Supreme Court sides with Biden administration in Texas border razor-wire case
An important win for Biden! And a welcome slap in the face to the utterly despicable Greg Abbott.
From NPR:
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, granted the Biden administration's request to vacate the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals' injunction in a case involving razor wire places along Texas's border with Mexico.
The move paves the way for federal officials to remove the wire.
Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.
Texas has maintained that it needs to act on the border because the federal government has failed to stem the tide of migrants crossing from Mexico. ✂️
A federal judge ruled in the Biden administration's favor, but the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals later decided the judge misunderstood a law that spells out what the federal government can be sued for.
On Monday, the Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration, allowing federal agents to cut through portions of the wire if they deem it necessary.
How Biden’s Economy Puts Money in Workers’ Pockets
🎩 to WineRev for providing a link this excellent piece in his GNR last Wednesday. I thought it deserved to be quoted at more length.
By David McCall in CounterPunch:
Libbi Urban’s co-workers broke into applause at the union hall last year when they learned that their new contract with Cleveland-Cliffs not only increased wages by a whopping 20 percent but provided greater work-life balance and even enabled them to retire earlier thanplanned. They’d spent years fighting for some of the improvements. But this time, they wielded extra bargaining power because of the hot economy that President Joe Biden engineered with bold investments and a deep commitment to working people.
Workers in aluminum, auto, steel, tire, mining, paper, heavy equipment, service, health care, and package delivery, among other industries, all racked up historic contract gains as the economy exploded under the current administration. ✂️
[Biden’s] Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) unleashed $1.2 trillion to upgrade transportation, communications, and energy networks with union labor and union-made materials and parts. His CHIPS and Science Act catalyzed billions more to boost the production of semiconductors and rebuild crucial supply chains.
“We came out of [COVID-19]. The demand for steel was picking up,” said Urban, a longtime vice president with United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9231 in New Carlisle, Indiana, recalling the backdrop for negotiations with Cleveland-Cliffs. “People were starting to buy and build. Everything hit just right for us,” continued Urban, one of 12,000 USW members in six states to benefit from the new contract.
The same scenario is playing out in one industry after another.
Half of recent US inflation due to high corporate profits, report finds
We need to broadcast this far and wide!!
!! 📣
UPDATE: DKos’s Walter Einenkel picked up the megaphone yesterday: Yep, all that ‘inflation’ is largely corporate greed.
From The Guardian:
A new report claims “resounding evidence” shows that high corporate profits are a main driver of ongoing inflation, and companies continue to keep prices high even as their inflationary costs drop. The report, compiled by the progressive Groundwork Collaborative thinktank, found corporate profits accounted for about 53% of inflation during last year’s second and third quarters. Profits drove just 11% of price growth in the 40 years prior to the pandemic, according to the report.
Prices for consumers rose by 3.4% over the past year, but input costs for producers increased by just 1%, according to the authors’ calculations, which were based on data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and National Income and Products Accounts. “Costs have come down substantially, and while corporations were quick to pass on their increased costs to consumers, they are surprisingly less quick to pass on their savings to consumers,” Liz Pancotti, a Groundwork strategic adviser and paper co-author, said.
Since pandemic inflation spiked in 2021, a high-stakes debate has played out about its sources. Many progressive economists pointed to corporate profits – or “greedflation” – and supply chain issues as a driver of high prices, while their more conservative counterparts singled out government stimulus cash and high wages.
The report’s authors scoured corporate earnings calls and found executives bragging to shareholders about keeping prices high and widening profit margins as input costs come down.
The findings come as the Federal Reserve has hiked interest rates to their highest point in 20 years. The report casts serious doubt on the need for further interest rate hikes, and instead calls for stronger policies to rein in “corporate profiteering”.
State laws are factoring into college choices for young adults
I decided to put this in the political section because it’s going to add to the pressure already being felt by red states over their inhumane abortion laws. My hope is that each instance of loss of revenue and investment will add up and begin to force changes in those laws. And I find it interesting and encouraging that the college admissions counselor said “I don't think we have more liberal students or more conservative students,” which indicates to me that avoiding anti-abortion states is a concern for students across the political spectrum.
