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PICKS are stories from many sources, selected by our editors or recommended by our readers because they are important, surprising, troubling, enlightening, inspiring, or amusing. They appear on our site and in our daily newsletter. Please send suggested articles, videos, podcasts, etc. to picks@whowhatwhy.org.
Newly Discovered Enzyme Turns Air Into Electricity, Providing Clean Source of Energy (Maria)
The author writes, “Australian scientists have discovered an enzyme that converts air into energy. The finding, published [yesterday] in the journal Nature, reveals that this enzyme uses the low amounts of the hydrogen in the atmosphere to create an electrical current. This finding opens the way to create devices that literally make energy from thin air. The research team, led by Dr. Rhys Grinter, Ph.D. student Ashleigh Kropp, and Professor Chris Greening from the Monash University Biomedicine Discovery Institute in Melbourne, Australia, produced and analyzed a hydrogen-consuming enzyme from a common soil bacterium.”
Trump’s Threat of a Third-Party Run Is Undercut by ‘Sore Loser’ Laws (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “Donald Trump hates losing so much that he has suggested he will mount a third-party campaign if he doesn’t win the Republican presidential nomination. But he can’t win that way either, thanks to ‘sore loser’ laws in six states he would need to return to the White House. Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas, as well as Arkansas and Alabama, have laws that bar a candidate defeated in a major-party primary from running as an independent or on a third-party ticket in the general election. That would put Trump at the general-election starting gate with a deficit of 91 electoral votes of the 270 required to capture the White House.”
Inside the ‘Private and Confidential’ Conservative Group That Promises to ‘Crush Liberal Dominance’ (Gerry)
The authors write, “Leonard Leo, a key architect of the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority, is now the chairman of Teneo, a group that aims to influence all aspects of American politics and culture.”
Mayes Is Suing Cochise County to Stop It From Giving the Recorder Full Authority Over Elections (DonkeyHotey)
From The Arizona Mirror: “[Arizona] Attorney General Kris Mayes has filed a lawsuit against Cochise County, the members of its board of supervisors and its county recorder over a plan approved last month that gives the recorder full authority over all election matters. Mayes’ office and the Cochise county attorney had both warned the board that the move was legally questionable and was likely to trigger a lawsuit.”
PODCAST: Bad Takes, Episode 30: Wokeness Isn’t Worse Than COVID-19 (Mili)
From Grid: “Presidential hopeful Nikki Haley fired up a crowd at CPAC with a line Matt and Laura agree is a bad take. Covid-19 killed millions of people, and scientists fear worse viral pandemics could be on the horizon. More broadly, Matt argues, calling political opponents dangerous is bad for policy debate.”
What the Dogs of Chernobyl Can Teach Us About Life at the Edge (Sean)
From Stat: “You’d think an irradiated wasteland would be a poor place to make a home, but some animals beg to differ. Since the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown 37 years ago, both wild animals and free-roaming domesticated dogs have, to the surprise and delight of environmentalists, flocked to and flourished in the evacuated,1,000 square mile zone surrounding the plant. It’s a revealing paradox of modern life: A place too corrosive for humans to live is the rare place animals can live undisturbed.”
One Woman’s Quest to Eat 244 Scones Across UK Is Now Complete (Dana)
The author writes, “Crumbly and warm, scones are a British staple often enjoyed with clotted cream and strawberry jam during afternoon tea. One British woman loves the fluffy, round baked goods so much that she spent the last ten years traveling around England, Wales and Northern Ireland to sample hundreds of them. Sarah Merker, a 49-year-old marketing executive from London, recently achieved her goal of eating a scone at every National Trust location that serves food — 244 in total. Headquartered in Swindon, England, the National Trust is a conservation charity dating back to 1895 that preserves historic homes, castles and landscapes throughout the United Kingdom.”
