4:49 profiling several people whose lives and jobs have been directly impacted and improved because of the ocean cleanup project. 5:06 A silkworm farmer has increased his yield 30%.
Sunday, May 3, 2026
An experiment where genetic change happens in a single generation
https://youtu.be/J9-Ov-_KcWk?si=daw6ps41f_mCsOy8
Mice exposed to almond scent when shocked will grow more almond-sensing neurons - in their offspring.
World's largest organism
A few contenders:
By area: The largest living organism by area is a Posidonia australis seagrass meadow in Western Australia's Shark Bay, covering 180 square kilometers (about 69 square miles).
By weight/mass, it's a tie — 1) the "Humongous Fungus" (Armillaria ostoyae) in Oregon, which spans 3.4 square miles.
(The best defence against it is to 5:50 plant tree species that can survive the infection.)
or Pando, a 106-acre aspen grove in Utah.
It weighs 13 million pounds. It's in Fishlake National Forest. The immature sprouts being 3:27 eaten, or browsed, by animals unopposed by traditional predators, and the older trees are near the end of their life span. So 5:12 they're fencing off the young plants.
Saturday, May 2, 2026
Fixers vs hopeless catastrophizers
https://youtu.be/ZtOxCJqEHjY?si=xYz-MuzoSTkgOew_
2:14 it's a learned relationship with uncertainty 3:34 uncertainty doesn't sound like a verdict to them is a starting point.*
0:41 self-efficacy...you are capable of handling what's in front of you
1:01 this belief changes how long someone pressure at a problem before giving up
2:17 internal locus of control...do better at fixing things...don't get depression...cope better with stress... They sense that their effort matters (which is a protective psychological trait)
5:51 spending time around people like that is one of the most recalibrating things you can do.
*This reminds me of the podcast "Sitting with uncertainty" on Hidden Brain.
Flashing sediment out of a dam
https://youtu.be/_pad4MAV1H0?si=KN5YFOhlSKRkaQdY
[Preparing to flush segment buildup] 3:21 requires detailed planning and coordination.
Before flushing begins:
Reservoir levels are carefully monitored.
Weather and inflow forecasts are analyzed.
Downstream safety alerts are issued.
Power generation units may be reduced or temporarily shut down.
Instrumentation systems are checked for structural monitoring.
Engineers ensure that the dam structure, galleries and monitoring instruments remain within safe operational limits.
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Sargassum for good
https://youtu.be/dYbPuR1hmao?si=ZT6TlYizTdRpV65X
Harvesting ever-increasing massive beach-dumps of sargassum seaweed - mixed with rum byproducts (sugar) and sheep manure (anaerobic bacteria) to yield methane gas fuel.
Picture at 6:10 - removing arsenic yielding fertilizer and methane. Arsenic is preferentially taken up by the seaweed.
Sunday, April 26, 2026
Self driving fails
https://youtube.com/shorts/nOfU04nB9-Q?si=YStgmIV7--_g-2sc
I think they deployed this self-driving tech before it was fully tested! These are some pretty embarrassing fails.
Sunday, April 19, 2026
Robots working in close proximity to humans safely.
The End of the Cage: How Robots and Humans are Finally Working Side-by-Side
For decades, the "safety protocol" for industrial robots was simple: a giant steel cage. If a human stepped inside, the power was cut. It was safe, but it was also slow, rigid, and physically demanding.
As we move through 2026, we’ve entered the era of Human-Robot Collaboration, where multi-ton machines and human workers share the same floor, often working on the exact same part at the exact same time.
Here is how we’ve moved from "reactive stopping" to "intelligent collaboration."
1. Meet the Cobot
The foundation of this shift is the Cobot (collaborative robot). Unlike traditional industrial robots, cobots are designed with rounded edges, hidden pinch points, and specialized internal sensors.
However, being "collaborative" isn't just about the hardware—it’s about the mode of operation. A robot is only truly collaborative if it is governed by one of the following safety pillars.
2. The Four Pillars of Collaborative Safety
To keep humans safe without cages, engineers rely on four distinct, verifiable methods:
Safety-Rated Monitored Stop: The most basic level. The robot operates at full speed but halts the instant a human enters its "yellow zone."
Hand-Guiding: Think of this as the "power steering" of robotics. A human can grab the robot arm and physically lead it to teach it a new path.
Speed and Separation Monitoring (SSM): The robot uses 3D vision, LiDAR, or radar to calculate the distance to a human. The closer you get, the slower it moves.
Power and Force Limiting (PFL): This is the "gold standard." The robot’s joints contain torque sensors that detect even a light touch. If it bumps into you, it instantly dissipates its energy so the impact is no more painful than a gentle tap.
Watch: Combining SSM and PFL for Safe Collaboration – A biting lecture and deep dive into how robots use math to decide when to slow down vs. when to limit force.
3. The Future: E-Skin and Predictive Engines
The newest developments in 2026 have moved beyond just "sensing" a human to "understanding" them.
Electronic Skin (E-Skin)
Modern robots are now being outfitted with tactile "skins” — thin, flexible sensor arrays that give the robot a sense of touch over its entire body, not just its "fingers." This allows a more nuanced response to accidental contact.
Predictive Safety Engines
The most exciting breakthrough is the shift from reactive to predictive safety. Using Edge AI and 3D depth cameras, robots no longer wait for you to move before they react — they analyze your body language and walking path to predict where you are about to move, adjusting their own path to stay productive while keeping you safe.
Watch: How E-Skin Makes Robots Intuitive – See how touch sensors allow robots to feel pressure and adjust their strength in real-time.
4. Safety is Software, Not Steel
In today's factories, safety is no longer a physical barrier; it’s a living, breathing software protocol. As robots become more mobile and more humanoid, these standards—like ISO 10218—ensure that technology adapts to us, rather than forcing us to stay behind a fence.
Watch: You Think Robots Are Safe? Think Again – A field guide on how modern factories manage "uncaged" robots and the risks of mobile machinery.
Saturday, April 18, 2026
Friday, April 17, 2026
We didn't know where eels come from
https://youtu.be/y0UIJekwyPY?si=o9wzVxBPzkMb4XfY
This guy is incredibly good at long-take monologues filled with facts.
Solugen harnesses bioenzymes to achieve 96% yield
The Eureka Moment (02:23-03:30): The founders discovered a specialized enzyme found in pancreatic cancer cells—which produces hydrogen peroxide—and realized they could harness it for industrial chemical synthesis.
Scaling Up (10:32-11:57): The company evolved from small-scale experiments to their state-of-the-art Bioforge plant. This facility uses industrial-scale bubble columns to transform corn syrup into massive quantities of chemical products with high efficiency (96% yield).
Monday, April 13, 2026
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Autological words
I love words like sesquipedalian and obfuscatory because they are perfect examples of themselves. Apparently they're called "autological" words.
Erudite
Polysyllabic
proparoxytone (pro-par-OX-y-tone) - a word stressed on the antepenultimate, or third-to-last syllable
https://theweek.com/articles/459441/17-words-that-describe-themselves
Saturday, April 11, 2026
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)