‘A polarizing Harvard astronomer known for splashy theories about alien visits has been tapped by the White House to lead a team of outside scientists to study the national security risks posed by UFOs. Avi Loeb, a cosmologist who studied black holes and served as head of Harvard’s astronomy department until 2020, was recently appointed to helm a new scientific advisory council tasked with investigating the origins of mysterious orbs and other objects reported by military personnel in recent years. It’s part of President Donald Trump’s push to declassify more information about the issue. Loeb’s team will report to a new White House panel focused on UFOs, now often referred to as unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP….’ (Collin Binkley, The Associated Press via WBUR)

‘On a January morning in 2025, a ripple in the fabric of spacetime swept across the United States, arriving at two giant instruments a fraction of a second apart. Those instruments belong to the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) — twin facilities in Washington State and Louisiana built specifically to catch these gravitational waves.

That signal, cataloged as GW250114, came from the merger of two near-equal black holes, about 34 and 32 times the mass of the Sun, and produced the clearest gravitational-wave signal yet recorded. The signal was about three times clearer than GW150914, the first gravitational wave ever directly detected in 2015.

A research team has now pulled a message out of that signal — one that had been hiding in plain sight for years. They describe the first direct measurements of two defining properties of a black hole’s event horizon…

“We measured the last sound the black holes made when they crashed. Hidden within that signal is a small component, called direct waves, that had not previously been well understood,” said Neil Lu, from the ANU Centre for Gravitational Astrophysics (CGA) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav). “Our new analysis allows us to decipher this component and extract unique information from close to the event horizon.”…’ (via ZME Science)

‘”In two years, we were able to go from a moonshot idea to developing these therapies to demonstrating that they reverse osteoarthritis in animals,” says chemical and biological engineer Stephanie Bryant, from UC Boulder.

Having completed the first tranche of the animal experiments, the team is ready to move on to phase two. This will gather further data on safety and toxicology, laying the groundwork for human clinical trials….’ (David Nield via ScienceAlert)

‘If you are reading this, you are probably not alone.

Most people on Earth are habitats for mites that spend the majority of their brief lives burrowed, head-first, in our hair follicles, primarily on the face.

In fact, humans are the only habitat for Demodex folliculorum. They are born on us, they feed on us, they mate on us, and they die on us.

Their entire life cycle revolves around munching your dead skin cells before kicking the teeny tiny bucket.

So reliant is D. folliculorum on humans for its survival, research suggests, that the microscopic mites are in the process of evolving from an ectoparasite into an obligate symbiont – possibly one that shares a mutually beneficial relationship with its hosts (that’s us).

In other words, these mites may be gradually ‘merging’ with our bodies, becoming so specialized to their human habitat that they can no longer survive independently, according to a 2022 paper published in Molecular Biology and Evolution….’ (Michelle Starr via ScienceAlert)

‘This week, Donald Trump shared a Truth Social post that sent critics into a tailspin.

The post included an apparently AI-image of a golden eagle attached to the White House balcony. Surrounding the eagle’s shield are 11 stars.

 Online, people speculated that these 11 stars represent the 11 states that seceded from the US ahead of the Civil War.

While that theory remains unconfirmed, the 11 stars were not the only detail to catch netizens’ eyes. The shape of the eagle and its shield also reminded many of the Reichsadler — a German symbol that Hitler adopted and changed to become an emblem of Nazi Germany.

One tweet comparing the two emblems has received over 3 million views and nearly 10,000 comments online. And they’re far from alone….’ (Alexa Lisitza via BuzzFeed)

‘Democratic Arizona AG Kris Mayes walked into office all but declaring war on President Donald Trump and his policies. But apparently, she’s done more than declare war — she’s killing it.

“The Democrat has filed 43 lawsuits against the Trump administration since he took office one year ago,” reports the Phoenix New Times. “She’s been a frequent filer since … Trump took office in January, pushing back on his attempts to systematically change the entire U.S. government.”…’ (Adam Lynch via Alternet.org)

‘President Donald Trump shared an AI-generated video taunting his celebrity critics, in the latest instance of him using deepfake imagery to mock his opponents in late-night posts….’ (Siladitya Ray via Forbes)

‘Federal agents have detained more than 10,000 people in five days….’ (Tom Latchem via The Daily Beast)

‘US President Donald Trump has expressed interest in having his face added to the iconic and historic Mount Rushmore monument alongside the existing carvings of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

The idea has sparked support and opposition, raising questions about whether that’s possible.

The BBC’s Sarah Smith is in South Dakota ahead of the president’s visit to the monument, and looks at the political debate and practical challenges the proposition poses….’ ([unknown] via bbc.com)

‘Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised ambitious plans to make Americans healthier. But insiders say as soon as he was named health secretary, the problems between the coalitions began…’ (Katherine Eban via Rolling Stone)

‘Donald Trump flew west on his new Air Force One, a $400 million gift from Qatar, dogged by questions about obscene profiteering in office, and his own enduring rage over a bestselling book….’ (Martin Pengelly via Zeteo)

‘If the Palestinians laid down their arms, there would be peace.6 There could be a two-state solution; there could even be a one-state solution; it wouldn’t matter. If the Palestinians simply stopped killing Jews and stopped building a culture that celebrates pointless murder and martyrdom as its highest values, there could be a diverse, tolerant, and prosperous society between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. There could have been one eighty years ago. But if the Israelis laid down their weapons, there would be a genocide. This was obviously true on October 7th, 2023. And for anyone who has been paying attention, it has been true on every other day since the founding of the state of Israel….’ (via Sam Harris)

‘NASA is racing to save an aging telescope from falling back to Earth with a daring rescue mission.

The $30 million salvage operation gets underway as soon as this week with the planned launch of a robotic lifesaver.

NASA hired startup Katalyst Space Technologies to boost the Swift Observatory to a higher orbit where it can continue hunting for some of the universe’s biggest explosions. A three-armed spacecraft built by Katalyst will chase after Swift once it takes off from an atoll in the Pacific’s Marshall Islands aboard an airplane-launched Pegasus rocket. Liftoff could occur as early as Tuesday.

Scanning the cosmos since its launch in 2004, Swift has been sinking faster and faster because of recent intense solar activity. It needs to get to a higher, more stable orbit as soon as possible to survive.

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope — also at risk — could be next….’ (Marcia Dunn via AP News)

‘The memo—allegedly Stephen Miller’s passion project—”is taking us back to a time when there were forced lobotomies,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth said….’ (Julia Métraux via Mother Jones)

‘We’re trained in obedience and rule-following from a very young age. We need equivalent practice in breaking rules, in recognizing when a rule or law is unjust and needs to be broken, and in acting in accord with that recognition. We need this all the time, but damn if we don’t need it especially now. One day, possibly soon, we will be called on to break a big law in the name of justice and rationality. Be ready….’ (mandy brown via A Working Library)

‘Find your state’s quietest route. Go road-tripping across America with  Robert Frost, and this is what happens: At every fork in the road, he chooses the road less traveled. And so you end up on each state’s loneliest road….’ (Frank Jacobs via Atlas Obscura)

How many have you been on? For me, quite a few, as I have always had a hankering for backroads.