new research demonstrating a particular 3-D ink printing method for so-called smart fabrics that continue to perform well after repeated washings and abrasion tests.