The quotes are from a transcript of an interview on NBC Nightly News that aired on January 19th.
School ranking, academics, tuition cost, all factors in the big decision of picking a college. But for South Carolina high school senior Grace, add the state's abortion laws. ”I'm not comfortable with being in a state that doesn't value who I am or value my rights as a person.” ✂️
The family asked us not to use their last name. Concerned this story could impact Grace's admissions chances, but they join a growing trend. A Gallup survey shows 73% of young adults say reproductive health laws are a factor in their decision on where to enroll in college. And a quarter of students ruled out institutions solely due to the political policies in a state.
Grace has offers for scholarships in conservative leaning states. “I was happy about [getting a scholarship to the University of Alabama], but it made me a little bit anxious. I started looking into politics in Alabama a little bit more.” ✂️
Sarah Harberson is a college admissions counselor and says for some of her clients, changing state laws are a part of the discussion. “I don't think we have more liberal students or more conservative students. I think we have a more vocal, college-bound population. When they say that politics matters, state politics, I think they really mean it.”
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🍿 Repellent Republicans Rushing toward Ruin 🍿
Koch advocacy group AFP Action warns that Trump will lose
This is the only thing Koch has ever said that Gnusies can heartily agree with.
From Simon Rosenberg’s Hopium Chronicles:
Here’s what the Koch political network, (AFP Action), the most powerful organization on the right, said this weekend about Trump being a huge, dangerous risk:
“We've been clear from the beginning that we disagree with former president Trump's plans for the country. As president, he added more to the national debt than any previous president (second only to the current president). He has consistently said he would remove core constitutional protections if elected to a second term. And his current economic plan leads with a promise to raise taxes by 10% on all Americans!
“But the reality is Trump has lost the last three elections, and he's on track to lose this one.
“Despite what some media outlets report, our polling consistently shows Donald Trump loses to Joe Biden in the states that will decide the election in November. And if he's convicted in one of his many criminal trials, polling indicates his loss will be even more severe.”
Enjoy watching DeSantis admit defeat!!
This is a brief clip, because who wants to see that ugly, doughy face or hear his grating voice more than they have to?? BTW, although he’s trying to hide it, he’s dying inside.
And here’s the cherry on top of this Schadenfreude sundae. 🎩 to Jon Allsop at Columbia Journalism Review for researching and posting this gem, and also to Kossack crystaline who found the same hilarious info on Xwitter and shared it in a comment yesterday:
Last April, Ron DeSantis did an interview with a right-wing media personality and said that he would join a conservative boycott of Bud Light after the beer brand partnered on an ad with a transgender influencer… ✂️
Yesterday afternoon, DeSantis dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump. He broke the news in a video message posted to Twitter (now known as X). “Winston Churchill once remarked that ‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts,’” DeSantis said. There is no evidence that Winston Churchill ever said this. A very similar quote can apparently be found in a late-1930s ad for Budweiser.
🤣 🤣 🤣
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The media messing up
How media amnesia becomes GOP amnesty
An insightful and appropriately outraged analysis of how lazy journalism gives Republican malfeasance a pass.
By Mark Jacobs in his Substack Stop the Presses:
After the Jan. 6 insurrection but before Donald Trump left office, Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina sent a text to Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows: “Our LAST HOPE is invoking Marshall Law!! PLEASE URGE TO PRESIDENT TO DO SO!!” ✂️
This traitorous text is something we ought to remember about Norman. But in the New York Times’ 34 most recent mentions of Norman over more than a year, the Times has referred to the text zero times. Zero. The Times has depicted Norman as just another conservative lawmaker addressing the issues of the day.
This is media amnesia, and it’s helping would-be fascists get away with their treachery as they plot to commit more.
