Science – Page 25

Fungi may not think, but they can communicate

Biology, food, fungi, networks, nutrients, Science / Mike M. / November 2, 2024

Because the soil layer was so thin, most hyphae, which usually grow and spread underground by releasing spores, were easily seen, giving the researchers an opportunity to observe where connections were being made in the mycelium. Early hyphal coverage was not too different between the X and circle formations. Later, each showed a strong hyphal network, which makes up the mycelium, but there were differences between them.

While the hyphal network was pretty evenly distributed around the circle, there were differences between the inner and outer blocks in the X arrangement. Levels of decay activity were determined by weighing the blocks before and after the incubation period, and decay was pretty even throughout the circle, but especially evident on the four outermost blocks of the X. The researchers suggest that there were more hyphal connections on those blocks for a reason.

“The outermost four blocks, which had a greater degree of connection, may have served as “outposts” for foraging and absorbing water and nutrients from the soil, facilitated by their greater hyphal connections,” they said in the same study.

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Fungal mycelium experiences what’s called acropetal growth, meaning it grows outward in all directions from the center. Consistent with this, the hyphae started out growing outward from each block. But over time, the hyphae shifted to growing in the direction that would get them the most nutrients.

Why did it change? Here is where the team thinks communication comes in. Previous studies found electrical signals are transmitted through hyphae. These signals sync up after the hyphae connect into one huge mycelium, much like the signals transmitted among neurons in organisms with brains. Materials such as nutrients are also transferred throughout the network.

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As North Korean troops march toward Ukraine, does a Russian quid pro quo reach space?

ICBM, military space, North Korea, russia, Science, Security, Space, Ukraine / Beth Washington / November 2, 2024

Earlier this week, North Korea apparently completed a successful test of its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile, lofting it nearly 4,800 miles into space before the projectile fell back to Earth.

This solid-fueled, multi-stage missile, named the Hwasong-19, is a new tool in North Korea’s increasingly sophisticated arsenal of weapons. It has enough range—perhaps as much as 9,320 miles (15,000 kilometers), according to Japan’s government—to strike targets anywhere in the United States.

The test flight of the Hwasong-19 on Thursday was North Korea’s first test of a long-range missile in nearly a year, coming as North Korea deploys some 10,000 troops inside Russia just days before the US presidential election. US officials condemned the missile launch as a “provocative and destabilizing” action in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

The budding partnership between Russia and North Korea has evolved for several years. Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on multiple occasions, most recently in Pyongyang in June. Last September, the North Korean dictator visited Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia’s newest launch base, where the leaders inspected hardware for Russia’s Angara rocket.

In this photo distributed by North Korean state media, a Hwasong-19 missile fires out of a launch tube somewhere in North Korea on October 31, 2024. Credit: KCNA

The visit to Vostochny fueled speculation that Russia might provide missile and space technology to North Korea in exchange for Kim’s assistance in the fight against Ukraine. This week, South Korea’s defense minister said his government has identified several areas where North Korea likely seeks help from Russia.

“In exchange for their deployment, North Korea is very likely to ask for technology transfers in diverse areas, including the technologies relating to tactical nuclear weapons technologies related to their advancement of ICBMs, also those regarding reconnaissance satellites and those regarding SSBNs [ballistic missile submarines] as well,” said Kim Yong-hyun, South Korea’s top military official, on a visit to Washington.

As North Korean troops march toward Ukraine, does a Russian quid pro quo reach space? Read More »

What is happening with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft?

Boeing, Science, Space, starliner / Shannon Garcia / November 2, 2024

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft safely landed empty in the New Mexico desert about eight weeks ago, marking a hollow end to the company’s historic first human spaceflight. The vehicle’s passengers during its upward flight to the International Space Station earlier this summer, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, remain in space, awaiting a ride home on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.

Boeing has been steadfastly silent about the fate of Starliner since then. Two senior officials, including Boeing’s leader of human spaceflight, John Shannon, were originally due to attend a post-landing news conference at Johnson Space Center in Houston. However, just minutes before the news conference was to begin, two seats were removed—the Boeing officials were no-shows.

