She lived to 114, Meteor shower guide, Dogs

Happy Friday my friend,

Look into the night sky this month, and you’ll see Jupiter, meteors, and the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS at its closest point to Earth! Get skywatching tips here. 🔭

Specifically this week, it’s the GEMINID METEOR SHOWER.

ECL TRIVIA: What is the process called when a lizard regrows its lost tail? (Answer below)

🌎 Planet Health

🌴 HUMANITY’S HOPE: In this fascinating opinion piece, bioethicist Dr. Kerry Bowman shares her observations and concerns regarding the uncontacted peoples in our world’s forests. “To protect their silence is to protect something essential in ourselves: the understanding that freedom, in its purest form, may simply be the right to be left alone.”

📄 CLEAN HYDROGEN: Could a simple waste byproduct from paper mills turn into a high-performance catalyst for water electrolysis? Just published in Biochar X, scientists say a new lignin-derived catalyst for “evolved oxygen” could be a step towards low-cost production of clean hydrogen.

🌱 MOTHER OF TREES: India’s “mother of trees,” Saalumarada Thimmakka, has passed away at the astonishing age of 114. When she couldn’t have children, “she coaxed into the world hundreds of banyan trees, each one rooted by hand,” speaking to them “like her children.” It’s said she tended to over 8k trees in her lifetime. Learn more about this wonderful woman’s legacy here.

🧑‍⚕️ Human Health

🧠 PHONE BRAIN: What happens to the brain of a 12-year-old who starts using a smartphone? New data of 10k adolescents “provided a snapshot of participants' health,” and “some evidence for the differences that getting a phone over [that] year might make,” revealing these statistics on depression, obesity, and insufficient sleep.

🐶 DOGGIE BEST FRIEND: If you had a family dog as a teenager, chances are your microbiome is wired differently than those who didn’t, with a bacterial composition favoring empathy and prosocial behavior. Psychological well-being, mental health, and social competence were also improved in young people who had a dog at home. Learn more here.

🥱 BLOOD PRESSURE & BEDTIMES: Trouble with high blood pressure? Try going to bed at the same time every night for just 14 days in a row. In this small study, participants' blood pressure improvement “was roughly the equivalent of reducing dietary sodium or participating in an exercise program.” How do irregular bedtimes affect your hormones and cardio health? Find out here.

Just Look Up

Weather modification isn’t about the memes, or the internet noise, but the real-world programs, research, and technologies that have quietly existed for decades. Most people have never had them explained in a clear, grounded way, which is why Ariana Victor’s documentary Just Look Up has sparked so much interest this week.

The film lays out what’s publicly documented: cloud-seeding operations across the U.S., international weather modification programs, and ongoing research into solar radiation management at major institutions. Whether you’re skeptical, intrigued, or somewhere in between, understanding these technologies matters if we care about how humans interact with natural systems.

I won’t have another chance to mention it, because Ariana’s screening window ends this weekend. After that, it goes offline.

If you haven’t watched yet — or want to understand more about why so many people are concerned with this issue — you can watch Just Look Up HERE.

Photo of the week

Trivia Answer:

Epimorphic regeneration. Some lizards can regenerate their tails, restoring both tissue and function after injury.

To a healing future,

— Rob

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