Welcome and hope you get some time off today, away from work. With time to read a few fun STEM links. Watching Alfred Hitchcock’s movie, The Birds, has always made me think twice about crows. Turns out they’re really smart. There’s also a link to an article about plankton. Not the character in the Sponge Bob cartoon. The yucky green stuff. Plus articles about the end of the world, chronic illnesses from dishwashers, human aging, butterfly scales, and reinventing the wheel for real. Thanks for being here.
Crows Are Even Smarter Than We Thought
https://nautil.us/crows-are-even-smarter-than-we-thought-820066/
Strange and wondrous creatures: plankton and the origins of life on Earth | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/news/article/2024/aug/20/strange-and-wondrous-creatures-plankton-and-the-origins-of-life-on-earth
MIT Predicted the Collapse of Today’s Society in 1972. And We’re Right On Track.
https://interestingengineering.com/science/mit-predicted-the-collapse-of-todays-society-in-1972-and-were-still-on-track
Scientists find surprising link between dishwashers and chronic illnesses
https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/scientists-find-surprising-link-between-dishwashers-and-chronic-illnesses/
Humans Are Rapidly Aging at 44 and 60, Scientists Say
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/a61890164/humans-rapidly-aging-at-44-and-60-years-old/
How a butterfly’s scales are born
https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/08/27/1095973/how-a-butterflys-scales-are-born/
Scientists literally reinvented the wheel with this new shape-shifting, all-terrain wheel design
https://www.fastcompany.com/91175153/scientists-reinvented-wheel-all-terrain-design