Curio Cabinet / Nerdy Curio
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FREEScience Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
We might want to come up with a less dramatic name for this. In a paper published in The Astrophysical Journal, researchers from the University of California in Irvine, U.S., argue that there may be conditions hospitable to life in the terminator of tidally-locked planets. The terminator is the line dividing night and day on a planet. On Earth, it makes its way around once a day as the planet rotates, but on tidally-locked planets, the same side of the planet always faces its sun. This means that the star-facing side of the planet gets extremely hot, while the other side gets extremely cold. But in the terminator zone there is perpetual twilight, and perhaps a stable enough environment to host life. Researchers determined this by modeling the climate on a tidally-locked planet. They found that the terminator can sustain a stable, life-friendly temperature, but there are other factors to consider. For example, a planet that has too much water might be perpetually covered in clouds that engulf the entire surface, blocking light. Life is unlikely to develop or flourish under those conditions, but with enough land, there could be what the researchers call “terminator habitability.” If life could exist in the terminator zone, it would vastly increase the number of planets that could potentially contain life, since around 70 percent of stars are M-dwarf stars which are often orbited by tidally-locked planets. Terminators? More like incubators.
[Image description: A digital illustration of a distant planet’s surface beneath a nebula and a rising sun.] Credit & copyright: Luminas_Art, Pixabay
We might want to come up with a less dramatic name for this. In a paper published in The Astrophysical Journal, researchers from the University of California in Irvine, U.S., argue that there may be conditions hospitable to life in the terminator of tidally-locked planets. The terminator is the line dividing night and day on a planet. On Earth, it makes its way around once a day as the planet rotates, but on tidally-locked planets, the same side of the planet always faces its sun. This means that the star-facing side of the planet gets extremely hot, while the other side gets extremely cold. But in the terminator zone there is perpetual twilight, and perhaps a stable enough environment to host life. Researchers determined this by modeling the climate on a tidally-locked planet. They found that the terminator can sustain a stable, life-friendly temperature, but there are other factors to consider. For example, a planet that has too much water might be perpetually covered in clouds that engulf the entire surface, blocking light. Life is unlikely to develop or flourish under those conditions, but with enough land, there could be what the researchers call “terminator habitability.” If life could exist in the terminator zone, it would vastly increase the number of planets that could potentially contain life, since around 70 percent of stars are M-dwarf stars which are often orbited by tidally-locked planets. Terminators? More like incubators.
[Image description: A digital illustration of a distant planet’s surface beneath a nebula and a rising sun.] Credit & copyright: Luminas_Art, Pixabay
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FREEWork Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
Sometimes a business may fail…but when that business is a bank, it can cause a lot of trouble. The business world has been abuzz following the recent failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the biggest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. Problems at SVB were likely the result of several factors. One is the 2018 rollback of some federal banking regulations. Before 2018, banks with at least $50 billion in assets had to be looked over by the government each year and meet certain requirements to go on operating, including maintaining certain levels of capital—resources to absorb losses. SVB’s own CEO, Greg Becker, spoke out against these regulations in 2015. Once they were rolled back, SVB was able to engage in riskier banking behavior, which was another factor in the bank’s failure. For example, SVB Financial Group allowed customers, many of whom were companies in the tech industry, to make deposits of more than $250,000 at a time. Such large deposits are not insured. In other words, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) won’t cover deposits over that amount, should the bank fail. Eventually, things came to a head when government hikes on interest rates caused SVB Financial Group to lose value, which spooked depositors and caused a large number of them to withdraw their funds at once. The ensuing bank failure led to a brief panic, but on March 26, the FDIC announced that they would be extending deposit insurance to almost all of SVB’s customers, even those who wouldn’t normally qualify for it. The FDIC then placed all of SVB’s remaining assets into a bridge bank—a regulated organization that will operate the insolvent bank until a buyer is found. And it seems that a buyer is already working to take over what remains of SVB. First Citizens BancShares, a longtime rival of SVB, may soon take ownership. Here’s hoping things run more smoothly this time around.
[Image description: A screen showing numbers from the stock market] Credit & copyright: AhmadArdity, PixabaySometimes a business may fail…but when that business is a bank, it can cause a lot of trouble. The business world has been abuzz following the recent failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the biggest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. Problems at SVB were likely the result of several factors. One is the 2018 rollback of some federal banking regulations. Before 2018, banks with at least $50 billion in assets had to be looked over by the government each year and meet certain requirements to go on operating, including maintaining certain levels of capital—resources to absorb losses. SVB’s own CEO, Greg Becker, spoke out against these regulations in 2015. Once they were rolled back, SVB was able to engage in riskier banking behavior, which was another factor in the bank’s failure. For example, SVB Financial Group allowed customers, many of whom were companies in the tech industry, to make deposits of more than $250,000 at a time. Such large deposits are not insured. In other words, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) won’t cover deposits over that amount, should the bank fail. Eventually, things came to a head when government hikes on interest rates caused SVB Financial Group to lose value, which spooked depositors and caused a large number of them to withdraw their funds at once. The ensuing bank failure led to a brief panic, but on March 26, the FDIC announced that they would be extending deposit insurance to almost all of SVB’s customers, even those who wouldn’t normally qualify for it. The FDIC then placed all of SVB’s remaining assets into a bridge bank—a regulated organization that will operate the insolvent bank until a buyer is found. And it seems that a buyer is already working to take over what remains of SVB. First Citizens BancShares, a longtime rival of SVB, may soon take ownership. Here’s hoping things run more smoothly this time around.
[Image description: A screen showing numbers from the stock market] Credit & copyright: AhmadArdity, Pixabay -
FREEScience Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
So you’ve managed to get to Mars—now what? Getting to the Red Planet is one thing, but another head-scratcher that scientists have been trying to solve is how to feed the first humans who will land on Mars once they get there. According to a study presented during the 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference by researchers from the University of Arkansas, the answer may be a heaping bowl of rice. Researcher Abhilash Ramachandran and his team have demonstrated that it might be possible to grow rice in Martian soil. The biggest hurdle is the presence of perchlorate, a toxic chemical that is found on the surface of Mars. Researchers found that rice could grow in simulated Martian soil without any perchlorate, so they moved on to identifying varieties of rice that would be resilient against the chemical. What they found was that rice with the modified gene, SnRK1a was able to grow in soil with 1 gram of perchlorate per kilogram. While the plant only managed to grow a root and a shoot—a far cry from an abundant field of rice—identifying the gene responsible is a major step toward being able to grow food on Mars. The next step is to further experiment with SnRK1a to create a cultivar that is resistant to the toxic chemical. Some people might prefer organic to GMO, but you don’t have much of a choice when you’re millions of miles from the nearest grocery store.
