The journal nature published a special issues on racism in science this week. In it, Black and Indigenous scientists, doctors, and researchers share how they’ve experienced racism in their work. Many of them experienced discrimination as they entered their chosen fields, then faced backlash as they called out wrongdoing in those same places. It takes bravery to share this kind of pain so publicly. Their stories are raw and revelatory.

This special issue of nature came about as part of the journal’s own efforts to grapple with racism. After the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police in 2020, there was an upswell of voices calling out systemic racism in all areas of society, including in academia and science. Ahead of a “Strike for Black Lives” focused on STEM industries in June 2020, nature wrote in an editorial that it “recognize[s] that Nature is one of the white institutions that is responsible for bias in research and scholarship,” the journal said at the time. It is committed to creating a special issue of the journal “exploring systemic racism in research, research policy and publishing.”

nature‘s special issue this week includes five features from Black and Indigenous folks in science who have pushed for more inclusion and accountability in their fields of work — and have faced appalling racism in the process. Nadine Caron, Canada’s first Indigenous female general surgeon, describe her horrifying experience while applying for funding to advance genetic treatments for Indigenous children, when she was

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi landed on Disney Plus on Wednesday, giving us six CGI animated shorts in the style of The Clone Wars. Half of the stories are dedicated to the legendary Jedi Ahsoka Tano (years before her alliance with The Mandalorian), while the others focus on future Sith Lord Dooku during his time as a Jedi.

They’re written by Clone Wars executive producer Dave Filoni, who’s currently working on the live-action Ahsoka series that’s scheduled to hit Disney Plus next year.

These are all set in the prequel era, decades before the events of the original Star Wars movie A New Hope (and current live-action show Andor). Let’s use the Force to dive into each episode’s SPOILERS.

Life and Death

On her homeworld Shili, prior to the events of The Phantom Menace, an infant Ahsoka (Ashley Eckstein) is taken by a sabertooth creature and seems doomed. When she instinctively tames it with the Force and rides it back home, the village elder recognizes her power and declares her a Jedi.

We know from The Clone Wars that she’s brought into the Jedi Order by Master Plo Koon, and becomes Padawan to Anakin Skywalker.

Justice

Jedi Master Dooku (Corey Burton) comes close to killing a corrupt Republic senator after witnessing the suffering of his people. His Padawan Qui-Gon Jinn (Michael Richardsonson of live-action Qui-Gon actor Liam Neeson), manages to save the senator by

The air is getting cooler, the nights are getting longer and Halloween is here. Fall is in the air. If you limped through the summer grilling season with an aging, beat-up grill, now is a great time to raise your game with sales on all types of outdoor grills. I’d argue that fall is superior to summer for grilling. Would you prefer to tend to a hot grill during the hot, humid months of July and August or a crisp, cool evening in October or November? Whether you need a new grill for your patio, deck or tailgate parking lot, we’ve assembled the best deals on a variety of types of grills, from traditional charcoal grills and ceramic kamado grills to gas grills and portable grills.

Not sure which type of grill would suit you best? Before you check out our picks for the best deals on outdoor grills, take a spin through our grill buying guide. I’m firmly in the charcoal grill camp, but if you have yet to take a side in the great grill debate, here’s a useful primer on which is better, a gas or charcoal grill.

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There’s no beating the original in terms of getting the best performance and the simplest design for the lowest cost. For a fraction of the price of a kamado or a gas grill, Weber’s basic 22-inch kettle is the standard-bearer of charcoal grills. It’s easy to assemble and will last for years and years.

Cisco’s video conferencing hardware will be updated to let users set Microsoft Teams as the default video conferencing software, the two companies have announced. Initially six devices will be certified to work with Teams in the first half of next year, including the (a combined speaker and webcam), the 55 and 75-inch versions of the Cisco Board Pro (a freestanding screen designed for video conferencing) and the Cisco Room Kit Pro.

Cisco’s press release stresses that its own Webex video calling software (which it paid billions for a little over a decade ago) isn’t going anywhere. “The devices will continue to support joining Webex meetings with all the features and functionality customers enjoy today,” the release notes. But building in native support for Teams and allowing it to be set as the default recognizes how many businesses are entrenched in Microsoft’s ecosystem and rely primarily on its software for video conferencing.

“Customers want collaboration to happen on their terms — regardless of device or meeting platform,” Cisco’s Jeetu Patel said in a statement. Alongside its meeting devices, Cisco peripherals like the Cisco Desk Camera 4K webcam and two upcoming headsets will also be available with support for Microsoft Teams.

Not long after SpaceX’s big Falcon Heavy rocket got off the ground in 2018, it seemed to be forgotten in the hype around Elon Musk’s even bigger Starship rocket. Now ol’ Heavy is back in the headlines, with the company set to send a pair of payloads to orbit for the US Space Force with the rocket’s help for the first time in years.

Lately when we talk about “a big SpaceX rocket” we’re probably referring to Starship and its companion Super Heavy booster, which is the vehicle NASA hopes will be able to return astronauts to the moon and Musk dreams of using to build a society on Mars. But the most muscle in the SpaceX garage that’s actually made it to space is still Falcon Heavy, which last flew in 2019 and has only been used three times ever, including the demonstration that sent a Tesla toward the red planet.

The Falcon Heavy mission dubbed USSF 44 is the next launch on deck for pad 39-A at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, currently set for Oct. 28. The Space Force describes it as a classified mission.

“There will be two payloads on board this mission — a larger, unconfirmed satellite and a micro-satellite named TETRA-1,” the military said in a statement on one of its YouTube Channels. “TETRA-1 is the first in a series of prototype GEO satellites launched by the US military, which will test systems procedures for future satellites.”

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