UNTIL recently, when one thought of the varied molecular processes at the origin of life, one imagined that the first self-replicating systems consisted of both RNA and protein. RNA served to hold information, whereas protein molecules provided all the enzymic activities needed to make copies of RNA and to reproduce themselves. The cycle that developed a self-replicating system out of the primitive soup of amino acids and nucleotides had two radically different components.
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Michael Marshall (Science)Hungarian biologist Tibor Gánti is an obscure figure. Now, more than a decade after his death, his ideas about how life began are finally coming to fruition.
Good to see Tibor Gánti finally getting some credit. This is a great little article with a nice overview of the Origin of Life problem (and references). The author Michael Marshall has a new book out on the topic.
ᔥ Peter Molnar in IndieWeb Chat ()
This is one of my favorite things on the internet. The past 24 hours of the Eiffel Tower in a one-minute time lapse animation. This one-minute video file is constantly updated throughout the day to reflect the past 24 hours of the Eiffel Tower. The source of these images comes from a live webcam. See … Eiffel Tower time lapse and Twitter account Read More »
A great Christmas surprise this year? Christmas ninjas! With these fun little guys around the house, you’ll find everyone asking, “Hey, what happened to the Christmas cookies?” Ninjas. These little guys bearing peppermint weapons will surely bring a fresh breath of air to your Christmas. They could cause all sorts of mischief around your house. … The awesome Christmas ninja toys from Oriental Trading Read More »
David Shanske (david.shanske.com)WordPress allows for custom archive templates. For the longest time, I’ve wanted to change the archive for my photo posts to show them in a photo grid. So, I’ve now done that at /kind/photo. You have to click the photo to see the full context, but I like the presentation of all photos I’ve posted. This does not include photos in other types of posts, but it’s probably the most visual item I’ve put out in a while. I hope it causes me to post more photos.
Rosemary Vrablic, who oversaw hundreds of millions of dollars in loans to President Trump’s company, will leave the bank next week.
Jeffrey Toobin didn’t get fired because his employers expect personal celibacy.
In a district where parents are epidemiologists and health policy experts, the meltdown happened one Zoom meeting at a time.
Fascinating to see how the school reopening question is playing out in a wealthy school district with some serious resources most school systems don’t have.
Learn to play the ukulele at your own pace with our step-by-step approach featuring over 500 hours of video lessons from the best teachers in the world. Head Instructor Aldrine Guerrero will help you become the musician you want to be.
Jack Baty (baty.net)TiddlyWiki is an amazing, powerful, flexible, fun bit of software. I use it for various project notes and logs, but mostly I use it for my wiki at rudimentarylathe.wiki. I like pretty much everything about TiddlyWiki except the fact that saving the files can be a challenge. A TiddlyWiki is just a simple HTML file. That’s it. It’s permanent, portable, and about as future-proof as anything. But, making edits in a browser and then saving those changes presents a problem.
Greg McVerry (quickthoughts.jgregorymcverry.com)I had my first #ukulele lesson with Aldrine Guerrero today. As a goal we wanted to develop a curriculum for my playing. I decided to take
I’ve been debating learning either the ukulele or the banjo lately, so this definitely resonates (or should I say twangs?) with me. Thanks for the perspective Greg!
We asked editors and bloggers of Black Perspectives to select the best books published in 2020 on Black History, and they delivered! Check out this extraordinary list of great books from 2020 that offer varied historical perspectives on the Black experience in the United States and across the globe.
A good looking list. I’ve already got a few in my pile for the new year.
Ben Werdmüller (Ben Werdmüller)I believe in the independent web - which was born thirty years ago today - more than any other technology. Earlier today, I shared an update with collaborators, advisors, and investors in Known. Here's what's up: Recently, I filed paperwork to officially dissolve Known, Inc, the Delaware C-Corporati...
This is some great news!
/me goes to dust off my instance and bring it back to life after an unfortunate database issue….
Ninety-four years after his birth (and more than thirty since his death) James Baldwin remains an intellectual, moral, and creative touchstone for many Americans—whether writers, critics, or simply…
ᔥ in post – IndieWeb ()
This is in the same sort of vein of an idea I’ve had knocking around for ages…