Schoemann

27/08/202626/08/2026

Autonomous drones

The weapon industry is shifting rapidly. Beyond slow moving tanks, modern warfare has adopted and applies autonomous drones in the battlefield. On the title page of the NYT of 2026-8-26 we learn about a Russian autonomous drone with US hardware technology (Nvidia Jetson Orin microPC) to kill 3 civilians without them being really the target. These drones are trained to select their target autonomously without a human in control. It is the pre-trained machine which decides on the target and whether to “take-out” the target. Disguised objects may survive for longer. People disguised as useless objects have a higher probability to escape detection if you do not fit into the drone’s visual identification. Autonomy based on artificial intelligence has its limits too. Military intelligence will continue to rely a lot on human intelligence to protect us from the realities of autonomous drones.

26/08/202625/08/2026

Loss of green

In many instances we learn only if we have lost something. The loss of biodiversity is rather abstract. The loss of a favorite green, allay or park due to a severe drought, however, is fairly visible. The point of departure of the Tour de France more than 100 years ago in Montgeron and the green alley which was built to allow to ride through the Forêt de Sénart to Fontainebleau has suffered from the 2026 repeated heatwaves and droughts. The scientific evidence accumulates to the manmade responsibilities over time. What used to be a fantastic area for leisure and walks after work has turned into a dusty place. Even the recent efforts to improve the greenery further has been surpassed by the unexpected lack of precipitation, although forecasted by some scientists. The costs of climate change, global warming and therefore more difficult water management become pressing policy issues.

25/08/202624/08/2026

Activity and dementia

In view of the huge challenge of dementia to people and the public health systems, it is primordial to test potential remedies with high precision. So far general measures of just any physical activity like walking were considered beneficial. Recent and more comprehensive data on domain-specific physical activities by Feter et al. (2026) emphasize the importance to differentiate between walking for leisure or walking rather stressed to work. The former contributes to a delay of the onset of dementia, whereas the latter bears higher risks of dementia due to the “negative” stress involved. However, as Kivimäki and Hamer (2026) point out dementia itself has a long gestation period in which persons might reduce physical activities because a “silent” onset of dementia is not yet diagnosed but inhibits already more activities. Commuting to work or leisure might already be a challenge in early dementia particularly if public transport has to be organized independently.

24/08/202623/08/2026

Painter influencer

In modern terminology we could say Edgar Degas has been an influencer for many other painters, gallerists, art collectors and our way to look and interpret paintings or drawings. Max Liebermann wrote an appreciation of the work of Degas for a German audience in an attempt to bridge the gaps in the understanding of modern art between France and Germany towards the end of the 19th century. Cassirer as editors facilitated the publication and jointly they achieved to build a remarkable collection of impressionism before the atrocities of war took over in the first half of the 20th century. Fates can change quickly and painter influencer may become discredited due to more forceful political influences. (Image: Booklet by Max Liebermann 1898 on Degas in Cassirer exhibition in Berlin)

23/08/202622/08/2026

Splendid networks

The art of gallerists is to blend networks. Some of them manage to create splendid networks that make history in the best sense of the words. The exhibition on the gallerist Cassirer made this argument in a forceful manner. He had a large network of persons interested in art and modern ideas as well as access to a network of artists who challenged the conventional arts of the time, later coined as the impressionists. The overlap of interests created a special market of art which met in his gallery in Berlin Tiergarten. Lots of take home lessons for us.

