Today I Learned

[BillTre]

TIL that Flybase (a Drosophila genome and gene database) has lost its NIH funding (probably the majority of its funds). This is a useful and important tool for fly researchers.

From Flybase:

Because of recent changes to government funding, the NIH grant that supported FlyBase has been "terminated." We are now reaching out to the community for emergency funding. There are new firewalls for international funding. We therefore request that European labs contribute to the Cambridge, U.K. FlyBase group – European PI's received an email on how to contribute. We are working diligently to set up a mechanism to collect funds from U.S. and other labs; watch this space. In the meantime, if you are a non-European lab that would like to contribute to FlyBase, please send an email to FlyBase help and we will contact you later. Thank you in advance for your support to keep FlyBase on air and continuing to serve the Drosophila research community.

These administration clowns are destructive without knowing what they are doing.

 

[sbrothy]

TIL that Flybase (a Drosophila genome and gene database) has lost its NIH funding (probably the majority of its funds). This is a useful and important tool for fly researchers.

From Flybase:


These administration clowns are destructive without knowing what they are doing.

In danger of becoming political... is this a result of Trump's ongoing "battle" with the Ivy League universities? I mean the one Peter Woit from Columbia is covering using his blog?

 

[BillTre]

In danger of becoming political... is this a result of Trump's ongoing "battle" with the Ivy League universities? I mean the one Peter Woit from Columbia is covering using his blog?

Its not ivy school specific. It is Trump's ongoing attack on science in general.

 

[sbrothy]

You're right of course. I erroneously thought funding was coupled to the universities but I see it's at the NIH level as the poster I replied to even mentioned. I'm just following the drama at the college level, for some reason.

EDIT: I guess because it makes good (if depressing) drama.

So the next will be the E. coli and the "cute" white rats.

 

[pinball1970]

As an aside. This use of cases and the rules that apply to them tends to make the use of compound words common in Finnish So for instance, instead of Dinner table, it is Ruokapöytä ( literally foodtable). This allows you to use one case ending on one word rather than on two or more separate words. This resulted in what is thought to be the longest word in Finnish: Lentokonesuihkuturbiinimoottoriapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilas – Airplane jet turbine engine auxiliary mechanic non-commissioned officer student.

Definitely worth a split thread in linguistics.

 

[pinball1970]

In danger of becoming political... is this a result of Trump's ongoing "battle" with the Ivy League universities? I mean the one Peter Woit from Columbia is covering using his blog?

I would check out the Sean Carroll post, I time stamped it.

 

[pinball1970]

T I L Humpback Whales blow bubbles at humans.

https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mms.70026

 

[sbrothy]

I would check out the Sean Carroll post, I time stamped it.

Yeah, Sean Carrol is a somewhat avid poster at Woit's blog (and of course has his own blog).

So you follow this "drama" too?

 

[pinball1970]

Yeah, Sean Carrol is a somewhat avid poster at Woit's blog (and of course has his own blog).

So you follow this "drama" too?

Yes, when DOGE kicked in and Sean Carroll gave his break down.
I do not want to comment on anything other than, forum rules.

 

[sbrothy]

I understand. We're walking a very tight line here. I'll just let the topic die in silence.

 

[BillTre]

 

[sbrothy]

The phrase "unsafe to be intelligent" reminds of a book, I thinks it's Kaput by Curzio Malaparte. In a scene in the book the nazis seperate people who can read from people who have calluses implying that those who can read will be put to work at a desk and the others doing hard work. The supposedly intelligent ones patronize the manual laborers.

In reality of course, those who can read are considered "intellectuals" (read: communists) and are taken out back and summarily executed by a shot to the neck after being forced to cover the previous batch with a thin layer of lye.

So yes. Sometimes being intelligent isn't always smart (or at least make sure you've done just enough hard work to have calluses. :)

This also reminds me of the film Forrest Gump where his mother advice him to always get in any line he encounters. In the light of the above it's needless to say that that may not always be the smartest move. I mean who knows where the line ends? The potter's field? A train to Dachau?

 

[Hornbein]

"One scene called for four trained warthogs." -- Arthur C. Clarke, The Lost Worlds of 2001

 

[BillTre]

 

[DaveC426913]

TIL:

Can anybody guess the last one?

 

[symbolipoint]

Less than just not obvious, #6465. We must be expected to find some pattern with the helpf of "male", "hen", "bloom", and "urge"?

(EDIT: Web search,,, so somewhat clearer now)

 

[symbolipoint]

Less than just not obvious, #6465. We must be expected to find some pattern with the helpf of "male", "hen", "bloom", and "urge"?

I did a quick online search: Wikipedia article. So finding letters within a word to make another word...

 

[symbolipoint]

"plagiarist"

I am only finding "pair", and "paist". Seem not very close.

 

[Jonathan Scott]

I assume it's looking for "liar" but that's not a very good synonym for the mother word "plagiarist", unlike the others.

 

[symbolipoint]

I assume it's looking for "liar" but that's not a very good synonym for the mother word "plagiarist", unlike the others.

That is excellent! In fact a good synonym, or good enough for ...., yes it works well enough for the purpose.

 

[DaveC426913]

So I looked up Kangaroo words.

"AI Overview:
Examples of kangaroo words:

1. Inflatable: contains flammable."

Nope. No it does not.



But there's quite a rabbit hole one can go down:

• twin kangaroo : container features both tin and can, magister features both master and mister).
• anti-kangaroo : covert carries overt, animosity carries amity
• grand kangaroo : alone contains lone, which carries its own synonym one.

 

[pinball1970]

T I.L. Brian Wilson has passed!

