The Wordsmith's Forge

Insects are disappearing due to agriculture -- and many other drivers, new research reveals

New paper highlights 500+ interconnected drivers behind global insect decline.
Insects are disappearing at an alarming rate worldwide, but why? Agricultural intensification tops the list of proposed reasons, but there are many other, interconnected drivers that have an impact, according to new research.

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FDA to suspend quality-control program for food testing due to staff cuts

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is suspending a quality-control program for its food-testing laboratories as a result of staff cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to an internal email seen by Reuters.
The proficiency testing program of the FDA’s Food Emergency Response Network is designed to ensure consistency and accuracy across the agency’s network of about 170 labs that test food for pathogens and contaminants to prevent food-borne illness.
The firing and departure of as many as 20,000 HHS employees has upended public health research and disrupted the agency’s work on areas like bird flu and drug reviews. Donald Trump hopes to slash as much as $40bn from HHS.


Disturbing, but hardly a surprise.

Do you have a yard, or access to a community garden? You might want to plant edibles so you'll know where they've been.

Exclusive: Musk's SpaceX is frontrunner to build Trump's Golden Dome missile shield

SpaceX is leading a bid to build Golden Dome with startups Anduril and Palantir, six people said
The SpaceX-led group is pitching the Pentagon on a 'subscription model' for missile defense, sources said
SpaceX proposes a constellation of 400 to more than 1,000 missile defense satellites, sources said

The stupid, it burns like hydrogen.


Today In “I Literally F*cking Wrote This” by John Scalzi

You know who thought up a subscription-based defense model in his book Starter Villain? FUCKING ME THAT’S WHO. That smug fascist owes me a percentage. I won’t get it, of course and if I did get it I would donate that shit to all the “woke” things he hates so fast it would make his brain swim.


*sigh* Those who don't read science fiction are doomed to repeat it.

UK Supreme Court says legal definition of ‘woman’ excludes trans women, in landmark ruling

The United Kingdom’s highest court ruled that the legal definition of “woman” excludes trans women, in a case with sweeping consequences for how equality laws are applied.

Britain’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the definition of a woman in equality legislation refers to “a biological woman and biological sex,” sparking celebrations outside court among gender-critical campaigners but warnings it was a “worrying” development for transgender people.


Aside from the obvious abuse of transfolk, this also raises issues because biological sex is not binary. There's a whole handful of intersex conditions where outward appearance does not match chromosomes, hormones, etc. So exactly which part of "biological" do they mean, and what will they do when the parts point in different directions? Since they've just decided that a gender recognition certificate is irrelevant.

People are disappearing - it's real fascism here in the USA

At the meeting, Trump and Bukele, who is clearly doing Trump’s bidding, announced they would not bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia home, defying the U.S. Supreme Court.


That's the problem with electing someone who routinely operates above the law.  The law has little or no influence over what he does.  So what if it's illegal and impeachable?  People don't care.  They knew what he was when they picked him up, again.  They knowingly chose for things like this to happen.  So they don't get to pretend that they're surprised and upset about ti now.

Hundred-year storm tides will occur every few decades in Bangladesh, scientists report

With projected global warming, the frequency of extreme storms will ramp up by the end of the century, according to a new study.
For the highly populated coastal country of Bangladesh, once-in-a-century storm tides could strike every 10 years -- or more often -- by the end of the century, scientists report.


Oh, it's worse than that. Sunny-day floods will wipe out coastal settlements long before the dramatic storms do.

The Return of the Dire Wolf

Relying on deft genetic engineering and ancient, preserved DNA, Colossal scientists deciphered the dire wolf genome, rewrote the genetic code of the common gray wolf to match it, and, using domestic dogs as surrogate mothers, brought Romulus, Remus, and their sister, 2-month-old Khaleesi, into the world during three separate births last fall and this winter—effectively for the first time de-extincting a line of beasts whose live gene pool long ago vanished.

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Warning: Do not watch with mouth full.

A hilarious look at Earth's biosphere as game development, in this installment explaining why cats are such a superior build. 

Growing and sharing seeds can boost mental health

Storing and sharing seeds has clear environmental benefits. But new findings suggest they can bring about wellbeing wins too.
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Author Kathy Slack, whose new memoir Rough Patch explores how growing vegetables helped her recover from burnout and depression, was unsurprised by the connection. “Sowing a seed is an act of hope,” she says.“Not to be overly dramatic about it, but when you’re wondering whether it’s worth even bothering to stick around any more, planting a seed is like a promise to your future self.”


Projects like a community garden where people can just come in and grow things, a seed library, a seed / plant swap, etc. can have great benefits for individual and community wellbeing.