Michael Marshall

That’s pretty much what I thought when this suddenly occurred to me late last night, but I did wonder if I’d missed something and/or if someone had devised a fun headcanon

Apropos of nothing:

At the end of Star Trek: First Contact, why does the plan to kill all the Borg by puncturing the plasma coolant tanks… actually work?

The Borg all have personal force fields that can withstand energy weapons etc. Why does the plasma coolant get through the force fields?

‘Thick as Thieves’: Nathan Gill and Nigel Farage’s Putin Problem Far from being distant from the Reform UK Leader, insiders told Byline Times that the former MEP convicted of bribery was one of Farage’s closest aides, while we reveal how Gill worked on the Kremlin’...

🔴NEW🔴

Thread 🧵

@bylinetimes.bsky.social can now reveal that, during the crucial period when convicted Reform leader Nathan Gill was most active, working directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most senior ally in Ukraine, he was also one of Nigel Farage’s closest confidantes 1/12

Their parents never got them vaccinated. As young adults, they faced a choice. Falling vaccination rates around the country mean more will grow up without protection from debilitating diseases until they are old enough to decide for themselves, typically at age 18.

When he started getting his shots in his 20s — including for polio, whooping cough and measles, according to medical records — he said it felt like an act of rebellion toward his parents, whose views he now vehemently disagrees with.
“I was just like, ‘Load me up, Doc,’” he said.

There’s a spectrum of breeding failure, ranging from “some offspring have health issues” through “offspring are frequently infertile”, all the way to “dad’s genitals literally don’t fit in mum’s genitals”. Neanderthals and humans had some genetic compatibility issues but it wasn’t a dealbreaker.

I stand by that. 🤣

Also I write a newsletter about human evolution and once devoted an entire issue to the “human-Neanderthal interbreeding while separate species” conundrum.

TL:DR the concept of “species” is very fuzzy

‘Nine-jobs Nigel’ Farage denies not declaring extra earni... Roles outside Parliament make Reform leader the highest-earning MP, but register of interests has not been updated since end of May

Exclusive: Nigel Farage has not updated his register since May, despite continuing to present his GB News show, record Cameo videos and being a verified X user

Qus are now being asked about the non-registration of his shareholding in GB parent co All Perspectives

observer.co.uk/news/politic...

Here's a strange lacuna in our knowledge: we know a lot about ultrasonic vocalisations by mice, but hardly anything about their audible squeaks.

They can't all mean "oh shit, a cat" - can they?

@newscientist.com

https://loom.ly/uMm1OCw

Democrats Must Embrace War Mindset We have exited a long period of peace and entered into a struggle not unlike war, in which all the old certainties have gone malleable and the future of the republic is at stake.

this piece has been in the works a while but honestly i could not have asked for a better foil than ezra klein's interview with ta-nehisi coates. klein longs for peacetime--but you don't get to decide when you're in a fight.

www.liberalcurrents.com/democrats-mu...

Yup. Bari Weiss is one of the worst journalists working in the world today, but she’s right-wing so she gets to be in charge of a massive news institution.

A photo of two adults with a group of seven primary-school-age children in a school gym or similar place. One of the adults is placing a hula hoop over one of the kids. Credit: JAGADEESH NV / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock

Neurodiversity just got even more diverse:

Some autistic kids get diagnosed much later than others, and that's partly because they're actually developing in different ways. They also carry different genetic variants.

@newscientist.com

https://loom.ly/ULRTTjk

EU seeks to deploy Russia’s frozen billions to boost European arms sales European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says a zero-interest reparations loan should be partly used “to strengthen our own defense industry.”

🚨🚨 @ec.europa.eu president @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu has proposed to provide a
zero-interest #reparationsloan to #Ukraine based on #Russian immobilized assets to purchase #European arms. 🧵
www.politico.eu/article/eu-r...

From Cory Doctorow: "AI is the asbestos we are shoveling into the walls of our society and our descendants will be digging it out for generations" damn I wish I had written that line
pluralistic.net/2025/09/27/e...

Thank you, that’s so kind!

I’m one of the other ones

Here I am talking about a million-year-old skull from China, and what it means for the story of human evolution, on the @newscientist.com podcast.

YouTube: https://loom.ly/iRr-eFA

NS: https://loom.ly/CwW6KmY

Apple: https://loom.ly/JocpQ68

I had also somewhat come around, because of the whole “single login for all government services” project, which does sound like it has its benefits. But there’s definitely a meaningful “on the other hand”.

I’m not sure I agree with @iandunt.bsky.social about ID cards, and there are people in the comments making reasoned arguments against him, but I do think his argument (that it won’t settle the immigration debate but only inflame it) is one that everyone should consider as they form their opinion

This is a million-year-old skull from Yunxian, China.

It suggests that our species had a much longer prehistory than thought. @newscientist.com

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2497765-reconstructed-skull-gives-surprising-clues-to-our-enigmatic-ancestor-x/

Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its technology in mass surveillance of Palestinians Exclusive: Tech firm ends military unit’s access to AI and data services after Guardian reveals secret spy project

Microsoft will no longer allow Israel to use its cloud services to enable its mass surveillance of occupied Palestinians – "the first known case of a US technology company withdrawing services provided to the Israeli military since the beginning of its war on Gaza"

How can we get high-schoolers to take an interest in botany? By using the music videos of Taylor Swift - as Feedback learns in @newscientist.com

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26735622-900-how-taylor-swift-is-helping-botany-gain-celebrity-status/

Reform plans to scrap indefinite leave to remain for migrants The party says scrapping the scheme and restricting migrant access to benefits will save hundreds of billions of pounds.

Reform's proposal to abolish migrants' indefinite leave to remain is cruel.

Never mind whether it's workable or properly costed. It's just cruel. It would mean splitting up families: separating husbands from wives and parents from children.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c930xypxpqpo

A black and white photo of psychologist Steven Pinker, resting his head on his hands and looking a little above the camera's "eyeline". Blurry bookshelves in the background. Credit: Jean-Christian Bourcart / Getty Images

I reviewed Steven Pinker's new book for @newscientist.com.

Most of it is pretty good - until you get to the chapter on cancel culture, which is an ill-informed, ill-considered mess.

https://loom.ly/Ujy3kJE

Feedback in @newscientist.com discusses a study showing that dog ownership causes hurricanes - except that's, er, not what it shows

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26735614-600-the-real-reason-our-weather-is-going-to-the-dogs/

A black and white photo of psychologist Steven Pinker, resting his head on his hands and looking a little above the camera's "eyeline". Blurry bookshelves in the background. Credit: Jean-Christian Bourcart / Getty Images

I reviewed Steven Pinker's new book for @newscientist.com.

Most of it is pretty good - until you get to the chapter on cancel culture, which is an ill-informed, ill-considered mess.

https://loom.ly/Ujy3kJE

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kermit the frog is dancing in front of a red curtain on a stage . ALT: kermit the frog is dancing in front of a red curtain on a stage .

I was already gleeful at this episode and then Brooks shows up and does a better Bond villain than 90% of actual Bond villains.

This is making me want to rewatch DS9 yet again

If it wasn’t obvious, I love everything about this episode, not least Garak’s utter scathing disdain for the whole Bond-as-superspy trope. I won’t spoil what Brooks is doing, but it fills my soul with joy every time I watch it.

The James Bond episode! In which Avery Brooks chews more scenery than I thought possible 🥳

An episode that single-handedly redeems the woebegotten mini-genre of “holodeck goes wrong” - and almost got the producers sued into oblivion by the Bond people.

At this point what is there to add? 😢🤬