More than 50 years ago, experiments measuring the activity of nerve cells in the hippocampus of rabbits were the first to hint at the mechanism that allows the brain to remember. https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/mind/2025/memory-formation-long-term-potentiation #ScienceMastodon
“I think people hope that you can break some things and then you fix them to make them better. But some of these systems are very old; you need to understand them before you break them.” —Political scientist Katherine Bersch https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/society/2025/how-to-make-bureaucracies-better
#OPINION 
They might be able to help, but only if well-designed and in combination with other policies.
The sun unleashed two huge flares early Wednesday, one day after a NASA observatory captured a dramatic photo of a separate solar flare.
Denise Chow reports for NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/massive-solar-storm-causes-communications-blackouts-rcna206725
Quantities alone make things complicated — you need as much as 10 times the natural color to get the same visual punch — a change that would affect well-honed recipes, supply chains and more.
For a look at the tricky task of scaling up natural color production, read our 2022 story on an oft-used red 
https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/technology/2022/cochineal-red-dye-bugs-moves-lab
In a move that’s outraged public health experts, the Trump administration has withdrawn a proposed regulation that would have limited salmonella content in raw poultry and required producers to test their products for salmonella before selling them, reports Seth Millstein for @sentientmedia https://sentientmedia.org/trump-administration-withdraws-salmonella-testing/
Eliminating this food-poisoning bacterium from poultry is tricky. Learn more in our 2021 Q&A:
https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/food-environment/2021/salmonella-why-its-chicken-and-egg-thing
Deep in the rainforest of Africa, a male chimpanzee approaches a tall tree with prominent roots and begins to slap them vigorously, creating a deep, percussive sound that can be heard kilometers away. Such “drumming” allows chimps to communicate across long distances.
Now, two studies show the animals also drum to a distinct beat, which varies across chimp societies.
@rpocisv reports for @SciMag 
https://www.science.org/content/article/chimpanzee-drumming-may-give-clues-roots-rhythm
Linguists and archaeologists have argued for decades about where, and when, the first Indo-European languages were spoken, and what kind of lives those first speakers led. A controversial new analytic technique offers a fresh answer.
https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/society/2024/origin-spread-indo-european-languages
For more on the science of color perception, check out our 2022 Q&A with neuroscientist Jenny Bosten: https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/mind/2022/science-of-color-perception
The rainbow may be due for an update. A new, high-tech method for displaying color has allowed five test subjects to see a shade beyond the standard human range. 
Lauren Leffer reports for @PopularScience
https://www.popsci.com/health/new-color-green/ #ScienceMastodon
People love to hate them, but effective administrative systems shape good government. A political scientist weighs in on why reforming them is best done with care. By Nicola Jones
https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/society/2025/how-to-make-bureaucracies-better
Scientists are reporting two new breakthroughs in food science: 3D-printed calamari and the largest lab-grown chicken nugget to date.
Listen on #ScienceFriday: https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/meat-alternative-chicken-calamari/ #ScienceMastodon
Four weeks ago, my first co-authored @EuroGeosciences #preprint « #Reviews and syntheses: Best practices for the application of #marine #GDGTs as proxy for paleotemperatures: sampling, processing, analyses, interpretation, and archiving protocols » went online!
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1467
#Science #ScienceMastodon #AcademicMastodon
#Review #Consensus
#EGUsphere
#isoGDGTs #brGDGTs #TeamArchaea #TeamBacteria
#archaeal #bacterial #tetraether #lipids
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On our radar: Pope smoke-signal chemistry
“This graphic takes a look at how the different smoke colors are generated. The Vatican does actually have an official recipe for both smoke colors, after ambiguous colors caused confusion in previous decades.”
The latest science on how blood levels of HDL, LDL and more relate to cardiovascular health. Amber Dance.
As trees choked by saltwater die along low-lying coasts, marshes may move in — for better or worse, scientists are learning. https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/food-environment/2025/ghost-forests-are-growing-sea-levels-rise-climate-change #KnowableMagazine #ScienceMastodon
On our radar: Death metal vocal techniques
“I think it’s cool that this study is going to bring a lot of new information to what we do know already about extreme vocalization.”
Christina Couch, Science Friday
https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/death-metal-singers-vocal-research/
On our radar: The controversial swimming dinosaur
“A swimming Spinosaurus, like the version that’s going to be on-screen a lot this year, would be a blockbuster discovery — if it could be confirmed.”
Carolyn Gramling, Science News
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/dinosaur-spinosaurus-jurassic-swim
The current system of supervised release in lieu of imprisonment may do more harm than good, some experts say. How can society do a better job of rehabilitating law-breakers while keeping them from re-offending? Lola Butcher.
https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/society/2024/making-parole-probation-effective
The last #scientific #publication from Devika Varma’s #PhD #thesis at @NIOZnieuws (https://www.nioz.nl/en/news/investigating-paleotemperature-proxies-based-on-archaeal-hydroxylated-tetraether-lipids) is now published in #OrganicGeochemistry:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2025.105010
Many thanks to Isla Castañeda for the invitation to review this paper—yes, I signed the review report.
#Science #ScienceMastodon #AcademicMastodon
#GDGTs #isoGDGTs #TeamArchaea
#Archaeal #tetraether #lipids
