Brigitte Nerlich

New Solar Glass Cranks Up Lettuce Crop Yields By Almost 40% The US startup UbiQD has demonstrated an improvement of almost 40% in lettuce grown under solar glass enhanced with quantum dots.

"UbiQD, a US startup, has developed quantum dot solar glass that passively modulates sunlight to boost greenhouse crop productivity. In trials, lettuce grown -- saw dramatic improvements: -- plants’ light-use efficiency rose 41% and essential nutrient concentrations were higher"

The dark genome: A gothic tale with a happy ending On 29 September Roger Highfield published an article for the Francis Crick Institute entitled “A message from the dark genome: The genetic ghosts that haunt and help us” (based on a chat with Georg…

Last shout-out for the dark genome - a gothic tale with a happy ending #metaphor #genome #scicomm #gothic makingsciencepublic.com/2025/10/10/t...

*FIFTEEN THOUSAND JOBS LOST*.
If this were in a sector in which the PM could go and do a photoshoot looking like One Of The People, we’d have had a government intervention by now.

The dark genome: A gothic tale with a happy ending On 29 September Roger Highfield published an article for the Francis Crick Institute entitled “A message from the dark genome: The genetic ghosts that haunt and help us” (based on a chat with Georg…

For weekend readers, some musing on the #metaphor of the dark, or rather gothic, genome, inspired by an article by @rogerhighfield.bsky.social #scicom #scilit makingsciencepublic.com/2025/10/10/t...

Cybersecurity agency that clashed with Trump one of the first hit with federal firings due to government shutdown CISA plans to keep just 889 employees on duty during a shutdown while furloughing 65% of its workforce.

This is like disbanding your military during World War Two.

The Trump regime is firing many of the 2,540 employee of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) during the ongoing government shutdown. Why? CISA dismissed Trump’s allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 election.

The dark genome: A gothic tale with a happy ending On 29 September Roger Highfield published an article for the Francis Crick Institute entitled “A message from the dark genome: The genetic ghosts that haunt and help us” (based on a chat with Georg…

For weekend readers, some musing on the #metaphor of the dark, or rather gothic, genome, inspired by an article by @rogerhighfield.bsky.social #scicom #scilit makingsciencepublic.com/2025/10/10/t...

I have a burning bush I planted three years ago and it just doesn't go red. Infuriating. Perhaps I was a sold a pup (although I never understand why that should be a bad thing, ah well)

The dark genome: A gothic tale with a happy ending On 29 September Roger Highfield published an article for the Francis Crick Institute entitled “A message from the dark genome: The genetic ghosts that haunt and help us” (based on a chat with Georg…

Today's post is about the #metaphor of the dark genome and a gothic tale with a happy ending told by @rogerhighfield.bsky.social #scicom makingsciencepublic.com/2025/10/10/t...

A stereoscopic photograph showing a man in traditional dress standing among prickly pear cacti on a hillside, overlooking the cultivated fields and scattered trees of Gaza, Palestine. The landscape stretches into the distance with the town visible on the horizon. Published by Underwood & Underwood around the early 20th century.

A man stares out over the fertile olive groves of Gaza, ca. 1911.

One of 125 photographs of life in Palestine before the British Mandate, ca. 1896–1919, we gathered from the collections of @librarycongress.bsky.social and others: publicdomainreview.org/collection/p...

it's back to masks on trains and planes and cramped spaces

Metaphor experts wanted!
We’re sharing this opportunity for those interested in metaphor analysis:

Oh no!

Good old 'indirect speech acts' "Indirect speech acts often rely on implicature, where the implied meaning goes beyond the literal interpretation of the words used"

The dark genome: A gothic tale with a happy ending On 29 September Roger Highfield published an article for the Francis Crick Institute entitled “A message from the dark genome: The genetic ghosts that haunt and help us” (based on a chat with Georg…

Today's post is about the #metaphor of the dark genome and a gothic tale with a happy ending told by @rogerhighfield.bsky.social #scicom makingsciencepublic.com/2025/10/10/t...

Are LLMs the Epicycles of Intelligence? I’ve always been fascinated by AI and mega-projects — and as I work on AI infrastructure, you might assume I’m equally fascinated by the current LLM race. In reality, I’m far more skeptical than most....

Fascinating take on the current AI hyperbole… ashvardanian.com/posts/llm-ep...

ha never tried Skips, so on to new adventures

Haha, well found!

is it in the OED yet? sadly not

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

Tech is depleting not only material resources but also intellectual resources, especially common knowledge. Political polarization erodes agreement on the most basic facts and concepts. "It's almost like seeing the ozone layer deplete before our eyes," said @audreyt.org at #ALIFE2025. ⚙️🧫

Oh no!!! Your body should sit on the naughty step and think about what it has done! I hope you get better very soon.

Me too

So true! What I find so frightening is not only the dissolution of reason and rationality, but also of reality, knowledge, mutual understanding and shared values.

That made my morning!!

Now do it with Eichhörnchen!

2012 Nobel laureate John Gurdon has died. His work was central to both the development of animal cloning and the possibility of reprogramming cells to a different state. A giant of cell and developmental biology.
www.magd.cam.ac.uk/news/profess...

You bet you never hear him saying 'I didn't saw any black faces'

You inspired me to submit and it is done

I just demonstrated to my husband how difficult it was for me to find out that I was eligible because I am on biologics - so many steps/clicks.... and I am still not sure whether I'll be turned away once I arrive at the pharmacy!

hahaha - love that word though - I can never pronounce squirrel correctly!