Featured Links - March 31, 2025

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

The hydro marsh

• Gee whiz, Gboard! An invaluable new Android typing upgrade. An Undo button. Finally!
• When ‘tranq’ takes its toll. "Xylazine is for animals, but chances are that it’s laced into the street drugs where you live – and it can cost users their memories, limbs and lives. How did it come to Canada, and what’s being done about it?"
• In the ashes. "After wildfires burned houses and brush alike in Los Angeles, researchers have mobilized to understand the health risks posed by urban conflagrations."
• Bookish and world woes. "I am returning to Canada from the International Conference of the Fantastic and the Arts held in Florida. It was my first time there and although I was happy to reconnect with friends and meet scholars, my visit was marred by melancholy." By Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
• Why the ‘iPhone of smartwatches’ remains so elusive. "The wrist might be the best spot for a transformative wearable gadget. But Apple continues to resist giving third-party watchmakers a level playing field."
• ‘Something was wrong with my brain’: How covid leaves its mark on cognition. (Gift link) "Five years after the pandemic began, the neurocognitive effects of long covid are numerous and troubling. And some of these cognitive losses may extend to people who quickly recovered."
• 75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider leaving. "More than 1,600 readers answered our poll; many said they were looking for jobs in Europe and Canada."
• Discover These 15 Enchanting Libraries Sure to Thrill Any Book Lover. "Wall-to-wall books tell an interior design story without saying a word."
• Assault at Antarctic base could be a warning for future travellers to Mars. "Conflict among people living in extreme isolation and confined quarters is a concern for Mars Mission planners."
• Our Diet and Healthy Aging. "A very large prospective study assessed dietary patterns and healthy aging." Interesting and worth reading.
  
• Donald Trump is seeking to erase the United States as we know it. "What we are currently living through is nothing less than an erasure of the building blocks of our republic – a distortion of what it means to be American." It's wakeup time, sheeple. 
• Tales of Merlin and King Arthur Resurface After 750 Years, Hidden in a Bookbinding. "500 years ago, someone decided to use parts of a now-rare manuscript to bind together property records." How advanced imaging technology is helping historians discover the past.