Matt Willemsen @Nonog@fedibird.com

Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue
Infant's dark-brown eyes suddenly turn indigo blue after COVID-19 antiviral treatment. But why?
In a rare case, the brown eyes of a 6-month-old boy with COVID-19 turned blue after he was given the antiviral favipiravir.
https://www.livescience.com/health/medicine-drugs/infants-dark-brown-eyes-suddenly-turn-indigo-blue-after-covid-19-antiviral-treatment-but-why #COVIDー19 #antiviral #favipiravir #fluorescence #BrownEyes #BlueEyes #temporary

Scientists finally figure out why cats are obsessed with tuna
Cats love tuna because it contains high concentrations of chemicals that make its umami taste receptors light up.
https://www.livescience.com/animals/domestic-cats/scientists-finally-figure-out-why-cats-are-obsessed-with-tuna #cats #tuna #love #umami #うまーい

Remember the venerable tape from the VHS era? It’s back with a vengeance and a 50TB capacity
New technology is more expensive than archrival LTO but offers more capacity per tape
https://www.techradar.com/pro/remember-the-venerable-tape-from-the-vhs-era-its-back-with-a-vengeance-and-a-50tb-capacity #VHS #tape #50TB #Fujifilm #IBM

South China Sea: Asean risks irrelevance from ‘damaging’ non-response to tensions
With Asean centrality at stake, it would be a ‘huge miss’ if the bloc does not even issue a statement to uphold international law, observers say
Conflicting claims and a reluctance to ‘stick their necks out’ against China are seen as among the reasons for a lack of a unified Asean stance
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3233512/south-china-sea-asean-risks-irrelevance-damaging-non-response-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed #SouthChinaSea #Asean #irrelevance #NonResponse

So now we know who America's oligarchs emulate.

Biden’s Indirect Play for a Just Transition to EVs
Department of Energy programs condition funding for retooling factories on good-paying union jobs in manufacturing communities.
https://prospect.org/economy/2023-09-04-bidens-indirect-play-just-transition-evs/ #Biden #EVs #DOE #union #jobs #UAW #ElectricVehicles

China’s Ancient Echo: Lessons From the Qing Dynasty’s Collapse for Today’s World
The Qing Dynasty in China, after over 250 years, crumbled in 1912. Led by the Complexity Science Hub (CSH), an international research team has pinpointed key reasons behind the collapse, revealing parallels to modern instability and offering vital lessons for the future.
https://scitechdaily.com/chinas-ancient-echo-lessons-from-the-qing-dynastys-collapse-for-todays-world/ #Anthropology #ComplexityScienceHub #Economics #china #qing

GPT detectors are biased against non-native English writers
https://www.cell.com/patterns/fulltext/S2666-3899(23)00130-7?_returnURL=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2666389923001307?showall=true

AI’s Dirty Little Secret: Stanford Researchers Expose Flaws in Text Detectors
In a study recently published in the journal Patterns, researchers demonstrate that computer algorithms often used to identify AI-generated text frequently falsely label articles written by non-native language speakers as being created by artificial intelligence. Researchers warn that unreliable performance of AI text-detection programs could adversely affect many individuals, including students and job applicants.
https://scitechdaily.com/ais-dirty-little-secret-stanford-researchers-expose-flaws-in-text-detectors/ #AI #text #fraud #detection #NonNative

AI systems have learned how to deceive humans. What does that mean for our future?
Anyone who has kept tabs on the latest AI offerings will know these systems are prone to “hallucinating” (making things up) – a flaw that’s inherent in them due to how they work.
Yet Hinton highlights the potential for manipulation as a particularly major concern. This raises the question: can AI systems deceive humans?
https://theconversation.com/ai-systems-have-learned-how-to-deceive-humans-what-does-that-mean-for-our-future-212197 #AI #deception #manipulation #ethics

Don’t Miss: Venus, Harvest Moon, and Zodiacal Light
What are some skywatching highlights in September 2023?
Venus returns to the early morning skies as a bright beacon in the east. The full moon at the end of the month is known as the Harvest Moon. And if you have access to dark skies away from urban light pollution, you might be able to glimpse the faint, glowing pillar of the zodiacal light.
https://scitechdaily.com/dont-miss-venus-harvest-moon-and-zodiacal-light/ #Venus #HarvestMoon #ZodiacalLight #astronomy #StarGazing

Ranked: Most Popular U.S. Undergraduate Degrees (2011–2021)
This visualization by Kashish Rastogi, based on data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), examines the changing landscape of undergraduate degrees awarded between the 2010–2011 and 2020–2021 academic years.
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/charted-most-popular-u-s-undergraduate-degrees-2011-2021/
#infographic #ranking #Popular #US #Undergraduate #Degrees

Comprehensive New Amphibian Family Tree Revises Frog Evolution Timeline
This comprehensive phylogeny, based on hundreds of genetic markers and a staggering 5,242 frog species, is set to transform our understanding of these fascinating creatures.
https://scitechdaily.com/comprehensive-new-amphibian-family-tree-revises-frog-evolution-timeline/ #Amphibians #Evolution #Frogs #Genetics #anuran #diversity #FamilyTree

Atmospheric Revelations: New Research Reveals Earth’s Ancient “Breath”
Researchers have identified a link between ancient atmospheric shifts and Earth’s mantle chemistry, shedding light on the planet’s evolution.
An international team of scientists has uncovered an important link between Earth’s early atmosphere and the chemistry of its deep mantle.
https://scitechdaily.com/atmospheric-revelations-new-research-reveals-earths-ancient-breath/ #AtmosphericScience #Geochemistry #Geoscience #GreatOxygenationEvent #mantle

. . . Or is he Cake?
D-Day Arrives for Texas AG Ken Paxton. Is He Toast?
Evidence has been stacking up against one of Texas’ most influential Republicans, but will more than two-thirds of the state’s deep-red Senate vote for his removal?
https://www.thedailybeast.com/ken-paxtons-impeachment-trial-what-to-know-how-to-watch #Texas #AG #KenPaxton #impeachment #trial #live #KHOU11 #KVUE