Free Republic

The Magnificent City The Romans got for FREE | 14:39 Street Gems | 43K subscribers | 264,902 views | December 23, 2023

Ireland has officially joined the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) as an associate member state. CERN is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world on the Franco-Swiss border, just outside Geneva. The main focus of activity in CERN is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a 27-km (17-mile) underground ring in which protons are accelerated and collided into one another. Associate membership will allow Ireland’s researchers to participate in CERN’s scientific programs and will make Irish citizens eligible for staff positions and fellowships at CERN. …

Look out, Frodo!A bright galactic nucleus with a supermassive black hole that spews out cosmic radiation is pointing straight at us. Thankfully, the object, unimaginatively dubbed “PKS 1424+240,” is located roughly 7.4 billion light-years away and likely won’t pose much of a danger. But that hasn’t stopped a group of excited astronomers from renaming it: the “Eye of Sauron,” the symbol adopted by the Dark Lord in JRR Tolkien’s epic “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. A new image of the object was recently unveiled, revealing a bright, hot center with cosmic waves spinning around it, spewing a jet of plasma...

The idea of autism as a single spectrum has shaped thinking for decades, but the metaphor is misleading, says this public health expert.The phrases “autism spectrum” or “on the spectrum” have become part of everyday language. They are often used as different ways of referring to someone who is “neurodivergent”. The term was coined in the 1980s by psychiatrist Dr Lorna Wing, whose work transformed how autism was understood in the United Kingdom. At the time, her “autism spectrum” concept was groundbreaking. Instead of seeing autism as a rare, narrowly defined condition, she recognised a wide range of traits and...

Explanation: What caused these Martian rocks to be layered? The leading hypothesis is an ancient Martian lake that kept evaporating and refilling over 10 million years -- but has now remained dry and empty of water for billions of years. The featured image, taken last November by the robotic Curiosity rover, shows one-meter wide Whale Rock which is part of the Pahrump Hills outcrop at the base of Mount Sharp. Also evident in the image is cross-bedding -- rock with angled layers -- which were likely facilitated by waves of sand. Curiosity continues to find many layered rocks like this...

Former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) showrunner Elon Musk raged at Trump Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Tuesday, accusing him of “trying to kill NASA” in an angry series of tweets that included a derogatory nickname. Musk and Duffy had previously sparred over Musk’s efforts at DOGE. “I think it might not have been intentional, might have been ham-handed [like] some of the requests that were made by [the Department of Government Efficiency], but my position was, we are not going to fire air traffic controllers,” Duffy told The New York Post‘s Miranda Devine earlier this year. “Safety-critical positions are...

Is caffeine good or bad for your heart?There’s no doubt that caffeine can raise your blood pressure and heart rate.But consuming moderate amounts of caffeine daily also has been linked to supple arteries and reduced risk of heart failure and atrial fibrillation.Now there’s more good heart health news for those of us who love our coffee, tea and cocoa…Caffeine and your blood vesselsVascular disease, damage of blood vessels and their resulting consequences — heart attack and stroke — are among the leading causes of death in the general population. These risks are even higher in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases...

They rewired what you believe.This film exposes the hundred-year experiment that turned psychology into a weapon—how war-era mind research evolved into advertising, media manipulation, and now…the algorithm running your nervous system.You’ve felt it your whole life: the dread, the noise, the endless chase for validation. It isn’t random. It was built.Watch until the end—and decide what’s really yours.What’s Inside • Tavistock Institute — where population psychology began • Edward Bernays — the man who sold desire • Operation Mockingbird — the press turned puppet • MK-Ultra — the erasure of identity • The Algorithm — digital conditioning in real time

I have held off on covering this because I wanted to see how things shook out and whether the “research” on this was valid, but now that Glenn Beck is covering it, I want to at least bring it to your attention. Is a Manhattan-sized ALIEN SHIP hurtling towards Earth?! Well, the short answer at this point is possibly so! Allow me to explain why…. Many believe it is shaped with structured geometric formations that don’t occur naturally in nature: It is reportedly made of a never-before-seen metal alloy mixture: Here are a bunch more: In fact, here’s a short...

Explanation: Barred spiral galaxy NGC 2903 is only some 20 million light-years distant. Popular among amateur astronomers, it shines in the northern spring constellation Leo, near the top of the lion's head. That part of the constellation is sometimes seen as a reversed question mark or sickle. One of the brighter galaxies visible from the northern hemisphere, NGC 2903 is surprisingly missing from Charles Messier's catalog of lustrous celestial sights. This colorful image from a small ground-based telescope shows off the galaxy's gorgeous spiral arms traced by young, blue star clusters and pinkish star forming regions. Included are intriguing details...

