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The game, called StarStarter, rewards players for directing their attention away from negative stimuli and towards positive ones

Planetary scientists have plenty of theories about Mars and its environmental past. Two of the most widely accepted are that there was a carbon dioxide atmosphere and, at one point, liquid water on Mars' surface. However, this theory has a glaring problem: Where should the rocks have formed from the interactions between carbon dioxide and water? According to a new paper by scientists at several NASA facilities using data collected by the rover Curiosity, the answer is right under the rover's metaphorical feet.

A huge colony of Pavona coral near the coast of Saudi Arabia is thought to be the largest living example found in the Red Sea

With the assumption that students are going to use artificial intelligence and large language models such as ChatGPT to do their homework, researchers set out to learn how well the free version of ChatGPT would compare with human students in a semester-long undergraduate control systems course.

Researchers introduced a novel method for fabricating functional flat-to-shape objects using a computer-controlled sewing machine. The team's method uses the sewing machine to stitch pockets between layers of fabric, and stiff panels are inserted into the pockets. Multiple fabrics types can be used, ranging from muslin for heavy-duty applications to more delicate fabrics for decorative purposes. The materials can also be customized on a panel-by-panel basis to adapt to each object's needs. The researchers demonstrated how the materials can be chosen to support a variety of functional goals, such as using thicker plywood for a human-weight supporting chair and custom LED panels with sheer fabric for a functional lamp. Additionally, The technique also allows for additional mechanisms such as cords, magnets, and hook-and-loop fasteners to direct and stabilize flat-to-shape transitions.

Researchers document a multi-faceted global snapshot of the environmental aspects and trends surrounding single-use plastics in a review article. The researchers state that the largest area of application for biodegradable plastic materials is the packaging segment, which accounts for about half of single-use plastic production.

Researchers have developed a light-induced DNA detection method that enables rapid, PCR-free genetic analysis. Their technique offers ultra-sensitive mutation detection in just five minutes, reducing costs and simplifying testing. The method has significant potential in healthcare, environmental conservation, and personal health monitoring.

Researchers explored a colloidal crystal model to produce specific polymorphs, required for use in materials science and pharmaceuticals.

Researchers have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) technique that brings machine vision closer to how the human brain processes images. Called Lp-Convolution, this method improves the accuracy and efficiency of image recognition systems while reducing the computational burden of existing AI models.

Asymmetric interactions between molecules may serve as a stabilizing factor for biological systems. A new model reveals this regulatory role of non-reciprocity. The scientists aim to understand the physical principles based on which particles and molecules are able to form living beings and, eventually, organisms.

Financial benefits, such as saving on utility payments and avoiding electricity rate hikes, are a key driver of U.S. adults' willingness to consider installing rooftop solar panels or subscribing to community solar power, a new study suggests.

Researchers have made a breakthrough discovery that could potentially revolutionize treatments for antibiotic-resistant infections, cancer and other challenging gram-negative pathogens without relying on precious metals.

A planet 140 light-years from Earth is rapidly coming apart due to its close proximity to its star. The roasting planet is effectively evaporating away: It sheds an enormous amount of surface minerals as it whizzes around its star.

A powerful clinical artificial intelligence tool developed by biomedical informatics researchers has demonstrated remarkable accuracy on all three parts of the United States Medical Licensing Exam (Step exams), according to a new article.

An aerodynamic material that mimics shark skin helps planes fly with less drag – and it can be added to existing aircraft like a decal

The exoplanet K2-18b is generating headlines because researchers announced what could be evidence of life on the planet. The JWST detected a pair of atmospheric chemicals that on Earth are produced by living organisms. The astronomers responsible for the results are quick to remind everyone that they have not found life, only chemicals that could indicate the presence of life. The results beg a larger question, though: Can the JWST really ever detect life?

