2022

The Oppenheimer Alternative by Robert J. Sawyer

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The novel “The Oppenheimer Alternative” by Robert J. Sawyer was published for the first time in 2020.

The Manhattan Project was started to create an atomic bomb that was originally intended to be used to strike the Nazi regime. The defeat of the Third Reich shifts the American effort to the Pacific, where the Japanese continue to fight. Only after two atomic bombs hit Japan, the Emperor agrees to surrender.

The use of atomic bombs leads to ethical and moral arguments that are no longer theoretical. J. Robert Oppenheimer, who led the Manhattan Project, still finds himself making choices when the next step could be the development of a thermonuclear weapon. The stakes rise enormously when the analysis of solar activity readings indicates that the Sun will eject one of its layers which will hit the Earth and turn it into barren land.

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On August 14 the fourth season of the show “Westworld” ended.

The third season of this show expanded the story far beyond the park and Delos. Issues such as control and manipulation are addressed in a way that makes the boundaries between humans and robots increasingly blurred. In both groups, only a few are aware of what’s really going on around them and acting in ways that don’t conform to the demands of the system brings serious danger.

On the left the fossil and on the right a 3D image of its lateral view constructed thanks to neutron tomography

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An article published in the journal “Scientific Reports” reports the identification of a new species of cynodont that lived about 220 million years ago, in the Triassic period, in today’s Argentina. A team of researchers named it Tessellatia bonapartei after examining a partial skull using an unusual neutron tomography technique after a classic X-ray tomography gave limited results due to the high presence of iron in the rock. The researchers’ effort paid off because some characteristics suggest a rather close relationship with mammals, which are likely descended from a single group of cynodonts.

Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh

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The novel “Soft Apocalypse” by Will McIntosh was published for the first time in 2011.

Jasper is one of many who belonged to the middle class but found himself unemployed because his degree is no longer worth anything. In a period in which he’s unemployed and homeless, all he can do is travel with a tribe of people who are trying to survive the crisis that hit the USA and in particular some groups of inhabitants.

When Jasper manages to find a job, his life becomes more stable but the economic and social situation in the USA seems to continue in its deterioration. He maintains ties with his tribe even though his life is no longer nomadic because their chances of survival are greater if they support each other. However, the situation keeps on getting worse over time.

Qikiqtania wakei fossils

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An article published in the journal “Nature” reports the identification of a precursor of the tetrapods that lived on today’s Ellesmere Island, in Canada, in the Devonian period, about 375 million years ago. A team of researchers named it Qikiqtania wakei and illustrated similarities and differences with Tiktaalik roseae, the possible ancestor of today’s tetrapods. The anatomical characteristics of Qikiqtania wakei indicate that it descended from the precursors of the tetrapods that ventured to the mainland but unlike Tiktaalik roseae it went back to the water, where it developed fins suitable for aquatic life.