 

[pinball1970]

T I.L. Brian Wilson has passed!

I am going to do an RIP thread if that is ok, I think he is more than significant enough to have one.
I was not on the correct device for images Wed.

 

[BillTre]

 

[Hornbein]

Today I learned of spherical gears.

https://newatlas.com/technology/abenics-versatile-active-ball-joint-gear/

 

[Hornbein]

TIL how eyes were induced to see a new color. They mapped the retina and stimulated individual cones.

 

[BillTre]

 

[BillTre]

TIL that doctors want to do the equivalent to using CAR T cells to treat cancers. CAR T cells are T-cells (immune cells that frequently attack tumors) that are removed from a patient, have a special antigen binding protein gene added, and are immunized in vitro to get them to react against cancer cells. That's a lot of work and expense.
Alternatively, the new idea (possibly behind the Science paywall) is to inject a patient with an mRNA for one of the cancer's immunogens and let the patient's T-cells develop their immune reaction in the patient's body on their own.

 

[BillTre]

 

[fresh_42]

TIL about Violet Jessop.

Violet Constance Jessop (2 October 1887 – 5 May 1971) was an Irish-Argentine ocean liner stewardess and Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse in the early 20th century. Jessop is best known for having survived the sinking of both RMS Titanic in 1912 and her sister ship HMHS Britannic in 1916, as well as having been aboard the eldest of the three sister ships, RMS Olympic, when it collided with the British warship HMS Hawke in 1911.

 

[symbolipoint]

Good! At least a few people at some places and times think the way I do about spelling and pronouncing.

T.I.L. - (See the section on "Etymology") https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansas
I often wondered why Arkansas is spelled as it is but is pronounced slightly differently on its last syllable.

 

[pinball1970]

You guys know this guy? I do not feel worthy to do an obituary. Should come from a physics fella.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20250701/news/fermilab-leader-during-search-for-top-quark-dies/

 

[sbrothy]

https://news.fnal.gov/2025/06/fermilab-mourns-the-passing-of-john-peoples-third-director/

 

[Hornbein]

TIL that in Spanish Zorro means The Fox.

 

[Hornbein]

TIL James Clerk Maxwell was the first to produce an artificial color image, using the scheme known as RGB (red green blue). The slides he used are now in a museum.

(Actually I knew that but forgot so I relearned this.)

 

[symbolipoint]

TIL, smart alec, based on a real person.
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/32046/where-did-phrase-smart-alec-come

 

[DaveC426913]

Heard that term a lot as a child...

 

[fresh_42]

Today I learnt about an art project (touring Europe, currently Vienna):

Together with his artistic colleagues Jan Vogler, Vanessa Perez and Mira Wang, the legendary Bill Murray presents an exciting crossover between music, literature and acting.

Respect!

 

[fresh_42]

TIL that the main contributor of microplastics in our inland waters is washing machines.

 

[Hornbein]

TIL that the main contributor of microplastics in our inland waters is washing machines.

I read that plastic clothing sheds microfibers during washing. Wouldn't hand washing result in the same?

 

[fresh_42]

I read that plastic clothing sheds microfibers during washing. Wouldn't hand washing result in the same?

Sure. The problem isn't the machine, it's the fabric.

 

[sbrothy]

In Australia they mostly use cold water in washing machines which begs the question as to why we use 60 or 90 degree Celcius on the Nothern Hemisphere and what the consequences are to the climate...?

 

[gmax137]

Heard that term a lot as a child...

Just the other day I was thinking about my dad, gone now 20+ years. I remembered him telling me, "nobody likes a smart alec."

 

[DaveC426913]

Just the other day I was thinking about my dad, gone now 20+ years. I remembered him telling me, "nobody likes a smart alec."

Bingo!

 

[fresh_42]

The German words for this are more colorful, not in the sense of profanity, but rather more aphoristic.

 

[sbrothy]

... that boost::beast::http::status has an error status (which I'm sure have perfectly valid reasons), that reads:

[...]
enum class status : unsigned
{
[...]
i_am_a_teapot                       = 418,
[...]

Calling the kettle back anyone?

 

[Jonathan Scott]

... that boost::beast::http::status has an error status (which I'm sure have perfectly valid reasons), that reads:

[...]
enum class status : unsigned
{
[...]
i_am_a_teapot                       = 418,
[...]

Calling the kettle back anyone?

This is a consequence of RFC 2324, dated April 1 1998: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2324

418 I'm a teapot

Any attempt to brew coffee with a teapot should result in the error
code "418 I'm a teapot". The resulting entity body MAY be short and
stout.

The more serious-minded wanted to remove this spoof status code, but there was such an uproar that it has been retained.

 

[sbrothy]

I love C++! And it's crazy geeky user-base!

EDIT: Then again what it says about me that I'm digging around in those headers I'm not sure. :P

 

[DaveC426913]

TIL my brother has the exact same recurring dream as I do. I thought it was my special thing.

I dream that I can stand at the top of a flight of stairs, tilt my toes down at an angle, and surf down the edges of the steps to the bottom on one fluid motion. (The kind of thing people do by accident when they slip and slide down a flight of stairs, but I am doing it deliberately and with controlled grace).

It is such a strong feeling, even awake, that I am still not entirely convinced I have only done it in my dreams and not in real life.

(Of course, I also have a recurring dream that I can "skate" in the air for an indeterminate time. Like through a grocery store. I can run and leap, and sort of not land again, as long as I keep on one just touching, I can even steer, like having a rudder in the water.)

 

[symbolipoint]

Vernacular

still not 100% sure the full meaning, but can understand in some sense