Cassirer exhibition Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin 2026-8

22/08/202621/08/2026

Sleepless sleep

The reasons why we pass an almost sleepless night or sleep are manifold. Too much to drink, eat or partying are just among the more social ones. The neighbour’s cat or cock may be another one. A recent comment by Pixin Gong (2026) outlined a whole research agenda on heat and sleep deficits. What is the threshold of bad sleep? Do we accumulate over days and how do we recover from it? Which measures and metrics are important? How to determine the social gradient of sleep deficits? The research base is largely missing due to neglecting the link of temperature as crucial impact on sleep in addition to melatonin levels. The implications of expected results can be far reaching like re-organization of homes, urban planning and architecture. (Image on the right: Rooster 1924 and Sleeping Muse 1910 by Brancusi, Centre Pompidou Paris in Berlin Exhibition Neue Nationalgalerie 2026-5)

21/08/202621/08/2026

Countryside warming

During summer inner cities heat up more than the rest of the country. This is largely due to the well-known urban heat island effect. However, on top of this effect scientific evidence based on high resolution climate data show that the nowadays countrysides are heating up faster than cities. Catching up with negative climate evolutions is a worrisome recent development. The usual “wealthy person’s climate refugee strategy” to leave the inner cities in summer and move to the cooler countryside becomes more elitist. The global space of cooler refugee regions is shrinking just as biodiversity is reducing at a fast pace.

20/08/202619/08/2026

Urban heat island

Heat in the city, is a real problem. Of course, some like it hot and that’s why they move to inner cities and specific quarters in a city. However, this is not the scientific definition of the “urban heat island effect”. The former issue is more a socio-legal-moral concern, whereas the latter has physics or geophysical effects at its origin.
More concrete and asphalt instead of leafy islands in inner cities create hot micro-climates as sunlight and warmth get stored during the day and feeds back into homes during nights. If the cooling effect of wind and humidity become trapped outside of building blocks an urban heat island can reach very uncomfortable levels. Add underground car parking, tunnels for traffic and public transport to the scenario and the unhealthy limits of heat over the summer are exceeded for months rather than weeks. Geophysical factors like altitude, mountains, river or seaside proximity are additional factors to consider, but the narrow urban heat island effect is a rather robust finding across the world even if the precise measurement and potential remedies of it are under scientific debate.

19/08/202618/08/2026

Ocean Acidification

No, the abbreviation of acidification is not AC/DC. Acidification stands for the process that our oceans turn more acid due to the absorption of CO₂ from the atmosphere. This has several harmful consequences. Lower calcification, slower growth of corals and mollusks (oysters and mussels) for example, shall reduce biodiversity in the medium term of species with calcium-based skeletons. The UN highlights this in several reports, but action upon this evidence (Ifremer 2026) is slow or even absent. Besides the acidification, the oceans have increasing temperatures. Some researchers frame this process already as the “tropicalisation”, the warming of sea water and migration of fish according depending on their preferred or necessary temperatures of sea water. Some move to cooler water, other species move into or “invade” due to higher temperatures.
This can be observed and studied in citizen science projects across the globe and by tourists with a little interests in what is happening near the beaches. Just take a litmus-strip with you to test the basic or alkaline pH-value of the sea water in a glass of sea water. Then add a bit of soda water and test again. That’s a bit exaggerating, what acidification of oceans is about, but the underlying mechanisms is the same.

18/08/202617/08/2026

Park Impressions

Parks and gardens have been among the preferred items of impressionist painters. In Berlin it is possible to visit the Villa of Max Liebermann and the splendid garden next to the Wannsee. The 3 years Liebermann spent in Paris as well as his friendship with Cezanne “converted the young painter to impressionist’s painting style. The subjects of his paintings became similar as well. Splendid gardens and people working or going about their daily routine inspired him. The visits to the Netherlands (image below) inspired him to paint the joyful and relaxed atmosphere during summer. Sunlight and shadow outside an atelier became the fascinating moment he captured so well. Enjoy the summer and take a break. (Image: extract from Max Liebermann: Park in Laren).

