Tootfinder

Survey: 41% of US teens aged 13 to 17 support a ban on middle and high school students from using phones in class while 51% oppose it; 73% oppose a full-day ban (Pew Research Center)
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/20

About 4 in 10 teens support cellphone bans in classrooms; fewer back all-day restrictions
About one-in-five teens support banning cellphones during the entire school day, including at lunch and between classes.

#Theia, the giant impactor that created the Moon, and Earth were neighbors! Read more about Theia's likely "birthplace" in the inner Solar System here: https://www.mps.mpg.de/theia-and-earth-wer

A notorious flesh-eating fly
that once wreaked havoc on U.S. livestock
is inching closer to California again.
#NewWorldScrewworm
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025

A flesh-eating fly once eradicated is moving back toward the U.S.
California researchers are preparing for the possible return of the New World screwworm, a parasitic fly that feeds on living flesh and once devastated U.S. livestock. By monitoring traps and educating veterinarians and farmers, they hope to stop the pest before it gains a foothold.

Exhaust pipe position affects how much air pollution we breathe, research finds https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/09/exhaust-pipe-position-affects-how-much-air-pollution-we-breathe-research-finds

For #TextureTuesday some more WIP snapshots of STRATA, a generative system I've been on/off working on since 2014 (in Clojure/TypeScript/Zig, originally for the cover design of HOLO magazine), loosely based on 1950s research/experiments by Barricelli, somewhat related to cellular automata and extended to use a different and much larger set of "reproduction/collision rules" f…

During the #COP30 climate conference in Brazil, Australia's opposition party withdrew from the country's net-zero by 2050 target. It now sees net-zero as a potential 'welcome outcome' of using Australia's resources (coal, gas) plus new energy technologies. Reckless.

Liberal Party formally abandons net zero by 2050 climate target
The decision brings the party closer to the Nationals, which ditched its support for the target earlier this month amid internal turmoil over the Coalition's policy.

"Did the Upper Great Highway closure make Sunset neighborhood streets less safe? Supervisor Alan Wong claimed it did at a January 8, 2026 press conference, citing a simple year-over-year map comparison of crash data. But my analysis, using the same DataSF crash data with rigorous statistical controls, finds no evidence to support that claim, and if anything, the data suggest the opposite."

🔪 A scalpel that can diagnose? Scientists unveil a 'Lab-on-a-Scalpel' for real-time surgical insights
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-scalpel-scientists-unveil-lab-real.html

A scalpel that can diagnose? Scientists unveil a 'Lab-on-a-Scalpel' for real-time surgical insights
Imagine a surgeon in the middle of a complex operation, able to get instant biochemical feedback not from a lab down the hall, but from the very tool in their hand. This vision is now one step closer to reality thanks to researchers at the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague (UCT Prague).

Noisy traffic is making Galšpagos’ yellow warblers angry https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/12/noisy-traffic-is-making-galapagos-yellow-warblers-angry/

Noisy traffic is making Galápagos’ yellow warblers angry
A recent study found that birds that live closer to roads display more aggression than birds of the same species that live farther away from noisy vehicles, Mongabay’s Spoorthy Raman reported. Researchers looked at the behavioral differences of male Galápagos yellow warblers (Setophaga petechia aureola) on two islands of the Galápagos, an Ecuadorian archipelago in […]