Why Do We Tell Ourselves Scary Stories About AI? | Quanta Magazine Our tales of AI developing the will to survive, commandeer resources, and manipulate people say more about us than they do about language models.

I spent last week listening to a podcast on Socrates and I now suggest renaming LLMs "Sophist boxes"

www.quantamagazine.org/why-do-we-te...

What if the future of mining looked like a farm? Phytomining promises to extract metals for electric vehicles—not with drills and dynamite but with daisies, grasses, and biology.

It's fun to see more stories about phytomining www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/04/what...

And here's our piece from last year if you missed it www.biographic.com/critical-min...

This reminds me of distributed computing projects, like Folding@home, if you remember that (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folding...), but applied to power storage distributed across EVs

The Future of the Grid Could Be Parked in Your Driveway A growing fleet of electric vehicles could unlock a cheaper, cleaner alternative to fossil-fuel power plants—without building new infrastructure.

"EVs are essentially very large batteries on wheels, with the ability to draw, store, and (eventually) even provide power back to the grid at strategic times." www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/04/the-...

One in Five Gray Whales That Enter San Francisco Bay Die There

One in Five Gray Whales That Enter San Francisco Bay Die There

"... many of them killed by passing boats, new research shows."

e360.yale.edu/digest/san-f...

The baffling ecological disaster that’s killing America’s freshwater mussels Biologists are racing to save America’s freshwater mussels—the water-filtering keystone species that once filled the country’s rivers and streams—from extinction

Excuse me what?

"Some mussels, like the pocketbook, convince a fish to bite into a lure full of larvae; others first snap their shell shut around the fish’s head and spray their babies into its mouth." www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...

Deep-sea wildernesses are more important than the promise of seafloor mining (analysis) When I set sail on the MV NorSky in the summer of 2008 to probe the depths of Manus Basin off the coast of Papua New Guinea, I believed in the promise of deep-sea mining. As an early-career deep-sea e...

This is a really interesting retrospective from @drandrewthaler.bsky.social, who has had a front row view of the evolving scientific understanding of deep sea mining news.mongabay.com/2026/04/deep...

"I entered this project in good faith, working with the mining company to help determine whether deep-sea mining at Solwara I could be conducted with minimal harm to the marine environment. I exited convinced that there is no viable path forward for hydrothermal vent mining, anywhere in the ocean."

Ancient embryo fossil is 1st proof that our mammal ancestors laid eggs Laying eggs may have helped mammal ancestors thrive after Earth’s worst mass extinction

250-million-year-old fossil proves mammal ancestors laid eggs www.scientificamerican.com/article/250-...

The secret sensory life of plants: researchers are discovering how they see, hear, feel – and even remember Plants can tune into the sound of water to direct their roots towards it, or release toxins to make themselves less palatable to browsing animals.

The secret sensory life of plants: researchers are discovering how they see, hear, feel – and even remember theconversation.com/the-secret-s...

That was a very relaxing week and a bit off. Now, back into the fray

HEALTH :: DSM-V :: LYRIC VISUALIZER YouTube video by HEALTH

Today's mood:

DSM-V - Health www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4jw...

Congratulations Christian!

gosh it's almost like biology in general is fluid and ever-changing and cannot always be neatly categorized

Please keep this chart in mind when we @biographic.bsky.social start our fundraising for the year

A chart showing the decline in newspaper jobs since 2007, with every single year starting lower than the year before. From about 350k in Jan 2007 to about 78.4K in 2026

I have been thinking about this chart for months, and basically reference it any time someone asks me what's going on with journalism nowadays

Source: reportearth.substack.com/p/the-washin...

Grizzled by Jason Bittel: 9781426223358 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books Funny, fascinating, and scientifically grounded, this charming book reveals unknown details about 50 well-known animals. Effortlessly readable, Grizzled reintroduces nature lovers to species they th...

🐻GRIZZLED🐻: Love Letters to 50 of North America's Least Understood Animals

Def the biggest & most personal project of my career. Featuring artwork & foreword by Joel Sartore, as well as insights from a bajillion amazing scientists. 🧪

❤️‍🔥I HOPE YOU LOVE IT❤️‍🔥
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/804002...

It’s almost as though “species” were a convenient construct made up by humans to categorize the bewildering complexity of the natural world.

Norma Jean | Audiotree From Nothing YouTube video by Audiotree

I'm obsessed with these @audiotree.bsky.social live sets www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6wo...

In a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, park, Thomas Chouvenc discovered something he’d been dreading for years: a fully established colony of Formosan-Asian termite hybrids.

www.biographic.com/hybrids-on-t...

Russian Circles | Audiotree From Nothing YouTube video by Audiotree

This is so good www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_oY...

Ligers are real, though they are not bred for their skills in magic.

Where biologists once dismissed hybrids as evolutionary dead ends, some now see them as drivers of biological change. The evidence of their prevalence even has scientists questioning what constitutes a species.

www.biographic.com/hybrids-on-t...

Ligers are real, though they are not bred for their skills in magic.

Where biologists once dismissed hybrids as evolutionary dead ends, some now see them as drivers of biological change. The evidence of their prevalence even has scientists questioning what constitutes a species.

www.biographic.com/hybrids-on-t...

Hybrids On The Horizon - bioGraphic Chance encounters and novel conditions have led to different species cross-breeding more often. Is it a good thing?

Scientists once held that the boundary between species was their ability to mate and make viable offspring. But hybrids, it turns out, are everywhere. Now, as geneticists gain insight into animals’ inner workings, they’re learning that the boundaries between species have always been porous.

The Fight for the Heart of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - bioGraphic One year after the Trump administration threw the EPA into chaos, former employees continue to push back—and to dream of an agency reborn.

Like other federal agencies that deal in science, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been through the Trump administration wringer. Amidst the chaos, some former employees are trying to protect scientific integrity from future political assault.

By @madelinevo.bsky.social

HARDLORE on Instagram: "It is with heavy, broken hearts that we share that our beloved Bo Lueders has passed away. He will be remembered for his unwavering empathy and compassion for his friends & fa... 44K likes, 7,013 comments - hardlorepod on April 2, 2026: "It is with heavy, broken hearts that we share that our beloved Bo Lueders has passed away. He will be remembered for his unwavering empathy ...

Rest in peace Bo Lueders www.instagram.com/p/DWoxNX_Aqtm/

Today's mood: Harm's Way - Wanderer www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIIl...

Our Mission & Team Be Giant is a Canadian editorial platform dedicated to ambitious, high-quality journalism about the people, places, and ideas shaping the country's future.

Exciting news in Canadian media: widely beloved editor Alison Uncles is leading a new nonprofit outlet focused on solutions journalism! Be Giant went live today:

Harm's Way "Left to Disintegrate" Official Video YouTube video by Deathwishinc

Today's mood:

Harm's Way - Left to Disintegrate www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzyH...

one of the most interesting stories I read all month tbh

The Force Majeure YouTube video by BoySetsFire - Topic

Today's mood:

The Force Majeure - Boysetsfire www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_Lo...