17/08/202616/08/2026

War of drones

The fiction of a war of drones has been imagined, somehow, 500 years ago by Lucas Cranach. His altarpiece of the last judgment (1525) shows on the upper left corner flying little monsters that threaten humans on earth. The danger came from above and followed predefined judgments. The kind of weapon and threat were not so much different from today, but the portrayal of the person in command has changed. For the thousands of victims due to Putin’s war in Ukraine the modern scenario does not change that much. (Image: Cranach extract 1525 Gemäldegalerie Berlin)

16/08/202615/08/2026

Outdoor Pleasures

Summertime surely is time for outdoor activities and pleasures. Besides the broad spectrum of more or less strenuous activities, summer is perfect for socializing in parks, restaurants, cafes or beer gardens. We might think of this as more recent inventions, but in historical depictions by Bruegel or Jan Steen (1661 in Gemäldegalerie Berlin, extract below) we find evidence that socializing in a restaurant or beer garden has been around for more than 460 years. Monks were brewing beer and the consumption was reserved to a more elitist group of people. The concept is quite old. Fortunately, we have managed to democratize the joyful and socializing part of being together. Places where people from different social classes come together have always been rare and this, additionally, varies across regions, countries and often social strata.

15/08/202614/08/2026

La gaya sienza

Nietzsche published his 1st version of “Die fröhliche Wissenschaft“ in1882. Ever since a controversy over the translation and interpretation of the title broke out. The publication in English referred to the title as “Joyful Wisdom”. A major question remains: is the opus a piece about science in the sense of philosophy, or less rigorous in method and therefore more a kind of general contribution to a perspective on wisdom? 12 x 12 years later of the 1st publication the “Motto” on the opening page should be taken more seriously. “Dem Dichter und Weisen sind alle Dinge befreundet und geweiht, alle Erlebnisse nützlich, alle Tage heilig, alle Menschen göttlich.“ Such a radical Version of enlightenment as scientific method announced his attempts to demystify everything from religious beliefs to also science as well. The Motto of the 2nd edition in 1887 goes beyond the original one to include himself into this demystification. “Ich wohne in meinem eigenen Haus, Hab Niemanden nie nichts nachgemacht Und – lachte noch jeden Meister aus, Der nicht sich selbst ausgelacht. In a nutshell, mock yourself as much as you mock about anyone else. Can this science be science, intelligence, artificial intelligence or is this already the precursor of „super intelligence“ of the 21st century AI hype?

14/08/202613/08/2026

Co-evolution process

Humans look back on a long co-evolution process with viruses, bacteria, insects and animals. The focus on a solitary evolution of humans alone is already a challenge, although we know that the evolutionary process is much more complex. Within the co-evolution process of humans and animals, the co-evolution with the species of dogs has lead to interesting learning opportunities for both. Braeuer et al (2024) show that a dog’s cognitive capabilities to perceive human emotions beyond simple positive or negative emotions. As dogs seem to monitor their owners constantly, many of them are able to alert persons about health and/or emotional state. This is a learning process for dogs, but also for their human owners as their authentic emotional expressions are immediately recognized by their dog. A co-evolutionary approach offers a lot of benefits to all involved.

13/08/202612/08/2026

Heat Mortality

Heat waves can be deadly for humans, animals and vegetation. According to the cumulative estimates by the RKI (Robert Koch Institute) in Germany up until 2026-7-26 there were 11.900 deaths within the confidence interval between 10.700 to 13.100 of the estimates. About 6.000 of the people who died due to the heat waves were aged 85+. 1.140 were attributed to persons younger than 65. Chronological age appears to be a significant factor as frequently chronic diseases accumulate in older individuals as well as poly-pharmacy. Hydration levels and deficiencies are associated with the increased mortality, but we have few or no precise measures of hydration readily available for people before it becomes an emergency (cognitive impairments). We know a lot about precision medicine. However, precision hydration for people remains rather arbitrary.

12/08/202610/08/2026

Open source gratitude

The advent of AI increases the need to react to more cyberattacks and faster. This means open source software, where many persons develop and implement defense strategies against malware, has a great potential to react fast to running attacks. The Mozilla Firefox Browser or the WordPress community, which facilitate webpage development and security do a great job to make the internet a safer space. Transparency in programming is a definite advantage which increases the number of people who continuously test the software and contribute solutions to malfunctioning parts of it. Thanks to so many, often anonymous or operating under pseudonym, we can navigate online with relatively high levels of security. Updating is our little contribution to value the community working on open source software. (Image: Exhibits by Hertzsch and Leetz/Waywood 2026-1 Lettegrafik, Schere, Stil, Papier).

