Notices by Matt Willemsen (nonog@fedibird.com)

Gaia is so Accurate it Can Predict Microlensing Events
The ESA’s Gaia Observatory continues its astrometry mission, which consists of measuring the positions, distances, and motions of stars (and the positions of orbiting exoplanets) with unprecedented precision.
Astrometric microlensing can be used to make precise measurements of the masses of lens stars that are independent of their assumed internal physics.
https://www.universetoday.com/164088/gaia-is-so-accurate-it-can-predict-microlensing-events/ Gaia #microlensing #astrometry #gravity #galaxies

World's smallest particle accelerator is 54 million times smaller than the Large Hadron Collider, and it works
Scientists have created world's first nanophotonic electron accelerator, which speeds negatively charged particles with mini laser pulses and is small enough to fit on a coin.
https://www.livescience.com/physics-mathematics/particle-physics/worlds-smallest-particle-accelerator-is-54-million-times-smaller-than-the-large-hadron-collider-and-it-works #worlds #smallest #particle #accelerator #laserpulses

Anthropologists Reconstruct Face of Homo heidelbergensis
Anthropologists in Greece have used facial reconstruction techniques to show how Homo heidelbergensis, a poorly understood relative of Neanderthals that lived between 700,000 to 200,000 years ago, might have once looked.
https://www.sci.news/othersciences/anthropology/homo-heidelbergensis-facial-reconstruction-12354.html #facial #reconstruction #Homo #heidelbergensis #paleoanthropology #Petralona #skull #MiddlePleistocene

Which Countries Receive the Most Foreign Aid From the U.S.?
The United States provided more than $50 billion in aid to over 150 countries and territories, regional funds, and NGOs in 2021.
In this map, USAFacts uses data from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to highlight the countries that received the largest portion of aid.
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/which-countries-receive-the-most-foreign-aid-from-the-u-s/ #infographic #US #ForeignAid #USAID

Move over, Viagra — this spider's boner-inducing venom could treat people let down by the blue pill
Scientists say a synthetic compound derived from Brazilian wandering spider venom could treat people with erectile dysfunction for whom drugs like Viagra don't work.
https://www.livescience.com/health/medicine-drugs/move-over-viagra-this-spiders-boner-inducing-venom-could-treat-people-let-down-by-the-blue-pill #viagra #erection #erectile #dysfunction #spider #venom

1942 letter suggests Pope Pius XII knew "detailed information" about mass killings of Jews and Poles
Pius XII, pope during World War II, was informed of the mass murders of Jews and Poles by a Jesuit in Germany in 1942, contradicting the Catholic Church's prior claims about its its awareness of the Holocaust.
https://boingboing.net/2023/09/17/wartime-letter-suggests-pope-pius-xii-knew-detailed-information-about-holocaust.html #PopePiusXII #holocaust #WWII #jews #poles

The Hidden Danger: Air Pollution’s Link to Breast Cancer Risk
Researchers from the National Institutes of Health have discovered a correlation between high levels of particulate air pollution and an increased risk of breast cancer.
https://scitechdaily.com/the-hidden-danger-air-pollutions-link-to-breast-cancer-risk/ #AirPollution #BreastCancer #particulates #risk #PM2point5

New Study: We Are Wasting Up to 20 Percent of Our Time on Computer Problems
espite advancements in computer technology, they still malfunction 11-20% of the time, causing significant productivity loss, according to recent research. The study advocates for rethinking system design and involving users more in the development process for better functionality.
https://scitechdaily.com/new-study-we-are-wasting-up-to-20-percent-of-our-time-on-computer-problems/ #time #wasting #computer #problems #productivity

Teen’s death after eating a single chip highlights risks of ultra-spicy foods
The hot pepper linked to teen's death can cause arteries in the brain to spasm.
https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/09/teens-death-after-eating-a-single-chip-highlights-risks-of-ultra-spicy-foods/ #Paqui #OneChipChallenge #toxicology #vasoactive #capsaicin

Scientists Unveil Unprecedented “Live” View Into the Brain’s Complexity
Researchers have developed a new imaging and virtual reconstruction technology named LIONESS, which offers high-resolution imaging of live brain tissue, visualizing it in real-time 3D nanoscale detail.
https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-unveil-unprecedented-live-view-into-the-brains-complexity/ #brain #complexity #imaging #virtual #reconstruction #3D #nanoscale

Giant phallus-shaped iceberg floating in Conception Bay surprises residents of Dildo, Canada
A phallus-shaped iceberg hovered off the coast of Dildo, Newfoundland in Conception Bay before collapsing.
https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/giant-phallus-shaped-iceberg-floating-in-conception-bay-surprises-residents-of-dildo-canada #phallus #dildo #iceberg #conception #4Rlz

@blechpirat https://theshovel.com.au/2021/10/26/man-announces-he-will-quit-drinking-by-2050/

The U.S. Patent Office Should Drop Proposed Rules That Favor Patent Trolls
If implemented, the proposed rule changes could seriously damage the system of “inter partes reviews,” or IPRs, that Congress created 10 years ago.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/us-patent-office-should-drop-proposed-rules-favor-patent-trolls #USPatentOffice #Proposed #Rules #Favor #PatentTrolls #EFF

@evan Not a problem. I'm vaxxed and boosted.