[Image description: A photograph of Mars.] Credit & copyright: WikiImages, Pixabay
So you’ve managed to get to Mars—now what? Getting to the Red Planet is one thing, but another head-scratcher that scientists have been trying to solve is how to feed the first humans who will land on Mars once they get there. According to a study presented during the 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference by researchers from the University of Arkansas, the answer may be a heaping bowl of rice. Researcher Abhilash Ramachandran and his team have demonstrated that it might be possible to grow rice in Martian soil. The biggest hurdle is the presence of perchlorate, a toxic chemical that is found on the surface of Mars. Researchers found that rice could grow in simulated Martian soil without any perchlorate, so they moved on to identifying varieties of rice that would be resilient against the chemical. What they found was that rice with the modified gene, SnRK1a was able to grow in soil with 1 gram of perchlorate per kilogram. While the plant only managed to grow a root and a shoot—a far cry from an abundant field of rice—identifying the gene responsible is a major step toward being able to grow food on Mars. The next step is to further experiment with SnRK1a to create a cultivar that is resistant to the toxic chemical. Some people might prefer organic to GMO, but you don’t have much of a choice when you’re millions of miles from the nearest grocery store.
[Image description: A photograph of Mars.] Credit & copyright: WikiImages, Pixabay
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FREEEntrepreneurship Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
Breaking a smartphone case may be easy, but breaking into a saturated market is tough. Colorful smartphone cases can be found just about anywhere, from mall bodegas to truck stops. They’re so ubiquitous that creating a new type of case that consumers haven’t seen before is a somewhat herculean task. Enter Wes Ng and Ronald Yeung, co-founders of Casetify. Launched a decade ago during the height of instagram’s popularity, Casetify made a name for itself by allowing customers to create custom phone cases by printing their own photos onto them. Realizing that it would be tough to get the word out about their product when so many other phone case companies existed, the Hong Kong-based entrepreneurs began reaching out to some of instagram’s first big influencers for marketing purposes. Today, influencer marketing is extremely common, but at the time of Casetify’s founding it was still a new and largely untested way of doing things. As the years went by and the company’s popularity grew, Ng and Yeung deployed new strategies to stay relevant in the ever-popular phone case market, including marketing with bigger celebrities, and partnering with artists and franchises to create case collections that would appeal to specific fan groups. At the same time, they grew their recognition in the tech world by engineering tougher, crack-resistant cases to protect high-end phones. Today, Casetify is one of the best-known phone case brands in the world, earning around $300 million per year. While they continue to market through influencers on Instagram, Ng and Yeung have been careful to stay on top of the changing social media landscape, marketing through Youtubers and on TikTok as well. The modern business world sits still for no brand.
[Image description: A display case filled with phone cases.] Credit & copyright: ArtisticOperations, Pixabay. (Phone cases shown are not associated with Casetify and aren’t meant to endorse Casetify)Breaking a smartphone case may be easy, but breaking into a saturated market is tough. Colorful smartphone cases can be found just about anywhere, from mall bodegas to truck stops. They’re so ubiquitous that creating a new type of case that consumers haven’t seen before is a somewhat herculean task. Enter Wes Ng and Ronald Yeung, co-founders of Casetify. Launched a decade ago during the height of instagram’s popularity, Casetify made a name for itself by allowing customers to create custom phone cases by printing their own photos onto them. Realizing that it would be tough to get the word out about their product when so many other phone case companies existed, the Hong Kong-based entrepreneurs began reaching out to some of instagram’s first big influencers for marketing purposes. Today, influencer marketing is extremely common, but at the time of Casetify’s founding it was still a new and largely untested way of doing things. As the years went by and the company’s popularity grew, Ng and Yeung deployed new strategies to stay relevant in the ever-popular phone case market, including marketing with bigger celebrities, and partnering with artists and franchises to create case collections that would appeal to specific fan groups. At the same time, they grew their recognition in the tech world by engineering tougher, crack-resistant cases to protect high-end phones. Today, Casetify is one of the best-known phone case brands in the world, earning around $300 million per year. While they continue to market through influencers on Instagram, Ng and Yeung have been careful to stay on top of the changing social media landscape, marketing through Youtubers and on TikTok as well. The modern business world sits still for no brand.
[Image description: A display case filled with phone cases.] Credit & copyright: ArtisticOperations, Pixabay. (Phone cases shown are not associated with Casetify and aren’t meant to endorse Casetify) -
FREEBiology Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
What secrets might lie in the mind of a fly? According to a paper published in the journal Science Advances, scientists at the University of Cambridge have managed to completely map out the connections in the brain of a fruit fly larva (Drosophila melanogaster). Before this study, scientists had mapped out the brains of a sea squirt and two species of worms. While A fruit fly might not seem more sophisticated than these organisms, they’re actually leagues apart. In contrast to just a few hundred neurons in the brains of the three previous specimens, fruit flies have around 3,000 neurons, 500,000 synapses (the connections between the neurons), and 93 different types of neurons. Fruit flies also display much more complex behavior, even demonstrating the ability to learn, a trait they share with humans to a limited degree. In fact, learning seems to be the predominant function of the brain even in the tiny fruit fly larva. After mapping out the connections between the neurons, researchers found that around 75 percent of them were linked to the learning center of the brain. There are also regions in the brain that are responsible for decision making and navigation, revealing that the humble fruit fly may have a more complicated inner life than previously assumed. While researchers are still a long way from mapping out more complex organisms, they stated that this could be a reference map. Of course, they’ll have a whole lot more to explain if they ever decide to map out a human brain!
[Image description: A fruit fly larva on a gray surface.] Credit & copyright: AndreasGoellner, Pixabay
What secrets might lie in the mind of a fly? According to a paper published in the journal Science Advances, scientists at the University of Cambridge have managed to completely map out the connections in the brain of a fruit fly larva (Drosophila melanogaster). Before this study, scientists had mapped out the brains of a sea squirt and two species of worms. While A fruit fly might not seem more sophisticated than these organisms, they’re actually leagues apart. In contrast to just a few hundred neurons in the brains of the three previous specimens, fruit flies have around 3,000 neurons, 500,000 synapses (the connections between the neurons), and 93 different types of neurons. Fruit flies also display much more complex behavior, even demonstrating the ability to learn, a trait they share with humans to a limited degree. In fact, learning seems to be the predominant function of the brain even in the tiny fruit fly larva. After mapping out the connections between the neurons, researchers found that around 75 percent of them were linked to the learning center of the brain. There are also regions in the brain that are responsible for decision making and navigation, revealing that the humble fruit fly may have a more complicated inner life than previously assumed. While researchers are still a long way from mapping out more complex organisms, they stated that this could be a reference map. Of course, they’ll have a whole lot more to explain if they ever decide to map out a human brain!
