Quartz | Dragonfly drone Quartz ... be used to replace bees that farmers depend on (but which are dying out around the world at an alarming rate) or be used to monitor the health of beehives in a novel way. Cyborg insects could also be used as the next generation of surveillance ... |
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Heavy rains last winter poured billions of gallons of polluted runoff into the ocean, significantly increasing health risks at many Southern California beaches, according to Heal the Bays annual beach report card.
The reassuring news, said Sarah Sikich, the environmental groups vice president, is that if you swim at an open-ocean beach in the summer away from storm drains and creek mouths, you statistically have very little risk of getting ill.
No local beaches received failing marks from April to October 2016, the summer reporting period.
Released Thursday, the annual survey of beaches statewide showed that almost half the 85 beaches that Los Angeles County monitored last year earned F grades during the wet winter.
Report: Almost half of L.A. County beaches receive Fs
High bacteria counts presented a significant health threat to thousands of regular ocean users, who were at risk of contracting such ailments as stomach flu, ear infections, upper respiratory infections and rashes from a morning swim or surf session, the report said.
Heal the Bay, based in Santa Monica, also found that bacterial levels spiked at some of Californias most popular beaches as polluted runoff poured through storm drains and into the sea.
We want people catching waves, not bugs, when they head to the beach, Sikich said.
Southern California accounted for five sites that made Heal the Bays infamous Beach Bummer List, which ranks the 10 most polluted beaches in the state.
Heal the Bays Top 10 Beach Bummers
Source: Heal the Bay
San Clemente Pier, a newcomer to the list, was in the No. 2 spot. Though shark sightings have closed stretches of this beach recently, swimmers might be more worried about bacteria levels.
La Jolla Cove in San Diego, another new addition to the top 10, was in fifth place. This beach sits in an enclosed area with limited water circulation.
The No. 6 slot belongs to Santa Monica Pier, where moist conditions, flocks of birds and storm drain runoff are likely culprits.
Efforts are underway to improve water quality, including the construction of a $1.6-million cistern system to catch runoff during the rainy season.
Mothers Beach in Marina Del Rey is No. 9. Unsafe levels of bacteria have resulted from a lack of water circulation.
Monarch State Beach in Orange County was in 10th place. This bird-heavy stretch of sand north of Salt Creek is adjacent to the five-star Ritz Carlton resort in Dana Point.
In Los Angeles County, Heal the Bay analysts gave grades of A to F to 85 beaches for three testing periods in the 2016-17 report, based on levels of weekly bacterial pollution measured by health agencies.
Overall, about 93% of county beaches received A grades for the summer period, a 4% increase from last years report.
In Orange County, about 95% of 117 monitored beaches received A grades during the summer, while 40 beaches in Ventura County scored a perfect 100% for the seventh consecutive year.
San Diego County scored top marks, with 97% of 75 monitored sites receiving A or B grades during the summer. Wet weather grades declined, however, with only 68% of sites earning A or B grades during rains.
In addition, contaminated runoff from the Tijuana River at the Mexico border resulted in 21 beach closures. Despite encouraging news in dry weather, the report card states that stubborn pockets of chronic pollution still plague several popular beaches in that area.
Heal the Bay officials say that swimming or surfing at a beach with a water quality grade of C or lower greatly increases the risk of contracting respiratory or gastrointestinal illnesses.
They advise the public to avoid enclosed beaches with poor water circulation, wait three days before entering the ocean after rainfall and swim at least 100 yards from piers and storm drains.
On the positive side, four beaches in Los Angeles County made Heal the Bays Honor Roll, which recognizes beaches that score perfect A-plus grades year round. They are El Matador State Beach in Malibu, Malibu Point, Bluff Cove in Palos Verdes Estates and Portuguese Bend in Rancho Palos Verdes.
Orange County earned 14 spots on the Honor Roll, while Ventura had one.
Statewide, Californias overall water quality during summer was excellent.
About 97% of 416 beaches received A or B marks. During the rainy season, only 52% of beaches earned As and Bs.
Heal the Bay advocates reusing storm water runoff for non-potable uses or diverting it into aquifers rather than letting it flow out to sea.
The organization estimates that most of the 100 billion gallons of storm water that drenched the region last winter enough to meet the needs of 2.5 million people could have been captured and reused with the right drainage systems.
We need to rethink how we handle storm water runoff, Sikich said.
