Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Gabrielle Birchak @gabriellebirchak.bsky.social · 4h

NASA’s JPL lays off 550 employees. NASA's 2024 FY Budget was less than .5%. These cuts are concerning, unconscionable, and so unnecessary.
www.astronomy.com/science/nasa...

NASA’s JPL lays off 550 employees

NASA JPL layoffs cut 550 jobs in reorganization, impacting space missions. Director Dave Gallagher says it is unrelated to the shutdown.

www.astronomy.com

Gabrielle Birchak @gabriellebirchak.bsky.social · 9h

In an era when public discourse feels more polarized than ever, even professors face limits on what they can say. This article takes a closer look at how the First Amendment applies, and where it doesn’t
theconversation.com/what-the-fir...

What the First Amendment doesn’t protect when it comes to professors speaking out on politics

American colleges and universities have traditionally encouraged free speech. Recent dismissals of professors are eroding their commitment to this core mission.

theconversation.com

Gabrielle Birchak @gabriellebirchak.bsky.social · 5d

In 1776, math and science didn’t just save lives, they saved a revolution.
Learn how smallpox inoculation shaped history in this week’s Flashcards Friday episode.
#MathScienceHistory

Listen here: mathsciencehistory.libsyn.com/flashcards-s...

Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak

Step into the laboratory at Math! Science! History! where time bends, ideas spark, equations echo, and the past hums with the electricity of what’s to come. Each week, Gabrielle Birchak lights the…

mathsciencehistory.libsyn.com

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Gabrielle Birchak @gabriellebirchak.bsky.social · 6d

This is unconscionable!

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Reposted by Gabrielle Birchak

Edward Vogel @mathartforall.bsky.social · 6d

Well worth the 6 minute watch!

Kleroterion @kleroterion.bsky.social · 6d

youtu.be/rwOu56bR1OA

The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Abstraction in Math

YouTube video by Metamorphic

youtu.be

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Reposted by Gabrielle Birchak

Billy Hanlon @bhanlon15.bsky.social · 6d

Female First: 'Scientists create first accurate blood test for chronic fatigue syndrome'

'The test..showed 92% sensitivity and 98% specificity. The team examined 47 patients with severe ME/CFS and compared results to 61 healthy individuals.'

www.femalefirst.co.uk/lifestyle/sc...

Scientists create first accurate blood test for chronic fatigue syndrome

Scientists say they have developed the worlds first accurate blood test to diagnose myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome MECFS.

www.femalefirst.co.uk

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Reposted by Gabrielle Birchak

The Daily Show @thedailyshow.com · 6d

The following is REAL footage from Portland, 2025. Viewer discretion is advised.

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Gabrielle Birchak @gabriellebirchak.bsky.social · 6d

I'm sure that, in my older years, when I draw my last breath, I will be retrieving and entering a six digit code.

Gabrielle Birchak @gabriellebirchak.bsky.social · 6d

Origami meets quantum physics! Scientists just proved that paper-folding patterns hold the key to solving a major amplituhedron puzzle in particle theory.
🔗 www.quantamagazine.org/origami-patt...

Origami Patterns Solve a Major Physics Riddle | Quanta Magazine

The amplituhedron, a shape at the heart of particle physics, appears to be deeply connected to the mathematics of paper folding.

www.quantamagazine.org

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Gabrielle Birchak @gabriellebirchak.bsky.social · 7d

Rogue planet’s record growth spurt of 6 billion tonnes per second
cosmosmagazine.com/space/astron...

Rogue planet's record growth spurt of 6 billion tonnes per second

Astronomers have witnessed a planet 620 light-years away eat up nearby gas and dust at a rate of 6 billion tonnes a second, the fastest growth rate ever

cosmosmagazine.com

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Gabrielle Birchak @gabriellebirchak.bsky.social · 8d

In today’s episode of Math! Science! History!, Gabrielle interviews Dr. Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai, Director of Research at the Massachusetts Historical Society, to uncover the hidden battle against smallpox during the Revolution. Thank you @mhs1791.bsky.social

🎙️ Check it out here: buff.ly/Em74B8C

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Reposted by Gabrielle Birchak

Math! Science! History! Podcast @mathsciencehistory.bsky.social · 9d

Tomorrow on Math! Science! History! >>> Before America was a country, Abigail Adams faced a different war: smallpox. In 1776, she gathered her children, entered quarantine, and chose science over fear. Tomorrow, hear her story and the letters that changed history.
Www.MathScienceHistory.com

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Gabrielle Birchak @gabriellebirchak.bsky.social · 12d

🎙️ Tune in to today's Flashcard Friday episode to discover the physics you’re already using, and never look at coffee spills, car rides, or even your smartphone the same way again! #MathScienceHistory #podcast #math #science #history

Check it out here: mathsciencehistory.libsyn.com/flashcards-f...

Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak

Step into the laboratory at Math! Science! History! where time bends, ideas spark, equations echo, and the past hums with the electricity of what’s to come. Each week, Gabrielle Birchak lights the…

mathsciencehistory.libsyn.com

Gabrielle Birchak @gabriellebirchak.bsky.social · 13d

Anybody else visit Wikimedia to look up "physicist A.K. Geim" only to follow up your search with "hamster?"

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Gabrielle Birchak @gabriellebirchak.bsky.social · 13d

Same. My thought was literally at 3:00 p.m. PST. Then I read this, and that thought hit Richter scale 9.0.

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Reposted by Gabrielle Birchak

Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 13d

A new trick for detecting quantum entanglement is conducted at a surprisingly large scale.

A Thermometer for Measuring Quantumness | Quanta Magazine

“Anomalous” heat flow, which at first appears to violate the second law of thermodynamics, gives physicists a way to detect quantum entanglement without destroying it.

www.quantamagazine.org

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Gabrielle Birchak @gabriellebirchak.bsky.social · 14d

💔 She was my shero. She inspired so many! She left behind a legacy of curiosity, compassion, and hope. May we honor her by listening to nature, protecting its wonders, and carrying forward her belief: the greatest danger to our future is apathy.

Rest in peace, Jane. Your vision will never fade. 😪

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Gabrielle Birchak @gabriellebirchak.bsky.social · 14d

Webb captures the first direct evidence of a moon-forming disk around an exoplanet, this shows a carbon rich chemistry around CT Cha b and offering a window into how moons (and planets) take shape.
Check it out: science.nasa.gov/missions/web...

NASA's Webb Telescope Studies Moon-Forming Disk Around Massive Planet - NASA Science

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has provided the first direct measurements of the chemical and physical properties of a potential moon-forming disk

science.nasa.gov

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Reposted by Gabrielle Birchak

Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 14d

Jane Goodall, ethologist and conservationist, has died. She was 91

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Gabrielle Birchak @gabriellebirchak.bsky.social · 15d

Behind every equation is a human mind. This week, we explore Ludwig Boltzmann’s genius, his struggles, and the math that changed how we see time itself. #MathScienceHistory #Podcast

Listen to it on today's podcast: mathsciencehistory.libsyn.com/ludwig-boltz...

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Gabrielle Birchak @gabriellebirchak.bsky.social · 16d

Coming tomorrow, a new Math! Science! History! Episode discussing Ludwig Boltzmann!

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Gabrielle Birchak @gabriellebirchak.bsky.social · 17d

Gene therapy slowed Huntington's decline by up to 75% in early trials– which is a massive milestone proving RNA-based approaches, like microRNA and mRNA, can rewrite disease, not just symptoms!

🔗 Check it out here: www.sciencenews.org/article/hunt...

Huntington's progression slowed by experimental gene therapy

An experimental gene therapy slowed Huntington’s by up to 75 percent in a small clinical trial. While not a cure, it may give patients longer lives.

www.sciencenews.org

Gabrielle Birchak @gabriellebirchak.bsky.social · 18d

Check out this article on how new mathematics is reviving geometry’s oldest, unsolved puzzles and reshaping what we thought was possible.

🔗

New Math Revives Geometry’s Oldest Problems | Quanta Magazine

Using a relatively young theory, a team of mathematicians has started to answer questions whose roots lie at the very beginning of mathematics.

www.quantamagazine.org

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Reposted by Gabrielle Birchak

Gabrielle Birchak @gabriellebirchak.bsky.social · 22d

In 1982, Dan Shechtman looked into his microscope and saw the "impossible", a tenfold symmetry that shattered crystallography. Listen to today's podcast on Quasicrystals, and understand the strange order that changed crystallography! #MathScienceHistory

Check out today's podcast: buff.ly/bbWbt7A

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Gabrielle Birchak @gabriellebirchak.bsky.social · 19d

That's funny!!

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