[Image description: A fruit fly larva on a gray surface.] Credit & copyright: AndreasGoellner, Pixabay
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FREEEntrepreneurship Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
Gone are the days of low-tech fish-raising. At least, that’s the case for fish farmers. These days, it can be hard to produce enough fish to make ends meet, but one unusual business is working to change that for cash-strapped fish farmers in Indonesia. Indonesian entrepreneur Gibran Huzaifah Amsi El Farizy is the founder of eFishery, a startup that began as a way for Farizy to make a bigger profit from his own rented fish ponds. eFishery creates automatic feeders that can be controlled remotely via smartphone, as well as fish food and an app that helps farmers locate places to sell their catch directly, rather than relying on expensive middleman sellers. Automatic feeders can greatly reduce costs for fish farmers, since traditional hand-feeding can result in overfeeding, which leads to dirty water, or under-feeding, which leads fish to reproduce less. Automatic feeders can track fishes’ movements to determine how hungry they are (sluggish fish are hungry fish) and dispense just the right amount of food.
Although Indonesian fish farmers tend to be traditional, Farizy was able to convince one farmer, who owned around 1,000 ponds, to install some of his feeders for free. The results were so good that when the trial period was over, the farmer agreed to pay for the feeders, and word spread through the agricultural community. Today, eFishery is one of the biggest startups in the fish-farming industry, with around 60,000 customers. They’re certainly not small fry.
[Image description: A group of farmed tilapia swim in shallow water.] Credit & copyright: 1CzPhoto, PixabayGone are the days of low-tech fish-raising. At least, that’s the case for fish farmers. These days, it can be hard to produce enough fish to make ends meet, but one unusual business is working to change that for cash-strapped fish farmers in Indonesia. Indonesian entrepreneur Gibran Huzaifah Amsi El Farizy is the founder of eFishery, a startup that began as a way for Farizy to make a bigger profit from his own rented fish ponds. eFishery creates automatic feeders that can be controlled remotely via smartphone, as well as fish food and an app that helps farmers locate places to sell their catch directly, rather than relying on expensive middleman sellers. Automatic feeders can greatly reduce costs for fish farmers, since traditional hand-feeding can result in overfeeding, which leads to dirty water, or under-feeding, which leads fish to reproduce less. Automatic feeders can track fishes’ movements to determine how hungry they are (sluggish fish are hungry fish) and dispense just the right amount of food.
Although Indonesian fish farmers tend to be traditional, Farizy was able to convince one farmer, who owned around 1,000 ponds, to install some of his feeders for free. The results were so good that when the trial period was over, the farmer agreed to pay for the feeders, and word spread through the agricultural community. Today, eFishery is one of the biggest startups in the fish-farming industry, with around 60,000 customers. They’re certainly not small fry.
[Image description: A group of farmed tilapia swim in shallow water.] Credit & copyright: 1CzPhoto, Pixabay -
FREEScience Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
It's Flashback Friday, and the anniversary of the first successful telephone call back in 1876. Enjoy these curios all about phones and communication!
You’ve heard it before: newfangled smart technology is rotting our brains and turning us into dullards. Only, according to a paper published July 1 in the journal Nature Human Behavior, that actually isn’t true. The paper, authored by three researchers from the University of Cincinnati, asserts that there is no evidence that smartphones or other smart technology is making people any dumber. In fact, such devices might actually improve cognitive performance in an interesting way.
It makes sense why so many assume that smartphones are bad for our brains. Who needs to memorize complicated math when your phone has a calculator, or learn how to properly read a map when GPS can do it for you? Surely, such convenience makes us lazy. But, according to Dr. Anthony Chemero, a behavioral expert and one of the paper’s co-authors, smartphones actually free up room in people’s minds by lessening the burden of tedious tasks. “Given what people do with their lives now, their ability to memorize things like fifteen-digit long division is just not very relevant," Chemero said, in a statement. "And [smart technology] can enable us to do other things with that mental energy.”
Previous studies, such as a 2019 one out of Macquarie University in Australia, have seemed to show that technology impedes cognitive function, but Chemero contends that such research is flawed. “There have been some scientific studies of human performance with and without smartphones, and they indicate that if people have their smartphone handy, they do less well at cognitively demanding tasks,” he said. “And [my co-authors and I] argue that this actually doesn't show that your phone makes you less intelligent; instead, it shows that you're more interested in your phone than in a difficult, annoying, boring task.” In other words, although smartphones may limit our attention spans, especially as they apply to tasks we find boring, they don’t really hinder our overall ability to think. “[The data] doesn't actually show that your smartphone is making you stupid...it's showing that people are just thinking differently—they're being intelligent in different ways,” said Chemero. At least I can rest easy knowing that my social media addiction isn’t technically sapping my brain!
[Image description: A smartphone with a map pulled up on screen, clipped inside a car.] Credit & copyright: DariuszSankowski, PixabayIt's Flashback Friday, and the anniversary of the first successful telephone call back in 1876. Enjoy these curios all about phones and communication!
You’ve heard it before: newfangled smart technology is rotting our brains and turning us into dullards. Only, according to a paper published July 1 in the journal Nature Human Behavior, that actually isn’t true. The paper, authored by three researchers from the University of Cincinnati, asserts that there is no evidence that smartphones or other smart technology is making people any dumber. In fact, such devices might actually improve cognitive performance in an interesting way.
It makes sense why so many assume that smartphones are bad for our brains. Who needs to memorize complicated math when your phone has a calculator, or learn how to properly read a map when GPS can do it for you? Surely, such convenience makes us lazy. But, according to Dr. Anthony Chemero, a behavioral expert and one of the paper’s co-authors, smartphones actually free up room in people’s minds by lessening the burden of tedious tasks. “Given what people do with their lives now, their ability to memorize things like fifteen-digit long division is just not very relevant," Chemero said, in a statement. "And [smart technology] can enable us to do other things with that mental energy.”
Previous studies, such as a 2019 one out of Macquarie University in Australia, have seemed to show that technology impedes cognitive function, but Chemero contends that such research is flawed. “There have been some scientific studies of human performance with and without smartphones, and they indicate that if people have their smartphone handy, they do less well at cognitively demanding tasks,” he said. “And [my co-authors and I] argue that this actually doesn't show that your phone makes you less intelligent; instead, it shows that you're more interested in your phone than in a difficult, annoying, boring task.” In other words, although smartphones may limit our attention spans, especially as they apply to tasks we find boring, they don’t really hinder our overall ability to think. “[The data] doesn't actually show that your smartphone is making you stupid...it's showing that people are just thinking differently—they're being intelligent in different ways,” said Chemero. At least I can rest easy knowing that my social media addiction isn’t technically sapping my brain!
[Image description: A smartphone with a map pulled up on screen, clipped inside a car.] Credit & copyright: DariuszSankowski, Pixabay -
FREEBiology Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
No, these dogs don’t glow in the dark, but they may brighten up your day. Scientists from the National Human Genome Research Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, and the Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, Poland, published a paper earlier this month in the journal Science Advances. Their study reveals insights into how generational exposure to radiation can affect genetic markers in a way that hasn’t been possible to study before. Their main research subjects were the semi-feral dogs that live around the nuclear reactor in Chernobyl. When the city was abandoned after the 1986 nuclear disaster, many people fled in such a rush that they left their dogs behind. Since then, generations of feral dogs have made the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone their home.
