Science & TechnologyS


Comet 2

Comet ATLAS Y4 is breaking up

Dr.Tony Phillips
Space Weather
Mon, 06 Apr 2020 12:00 UTC
Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4)
Comet ATLAS on March 28th. Credit: Tim Connolly of Plattsburgh, NY.
Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4), what are you doing? New data from astronomers around the world show that the once-promising comet is beginning to fade. For Karl Battams of the Naval Research Lab in Washington DC, it could be a classic case of "I told you so."

"Quoting myself from March 15th," says Battams, "'I wouldn't be surprised to see Comet ATLAS start to fade rapidly and possibly even disintegrate before reaching the sun.' I very much hope I'm wrong, but Comet Elenin did something similar several years ago, holding lots of promise and then just... fizzling."


Comment: Comet Elenin nucleus was fragmented by a Coronal Mass Ejection. Source


In recent months, Comet ATLAS galvanized astronomers as it fell toward the sun, skyrocketing in brightness like few comets before it. By late May 2020 it promised to rival Venus in the sunset sky. But recent developments belie that possibility.

Comment: This comes less than a week after Comet C2I Borisov also began 'falling apart', and, as noted in the comment under that article:
The 'falling apart' / 'fragmentation' and 'observed outbursts' of comet Borisov is likely due to its changing electric discharge. An important note on comets as detailed by Pierre Lescaudron in Earth Changes and The Human cosmic Connection:
Comets or Asteroids

The fundamental difference between asteroids and comets is not their chemical composition, i.e. dirty, fluffy icy comets vs. rocky asteroids. Rather, as has long been put forward by plasma theorists, what differentiates 'comets' from 'asteroids' is their electric activity.

When the electric potential difference between an asteroid and the surrounding plasma is not too high, the asteroid exhibits a dark discharge mode or no discharge at all. But when the potential difference is high enough, the asteroid switches to a glowing discharge mode. At this point the asteroid is a comet. From this perspective, a comet is simply a glowing asteroid and an asteroid is a non-glowing comet. Thus the very same body can, successively, be a comet, then an asteroid, then a comet, etc., depending on variations in the ambient electric field it is subjected to.
See also: And check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Earth changes in an electric universe: Is climate change really man-made?

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Info

'Smart Toilet' will identify you by 'analprint'

Ross Pomeroy
Real Clear Science
Mon, 06 Apr 2020 03:49 UTC
Smart Toilet
© Seung-min Park et. al / Nature Biomedical Engineering
A team of researchers primarily based out of Stanford University has engineered a proof-of-concept smart toilet module designed to monitor a user's health based on their urine and stools.

The system mounts on a conventional sit-down toilet and utilizes cameras to measure the user's feces based on the Bristol stool scale. At the same time, a pressure sensor built in to the toilet seat monitors the bowel movement's duration. Both of these measures can reveal conditions like chronic constipation, irritable bowel system, and even colon cancer.

Users who stand to urinate can also have their velocity, flow, and duration measured by camera, while test strips automatically extend into the stream for urinalysis, which can ascertain a variety of chemical levels and test for numerous substances.

Upon completion of defecation or urination, the system uploads all of the user's results to a protected cloud. Individual users are identified via a fingerprint scanner embedded in the flush lever as well as by "analprint" (yes, the researchers called it an analprint). A camera on the toilet module images the user's anus, allowing an algorithm to link the anus image to a specific person on subsequent use.
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Saturn

Origins of Uranus' oddities explained by Japanese astronomers


Phys.org
Mon, 06 Apr 2020 21:51 UTC
uranus
The ice giant Uranus' unusual attributes have long puzzled scientists. All of the planets in the solar system revolve around the sun in the same direction and in the same plane, which astronomers believe is a vestige of how our solar system formed from a spinning disc of gas and dust. Most of the planets also rotate in the same direction, with their poles orientated perpendicular to the plane in which the planets revolve. However, uniquely among all the planets, Uranus is tilted at about 98 degrees.

