It’s a plot device beloved by science fiction: our entire universe might be a simulation running on some advanced civilization’s supercomputer. But new research from UBC Okanagan has mathematically proven this isn’t just unlikely—it’s impossible. Mathematical proof debunks the idea that the universe is a computer simulation There is some relief in that. Being stuck …
10,000 BC
The map above shows a very rough estimate of the population of each continent in 10,000 BC. The numbers come form Our World In Data, which uses HYDE version 3.3. I would dearly love to know what the biosphere was like then. So much lost since.
Dogs and Humans
“It’s an amazing, enduring partnership and shows the sheer flexibility of the role dogs can play in our societies, far more than with any other domestic species.” Paleogenomics study shows humans and dogs spread across Eurasia together By applying cutting-edge shape analysis to hundreds of archaeological specimens spanning tens of thousands of years, researchers have …
Dodo Head.
I never heard of this before. Other dodo posts. I thought there were more and that Steve had a thing for them since they were pigeons. There is lots of hype online that I haven’t looked at that they are being cloned.
Morse Code?
Bees learn to read simple ‘Morse code’
A 40 pound maitake
Source Harvesting the largest mushroom of my life! A 40 pound maitake, also known as hen of the woods! Thank you Earth and thank you to my fellow forager Jeff, who took me to this joyous land of mushrooms. Steve would likely be into it since he posted about ‘shroom hunting before.
Spicomellus
Imagine a dinosaur that looked like a walking medieval weapon rack. That’s basically Spicomellus afer, the oldest-known ankylosaur ever discovered, recently unearthed in Morocco. And trust me, this guy makes every other armored dinosaur look underdressed for battle. Dating back over 165 million years, Spicomellus wasn’t some towering T. rex rival. Instead, it was a …
50 years today
SS Edmund Fitzgerald 50th Anniversary – Remembering today the twenty-nine crewmen lost aboard the Great Lakes freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which foundered in a sudden and violent storm while crossing Lake Superior on the night of November 10th, 1975 with no survivors. The 13,600 gross ton vessel had served seventeen years hauling taconite iron …
Blood tests, forever chemicals, New Mexico plume
This is certainly true for people who live or work near a plume of contamination that has seeped beyond the boundaries of Cannon Air Force Base, where PFAS-laden firefighting foam was used for years. New Mexico health and environmental officials conducted a $1.2 million testing project, drawing blood from nearly 630 people. They shared the …
Rare genetic mutation known as pseudo-melanism..
At the end of last century, India’s tigers were on the brink of extinction. Slowly, their numbers have rebounded. But that ecological success has prompted a new problem in India’s Similipal Tiger reserve. Our October 2025 cover story dives into the rare genetic mutation known as pseudo-melanism which is carried by nearly half the tigers …