Science

For years, Jana Dambrogio, a conservator at MIT, has been studying the elaborate ways people used to fold and seal their letters to keep busybodies and spies from reading their secrets. The way a paleontologist analyzes fossils to reconstruct extinct creatures, Dambrogio looks at the blobs of wax and the folding patterns on flat, already-opened letters in manuscript collections so that she can reverse-engineer "letterlocking" techniques. She had never held a historical, unopened locked letter in her hand until she got a call from her colleague, Daniel Starza Smith, at the University of Oxford. "He asked me, 'What would you do if I told you there was a trunk with 600 unopened letters?'"Dambrogio said. "He had me at 'unopened.'" [ See photos of the treasure trove of sealed 17th-century letters ] That trunk, which belonged to a 17th-century postmaster, had been sitting undisturbed in The Hague's Museum voor Communicatie since 1926. It was recently rediscovered and … [Read more...] about ‘Letterlocked’ Trove: X-Rays to Peer into Sealed 17th-Century Notes

Squid and several other cephalopods can rapidly shift the colors in their skin, thanks to that skin's unique structure. Engineers at the University of Toronto have drawn inspiration from the squid to create a prototype for "liquid windows" that can shift the wavelength, intensity, and distribution of light transmitted through those windows, thereby saving substantially on energy costs. They described their work in a new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “Buildings use a ton of energy to heat, cool, and illuminate the spaces inside them,” said co-author Raphael Kay . “If we can strategically control the amount, type, and direction of solar energy that enters our buildings, we can massively reduce the amount of work that we ask heaters, coolers, and lights to do.” Kay likes to think of buildings as living organisms that also have "skin," i.e., an outer layer of exterior facades and windows. But these features are largely static, limiting how … [Read more...] about Squid skin inspires novel “liquid windows” for greater energy savings

A Missouri high school nurse was arrested on Wednesday after she allegedly repeatedly engaged in sexual acts with a student, according to reports. The accused, Candice Elizabeth Johnson, 26 — who worked as a nurse at Kennett High School in Dunklin County — is “charged with two counts of statutory rape and two counts of sexual contact with a student,” KFVS reported . The child is 15 years old, per the outlet. A probable cause affidavit indicated that Kennett Police were alerted to the alleged relationship with the student on Monday, the Southeast Missourian reported . A police interview with the teen reportedly revealed that they allegedly engaged in activity of a sexual nature a dozen times dating back to October, KAIT8 noted : The victim added several of the encounters happened in Johnson’s office, police said. The affidavit explained the victim did not officially confess to the relationship when questioned by the principal and assistant … [Read more...] about Missouri School Nurse Accused of Sexual Encounters with Student

Purchasing textbooks, starting new classes, and trying to hammer out a schedule can be hectic when starting school. We put together a guide to some of the best apps and discounts to help you make the most of the new school year. Photo by Svadilfari Make Sure You’ve Got The Basics First, of course, you’ll need to make sure you’ve got the basics covered.  It’s fairly cheap to get up-to-date software as a student, so there’s no reason to skimp.  Microsoft is currently offering Office 2010 Professional for $79.95 and Windows 7 Professional upgrade for just $29.95 if you’re a college student.  For more on this check out this check out how students can upgrade to Office 2010 and Windows 7 cheap and easy .  Your college bookstore may also offer discounted software, so be sure to check it out too. If you’re currently running another edition of Windows 7 on your computer, such as Starter or Home Premium, you could use this discount to upgrade to Professional with Anytime … [Read more...] about Back to School Guide to Some Awesome Apps and Resources

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) stirred controversy last month when he objected to the contents of the College Board’s new Advanced Placement (AP) course on African-American Studies. Florida law prohibits radical philosophies like Critical Race Theory, which describes America as fundamentally racist, from being taught to children. So he was well within his rights — and seems to have encouraged some improvements . For his trouble, DeSantis has been smeared as a racist and a fascist who is opposed to the teaching of black history — as if “black history” must be whatever the left decides it is. This week, the College Board released its current framework for the AP course — which does include radical ideas such as “intersectionality,” which holds that black people must back other “oppressed” groups, even when doing so is against their own interests. However, the AP framework also includes material on “black conservatives,” which is encouraging (provided their ideas are … [Read more...] about Blue State Blues: My African-American Education