Powering quantum computers with quantum batteries would reduce the energy needed for cooling and enable machines to pack in more qubits

Laboratory experiments have coaxed simple molecules into states that naturally become more complex, hinting at the origins of evolution itself

While walking home yesterday afternoon, I came across this protest sign just off the Quad. Like yesterday’s “installation,” this one was also approved by the University for public display, but I didn’t get a look at who put it up, though there’s a reference to the Instagram site “@ek_taskforce” (environmental justice task force) at the bottom. I’ll check later on.

At any rate, its theme is clear, giving all the reasons why the University of Chicago hates “you”, meaning the campus community.  They including “arresting students” (those students who either attacked cops or violated campus regulations and trespassed; the latter were all let off), “investing in death” (i.e., Israel), evicting local residents, helping destroy the planet, and even “losing millions of dollars on cryptocurrency” (that’s one I haven’t heard.) You can read most of the reasons given, or expletives, but clicking on the photo to enlarge it. It may have been erected to criticize the university on Earth Day.

The hatred of the University here is palpable, including the straightforward “Fuck UChicago” and assertions that “The board of trustees are criminals” and the University “hates people of color.” While I remain a free-speecher, some of my free-speech colleagues think that no “installations” of any kind should be put in the Quad, as they’re said to impede free speech by being corrosive of intellectual discussion and inimical to civil and rational engagement. (As a private university, we aren’t obligated to adhere to the First Amendment on our campus.)  I go back and forth on this, but it’s clear that our Administration favors complete First-Amendmen-legal expressions in the “public square.”

At any rate, what struck me was that those who put up  this “installation” was backwards. The University of Chicago does not hate its community. Rather, the people who put up this sign (and the tent I showed yesterday) hate the University because it doesn’t behave the way they want. And that has led me to think that those people not only favor the destruction of Israel, but also the destruction of Western civilization and Enlightenment values as a whole. Sometimes they say this explicitly, and it’s a recurring theme in Douglas Murray’s speeches and books.  Until recently I hadn’t thought much about that, but now I think it’s worth considering. I surely do not want to live in a world run according to the values of those who erect these installations.

Today we have a batch of lovely photos about acorn woodpeckers (and a few of their relatives) courtesy of UC Davis ecologist Susan Harrison. Susan’s captions are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.

Acorn Woodpeckers:   One to three brides for up to seven brothers

Acorn Woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus) have a rare social system called polygynandry in which multiple parents of both sexes rear offspring collectively. These co-breeders also cooperate to defend a group territory and the all-important granary in which they store acorns for the winter.  An early ornithologist dubbed them “communists,” and long-term field and genetic studies more recently discovered the structure of their social groups.  Up to seven males, often brothers, breed with one to three females that are often sisters and unrelated to the males. Offspring hang around and help at the nest, but when a breeding individual dies in a nearby territory, the erstwhile helpers form single-sex coalitions and initiate dramatic battles to fill the vacancy.

Recently I observed a battle or skirmish among about 15 Acorn Woodpeckers.  The main tactics were chasing, swooping, and making a continual racket.  While it may have been a territorial dispute, it had a slightly laid-back quality that made me wonder if it was simply the sorting out of who would mate with whom.

Acorn Woodpeckers chasing, swooping and yelling:

They also did a behavior called the “waka display” in which the bird perches vertically and spreads its wings while calling waka-waka-waka. This can be a greeting, assembly call, or display of dominance.

Doing the waka display:

Those studying Acorn Woodpeckers, led for many decades by Dr. Walter Koenig, have concluded that the granary is the key to the bird’s remarkable social adaptations.  Trees with thousands of laboriously drilled acorn-shaped holes, which allow the birds to survive winters well fed, are a precious resource that takes a close-knit group to build and defend.

Eating the last of the acorn hoard in spring:

Here are some other birds of the woodpecker tribe that I saw in recent weeks.

Red-breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber), appearing to eat scale insects from the bark of a Madrone (Arbutus menziesii):

Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus), the crow-sized king of the forest: