Six STEM Tweets - Best of 2024 - #4

Rockets, stars, AI to detect cancer and decode whale sounds and more

Author

Harshal Chhaya
December 31, 2024

Six STEM Tweets

Six tweets that celebrate engineering and all things STEM.

I scrolled so you didn’t have to.

Hi friends, Part 4 of the ‘best of 2024’ posts.

(Here’s Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

Thanks for all your feedback and suggestions.

Here’s to more knowledge and fascination in 2025!

(all of the previous issues, all 60+ of them, are at https://sixstemtweets.beehiiv.com/)

There’s a few fun and interesting math connections to the upcoming year at the end. Thanks to reader NC for sending it to me.

Love, Harshal

#1 🤯 

Remember this when you enjoy the fireworks on Dec 31

#2 🤯 

SpaceX achieved their plan - of catching a 19-story tall rocket booster in mid-air with Mechazilla chopsticks. 🤯 

The video is a must-see!

What an engineering achievement!

Next time anyone says “why don’t we build grand cathedrals like we use to?”, show them this and the many amazing engineering and science achievements being done.

#3 🤯 

Many people in the Northern Hemisphere had a spectacular show of the northern lights in 2024. I didn’t. 😢 

But here’s the science behind the ethereal and vivid colors.

#4 🤯 

The headlines makes it sound more definitive than the actual finding but this is still a very encouraging update.

According to: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2824353, “This study suggests that a breast-level AI score may be able to estimate the risk of future breast cancer and may be used to identify women at high risk who may benefit from preventive measures, including supplemental screening.”

#5 🤯 

Math can be crispy, curvy and delicious.

#6 🤯 

This is a really impressive use of machine learning to identify whale species through their sound recordings.

According to the Google Research website:

The acoustic range of whale species is incredibly broad, ranging from as low as 10 Hz for blue whales to above 120kHz for odontocetes (toothed whales), and recordings also vary dramatically by location and with time, which can make model development difficult. Additionally, researchers often don’t know what types of vocalizations are made by some especially elusive whale species, which complicates identifying those animals in the soundscapes.

About

This newsletter is my way of sharing interesting science-related news with my curious friends. I enjoy finding science and math connections in our world.

Please share this newsletter with others. Let’s encourage curiosity.

- Harshal (@hschhaya on X/Twitter)

Our next calendar year is a mathematical wonder.

  1. 2025 , itself is a square 45×45=2025

  2. It's a product of two squares, Viz. 9² x 5² = 2025

  3. It is the sum of 3-squares, viz. 40²+ 20²+5²= 2025

  4. It's the first square after 1936

  5. It's the sum of cubes, of all the single digits, from 1 to 9, viz.1³+2³+......9³= 2025 1³+2³+3³+4³+5³+6³+7³+8³+9³= 2025.

Here’s to more curiosity, more wonder and more knowledge in 2025!

Here’s a few of the special editions from 2024

Special aurora edition

Venn diagram issue

Nobel prize in Chemistry

Nobel prize in Physics

Nobel prize in Physiology or medicine

Halloween issue

Fibonacci day issue

Which was your favorite? Which one did I miss?

What special topic would you like to see covered in 2025?

That’s it for this issue.

Hit ‘reply’ to tell me what you think.

And hit ‘forward’ to share with your friends and family.

Let’s all celebrate science and engineering and curiosity.

Best wishes,

Harshal