Heal the Bay officials also used their news conference for the report, which has become an annual publicity platform, to express concern about the Trump administrations proposal to cut $3 billion from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys annual budget.
Sikich said this possible reduction, about a third of the agencys total budget, would eliminate funding for ocean water monitoring programs in many California counties.
Los Angeles, which pays for its own water quality testing along the coast, would not be affected by the cuts in the EPA budget.
Follow me on Twitter @LADeadline16
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The report card on Californias battle against climate change
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Bummer: Report card says some Southern California beaches might ... - Los Angeles Times
Life for newborn sea turtles is a brutal fight for survival.
Sea turtles hatch from eggs their mothers lay in sand nests they dig on warm beaches. When they all emerge simultaneously, the sand covering the nest looks like its bubbling. So-called turtle boils are cues for predators like foxes and birds to descend onto the beach and lie in wait to snack on on the baby turtles as they make a mad dash to the ocean. Its not clear how many hatchlings get eaten before they make it to the water, but those that do the first years of life mostly hiding and growing because theyre so vulnerable, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Only about one in 1,000 to 10,000 actually make it to adulthood.
Unfortunately, its getting tougher for these little guys to make it out of the nest at all: rising beach temperatures resulting from climate change are killing baby sea turtles before they even hatch.
According to Oceana, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit dedicated to marine conservation, rising sand temperatures have already killed off entire nests on beaches in Florida and Costa Rica. Were seeing more dead eggs, Jeanette Wyneken, a biologist studying sea turtles at the Florida Atlantic University, told Oceana. And when we do get turtles hatching, theyre often heat stressed: They may hatch and crawl to the water, but then die. The strain of surviving at elevated temperatures drains them of the energy their tiny bodies need to travel far enough to start feeding.
Rising temperatures are a threat to these creatures in more ways than one. For sea turtles (and many other reptiles) the temperature of the sand the eggs develop in determines sex (paywall). Typically, sands above 29.5C (85F) produce female turtles and cooler temperatures around 28C (82F) produce males. So as temperatures have warmed, conservation scientists have found that females have begun to outnumber males by nearly four to one in some nesting locations.
Scientists arent sure what makes for a healthy ratio of male to female turtlesthey only recently started studying these numbers in response to climate change. But theoretically, an all-female population would eventually die out because they couldnt reproduce.
The demise of entire turtle nests due to heat, though, would accelerate the die-off of turtle populations Prior research has shown that when sand reaches 35C (95F) (pdf) or hotter, turtles eggs are not able to hatch at all. Its unclear how many unhatched turtles die as a result of each degree warmer their nests are, but the problem is likely to only get worse as global temperatures increase.
Scientists are now desperately trying to devise ways of lowering sand temperatures cooler. Some have tried to manually shade or slosh chilled water over turtle nests to try to cool them down, although it would take a massive effort likely involving both scientists and local communities to do this for every nest. Additionally, scientists arent totally sure why turtles nest on some beaches and not others, making it harder to predict which beaches would need extra monitoring.
Six of the seven known species of sea turtles are already classified as either vulnerable or endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. If sand temperatures continue to riseas they undoubtedly will without global, concerted efforts to mitigate climate changethese sea turtles could become another victim of humanitys destruction of life on the planet.
The rest is here:
Climate change is killing sea turtles by making beaches too hot for ... - Quartz
Boca Ratons beaches are again open to swimmers after the county lifted a health advisory because of high bacteria levels.
The city said water test results from the citys beaches showed that the bacteria levels waned, prompting the state Department of Health of Palm Beach County to lift an advisory from Spanish River Park and South Inlet Park.
Water samples from the two parks previously showed high levels of enterococci bacteria, which is known to cause infections and rashes.
Prior readings came in at 80 parts per 100 milliliters at Spanish River Park and 190 parts per 100 milliliters at South Inlet Park. Measures more than 70 parts per million are considered Poor.
In a news release, the city said tests taken Wednesday showed levels at 10 parts per million, putting the readings in the Good category.
High amounts can be caused by runoff after heavy rains, high surf, wildlife and heavy pedestrian use. Temporary spikes in levels are rare and the cause of the increase in Boca is unknown, the health departments spokesman Tim OConnor said.
When you see continuous high levels of bacteria, then thats something that indicates there is something serious going on, OConnor said. For the most part, this is naturally occurring.
The department conducts testing of ocean water every two weeks within the county at 13 sample sites from Boca to Jupiter. In March, Delray Beach and Ocean Ridge also saw a similar spike following heavy rains that led to beach closures.
The health department said beach-goers can take precautions by showering with fresh water after swimming in any natural body of water. Residents can also find more information on water quality at beaches on the departments website.
achokey@sun-sentinel.com, 561-243-6531, Twitter: @aric_chokey
Visit our Boca Raton community page at facebook.com/SunSentinelBocaRaton.
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Kenosha County residents got an early summer blast of heat this past week, sending many people scrambling to find their swimsuits, towels, chairs and sunscreen and get to a beach.
Lucky for us, there are plenty of spots where you can enjoy a day at the beach and a jump into a lake.
But which lake? Local beachcombers have a variety of choices, from big beaches on big Lake Michigan to smaller inland lakes in the western part of the county.
If youre looking for a place in the sun, this guide can help you decide which spot works best for you. Keep in mind, there are no bad beaches (well ... maybe a few), just bad choices.
n Simmons Island Beach: 5001 Simmons Island Drive.
This large beach has a lot to recommend it with LARGE being its biggest asset. You have plenty of room to spread your beach towel and, for swimming space, you cant beat Lake Michigan.
Warning: Be careful out there! Stick close to the shore and NEVER jump off that lighthouse pier. Lake Michigan is beautiful, but it can also be dangerous and an undertow can overpower even the strongest swimmers.
Note: No lifeguards.
Top choice: Simmons Island Beach has that iconic Kenosha view of our red lighthouse.
Also good: A boardwalk! And were nowhere near Coney Island! Using the boardwalk, you can walk from the beach parking lot most of the way to the lighthouse pier without having to trudge through hot sand. Id love it if the boardwalk was extended even farther north and south, but its a good start. Whats NOT good? The graffiti on the boardwalk. Knock it off!
I also like the beach grasses growing on either side of the boardwalk. I can pretend Im at the Outer Banks ... until I see the Kenosha water tower looming in the background. Still, it adds a nice beachy vibe to the area.
Needs work: Aside from the restrooms, which are clean, its a crime to see how bad the Simmons Island beach house looks. Its mostly boarded up, and some of the concrete pillars on the beach side are crumbling. A real shame.
Also, the playground equipment that was on the beach in past summers has vanished. Will it never return?
n Pennoyer Park Beach: 3601 Seventh Ave.
This beach is adjacent to the band shell at the south end of Kennedy Park Drive.
Warning: Be careful out there! Lake Michigan is a serious body of water, with powerful currents.
Note: No lifeguards.
Top choice: There are indoor restrooms and nearby tennis courts. And, when its not being repaired, the band shell hosts concerts and other events.
Needs work: The beach could use a good grooming.
n Southport Beach: 7825 First Ave.
This Lake Michigan swimming spot is located on the north side of the beach house. There are swing sets on a hill.
Note: No lifeguards.
Top choice: The park area overlooking Lake Michigan is wonderful for walking or just sitting, catching a breeze and watching the boats go by.
Needs work: It does tend to stink of rotting fish here when the weather gets hot and the wind isnt blowing. Also, there are no indoor restrooms open to the public unless you sneak in during a private event when the doors are left open. (If you cant get inside the building, theres a porta-potty in the parking lot. Talk about a stink!)
n Eichelman Park Beach: 6125 Third Ave.
This city beach has lots of shade, picnic tables and plenty of benches. There is also a restroom and drinking fountain.
Note: No lifeguards.
Top choice: The twin parks Eichelman and Wolfenbuttel are close to downtown shops, restaurants and bars plus you cant beat a stroll through the flower gardens. If youre there on a weekend, chances are youll get to watch a wedding ceremony.
Needs work: The bottom of the swimming area is very rocky. Make sure to pack aqua shoes or sport sandals.
n Carol Beach public beach: South of 100th Street on Lakeshore Drive in Pleasant Prairie. (From the north, take 90th Street east from Seventh Avenue to the lake and head south on Lakeshore Drive to 108th Street. From the south, enter Carol Beach Estates at 116th Street and head east.)
Note: No lifeguards.
Top choice: Its a long beach that stretches along the greatest of the Great Lakes.
Needs work: There are no services here. (So, maybe go easy on the liquids ... or be prepared to wade out into the frigid waters of Lake Michigan as your restroom.) Also, the parking lots are not paved.
n Lake Andrea: Highway 165 in Pleasant Prairie.
