RNA, the long-overlooked molecule that will define a generation of science

RNA, the long-overlooked molecule that will define a generation of science

Thomas Cech writes: From E=mc² to splitting the atom to the invention of the transistor, the first half of the 20th century was dominated by breakthroughs in physics. Then, in the early 1950s, biology began to nudge physics out of the scientific spotlight — and when I say “biology,” what I really mean is DNA. The momentous discovery of the DNA double helix in 1953 more or less ushered in a new era in science that culminated in the Human…

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NAACP asks Biden to halt weapons to Israel as he seeks to shore up Black voter support

NAACP asks Biden to halt weapons to Israel as he seeks to shore up Black voter support

Reuters reports: The NAACP urged President Joe Biden on Thursday to “indefinitely” halt all weapons deliveries to Israel and pressure the U.S. ally to end its war in the Gaza Strip, sending a reminder that his support for Israel could hurt him among Black voters in November’s election. The NAACP’s call was a rare instance of the influential civil rights organization taking a position on U.S. foreign policy towards a country without a significant Black population. It appeared likely to…

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Spain applies to join South Africa’s case at top UN court accusing Israel of genocide

Spain applies to join South Africa’s case at top UN court accusing Israel of genocide

The Associated Press reports: Spain became on Thursday the first European country to ask a United Nations court for permission to join South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. South Africa filed its case with the International Court of Justice late last year. It alleged that Israel was breaching the genocide convention in its military assault that has laid waste to large swaths of Gaza. The court has ordered Israel to immediately halt its military offensive in the…

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Jewish supremacy formed the bedrock of Zionist colonialism, the New York Times reported in 1947

Jewish supremacy formed the bedrock of Zionist colonialism, the New York Times reported in 1947

What is so remarkable about journalistic and online debates about the formation of Israel is that the contemporary reporting is publicly available, often from the very same news organs whose op-ed pages are currently spreading disinformation about it. https://t.co/RrNwTLynpB — Ryan Ruby (@_ryanruby_) June 6, 2024 On March 20, 1947, Clifton Daniel reported for the New York Times: Talking to Jews in ordinary walks of life — not Zionist leaders — one gets the definite impression that relations with Arabs…

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Corruption: Clarence Thomas accepted gifts worth millions of dollars over 20 years, analysis finds

Corruption: Clarence Thomas accepted gifts worth millions of dollars over 20 years, analysis finds

CNBC reports: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepted millions of dollars’ worth of gifts over the past two decades on the bench, a total nearly 10 times the value of all gifts received by his fellow justices during the same time, according to a new analysis. Thomas received 103 gifts with a total value of more than $2.4 million between 2004 and 2023, the judicial reform group Fix the Court said in a report Thursday. In contrast, Thomas’ fellow justices…

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U.S. clears way for antitrust inquiries of Nvidia, Microsoft and OpenAI

U.S. clears way for antitrust inquiries of Nvidia, Microsoft and OpenAI

The New York Times reports: Federal regulators have reached a deal that allows them to proceed with antitrust investigations into the dominant roles that Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia play in the artificial intelligence industry, in the strongest sign of how regulatory scrutiny into the powerful technology has escalated. The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission struck the deal over the past week, and it is expected to be completed in the coming days, according to two people with knowledge of the matter,…

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Brain connections reset during first half of sleep

Brain connections reset during first half of sleep

PsyPost reports: A recent study has provided new insights into the complex role of sleep in brain function. Conducted on zebrafish, the research revealed that during the first half of a night’s sleep, the brain weakens the new connections between neurons formed while awake. However, this process does not continue into the second half of the night, leaving open questions about the latter stage’s purpose. Published in the journal Nature, the study supports the Synaptic Homeostasis Hypothesis, which suggests sleep…

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Most life on Earth is dormant, after pulling an ‘emergency brake’

Most life on Earth is dormant, after pulling an ‘emergency brake’

Dan Samorodnitsky writes: Researchers recently reported the discovery of a natural protein, named Balon, that can bring a cell’s production of new proteins to a screeching halt. Balon was found in bacteria that hibernate in Arctic permafrost, but it also seems to be made by many other organisms and may be an overlooked mechanism for dormancy throughout the tree of life. For most life forms, the ability to shut oneself off is a vital part of staying alive. Harsh conditions…

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Secret Israeli propaganda campaign targets U.S. Congress and public using fake accounts with AI content

Secret Israeli propaganda campaign targets U.S. Congress and public using fake accounts with AI content

The New York Times reports: Israel organized and paid for an influence campaign last year targeting U.S. lawmakers and the American public with pro-Israel messaging, as it aimed to foster support for its actions in the war with Gaza, according to officials involved in the effort and documents related to the operation. The covert campaign was commissioned by Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, a government body that connects Jews around the world with the State of Israel, four Israeli officials…

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‘America kills a person and then attends their funeral’

‘America kills a person and then attends their funeral’

  Sky News has followed the treatment of a Palestinian woman who was evacuated from Gaza to the US after an Israeli tank shell hit her home. Ahed Bseiso’s leg was badly injured and had to be amputated by her uncle, who is a surgeon. Video of the amputation went viral on social media. Ahed’s treatment in the US was arranged by the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, which has extracted about 100 injured children from Gaza since the conflict began.

Former Meta engineer sues company saying he was fired over handling of Gaza content

Former Meta engineer sues company saying he was fired over handling of Gaza content

Reuters reports: A former Meta engineer on Tuesday accused the company of bias in its handling of content related to the war in Gaza, claiming in a lawsuit that Meta fired him for trying to help fix bugs causing the suppression of Palestinian Instagram posts. Ferras Hamad, a Palestinian-American engineer who had been on Meta’s machine learning team since 2021, sued the social media giant in a California state court for discrimination, wrongful termination and other wrongdoing over his February…

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What Donald Trump’s criminal trial reveals about a potential second Trump administration

What Donald Trump’s criminal trial reveals about a potential second Trump administration

By Andrea Bernstein This story was originally published by ProPublica. There’s a tape that both the defense and the prosecution played in summations in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial. In it, you can hear the chaos of Trump’s office at Trump Tower in September of 2016: Trump seems to be having multiple conversations almost simultaneously. He talks to an unidentified person on the phone. He discusses polls with Michael Cohen, his executive vice-president at the time. Trump and Cohen…

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Biden’s new immigration policy is an affront to survivors of the Holocaust

Biden’s new immigration policy is an affront to survivors of the Holocaust

Judd Legum writes: The political impetus for Biden’s new policy is clear. Immigration is one of the top issues for voters, and is top of mind for many independents who will play a critical role in the upcoming presidential election. Moreover, polls consistently show voters prefer Trump’s hardline approach toward immigration policy. Unilaterally imposing severe restrictions on asylum seekers appears to be an effort to diffuse the issue politically. But the political realities do not obviate the human and moral…

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Christian supremacists in the New Apostolic Reformation pose ‘greatest threat to American democracy you’ve never heard of’

Christian supremacists in the New Apostolic Reformation pose ‘greatest threat to American democracy you’ve never heard of’

HuffPost reports: A growing Christian supremacist movement that labels its perceived enemies as “demonic” and enjoys close ties to major Republican figures is “the greatest threat to American democracy you’ve never heard of,” according to a new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC, a civil rights organization that monitors extremist groups, released its “Year In Hate And Extremism 2023” report on Tuesday. A significant portion of the report, which tracked burgeoning anti-democratic and neo-fascist movements and actors…

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