AI Protein Folding

How the protein folding frontier was conquered, as told by Veritasium's Derek Muller. It's perhaps the most important story in modern biology. And science communicator, Derek Muller—as usual—dives deeper into the topic than most popular science journalists dare to venture.

But Veritasium manages to tell the tale in 24 minutes. It's a dense 24 minutes. I crafted 37 questions to accompany the video, because if I were showing this to students, I would not let them look away for a moment. There's a lot of good information in The Most Useful Thing AI Has Ever Done.

Cowboy biochemistry, Turd of the Century, and evoformers will be discussed. Veritasium has answers, and I have questions.

THE MOST USEFUL THING AI HAS EVER DONE at TPT

Dino Birds

Dinosaurs are not as extinct as we might have thought. The big ones didn't make it past the asteroid impact 65 million years ago. But some small flying ones did. Hence birds!

Connecting modern birds to ancient dinosaurs was a scientific detective story, and this episode of NOVA retraces the steps. And some of the best evidence is of recent discovery. 

Birds have been on an evolutionary journey. A journey that included feathers, powered flight, and many extinctions. 

DINO BIRDS at TPT

Fossils reveal how birds survived the killer asteroid and became today’s only living dinosaurs. Contrary to popular belief, dinosaurs never went extinct. They’re still alive among us—in the form of birds! Birds are the only dinosaurs that survived the cataclysmic mass extinction caused by an asteroid the size of Mt. Everest crashing into Earth about 66 million years ago. The big question is: How? How did birds manage to not only live through the apocalypse, but also go on to diversify and populate every corner of our planet? Now, rare fossil discoveries are revealing the secrets of bird evolution going back more than 100 million years, telling the story of how some resilient feathered dinos persevered and transformed into the vast array of colorful bird species that fill our skies today.

Connected: The Hidden Science of Everything

 

Latif Nasser is probably best known as a current host of Radiolab, WNYC's celebrated broadcast/podcast program. 

Before that, he hosted the Netflix documentary series, Connected: The Hidden Science of Everything. I think it's safe now to say that Connected was a limited series, and—like many Netflix properties—season 1 is as far as it will go. But we got six solid episodes to enjoy. Each episode stands on its own. And each delivers unexpected connections. 

They were released in the midst of the lockdowns, so you might have been glued to Tiger King at the time. The title hews close to that of James Burke's classic, Connections. So I was willing to give it a go. 

And now I have questions.

CONNECTIONS: THE HIDDEN SCIENCE OF EVERYTHING at TPT

1. SURVEILLANCE at TPT

Ever feel like you're being watched? Well, you may be right. Latif explores the sometimes cute, often creepy ways surveillance pervades our lives. Segments: Veeries, Piggies, Selfies, Sweeties.

Shot in the Arm

This project began as a documentary regarding resistance to the measles (MMR) vaccine. Then 2020 arrived with the coronavirus outbreak. After the initial panic and lockdowns, the anti-vaccine movement exploded. Shot in the Arm documents whole the ordeal.

There are uncomfortable moments for those of us who remember it all. But there were important lessons, and it's important that they were learned.

I have questions. And they are free.

SHOT IN THE ARM at TPT [Freebie]

Both skeptical and hopeful, SHOT IN THE ARM - from Academy Award-Nominated filmmaker Scott Hamilton Kennedy and Executive Producer Neil deGrasse Tyson - explores vaccine hesitancy historically and in the context of our modern pandemic. Can we replace cynicism with healthy curiosity and bridge the political divides that make us sick? Featuring: Tony Fauci, Paul Offit, and Robert Kennedy, Jr.

More information is available at http://shotinthearmmovie.com.

What Are UFOs?

 

Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) have been an intriguing phenomenon for decades. They've recently benn renamed Unidentified Areal Phenomena and then Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs). Public interest has waxed and waned, but never disappeared. I don't expect that will ever change.

I was a bit nervous when I learned NOVA was going to produce an episode to this topic. Why? I was recently disappointed by celebrated columnist Ezra Klein's stunning credulity amidst a recent flare up of interest. I expected better. 