The researchers looked at the 302 dogs that live in the area and mapped out their family structures, tracking the genetic differences between different family groups. Due to living with constant exposure to low-dose radiation, an elevated chance of mutations were expected. In wild animal populations, these have manifested as cataracts and other ailments leading to shorter lifespans. However, while the dogs in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone are genetically distinct from other dog populations, it’s unclear whether that’s because of radiation or plain old isolation. That ambiguity is actually an encouraging sign that low-dose radiation may not pose nearly as much danger as previously thought, although caution should still be exercised. At the very least, a better understanding of how these dogs continue to be affected over the years could lead to more accurate risk-assessment for humans in similarly radioactive environments, like with long-term space-travel. These pups have a surprisingly propitious potential for posterity![Image description: A shaggy brown dog lies alone in a grassy field near a stone wall.] Credit & copyright: AlexKantsur, Pixabay
No, these dogs don’t glow in the dark, but they may brighten up your day. Scientists from the National Human Genome Research Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, and the Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, Poland, published a paper earlier this month in the journal Science Advances. Their study reveals insights into how generational exposure to radiation can affect genetic markers in a way that hasn’t been possible to study before. Their main research subjects were the semi-feral dogs that live around the nuclear reactor in Chernobyl. When the city was abandoned after the 1986 nuclear disaster, many people fled in such a rush that they left their dogs behind. Since then, generations of feral dogs have made the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone their home.
The researchers looked at the 302 dogs that live in the area and mapped out their family structures, tracking the genetic differences between different family groups. Due to living with constant exposure to low-dose radiation, an elevated chance of mutations were expected. In wild animal populations, these have manifested as cataracts and other ailments leading to shorter lifespans. However, while the dogs in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone are genetically distinct from other dog populations, it’s unclear whether that’s because of radiation or plain old isolation. That ambiguity is actually an encouraging sign that low-dose radiation may not pose nearly as much danger as previously thought, although caution should still be exercised. At the very least, a better understanding of how these dogs continue to be affected over the years could lead to more accurate risk-assessment for humans in similarly radioactive environments, like with long-term space-travel. These pups have a surprisingly propitious potential for posterity![Image description: A shaggy brown dog lies alone in a grassy field near a stone wall.] Credit & copyright: AlexKantsur, Pixabay
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FREESocial Media Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
Gravity doesn’t mean much in virtual reality, yet this digital world is struggling to get off the ground. When Facebook’s parent company rebranded as Meta in 2022, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company was heading in a bold new direction; it would develop a virtual world called the metaverse, in which people around the world could interact and share experiences in an entirely new way. So far though, things don’t seem to be going according to plan. The company launched a virtual reality game, Horizon Worlds, to serve as an early proof-of-concept…but it has proved unpopular. Meta’s stock price even dropped almost 60 percent since Zuckerberg’s announcement, which seems like a sign that investors don’t see the metaverse overtaking traditional social media any time soon. This year, Meta is even dealing with some political problems. As research continues to show the negative impact of social media on kids and teens, the U.S. government has begun to show interest in limiting its influence over young people. Two senators, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, recently sent a letter to Zuckerberg asking him to quash his plans to allow kids as young as 13 to use the Horizon Worlds metaverse platform. “With a documented track record of failure to protect children and teens, Meta has lost parents’, pediatricians’, policymakers’, and the public’s trust,” the letter stated. Yikes. Not exactly the warm welcome that Facebook received back in the day.
[Image description: A man punches the air while wearing a VR headset in front of a purple background.] Credit & copyright: capondesign, PixabayGravity doesn’t mean much in virtual reality, yet this digital world is struggling to get off the ground. When Facebook’s parent company rebranded as Meta in 2022, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company was heading in a bold new direction; it would develop a virtual world called the metaverse, in which people around the world could interact and share experiences in an entirely new way. So far though, things don’t seem to be going according to plan. The company launched a virtual reality game, Horizon Worlds, to serve as an early proof-of-concept…but it has proved unpopular. Meta’s stock price even dropped almost 60 percent since Zuckerberg’s announcement, which seems like a sign that investors don’t see the metaverse overtaking traditional social media any time soon. This year, Meta is even dealing with some political problems. As research continues to show the negative impact of social media on kids and teens, the U.S. government has begun to show interest in limiting its influence over young people. Two senators, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, recently sent a letter to Zuckerberg asking him to quash his plans to allow kids as young as 13 to use the Horizon Worlds metaverse platform. “With a documented track record of failure to protect children and teens, Meta has lost parents’, pediatricians’, policymakers’, and the public’s trust,” the letter stated. Yikes. Not exactly the warm welcome that Facebook received back in the day.
[Image description: A man punches the air while wearing a VR headset in front of a purple background.] Credit & copyright: capondesign, Pixabay -
FREEScience Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
The sky doesn’t need to be falling for things to get bad. Climate change is heating things up globally, but it’s also causing some unexpected localized catastrophes, according to an analysis of satellite data by scientists at the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia in Granada, Spain, and the Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Weßling, Germany. Their findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, shows that rising temperatures might be responsible for a phenomenon known as Long-Continuing-Current (LCC) lightning flashes, which are much more likely to start wildfires. Lightning is already responsible for igniting most wildfires, and rising temperatures are already leading to more lighting strikes on land, but LCC is particularly dangerous because, as its name suggests, it lasts longer after striking the ground. While typical lightning lasts a matter of microseconds, LCC can last between 0.04 seconds to around 0.3 seconds. The researchers behind the study estimate that for every 1.8 degree rise in temperature, there may be a 10 percent increase in the flash rate of LCC globally, leading to a rate of four per second by 2090. Already, LCC might be responsible for the majority of lightning induced wildfires, accounting for around 90 percent of the approximately 5,600 wildfires in the U.S., even though they make up only 10 percent of all lighting strikes. Is it getting hot out here, or what?
[Image description: Lightning flashes against a purple sky.] Credit & copyright: ronomore, Pixabay
The sky doesn’t need to be falling for things to get bad. Climate change is heating things up globally, but it’s also causing some unexpected localized catastrophes, according to an analysis of satellite data by scientists at the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia in Granada, Spain, and the Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Weßling, Germany. Their findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, shows that rising temperatures might be responsible for a phenomenon known as Long-Continuing-Current (LCC) lightning flashes, which are much more likely to start wildfires. Lightning is already responsible for igniting most wildfires, and rising temperatures are already leading to more lighting strikes on land, but LCC is particularly dangerous because, as its name suggests, it lasts longer after striking the ground. While typical lightning lasts a matter of microseconds, LCC can last between 0.04 seconds to around 0.3 seconds. The researchers behind the study estimate that for every 1.8 degree rise in temperature, there may be a 10 percent increase in the flash rate of LCC globally, leading to a rate of four per second by 2090. Already, LCC might be responsible for the majority of lightning induced wildfires, accounting for around 90 percent of the approximately 5,600 wildfires in the U.S., even though they make up only 10 percent of all lighting strikes. Is it getting hot out here, or what?
