Category: Science & Technology
-
Did Anti-Hate Group Infiltrate the Unite the Right Rally?
Between 2014 and 2023, the Department of Justice alleged in indictments filed yesterday, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) funneled more than $3 million in donated funds to individuals associated with violent extremist groups including the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, and National Socialist Party of America. SPLC, which tracks “hate” groups nationally, allegedly paid…
-
Good News for Medical Research in Virginia
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Remember that edict by the Trump administration capping the indirect costs portion of grants by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at 15 percent? There was vigorous discussion of that announcement on this blog, with many commentators supporting the move. Well, the Trump administration has given up on that effort. As soon as…
-
What Is UVA’s Research Overhead?
And how much is driven by DEI? UVA won’t say. Open the Books has published a new report, “Transparency Crisis,” examining the percentage of research funding devoted to university overhead. Nationally, 50% to 60% of federal research grants go to overhead, which is meant to cover university and departmental infrastructure and support. “Recent reports,” states…
-
The Pediatrician-in-Chief
by Dick Hall-Sizemore At his press conference last week, President Trump railed at length against giving young children multiple vaccinations at once. In his view, doctors were pumping all this stuff into those “beautiful bodies.” At times, he alluded to 80 vaccines, as if children were being given every vaccine available. At other times, he…
-
To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone
by Dick Hall-Sizemore A Virginia corporation is one of a handful of companies involved in developing an energy alternative that, if successful, will render the debates over solar, wind, and fossil fuels moot. The alternative is miniaturized nuclear power. Not to be confused with the small modular reactors (SMRs) being explored by Dominion Energy, these reactors,…
-
Youngkin Veto of AI Bill Praised by Louisiana Group
Reprinted from the Pelican Tech & Innovation Center Artificial intelligence (AI) is progressing rapidly and powering solutions previously unimaginable. At the same time, AI legislation is on the rise and a patchwork of state restrictions looms over the momentum of innovators and US leadership. This Monday, HB 2094, the High-Risk Artificial Intelligence Developer and Deployer Act, was…
-
The End of Science! Lives Will Be Lost!
by James A. Bacon Don’t question university overhead costs or thousands will die! That is essentially the message of Virginia’s big three research universities — Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University — in response to a National Institutes of Health initiative capping reimbursable overhead costs to 15% of the research grants…
-
AI Guardrails Will Shape Society. Here’s How They Work.
You know Artificial Intelligence has reached critical mass when the politicians start trying to regulate it. (See The Virginia Mercury’s summary of Virginia bills here.) As citizens, we need to pay close attention. John Farmer, a Richmond intellectual-property attorney, provides a helpful primer. — JAB by John Farmer You will be hearing a lot about…
-
Bacon’s Birthday (Sir Francis’, That Is)
It’s high time we begin celebrating the birthday, January 22, of the most consequential individual surnamed Bacon in history: Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626). A proponent of empiricism and skepticism in the pursuit of scientific inquiry, Bacon is widely regarded as the philosophical founder of the scientific revolution. As a member of parliament, according to Wikipedia,…
-
Political Polarization and Data Centers
by James A. Bacon The Town Council of Warrenton has big regrets after issuing a special-use permit allowing Amazon to build a data center in the town. Council finds itself embroiled in litigation from a citizen lawsuit to block the Amazon project as well as a FOIA request to release thousands of emails and documents,…
-
Use AI to Smite AI-Induced Energy Demand
by Felix Garcia The Virginia General Assembly convenes tomorrow for its 2025 session among the usual laments that bipartisan solutions to the Commonwealth’s biggest challenges are not possible nowadays. But there should be one big issue upon which members of both parties in both houses can agree: Virginia uses more electricity than it creates. With more…
-
Bacon Bits: Lonely and Creepy
The loneliest Metro stop. The Loudoun County Gateway Metro averages 317 riders daily, according to The Washington Post. It’s the least busy of the Metro rail system’s 98 stations. Opened to much fanfare as part of the $3 billion Phase 2 of the Silver Line in Northern Virginia, it is a sad reminder of broken…
-
What Happened to All the Water?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Mountain Lake in Giles County has two claims to fame. First, it was the location at which much of the 1987 hit movie Dirty Dancing was filmed. Second, it is one of only two natural lakes in Virginia. (Lake Drummond in the Dismal Swamp in Chesapeake is the other one.) However, the…
-
Caves, Hokie Stone, and Crayons
by Dick Hall-Sizemore This year’s Virginia Geological Field Conference was held in Radford the weekend before Election Day. Like the one I attended last year in the Mt. Rogers area, it was an opportunity to go back in time as well as get a brief respite from the drumbeat of politics. The tenor of this…