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Over the course of 18 years, a truck mechanic from Wisconsin injected himself with snake venom hundreds of times. His actions were considered stunts by some over those years, but his blood has just helped lead the way toward a universal antivenom. · When you watch Tim Friede's now decade-old homemade videos on his YouTube channel, showing him getting bit by the world's deadliest snakes – and surviving – you might not instantly think of him as a…

Between April 2020 and August 2022, the government spent over $116 million on COVID messaging, plus another $55 million via the Public Interest Journalism Fund. · “This substantial government funding stifled open debate,” Anna McLoughlin of NZ Doctors Speaking out on Science (NZDSOS) writes, creating an atmosphere where sceptics were “disappeared or ridiculed and independent journalism was cast quite literally as criminally dangerous.” · She…

In a classroom discussion on women’s work, a student confidently discussed the AI-generated result of her prompt “summarise women’s work”. The result was a well-structured essay on how women in the world economy are engaged in work and how their work is under-paid.  · While many dimensions of this response were correct, what it missed completely was the unpaid care work women do in the  household. It was a textbook example of algorithmic bias —…

In 1904, anti-Asian sentiment in the U.S. rose to a fever pitch as Congress passed an indefinite extension of the Chinese Exclusion Act, almost entirely closing the gates on Chinese immigration. Yet just over a decade later, Beijing-born Wong Tsu came to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology through a loophole in the law that made an exception for students. Shortly after graduating from MIT’s new aeronautical program in June 1916,…

While standing near a magnetron in an aerospace research facility, an engineer noticed that a chocolate bar in his pocket melted—and he got an idea. · Once a symbol of futuristic convenience, the microwave oven has faded into the background of modern existence, its familiar beep and gentle hum echoing from dorm rooms to office break rooms and family kitchens alike. · The now-ubiquitous appliance originated in the laboratories of wartime…

To experts in White House Kremlinology the writing was on the wall for Mike Waltz, Donald Trump’s national security adviser. · On Tuesday, he was spotted flying with the president aboard Marine One from the White House to Joint Base Andrews, just outside Washington, but did not make it up the stairs to Air Force One for the flight to Michigan and a landmark speech celebrating 100 days in power. · Less than 48 hours later a slew of…

Arezki Amiri, writing for The Daily Galaxy, points to a series of studies revealing that attention spans are shortening, problem-solving skills are weakening, and reading habits are collapsing. · “Are we really getting dumber, or is this a sign of a deeper shift in how we think and process information?” he asks. · Many blame part of the trend on changes in media consumption. “Prolonged exposure to screens makes it harder to concentrate and…

On the afternoon of 2 May 1868, the clipper Celestial Queen arrived at Port Chalmers. On board was the first shipment of live fish ova from England. These fish were intended to provide sport for the settlers, but none survived in New Zealand. · The first attempts to import Atlantic salmon (Salmosalar) ova from Great Britain into Australia in the early 1860s were unsuccessful, with the ova being either damaged by the movement of the ship or…

New Zealand First MP Shane Jones and ACT leader David Seymour have come out strongly against a proposal to create a 50-50 decision-making committee for the Waitākere Ranges, saying it would breach the coalition’s commitment to end co-governance of public services. · Jones warned, “We will not agree with any deed of acknowledgement that represents an ideological mustard seed that will morph into a template for co-governance,” arguing the…

As cardinals prepare to enter the Sistine Chapel in a few days to elect a new pope, they are engaged in intense discussions over plates of carbonara and bottles of wine in the Borgo, the village-like quarter of cobbled lanes, tiny piazzas and ornate fountains that lies a few yards from the walls of the Vatican City State. · One is partial to grilled calamari, another cannot resist spaghetti with seafood and a third confesses to a weakness for…