Jan 29, 2022 03:07 AM
A Harvard Mathematician Has Basically Solved an Epic, 150-Year-Old Chess Problem
https://www.sciencealert.com/a-harvard-m...ss-problem
INTRO: On one level, chess seems like a simple game: 64 individual black or white squares, 16 pieces per side, and two competitors striving for conquest. Dig a little deeper though, and the game offers incredibly complex possibilities, posing challenges to chess theorists and mathematicians that can go unsolved for decades or even centuries.
In July 2021, one such challenge was finally solved – at least, up to a point. Mathematician Michael Simkin, from Harvard University in Massachusetts, put his mind to the n-queens problem that has been puzzling experts since it was first imagined in the 1840s... (MORE - details)
Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ found in Michigan farm’s beef
https://apnews.com/article/science-busin...a85414ac44
INTRO: Beef produced at a small Michigan farm was found to contain toxic “forever chemicals” after the cattle were fed crops grown with fertilizer made from contaminated wastewater biosolids, state officials said Friday.
A consumption advisory issued by state agencies stopped short of a recall, noting there are no government standards for the substances in beef.
But it said buyers should know that meat from Grostic Cattle Co. in Livingston County may contain one of the chemicals known collectively as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The particular compound in the beef is known as perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, or PFOS.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services “determined that prolonged consumption of the beef from this farm could increase PFOS levels in the human body,” a news release said.
High levels of water- and grease-resistant PFAS chemicals, which are used in a host of industrial and consumer products, have been linked to numerous health problems, from liver and thyroid damage to high cholesterol and compromised immune systems. They are known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment or the human body... (MORE - details)
https://www.sciencealert.com/a-harvard-m...ss-problem
INTRO: On one level, chess seems like a simple game: 64 individual black or white squares, 16 pieces per side, and two competitors striving for conquest. Dig a little deeper though, and the game offers incredibly complex possibilities, posing challenges to chess theorists and mathematicians that can go unsolved for decades or even centuries.
In July 2021, one such challenge was finally solved – at least, up to a point. Mathematician Michael Simkin, from Harvard University in Massachusetts, put his mind to the n-queens problem that has been puzzling experts since it was first imagined in the 1840s... (MORE - details)
Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ found in Michigan farm’s beef
https://apnews.com/article/science-busin...a85414ac44
INTRO: Beef produced at a small Michigan farm was found to contain toxic “forever chemicals” after the cattle were fed crops grown with fertilizer made from contaminated wastewater biosolids, state officials said Friday.
A consumption advisory issued by state agencies stopped short of a recall, noting there are no government standards for the substances in beef.
But it said buyers should know that meat from Grostic Cattle Co. in Livingston County may contain one of the chemicals known collectively as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The particular compound in the beef is known as perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, or PFOS.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services “determined that prolonged consumption of the beef from this farm could increase PFOS levels in the human body,” a news release said.
High levels of water- and grease-resistant PFAS chemicals, which are used in a host of industrial and consumer products, have been linked to numerous health problems, from liver and thyroid damage to high cholesterol and compromised immune systems. They are known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment or the human body... (MORE - details)