A Telescope Is Taking 12 Years To Build But Could Find Extraterrestrial Life In Hours
Monday, March 24
Robert Reich
Friends,
Let’s say you don’t like what the Trump administration is doing, or you don’t like Trump. You express these views on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.
You take a two-week vacation in France. When you try to return to the United States, U.S. immigration agents arrest you. They detain you in solitary confinement. They don’t let you contact your family. They don’t let you contact a lawyer. Then they send you to a brutal prison in El Salvador.
But wait! You scream over and over. You can’t do this! I’m an American citizen!
Your screams have no effect.
Sound far-fetched? Recently, a French scientist was prevented from entering the United States because U.S. Border Patrol agents had found messages from him in which he had expressed his “personal opinion” to colleagues and friends about Trump’s science policies.
In another case, immigration agents detained Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a kidney transplant specialist and professor at Brown University who was trying to return to the United States after visiting relatives in Lebanon.
Dr. Alawieh was not allowed to do that. She was deported despite having a valid visa and a court order blocking her removal. Federal authorities alleged that they found “sympathetic photos and videos of prominent Hezbollah figures” in her phone and that she attended the funeral for the leader of Hezbollah in February.
At A Glance
The best time to sell your house based on where you live.
Waymo tops world's 50 most innovative companies.
See Vrbo's most remarkable vacation rentals.
Swiss town's doctors prescribe free museum visits.
Watch actors in 1984 audition for "Back to the Future."
Twitter's 560-pound, 12-foot-tall logo sells for $34K.
"World's ugliest animal" is New Zealand's Fish of the Year.
Clickbait: Influencer rents robot to cook, clean, and go on dates.
Birds and Bees
Explore the pollinator database
What plants attract what pollinators? It’s a question conservationists ask when considering where to reintroduce rare plants, as they want to do so in regions that can also sustain the necessary pollinators. This page compiles a vast database of plant-pollinator interactions. Pretend you're a conservationist and click around to explore pollinators.
A list of pollinator-friendly native plants
You can help revitalize pollinator populations by planting native plants in your backyard, whether urban, rural, or suburban. Some plants provide the flowers (and their pollen and nectar), while others act as nests or hosts for key pollinators like caterpillars and bees. Explore these regional guides to learn which plants will grow well in your area here.
The bees getting hooked on caffeine
Caffeine gives honeybees a kick too! Bees are three times more likely to remember a flower if its nectar contains caffeine. Plants want pollinators to keep coming back, so the finding suggests that some plants, like Citrus and Coffea species, evolved to include caffeine in their nectar. Check out how this has impacted plant evolution here.
How agriculture can actually help pollinators
Poet and nonfiction writer Heather Swan meditates on how agriculture has evolved to be harmful to pollinators–from the use of pesticides to monocropping–and what farmers can do to reverse course. Her findings unfold alongside her travels to a handful of farms, some entrenched in harmful practices and others actively trying to be better stewards. Read more here.
The rising phenomenon of kidnapping bees
Pollinating California’s almond farms requires far more bees than naturally live in the area, causing demand for domesticated honeybees to skyrocket. The typical cost of a hive shot from $35 to $200 in just a few years. This newfound money in pollination has incentivized some to steal hives in the dark of night. Read more about "hive crime" here.
The threat honeybees pose to native bees
Commercial beekeepers are increasingly breeding honeybees on public lands, raising concerns among environmentalists that they’ll compete with and introduce new diseases to already threatened native pollinator populations. But beekeepers say they’re running out of space. Read about the tensions between honeybees and native bees here.
What plants attract what pollinators? It’s a question conservationists ask when considering where to reintroduce rare plants, as they want to do so in regions that can also sustain the necessary pollinators. This page compiles a vast database of plant-pollinator interactions. Pretend you're a conservationist and click around to explore pollinators.
A list of pollinator-friendly native plants
You can help revitalize pollinator populations by planting native plants in your backyard, whether urban, rural, or suburban. Some plants provide the flowers (and their pollen and nectar), while others act as nests or hosts for key pollinators like caterpillars and bees. Explore these regional guides to learn which plants will grow well in your area here.