Bernard Kerik is another example of a bad actor benefitting from journalists’ failure to put things in context. Last March, the Times’ Maggie Haberman wrote: “Among those assailing the Manhattan district attorney on Saturday was Bernard B. Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner, who took part in efforts to keep Mr. Trump in power after the 2020 election and has known him since Mr. Trump was mainly a New York real estate developer.” Haberman then….failed to mention a couple important things. Kerik isn’t just a former NYC police commissioner; he’s a former NYC police commissioner convicted of tax fraud who spent three years in federal prison. And Trump pardoned him afterward, so Kerik is the wrong person to quote about Trump when you don’t disclose the pardon. Which Haberman didn’t.
News consumers count on smart journalists to remind them of relevant facts from the past. But bad journalists stick unpleasant facts in a memory hole because of sloppiness, forgetfulness or unwillingness to annoy a person they may want to use as a source later. That malpractice gives right-wing mischief makers a clear impression that they can outrun their own corrupt records.
Negativity bias makes our beliefs about the world inaccurate
What MSM does is to cynically profit financially from exploiting our hard-wired predisposition to believe negative news and be skeptical of positive news. So understanding the effect of negativity bias on our own thinking is vital.
I loved the quote below because it so hilariously illustrates how much negative thinking messes up our ability to see the truth.
From Reasons to Be Cheerful (bolding mine). Do click the link to read this excellent piece in full.
The negativity bias has been well documented, including in...the bestseller Factfulness by the late Hans Rosling: Readers believe the world is worse than it actually is. “When asked simple questions about global trends ― what percentage of the world’s population live in poverty; why the world’s population is increasing; how many girls finish school ― we systematically get the answers wrong,” Rosling and his co-authors find. “So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess teachers, journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers.”
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Good news from my corner of the world
Portland area nonprofits turn potential food waste from storm into meals for those in need
From Oregon Public Broadcasting:
During this week’s ice storm, Michael Casper’s food redistribution nonprofit got a call from a shop in Northwest Portland that had nearly 30 pounds of extra bagels. “It was unfit for us to drive in Northwest,” Casper, founder and co-director at Milk Crate Kitchen, said, “but we knew somebody in the Northwest corridor that could walk over there and pick them up.” Instead of going to waste, the bagels made their way to people sheltering from the harsh weather at the nonprofit community center Friendly House.
When weather emergencies like this week’s ice storm hit, it strains resources across the region. Dangerous travel conditions and power outages force restaurant and grocery store closures, putting massive amounts of food at jeopardy of going to waste.
That’s where nonprofits like Milk Crate Kitchen — which, in a normal week, uses mostly salvaged food to prepare and deliver 300 free gourmet meals to doorsteps — step in. A network of food redistribution nonprofits across the city has been working through icy conditions this week to salvage food from closed businesses and turn it into meals. And if one organization is unable to access an area, another nonprofit may be able to fill in the gap. ✂️
On Wednesday afternoon, Casper from Milk Crate Kitchen prepared more than 100 meals at the facility they rent in central Portland. He then used his trusty Subaru to navigate ice coated roads and deliver the meals to the Clackamas Community College emergency shelter in Oregon City.
“They went above and beyond,” [Stephanie] Coleman [at the Clackamas shelter] said. “They put in more meals because they said, ‘we’re not sure if you accounted for staff, so we put more meals in there so everyone could participate and have hot food.’ The guests were just so appreciative — being in a shelter condition like that, and having just a hot wonderful meal, it really lifts a lot of people’s spirits.”
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Good news from around the nation
Famed Climatologist Michael Mann Finally Faces His Detractors in Court
From Alex Jones to these RW climate deniers, pushers of RW disinformation are increasingly being dragged into court and made to pay for their outrageous lies. It’s about time!
From Mother Jones:
A lawsuit first instituted over 10 years ago, brought by an esteemed climate scientist over alleged defamation by a rightwing blogger and an analyst, went to trial this week.
The 2012 court case was brought by the University of Pennsylvania earth and environmental scientist Michael Mann, who is alleging that online attacks on his work amount to defamation.
The litigation targets two writers: Rand Simberg, analyst at the rightwing thinktank Competitive Enterprise Institute, who published a piece comparing Mann to a convicted serial child molester, and the National Review blogger Mark Steyn, who in a blog post favorably quoted Simberg and called Mann’s research “fraudulent.” (Mann originally went after both publishers as well, but in 2021 a court ruled that neither the Competitive Enterprise Institute nor National Review could be held responsible for the attacks.) ✂️
The attacks on Mann came as part of a wider campaign against him by a network of climate skeptics connected to the fossil fuel billionaire Charles Koch, experts have said. ✂️
Opening statements in the case began on Thursday and were livestreamed, with the trial scheduled to run through at least February 6, and its completion to be decided by a jury verdict.
Transgender candidate facing disqualification in Ohio now cleared to run despite omitting deadname
Good news for the trans community in Ohio.
From AP:
A transgender candidate vying for a seat in the Republican-majority Ohio House was cleared to run Thursday after her certification had been called into question for omitting her former name on qualifying petitions as required by a little-used state elections law.
The Mercer County Board of Elections chose not take up a vote on disqualifying Arienne Childrey, a Democrat from Auglaize County who is one of four transgender individuals campaigning for the Legislature, for not disclosing her previous name on petition paperwork.
Childrey, who legally changed her name in 2020, has said she would have provided her deadname — the name a transgender person was assigned at birth but does not align with their gender identity — if she had known about the law.
$100M will be left for Native Hawaiian causes from the estate of an heiress considered last princess
It’s heartwarming to see the heir to an ill-gotten fortune leave it to help the people whose lives and happiness were sacrificed for that fortune.
From AP:
In life, Abigail Kawānanakoa embodied the complexities of Hawaii: Many considered her a princess — a descendant of the royal family that once ruled the islands.
But she was also the great-granddaughter of a sugar baron and inherited vast wealth thanks to Westerners who upended traditional ways of life through the introduction of private property and the diversion of water for industrial plantations.
Now, more than a year after her death at age 96 and the bitter battles over her fortune in the twilight of her life, her estate has been settled. And recently finalized court documents show that after doling out tens of millions to various people — including former housekeepers, other longtime employees and her wife — there will be at least $100 million left to support Native Hawaiian causes.
Kawānanakoa cared deeply about advancing Hawaiian culture, and resolving her estate is meaningful to Hawaiians because it is the last of what’s known as “alii,” or royal, trusts, which were set up by royalty to benefit Native Hawaiians, said Dr. Naleen Naupaka Andrade, executive vice president of Native Hawaiian health for The Queen’s Health System. The health system was created from a trust established by Queen Emma in 1859.
“Quite frankly, the needs of Hawaiians in education, in social welfare, in housing, in health far exceed the capacity of these trusts,” she said. “They augment what federal and state dollars should be doing for Hawaii’s Indigenous peoples.” Many have been watching where the money ends up because of concerns about the fate of the foundation Kawānanakoa set up to benefit Hawaiians. Kawānanakoa’s trust will perpetuate Native Hawaiian culture and language, Andrade said.
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Good news from around the world
The EU approved a landmark greenwashing law
I hope the U.S. gets legislation like this sometime soon.
From Positive News:
Eco buzzwords are routinely used to sell products whose green credentials don’t stack up – but not for much longer in the EU.
This week, the bloc approved a law to tackle greenwashing, due to come into force within two years. The directive will prohibit manufacturers from using eco buzzwords unless the product is truly greener than conventional ones.
Research suggests that 76% of the products in the EU carry a green claim, but more than half of these are vague, misleading or unfounded.
“This law cuts through the smoke of misleading green marketing, putting a leash on shady claims and boosting the credibility of sustainability labels,” said Miriam Thiemann, campaigner at the European Environmental Bureau.
The law will also ensure people have better access to information about the durability and reparability of products before buying them. “We still need stronger rules to make durable, repairable products the norm,” added Thiemann.
