Featured Links - May 1, 2023

Links to things I found interesting but didn't want to do a full blog post about.

Fibre is coming

• Astronomers solve the 60-year mystery of quasars, the most powerful objects in the universe. "Scientists have unlocked one of the biggest mysteries of quasars—the brightest, most powerful objects in the universe—by discovering that they are ignited by galaxies colliding."
• Quiet and Efficient – New Propeller Advance Paves Way for Electric Planes. "The electrification of aviation is viewed as a crucial component in the creation of a fossil fuel-free future. However, electric aviation is faced with a challenge: the more energy-efficient the aircraft, the louder it becomes. Fortunately, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed an optimized propeller design that opens up the possibility for electric aviation to be both quiet and efficient."
• Six Months In: Thoughts On The Current Post-Twitter Diaspora Options. "There have been a bunch of attempts at filling the void left by an unstable and untrustworthy Twitter, and it’s been fascinating to watch how it’s all played out over these past six months. I’ve actually enjoyed playing around with various other options and exploring what they have to offer, so wanted to share a brief overview of current (and hopefully future options) for where people can go to get their Twitter-fix without it being on Twitter."
• Ancient Solar Storm Reveals Vikings Were In North America Exactly 1,000 Years Ago. “[Our] research demonstrates the potential of the AD 993 anomaly … for pinpointing the ages of past migrations and cultural interactions,” the study concludes. “Together with other cosmic-ray events, this distinctive feature will allow for the exact dating of many other archaeological and environmental contexts.”
• 30 Insanely Useful Websites That'll Come in Handy Someday. "The title is hyperbolic, but there are several very useful sites listed in the article."
• We built a human-skin printer from Lego and we want every lab to use our blueprint. "Our bioprinter could not only provide us with an accurate representative model of human skin, it could also be used to add diseased cells to the healthy models we produce. This would enable us to study how skin conditions develop and how healthy and diseased cells interact. It would also enable us to see how skin diseases progress and how potential treatments can be developed."
• 2023 Locus Awards Top Ten Finalists. Locus is the newsmagazine of the science fiction and fantasy field. Some of the short fiction finalists are available online to read.