shreddy_scientist

The Washington Post appeared to break some remarkable news this week: Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth reportedly directed his department to come up with a plan to cut 8% of projected annual military spending in each of the next five years. That’s striking because the Pentagon is among the last places to expect an administration of either party to seek dramatic spending reductions.

That’s not what happened, though. Hegseth never ordered any cuts; he merely wants to shift funding from some military programs to others. That’s not cutting the Pentagon budget; that’s reshuffling it.

It wasn’t about playing God. Rather, it was a better way to feed the world.

That’s how a biotech company called AquaBounty described its AquAdvantage salmon, the first genetically modified animal approved by the federal government for human consumption. By adding a gene from Chinook salmon to Atlantic salmon and using DNA sequences from eel-like ocean pout as a “growth promoter,” the company said its salmon could grow twice as fast.

The silvery superfish is indistinguishable from other Atlantic salmon, the company said, but, with freshwater tanks and less feed, it can reach market size sooner than its conventional cousins. No ocean required.

But it was all easier said than done. After decades of backlash, boycotts and persistent financial losses, on top of the regulatory slog, AquaBounty hooked its hopes for the future on a village in Ohio with an enterprising name — Pioneer — and an accommodating mayor, Ed Kidston.

Targets for universal access, national roadmaps, and more affordable and accessible care are vital to help fill the medical oxygen gap affecting more than half of the world’s population, according to a new global report.

The Lancet Global Health Commission report details for the first time how future investment in strengthening medical oxygen systems could have a huge impact by saving millions of lives and improving pandemic preparedness.

Almost 400 million children and adults require medical oxygen every year. More than five billion people, 60 per cent of the world’s population, don’t have access to safe and affordable medical oxygen services.

For anyone interested in the open access research paper associated with this write up, here you go: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-025-01350-7

My friend just sent this to me after seeing it at a Whole Foods in California:

With how easy it already is to tap a card, why would anybody sign up to use this for payment? It's mind boggling to me.

Screw just your finger prints, Amazon already has access to that database thanks to the 5-0, so they now want to know every line on your hand! Best at least give people palm readings after the sign up! /s

A controversial bill in the US state of Utah, HB 267, is making its way through the state legislature, sparking intense debate and widespread opposition.

If signed into law, the bill would make it illegal for any federal agency in Utah to recognize labor unions or engage in collective bargaining with their employees. This sweeping measure would impact thousands of workers, including teachers, health care workers, emergency responders, and a variety of other workers employed by federal agencies. Many federal employees rely on unions to fight for fair wages, benefits, and working conditions.

The bill has been met with fierce opposition from labor unions, federal workers, civil rights groups, and grassroots organizations. Many of whom see HB 267 as not just harmful to individual employees, but having far-reaching consequences for the broader labor movement and worker’s rights in Utah.