UK announces groundbreaking ‘Flee Funds’ scheme for domestic abuse survivors
This is an excellent idea that should be spread everywhere.
From The Optimist Daily:
The UK Home Office is taking a significant step forward in the fight against domestic abuse by launching a £2 million (just over $2.5 million) program this month. The initiative, which aims to provide financial support to survivors of domestic abuse in England and Wales, is a light of hope for people who are trapped in violent situations due to financial restraints.
Building on the success of a pilot plan last year, which provided 600 victims with critical funding, the new initiative aims to expand what are now known as “flee funds.” Survivors will each receive a monetary reward of £2,500 (around $3,200), meeting a critical need for people who face financial difficulties in leaving abusive environments. ✂️
The project, which is delivered by Women’s Aid groups, goes beyond providing immediate aid. In addition to the £2,500 cash award, survivors will get an additional £2,500 to help with rental deposits or bills, recognizing the complex hurdles they confront in rebuilding their lives. ✂️
The frightening numbers of 2.1 million victims of domestic violence in the year leading up to March 2023 highlight the critical need for such programs. The rising cost of living has been cited as a significant cause...
Shaping tomorrow: Greece’s progress toward same-sex marriage equality
This is impressive progress in a country whose culture is very much influenced by the conservative Eastern Orthodox Church. And it’s encouraging that the change is being driven by a center-right government.
From The Optimist Daily:
In a historic move, Greece’s center-right government, led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, is poised to legalize same-sex civil marriage and adoption. Crucially, this progressive plan has received backing from the left-wing opposition, indicating a historic alliance.
Stefanos Kasselakis, the openly gay leader of the radical left party Syriza, expresses both optimism and criticism, promising his MPs to back the idea while pointing out its flaws. “This proposal contains some positive elements,” says Kasselakis, emphasizing the legislation’s multifaceted nature. ...Kasselakis expresses concern about the legislation’s limitations on parental rights. Although the plan offers full parental rights to existing same-sex couples with children, it does not expand the opportunity to have children through surrogacy in the future. ...
The prominent Orthodox Church’s opposition, which warns of potential societal implications, poses a big hurdle. The Church thinks that legalizing same-sex marriage could pave the way for gay families to gain parental rights. Mitsotakis answers assertively, highlighting the state’s legislative authority. “It is the state that legislates,” Mitsotakis said in an interview..., supporting the government’s commitment to equality.
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Good news in medicine
Lifesaving new vaccine could mean the end of breast cancer, study finds
This is very exciting news!
BTW, this is the first time I’ve seen this site. It looks like a promising source of good news.
From The Brighter Side of News:
Breast cancer remains a formidable adversary, affecting countless lives each year… .However, amidst this gloomy landscape, a glimmer of hope emerges in the form of a groundbreaking vaccine that has the potential to significantly reduce a woman's risk of developing breast cancer - a development that could one day eliminate this deadly disease altogether.
The remarkable vaccine, targeting the most aggressive form of breast cancer known as triple-negative breast cancer, has been in the making for decades, thanks to tireless research efforts at the renowned Cleveland Clinic and the innovative work of Anixa Biosciences in San Jose, California. Dr. Amit Kumar, CEO of Anixa, expressed the vaccine's potential impact succinctly, saying, "This vaccine could potentially eliminate breast cancer."
The vaccine's preliminary findings from its initial trial, involving 16 courageous women, were published recently. ...participants [reported] no adverse side effects and, more importantly, no recurrence of their cancer thus far. ✂️
[Because the immune system has a hard time distinguishing cancer cells from healthy cells,] the vaccine targets a lactation protein called α-lactalbumin, which is present in most triple-negative breast cancer patients but absent in normal, aging tissues after lactation. If breast cancer does develop, the vaccine instructs the immune system to attack the tumor and prevent its growth entirely. The results, according to Dr. Kumar, are "incredibly promising." ✂️
The next phase of the vaccine's development is set to begin in 2024, involving a significantly larger cohort of 600 women, compared to the initial trial's 16 participants. Half of these women will receive the vaccine, while the other half will receive a placebo. With the hope of obtaining FDA approval within five years, the researchers aspire to bring this promising vaccine one step closer to the public, potentially heralding a future free from the scourge of breast cancer.