11/08/202610/08/2026

Cyber anxiety

The threat of AI to be used for cyber attacks has increased. This is serious matter and should be addressed not only by your IT-department, but by a whole organization or enterprise. Doors of entry have always existed. 100% cyber security has never existed. It has always been a cats and mice kind of game. Timely patches were the solution, which means you have to be faster than the attack to avoid or limit thefts of data. It is easy for web developers or persons responsible for data security to slip into a kind of “cyber anxiety”. There are multiple types of threats which range from complete loss of access to your own website or more subtle changes to content and contact information, which might be just embarrassing or get you into serious legal trouble. Login attempts to your accounts are a frequent occurrence and we should be carefully monitoring them and make necessary (name or 2nd factor) changes swiftly. Of course this is a pain, but thieves have checked open doors and Windows for generations before we had digital homes. Best way to deal with cyber anxiety is to take it seriously and check your points of entry regularly.

10/08/202609/08/2026

Climate Anxiety

The events of several wildfires and a too hot summer in 2026 have raised the level of anxiety related to climate change for many people. From the field of economics we know that the fear of an economic recession can be as bad for the economy as a statistical economic downturn. The anxiety about climate related bad events can trigger or worsen symptoms of depression. The research by Zacher and Kühner (2026) shows that psychological evidence supports this hypothesis. The 1 year follow-up clarified, that the opposite direction of causality is not supported by the data analysis. A pre-existing depression is not worsening due to climate change. The consequence of these results is that the total number of persons with depression is likely to increase with an additional source of depression, for example after experiencing a wildfire. Oceans are warming and the number of injuries on beaches due to poisoning from algae or medusaes (jellyfish) become more frequent as well. Lots of sources for increasing climate related anxieties. In the economic costs of global warming and climate change we frame this as second round effects of climate change.

09/08/202608/08/2026

Forest sponge

Forests work like sponges. They can stock enormous amounts of water. Trees, even when cut years ago, keep a lot of their humidity, especially if they are underneath other trees. A rich nourishing soil allows biodiversity to thrive. It takes years and sometimes decades for these ecosystems to grow, but they are destroyed within a few months or just days in case of wildfires. We have to put higher monetary values on these ecosystems and their contributions to biodiversity in order to make the preservation economically feasible as well. The sole ecological value does not seem to stop us humans to exploit this resources beyond sustainability. The succession of seasons should be a reminder of the essential role of circularity in nature and a principal of conservation of biodiversity.

08/08/202607/08/2026

Fountain of youth

The fountain of youth is such an old dream of humans that we are no longer surprised to witness perpetual reincarnations of the same theme again and again. The painting by Cranach the elder (1646) “Fountain of youth” (image below, Gemäldegalerie Berlin) sets the scene for what has become a billion dollar business nowadays. Whereas the old dream was about rejuvenation and cure from disabling diseases, we have become a bit more moderate in ambition to be happy about a halt to aging. Promises are reiterated and made in building on an army of influencers who push many remedies that lack rigorous scientific tests. Two studies published open access in “The Lancet Healthy Longevity” (Witham, McDonald 2026 and Duremdes Nava et al. 2026) provide evidence that in case of obesity and diabetes there are no easy or quick fixes available yet. Healthy longevity still relies mainly on lifestyle (changes), more exercise and careful nutrition rather than additional medication. Medium and long-term consequences of inactivity and unhealthy diets are to easily disregarded or their value discounted. How much are you willing to pay for an additional year of healthy living at age 30 or 70? Simple economics, but quite a successful business model as well.

07/08/202607/08/2026

Healing in museum

The topic of healing has a long tradition in museums. For example, in the Paintings Gallery (Gemäldegalerie) in Berlin “The healing of Tobit” (1630) by a follower of Caravaggio depicts the healing of eyesight with the aid of angel Raphael (extract of image below). The Bode museum also in Berlin in the vicinity of the Charité hospital proposed workshops to test or experience the healing through meditation techniques in the museum sitting on cushions while focusing on a statue for a while. Guided mindfulness workshops or own meditation sessions could be held during the visit. Museums can work as healing places to calm anxiety or release from stress.

