2024

The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley

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The novel “The Light Brigade” by Kameron Hurley was published for the first time in 2019.

Diez is one of the new recruits trained to fight for their corporation against the Martian colonists. The soldiers are sent to the battlefields by transforming them into light and then rematerializing them at their destination. The process is not without risks, and sometimes a soldier rematerializes where there’s already something.

During those trips, Diez starts to not recognize team members and destination places. Despite the confusion, Diez tries to continue fighting trying not to reveal any memory holes. However, the memory fragments start forming a consistent picture that goes against Diez’s assumptions about the war.

A 3D reconstruction of the specimen catalogued as MNHN.F.SOT002123 of Arthropleura in a dorsal (A) and ventral (B) view along with views of the fossil (C, D). The bar is 5 millimeters long in A and B and 1 centimeter in A and B.

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An article published in the journal “Science Advances” reports the results of the reconstruction of the body and in particular of the head of an Arthropleura, a genus of millipedes that lived between 350 and 290 million years ago. A team of researchers subjected some of the fossils discovered in France in the 1980s to a CT scan that allowed them to obtain details that were previously hidden in the rock and 3D reconstructions. These are small Arthropleura and it’s not certain that they would have reached the over 2.5 meters estimated for their maximum length but they still offer information on these giant myriapods. In another article published in the same journal, paleobiologist James Lamsdell of West Virginia University describes the history of studies of these millipedes.

A Good Death by Steve Ramirez

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The novel “A Good Death” by Steve Ramirez was published for the first time in 2023. It’s the third book in the S’orne Saga and follows “In the Shadow”.

Sam sees strange objects in the sky that don’t look natural at all. He tries to follow their path to find their starting point in the hope of discovering what they are, but on his way, he encounters a completely different danger.

News reaches the village of Kyu Shin that the community’s best-kept secret has leaked out. King Cortez heard stories that seem hard to believe but wants to make things clear. That’s not the only concern for his kingdom and he decides it’s time to use the most modern weapons available to end fights.

The rock sample that was analyzed in this study revealing the presence of microorganisms that remained isolated within it

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An article published in the journal “Microbial Ecology” reports the discovery of living microorganisms in rocks dating back about two billion years taken in the Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC) in South Africa. A team of researchers led by the University of Tokyo analyzed rock samples taken from about 15 meters underground in an area that constitutes one of the largest known layered igneous formations.

That area is known for the presence of precious metals but for once, the discovered treasure is in the form of microorganisms that remained isolated in a sealed fracture in the rock. They’re interesting because they have evolved very little over time and offer interesting information for the search for alien life as well, for example, on the planet Mars.

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold

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The novel “Shards of Honor” by Lois McMaster Bujold was published for the first time in 1986. It was also published as part of the omnibus “Cordelia’s Honor”. It’s part of the Vorkosigan saga.

Betan commander Cordelia Naismith and some members of her crew are on a planet as part of a scientific expedition that aims to assess its possibilities of being colonized. They’re attacked by a group of Barrayarans and she’s taken prisoner by Captain Aral Vorkosigan together with a fellow Betan, wounded in the attack.

Cordelia quickly realizes that the situation is more complex than she thought because there’s a power struggle on the Barrayaran spaceship and Aral was abandoned on the planet. Despite their deep cultural differences, she and Aral find themselves working together because it’s the only way for both of them to survive.