Mastodawn

Not *quite* as much fun as watching the colorful villains in Batman movies, but essentially the same character types and over-the-top underhanded adventures: "Use this database to explore potential conflicts of interest for President Donald Trump and his team. The documents disclose positions that current and former officials have held outside government, their assets and their debts, among other things." https://projects.propublica.org/trump-team-financial-disclosures/

Explore Financial Disclosures From President Trump and 1,600 of His Appointees - ProPublica

Use this database to explore potential conflicts of interest for President Donald Trump and his team. The documents disclose positions officials have held outside government, their assets and their debts, among other things.

ProPublica

Marc Abrahams 19h ago

"In this episode of #SwishingMindsets, Upasana Sarraju, author of The Ig Nobel Prizes and The Science That Refuses to Behave talks about research that "makes you laugh, then makes you think". From zebra-striped cows (which reduced insect bites) to a galloping horse encoded into bacterial DNA, Upasana takes us through the strangest, funniest, and most unexpectedly profound corners of science." https://open.spotify.com/episode/6MwRfWUXq8xV8HE70QJu3J

Ep 74: Upasana Sarraju, author: The strange science of of Ig Nobel Prizes

Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma · Episode

Spotify

Marc Abrahams 21h ago

Techniques of Successful Con Men: When you want more money, create some from scratch.
A headline in the Tucson Sentinel, on March 20, 2025, says: “ ‘Magic money’: AZ Republicans advance bills to legitimize cryptocurrency”https://improbablestuff.substack.com/p/con-men-make-money

Marc Abrahams 21h ago

In a nutshell in a nutshell in a nutshell… “Found an imaginary problem, said only they could fix it, didn’t listen to experts, hired buddies who grifted millions, failed miserably, bragged how great it went. The entire Trump presidency in a nutshell." https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/june-20-2026

June 20, 2026

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has become a metaphor for the Trump presidency.

Letters from an American

Marc Abrahams 1d ago

RE: https://masto.ai/@Nonilex/116784228231895154

All hail the individual known to future history as Blameless Fearless Donald. (“BFD” to his friends, as if he ever had any.)

Marc Abrahams 2d ago

'Bartolucci will give a lecture titled "The Thermodynamics of Liquid Mixtures, from Cellular Biology to Italian Cuisine." The seminar will illustrate how the principles governing phase separation find application both in cellular biological processes and in seemingly unrelated fields such as gastronomy.' https://www.lapiazzaweb.it/news/attualita/709217/dalla-cacio-e-pepe-al-brodo-primordiale-a-povo-il-fisico-premiato-con-lig-nobel-racconta-i-segreti-della-separazione-di-fase.html

Dalla cacio e pepe al brodo primordiale: a Povo il fisico premiato con l’Ig-Nobel racconta i segreti della separazione di fase

Martedì 23 e mercoledì 24 giugno torna l’Assemblea del Dipartimento di Fisica dell’Università di Trento. Ospite Giacomo Bartolucci, ricercatore ed ex studente dell’ateneo, autore di uno studio che applica la fisica alla celebre ricetta romana

La Piazza Web

Marc Abrahams 2d ago

Peter Kraus Jun 14

This might be a long shot, but if anyone wants to do a #PhD in #Chemistry or #MaterialsScience in #Berlin, I have an open position in my lab at @tuberlin :

https://www.jobs.tu-berlin.de/en/job-postings/204252

The project is on modelling and measuring electrical conductivity of materials. I'm looking for someone with experience in DFT and python, also willing to work in the lab. Feel free to reach out by email or forward to anyone you think might be interested.

Funding is confirmed at 100% TV-L E13 for 2 years.

Job Posting III-218/26: Research Assistant – Job Postings at Technische Universität Berlin

Marc Abrahams 3d ago

Rachel Clarke uses contrast as a tool to praise the book called Morbid: "I am a curmudgeon who seeks from nonfiction not chaos, but education and inspiration. MIT Press sells its author short, though – because that is exactly what this intriguing, eccentric book provides." https://improbable.com/2026/06/18/long-live-the-morbid-book-review/

Long Live the Morbid Book Review

Rachel Clarke uses contrast as a tool to praise the book called Morbid”. Reviewing Morbid, for The Guardian, Clarke writes: These are startling allegations, especially when made by someone wh…

Improbable Research

Marc Abrahams 3d ago

Further triumphs of the greatest and bestest and most honestest leader in the history of the universe. [Technical correction: The Trump(™) Universe.] https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/june-17-2026

June 17, 2026

A senior U.S.

Letters from an American

Marc Abrahams 4d ago

Jennifer Hamilton MD PhD 4d ago

Great news: in the 5 years 2020-2024, know how many 20-24 year olds died of cervical cancer in England?

ZERO.

That's the first cohort of folks that age who were offered the HPV vaccine when they were 12 or 13.

Before the vaccine was used, on average about 20 people in that age range died of cervical cancer in a 5 year span.

We're looking forward to more dramatic results as that group enters their 30s & 40s.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c621z28z138o

#HPV #Gardasil #vaccines

HPV vaccine means young women now have 'close to zero' risk of cervical cancer death

A new study finds that hundreds of lives have been saved since school-age girls were offered the HPV jab in 2008.