Scientists may have the key to treating tinnitus: Retrain the brain
Although the inital results from this treatment aren’t entirely convincing, it’s an encouraging step forward in the research to cure this stubborn and misery-inducing condition.
From The Washington Post (gift link):
Millions of people have tinnitus, a bothersome condition that causes ringing or other noises in their ears. There is no known cure. But a new treatment is reducing symptoms in many patients.
To understand how it works, let’s start with how healthy ears hear a note on the piano. Sound waves from the piano enter our ears and vibrate our eardrums. These vibrations turn into electrical signals that travel through the auditory pathway in the brain. In the brain, those electrical signals turn into the sound you hear.
If you have tinnitus, researchers believe cells in the auditory pathway become hyperactive. This causes your brain to perceive a persistent sound that doesn’t exist.
A new treatment approach for tinnitus is called bimodal neuromodulation, which targets the brain by stimulating two sensory systems. In a device called Lenire, patients wear headphones and a mouth device every day for an hour for at least six weeks. The headphones play sounds across a range of frequencies, such as high-pitched and low-pitched tones, along with background noise. The mouth device delivers mild electrical pulses to the tongue. Scientists believe this combination helps the brain pay more attention to the tones on the headphones. Meanwhile, the brain pays less attention to the tinnitus sound. With repeat treatments, scientists think this shift in brain attention can help quiet the brain activity that causes tinnitus. Many patients report their tinnitus is no longer as bothersome. ✂️
James Henry, a clinical researcher in the Portland, Ore., area who has studied tinnitus for over 30 years, called the research “compelling,” although he cautioned that explanations for why these treatments seem to work are still theoretical. “We cannot rule out the placebo effect behind any of these methods,” he said.
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Good news in science
Ultrafast laser pulses could lessen data storage energy needs
I confess this subject is over my head, but this looks like promising news. Maybe one of our science-savvy Gnusies can make it a little clearer.
From Phys.org:
A discovery from an experiment with magnets and lasers could be a boon to energy-efficient data storage. … Domains are areas within a magnet that flip from north to south poles. This property is used for data storage, for example in computer hard drives.
[Rahul] Jangid and his colleagues found that when a magnet is hit with a pulsed laser, the domain walls in the ferromagnetic layers move at a speed of approximately 66 km/s, which is about 100 times faster than the speed limit previously thought. Domain walls moving at this speed could drastically affect the way data is stored and processed, offering a means of faster, more stable memory and reducing energy consumption in spintronic devices such as hard disk drives that use the spin of electrons within magnetic metallic multilayers to store, process or transmit information.✂️
While most personal devices like laptops and cell phones use faster flash drives, data centers use cheaper, slower hard disk drives. However, each time a bit of information is processed, or flipped, the drive uses a magnetic field to conduct heat through a coil of wire, burning a lot of energy. If a drive could instead use laser pulses on the magnetic layers, the device would operate at a lower voltage and bit flips would take significantly less energy to process.
Astronomers Discover Blockbuster Star They Nicknamed Barbenheimer Because ‘We’ve Never Seen Anything Like This’
A fascinating astronomical mystery!