In lieu of speaking publicly, Boeing issued a terse statement early on the morning of September 8, attributing it to Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of Boeing’s commercial crew program. “We will review the data and determine the next steps for the program,” Nappi said, in part.

And since then? Nothing. Requests for comment from Boeing have gone unanswered. The simple explanation is that the storied aviation company, which has a new chief executive named Kelly Ortberg, remains in the midst of evaluating Boeing’s various lines of business.

Figuring out what to do with Starliner

“There are probably some things on the fringe there that we can be more efficient with, or that just distract us from our main goal here. So, more to come on that,” Ortberg said during his first quarterly earnings call last week. “I don’t have a specific list of things that we’re going to keep and we’re not going to keep. That’s something for us to evaluate, and the process is underway.”

Also last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Boeing is considering putting some of its space businesses, including Starliner, up for sale. This suggests that if Boeing can get a return on its investment in Starliner, it probably would be inclined to take the money. To date, the company has reported losses of $1.85 billion on Starliner. As a result, Boeing has told NASA it will no longer bid on fixed-price space contracts in the future.

What is happening with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft? Read More »

Rocket Report: New Glenn shows out; ULA acknowledges some fairing issues

rocket report, Science, Space / Kelly Newman / November 2, 2024

“We have integrated some corrective actions and additional inspections.”

New Glenn arrives at Launch Complex 36 in Florida. Credit: Blue Origin

Welcome to Edition 7.18 of the Rocket Report! One of the most intriguing bits of news this week is the rolling of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket out to its launch complex in Florida. With two months remaining in 2024, will the company make owner Jeff Bezos’ deadline for getting to orbit this year? We’ll have to see, as the Rocket Report is not prepared to endorse any timelines at the moment.

As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don’t want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

ESA selects four companies for reusable launch. The European Space Agency announced this week the selection of Rocket Factory Augsburg, The Exploration Company, ArianeGroup, and Isar Aerospace to develop reusable rocket technology, European Spaceflight reports. The four awardees are divided into two initiatives focused on the development of reusable rocket technology: the Technologies for High-thrust Reusable Space Transportation (THRUST!) project and the Boosters for European Space Transportation (BEST!) project. The awarded companies will now begin contract negotiations with ESA to further develop and test their solutions.

The best thrust anywhere … The THRUST! initiative aims to push forward the development of European liquid propulsion systems, and Rocket Factory Augsburg and The Exploration were selected to develop projects under this initiative. The BEST! project was launched to stimulate the development of future reusable rocket first stages or boosters, and ArianeGroup and Isar Aerospace were chosen for this. Europe has a number of initiatives now aimed at developing a reusable rocket, but it seems doubtful that a European rocket will launch into orbit in the 2020s and successfully return to Earth. (submitted by Ken the Bin)

UK startup pursues fully reusable rocket. Astron Systems intends to develop a fully reusable two-stage rocket to transport about 360 kilograms to low-Earth orbit, Space News reports. Founded in 2021 and located at the Harwell Science Campus in England, Astron is one of 12 startups in the fall 2024 class of the TechStars Space Accelerator. “We have a vision for the future in-orbit economy being this big thriving thing,” Astron co-founder Eddie Brown said. “Small satellites are the beating heart of the in-orbit economy today. There are a lot of customers that are crying out for better launch solutions.”

But they have a ways to go … The company seeks to build a methane-liquid oxygen rocket, but clearly it is starting small. Astron Systems has raised more than $600,000 to date, including private investment, grants from Innovate UK and ESA, and backing from Techstars Space. The company’s initial work is with pump technology and a torch igniter. The company’s optimistic forecast calls for a test launch in late 2027. We’ll pencil that date in rather than putting it down in ink, if that’s OK. (submitted by Ken the Bin)

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Avio to build rocket motors for US military. Arlington-headquartered Avio USA was incorporated in April 2022. At the time, Italy-based Avio stated that the wholly owned subsidiary would be used to “explore business opportunities in the US market.” By 2023, the company revealed that it had identified “a significant production capacity gap relative to the substantial acceleration in demand requirements” in the area of tactical propulsion. This week the Italian rocket maker said it had begun design work on its first US-based solid rocket motor production facility, European Spaceflight reports.