The diagnostic categorisation for autism is so broad that families of profoundly autistic children are being left behind, says the mother of a 7-year-old nonverbal daughter. When I tell strangers that my daughter is autistic, their questions are often so far from my reality, it’s painful. Does she have a unique talent? Special interests? They picture a child who excels at puzzles. But my daughter hasn’t shown an interest in toys since she was 20 months old and is unable to tell me what she wants to be for Halloween or when she grows up. I fear illnesses like strep...

Passengers on an Air China flight witnessed a lithium battery burst into flames in luggage that had been placed in an overhead bin on Saturday. The flight was on its way to Seoul but had to make an emergency landing in Shanghai when the incident happened, the New York Post reported. The plane had departed Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport just before 10:00 a.m. with 160 people onboard, the Post said, citing the airline and Chinese state media. VIDEO AT LINK.................... When the battery ignited, travelers began calling out for help to quell the flames. “Two flight attendants sprinted down the...

Step inside the Met and explore the Roman world through its art. From vibrant wall paintings that once decorated villas, to commanding imperial statues that projected power, to intimate Fayum portraits that preserved memory in Egypt, these works reveal how Romans saw themselves -- in life, in rule, and in death. Join Darius Arya as we uncover the stories behind the Met's most fascinating Roman treasures. Ancient Rome at the Met: Masterpieces of an Empire | 14:35 Ancient Rome Live | 82K subscribers | 5,364 views | October 2, 2025 The Metropolitan Museum of Art | 1000 Fifth Avenue |...

Researchers make landmark advance in the quest to unlock virtually limitless clean energy from the same reaction that powers the stars On a former military airfield a few miles south of Oxford, a group of scientists are trying to bottle the sun. Not literally, of course — but their ambitions come close. Inside a four metre-tall, apple-shaped machine known as the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak Upgrade (MAST-U), they are attempting to recreate, control and ultimately commercialise the fusion reactions that power the stars. In the past few weeks, they have made landmark progress. Fusion is physics’ grand prize, promising a...

Explanation: While most spiral galaxies, including our own Milky Way, have two or more spiral arms, NGC 4725 has only one. In this sharp color composite image, the solo spira mirabilis seems to wind from a prominent ring of bluish, newborn star clusters and red tinted star forming regions. The odd galaxy also sports obscuring dust lanes a yellowish central bar structure composed of an older population of stars. NGC 4725 is over 100 thousand light-years across and lies 41 million light-years away in the well-groomed constellation Coma Berenices. Computer simulations of the formation of single spiral arms suggest that...

The United States military might soon add an insane new weapon to its arsenal. As I often say, the United States has the most powerful military on the planet, and there's no close second. We don't just have the best people. We have the greatest technology and weapons that humans have ever designed. Whether it's the B-21 Raider, the F-22 Raptor, nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers or anything else, the United States can bring tools to the fight years more advanced than our adversaries. That might now include a new kind of munition.

How CATL Made Batteries 90% Cheaper (And What Happens Next). What if I told you the world's largest battery company just announced batteries that cost as low as $10 per kilowatt hour? Not $100. Ten. And the kicker? They're using salt. Yes, the same stuff sitting on your kitchen table. But CATL makes more lithium batteries than anyone else on the planet. They're literally winning the lithium game. So why are they suddenly pivoting to a technology that's been considered second-rate for decades? No technical papers. No detailed explanations. Just bold claims and two new products ready to hit the...

Archaeologists have uncovered a rare Bronze Age sickle in France at the Suret site in Val-de-Reuil, in the lower Seine valley. Dating to the Atlantic Late Bronze Age between 1200 and 600 B.C., the artifact is one of only a handful of such finds recorded in the country.The sickle is made of copper alloy and remains largely intact, although its tip has broken off. The missing piece was recovered alongside the main artifact. The chipped edges on the curved blade suggest that it was used extensively.The socket features a side ring and two holes that were once used to secure...

Live Science reports that a temple discovered in western Turkey may have been built by the Phrygians some 2,700 years ago. The temple is thought to have been dedicated to the Phrygian mother goddess known as Materan, Matar, and Cybele. Bilge Yılmaz Kolancı of Pamukkale University explained that the site features a cave with twin rock idols carved into the rock face between two structures. Libation bowls and drainage channels were also unearthed, she added. To read about another site in the region that the Phrygians once controlled, go to "Who Is That Masked God?"

Your daily hot cocoa might do more than warm you up—it could also prevent heart disease and the inflammation that drives it, according to a recent study. As we get older, our bodies become more inflamed, increasing our risks of developing chronic disease and dying. A large-scale study tracked people who took daily cocoa supplements for two years and found that body-wide inflammation stayed steady instead of rising—with the strongest effects in those who had higher inflammation at baseline. In the Cocoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS) trial, daily cocoa extract supplements were linked to a 27 percent lower...