great article in @quantamagazine.bsky.social by natalie wolchover on the bacterial flagellum and proton motive force. alas, I missed this great model on what happens to the stators during gear-shifting. see it in STC:
smallthingsconsidered.blog/schaechter/2...
#MicroSky

What Physical ‘Life Force’ Turns Biology’s Wheels? | Quanta Magazine The bacterial flagellar motor is finally understood after 50 years. In its workings, columnist Natalie Wolchover finds the essence of life.

A powerful electrical motor propels bacteria in virtually every gut and puddle on Earth. After 50 years, it has finally been understood. @nattyover.bsky.social reports: www.quantamagazine.org/what-physica...

Can the Most Abstract Math Make the World a Better Place? | Quanta Magazine Columnist Natalie Wolchover explores whether applied category theory can be “green” math.

Qualia essays go where curiosity leads. This week, join @nattyover.bsky.social on her quest to understand whether a burgeoning, abstract mathematical field can help the planet. www.quantamagazine.org/can-the-most...

Comprende! Thanks Nathaniel.

Noted.

Check out this exactly opposite statement of the problem in this 2022 white paper on quantum gravity by Harlow et al. (which I quote in my forthcoming book) arxiv.org/pdf/2210.01737

Nice article from @nattyover.bsky.social about the state of particle physics as a field. It’s historically been perhaps the highest prestige and most prominent subfield of physics but there are genuine worries about the path forward, as Natalie clearly lays out. 🧪

Thanks Ryan

Uh huh. I briefly mentioned dark matter and my (measured) excitement about axion searches, but yes dark matter will have to be the subject of a future column

Glad to hear that, thanks Eugene

Is Particle Physics Dead, Dying, or Just Hard? | Quanta Magazine Columnist Natalie Wolchover checks in with particle physicists more than a decade after the field entered a profound crisis.

First column for Quanta Magazine's new essay section, Qualia.

I take stock of particle physics, a field in crisis. What happened, and what now? Commentary here from many angles.

Please lmk your thoughts, or any tips or topic ideas I should look into. 🙏

www.quantamagazine.org/is-particle-...

Is Particle Physics Dead, Dying, or Just Hard? | Quanta Magazine Columnist Natalie Wolchover checks in with particle physicists more than a decade after the field entered a profound crisis.

In the first of our new series of curiosity-driven essays, Qualia, @nattyover.bsky.social asks particle physicists whether the field is facing a profound crisis. www.quantamagazine.org/is-particle-...

Hi Kat, sure thing! If you have any story ideas that you think would suit Quanta, please send them my way at nwolchover@quantamagazine.org. Thanks!