'You can't create domestic manufacturers out of thin air.' Tech transfer experts sigh in relief as the White House considers--but does not yet impose--broader domestic manufacturing requirements on tech developed with federal funding. News from Science science.org/content/articl…

“You have a rock, and [after doping] you should still end up with a rock.” Why physicists are skeptical of the claims that the mineral lead apatite can really be a room-temperature superconductor. This was a fun piece to write, too. News from Science science.org/content/articl…

Who knew that the dielectric constant of saltwater was the subject of scientific debate? A fun little story in which I got the opportunity to explain some very basic physics. Hope I succeeded! News from Science science.org/content/articl…

So, if you're going to see Oppenheimer and are trying to get into the mood, should you first smoke four packs of cigarettes and down a few martinis? Does that count as cosplay? 🤔😆🤦

Planning to see Oppenheimer? Here's a look at the scientific record of eponymous physicist. I had the pleasure of interviewing the historian David C. Cassidy for this piece, which I hope explores lesser knows aspects of the man. @newsfromscience science.org/content/articl…

Argonne National Lab has begun a rebuild of the Advanced Photon Source, the x-ray synchrotron for which my father led the design work. A look how one cantankerous soul found his place in the small community of scientific machine builders. Love you, Dad. science.org/content/articl…

A fun bit of Friday physics by Katie McCormick involving a swing set like the one you'd see in the park. Physicists figure out how a child adjusts the phase of pumping as the motion of the swing increases. Happy to have edited this. Physics is where you find it! science.org/content/articl…

It was my pleasure to edit this story by Christian Elliott. About 0.8% of the home runs hit in MBL since 2010 made it over the fence thanks to increased temperatures from climate change. If you have the data you can start to see the effects everywhere. science.org/content/articl…

Really cool story by Science News Emily Conover about a particular tile shape that can be used to completely cover an infinite plane without ever forming a pattern that repeats itself. Yeah, it kind of does my head in, too. Wish I'd written this. sciencenews.org/article/mathem…

3/3) This is also my first foray into tech journalism, as it's the first time I've ever written about something you could buy. And, yes, I got my head scanned. Not sure what they found in there. Probably not much! ;-)

2/3) The magnets produce fields ~1/25th as strong as the one in a standard scanner. That means the signal to noise falls by a factor of almost 300. Yet, with better electronics, clever pulse schemes, and AI, such scanners can now map the insides of your brain. Pretty damned cool!

1/3) A new favorite story. Physicists and engineers have developed MRI scanners that get rid of the huge and expensive superconducting electromagnets and replace them with much cheaper permanent magnets made of the stuff often found in desk toys. science.org/content/articl…

Refuse to believe that black-holes actually exist? It's just gotten harder to cling tot that position. A new study suggests that any massive object dense enough to mimic a black hole and will quickly either blow up or collapse to form a black hole anyway. science.org/content/articl…

Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, director of the Department of Energy's Office of Science, sees the agency as an engine of change. In a recent reporters' roundtable she discussed her vision for the U.S.'s single biggest funder of the physical sciences. DOE Office of Science
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For Liz Truss, who has had a pretty rough October. 🤣
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Regarding this year's Nobel Prize in economics, it seems to me that in 1947 Jimmy Stewart explained how banks mediate between savers who need liquidity and investors who need long-term capital. He laid out bank the nature of runs, too. But what do I know? youtube.com/watch?v=iPkJH6…

Department of Energy's Office of Science, the U.S.'s largest funder of the physical sciences, will require scientists to submit with a funding application a plan to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion through their work. No plan, no grant. DOE Office of Science science.org/content/articl…

This year's physics Nobel Prize honors researchers who probed the nature of reality through a phenomenon called quantum entanglement and who pioneered putting entanglement to practical use. Congratulations to the laureates on a long-expected honor! science.org/content/articl…