[Image description: Lightning flashes against a purple sky.] Credit & copyright: ronomore, Pixabay
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FREEGames Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
Professional athlete, we choose you! In a career move that has shocked plenty of American football fans, New York Giants linebacker Blake Martinez recently quit the NFL to pursue a very different line of work: selling Pokémon cards online. While it may seem wacky to some, especially considering that Martinez was a talented enough football player to co-lead the NFL in tackles in 2017, but Pokémon cards have become big business in recent years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people started watching Youtube and TikTok videos of influencers opening rare packs of cards. Not only was it nostalgic, low-stakes entertainment, it was a chance to see rare cards unearthed. Before long, influencers were buying and selling unopened boxes of cards for impressive sums of money—sometimes tens of thousands of dollars. Certain rare cards sold for even more, kicking off a trend that is still ongoing. After jumping on the trend himself during the pandemic, Martinez grew to love the thrill of opening cards live online. In 2022, he left the NFL for good, founding his own company, Blake’s Breaks, in July of that year. Later, he sold a single, rare card for $672,000. As of now, Martinez has brought in over $5 million selling cards on Whatnot, a collectible reselling platform. Of course, not all Pokémon cards are valuable. In fact, most are worth between just one to fifty dollars, at most. So, for those hoping to break into the card-reselling business, the most important step is to learn about the card game first, and what things (like age and condition) make some cards so valuable. There are over 1,000 Pokémon, so you may want to start studying now.
[Image description: Various Pokémon cards on a wooden surface.] Credit & copyright: federicoghedini, PixabayProfessional athlete, we choose you! In a career move that has shocked plenty of American football fans, New York Giants linebacker Blake Martinez recently quit the NFL to pursue a very different line of work: selling Pokémon cards online. While it may seem wacky to some, especially considering that Martinez was a talented enough football player to co-lead the NFL in tackles in 2017, but Pokémon cards have become big business in recent years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people started watching Youtube and TikTok videos of influencers opening rare packs of cards. Not only was it nostalgic, low-stakes entertainment, it was a chance to see rare cards unearthed. Before long, influencers were buying and selling unopened boxes of cards for impressive sums of money—sometimes tens of thousands of dollars. Certain rare cards sold for even more, kicking off a trend that is still ongoing. After jumping on the trend himself during the pandemic, Martinez grew to love the thrill of opening cards live online. In 2022, he left the NFL for good, founding his own company, Blake’s Breaks, in July of that year. Later, he sold a single, rare card for $672,000. As of now, Martinez has brought in over $5 million selling cards on Whatnot, a collectible reselling platform. Of course, not all Pokémon cards are valuable. In fact, most are worth between just one to fifty dollars, at most. So, for those hoping to break into the card-reselling business, the most important step is to learn about the card game first, and what things (like age and condition) make some cards so valuable. There are over 1,000 Pokémon, so you may want to start studying now.
[Image description: Various Pokémon cards on a wooden surface.] Credit & copyright: federicoghedini, Pixabay -
FREEScience Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
This is cooler than any action movie explosion. A kilonova, or an explosion of two colliding neutron stars, has finally been described in detail by astronomers working at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, with their findings published in the journal Nature. Operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the VLT originally observed the kilonova back in 2017, causing a stir in the astronomy community. Chief among the reasons for the excitement is that the explosion is the first of its kind to be observed and described in detail decades after its existence was first proposed in 1974. It wasn’t until relatively recently, in 2013, that the existence of kilonovas was officially confirmed. The kilonova observed in 2017 resulted when the remnants of two neutron stars with a combined mass 2.7 times that of our sun collided after having orbited each other for billions of years. What resulted from that cataclysmic union was something that astronomers described as a “perfect explosion,” a sphere as bright as a billion suns (at least in its first days) with a magnetic field so powerful it could distort atoms. In addition, the material that was on the outside of the collision shot out in streamers with such intensity that it formed heavy elements like gold and platinum. The process behind this explosion and the inner goings-on of the kilonova are shedding new light into the fundamentals of physics, and the researchers say that it may lead to further insights into the nature of the universe. It’s so bright, it’s enlightening!
[Image description: A purple nebula surrounded by stars.] Credit & copyright: Placidplace, Pixabay
This is cooler than any action movie explosion. A kilonova, or an explosion of two colliding neutron stars, has finally been described in detail by astronomers working at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, with their findings published in the journal Nature. Operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the VLT originally observed the kilonova back in 2017, causing a stir in the astronomy community. Chief among the reasons for the excitement is that the explosion is the first of its kind to be observed and described in detail decades after its existence was first proposed in 1974. It wasn’t until relatively recently, in 2013, that the existence of kilonovas was officially confirmed. The kilonova observed in 2017 resulted when the remnants of two neutron stars with a combined mass 2.7 times that of our sun collided after having orbited each other for billions of years. What resulted from that cataclysmic union was something that astronomers described as a “perfect explosion,” a sphere as bright as a billion suns (at least in its first days) with a magnetic field so powerful it could distort atoms. In addition, the material that was on the outside of the collision shot out in streamers with such intensity that it formed heavy elements like gold and platinum. The process behind this explosion and the inner goings-on of the kilonova are shedding new light into the fundamentals of physics, and the researchers say that it may lead to further insights into the nature of the universe. It’s so bright, it’s enlightening!
[Image description: A purple nebula surrounded by stars.] Credit & copyright: Placidplace, Pixabay
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FREEManagement Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
Time to take an executive action. Flexjobs, an online platform where users can post listings or search for remote work, has released a list of this year’s most in-demand freelance jobs. Though some might expect technology-based jobs to top the list in our tech-obsessed world, the number one job was actually filled by executive assistant positions. Working from home was once the privilege of a lucky few, but in recent years, it is increasingly becoming the norm for administrative work because it allows employers to obtain talent from anywhere, regardless of distance. Lately, even jobs that once required a physical presence in an office have transitioned into remote positions. With an annual mean wage of $66,870, the salary of a remote executive assistant is nothing to sneeze at, so what exactly does the position entail? Executive assistants manage an executive’s busy schedule, take phone calls and answer emails on their behalf. They are also the ones usually responsible for making business travel arrangements, greeting clients, and taking minutes during meetings. At one time, this would have been difficult to do remotely. But with work-from-home arrangements and virtual meetings becoming ever more ubiquitous, it’s much less of an issue than in the past. The future will see you now.