Demand is rising … Avio USA is evaluating a number of possible locations in multiple US states for the several-hundred-acre production facility. A decision on the location of the facility is expected in the first half of 2025. “We are seeing significant demand for our capabilities from our current customers in multiple product lines, and this facility will be critical in creating our production capacity so we can meet the needs of our current and future customers as an independent supplier,” said Avio USA CEO James Syring. Avio will join several US startups in a hurry to ramp up solid rocket motors for missiles as the conflict in Ukraine continues. In the immortal words of Megadeth: Peace Sells … but Who’s Buying? (submitted by Ken the Bin)

ULA assessing fairing issues. A little more than a year ago, a snippet of video that wasn’t supposed to go public made its way onto United Launch Alliance’s live broadcast of an Atlas V rocket launch carrying three classified surveillance satellites for the US Space Force and the National Reconnaissance Office. The public saw video of the clamshell-like payload fairing falling away from the Atlas V rocket as it fired downrange from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on September 10, 2023. It wasn’t pretty. Numerous chunks of material, possibly insulation from the inner wall of the payload shroud’s two shells, fell off the fairing, Ars reports.

Issue still being looked at … We have heard murmurings about fairing issues on the Atlas V for a while now, but United Launch Alliance and Space Force officials have been tight-lipped. More than a year later, however, the company acknowledges it is still investigating the issue. A ULA spokesperson said the company continues to review data related to the fairing debris and will share information upon completion of the investigation. “We are working very closely with our customers and suppliers on the observations in advance of future launches to improve our capabilities,” the spokesperson said. “We have integrated some corrective actions and additional inspections of the hardware.” Payload fairing debris could pose a risk to sensitive components on the spacecraft that the shroud is supposed to protect.

China launches next space station crew. A Long March 2F rocket topped with the Shenzhou 19 crew spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Tuesday carrying a crew of three Chinese astronauts, Space.com reports. Aboard were commander Cai Xuzhe, 48, who was a member of the Shenzhou 14 mission, and rookie astronauts Song Lingdong, 34, a former air force pilot, and Wang Haoze, also 34, a spaceflight engineer. About six hours after the launch, the Shenzhou 19 spacecraft docked with the Tiangong space station.

Keeping the station on track … The astronaut trio is set to spend six months in orbit aboard Tiangong, conducting various experiments and embarking on several extravehicular activities, or spacewalks. Shenzhou 19 is the 33rd spaceflight mission under China’s human spaceflight program. These missions include uncrewed test flights, crewed missions, launching Tiangong modules and smaller space lab precursor missions, next-generation crew spacecraft test flights, and Tianzhou cargo and refueling missions. China intends to keep Tiangong, which has about 20 percent of the mass of the International Space Station, flying for at least a decade. (submitted by Ken the Bin)

Firefly’s CEO to work “maniacally” to scale the company. Firefly’s previous CEO was in the job for less than two years before a shock exit in July after reported allegations of an inappropriate employee relationship. Now the company has a new top boss, Jason Kim, who left his job as chief executive of satellite-making subsidiary Millennium for Firefly. “I’m thrilled to be here,” Kim told CNBC in an interview. “I’m going to work maniacally to support this team so that we can achieve all of our visionary ideas.”

It starts with the engines … Kim is looking to fly more Alpha rockets and bring the Medium Launch Vehicle (MLV) online in 2026. Kim sees Firefly as having a key advantage—”an engine that works”—in its Reaver engines that power the Alpha rockets. And for MLV, Kim said Firefly took that “great engine technology” and “scaled it up to become Miranda, so you’re not starting from scratch” with a new engine. “We’re making huge strides on MLV,” Kim added. “We’ve had 50 Miranda engine tests already.” Although Alpha may not be reusable, the company has purposely designed the MLV for reusability. “We’re closer to how SpaceX tackled [rocket reuse],” Kim said. (submitted by Ken the Bin)

US Senator wants FAA to move faster. The Federal Aviation Administration must make “immediate changes” to the regulatory framework governing launch and re-entry, according to Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), a senior authorizer and appropriator who oversees the space sector, Payload reports. “Across the commercial space industry, concerns are abundant in every stage of FAA’s Office of Space Transportation of both its formal licensing process and its information pre-application review,” Moran wrote in a letter to FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker.