From Good News Network:
Astronomers have discovered an enormous celestial entity so unusual they named it ‘the Barbenheimer Star’ … The team from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) uncovered evidence of a ‘blockbuster’ ancient star that exploded in a way previously thought impossible. The explosion resulted in an unusual pattern of elemental ashes that left behind a trail of evidence still visible billions of years later. ✂️
Stars are mostly made of hydrogen and helium, but they also incorporate some of the heavier elements, which were created in previous generations of stars and released into the universe in supernova explosions. … When [lead author Alex] Ji and colleagues first viewed the followup spectrum of [the star], they were amazed. ✂️
Several things made the star different from other stars: low abundances of elements with odd numbers on the periodic table like sodium and aluminum; a large amount of elements close to iron in the periodic table like nickel and zinc; and an overabundance of heavier elements like strontium and palladium.“We sometimes see one of these features at a time, but we’ve never before seen all of them in the same star,” says Jennifer Johnson of the Ohio State University, another member of the stellar archaeology team. ✂️
Whatever the Barbenheimer Star was, it must have been a blockbuster—at least 50 to 80 times the mass of our Sun. In fact, that ancient supernova must have been so massive that astronomers are surprised it could happen at all. Previous theories predicted that such big stars should collapse straight into black holes, without creating a supernova first. As surprising as it is to learn that such a massive star could go supernova, even that doesn’t explain the full picture.
“Amazingly, no existing model of element formation can explain what we see,” says Sanjana Curtis of the University of California, Berkeley, co-lead of the published study. “It’s not just, ‘oh, you can tweak something here and there and it’ll work out – the whole pattern of elements seems almost self-contradictory.”
Wearable Airbags Deploy in Milliseconds To Protect the Elderly From Falls
An intriguing idea that could wind up making a big difference for elderly people and anyone at high risk for fracture. We could have used some of these jackets and belts during Portland’s ice storm!
From My Modern Met:
A fall can be dangerous at any age, but the peril of a tumble increases with age. Hoping to reduce the harm they can do, Suzhou Yidaibao Intelligent Technology Co., a Chinese startup, has developed a uniquely helpful gadget. Drawing from the same principles of car airbags, their inflatable vests and belts are designed to protect seniors when they fall. ✂️
The company...designed a vest that can protect the head, shoulders, back, and hips. On top of getting the right kind of materials, they worked on an algorithm that predicts whether a sudden movement will result in a fall, promising to deploy the airbags within milliseconds for active protection of the wearer before the ground is reached.
The system continues to be upgraded, as acting on such a short time is a challenge. ✂️
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Good news for the environment
An ‘historic’ ocean treaty took a step forward
Now all the rest of the signatory nations need to ratify. One more reason to re-elect Biden.
From Positive News:
A global agreement to protect a third of the world’s oceans was hailed as “historic” last September, when 84 nations signed up.
Now Chile – a major advocate of the agreement – is set to become the first country to ratify it, after politicians agreed to do so this week. It piles pressure on other nations to make good on their promises.
Dr Laura Meller, who leads Greenpeace’s Protect the Oceans campaign, said: “We hope more countries will be inspired by Chile’s rapid ratification and follow their lead to bring the treaty to life, so the real work to protect the oceans can start.”
Dirt-powered fuel cell runs forever
Click the link to read in detail how this innovative fuel cell works.
From Northwestern Now:
A Northwestern University-led team of researchers has developed a new fuel cell that harvests energy from microbes living in dirt.
About the size of a standard paperback book, the completely soil-powered technology could fuel underground sensors used in precision agriculture and green infrastructure. This potentially could offer a sustainable, renewable alternative to batteries, which hold toxic, flammable chemicals that leach into the ground, are fraught with conflict-filled supply chains and contribute to the ever-growing problem of electronic waste.
To test the new fuel cell, the researchers used it to power sensors measuring soil moisture and detecting touch, a capability that could be valuable for tracking passing animals. To enable wireless communications, the researchers also equipped the soil-powered sensor with a tiny antenna to transmit data to a neighboring base station by reflecting existing radio frequency signals.
Not only did the fuel cell work in both wet and dry conditions, but its power also outlasted similar technologies by 120%.✂️
[According to Bill Yen, who led the work,] “We need to find alternatives that can provide low amounts of energy to power a decentralized network of devices. In a search for solutions, we looked to soil microbial fuel cells, which use special microbes to break down soil and use that low amount of energy to power sensors. As long as there is organic carbon in the soil for the microbes to break down, the fuel cell can potentially last forever.”
Fire-Scarred Redwoods Are Rebounding by Sprouting 1000-Year-Old Buds
How wonderful to see new life in these magnificent trees!
