Weekend #Plankton Factoid 🦠🦐 Tintinnids ("tinkling bells") are ciliates found in fresh and saltwater known for their characteristic vase-shaped shell called a lorica. These are formed of tough proteins, incorporating minerals from the water and vary considerably by species. The shell offers protection and optimizes feeding on phytoplankton, bacteria and flagellates. These small protists are globally distributed and are a vitally important component of the microbial food web. #science#biology
Demi-journée d'étude au Collège de France jeudi 27 novembre 2025 : "Histoire militante, histoire savante".
"Cette demi-journée de discussions et de réflexions vise à questionner l’opposition, devenue lieu commun, entre deux formes d’histoire. La première serait engagée, subjective et militante ; la seconde, neutre, objective et savante. Or, chacun sait bien que les engagements des historiens et des historiennes sont multiformes et ne nuisent pas nécessairement aux ambitions scientifiques de leurs travaux, tandis que la stricte objectivité est une illusion qu’un minimum de réflexivité épistémologique dissipe. Il s’agit donc de réfléchir, collectivement, à toutes les formes de croisements, d’interactions, d'échanges. Comment le travail savant des chercheurs peut-il nourrir leur engagement (politique, social, moral…) ? Comment une histoire militante, parfois produite en marge du monde universitaire, peut contribuer de façon décisive, aux progrès de la recherche, en imposant de nouveaux objets, de nouvelles sources, de nouvelles approches ? Pour autant, …
Demi-journée d'étude au Collège de France jeudi 27 novembre 2025 : "Histoire militante, histoire savante".
"Cette demi-journée de discussions et de réflexions vise à questionner l’opposition, devenue lieu commun, entre deux formes d’histoire. La première serait engagée, subjective et militante ; la seconde, neutre, objective et savante. Or, chacun sait bien que les engagements des historiens et des historiennes sont multiformes et ne nuisent pas nécessairement aux ambitions scientifiques de leurs travaux, tandis que la stricte objectivité est une illusion qu’un minimum de réflexivité épistémologique dissipe. Il s’agit donc de réfléchir, collectivement, à toutes les formes de croisements, d’interactions, d'échanges. Comment le travail savant des chercheurs peut-il nourrir leur engagement (politique, social, moral…) ? Comment une histoire militante, parfois produite en marge du monde universitaire, peut contribuer de façon décisive, aux progrès de la recherche, en imposant de nouveaux objets, de nouvelles sources, de nouvelles approches ? Pour autant, questionner n’est pas abolir. On se gardera d’effacer la distinction entre une histoire à visée savante et une histoire produite dans un cadre militant. On essaiera alors de comprendre aussi comment la vigueur de l'engagement et la rigueur de la science peuvent, parfois, entrer en conflit." https://www.college-de-france.fr/fr/agenda/colloque/histoire-militante-histoire-savante/histoire-militante-histoire-savante #collegeDeFrance#esr#enseignementSupérieur#histoire#historiographie#politique#militantisme#vulgarisation#science
Fascinating Particle Physics: Quarks, Neutrinos, the Higgs Boson and the Riddles of the Universe by Philip Bechtle et al, 2025
This book bridges the gap between the known facts about the microcosmic world and the many open questions about the fundamental structure of matter and the Universe. Even if you don’t have much of a math background but would like to delve deeper into the subject, this is the book for you.
One of the best-known proponents of string theory, Brian Greene, explains why it remains the most comprehensive theory for understanding the fundamental laws of nature. But can it even be tested? It’s Skeptic Check: String Theory on Big Picture Science.
When a faint, fast-moving speck named 3I/ATLAS slipped into view earlier this year, it carried more than a whiff of cosmic intrigue. Only two other confirmed interstellar objects have ever wandered through our Solar System, and both left scientists with more questions than answers. The internet promptly filled the gap with theories ranging from the plausible to the eccentric. However, while the speculation churned, a quieter, methodical effort began to take shape in South Africa.
"What is the relationship of science and technology to human history, and how have Marxists conceptualized this problematic within historical materialism? The work of Boris Hessen represents one of the most sophisticated attempts to apply a materialist analysis to the history of science—specifically, how the economic needs of early capitalism influenced what we now think of as modern science and the Scientific Revolution. In this blog, I explore how Hessen pursues his analysis in his seminal essay “The Social and Economic Roots of Newton’s Principia” (henceforth referred to as “Newton’s Roots”).
While Hessen did not develop the first Marxist analysis of science, Hessen’s approach was one of the first truly systematic attempts. Moreover, his work helps us see past the often oversimplified division between “Western Marxism” and Soviet thought, revealing a productive tension in international Marxism through attempts to apply historical materialism in understanding science, technology, and nature under …
"What is the relationship of science and technology to human history, and how have Marxists conceptualized this problematic within historical materialism? The work of Boris Hessen represents one of the most sophisticated attempts to apply a materialist analysis to the history of science—specifically, how the economic needs of early capitalism influenced what we now think of as modern science and the Scientific Revolution. In this blog, I explore how Hessen pursues his analysis in his seminal essay “The Social and Economic Roots of Newton’s Principia” (henceforth referred to as “Newton’s Roots”).
While Hessen did not develop the first Marxist analysis of science, Hessen’s approach was one of the first truly systematic attempts. Moreover, his work helps us see past the often oversimplified division between “Western Marxism” and Soviet thought, revealing a productive tension in international Marxism through attempts to apply historical materialism in understanding science, technology, and nature under capitalist society.
In the same vein, Henryk Grossman makes the connection between science and capitalist society explicit in his work with the Institute of Social Research (Institut für Sozialforschung, or IfS)—several of Grossmann’s articles were published in the IfS’s journal Zeitschrift für Sozialforschung (ZfS). Grossmann was in fact one of the first defenders of Hessen’s work against critics such as George. N. Clark, Richard S. Westfall, etc. as these critics fundamentally misunderstood Hessen’s theses, and, by extension, Grossmann’s own formulation of the relation between science and capitalist society. While both reached similar conclusions independently, and Grossmann’s work is introduced at points, I focus on Hessen’s formulation here."
#PPOD: On 17 March 2023, one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites captured this rare cloud-free image of Deception Island, an active volcanic caldera located in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It has long been the focus of intense interest from both tourists and researchers because of its remarkable geology and unique ecological characteristics. Credit: European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery
