Jeremy Hsu

Worth keeping such community health impacts in mind as the Trump administration tries to boost the declining US coal industry.

Derrick Kardos died of complications of #LongCovid on July 18th. Let his words sink in.

YouTube video by New Scientist How Hiroshima Rewrote Our Future

How Hiroshima Rewrote Our Future
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRej...

Super-sticky hydrogel is 10 times stronger than other glues underwater Researchers analysed thousands of natural protein sequences and got assistance from AI in order to design a new hydrogel adhesive that can stay sticky underwater or even within a living body

A super-sticky hydrogel that works 10x better than any similar glue underwater was created after analysing 24,000 sticky protein sequences from living organisms.

Great example of how the research journey can matter as much as the final result. 🧪

www.newscientist.com/article/2491...

Thanks to @kencaldeira.com @aliciawongel.bsky.social and Austin Vernon for talking with me. You can find their paper titled "Thermal Energy Storage in Dirt for Repowering Decommissioned Coal Plants" at the link below. findingspress.org/article/1413...

We can repurpose retired coal plants to produce green energy Piles of dirt can cheaply store renewable energy as heat – and that stored energy can reactivate the machinery of retired coal power plants, letting them provide backup power for the electricity grid

Retired coal power plants could provide backup or emergency power to the electricity grid – but this time drawing on heat energy stored in dirt instead of burning fossil fuels.

More details on how this clean energy repowering option works in my article 🧪

www.newscientist.com/article/2491...

We can repurpose retired coal plants to produce green energy Piles of dirt can cheaply store renewable energy as heat – and that stored energy can reactivate the machinery of retired coal power plants, letting them provide backup power for the electricity grid

Sorry for the paywall, but here is a NewScientist article on our recent work looking at repowering retired coal plants using thermal energy stored in dirt.

@aliciawongel.bsky.social

Fortunately, research paper is open access.

findingspress.org/article/1413...
www.newscientist.com/article/2491...

Former 'Alligator Alcatraz' worker describes 'inhumane' conditions inside In an exclusive report, NBC6 spoke with a former corrections officer who says she saw hundreds held in cages with no sunlight, backed up toilets and little access to showers.

A former “Alligator Alcatraz” worker says detainees are subject to “inhumane” conditions — packed by the hundreds into cages without sunlight, with overflowing toilets and limited access to showers.

I'm on the New Scientist pod talking about the Manhattan Project's impacts on indigenous peoples and communities in the US and Canada, along with the Congo in Africa.

We also highlight the Korean forced laborers who were working in Hiroshima and Nagasaki when the first atomic bombs fell.

I knew about hibakusha (survivors of the bomb) but not hibakujumoku (被爆樹木) - TREES that survived the atomic bombs.
Here is a descendant of one, a camphor tree at Wakehurst, via Green Legacy Hiroshima. Listen: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/8...

The world, the universe and us is LIVE 🚨

In a special episode, @rowhoop.bsky.social, @tinymaddie.bsky.social and @jeremyhsu.bsky.social mark the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima - a moment which changed the world forever.

podfollow.com/the-world-th...

I had a lot of fun working with Karmela on this mind-bending story!

In a global study of 11,801 adults across 33 countries, 1 in 5 COVID-19 survivors developed long COVID.

ICU admission, being female, and acute fatigue were top risk factors, while vaccination and African or Asian ethnicity were linked to lower risk.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

At 17, Hannah Cairo Solved a Major Math Mystery | Quanta Magazine After finding the homeschooling life confining, the teen petitioned her way into a graduate class at Berkeley, where she ended up disproving a 40-year-old conjecture.

What a fantastic accomplishment -- and what a fantastic story! www.quantamagazine.org/at-17-hannah...

If you aren’t familiar, Terence Tao is a Fields Medalist and arguably the most prominent and accomplished mathematician of his generation.

No one is safe, basically. The current administration will use any excuse to burn it all to the ground.

Most North American cities that have a “Vision Zero” declaration have not actually done the work. Vision Zero works, but it’s not going to happen if we’re too afraid to inconvenience a single motorist.

Trump: I was just informed that our Country's "Jobs Numbers" are being produced by a Biden Appointee, Dr. Erika McEntarfer, the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, who faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala's chances of Victory. This is the same Bureau of Labor Statistics that overstated the Jobs Growth in March 2024 by approximately 818,000 and, then again, right before the 2024 Presidential Election, in August and September, by 112,000. These were Records - No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes. McEntarfer said there were only 73,000 Jobs added (a shock!) but, more importantly, that a major mistake was made by them, 258,000 Jobs downward, in the prior two

them, 258,000 Jobs downward, in the prior two months. Similar things happened in the first part of the year, always to the negative. The Economy is BOOMING under "TRUMP" despite a Fed that also plays games, this time with Interest Rates, where they lowered them twice, and substantially, just before the Presidential Election, I assume in the hopes of getting "Kamala" elected - How did that work out? Jerome "Too Late" Powell should also be put "out to pasture." Thank you for your attention to this matter! O ReTruths 4 Likes 8/1/25, 11:09 AM

Trump says the bad jobs numbers out today are fake and from a Biden appointee.