From My Modern Met:
In August of 2020, a horrific fire swept through California's Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Ignited by lightening, the fire was unprecedented in the scale of damage it wreaked on the ancient trees. It left behind enormous charred trunks in what had once been a lush forest. Concerned scientists thought it might be the end of these trees as we knew them. But upon returning to the scene months later, researchers discovered the bereft trees had used long-stored energy to grow buds long hidden within their bark. These green sprouts demonstrate the resilience of the redwood trees.
The research was recently published in Nature Plants, and it has surprised many experienced scientists. When the redwoods lost their greenery to the fire's abnormally tall flames, they lost their source of energy. The trees collect sunlight to photosynthesize into sugars and carbohydrates which in turn are used to help the plant grow, or are stored for future exertion. Melissa Enright of the U.S. Forest Service, one of the paper authors, decided to wrap 60 burnt tree trunks in black plastic to prevent them from using new light. This caused the trees to turn toward their inner reserves.
With time, green sprouts emerged from the bark, although still petite compared to the leaves and branches lost in the fire. Radiocarbon testing showed that these sprouts grew from energy that was created and stored within the tree up to 21 years prior to the fire. The energy was used by buds hiding within the trees. Scientists know these buds begin to form within the tree as it grows, and can lay dormant for ages. The sprouts which burst forth after the fire may be up to 1,000 years old, given coastal redwoods themselves can live over two millennia.
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Good news for and about animals
Brought to you by Rosy, Rascal, and the spirit of lovely Nora.
7 national parks where your dog can fetch a B.A.R.K. Ranger badge
Rosy says, “Sign me up!!”
To learn more details about B.A.R.K., check out this link: B.A.R.K. Rangers.
From The Washington Post (gift link):
For national parks enthusiasts, the joy of bringing a dog along for a hike or history tour is a significant part of the experience. However, in recent years, some at the National Park Service saw that visitors weren’t always matching their admiration for these protected places with responsible canine behavior. Furry companions were disrupting wildlife and disturbing plants, and pet waste was becoming a growing problem. … Rather than allowing these sites to go to the dogs, the NPS devised a canine-friendly solution in 2015: the B.A.R.K. Rangers program.
This lesser-known initiative, available at roughly 50 sites, provides dogs with the opportunity to become more considerate NPS guests by following four straightforward steps represented by the B.A.R.K. acronym:
- Bag your pet’s waste.
- Always leash your pet (no longer than six feet).
- Respect wildlife.
- Know where you can go.
Upon successful completion of the challenge, a pup can attain the esteemed title of B.A.R.K. Ranger and receive rewards such as a bandanna or a coveted ranger badge. (Service dogs are welcome to join in, too, though their parameters may be different as they are legally permitted anywhere that visitors can go.)
Girl Hatches a Quail From a Supermarket Egg And Now Has a Devoted Pet
Rascal and I are both amazed that it’s possible to incubate a supermarket egg! And we love Pebbles!!
From Good News Network:
A 13-year-old girl hatched a quail from a supermarket egg—and now hopes the bird might start its own family. Zara Sutcliffe calls the affectionate fowl her “best friend” after she reared him from an egg purchased at the local grocery store in England.
For months she had begged her mother to try an incredible project she heard about online about how a shopper had managed the same feat with a duck egg. Mrs. Sutcliffe eventually relented and bought her a box of Clarence Court quail eggs, even though her husband had insisted the family ‘couldn’t have any more animals’. ✂️
After three weeks of warming and nurturing the egg, Zara hatched “Pebbles” at her suburban home outside of Manchester, and began raising him in her bedroom. … [Zara’s mother reports that] “When she goes to the cage, Pebbles lifts his bum up in the air—that’s what they do when they’re excited. And he gets giddy and runs up and down.”
Last week, the family went a step further and bought a “harem” of six new female quails so that Pebbles could start living among his own kind—and maybe even have some chicks of his own.
“Pebbles is a life that never should have been,” Zara said, “and he might end up making life.”
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