More funding may help … Referencing possible delays with NASA’s Artemis program, Moran called on the FAA to rapidly increase transparency and accountability, saying that America’s leadership in space depends on faster action. “It is irrational to think it often takes more time to complete licensing evaluations than actual rocket development and testing,” Moran wrote. The chief of the FAA’s space division, Kelvin Coleman, has previously said Congress could fix the issues with more funding. The FAA’s Office of Space Transportation has an annual budget of $42 million.

Europe moves to address geo-return concerns in launch. In its most basic form, the European Space Agency’s geo-return policy ensures that companies in member states receive contracts proportional to their country’s financial contributions to ESA. While the policy does foster greater contributions to the agency, it can also add complexity to programs, requiring supply chains to be spread across multiple European countries. For commercial launch companies, this is almost certain to add cost to a public-private partnership with ESA.

No constraints … Now, European Spaceflight reports, ESA seeks to exempt a commercial launch competition from this geo-return policy. The program aims to incentivize the development of a diversified European commercial launch services market. ESA Director of Space Transportation Toni Tolker-Nielsen said, “There will be no constraints on geo-return in this request for proposals.” This would seem to be a positive step forward for private launch companies in Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, France, and elsewhere. (submitted by Ken the Bin)

What are the next steps for Starship? In a feature, Ars explores the roadmap for SpaceX and the Starship rocket over the next three to five years and the path toward landing NASA astronauts on the Moon. The capture of a Super Heavy booster on October 13 at the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas brings the company closer to such a higher flight rate. SpaceX proved its titanic booster does not need cumbersome landing legs and can eliminate days of processing time otherwise needed to move a landed rocket back to the launch site. Less mass and shorter turnarounds are huge wins for Starship.

A long road ahead … Among the key milestones are: an in-flight relight of a Raptor engine, returning a Starship upper stage to land, reflying a Super Heavy booster, performing one or more in-flight refueling demonstrations, flying a long-duration mission around the Moon (probably 100 days or longer), landing an uncrewed version of Starship on the Moon, and, finally, landing humans as part of the Artemis program. If all goes well, it should be possible for NASA to fulfill the initial promise of the Artemis program and land two astronauts on the surface of the Moon in 2028. This is two years later than NASA’s current goal of September 2026 but would still represent a herculean task by SpaceX and the space agency. If there are significant setbacks, such as failed tower catches or mishaps during fueling in space, the program will doubtlessly face more delays.

New Glenn first stage rolls to the launch site. Blue Origin took another significant step toward the launch of its large New Glenn rocket on Tuesday night by rolling the first stage of the vehicle to a launch site at Cape Canaveral, Florida, Ars reports. Moving the rocket to the launch site is a key sign that the first stage is almost ready for its much-anticipated debut. Development of the New Glenn rocket would bring a third commercial heavy-lift rocket into the US market, after SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy and Starship vehicles. It would send another clear signal that the future of rocketry in the United States is commercially driven rather than government-led.

So when New Glenn? … The rocket must still undergo two key milestones: completing a wet dress rehearsal in which the vehicle will be fully fueled and its ground systems tested, followed by a hot-fire test during which the first stage’s seven BE-4 rocket engines will be ignited for several seconds. Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos has been pushing the company hard to launch New Glenn for the first time this year, and the schedule is getting tight. Blue Origin already had to stand down from an October launch attempt and delay the launch of a small Mars-bound payload for NASA called ESCAPADE. Ars estimates the rocket will launch no earlier than early- to mid-December if all goes well.