The bees getting hooked on caffeine
Caffeine gives honeybees a kick too! Bees are three times more likely to remember a flower if its nectar contains caffeine. Plants want pollinators to keep coming back, so the finding suggests that some plants, like Citrus and Coffea species, evolved to include caffeine in their nectar. Check out how this has impacted plant evolution here.
How agriculture can actually help pollinators
Poet and nonfiction writer Heather Swan meditates on how agriculture has evolved to be harmful to pollinators–from the use of pesticides to monocropping–and what farmers can do to reverse course. Her findings unfold alongside her travels to a handful of farms, some entrenched in harmful practices and others actively trying to be better stewards. Read more here.
The rising phenomenon of kidnapping bees
Pollinating California’s almond farms requires far more bees than naturally live in the area, causing demand for domesticated honeybees to skyrocket. The typical cost of a hive shot from $35 to $200 in just a few years. This newfound money in pollination has incentivized some to steal hives in the dark of night. Read more about "hive crime" here.
The threat honeybees pose to native bees
Commercial beekeepers are increasingly breeding honeybees on public lands, raising concerns among environmentalists that they’ll compete with and introduce new diseases to already threatened native pollinator populations. But beekeepers say they’re running out of space. Read about the tensions between honeybees and native bees here.
Universe & Life
What if the universe was alive?
It was sentient... able to perceive or feel things?
We measure sentience relative to ourselves... what is it like for a human being to perceive and feel.
- we hear
- we see
- we taste
- we smell
- we feel
- we fear
- we think
- we hurt
- we love
- we bleed
We don't think that a tree, flower or bush is sentient nor do we think a car, truck, or airplane is sentient either.
That seems rather obvious to us.
Animals are sentient... and scientific evidence supports that.
But, the universe???
Is the universe sentient?
What if it was sentient...
It perceives and has feelings...
It creates and destroys...
It gives life and takes life...
Is the universe aware that it is expanding?
Is the universe aware of entropy?
Is it expanding to avoid entropy?
Do black holes destroy universes?
Are they aware of what they are doing?
Does dark energy and dark matter give the universe its LIFE somehow... like human blood and the oxygen, we breath?
Does the universe somehow breathe in dark energy?
What if GOD is the sum total of the universe?
God = the universe
The universe = God
Maybe each of our bodies is a miniature universe...
All Life on Earth Comes From One Single Ancestor.
Life on Earth had to begin somewhere, and scientists think that “somewhere” is LUCA—or the Last Universal Common Ancestor. True to its name, this prokaryote-like organism represents the ancestor of every living thing, from the tiniest of bacteria to the grandest of blue whales.
While the Cambrian Explosion kickstarted complex life in a major way some 530 million years, the true timeline of life on Earth is much longer. For years, scientists have estimated that LUCA likely arrived on the scene some 4 billion years, which is only 600 million years after the planet’s formation.
But a study from an international team of scientists pushes that timeline back even further to some 4.2 billion years ago, while also discovering some fascinating details about what life for LUCA might’ve been like. The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.
Sunday, March 23
Robert Reich
Friends,
It’s been another terrible week for America. Not only is the nation being severely tested, we as individuals are being tested as almost never before.
I know how hard it is to keep up your strength and determination in light of the daily onslaught from Trump, Musk, and their horrendous regime.
It’s devastating and depressing to witness their attempts to intimidate lawyers, law firms, universities, the media, and every other institution of civil society.
I thank you for hanging in there, nonetheless — protecting those who are most vulnerable, appearing at political town halls and demanding that Republicans be held accountable, demanding that Democrats speak out, holding “empty chair” town halls when your representative doesn’t show up, showing up for Bernie and AOC, organizing and mobilizing in Wisconsin and elsewhere, jamming the White House switchboard, and making good trouble when and however you can.
