RE: https://social.heise.de/@heiseonline/115615432741862967 I share the author’s scepticism!

If only changes in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations were given the same media coverage as changes in GDP..... #climatechange

Interesting karmic tidbit from the NYT: "The rulings dismissing the James Comey and Letitia James cases also cite a passage from the decision in July 2024 by Judge Aileen M. Cannon in Florida to dismiss the indictment against President Trump in the classified documents case. The cited line is […]

Today at 17:00 UTC free on-line screening of film "Silenced: The dimming of universities" followed by panel discussion with Astronomers for Planet Earth https://www.eventbrite.it/e/online-premiere-silenced-the-dimming-of-universities-panel-discussion-tickets-1895055103829?aff=oddtdtcreator […]

"Scientists across these red states tell 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 they are fearful, disheartened, and less able to focus on their research. All have had to balance personal and professional risks with staying true to their values and identities. Some are fighting back in small ways; others are looking to leave." […]

Trinity College Dublin is advertising for an assistant professor position in Astrophysics. https://aas.org/jobregister/ad/3f60f488 #astronomy #TCD

RE: https://wisskomm.social/@DPGPhysik/115547697059448416 Es freut mich sehr, die @DPGPhysik hier zu sehen - bitte folgen, denn solche Accounts wollen wir hier mehr und dafür brauchen sie Erfolg und Reichweite 😊 (Und bitte macht nicht das Mastodon-typische kritisieren, sondern seid freundlich […]

Wow... I was just pointed to this paper https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfin.2024.104081 and its retraction https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfin.2024.104081 Want to read the first sentence of the introduction together with me? "Certainly, here is a possible […] [Original post on fediscience.org]

Abandoning these rankings is way overdue, IMHO: "The higher-education sector should collectively — and vocally — agree that the current rankings are not fit for purpose." https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03636-x Lizzie Gadd @lizziegadd is spot on, as always! #rankings #universities […]

Pleased to see radio astronomer from UCC, Denise Gabuzda, speak on behalf of the quakers at the inauguration of Cathleen Connolly as 10th president of Ireland! #quakers #aras25 #astronomy

Let's stop pretending that the billionaire media, endlessly attacking the BBC, has the slightest interest in balance, impartiality and accuracy. They won't be happy until the BBC is more rightwing than Vlad the Impaler. And then it still won't be enough.

Reformation of science publishing: the Stockholm Declaration A call to action for universities, academies, science organizations and funders to unite and join this effort. Bernhard Sabel and Dan Larhammar royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

This is a scorching article on the absolute state of The New York Times, and much of the rest of the media. Not just the billionaire media, note, but also the billionaire-*compliant* media, which both-sides every issue with purchased junktank talking points. lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...

RE: https://mastodon.social/@chrisstoecker/115506695262532627 #DieFossilenFürstenDerFinsternis rund um #trump haben ausländische Diplomaten erpresst, um eine Reduktion der CO2-Emissionen in der #Schifffahrt zu verhindern. Mit Erfolg. Den Diplomaten wurde angedroht, dass Mannschaften aus deren […]

TIL about a really interesting small space mission being run as a commercial service, the MAUVE UV telescope. Great also to see Emma Whelan, one of the alumni of @diasastronomy featured in this article […]

It just struck me that the Royal Society's motto, "Nullius in Verba", nicely encapsulates the problem with LLMs.

New SpaceX report on Starlink conjunctions and deorbits (a.k.a. dumping tons of metal/plastic/solar panels/computers into the upper atmosphere) https://www.scribd.com/document/883045105/SpaceX-Gen1-Gen2-Semi-Annual-Report-7-1-25 Scariest part: 472 Starlinks were burned up in the atmosphere in […]

Now imagine something 4 times brighter that the full moon, but a single point source, moving across the sky as fast as a Starlink satellite. It's so bright that it would definitely not feel good to look at, and would instantly destroy your night vision. If you look at it with binoculars or a […]

Whoever designs the covers of these UNEP reports deserves a raise. They’re fantastic.

Do they really not know what “dogging” means in colloquial usage? From: @zdfheute https://squeet.me/display/962c3e10-ba9cc43b-9160ef607f843845

US accused of threatening EU diplomats during bid to kill green shipping rules https://www.politico.eu/article/us-accused-threats-eu-diplomats-bid-to-kill-green-shipping-rules-negotiations-personal-intimidation/ Negotiators at shipping talks in London were told both they and their countries […]

Switched on TV for my traditional Sunday evening entertainment watching #TerraX and saw a familiar face: Eske Willerslev my fellow Balzan price winner. He found the oldest DNA from more than 2 Million years ago. His story is quite amazing, starting as a […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

As the shops appear to have gone straight from Halloween into full-on Christmas mode, it's time to revive an old IT joke, that they are really the same because 31OCT is 25DEC. 3*8+1 = 2*10+5

A powerful article on the necessity of rebuilding education in #gaza. Proud to know and admire Alison Phipps. From: @alisonphipps https://mastodon.scot/@alisonphipps/115479786942180976

mathematics social history - Why have Princeton University's free online Einstein archives disappeared? - History of Science and Mathematics Stack Exchange https://hsm.stackexchange.com/questions/18948/why-have-princeton-universitys-free-online-einstein-archives-disappeared

