The universe is full of fascinating and potentially deadly objects. Pulsars are chief among the weirdest and, under the right conditions, they can give rise to some of the most delicate, beautiful objects in nature. But recently, an old injustice was finally addressed, when one of the pioneers who brought these exotic stars to light received some long overdue kudos:
The discovery of pulsars ended up being “one of the biggest surprises in the history of astronomy, transforming neutron stars from science fiction to reality in a most dramatic way” … When Bell Burnell and her supervisor published a paper detailing their findings in 1968, it attracted international attention. The media didn’t know what to do with a young female scientist who had made a major breakthrough.
Burnell’s critical role is generally known by science insiders and her colleagues, but her male thesis adviser was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1974. This week it was announced that Burnell would receive the Breakthrough Prize, and a complimentary check for $3 million. She plans to use the money to help advance her field of astronomy, and the diversity of researchers within.
- Electric car maker Tesla seems to be having some leadership turnover.
- Like the zombie that will not die, enthusiastic fascists are calling to all comers anew that life begins at “conception.” This is nonsense, scientifically, and many people have outlined why. Even yours truly took a stab at it in this blast from the past.
- Ran across this article from a few years back while thinking about the pain med debate. Since politicians will usually take the easiest way out, and the easiest way to look like you’re doing something about recreational drug abuse is to make life harder on people who lack the resources to fight back, the uninsured and under-insured folks with chronic pain make the perfect, defenseless target:
The very people we expect our leaders, legislators and law enforcement agencies to work for are being sacrificed on the altars of a drug war gone wild. The elderly, the sick and the disabled are suffering because they can’t get the pain medication they need. The paranoia and panic has made it nearly impossible for many seriously ill patients to obtain anything but over-the-counter pain relief medicine.