Eclipses are a fantastic sight, whether you’re on Earth or in space.
A cultural anthropologist who studies the awe-inspiring side of space exploration shares what it’s like to witness not one, but two total solar eclipses.
#space #science #solareclipse #interestingscience #NASA
Yes, helmets really are important.
As busy as your brain cells are, they are also incredibly soft and squishy. In fact, your brain has the consistency of jello.
And like jello, it is very vulnerable, especially to physical forces, such as a fall or a sudden jolt.
Helmet on! Because you need your brain to do all the amazing things it does for you, and for that, you should protect it.
#safety #parenting #skateboarding #biking #science
How could Keir Starmer be ousted?
Between 2016 and 2024 the UK saw four changes of prime minister by way of a party leadership contest. In that time, even casual observers became familiar with the dramatic process that the Conservative Party uses to topple one leader and select another. Secret letters to the 1922 Committee, the dramatic confidence votes, and then two selected in a dog-eat-dog process to face the final vote by members.
What may be about to happen in the Labour Party will be different in important respects. If the Conservative Party is historically a body with its head in parliament and limbs extended into the country, Labour is more like a mountain with only its peak protruding into the parliamentary arena.
Even today, Labour has a deep institutional culture and a set of rules that anchor the legitimacy of the leader in the broader party membership as much as in parliament. In the past, Labour’s systems for selecting its leader were as complex as the structure of the party itself. Rules were repeatedly redrawn in factional conflicts between activists, trade unions and the party in parliament.
Read more in our #linkinbio
#keirstarmer #leadershipbid #leadershipcontest #labourparty
Screens are everywhere in children’s lives. They use them at school and at home. They see screens used by their parents as they work on laptops, use phones to arrange playdates or look up outings or recipes on tablets.
Managing screen time can be difficult when it’s not just how much time children spend on screens, but what they’re doing with them that matters. This applies to parents’ use of screens, too.
Here are five tips on how to use screens with and around children in a positive way.
#screentime #screentimeguidelines
Data centers coming to Pennsylvania alone could use enough electricity to power 11 million homes. That’s almost double the number of households across the state!
The buildings’ huge electricity demands could be reduced with techniques like building data centers in abandoned mines to cut cooling costs, or recycling excess heat to power hydroponic farms and warm community pools, explains Penn State architectural engineer Wangda Zuo.
Data centers aren’t going away. The question is whether we let them use unlimited energy, or find sustainable solutions.
#datacenters #cleanenergy #sustainable #technology #Pennsylvania
Does playing with dolls make you have better social skills?
Playing with dolls can be dismissed as “just for fun”.
But findings suggest that doll play can actively support the development of social understanding, especially over screens.
Read more in our #linkinbio
#childdevelopment #socialskills
As we approach #MothersDay, here’s some fascinating science to celebrate moms.
A fetus needs oxygen long before its lungs work, and the mother’s blood delivers it through a remarkable biochemical process.
#science #health #pregnant #pregnancy
Cremation is now the most common burial choice in the U.S., but it’s not always what most people actually want.
It’s often the less expensive option (~$2K for cremation vs. $10K+ for burial), so cost is a factor.
Meanwhile, Gen Z is more likely to prefer casket burial than boomers.
Americans are open to other burial methods like human composting, donation to science and green burials, according to Tanya D. Marsh, a scholar of funeral studies at Wake Forest University.
“Only 47.5% of survey respondents had even heard of a green burial. Yet after reading a brief definition, 56.4% said they would consider it,” Marsh writes.
“The big takeaway is that the cremation rate may be artificially inflated because of limitations on awareness, availability and legal access to greener alternatives.”
#trends #estateplanning #afterlife #GenX #GenZ
Does the song thrush have the best birdsong? For International Dawn Chorus Day, our wildlife experts have been asked to champion their favourite birdsong. You can cast your own vote in our #linkinbio
#birdsong #songthrush #dawnchorus
Catholic leaders are turning to a centuries-old idea to weigh today’s conflicts — including the war with Iran. It’s called “just war” theory, and it asks: Is this war necessary, justified and truly a last resort?
A growing number of critics say the Iran war doesn’t meet that standard.
They point to civilian harm, unclear goals and questions about whether enough time was spent on diplomacy.
Unlike past presidents, Donald Trump hasn’t leaned on traditional moral arguments to defend the war with Iran.
🎧 More from Gerard F. Powers, Director of Catholic Peacebuilding Studies at the University of Notre Dame, on the latest The Conversation Weekly podcast.
#IranWar #Iran #Trump #History #Politics
Does the great tit have the best birdsong? Cast your vote in our #linkinbio in time for #InternationalDawnChorusDay
#greattitbird #birdsong #dawnchorus
Does the robin have the best birdsong?
Cast your vote in our #linkinbio
To mark International Dawn Chorus day we’ve asked wildlife experts to make their case for why their favourite songbird deserves your vote.
Answer below
#robin #dawnchorus #birdsong