I attended a workshop on ”Sustainable Scientific Computing” at the Leiden Center. It was fantastic, I don’t think I’ve ever attended such a gathering of nerdy solarpunkers. So here is a long braindump in one thread. I have time, because I’m on a 14 hour train trip back home. So far, I’m on time […]

The hidden military pressures behind the new push for small nuclear reactors https://theconversation.com/the-hidden-military-pressures-behind-the-new-push-for-small-nuclear-reactors-266301 Let's be clear, nuclear energy is NOT about "driving bills down" or "reducing CO2 emissions", it is far […]

ESA’s space probe #juice is headed towards a truly unexpected encounter: on November 2nd, observations of interstellar object #3iatlas will begin. Read more about contributions from #mpsgoettingen to the campaign here: https://www.mps.mpg.de/juice-and-3iatlas-an-unexpected-encounter-in-space […]

Killer quote: “I’m going back to the Fediverse. Back to Mastodon. To the nerds, the hobbyists, the idealists. The people who don’t talk about reach, but about relevance. To those who understand that decentralization isn’t nostalgic, it’s the future. That digital sovereignty isn’t a gimmick […]

About to start! From: @Luke_Drury https://mastodon.dias.ie/@Luke_Drury/115451870928369090

Cue jokes about taking the piss… From: @macrumors https://mastodon.social/@macrumors/115457108689498491

Dear Dutchies, don’t vote anything stupid today! At this point, I would even be willing to accept a boring centrist government as long as it values education. Thank you.

What more appropriate for Halloween week than a talk about Dublin's Dead Zoo? Part of the @DIAS_Dublin annual Samhain 7 Science festival tomorrow Wednesday - places still available. https://www.dias.ie/2025/10/21/dias-brings-science-and-spookiness-together-this-halloween/ #samhain #halloween […]

Good thread showing why the global cloud is basically what economists call a natural monopoly. From: @Mer__edith https://mastodon.world/@Mer__edith/115445701583902092

The Irish and Ivory Coast flags are often confused (both green,white and orange) and I was amused to see that the Irish and Ivory Coast presidential elections are happening almost simultaneously as well.

It will be interesting to see how the international media cover the election of a socialist as president of Ireland! #aras25

RePEc was created by economists in 1997 (based on predecessors dating back to 1992) to enhance the free dissemination of working papers (preprints) in economics. It remains a a free service managed by economists for economists (and the general public). http://repec.org/ #dailyRePEc #economics […]

STARLINK CRIME SPREE! SpaceX has cut service to more than 2,500 Starlink devices at scam centres in Myanmar, a company vice-president said on Wednesday, after it was revealed that the use of the satellite internet terminals had exploded in the illicit industry […] [Original post on mstdn.social]

With all the talk about the most recent theft of jewels from the Louvre I was reminded of the remarkable history of the Tavernier blue diamond. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tavernier_Blue

"Unique in Europe, Spain is boosting its prosperity through immigration. Madrid has adopted an open migration policy. Buoyed by the influx of Latin American workers, the Spanish economy is expected to grow by 2.6% in 2025." […]

I was brought up to believe that men who are stupid, strong and violent are ridiculous. I have enjoyed decades of considerable popularity as a smart, wimpy and peaceful man. It never occurred to me that there might be men who can't realistically aspire to be anything but stupid, strong and […]

When I was young I used to think that the chemists lost their innocence in WW1 and the physicists in WW2 - logically the biologists would be next. But now I think that it is computer science.

Meanwhile, because Mastodon server admins are all cheapskates and we're not going to pay the sort of prices for hosting that AWS charge, the Fediverse keeps on chugging away happily while the corporate internet falls apare. #aws #awsdown #fediverse

At #NewScientistLive, we’re bombarded by ads that say: the climate crisis is terrible; fusion is the answer. Yes, fusion is the answer, but it’s not happening here on Earth but 8.33 minutes away.

Now time to join a meeting to figure out if it's worth trying to have a conference where astronomers talk to satellite builders and nicely ask them to maybe make their satellites a little darker and use fewer of them, with zero funding! (I am... not very excited about any of this).

Despite being technically illegal I am hearing more and more fireworks at night as halloween approaches. Sadly it's not just cats and dogs who get upset by loud bangs - we now have quite a number or refugees from war zones in Ireland for whom explosions can trigger unwelcome memories.

Good discussions at this meeting in the Royal Irish Academy on why and how fundamental research should be funded. https://www.ria.ie/2025/10/16/royal-irish-academy-hosts-former-president-of-european-research-council-for-panel-event-exploring-fundamental-science/

Long overdue! Delighted for ICHEC ‘Fifteen million billion operations a second’: Ireland secures new national supercomputer https://www.irishtimes.com/science/2025/10/15/fifteen-million-billion-operations-a-second-ireland-secures-new-national-supercomputer/

A lot of praise internationally for Ireland's innovative Basic Income for the Arts scheme, just extended by the current government, but little mention that it was introduced by a Green Party minister, Catherine Martin. As always success has many parents..... #greenparty #basicincome