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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.
What Time Is It on the Moon? Europe Pushing for Lunar Time Zone (Maria)
The author writes, “With more lunar missions than ever on the horizon, the European Space Agency wants to give the moon its own time zone. This week, the agency said space organizations around the world are considering how best to keep time on the moon. The idea came up during a meeting in the Netherlands late last year, with participants agreeing on the urgent need to establish ‘a common lunar reference time,’ said the space agency’s Pietro Giordano, a navigation system engineer. ‘A joint international effort is now being launched towards achieving this,’ Giordano said in a statement.”
Texas Asks a Trump Judge to Declare Most of the Federal Government Unconstitutional (DonkeyHotey)
From Vox: “Earlier this month, Texas’s Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit claiming that the $1.7 trillion spending law that keeps most of the federal government — including the US military — operating through September of 2023 is unconstitutional. Paxton’s claims in Texas v. Garland, which turn on the fact that many of the lawmakers who voted for the bill voted by proxy, should fail. They are at odds with the Constitution’s explicit text. And a bipartisan panel of a powerful federal appeals court in Washington, DC, already rejected a similar lawsuit in 2021.”
Northern Border Immigrant Death Highlights Crossing Spike (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “The death of a Mexican man who had just entered the United States from Canada illegally is highlighting the spike in illegal crossings along the border between Quebec and parts of New England, officials say. The number of illegal border crossers is tiny compared with those entering the country illegally from Mexico, but the death of the man who entered Vermont from Quebec late Sunday marked the area’s first death in recent memory of someone who crossed into the U.S. illegally. His entry took place in an area near Derby Line about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Montreal.”
Why an Abortion Drug Approved 20 Years Ago Might Get Yanked From the Market (Sean)
From FiveThirtyEight: “Approving an abortion drug is always going to come with a high level of scrutiny and pushback. Dr. Michael Greene knew this well back in 2000 when he was leading the Food and Drug Administration committee that first approved the abortion drug mifepristone for sale in the U.S. To Greene, now a professor emeritus of obstetrics and gynecology at Harvard University, that meant his team and the agency as a whole would need to be extremely cautious about ensuring mifepristone’s safety.”
Just One Quality Conversation With a Friend Boosts Daily Well-Being (Mili)
The author writes, “Conversing with a friend just once during the day to catch up, joke around or tell them you’re thinking of them can increase your happiness and lower your stress level by day’s end. These are among the results of a new study co-authored by University of Kansas professor of Communication Studies and friendship expert Jeffrey Hall.”
How Ancient Seeds From the Fertile Crescent Could Help Save Us From Climate Change (Laura)
From NPR: “Inside a large freezer room at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, tens of thousands of seeds are stored at a constant temperature of minus-4 degrees Fahrenheit. After being threshed and cleaned, the seeds are placed inside small, sealed foil packets and stored on rows of heavy, sliding metal shelves. Some of them may hold keys to helping the planet’s food supply adapt to climate change.”
Archaeologists in Italy Are Using AI Robots to Piece Together Ancient Frescoes From Fragments Discovered at Pompeii (Dana)
From ArtNet News: “Archaeologists in Italy are working to develop a robot that uses A.I. to reconstruct ancient relics from their scattered shards. RePAIR, or Reconstructing the Past: Artificial Intelligence and Robotics meet Cultural Heritage, is the name of the project, which was formally launched in 2021 and funded in part by grant money from the European Union. … RePair technology is designed to solve complex puzzles, the pieces of which may be broken, faded, dispersed, or missing altogether. Its A.I. software could analyze the myriad fragments of, say, a centuries-old Roman vase and figure out how they fit together; then, a pair of robotic arms would reassemble them.”