“I have directed my Team to fire this Biden
Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.”

US says CO2 emissions aren’t harmful – climate science shows otherwise The Trump administration is attempting to argue that greenhouses gases don’t endanger people to reverse regulations limiting these harmful emissions – climate scientists are pushing back

The Trump administration is attempting to end the US government’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions by arguing they do not pose a danger to people. But climate scientists and lawyers say this argument is...um...weak.🧪
www.newscientist.com/article/2490...

Google is indexing ChatGPT conversations, potentially exposing sensitive user data Thousands of shared ChatGPT chats—including deeply personal details about mental health, relationships, and trauma—are appearing in Google search results, raising major privacy concerns.

NEW: ChatGPT allows Google to index chats users share using the Share functionality - presumably misinterpreting "make this chat discoverable". The result? Frank admissions about sex lives and drug dependencies. My latest for @fastcompany.com www.fastcompany.com/91376687/goo... tip @techmeme.com

Beyond brain fog: COVID-19 can leave lasting effects on the brain. Image shows a summary of the key findings observed in autopsy and animal studies investigating how SARS-CoV-2 can impact the body and induce neuroimmune dysregulation. A disruption in how the brain communicates with the body can lead to the development of several complex symptoms, which have been observed in Long Covid patients.

Beyond brain fog: #COVID19 can leave lasting effects on the brain. Honored to be invited to write this editorial for the Journal of the Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology. It relates to @virusesimmunity.bsky.social team's review.You can read it here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Bloodied Faces, Sobbing Children: Immigration Officers Smash Car Windows to Speed Up Arrests We’ve documented nearly 50 incidents of immigration officers shattering car windows to make arrests — a tactic experts say was rarely used before Trump took office. ICE claims its officers use a “mini...

"He can either give us a license... or we’ll smash the fucking window out and drag him out.”

That's not just any ICE officer saying that. His name is Matthew Elliston and he now oversees ICE field operations on the East Coast.

Ancient Siberian ice mummy is covered in 'really special' tattoos Tattoos may have been widespread in prehistory, with scientists discovering a plethora of body art on a pastoralist who died in the 3rd or 4th century BC

Elaborate tattoos of tigers, birds and fantastical animals have been revealed on an ice mummy from over 2000 years ago. 🧪⚒️ #Archaeology #archeology #art

www.newscientist.com/article/2490...

Critics of de-extinction research hit by mystery smear campaign Several researchers who have been critical of Colossal Biosciences’ plans to revive extinct animals say they have been targeted by online articles trying to discredit them

Several scholars (including me) who have been critical of Colossal Biosciences and de-extinction have been targeted by a mysterious harassment campaign

www.newscientist.com/article/2490...

California bets on iron-salt battery power to protect against wildfire A battery made from cheap and non-flammable iron and salt could provide emergency power in one of California’s high wildfire risk zones

See why California is betting on an iron-salt battery to provide emergency backup power for firefighters and wildfire evacuees in the middle of a redwood forest.

The battery project has received $4.1 million in Department of Energy funding.🧪

www.newscientist.com/article/2490...

Rust-based battery connects to an electricity grid for the first time An iron-air battery in the Netherlands, which can store energy for 100 hours or more to make renewable power sources more consistent, has become the world’s first “rust” battery to connect with an ele...

An iron-air "rust" battery has connected to an electricity grid for the first time. Such batteries could enable European and US power grids to store and use more renewable energy over much longer periods. 🧪

www.newscientist.com/article/2490...

Entire annual budget of the National Endowment for the Arts: $210 million

Israeli military says airdrops of aid into Gaza set to begin tonight amid increased starvation deaths For months, the U.N. and experts have warned that Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of famine, with reports of increasing numbers of people dying from causes related to malnutrition.

"Airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X on Saturday. "They are expensive, inefficient & can even kill starving civilians. It is a distraction & screensmoke."

www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-...

Solar drone with wingspan wider than jumbo jet could fly for months A pioneering solar-powered drone aircraft operated by Skydweller Aero will be used for maritime surveillance

A solar-powered surveillance drone with a wingspan wider than a jumbo jet just spent days soaring off the US Gulf Coast for a military-sponsored test.

In a past life, it was a pioneering aircraft that made the first solar-powered flight around the world. 🧪

www.newscientist.com/article/2489...

An AI slop factory apparently tried to rewrite our article about AI not replacing workers en masse, but hit the paywall... so just summarised the paywall. If this is the robot that takes my job I'll be v embarrassed

Trump's order targeting 'woke' AI may be impossible to follow President Trump signed an executive order requiring companies with US government contracts to make their AI models "free from ideological bias". That could get messy for Big Tech

Trump's new executive order requires companies with US government contracts to remove ideological bias from AI models. This sets a potentially impossible goal when taken at face value – and could allow the administration to elevate its own preferred worldview. 🧪

www.newscientist.com/article/2489...