06/08/202606/08/2026

Cool Cooling

The human body has a pretty cool cooling mechanism to protect our functions. This ranges from the brain to our toes. Even we are usually not to keen on sweat, it still is our best way to achieve cooling for our bodies. Physical, for some also mental exercise can heat us up quite a bit. Water on our skin allows to extract most of the heat from our bodies due to the evaporation effect. This is our natural survival mechanism during heat waves or exhaustive exercise. Not all people sweat easily nor similarly in all areas of their bodies, but externally applied water for evaporation reasons does the same trick. Fever reduction through a humid cloth is another well known example of a proven “medical” cooling device. In architecture or home cooling we might exploit the evaporation cooling mechanism to create ambient temperatures in our home, office or home office. Multiple layers of humid structures or a special dice shape can create vast cooling surfaces even in tiny spaces (Stavric 2026). Cool cooling solutions can assist us in many ways without negative impact on global warming.

05/08/202604/08/2026

Medication adherence

In the broad range of medico-pharmaceutical science the topic of medication adherence is an uncomfortable issue. In the ideal scenario people would adhere 100% to the prescription. In the real world of not-optimal behavior and circumstances, people deviate substantially from what is best for or even good for them. Even in the tax-based health system of Denmark with relatively easy access to medication, a long-term study revealed the difficulties encountered to adhere to essential medications for persons with Type 2 diabetes. Nielsen et al. (2026) analyzed a cohort of 80.000 persons who newly acquired Type 2 diabetes of which about 25% showed a low adherence to medication plans with hazard rate of 1,27 to suffer a cardiovascular event. High adherence persons did not suffer such an event in the following 220 days over the 10 years of observation. A sedentary lifestyle or obesity increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and beyond medical treatments additional behavioral challenges like medication adherence make it clear, we do not live in the best scenario to fight type 2 diabetes.

04/08/202602/08/2026

Stinging issues

Sometimes a topic can make it into the headlines only if it is a stinging issue. The fact that certain mosquitoes travel and survive further north due to global warming is indeed such a stinging issue. As the living conditions for mosquitoes depend on warm weather conditions particularly during (tropical) nights as well as water availability for breeding purposes, the spread of mosquitoes can already be observed studying the spread of dengue fever, malaria and chikungunya in some southern European and American countries. Climate change, especially the warming parts of it, shall bring home a number of stinging issues and consequences to people who didn’t seem to know or care about the spread of spread of infectious diseases.

03/08/202602/08/2026

Fire engines

The collection of fire engines model cars on display in a Berlin antique shop reveal the whole dilemma of fire fighters across Europe. Lots of different models and technical specifications mean lower potentials for synergies. European cooperation is such a strong statement of hope and solidarity during emergencies. Better coordination in joint acquisitions would allow fire fighters from each Member State to be operational in other units. The power of the many could be a significant advantage to fight the fast progression of fire we have witnessed in 2026-7.

02/08/202601/08/2026

Fighting fires

In our homes and offices we are used to have electric, digital and chemical devices to assist us in fighting fires. Fires can have multiple origins ranging from faulty technical devices to human errors, behavior and volition. Some countries have terrible experiences with city fires engrained into their history. The scale of wild fires in forests in Europe, the USA, Australia or Canada have reached a new dimension. With global warming fires known in southern parts of Europe reach further north and become more intense. The fire near Fontainebleau (Forêt de Sénart, France) in 2018 destroyed 9000 hectares forest. In 2026 the fires near Bordeaux burned 10 times the size (Link). There were about 8 years to get prepared between the 2 large scale incidents. The technocrats’ answer usually is just limited to the immediate surroundings of the fire. Instead larger scale actions have to be prepared and enacted to prevent the next incidents. The technocrat’s answer is more technology like aircrafts and yet bigger aircrafts(still largely insufficient in 2026-7). Satellite and drone surveillance with infrared cameras additionally can go a long way, but the human factor remains a hard to fight beast in all such technical fire fighting scenarios. This setup seems to be somehow like a constant to take into account in all technological propositions.