[Image description: A business man sits at a table as another person presents a folder of information to him.] Credit & copyright: Pexels, Sora ShimazakiTime to take an executive action. Flexjobs, an online platform where users can post listings or search for remote work, has released a list of this year’s most in-demand freelance jobs. Though some might expect technology-based jobs to top the list in our tech-obsessed world, the number one job was actually filled by executive assistant positions. Working from home was once the privilege of a lucky few, but in recent years, it is increasingly becoming the norm for administrative work because it allows employers to obtain talent from anywhere, regardless of distance. Lately, even jobs that once required a physical presence in an office have transitioned into remote positions. With an annual mean wage of $66,870, the salary of a remote executive assistant is nothing to sneeze at, so what exactly does the position entail? Executive assistants manage an executive’s busy schedule, take phone calls and answer emails on their behalf. They are also the ones usually responsible for making business travel arrangements, greeting clients, and taking minutes during meetings. At one time, this would have been difficult to do remotely. But with work-from-home arrangements and virtual meetings becoming ever more ubiquitous, it’s much less of an issue than in the past. The future will see you now.
[Image description: A business man sits at a table as another person presents a folder of information to him.] Credit & copyright: Pexels, Sora Shimazaki -
FREEBiology Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
They’re unique as snowflakes, but science is just now discovering why. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have finally discovered the mechanism behind the formation of individuals’ unique fingerprints, according to a study published in the journal Cell. It’s a relatively small detail of a person’s overall makeup, but fingerprints are never identical between two people—not even between identical twins. Barring some genetic fluke, everyone has fingerprints in the form of swirling ridges, but it’s always been a bit of a mystery how and why they’re so distinct. That’s partly because fingerprints form during fetal development, the details of which are obviously difficult to fully document. But now, the researchers behind the study have identified the protein molecules that control the formation of fingerprint ridges and how they work. Every fingertip has three regions from which the ridges emerge: the tip, the middle and the crease at the joint where the finger bends, and these regions contain three different protein molecules—WNT, EDAR and BMP. WNT tells the skin to form ridges and form more EDAR, and EDAR in turn boosts WNT activity, while the odd one out, BMP, tells the skin when to stop producing ridges. Interestingly, these protein molecules also play a part in the development of sweat glands and the distribution of hair follicles, meaning that understanding fingerprint formation could lead to discoveries related to skin disorders. It’s just the fingertip of the iceberg.
[Image description: A black-and-white photo of a fingerprint.] Credit & copyright: stux, Pixabay
They’re unique as snowflakes, but science is just now discovering why. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have finally discovered the mechanism behind the formation of individuals’ unique fingerprints, according to a study published in the journal Cell. It’s a relatively small detail of a person’s overall makeup, but fingerprints are never identical between two people—not even between identical twins. Barring some genetic fluke, everyone has fingerprints in the form of swirling ridges, but it’s always been a bit of a mystery how and why they’re so distinct. That’s partly because fingerprints form during fetal development, the details of which are obviously difficult to fully document. But now, the researchers behind the study have identified the protein molecules that control the formation of fingerprint ridges and how they work. Every fingertip has three regions from which the ridges emerge: the tip, the middle and the crease at the joint where the finger bends, and these regions contain three different protein molecules—WNT, EDAR and BMP. WNT tells the skin to form ridges and form more EDAR, and EDAR in turn boosts WNT activity, while the odd one out, BMP, tells the skin when to stop producing ridges. Interestingly, these protein molecules also play a part in the development of sweat glands and the distribution of hair follicles, meaning that understanding fingerprint formation could lead to discoveries related to skin disorders. It’s just the fingertip of the iceberg.
[Image description: A black-and-white photo of a fingerprint.] Credit & copyright: stux, Pixabay
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FREEMarriage Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
It's Flashback Friday, and almost Valentine’s Day! In honor of the holiday, enjoy these curios all about love and relationships.
Put this Curio into the "I'm not sure how some of these studies get funded" folder. An Ohio State University psychologist conducted a study involving voodoo dolls and hungry couples. Couples were asked to take home voodoo dolls of their spouse and stab them every evening for three weeks, based on how angry they were at the time with their soul mate. The subjects also measured their blood sugar level each evening. It turns out that those suffering from low blood sugar were significantly angrier with their spouses. In other words, people who are hangry--the technical term for hunger-induced anger-- don't spare their spouse from their vitriol. In fact, subjects who had low blood glucose stuck over twice the amount of pins in their dolls! Maybe it's just that their hanger causes them to make worse marital decisions?
[Image description: A voodoo doll with red pins in its body lays against a smoky brown background.] Credit & copyright: Desertrose7, PixabayIt's Flashback Friday, and almost Valentine’s Day! In honor of the holiday, enjoy these curios all about love and relationships.
Put this Curio into the "I'm not sure how some of these studies get funded" folder. An Ohio State University psychologist conducted a study involving voodoo dolls and hungry couples. Couples were asked to take home voodoo dolls of their spouse and stab them every evening for three weeks, based on how angry they were at the time with their soul mate. The subjects also measured their blood sugar level each evening. It turns out that those suffering from low blood sugar were significantly angrier with their spouses. In other words, people who are hangry--the technical term for hunger-induced anger-- don't spare their spouse from their vitriol. In fact, subjects who had low blood glucose stuck over twice the amount of pins in their dolls! Maybe it's just that their hanger causes them to make worse marital decisions?
[Image description: A voodoo doll with red pins in its body lays against a smoky brown background.] Credit & copyright: Desertrose7, Pixabay -
FREEBiology Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
If you’ve ever been alone in the woods and felt as if someone was watching you, you might have been on to something. Researchers at the University of Florence in Italy claim that some plants might be able to see, according to a paper published in the journal Trends in Plant Science. The possibility of plant sight goes back to the discovery of Synechocystis cynanobacteria, a strain of single-celled freshwater bacteria which is capable of photosynthesis. To maximize the amount of light they gather, the cyanobacteria use their own cell membranes like lenses to focus light. The lead author of the paper, Frantisek Baluska, posits that if such a mechanism exists in a simplistic life form like cynanobacteria, it could exist in plants as well. Baluska isn’t the first to bring up this possibility, either. Even as far back as 1907, botanist Francis Darwin suggested that plants may be capable of developing a sort of rudimentary eye. Others see the possibility of vision-capable plants as more and more likely, and point to plants that engage in mimicry as potential evidence. In particular, the vining plant Boquila trifoliolata has proven, in laboratory settings, that it can change the appearance of its leaves to match plants that are set near it—even if those plants are fake. Some scientists believe that this proves that B. trifoliolata doesn’t rely on sensing any biological components of nearby plants in order to change itself. More study is still needed…but next time you go out, maybe you should leave the TV on for your houseplants, just in case.
