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.
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The Only Member of Its Zoological Family, Mesmerizing Sunbittern Seems AI-Designed (Maria)
The author writes, “The [Costa Rican] ‘sun heron’ — a sunbittern — was posing motionless as a statue, just a few meters in front of me. Sunbitterns are unique, in a family of their own. Their nearest relative, the equally bizarre kagu, lives about 7,500 miles away, on the Pacific island group of New Caledonia. If a bird were ever designed by artificial intelligence, the result might look rather like a sunbittern.”
Red States Are Redder. Blue States Are Bluer. And Our Politics? Hotter. (Dana)
From USA Today: “An exclusive USA Today analysis of the nation’s 3,113 counties shows a striking realignment since 2012 that has intensified the partisan leanings in states across the country, leaving only a handful where the outcome of the Nov. 5 presidential election remains in doubt. The hardening of the country’s political lines has contributed to other consequences, too, including one-party control of the governorship and state legislature in 40 of the 50 states. That has led to a patchwork of sharply divergent laws across the country — even between neighboring states — on abortion rights, transgender care, the public-health response to the pandemic and other controversial issues.”
DeSantis Administration Warns Local TV Stations To Remove Ads About Abortion Ballot Measure (Reader Jim)
The author writes, “The Republican administration is pressuring Florida stations to take down an ad that promotes a ‘yes’ vote on Amendment 4, which would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.”
‘These Are People in the Prime of Life’: The Worrying Puzzle Behind the Rise in Early-Onset Cancer (Mili)
The author writes, “There are rising cases of breast, colorectal and other cancers in people in their 20s, 30s and 40s. What is going on? Over the past 10 years, rates of colorectal cancer among 25 to 49 year olds have increased in 24 different countries, including the UK, US, France, Australia, Canada, Norway and Argentina. The investigation’s early findings, presented by an international team at the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) congress in Geneva in September 2024, were as eye-catching as they are concerning.”
‘We’re Flooded With Trash’: Pollution Crisis as 500,000 Migrants a Year Attempt Perilous Darién Gap Crossing (Laura)
From The Guardian: “The Darién Gap’s isolation and formidable reputation has shielded the Indigenous communities who live there from the outside world for centuries. Spanish conquistadors died trying to settle in the sliver of dense, swampy rainforest connecting Colombia with Panama, and in recent decades only the most intrepid outsiders have undertaken the 60-mile (97 km) trek as a test of their mettle. Now, however, with half a million people slogging through the rainforest on their way to the US each year, Darién’s Indigenous groups say their ecosystem and way of life are under threat.”
The Internet Archive Taken Down by DDoS Attacks (DonkeyHotey)
The author writes, “According to security researcher Troy Hunt, the DDoS attack came just as the Internet Archive was preparing to disclose a previous breach of its site that resulted in the theft of more than 31 million records. Hunt, who runs the haveibeenpwned service, said that the timing of the two attacks appears to be ‘entirely coincidental’ and that there are likely ‘multiple parties’ involved. ‘It’s clearly not just one attack,’ he wrote.”
This Fungus Grows More Vigorously When It Feels Good Vibes (Sean)
From Science: “Blasting your favorite playlist can energize your workout. The same is true of fungus — although most people might find its tastes in tunes a bit strange. Fungal soil microbes may get a boost of energy from white noise, according to new research that found the microbes exposed to a particular sound frequency in the lab grew faster.”
