What defines the strongest fictional characters? The most intriguing ones are often developed, revealed or transformed based on their wishes and desires; in other words, what they crave. The more intense the craving, the more commanding the character. In fact, character cravings frequently create the conflicts and plots. What would the evil stepmother in Sleeping Beauty be if she didn’t crave being the most beautiful woman in the land? Lady Macbeth is summed up by her cravings for power and her willingness to commit murder to get it. Most of the heroines in the Jane Austen novels are driven by longings for…
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Flopping around: A drawing of the bullavene molecule and the rearrangements it undergoes as it changes into its different possible shapes, or isomers. (Courtesy: Wikipedia/public domain image) Researchers in Australia have detected and controlled changes to the shape of a single molecule in response to an applied mechanical force. The feat could enable the development of miniaturized implantable pressure sensors and accelerometers for the electronics industry. The molecule in question, bullavene, is a hydrocarbon with the chemical formula C10H10. Importantly, it is piezoresistive, meaning that its electrical resistance changes in response to mechanical strain. In bullavene’s case, this strain occurs…
My Spite Could Fill a Museum Tell It to the Birds I am sick of not winning the National Poetry Series. I am sick of waiting for the mammogram, the ultrasound, the appointment to discuss the results. Tomorrow is the first day of school in the year of our Lord 10x the number of Covid cases as last fall and no online options. In the part of my mind I like to call The Spite Museum, I put each of my manuscripts in a different fairly ugly dress and make a meme: 40 times a bridesmaid, never a bride. But…
[On October 7, 2023, members of the Islamist militant group Hamas, who governs the Gaza Strip, launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,400 people and capturing roughly 240 hostages. In retaliation, the Israeli government, helmed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declared war on Hamas. Israel’s retaliation campaign has killed an estimated 11,000 Palestinian civilians so far, at least 4,200 of whom are children. The casualty count is rapidly rising and only four captives have been released by Hamas at the time of publication.] It’s not just that you had pain in your hips, a years-long discomfort that had suddenly…
The 2024 Rank Prize winners Left to right: Junzhong Liang, Donald Miller, Austin Roorda and David Williams. (Courtesy: Rank Prize) Four scientists who pioneered the development of adaptive optics (AO) technologies for imaging the human retina have been awarded the 2024 Rank Prize for Optoelectronics. The winners – Junzhong Liang, Donald Miller, Austin Roorda and David Williams – invented instruments that use AO to capture high-resolution images of the living retina and provide new insight into the structure and function of the human eye. AO was originally developed for use in astronomy, to eliminate atmosphere-induced blur in images from ground-based…
The moment I learned that Shilpi Suneja’s debut novel House of Caravans was about Partition, I reached out to see if she would be interested in doing this interview. All four of my grandparents lived through this event in Punjab—the state that was split to create Pakistan days after India gained independence from Britain in 1947—yet they rarely spoke of this bloody time, even to their own children. My father, whose family is Sikh, was born in Lahore, which would soon become part of the new nation for Muslims. He was a months-old infant when his parents fled across the…
You Can’t Plan Feelings Out of a Foursome Elisa Faison Share article Group Sex by Elisa Faison Frances and Ben are in their sweatpants on a Saturday morning. He has made the coffee, as he always does. She drinks more than her fair share of the pot, but always offers the final half-cup to Ben. They are sitting on the couch, a green velvet sectional. It’s new. Ben’s legs are stretched long across the loveseat. Frances’ are tucked into her body, which she has pressed tightly to Ben’s side. They are looking at Ben’s phone. “This is the app I…
Aspect Zavi, the dynamic and talented artist, is once again taking the music industry by storm with the release of his highly anticipated music video, “Get Away.†This visually stunning masterpiece showcases Zavi’s incredible artistry and creativity, captivating audiences worldwide. “Get Away†is a mesmerizing fusion of infectious beats, catchy melodies, and thought-provoking lyrics that transport listeners to a world of escape and self-discovery. The video immerses viewers in a surreal landscape, where Zavi’s electrifying performance and captivating visuals leave an indelible impression. This latest release follows the immense success of Zavi’s critically acclaimed album, “No Risk. No Reward.†The…
Battery research team member Yaobin Xu inserts a sample into a transmission electron microscope to examine the function of a rechargeable battery. (Courtesy: Andrea Starr | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) The first direct measurements of thin, supposedly insulating deposits that form in ageing rechargeable lithium-ion batteries have turned up a surprising result: the deposits are not a perfect insulator after all. According to researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer, as it is known, is instead prone to “leaking†electrons – a finding that may help scientists develop longer-lasting…