[Image description: An indoor sink surrounded by potted houseplants.] Credit & copyright: allen4uTW, Pixabay
If you’ve ever been alone in the woods and felt as if someone was watching you, you might have been on to something. Researchers at the University of Florence in Italy claim that some plants might be able to see, according to a paper published in the journal Trends in Plant Science. The possibility of plant sight goes back to the discovery of Synechocystis cynanobacteria, a strain of single-celled freshwater bacteria which is capable of photosynthesis. To maximize the amount of light they gather, the cyanobacteria use their own cell membranes like lenses to focus light. The lead author of the paper, Frantisek Baluska, posits that if such a mechanism exists in a simplistic life form like cynanobacteria, it could exist in plants as well. Baluska isn’t the first to bring up this possibility, either. Even as far back as 1907, botanist Francis Darwin suggested that plants may be capable of developing a sort of rudimentary eye. Others see the possibility of vision-capable plants as more and more likely, and point to plants that engage in mimicry as potential evidence. In particular, the vining plant Boquila trifoliolata has proven, in laboratory settings, that it can change the appearance of its leaves to match plants that are set near it—even if those plants are fake. Some scientists believe that this proves that B. trifoliolata doesn’t rely on sensing any biological components of nearby plants in order to change itself. More study is still needed…but next time you go out, maybe you should leave the TV on for your houseplants, just in case.
[Image description: An indoor sink surrounded by potted houseplants.] Credit & copyright: allen4uTW, Pixabay
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FREEEntrepreneurship Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
Selling your startup isn’t always the best idea! When entrepreneur Daniel Lubetzky first started KIND snacks, in 2004, his business struggled for funding, the way that many startups do. By 2008, KIND’s granola bars and other healthy, outdoor-oriented snacks were catching on, but Lubetzky knew he still needed outside investors. So, he struck a deal with VMG Partners, a private equity firm. For around $16 million in funding, Lubetzky agreed to sell his company within four years. It seemed like a good deal at the time, since Lubetzky believed that he could make more money by selling KIND than by keeping it. The trouble was, that $16 million in funding helped KIND become suddenly popular, and Lubetzky quickly realized that his initial assessment was wrong; his company was successful, and he wanted to keep it. To make that happen, Lubetzky had to buy back his shares from VMG Partners. The process took around two years and cost far more than the amount that VMG had put into KIND—around $220 million. It was a risky process, since Lubetzky had to take out loans in order to buy back the shares. However, the risk paid off. Lubetzky maintained control of the company, and KIND’s popularity only increased. In 2017, Lubetzky did indeed sell the company…but by then it represented a significant portion of the snack food market and was worth billions of dollars. He also retained his position as CEO, even after KIND was acquired by food industry giant Mars Incorporated. In the business world, it sometimes pays to change your mind!
[Image description: A pile of unwrapped granola bars.] Credit & copyright: walterrodriguezph, Pixabay, the granola bars in this image are not associated with KIND foods.Selling your startup isn’t always the best idea! When entrepreneur Daniel Lubetzky first started KIND snacks, in 2004, his business struggled for funding, the way that many startups do. By 2008, KIND’s granola bars and other healthy, outdoor-oriented snacks were catching on, but Lubetzky knew he still needed outside investors. So, he struck a deal with VMG Partners, a private equity firm. For around $16 million in funding, Lubetzky agreed to sell his company within four years. It seemed like a good deal at the time, since Lubetzky believed that he could make more money by selling KIND than by keeping it. The trouble was, that $16 million in funding helped KIND become suddenly popular, and Lubetzky quickly realized that his initial assessment was wrong; his company was successful, and he wanted to keep it. To make that happen, Lubetzky had to buy back his shares from VMG Partners. The process took around two years and cost far more than the amount that VMG had put into KIND—around $220 million. It was a risky process, since Lubetzky had to take out loans in order to buy back the shares. However, the risk paid off. Lubetzky maintained control of the company, and KIND’s popularity only increased. In 2017, Lubetzky did indeed sell the company…but by then it represented a significant portion of the snack food market and was worth billions of dollars. He also retained his position as CEO, even after KIND was acquired by food industry giant Mars Incorporated. In the business world, it sometimes pays to change your mind!
[Image description: A pile of unwrapped granola bars.] Credit & copyright: walterrodriguezph, Pixabay, the granola bars in this image are not associated with KIND foods. -
FREEScience Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
It's Flashback Friday, and the first day of Black History Month! Enjoy these curios celebrating the history and innovations of Black Americans.
Imagine being a playwright, doctor, humanitarian, astronaut, and history-maker. In 1992, Mae Jemison became the first African American woman to go into space. Jemison grew up in a time when the Apollo missions were in full swing, with television broadcasts of the astronauts launching into space. But she also grew up in a time when there were no women, and very few African American people donning spacesuits and exploring the cosmos. Nevertheless, Jemison dreamed of going into space from the time she was a child. One of her earliest inspirations came in the form of Lt. Uhura, the African American, female communications officer aboard the Starship Enterprise in Star Trek. Jemison would go on to befriend Nichelle Nichols, the actress who portrayed the character, and she even had a guest appearance on Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1993, but before her own voyage into the “Final Frontier,” Jemison took some detours.
She excelled in academics and graduated from high school at the age of 16. Then, at Stanford University, she studied chemistry and earned a degree in African and Afro-American Studies. In between her demanding coursework, she managed to direct a musical play titled, Out of the Shadows, with music by Quincy Jones and Stevie Wonder. After completing her undergraduate studies, she went to Cornell University to study medicine, squeezing in overseas humanitarian missions between semesters. She then joined the Peace Corp for a number of years before opening a private practice in 1983. That same year, Sally Ride became the first woman to go into space. Inspired by Ride, Jemison’s dream of going into space was renewed, and she applied for the astronaut program at NASA. NASA briefly stopped taking applications for new candidates after the Challenger disaster in 1986, but Jemison applied again in 1987. This time, she was accepted, and on September 12, 1992, Jemison finally embarked on her voyage on the space shuttle Endeavor. Today, she is an advocate for minorities in STEM fields and manages The Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence, which she named after her mother, who encouraged her pursuits. She really takes “reach for the stars” to a whole new level.
[Image description: Mae Carol Jemison wearing her orange NASA space suit.] Credit & copyright: NASA, Wikimedia Commons, Public DomainIt's Flashback Friday, and the first day of Black History Month! Enjoy these curios celebrating the history and innovations of Black Americans.
Imagine being a playwright, doctor, humanitarian, astronaut, and history-maker. In 1992, Mae Jemison became the first African American woman to go into space. Jemison grew up in a time when the Apollo missions were in full swing, with television broadcasts of the astronauts launching into space. But she also grew up in a time when there were no women, and very few African American people donning spacesuits and exploring the cosmos. Nevertheless, Jemison dreamed of going into space from the time she was a child. One of her earliest inspirations came in the form of Lt. Uhura, the African American, female communications officer aboard the Starship Enterprise in Star Trek. Jemison would go on to befriend Nichelle Nichols, the actress who portrayed the character, and she even had a guest appearance on Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1993, but before her own voyage into the “Final Frontier,” Jemison took some detours.