01/08/202631/07/2026

Social learning

The process and mechanisms that drive social learning are still not well understood. Beyond social psychology and sociological theory and evidence, neuroscience has made progress worth taking note of. The paper by Maciej Winiarski et al. (2025) offers a key insight into the neuro-biology of learning about social structures and the behavioral consequences. In their study of mice in the EcoHAB supervised group housing, information sharing through scent was the driver of learning about the social structure and the ensuing social behavior. The various experimental settings show that 1-2 mice became the most relevant informants about social structure and rewards. The “exploratory activities” are an interesting underlying parameter as well. The mus musculus model does not tell us much about humans yet, but we get a gist of important factors to consider for social learning in groups or organizations. Information seeking, informants, reward structures and “housing” have to be considered based on such research from neuroscience.

31/07/202630/07/2026

Preventable Asthma Burden

The global burden of disease data, analyses and projections allow us to identify more clearly the parameters to influence and prevent rising global burdens of disease. Among the so-called non-communicable (i. e. not infectious) diseases Asthma plays an important role. Heat waves (wild fires) and air pollution (road transport, heating emissions) are major contributors to the burden of disease. In addition to the health related suffering of a population, the economic losses for groups of countries have been estimated by a recent study (Chen et al. 2026). For the UK another study showed that 2/3 of asthma attributed deaths were preventable. This raises our awareness to the fact that adequate health care systems and the distribution as well application of asthma medications can help a great deal to lower also the economic impacts due to uncontrolled asthma. The labour-induced costs (lost years of production) are likely to be higher in the low-income countries, whereas capital-induced costs (in form of opportunity costs of health expenditure) accrue more in the higher- income countries. With the successive heat waves in 2026 and continued global warming, the estimated global burden of asthma is most likely a lower bound estimate of the economic impact. A focus on asthma prevention becomes a pressing concern today to prepare for the future.

30/07/202629/07/2026

Road injuries

Road injuries are a serious matter. The lives lost and people suffering from lasting injuries continue to be a major health hazard on a global scale despite significant reductions over the last 3 decades, mainly in wealthier countries . The Global Burden of Disease study (Ng et al. 2026) shows that between the ages of 10-39 fatal road injuries are the main cause of death for young men. The study has no data to speak to causal effects, but the basic statistics show a clear pattern according to gender. Several factors need further exploration:
1. Men are known to have a much larger share of the total amount of road traffic in most countries, which leads to a higher risk exposure.
2. Men seem to take higher risks when driving, which puts them at higher overall risks as well.
3. Responsibilities for road incidents are not investigated, which leaves other causes or contributions to road injuries (like alcohol or drug abuse) unaccounted. (Source: Ng et al 2026. Global, regional, and national burden of road injuries 1990–2023, p.7)

29/07/202628/07/2026

Cardiac arrest detection

The number 1 cause of death is cardiac arrest in the modern world. Hence, the interest in the detection of cardiac arrest could save many lives. For assistance to arrive and intervene in time an alert needs to be issued as soon as possible. With early detection by nearby persons and skilled intervention the survival chances are about 50% of cases. The “silent” at home cardiac arrest is an important health and survival issue. The availability of wrist bands and watches which can issue alerts in combination with smartphones has risen considerably in recent years. Therefore, the improvement of reliable algorithms which interpret these data can realistically save lives as the delays can potentially be shortened for professional helpers to arrive. The study by Edgar et al. (2026) tested such a device and were able to show the very low number of false alarms issued by this device (about 1 out of 40). Extrapolated to millions of cases the challenge to a health care system is steep. However, we have to deal with such socio-economic issues of digital devices in medicine in the coming years more often.

Posts

Splendid networks

Park Impressions

Preventable Asthma Burden

We use Cookies only for technical performance!