But my anxiety was not warranted. I was heartened to see skeptical analyst, Mick West, was a participant, and he certainly has a moment in this episode. This is NOVA, not The New York Times; I should not have been concerned.

But I do have questions.

WHAT ARE UFOS? at TPT

For decades UFOs have captivated the public, even as many scientists saw them as too taboo to investigate. Now, after highly publicized sightings of unidentified objects by Navy pilots, UFOs are moving out of the shadows and into the light, as NASA pledges to study them scientifically. So what does science have to say? Though some are identified as balloons or drones, weather phenomena, or optical illusions, others remain mysterious. Could they be the result of secret new technology developed by other governments – or our own? And what would it take for alien engineers to traverse vast distances to send probes or visit Earth from other solar systems? Explore the evidence, as astrophysicists and engineers use new technologies to investigate the strangest objects in our skies.

UNKNOWN: Killer Robots

 

Having written a question set for UNKNOWN: Cosmic Time Machine, I poked around and discovered that UNKNOWN was a ... collection of Netflix documentaries. Not a series as such; a collection. Having written question sets for documentaries regarding AI and robots, Killer Robots intrigued me.

This is the most disquieting documentary I pursued. But enlightening, and important. There is a dark side to technological developments. There always have been. The techno-optimists do their best to marginalize those downsides, but that doesn't make them go away.

UNKNOWN: KILLER ROBOTS at TPT

Deep in the heart of the military-industrial complex, a new kind of soldier is being developed. AI-powered robots are changing the face of warfare, and increasingly making their own decisions on the battlefield. This film follows the soldiers and scientists racing to build these technologies, and the activists on a mission to expose their dangerous potential.

UNKNOWN: Cosmic Time Machine

I'm clearly getting antsy for another PBS NOVA episode focussed on the latest discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope. In the meantime, I enjoyed this Netflix documentary on the early days of the JWST. 

And I have questions.

UNKNOWN: COSMIC TIME MACHINE at TPT

The James Webb Telescope stirs imaginations with vivid photos of distant galaxies. This documentary tracks its historic journey from inception to launch, and on to deployment and first images.

Lost Tombs of Notre Dame

 

The world looked on in horror as Notre Dame Cathedral burned in the middle of Paris in April, 2019. Restoring the cathedral has spawned two episodes of NOVA. Rebuilding Notre Dame in 2022, and now Lost Tombs of Notre Dame.

The restoration project has been a massive undertaking. This episode is devoted to some of the things found under the stone flooring, and the forensic work devoted to solving these uncovered mysteries. 

LOST TOMBS OF NOTRE DAME at TPT

After the devastating 2019 fire at Notre Dame, two mysterious sarcophaguses were discovered under the cathedral’s stone floor. Who is buried in them, and what secrets will these coffins reveal? Follow a team of archaeologists and historians as they attempt to solve centuries-old mysteries using the latest scientific investigation techniques. What can forensic analysis of the remains reveal about one of the world’s most famous cathedrals and those who devoted their lives to it?

The New Jersey Drones Mass Delusion, Explained

Dear reader from the future: this cultural episode will have been largely forgotten by the time you read this. But in late 2024, "Mysterious New Jersey Drones" coverage could not be escaped. This is a characteristic of mass delusions. Explosive media penetration for a hot minute, then erased from the collective memory.

It's instructive to not let it fade from consciousness. The good people at the What a Day podcast's occasional series, "How We Got Here" took a deep dive into this flash in the media pan. 

And I have questions.

THE NEW JERSEY DRONES MASS DELUSION, EXPLAINED at TPT

Something mysterious has been going down in New Jersey recently … but it’s NOT drones. It’s that thousands of people are looking at airplanes in the night sky and thinking they see UFOs. What causes mass delusions like this wave of now mostly debunked drone sightings? In this concluding episode of "How We Got Here," Max and Erin share four stories of famous mass hysterias and talk to William Bernstein, an author who writes about the science of mass delusions and why they happen.

Key Sections:

• War of the Worlds
• The Delusion of Crowds
• Havana Syndrome
• Panic (Media Response in the Attention Economy)
• Evil Clowns
• Salem Witch Trials