Instead of thinking about the reality of stars spread in all directions and at various distances from the Earth, it is easier to understand by envisioning the celestial sphere. To picture what the celestial sphere is, look up at the night sky and imagine that all of the stars you see are painted on the inside of a sphere surrounding the solar system. Stars then seem to rise and set as the Earth moves relative to this "sphere."
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Fish

Radioactive signature help reveal the whale shark's age

Nick Carne
Cosmos Magazine
Mon, 06 Apr 2020 23:01 UTC
Whale Shark
© WAYNE OSBORNAustralian researcher Mark Meekan swimming with a whale shark.
Scientists say they now know how old whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) can get, thanks in no small part to the radioactive legacy of the arms race.

Fallout from nuclear tests in the 1950s and 60s left clearly recognisable timelines in the vertebrae of the world's largest fish, they report in a paper in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.

This allowed them to establish that one of the specimens they studied was 50 years old at death - the first time, they say, that such an age has been unambiguously verified.

The project brought together researchers from the US, Iceland and Australia, with support from others in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

The key was determining how much time the timelines represent.

Like all sharks and rays, Rhincodon typus lacks an otolith - the bony structure used to assess the age of other fish.

Its vertebrae do feature distinct bands that increase in number with age, in much the same way as rings of a tree trunk, but this has been of minimal value because it wasn't clear until now how often a new band formed.
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Moon

The upcoming 'super pink moon' will be the biggest and best of 2020

Jade Small
The Mind Unleashed
Sun, 05 Apr 2020 12:32 UTC
super pink moon
Peaking on April 7 and 8, the pink moon is expected to be the brightest supermoon of 2020.

The full pink supermoon will be peaking on April 7 and 8, depending on where in the world you find yourself.

Expected to be the brightest supermoon of 2020, this special moon comes at a time when millions across the globe won't have the freedom to travel to find the perfect viewing spot away from city lights. We hope city dwellers are able to enjoy the light of this moon from the safety of their homes and take comfort in the fact that many cities are enjoying clearer skies as a result of millions of vehicles not being on the roads.

The first full moon of spring, also known as the Paschal Moon in the Christian calendar and used to calculate the date for Easter, will be visible after sunset and reach its peak illumination at 10:35pm, EDT.

But don't expect the moon to actually be pink. Instead it will be its usual color, just brighter and bigger, especially when it's close to the horizon at moon rise or moon set.

Comment:



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Health

Iran develops its own AI software to speed up coronavirus testing


RT
Sat, 04 Apr 2020 17:37 UTC
hospital room Iran
© Reuters/Ali KharaCoronavirus treatment in Tehran, Iran, March 30, 2020
Tehran has unveiled new artificial intelligence software to speed up detection of the Covid-19 virus. With US sanctions restricting access to testing kits, necessity forced one of the region's hardest-hit countries to innovate.

The software was revealed by government officials in Tehran on Saturday. Developed by a consortium of Iranian universities in only one month, it uses artificial intelligence to analyze computed tomography (CT) scans of potentially infected lungs, allowing doctors to upload images and instantly receive results.

Wearing a face mask at the press conference, Iranian Vice President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari told reporters that the breakthrough will ease the workload on analysts - who previously had to manually pore over hundreds of pictures per day - and bring a "new perspective" to the diagnosis and treatment of the virus.

CT imaging allows physicians to spot abnormalities on patients' lungs, indicating a Covid-19 infection. However, the method has been sidelined around the world in favor of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, which looks for the virus' genetic material instead of its symptoms.
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Bulb

Irish scientists develop UV light emitting robot to clean healthcare facilities

Kevin O'Sullivan
The Irish Times
Wed, 25 Mar 2020 00:00 UTC
akara robotics, UV robot
A robot emitting ultraviolet light (UVC) with the ability to disinfect hospitals and get rid of the Covid-19 virus has been developed by a start-up attached to Trinity College Dublin.

Being able to clean healthcare facilities thoroughly and quickly is hugely demanding as coronavirus cases escalate.

Created by Akara Robotics, it is clinically proven to kill viruses, bacteria and harmful germs, and does so in a much shorter time compared to usual cleaning methods, according to its inventor Dr Conor McGinn.