She excelled in academics and graduated from high school at the age of 16. Then, at Stanford University, she studied chemistry and earned a degree in African and Afro-American Studies. In between her demanding coursework, she managed to direct a musical play titled, Out of the Shadows, with music by Quincy Jones and Stevie Wonder. After completing her undergraduate studies, she went to Cornell University to study medicine, squeezing in overseas humanitarian missions between semesters. She then joined the Peace Corp for a number of years before opening a private practice in 1983. That same year, Sally Ride became the first woman to go into space. Inspired by Ride, Jemison’s dream of going into space was renewed, and she applied for the astronaut program at NASA. NASA briefly stopped taking applications for new candidates after the Challenger disaster in 1986, but Jemison applied again in 1987. This time, she was accepted, and on September 12, 1992, Jemison finally embarked on her voyage on the space shuttle Endeavor. Today, she is an advocate for minorities in STEM fields and manages The Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence, which she named after her mother, who encouraged her pursuits. She really takes “reach for the stars” to a whole new level.
[Image description: Mae Carol Jemison wearing her orange NASA space suit.] Credit & copyright: NASA, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain -
FREEScience Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
Feeling the sting of high gas prices? Go fly a kite! That’s what one company wants cargo ships to do with their new invention, which can help save on fuel costs. French energy equipment company AirSeas recently debuted the Seawing, a parafoil, or self-inflating, kite-like device, that can be retrofitted onto the fronts of ships to provide additional propulsion. It’s not quite a sail in the traditional sense. Rather, it catches the wind like a kite. When wind conditions are right, the parafoil is deployed automatically, rising into the air and pulling ships along. When the wind dies down, it retracts automatically, and no one needs to fiddle around with folding it up manually. The device currently comes in two sizes: 2,700-square-feet and 5,400-square-feet. A 10,800-square-foot version reportedly on the way. Used correctly, the Seawing can reportedly account for up to 20 percent of a ship’s total propulsion, greatly saving on fuel during long voyages. While this technology alone is far from enough to completely eliminate the need for fuel, it could still have a big impact in fighting climate change. Cargo ships primarily burn bunker fuel, which tends to contain more contaminants and release far more pollutants than other fuels. Around 100,000 cargo ships travel the world’s oceans every year, contributing greatly to rising greenhouse gas emissions. AirSeas already has several customers, including Japanese shipping company K Line, which plans to fit 50 of their ships with Seawings. It seems that catching air is really catching on.
[Image description: A cargo ship on the water, loaded with shipping containers.] Credit & copyright: hectorgalarza, Pixabay
Feeling the sting of high gas prices? Go fly a kite! That’s what one company wants cargo ships to do with their new invention, which can help save on fuel costs. French energy equipment company AirSeas recently debuted the Seawing, a parafoil, or self-inflating, kite-like device, that can be retrofitted onto the fronts of ships to provide additional propulsion. It’s not quite a sail in the traditional sense. Rather, it catches the wind like a kite. When wind conditions are right, the parafoil is deployed automatically, rising into the air and pulling ships along. When the wind dies down, it retracts automatically, and no one needs to fiddle around with folding it up manually. The device currently comes in two sizes: 2,700-square-feet and 5,400-square-feet. A 10,800-square-foot version reportedly on the way. Used correctly, the Seawing can reportedly account for up to 20 percent of a ship’s total propulsion, greatly saving on fuel during long voyages. While this technology alone is far from enough to completely eliminate the need for fuel, it could still have a big impact in fighting climate change. Cargo ships primarily burn bunker fuel, which tends to contain more contaminants and release far more pollutants than other fuels. Around 100,000 cargo ships travel the world’s oceans every year, contributing greatly to rising greenhouse gas emissions. AirSeas already has several customers, including Japanese shipping company K Line, which plans to fit 50 of their ships with Seawings. It seems that catching air is really catching on.
[Image description: A cargo ship on the water, loaded with shipping containers.] Credit & copyright: hectorgalarza, Pixabay
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FREEEntrepreneurship Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
It seems you can rent out anything these days! We’ve written before about people renting out their swimming pools to make extra cash, and it turns out you can do something similar with boats. Boatsetter is a company that allows users to rent out their personal boats for whatever hourly fee they choose. The company collects a 20 to 35 percent fee on each rental, and users must provide proof of boat insurance, or sign up for the insurance that Boatsetter offers through Geico Marine. Users don’t actually need to have any boating experience to register their boat for rent…though if they also want to serve as the boat’s captain, they have to show proof of a boating license (and those renting must do the same if they plan to captain the boat). For those who live near the water, renting out boats can be a surprisingly lucrative business or side hustle. 32-year old JP Mancini II, of Key West, Florida, had little experience with boats (his career was in car sales) before he bought his first one in 2020 and began renting it out with Boatsetter. Rather than using the money he made to pay off the boat’s loan, Mancini used it to fund other boat purchases, focusing on luxury motorboats that weren’t easy to find for rent on other platforms. That decision has paid off big, as today he makes around $39,000 a month. Though a large percentage of that money goes toward paying off the loans for his boats, Mancini was still able to leave his past career in car sales to focus on his new boating business full time. Of course, Key West is an ideal market for boat renting due to the area’s constant supply of luxury-seeking tourists, but not everyone who finds success with Boatsetter lives near the ocean. Those who live near large rivers and lakes have also found success on the platform, many by renting their boats to fishermen. It may not be as fancy, but it can still pay the bills.
[Image description: A motorboat with bicycles aboard makes its way across water with sailboats in the background.] Credit & copyright: pasja1000, PixabayIt seems you can rent out anything these days! We’ve written before about people renting out their swimming pools to make extra cash, and it turns out you can do something similar with boats. Boatsetter is a company that allows users to rent out their personal boats for whatever hourly fee they choose. The company collects a 20 to 35 percent fee on each rental, and users must provide proof of boat insurance, or sign up for the insurance that Boatsetter offers through Geico Marine. Users don’t actually need to have any boating experience to register their boat for rent…though if they also want to serve as the boat’s captain, they have to show proof of a boating license (and those renting must do the same if they plan to captain the boat). For those who live near the water, renting out boats can be a surprisingly lucrative business or side hustle. 32-year old JP Mancini II, of Key West, Florida, had little experience with boats (his career was in car sales) before he bought his first one in 2020 and began renting it out with Boatsetter. Rather than using the money he made to pay off the boat’s loan, Mancini used it to fund other boat purchases, focusing on luxury motorboats that weren’t easy to find for rent on other platforms. That decision has paid off big, as today he makes around $39,000 a month. Though a large percentage of that money goes toward paying off the loans for his boats, Mancini was still able to leave his past career in car sales to focus on his new boating business full time. Of course, Key West is an ideal market for boat renting due to the area’s constant supply of luxury-seeking tourists, but not everyone who finds success with Boatsetter lives near the ocean. Those who live near large rivers and lakes have also found success on the platform, many by renting their boats to fishermen. It may not be as fancy, but it can still pay the bills.
[Image description: A motorboat with bicycles aboard makes its way across water with sailboats in the background.] Credit & copyright: pasja1000, Pixabay