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Tag: science community

Weekly Newsletter #100: Happy 100th Newsletter

WHEW, we’re entering triple digits now, are we? Well, in any case, thank you for sticking along with the ride — whether you’ve been here the whole time, reading along since Weekly Newsletter #1, or whether this is your first time reading The Burgundy Zine. We appreciate you, bug buddies.

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Thought-to-Text Interfaces are Just Around the Corner

While mind-reading interfaces that convert thoughts to text sound like a dystopian sci-fi plot that could go horribly wrong disturbingly fast, the reality may not be so far away — or as fallible, either.

When you first hear “thought to text,” your knee-jerk response might be, “Uhh, no way. What if I have an intrusive thought that I don’t really mean to send? Or an impulse to text someone I know I shouldn’t?” But the most recent brain-computer face interface studies don’t rely on decoding your internal monologue or raw thoughts.

Rather, researchers have programmed a brain-computer interface that decodes “attempted handwriting movements” from motor cortex activity. This technology allows people who have been paralyzed for years to imagine handwriting and translate that into texting at speeds of 90 characters per minute with 94.1 percent accuracy, which is comparable to average smartphone typing speeds.

Furthermore, that accuracy climbs to 99 percent with general-purpose autocorrect.

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Weekly Newsletter #97: Pi Day vs. Super Powered Sea Slugs

Happy Pi Day, bug buddies — or as we declared last year, happy ViHart day. And in case you were wondering, yes. The mathemusician YouTuber ViHart has already uploaded the 2021 installment of her infamous annual Pi Day series, which you can watch here.

Now that you’ve sampled a slice of pi, and you’re all cozied up at the screen, let’s start chowing down on some whacky science stories, virtual events, and Burgundy Zine community news.

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Weekly Newsletter #95: Springing into March Motivation

We can’t believe we’re just five installments away from the 100th release in our Tune-In Tuesdays series.

As you can imagine, we’ve got some big plans in mind for Tune-In Tuesdays #100. If you’re a musician (or if you represent a musician) who has previously been featured by The Burgundy Zine, be on the lookout for an email with more information in the next few days. 😉

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What Happens to Your Blood After it’s Tested?

After you’ve been pricked, prodded, and poked, pretty, little, crimson vials of your blood are shipped off to a lab, never to be seen again.

But what happens after it’s been tested? Is your blood fed to vampires in government warehouses to keep them from prowling the streets and feeding on people? Is it stored away in towering, futuristic refrigerators along with thousands of other samples for further experimentation?

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What is the Solar Cycle?

So, you’ve heard of the water cycle, the menstrual cycle, bicycles… But have you heard of the solar cycle?

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September is National Honey Month

As sunflowers put on a show for us this month, it’s also important to pay homage to another black and yellow marvel of nature: bees.

September is National Honey Month, a time in which we honor the byproduct of the five-eyed, six-legged, insects that have soared through our skies at 20mph for the last 30 million years.

Bee pollination adds approximately 14 billion dollars to improved crop yield and quality annually in the United States, according to NASA. And while we all know the “BEES ARE DYING,” which will inevitably wreak havoc on agricultural output, did you know that honey may have played a critical role in human evolution?

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In Search of the Best DNA Test

DNA sequencing, a once distant, sci-fi fantasy that took over 20,000 CPU hours just 21 years ago has found its way into our hearts and homes through at-home DNA test kits.

But with so many different companies offering DNA tests that range from ancestry to health analysis — all of which, are available at highly-competitive prices — how does one determine which one is “the best?”

Fortunately, experts at The DNA Tests have stepped up to the plate to answer everything you’ve been curious about.

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Why Did Some Dinosaurs Have Cancer?

Cancer, one of the leading causes of death worldwide, appears to have afflicted the ferocious beasts the roamed the Earth with our prehistoric ancestors.

Earlier this month, research published in The Lancet Oncology Journal diagnosed a dinosaur with bone cancer. And this isn’t the first time researchers have made such a diagnosis based on dinosaur fossils.

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