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A new way to produce fuels made from leftover fat can create biofuel as effective as diesel and 1000-times more efficiently than current methods a new study has suggested.

Researchers have developed a model that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to predict organoid development at an early stage. The model, which is faster and more accurate than expert researchers, could improve the efficiency and lower the cost of culturing organoids.

Researchers have developed a model that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to predict organoid development at an early stage. The model, which is faster and more accurate than expert researchers, could improve the efficiency and lower the cost of culturing organoids.

Researchers developed biodegradable materials that could replace the plastic micro-beads now used in beauty products. The materials could also be used to encapsulate nutrients for food fortification.

A new artificial intelligence model can predict how atoms arrange themselves in crystal structures.

Researchers have built a drone that can walk, hop, and jump into flight with the aid of birdlike legs, greatly expanding the range of potential environments accessible to unmanned aerial vehicles.

Researchers have built a drone that can walk, hop, and jump into flight with the aid of birdlike legs, greatly expanding the range of potential environments accessible to unmanned aerial vehicles.

Helping out your neighbor or minding your own business? A challenging choice with different benefits for each decision. Game theory provides guidance in making such choices -- from a theoretical perspective. Novel findings reveal new network structures that enhance cooperation throughout a system. These insights have potential applications also in biology.

A new study shows the benefits of coordinating the siting of solar farms, wind farms, and storage systems, taking into account local and temporal variations in wind, sunlight, and energy demand. This approach maximizes the utilization of renewable resources and reduces costs.

I have arrived in Katowice (population 287,000), where it’s snowing, after a comfortable 5-hour train ride south from Wroclawek. I finished the novel I brought (A Gesture Life, by Change-rae Lee, highly recommended) and then reread the highlights of a book I’m reviewing for another site.

Although Polish trains have internet, I avoided using it, as for some reason I use long-distance transportation as a way to avoid being online.

Here is a map of Poland from Worldometers. The northern arrow is the approximate location of Dobrzyn, and the southern one shows Katowice:

Tomorrow I’ll have a look at the festival, and then I give my talks on Sunday and Monday mornings, flying home early Tuesday (6 A.M.!) from Katowice via Frankfurt.

My week in Dobrzyn is, sadly, at an end, and it was great to see Andrzej and Malgorzata again, and to experience their patented brand of hospitality, including political conversation, a soft couch to work on (I finished my essay), four meals a day featuring great pies and cakes, and three—count them, three—moggies.  Dobrzyn is paradise enow. I will return, but I know not when.

In the meantime, here are photos of the cats. Hili was often scarce, trying to stay outside as long as possible before the weather becomes intolerably cold, or sleeping in the basement. But sometimes she’d favor me by lying on my bed, in which case I would join her with my book. She likes to burrow under the covers.

Below: Szaron and Baby Kulka on the windowsill, each on their own blanket. You will NEVER find Kulka and Hili together in this position, as they hate each other. For readers who have asked me why, I have no answer.

Apparently when Szaron came into the house as a rescued stray (Kulka formally lives upstairs with the lodgers but is often downstairs), Hili also hated him, but she got over that. Now Hili and Szaron are friendly, though not so friendly that they cuddle together. But Hili’s hatred for Kulka is implacable, and they avoid each other completely.

Two photos of Kulka. I have trouble telling her apart from Hili in photos, but Andrzej and Malgorzata have no problem. Kulka has more white on her face:

And Szaron, the world’s most affectionate cat. I had some good lap time with him yesterday. All it takes is one pat on the back and he begins purring like a motorboat, and will not stop, nor cease soliciting further petting, until you have to do something else:

Finally, my spiffy Katowice hotel room across the street from the train station. I had to take a panoramic picture to get it all in (click to enlarge).

Tomorrow I head to the conference to register and see what’s about, and perhaps have a look around the area, hoping to find some pierogi and potato pancakes.

It may sound strange, but mathematicians have created an entire ladder of infinities, each larger than the next. Now a new kind of infinity threatens to upset that order, and perhaps redefine the structure of the mathematical universe

Scuba divers will attempt to collect semen from at least nine wild male leopard sharks for the first time, for use in captive breeding programmes aiming to boost wild populations

by Matthew Cobb

PCC(E) is travelling, so posting will be light.

Meanwhile, in Dobrzyn, Hili and Jerry have been chatting:

Jerry: I’m going to Katowice.
Hili: What for?
Jerry: I’m going to give two lectures there.
Hili: Tell them that I approved the texts.

Jerry: Jadę teraz do Katowic.
Hili: Po co?
Jerry: Będę tam miał dwa wykłady.
Hili: Powiedz im, że je zatwierdziłam.

Two bits of BlueSky news. Firstly, the precise genetic mechanism of the peppered moth story (and many other Lepidopteran coloration examples) has been identified. It is a short piece of RNA called a microRNA. The article just appeared in Science.

Our miRNA story is now in @science.org ! We found a microRNA, not a protein, that finally solved a long-standing evolutionary mystery of wing coloration in butterflies and moths. (1/n)www.science.org/doi/10.1126/…

— Shen Tian 田申 (@tianshenbio.bsky.social) 2024-12-05T21:35:54.747Z

Secondly, if I may be immodest for a moment:

Giving what will probably be my last ever lectures at @officialuom.bsky.social today (I “retired” in September but have given 20 lectures this semester…) One on the history of genetic information, the other, at *5pm on a Friday* on mammals. Both to first year students. Then, that will be that.

— (@matthewcobb.bsky.social) 2024-12-06T08:59:34.106Z

 

Doctors who gushed over RFK Jr. made their bed, and they'll lie in it.

The post Dr. Vinay Prasad “Sabotaging RFK Jr’s Confirmation Will Increase Vaccine Hesitancy” & “Doctors Criticizing RFK Jr. Paved the Way for His Ascendancy” first appeared on Science-Based Medicine.

An MRI-based imaging technique predicts the response of ovarian cancer tumors to treatment, and rapidly reveals how well treatment is working, in patient-derived cell models.

The opensource LabEmbryoCam uses 3D-printed components to form a robotic microscope and is the result of over a decade of research at the University of Plymouth. Its creators say the instrument can autonomously monitor the earliest stages of development in any aquatic species.

A high-resolution view of hailstones the size of tennis balls can reveal how they form – and help researchers better forecast which storms will generate these destructive pieces of ice

First-of-its-kind sensor monitors fluctuating proteins within the body in real time. In an animal study, device accurately tracked biomarkers of inflammation. Device also could track protein markers for other illnesses, including heart failure.

Nanoparticle-mediated gene therapy corrects a problem with the placenta that leads to pregnancy issues.

Physicists have outlined the next 10 years of global research into the behavior of neutrinos, particles so tiny that they pass through virtually everything by the trillions every second at nearly the speed of light.