Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Becca

Rosa Lafer-Sousa @rosalafersousa.bsky.social · 1d

Over the weekend ICE abducted an NIH contractor when he showed up to a courthouse for his green card hearing. He is documented. His wife is a citizen.

He is also member of the skeleton crew of animal care staff that works through a shutdown, to ensure the health and wellbeing of research animals.

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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 11h

"Energy dominance," you say?

As of this year, *China is exporting more clean-energy technology than the US is exporting the dirty stuff*.

The future is green energy & China, not the US, is set to dominate it.

China Is Beating the US in the Battle for Energy Export Dominance

China’s exports of clean energy technology hit a record in August, with $20 billion shipped globally.

www.bloomberg.com

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Becca @sciencelizard.bsky.social · 14h

I vacilate between "the world has always been on fire" and "are you effen sh*tting me??" outrage. Both can be appropriate. But ultimately, neither is aligning with "this is as good as it gets". *that* I reject.

Starfish Who Can’t Think Something Witty @irhottakes.bsky.social · 15h

I will grant that there were always bad things. I will grant that not dealing with the bad things allowed them to get worse. But I refuse to believe everything was always *this* bad, because I remember them being relatively better.

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Becca @sciencelizard.bsky.social · 17h

It always reminds me of "You are trying to kidnap what I have rightfully stolen!"

a man and woman are sitting at a table with a bottle of wine .

ALT: a man and woman are sitting at a table with a bottle of wine .

media.tenor.com

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Becca @sciencelizard.bsky.social · 17h

This is what the Napster guy said too. We *can* reset norms about what constitutes "stealing", and as soon as a player as big as Apple figures out a monetization of training content strategy, the industry will adapt incredibly fast.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

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Alexander Chee @alexanderchee.bsky.social · 19h

In case you, like me, saw your electric bill more than double.

Peter Butler @peter-butler.bsky.social · 1d

Bloomberg research found wholesale electricity up ~270% in areas near data centers

It doesn't seem like nearly enough people are taking it seriously

One A.I. image isn't too much energy, but 5 million videos? Per day/hour/minute whatever. It's not sustainable

www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...

AI Data Centers Are Sending Power Bills Soaring

Wholesale electricity costs as much as 267% more than it did five years ago in areas near data centers. That’s being passed on to customers.

www.bloomberg.com

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ProPublica @propublica.org · 1d

NEW: When a health insurer refuses to pay for your treatment, you may have the right to have the denial reviewed — and potentially overturned — by an independent provider.

Here are six steps experts suggest to help you through the external appeal process.

This Little-Known Appeal Could Force Your Insurer to Pay for Lifesaving Care. Here’s How to File It.

You may have the right to get a denial reviewed — and potentially overturned — by an independent provider. Here’s how experts suggest you do it.

www.propublica.org

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Becca @sciencelizard.bsky.social · 1d

My Dad discovered I was this type of goblin and I'd get a can of black olives in my Xmas stocking every year

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Becca @sciencelizard.bsky.social · 1d

The internet has escaped containment!

Nome @nome.bsky.social · 1d

24) Middle school teachers are the holders of great cultural knowledge. They know which way the winds are blowing.

I sometimes have to give instructions that include saying the numbers "6, 7" and APPARENTLY that is a TikTok thing because anyone under 15 and also middle school teachers flag the ref.

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Warren Terra @warrenterra.bsky.social · 1d

From what I've seen reported his 'nuanced vision of the military's purpose' was the same one that Arlo Guthrie reportedly said to the military psychologist at his physical when he was called up for the draft.

Four paragraphs of the lyrics of Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" (1967), from a Google search, including typos copied below with a couple of the typos fixed:

Came to talk about the draft.

They got a building down New York City, it's called Whitehall Street, where you walk in, you get injected, inspected, detected, infected, neglected and selected. I went down to get my physical examination one day, and I walked in, I sat down, got good and drunk the night before, so I looked and felt my best when I went in that morning. 'Cause I wanted to look like the all-American kid from New York City, man I wanted, I wanted to feel like the all-, I wanted to be the all American kid from New York, and I walked in, sat down, I was hung down, brung down, hung up, and all kinds o' mean nasty ugly things. And I walked in and sat down and they gave me a piece of paper, said, "Kid, see the psychiatrist, room 604."

And I went up there, I said, "Shrink, I want to kill. I mean, I wanna, I wanna kill. Kill. I wanna, I wanna see, I wanna see blood and gore and guts and veins in my teeth. Eat dead burnt bodies. I mean kill, Kill, KILL, KILL." And I started jumpin up and down yelling, "KILL, KILL, " and he started jumpin up and down with me and we was both jumping up and down yelling, "KILL, KILL." And the sergeant came over, pinned a medal on me, sent me down the hall, said, "You're our boy."

Didn't feel too good about it.

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Becca @sciencelizard.bsky.social · 1d

Maybe it's that I read the A Wrinkle In Time series too much as a child, but the idea that all my anxiety is just my mitochondria being sick is perfect.

Carmen Sandi @carmensandi10.bsky.social · 1d

Very happy to share our new paper in Biological Psychiatry, showing that Urolithin A reverses high anxiety by repairing mitochondrial function in the nucleus accumbens.

Big kudos to first co-authors David Mallet & Doğukan Ülgen, our amazing team, and collaborators!

🔗 Paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.bi...

Redirecting

doi.org

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Becca @sciencelizard.bsky.social · 1d

Trump terrorized government workers via Musk. Now he's terrorizing immigrants and citizens that get lumped in with them via Miller.

Ultimately, Trump IS mentally a bit unglued these days. He's an old man and pretends his handlers fool him with AI. But Teflon Don always deserves the blame.

Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 1d

Someone should start asking why we’re hearing and seeing Stephen Miller so much all of a sudden.

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Becca @sciencelizard.bsky.social · 2d

SMOL FREN!!!

Ethan “Brother Ethan” Kocak @ethankocak.com · 2d

Here some baby Black Night cross leopard geckos.

An orange gecko with a line of brown spots down its back, a whitish neck and a black head. It’s next to a US quarter coin for scale, and is about 3.5” long.

An orange gecko with an irregular line of brown spots down its back, a whitish neck and a black head. It’s next to a US quarter coin for scale, and is about 3.5” long.

An orange gecko with an irregular series of brown spots down its back, a whitish neck and a black head. It’s next to a US quarter coin for scale, and is about 3.5” long.

An brighter orange gecko with a number of brown spots down its back, a whitish neck and a brown head. It’s next to a US quarter coin for scale, and is about 3.5” long.

Reposted by Becca

Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 3d

NEW: Gov. Pritzker says that President Trump is tonight ordering 400 Texas National Guard members to deploy to Illinois, Oregon, and other states. gov-pritzker-newsroom.prezly.com/s/267a0ec0-7...

Gov. Pritzker Statement on the Texas National Guard
Being Deployed to Illinois
OCTOBER 5, 2025
1ส. 261U181
Office of the Governor
JB Pritzker
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sunday, October 5, 2025
CONTACT: Gov.Press@illinois.gov
CHICAGO - Today, Governor JB Pritzker released the following statement after the Illinois National Guard was informed that the Texas National Guard is preparing deployments to Illinois:
"This evening, President Trump is ordering 400 members of the Texas National Guard for deployments to Illinois, Oregon, and other locations within the United States. No officials from the federal government called me directly to discuss or coordinate.
"We must now start calling this what it is: Trump's Invasion. It started with federal agents, it will soon include deploying federalized members of the Illinois National Guard against our wishes, and it will now involve sending in another state's military troops.
"I call on Governor Abbott to immediately withdraw any support for this decision and refuse to coordinate. There is no reason a President should send military troops into a sovereign state without their knowledge, consent, or cooperation.
"The brave men and women who serve in our national guards must not be used as political props. This is a moment where every American must speak up and help stop this madness."

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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 3d

It's increasingly clear that the president lives in a constructed bubble of unreality designed by aides who are manipulating him in order to take control of US policy. Seems like an important story - wish media would cover it.

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Cristian Farias @cristianfarias.com · 3d

This video of Chicagoans intervening to save a man from being abducted off the streets by ICE is making the rounds on Instagram.

Community action works.

Source: www.instagram.com/reel/DPZL2AL...

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Becca @sciencelizard.bsky.social · 3d

If it's not from the Mittelstand region of Germany it's just sparkling authoritarianism.

Mike the Mad Biologist and Tsar of All the Antifas @mikethemadbiol.bsky.social · 3d

And we should understand the costs of the fight, and the costs of delaying the fight. mikethemadbiologist.com/2025/08/14/i...

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Andrew Weinstein @andrewjweinstein.com · 3d

ICE admits that up to 50% of arrests in its Chicago raids are "collateral.” These aren't statistics. They are parents taken from their children, neighbors taken from our communities. When does a "collateral" U.S. citizen child's trauma matter? This isn't law enforcement; it's a campaign of terror.

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Becca @sciencelizard.bsky.social · 3d

I genuinely aspire to be like 10% snarky 90s bunny bumper sticker ("You! Off my planet!") and like 90% Ultra Earnest Mr. Rogers Style We are Here to Help Each Other Fueled By Curiosity And Love.
#Goals

KOJAMF🤘🖤🤘 @kojamf.bsky.social · 3d

Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.

Becca @sciencelizard.bsky.social · 3d

Hi From Northwest Indiana where every banner ad I get is for a shooting range. I know we've gotten in trouble with Chicago before for being the source of Too Many Guns, but the Cabela's off Indianapolis Blvd (Exit 2 I-80/I-94) has a FISHTANK! Come and VISIT friends!

Brandon Friedman @brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 4d

If you showed this tweet to James Madison, he would be like, "yes, this is why I wrote the 2nd Amendment"

@Sec_Noem on X: Chicago, we’re here for you.

Becca @sciencelizard.bsky.social · 3d

Backpropagation exists. My theory is that LLMs are a little knowable but there is no incentive to know compared to hyping the man behind the curtain

Becca @sciencelizard.bsky.social · 4d

Morally more important to harm an LLM than an oil pipeline, less important than taxing wealth above a billion at 100%

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ProPublica @propublica.org · 4d

In the spring, the Trump administration abruptly cut $500 million from an emergency food assistance program that delivered meat, dairy, eggs and produce to food banks across the country.

Thousands of planned deliveries were canceled without warning.

Trump Canceled 94 Million Pounds of Food Aid. Here’s What Never Arrived.

ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the millions of pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the administration’s cut...

projects.propublica.org

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Benjamin Dreyer @bcdreyer.social · 4d

If you like yelling about misuse of the passive voice, THIS IS IT.

CNN @cnn.com · 5d

Adults and children alike were pulled from their Chicago apartments, crying and screaming, during a large overnight raid that has left tenants and neighbors shaken. https://cnn.it/4pPCXIt

37 people arrested and American kids separated from parents after ICE raid at Chicago apartments | CNN

Adults and children alike were pulled from their Chicago apartments, crying and screaming, during a large overnight raid that has left tenants and neighbors shaken.

www.cnn.com

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Becca @sciencelizard.bsky.social · 4d

Chromosomal number is wild. Lots of Go Home Evolution You're Drunk energy.

闵娅(Min Ya; Minya) PhD @minyaaa.bsky.social · 4d

And look at this graphic abstract….. 😱🤯