Join the audience for a live webinar at 3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. EST on 29 November 2023 exploring exosomes and the development of different sensing platforms for detection using nanoparticle integrated plasmonic platforms Want to take part in this webinar? Exosomes are a class of extracellular vesicles (EVs) that are unique nano-sized cargo-bearing biological vesicles, secreted by almost all normal and cancer cells into the extracellular space. These are the smallest of extracellular vesicles (in the range of 30–150 nm) present in all body fluids, making them suitable for liquid biopsy. This webinar covers an introduction to exosomes and the…
True crime is hot right now. It’s a genre seen across every media you can think of, from podcasts to TV shows to movies and even books. The idea of crime and mystery, of violence against a neighbor or family member—these narratives captivate and fascinate us, for better or for worse. But after the Dateline credits roll and you turn off the TV, what’s left? What lifelong traumas and consequences linger in the lives of those touched by the crime? How is a family transformed? In Lindsay Hunter’s newest novel Hot Springs Drive, the answers are ever-expanding and far more…
Sally Oey is a professor of astronomy at the University of Michigan, US, where she studies massive stars and their effects on their host galaxies. She is especially interested in how ultraviolet ionizing radiation escapes from so-called “starburst†galaxies, which contain many bright, young stars that heat interstellar gas to millions of degrees. Star thinker Sally Oey is an astronomer whose research focuses on the behaviour and life histories of massive stars. (Courtesy: University of Michigan) What skills do you use every day in your job? Thinking is number one, and the reason I’m mentioning it is that with these…
Electric Literature is pleased to reveal the cover for Bluff by Danez Smith, which will be published by Graywolf Press on August 20, 2024. Preorder thebook here. Written after two years of artistic silence, during which the world came to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Minneapolis became the epicenter of protest following the murder of George Floyd, Bluff is Danez Smith’s powerful reckoning with their role and responsibility as a poet and with their hometown of the Twin Cities. This is a book of awakening out of violence, guilt, shame, and critical pessimism to wonder and imagine how we…
Modernity has always been profoundly unsettling. Living in an ever-changing world means that no one really knows how to be a human on any given day, and we all have to feel our way forward in the dark. But that’s precisely why the horror genre exists: to explore that darkness’ farthest edges with us. Through the fear and discomfort of horror fiction, we grapple with the ghosts of older ways of being and the deeply-creepy breakdowns at the boundaries of contemporary reality, and find community with characters who are even more hopelessly lost than we are ourselves. In my debut…
Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope have joined forces to image the galaxy cluster known as MACS0416 (courtesy: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Diego (Instituto de FÃsica de Cantabria, Spain), J. D’Silva (U. Western Australia), A. Koekemoer (STScI), J. Summers & R. Windhorst (ASU), and H. Yan (U. Missouri)) If you have ever attempted to do a clean dive into a pool and get it all wrong, the result can be a painful belly flop. But what makes it so unpleasant? Previous work had focussed on a rigid body impacting the water, but Daniel Harris from Brown University and…
Etaf Rum’s Evil Eye is a captivating, heart wrenching novel about navigating intergenerational trauma, and finding your identity in a culture where women are not perceived beyond the roles they perform in service of others. Yara, a Palestinian American young woman, spends her days stretching herself thin as she takes care of her two daughters, fulfills her responsibilities as a graphic designer and art instructor at the local college, and cooks elaborate dinners for her workaholic husband. It doesn’t help when traumatic childhood memories creep up on her unexpectedly during the day, making her relive her tumultuous relationship with her…
There’s a TikTok trend that haunts me lately, finding its way to my phone every chance it gets. In the short videos, posted by hundreds of fresh-faced, beautiful young girls, I watch as they struggle to answer the question “How old are you?” In between the question and their answer, they gag and try to squeeze out the words “twenty-five” from their tiny yet perfectly plump lips, never able to fully say the dreaded words. They do this over and over again, signaling the fact that they are disgusted with themselves, absolutely mortified by their barely aged bodies and faces.…
Hustle Connections, a renowned tier 1 booking agency with a proven track record in facilitating successful tours and live performances for some of the industry’s biggest names, proudly presents Rico Red, a rising rapper/singer hailing from the Eastside of ATL. Rico Red’s undeniable talent and his deep-rooted connection to the vibrant Atlanta music scene make him a force to be reckoned with. With Atlanta in his bloodstream, Rico Red is creating music that resonates with fans on a whole new level. His sound is a fusion of versatility and creativity, seamlessly blending rap and singing to deliver a unique and…