Next three launches

Nov. 3: Falcon 9 | Starlink 6-77 | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla. | 20: 57 UTC

Nov. 4: H3 | Kirameki 3 | Tanegashima Space Center, Japan | 05: 48 UTC

Nov. 4: Electron | Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes| Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand | 09: 30 UTC

Eric Berger is the senior space editor at Ars Technica, covering everything from astronomy to private space to NASA policy, and author of two books: Liftoff, about the rise of SpaceX; and Reentry, on the development of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon. A certified meteorologist, Eric lives in Houston.

Rocket Report: New Glenn shows out; ULA acknowledges some fairing issues Read More »

Finally, a sign of life for Europe’s sovereign satellite Internet constellation

broadband, Commercial space, European Union, Internet, iris2, Science, Space / Shannon Garcia / November 2, 2024

The estimated 10 billion-plus euro cost of the IRIS² program is nearly double initial projections. European officials also confirmed the sovereign satellite network won’t begin providing services to European government customers until 2030, three years later than the commission’s previous schedule.

Rising costs and negotiations over how much governments and industry will pay for IRIS² have delayed the contract award for months. Earlier this year, press reports indicated the SpaceRISE consortium’s proposal for IRIS² carried a total cost of 12 billion euros. It seems the price has been negotiated down, at least by a small percentage, to around 10 billion.

It’s also worth noting that the EU will this year only commit to funding the IRIS² initiative through the end 0f 2027, when the commission’s seven-year budget framework expires. It’s almost certain the IRIS² program will require more government funding beyond 2027, but the European Commission said it will decide later on additional money, subject to the “availability of the corresponding appropriations.”

In April, a senior official in the German government, the EU’s top contributor, called for the IRIS² program to be restarted. Robert Habeck, Germany’s economy minister, called the proposed 12 billion euro price “exorbitant” and said the entire project was “ill-conceived” in a letter to Thierry Breton, then the EU’s internal market commissioner, according to a report in the Germany newspaper Handelsblatt.

Habeck’s protest obviously did not stop the European Commission from awarding the contract to the SpaceRISE consortium. The 12-year agreement will cover the development, deployment, and operation of at least 290 satellites placed at different orbital altitudes, from low-Earth orbit up to medium-Earth orbit several thousand miles above the planet.

At these higher altitudes, IRIS² can cover the globe with fewer satellites than Starlink, OneWeb, or Amazon Kuiper.

The commission’s press release said the agreement, the largest space contract in EU history, should be signed in December. At that time, “legal and financial commitment from both parties will be taken,” the commission said.

The SpaceRISE consortium includes numerous European satellite and telecom companies, including spacecraft manufacturers Airbus Defence and Space, Thales Alenia Space, and OHB. Telespazio, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Hisdesat, and Thales SIX are also part of the industry group.

These companies are typically competitors in the satellite and telecom markets, as are SES, Eutelsat, and Hispasat, which head up the consortium. Getting all the contractors and subcontractors to play nice with one another will be no small feat.

Finally, a sign of life for Europe’s sovereign satellite Internet constellation Read More »

As hospitals struggle with IV fluid shortage, NC plant restarts production

baxter, drugs, Fluid, health, hospitals, hurricane helene, iV, North Carolina, Science, shortage / Mike M. / November 1, 2024

The western North Carolina plant that makes 60 percent of the country’s intravenous fluid supply has restarted its highest-producing manufacturing line after being ravaged by flooding brought by Hurricane Helene last month.

While it’s an encouraging sign of recovery as hospitals nationwide struggle with shortages of fluids, supply is still likely to remain tight for the coming weeks.

IV fluid maker Baxter Inc, which runs the Marion plant inundated by Helene, said Thursday that the restarted production line could produce, at peak, 25 percent of the plant’s total production and about 50 percent of the plant’s production of one-liter IV solutions, the product most commonly used by hospitals and clinics.

“Recovery progress at our North Cove site continues to be very encouraging,” Baxter CEO and President José Almeida said. “In a matter of weeks, our team has advanced from the depths of Hurricane Helene’s impact to restarting our highest-throughput manufacturing line. This is a pivotal milestone, but more hard work remains as we work to return the plant to full production.”

