by Christoph — If you want to leave 𝕏 (formerly Twitter) for any reason, you can deactivate or completely delete your account. That's it then. But if you want to take a few still interesting bookmarks with you when you move out, well, then the 𝕏odus takes a little longer. Here are three more of these salvaged bookmarks, in 'Lost & Found #3'. Read more →
Defining Life with Aristotle
by Chelsi Cassilly and Eric Bodlak — What is life? Initially, it seems like a simple question. The immediate response is often to compare and contrast the many things we encounter daily that are animate and inanimate. Yet this question becomes harder the longer you sit with it. Because life on this planet – that is, life as we know it – includes microbial life... Read more →
Did organs precede organisms in the dawn of life?
by Fernando Baquero — We are commemorating the centennial of the first significant scientific hypothesis aimed at understanding the origin of life, published in 1924 by Alexander Ivánovich Oparin (1894-1980). The implicit message in this wonderful-to-read publication, but not expressed as such in the text, is that life arises in a kind of primordial soup of organic and inorganic molecules dissolved in hot water. Read more →
Is there a future for STC?
by Roberto — The short answer to that question is an enthusiastic YES! Of course, there is a future for STC, and I think it is bright. The long answer, well... that's what this post is all about It requires that I give you the background story first. Read more →
Winter Vacation
By the STC team — We take advantage of this being the season for rejoicing, and embark on a five-week winter vacation. When we return in 2025, on January 20, we will enter the 19th year of Small Things Considered. Read more →
Retrospective, July to December 2024
by the STC team — Did you miss some of our posts from the past six months? Do you want to re-read your favorites? Just scroll to quickly scan through the list of our posts from the last half year, arranged by categories. Read more →
Lost & Found #2
by Christoph — On our way out of 𝕏 (formerly Twitter), we look through our soon-to-be-obsolete "bookmarks" and show you what shouldn't just end up in the bin. Here are three more salvaged bookmarks in 'Lost & Found #2'. Read more →
Genomes by AI
by Roberto — Two years ago I played, simultaneously amused and bemused, with ChatGPT. It was clear artificial intelligence (AI) had taken a quantum leap. While I did not get to play with it, reading about Evo last week evoked similar feelings; it left me both in awe and slightly unnerved. In case you missed it, Evo does with genome sequences what ChatGPT does with words, i.e., almost everything. Read more →
Lost & Found #1
by Christoph — STC will be leaving 𝕏 (formerly Twitter) in the near future. Over the coming months, at irregular intervals, I'll be sifting through my bookmarks on 𝕏 and share with you what I found, two or three tweets at a time. This is 'Lost & Found #1'. Read more →
Pictures Considered #64: Emergent Properties
by Roberto — Some years ago, when Scott Chimileski wrote 'Life at the Edge of Sight', we wanted to present two images that displayed emergent properties of organisms expressing collective behavior. We came up with this pair of photographs, whose scales differ by seven orders of magnitude. Read more →