I also thank you for reading and sharing this letter. In doing so, you’re helping inform and reassure many others.
A few of you worry that I’m “preaching to the converted” and not reaching the people who need to be reached — mainly the followers of Trump and Musk. I sometimes worry about that, too.
At A Glance
> Why some people doubt Shakespeare's identity.
> The artist making masterpieces with Microsoft Excel.
> A primer on the lost art of attending the opera.
> Taking a look at the music scene in North Korea.
> The scammer who used a fake diagnosis to garner donations.
World History
> The history of brainwashing in America.
> How awareness of mortality can enrich our daily lives.
> Mapping the Soviet gulags.
> How the British Empire marketed itself with posters.
> An in-depth cultural history of tattoos.
Business & Finance
> Inside the circus th
at is a company's IPO.
> Visualizing the minimum wage around the world.
> Amazon's first letter to shareholders.
> Does the Federal Reserve print money?
> The American Dream costs more more than $4M.
Health & Medicine
> How do muscles contract?
> What conditions can be treated with stem cells?
> The most common addictions in America.
> What is a coronavirus?
> How light pollution is causing insomnia in oysters.
Science & Technology
> Who owns your brain implant?
> The role the medieval belief in angels played in modern physics.
> Explaining solar energy's duck-shaped usage curve.
> How companies plan to monetize space trash.
> Comparing the major types of quantum computers.
In The NEWS
Small Business Administration to cut more than 40% of workforce.
The Small Business Administration plans to cut 43% of its staff as part of the Trump administration's effort to downsize the government and reduce federal spending. The SBA employs roughly 6,500 people, or less than half a percent of the total federal workforce. President Donald Trump also announced the SBA would handle student loans. See other changes here.
Texas measles outbreak rises to 309 cases with 40 hospitalizations.
The Texas outbreak has grown to 309 cases in roughly two months, surpassing the 285 cases reported nationwide last year. Most cases are in unvaccinated individuals or individuals whose vaccination status is unknown. Thirty of the cases were reported this week. Meanwhile, New Mexico's outbreak has grown to 38 cases. See CDC data here.
Johnson & Johnson pledges $55B investment in US amid looming tariffs.
The pharmaceutical giant will invest more than $55B over the next four years, building four new manufacturing plants and expanding existing facilities. The investment is a 25% increase compared to the previous four years and appears to be a response to potential drug import tariffs from the Trump administration.
Sudan's army retakes Khartoum presidential palace from paramilitary forces.
The development marks a symbolic victory for Sudan's military in the ongoing civil war against the Rapid Support Forces militia. The nearly two-year conflict between forces of two formerly allied generals—army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo—has killed an estimated 28,000 people and displaced an estimated 10 million others, about one-fifth of the country’s population.
Bones of mammoths butchered for their tusks 25,000 years ago unearthed.
Archaeologists in Austria found the ancient remains of butchered mammoths, including dismembered tusks, suggesting the site was used for ivory processing. The discovery provides insights into how humans hunted mammoths and used their resources before the peak of the last Ice Age.
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Professional Athletes
Years ago, I was very athletic, I played first base in baseball, forward in basketball, middle linebacker in football, and threw the shot, discuss, and javelin in track and field.
I also played softball and volleyball. I was pretty good, but I was not great; I suppose I could have become great if I had practiced but I was engaged in other interests, so there was not one area that manipulated my time.
My father loved sports as well focusing on football and tennis and when I was living at home, those were the sports that we watched on television on the weekends or during the holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Over the years, I got tired of watching sports; I'm not sure why, I just did. The players got paid way to much money and they lived celebrity lifestyles that embraced recklessness, alcohols, sex, and drugs.
If professional athletes were ever role models in my mind, but the age of 50, they were no longer in that category.
Professional athletics is a multibillion-dollar industry these days and like all industries that large they have their problems. In the past, athletes were associated with the selling of products, now they are associated with politicians.
That alone negatively taints their profession in my mind. They have a right to endorse politicians don't get me right, I just don't think it is appropriate.
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