Overall, Baxter said it is ahead of its previously projected timeline for getting the massive plant back up and running. Previously, the company said it had aimed to produce 90–100 percent of some products by the end of the year. Still, the initial batches now under production are expected to start shipping in late November at the earliest.

One of the many challenges to restoring the facility was the lack of access to the site; Helene had damaged an access bridge. In its latest announcement, Baxter said that a temporary bridge—built with support from North Carolina’s Department of Transportation and the federal Administration of Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR)—has allowed the transport of more than 885 truckloads of existing inventory out of the plant since Helene. A second temporary bridge, expected to be completed in early November, will enable further access of traffic and equipment to the site.

As hospitals struggle with IV fluid shortage, NC plant restarts production Read More »

Bats use echolocation to make mental maps for navigation

bats, Behavioral science, Biology, echolocation, navigation, neurobiology, Science / Mike M. / November 1, 2024

Bat maps

To evaluate the route each bat took to get back to the roost, the team used their simulations to measure the echoic entropy it experienced along the way. The field where the bats were released was a low echoic entropy area, so during those first few minutes when they were flying around they were likely just looking for some more distinct, higher entropy landmarks to figure out where they were. Once they were oriented, they started flying to the roost, but not in a straight line. They meandered a bit, and the groups with higher sensory deprivation tended to meander more.

The meandering, researchers suspect, was due to trouble the bats had with maintaining the steady path relying on echolocation alone. When they were detecting distinctive landmarks like a specific orchard, they corrected the course. Repeating the process eventually brought them to their roost.

But could this be landmark-based navigation? Or perhaps simple beaconing, where an animal locks onto something like a distant light and moves toward it?

The researchers argue in favor of cognitive acoustic maps. “I think if echolocation wasn’t such a limited sensory modality, we couldn’t reach a conclusion about the bats using cognitive acoustic maps,” Goldshtein says. The distance between landmarks the bats used to correct their flight path was significantly longer than echolocation’s sensing range. Yet they knew which direction the roost was relative to one landmark, even when the next landmark on the way was acoustically invisible. You can’t do that without having the area mapped.

“It would be really interesting to understand how other bats do that, to compare between species,” Goldshtein says. There are bats that fly over a thousand meters above the ground, so they simply can’t sense any landmarks using echolocation. Other species hunt over sea, which, as per this team’s simulations, would be just one huge low-entropy area. “We are just starting. That’s why I do not study only navigation but also housing, foraging, and other aspects of their behavior. I think we still don’t know enough about bats in general,” Goldshtein claims.

Science, 2024. DOI: 10.1126/science.adn6269

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ais-show-distinct-bias-against-black-and-female-resumes-in-new-study

AIs show distinct bias against Black and female résumés in new study

AI, Science / Shannon Garcia / November 1, 2024

Anyone familiar with HR practices probably knows of the decades of studies showing that résumé with Black- and/or female-presenting names at the top get fewer callbacks and interviews than those with white- and/or male-presenting names—even if the rest of the résumé is identical. A new study shows those same kinds of biases also show up when large language models are used to evaluate résumés instead of humans.

In a new paper published during last month’s AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics and Society, two University of Washington researchers ran hundreds of publicly available résumés and job descriptions through three different Massive Text Embedding (MTE) models. These models—based on the Mistal-7B LLM—had each been fine-tuned with slightly different sets of data to improve on the base LLM’s abilities in “representational tasks including document retrieval, classification, and clustering,” according to the researchers, and had achieved “state-of-the-art performance” in the MTEB benchmark.

Rather than asking for precise term matches from the job description or evaluating via a prompt (e.g., “does this résumé fit the job description?”), the researchers used the MTEs to generate embedded relevance scores for each résumé and job description pairing. To measure potential bias, the résuméwere first run through the MTEs without any names (to check for reliability) and were then run again with various names that achieved high racial and gender “distinctiveness scores” based on their actual use across groups in the general population. The top 10 percent of résumés that the MTEs judged as most similar for each job description were then analyzed to see if the names for any race or gender groups were chosen at higher or lower rates than expected.