Robot Violet was tested in an acute hospital in the Dublin area last week after Dr McGinn contacted the HSE indicating it would be effective in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic in healthcare settings. They are awaiting microbiological test results to confirm its effectiveness.
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Comet 2

NASA spots rare interstellar comet Borisov 'falling apart'

Eric Mack
CNET
Fri, 03 Apr 2020 10:04 UTC
Comet Borisov breaking up
© NASA/ESA/D. Jewitt
For the first time, we may be watching a comet from another solar system breaking apart after making a trip around our sun.

Comet 2I/Borisov is just the second ever interstellar object identified by astronomers as it passed through our cosmic neighborhood. The first was the bizarre object 'Oumuamua a few years earlier that was spotted when it was already on its way out of the solar system, leaving scientists little time to study it.


Comment: 'Oumuamua reclassified from 'asteroid' to 'comet' (because they're essentially the same thing)


Borisov, on the other hand, was first observed last year as it approached the sun, giving astronomers months of opportunity to take a close look and determine that the object is, in fact, a comet from beyond our solar system. It also turns out to be a lot like comets native to our own solar system.

And now, it seems, Borisov's days could be numbered.

A note posted to The Astronomer's Telegram Thursday evening by a team of astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope announced the "possible fragmentation" of the comet.

Comment: The 'falling apart' / 'fragmentation' and 'observed outbursts' of comet Borisov is likely due to its changing electric discharge. An important note on comets as detailed by Pierre Lescaudron in Earth Changes and The Human cosmic Connection:
Comets or Asteroids

The fundamental difference between asteroids and comets is not their chemical composition, i.e. dirty, fluffy icy comets vs. rocky asteroids. Rather, as has long been put forward by plasma theorists, what differentiates 'comets' from 'asteroids' is their electric activity.

When the electric potential difference between an asteroid and the surrounding plasma is not too high, the asteroid exhibits a dark discharge mode or no discharge at all. But when the potential difference is high enough, the asteroid switches to a glowing discharge mode. At this point the asteroid is a comet. From this perspective, a comet is simply a glowing asteroid and an asteroid is a non-glowing comet. Thus the very same body can, successively, be a comet, then an asteroid, then a comet, etc., depending on variations in the ambient electric field it is subjected to.
See also: Comet 67P surprises scientists with 'bright outbursts', collapsing cliffs and rolling boulders during Rosetta mission

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Microscope 1

Scientists discover deep-sea bacteria that doesn't need oxygen to function

Carly Cassella
Science Alert
Fri, 03 Apr 2020 16:47 UTC
Acetobacterium woodii metabolism
© Kai Schuchmann, Silke Schmidt, et al/Journal of BacteriologyElectron microscopic images of A. woodii grown on 1,2-PD (A) or lactate (B). Cells were grown on the respective substrate to the late exponential growth phase. Cells grown on 1,2-PD showed structures with sizes around 100 to 200 nm, resembling microcompartments (m), and much larger structures that could be storage compartments (s).
A curious kind of bacteria found on the floor of the deep ocean might have a metabolism unlike anything we've seen before.

Known as Acetobacterium woodii, scientists in Germany claim that this species, which also lives in the intestines of termites, can both create and use hydrogen and carbon dioxide to produce energy all on its own, even without the need for oxygen.

The ability to survive on organic and inorganic substances alike without oxygen makes this bacterium quite unique among microorganisms, and while scientists have long suspected something like this existed, it's never been clearly described among acetogenic bacteria, which produce methane free from oxygen.
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Red Flag

A new study claiming SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus originated naturalistically is riddled with assumptions and weak reasoning

Cornelius Hunter
Darwin's God
Sat, 04 Apr 2020 15:57 UTC
COVID-19
A Peer Review Failure

A recent study done by an international collaboration of five scientists, and published in the scientific journal Nature Medicine, has concluded that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (also known as HCoV-19), responsible for the current global pandemic, originated naturalistically rather than via laboratory manipulation. Here I review their methods and compare their research with the claims made.

To investigate the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the team used a Bayesian approach. Bayes' Theorem, named after the eighteenth century Reverend Thomas Bayes, computes the probability of an event given some new evidence. While students will recall using Bayes' Theorem to solve problems involving urns and colored balls, in fact it has a wide range of practical, real-world, applications.
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