Shane Peter Conroy
Bio
Shane is just another human. He writes, he paints, he reads. He once got his tongue stuck to the inside of a freezer. Actually, he did it twice because he thought the first time might have been a fluke. https://themalcontent.substack.com
Stories (22/0)
Where Do Lithium-Ion Batteries Go When They Die? You’re Not Going to Like the Answer
So I find myself sitting at my desk surrounded by lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. There’s one in the laptop I’m currently writing on. There’s another in the smartphone on the desk beside me, and another in the tablet that I bought for work but actually use to watch YouTube videos.
By Shane Peter Conroy8 months ago in Earth
This Whale Species Lives For 200 Years — And Scientists Think Humans Can Too
Meet the bowhead whale. Weighing in at up to 100 tons, these Arctic giants are one of the heaviest animals on the planet. They’re one of the longest-lived too. Bowhead whales can live for more than 200 years — and at least one scientist believes they could hold the key to unlocking extreme longevity in humans.
By Shane Peter Conroy8 months ago in Longevity
Meet the Giant Virus that Turns its Hosts to Stone
In 2019, a scientist made a concerning discovery in a Japanese hot spring. When a virologist from the Tokyo University of Science examined mud from the hot spring, he found a giant virus with a peculiar killing power – the ability to turn its hosts to stone. He promptly named it Medusavirus.
By Shane Peter Conroy9 months ago in Earth
The Secret Language of Trees and What it Means for Climate Change
Life ain’t easy for a tree. Armies of insects mount frequent attacks, and disease-causing pathogens are a near constant threat. But trees don’t stand alone. Rather, they have in-built warning systems that signal other trees to prepare their defences.
By Shane Peter Conroy9 months ago in Earth
This is How You Get Sucked Down the Social Media Rabbit Hole
The average social media user spends 2 hours and 31 minutes on scrolling apps per day. That’s 38 days each year — or a little over 10 per cent of our lives. But getting sucked down the social media rabbit hole may be beyond our control.
By Shane Peter Conroy9 months ago in Psyche
5 SIMPLE QUESTIONS // Black holes
1. What is a black hole in simple terms? A black hole is an incredibly powerful cosmic vacuum cleaner. But it doesn’t just suck in dust and debris like your household Hoover. Rather, a black hole’s gravitational pull is so strong it can capture any object – even light – that passes close to it.
By Shane Peter Conroy10 months ago in Earth
Elon Musk’s Plan to Put a Chip in Your Brain
Elon Musk wants to put a chip in your brain, and he’s just taken a major step towards his goal. His neurotechnology company, Neuralink, has developed a brain-computer interface (BCI) that can be surgically implanted into the surface of the brain and connected to external electronics and robotic devices.
By Shane Peter Conroy10 months ago in 01
Space Invaders: Is mining the moon a good idea?
Forget the squared-jawed American astronaut versus the cagey Russian cosmonaut. The new space race is a battlefield for billionaire playboys and resource-hungry governments who are hell-bent on pointing their rockets at the sky. Virgin’s Richard Branson wants you to holiday in space. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos wants you to work on his private space station. And Tesla’s Elon Musk wants you to live on Mars.
By Shane Peter Conroyabout a year ago in Futurism
Are We Living in a Post-Truth World?
Former US president Donald Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims during his four-year term. While that’s steep on any scale, the idea that politicians routinely lie to the public is not breaking news. But Trump took his relationship with reality to even shakier ground than usual. He widely dismissed unflattering media reports as fake news. He consistently hurled insults at journalists. And he still claims the 2020 US election was rigged against him.
By Shane Peter Conroy2 years ago in The Swamp
Are We Prepared for an Extreme Solar Storm?
It’s clear that there are various preparations in place to protect us from the fallout of an extreme solar storm — known as a coronial mass ejecton (CME). But there’s still much we need to learn about CMEs in order to boost our preparedness.
By Shane Peter Conroy2 years ago in Earth