A consistent pattern

Across more than three million résumé and job description comparisons, some pretty clear biases appeared. In all three MTE models, white names were preferred in a full 85.1 percent of the conducted tests, compared to Black names being preferred in just 8.6 percent (the remainder showed score differences close enough to zero to be judged insignificant). When it came to gendered names, the male name was preferred in 51.9 percent of tests, compared to 11.1 percent where the female name was preferred. The results could be even clearer in “intersectional” comparisons involving both race and gender; Black male names were preferred to white male names in “0% of bias tests,” the researchers wrote.

AIs show distinct bias against Black and female résumés in new study Read More »

RFK Jr. claims Trump promised to put him in charge of NIH, CDC, and more

Policy, public health, rfk jr, Science, Trump, vaccines / Mike M. / October 31, 2024

Earlier this week, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. used a Zoom call to tell his supporters that Donald Trump had promised him “control” of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the federal agency that includes the Centers for Disease Control, Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, as well as the Department of Agriculture. Given Kennedy’s support for debunked anti-vaccine nonsense, this represents a potential public health nightmare.

A few days after, Howard Lutnick, a co-chair of Trump’s transition team, appeared on CNN to deny that RFK Jr. would be put in charge of HHS. But he followed that with a long rant in which he echoed Kennedy’s spurious claims about vaccines. This provides yet another indication of how anti-vaccine activism has become deeply enmeshed with Republican politics, to the point where it may be just as bad even if Kennedy isn’t appointed.

Trump as Kennedy’s route to power

Kennedy has a long history of misinformation regarding health, with a special focus on vaccines. This includes the extensively debunked suggestion that there is a correlation between vaccinations and autism incidence, and it extends to a general skepticism about vaccine safety. That’s mixed with conspiracy theories regarding collusion between federal regulators and pharmaceutical companies.

While there is no evidence for any of this, and some of it is clearly wrong, the conspiracies have real-world consequences. An anti-vaccine activist in Samoa, aided by a visit from RFK Jr., helped pave the way for a measles outbreak that shut down the government and ultimately led to over 80 deaths.

Kennedy has long been interested in getting access to the agencies that regulate vaccines and other interests of his, such as food safety, under the assumption they are hiding the data that would vindicate his views. And, long before his recent presidential run, he viewed Trump as the route to that access. Shortly before Trump’s inauguration in 2017, Kennedy claimed that he would be appointed to head a vaccine safety commission that Trump would supposedly create once in office. Nothing ever came of that, and it was never clear whether that was due to Trump lying to him, Kennedy exaggerating his significance, or Trump simply telling him what he wanted to hear at the time and never following up.

RFK Jr. claims Trump promised to put him in charge of NIH, CDC, and more Read More »

Idaho health district abandons COVID shots amid flood of anti-vaccine nonsense

COVID-19, health, idaho, misinformation, Science, Uncategorized, vaccines / Shannon Garcia / October 31, 2024

Slippery slope

In the hearing, board member Jennifer Riebe (who voted to keep COVID-19 vaccinations available) worried about the potential of a slippery slope.

“My concern with this is the process because if this board and six county commissioners and one physician is going to make determinations on every single vaccine and pharmaceutical that we administer, I’m not comfortable with that,” she said, according to Boise State Public Radio. “It may be COVID now, maybe we’ll go down the same road with the measles vaccine or the shingles vaccine coverage.”

Board Chair Kelly Aberasturi, who also voted to keep the vaccines, argued that it should be a choice by individuals and their doctors, who sometimes refer their patients to the district for COVID shots. “So now, you’re telling me that I have the right to override that doctor? Because I know more than he does?” Aberasturi said.

“It has to do with the right of the individual to make that decision on their own. Not for me to dictate to them what they will do. Sorry, but this pisses me off,” he added.

According to Boise State Public Radio, the district had already received 50 COVID-19 vaccines at the time of the vote, which were slated to go to residents of a skilled nursing facility.

The situation in the southwest district may not be surprising given the state’s overall standing on vaccination: Idaho has the lowest kindergarten vaccination rates in the country, with coverage of key vaccinations sitting at around 79 percent to 80 percent, according to a recent analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The coverage is far lower than the 95 percent target set by health experts. That’s the level that would block vaccine-preventable diseases from readily spreading through a population. The target is out of reach for Idaho as a whole, which also has the highest vaccination exemption rate in the country, at 14.3 percent. Even if the state managed to vaccinate all non-exempt children, the coverage rate would only reach 85.7 percent, missing the 95 percent target by nearly 10 percentage points.

Idaho health district abandons COVID shots amid flood of anti-vaccine nonsense Read More »

Slivered onions are likely cause of McDonald’s E. coli outbreak, CDC says

CDC, E. coli, health, infectious diseases, mcdonalds, outbreak, quarter pounder, Science / 9u50fv / October 30, 2024

Slivered onions are the likely source of the multi-state E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers that continues to grow, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday.

Onions were one of two primary suspects when the CDC announced the outbreak on October 22, with the other being the beef patties used on the burgers. But onions quickly became the leading suspect. The day after the CDC’s announcement, McDonald’s onion supplier, Taylor Farms, recalled peeled and diced yellow onion products and several other fast food chains took onions off the menu as a precaution. (No other restaurants have been linked to the outbreak to date.)

According to the CDC, traceback information and epidemiological data collected since then have all pointed to the onions and, according to McDonald’s, state and federal testing of the beef patties has all come back negative.

In the CDC’s update Wednesday, the agency reported that 15 more people were identified as sickened in the outbreak, including five who were hospitalized. In all, that brings the outbreak to 90 cases, including 27 hospitalizations and one death, which collectively span 13 states.

All the newly reported illnesses had onsets prior to the October 23 onion recall. The most recent illness onset was October 16. Additional illnesses may be reported, as it can take three to four weeks to link illnesses to an outbreak.

“Due to the product actions taken by McDonald’s and Taylor Farms, the CDC believes the continued risk to the public is very low,” the agency said in a media alert.

McDonald’s says that Quarter Pounders—without onions—will return to the menus of affected restaurants this week. Prior to the recall, 900 restaurants had received onions from Taylor Farms, including in Colorado, Kansas, and Wyoming, as well as portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Utah.

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Person accidentally poisoned 46 coworkers with toxin-loaded homemade lunch

food poisoning, health, health department, outbreak, Science, staph aureus, toxins / Kelly Newman / October 30, 2024

For some, microwaving fish in the employee lunch room is the ultimate work faux pas. But for one (likely mortified) employee of a seafood distribution plant in Maryland, it’s probably causing a mass poisoning with the homemade noodle dish they brought to share for lunch. The dish sickened 46 employees, spurring their employer to hastily release a statement assuring customers that it wasn’t the company’s food that caused the illnesses.

On October 21, first responders and paramedics arrived at the NAFCO Wholesale Fish Distribution Facility in Jessup, where dozens of employees had abruptly fallen ill about three hours after lunch. Helicopter footage of the event captured images of workers around picnic tables outside the plant, some doubled over and with their heads down.

Ultimately, 46 people were sickened, and at least 26 were treated at an area hospital with symptoms of food poisoning, according to The Baltimore Banner. They all recovered.

“NAFCO maintains the highest standards of food safety and regularly undergoes rigorous inspections by health authorities,” NAFCO said in a written statement. “Its products continue to be safely produced and consumed by customers nationwide, and there are no issues related to its supply chain.”

Enterotoxins

In an update on Tuesday, the Maryland Department of Health announced that testing found that Staphylococcus aureus was the cause of the illnesses. S. aureus is often thought of as a skin bacterium, but the pathogen can spread to food from unwashed hands, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes. In food that isn’t thoroughly cooked or is held at warm temperatures (between 40° F and 140° F) conducive to bacterial growth, the germ can grow and produce toxins.

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