inothernews:

HOW MARS GOT ITS GROOVES BACK   Dubbed linear gullies, these long grooves appear on the sides of some sandy slopes during Martian spring.  They have nearly constant widths, extend for as long as two kilometers, and have raised banks along their sides. Unlike most water flows, they do not appear to have areas of dried debris at the downhill end. A leading hypothesis — actually being tested here on Earth — is that these linear gullies are caused by chunks of dry ice breaking off and sliding down hills while sublimating into gas, eventually completely evaporating into thin air.  Or, there are aliens.  Aliens on Mars.  And these are the tracks of their peers.  (Photo: HiRISE, MRO, LPL (U. Arizona) via NASA APOD)

shortformblog:

Here’s a piece for the libertarians out there: The New Republic has a story laying out the potential for Rand Paul to follow in his movement-creating dad’s footsteps, noting that Rand’s strength is that he’s a strong political player, not just an ideologue. The NSA scandal only plays into that, Julia Ioffe writes: “This is a moment tailored for Rand Paul, more than for Marco Rubio or Chris Christie, or anyone else in the potential Republican 2016 lineup.” Read on for a pretty solid talker.