Plus some SciSchmooze history
Bob Siederer
29 December 2025
Hello again Science Fans!
I hope you all got through this week’s storms without damage. It was a couple of wild nights of wind and rain around here.
I want to start today with some history, or at least my recollection of it. Herb Masters originally started what turned into the SciSchmooze about 20 years ago. He was frustrated that organizations were all scheduling events on the same nights, while other nights remained empty. So his initial newsletters were intended to help various groups around the Bay with scheduling. That goal was never achieved, however, as this is still a problem.
I first met Herb a few months after I moved to California through an organization we both belonged to. As I got to know him, I realized we had some similar interests and he got me to attend a few lectures. My first, at the USGS, held little interest to me, but I went anyway and was surprised to find I really enjoyed learning about something I didn’t know anythings about before. I was also surprised how many things the USGS did, other than surveying and maps. Another was a Dean Astronomy Lecture, then being held at the SF Jewish Community Center while the new Academy of Sciences was being built.
At this time the SciSchmooze was an email distribution list Herb kept for friends and organizations. Enter Kishore Hari, who was the director of the new Bay Area Science Festival. He had software for the festival that included a calendar and newsletter facilities and suggested Herb list the events he had been emailing about on a calendar, the one we are still using today at www.bayareascience.org/calendar. The two oldest entries on the calendar are for November 5, 2008.
A huge part of the Science Festivals were the Discovery Days, where thousands of families came to look at a variety of vendor booths. Given the opportunity to sign up for the SciSchmooze newsletter at these Discovery Days, our subscriptions increased beyond our expectations, with over 2,000 new subscribers the first year, if my memory is correct. Most likely, many of our current subscribers came to us through the festival’s events.
Herb asked me if I’d be interested in helping populate the calendar and writing the newsletter now and then, and I agreed.
Which brings us to now, the end of 2025. In case you missed it, last week, Herb announced that he would be stepping away from the SciSchmooze. We’ll miss him.
This leaves us with a void…we need more authors for the SciSchmooze. We would prefer two more. The requirements are a general interest in Science and/or skepticism and a willingness to write this blurb at the start of the newsletter once a month.
If this sounds like something you would be interested in doing, or if you know someone who might be interested, please shoot us an email at calendar@bayareascience.org.
The Best of 2025
It is that time of year again…when the “best of…” articles about all aspects of science for the year come out. Here, then, are a few of these lists:
- 2025 Aurora Photographer of the Year awards
- Top 5 Climate Tech Stories of 2025
- Wildlife Artist Winners of the Year 2025
- Top Astrophotography Captures of 2025
- 10 things we learned about our human ancestors in 2025
- Top 8 Computing Stories of 2025
- Biggest Black Hole Breakthroughs of 2025
Seasonal News
The origin of the modern version of Santa Claus, from historian Heather Cox Richardson. It isn’t what you probably think.
Last Monday marked the Winter Solstice (for us living north of the Equator), which got Phil Plait musing about time…twice! Part 1 and Part 2. He writes about other things in both newsletter too, which you might find interesting.
‘Tis the season for giving gifts. Did you know that we humans aren’t the only species who gift for reasons other than sex?
AI
Are we in an AI bubble? Enormous amounts of money are being invested in the expansion of artificial intelligence, and there are similarities between this, and previous tech bubbles. But differences too. First, some thoughts from the New York Times Dealbook’s managing editor, Brian O’Keefe (this article might be behind a paywall). Then, some thoughts on the industry, different types of AI, and why putting so many eggs in one basket may not be the best approach.
Last weekend, large parts of San Francisco lost power due to a fire in a substation. To make this worse, Waymo robotaxies in the city froze, jamming traffic, and raising significant questions about the limitations and testing of this technology. Those same questions are being raised in San Jose, where Waymo has just started deploying limited service.
Space
What happens when asteroids run into each other? Astronomers just witnessed this near the relatively new star Fomalhaut.
European regulators issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive at the end of November for several Airbus aircraft models. The cause was a malfunction in the Elevator Aileron Computers (ELAC) , which control pitch and roll, possibly related to solar radiation.
Comet 3I/ATLAS is providing astronomers around the world with an opportunity to study the characteristics of interstellar objects for the U.N.
The space around Earth is crowded, and getting more so every day. A December 9th launch of 9 Chinese spacecraft narrowly missed a Starlink satellite, coming within 200 meters (218.7 yards, or roughly 2 football fields).
A new study, not yet peer-reviewed, shows that satellites in these low earth orbits get within 1 km of each other every 22 seconds (!), and take evasive action to avoid collisions. Each of Starlink’s thousands of satellites have to perform 41 maneuvers on average per year to avoid running into other objects.
There is mini-lightning on Mars! The Perseverance rover recorded the sound of the electrical discharge. This discovery will have an effect on the design of future space suits for manned Mars missions.
Animal Kingdom
Scientists have long wondered at the migration patterns of Monarch butterflies. Many spend the winters in the eucalyptus groves of nearby Santa Cruz or Pacific Grove. New, ultra-light tags attached to Monarchs will allow tracking of these delightful creatures by Bluetooth on smartphones by Citizen Scientists and professionals alike.
The migration is believed to be controlled by an ability to sense magnetic direction, and a scientist in Texas has come up with a way to test this theory.
Lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to study what happens to some wild animals when humans stay home. The dark-eyed Junco, a type of sparrow, changed physical form during the lockdown, and changed back once our lives turned more normal.
Health and the Environment
The news is full of stories documenting the Administration’s attacks on science and the environment, both of which have potentially significant effects on our health.
The FDA is proposing a “black box” warning for COVID-19 vaccines, ignoring decades of study and practice regarding this type of warning. Some thoughts from Henry Miller, former FDA director.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been attacking vaccines for 20 years. Just what is behind this pursuit, and why is he ignoring scientific reasoning for conjecture?
The EPA website got the basics of climate science right…until earlier this month when 80 pages of facts were purged by the Administration, including the research supporting human cause for climate change.
It used to be you could trust government websites to provide data on the Environment, health, climate change, and other topics. But that is no longer true. So where do you go? Who do you trust? I’d suggest you look for backing by peer-reviewed research, not guesses, or anecdotal statements. Is the person making a claim going to profit by that claim? If so, their conclusions may be directed towards the money, not the science.
Dr Jessica Knurick, who I mentioned in my October 5th SciSchmooze, is one such source. Here are three recent posts about issues affecting your health.
- Measles Cases, SNAP Waivers, and Unethical Research, news from last week
- Hep B Vaccine Delay, Ultraprocessed Food Lawsuit, and SNAP at Risk
- Our Food System is Broken. Narratives About it Don’t Have to Be
In Memorium
Lastly, a true legend has passed. Betty Reid Soskin, a Richmond resident, started working for the National Park Service at the age of 85. She was a ranger at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historic Park in Richmond. She retired 3 years ago, the oldest active U. S. Park Ranger during her tenure. Betty passed away at the age of 104.
Have a great week in Science. All of us at the SciSchmooze wish you a healthy, happy, safe 2026!
Bob Siederer
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