The large, sandy beach has picnic tables, a beach volleyball court, restrooms and a concession stand. You can also rent canoes, kayaks and various boats. All in all, you cant go wrong spending a day here.
Top choice: If you like well cared-for sand, this is the beach for you. You wont find sticks, rocks and goose droppings here; you can tell it is regularly groomed.
Also good: The swimming area has a clean, sandy bottom (with NO WEEDS) that is easy on the feet.
Return of the Wibit! The Wibit floating obstacle course/raft water attraction very popular with kids (and adults) was missing in 2016 after being sent out for repairs. Its back, baby!
Needs work: Its not cheap to spend an afternoon here. Daily admission fees are $7 per person for Kenosha County residents. Thats the same price for someone driving in from Maryland or, worse, Illinois! If you want a price break, you must be a Pleasant Prairie not Kenosha County resident. Cant we get the neighbor discount? Were all in the same county!
n Old Settlers Park: on Highway 50 in Paddock Lake.
This pretty park has lots and lots of shade trees, ample parking and plenty of picnic tables and grills. It also has restrooms and changing areas.
Top choice: There is a small sand beach with a good-sized swimming area and a large grassy area with shade! in the park. Also, its free Monday-Friday.
Needs work: The weeds that have populated the swimming area in past summers are still there (though the weeds do seem to be less bothersome this summer).
Lifeguards? Fees? Though the Kenosha County Parks website states that lifeguards are on duty on weekends (and fees are charged), when we visited Sunday (June 11), there were no lifeguards and no one collecting fees. If you want to make sure lifeguards are present, head to Silver Lake Park.
Bonus: Theres a dog park next to the beach, so the whole family can find something fun to do.
Looking ahead: The Twilight Jazz Concert Series opens its season on July 11 with a free concert in the park, and the Oktoberfest is Sept. 9.
n Silver Lake Park: on County Road F in the town of Salem.
This is probably the most popular beach in Kenosha County. Theres a big grassy area, with picnic tables and grills, swing sets, a softball diamond and a volleyball court.
The swimming area is very large, with shallow water. The bottom of the swimming area is generally sandy and not too yucky.
There are concessions, restrooms and changing areas.
Top choice: Lots of green space, lots of amenities, lots of water.
Also good: Want to go for a walk? A quarter-mile long paved path leads out from the far end of the park area to the Silver Lake boat launch, following the lakeshore.
Needs work: The beach area is rocky, not sandy. I suggest staying on the grass to avoid all those sharp little rocks on your tender feet.
New this year: You can rent kayaks and paddleboards at the beach ($15 for the first hour and $5 for each additional hour).
Say it isnt so! The Snoopy ice cream bar a summer tradition has been replaced by Hello Kitty and SpongeBob Squarepants. Thats hardly an equal swap ... and, on the day we visited, they were out of SpongeBob.
n DeWitt Park: on Highway B in Silver Lake.
This small city beach in Silver Lake has a swing set, a portable restroom and a few benches. Kids like swimming here because they can use toys in the water.
Note: No lifeguards.
Top choice: Its free, and you can use water toys at this beach. Bring on the noodles!
Needs work: The swimming area at this beach has a lot of weeds, and the bottom is mucky in spots.
Warning: Theres no parking lot; you have to find a spot across the street. And that can be difficult on a busy weekend.
n Lance Park: on Lake Mary in Twin Lakes.
This beach has a big swimming area, ample parking, plus a picnic area with shade trees and two picnic tables. And its free. Note: No lifeguards.
Top choice: There are clean indoor restrooms in a building just west of the beach area.
Needs work: The beach area is rocky and covered with seaweed. (Stick to the grass, but watch out for goose droppings!)
Ouch: The bottom of the swimming area is VERY rocky (wear aqua shoes).
Warning: The swimming area is next to a busy boat launch. Not only do you need to steer clear of the boats, you also have to breathe in engine fumes.
Bonus: Forgot to pack a beach book? The worlds cutest Little Library is at the beach. (Look for the Cat in the Hat.)
Bonus II: You can watch the Aquanuts Water Ski shows, which are 6 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays from this area. The shows are free.
n Lily Lake: on Lily Lake Road in the town of Wheatland.
This beach has a large swimming area. There is parking across the street. Note: No lifeguards.
Top choice: Theres a pier for jumping into the lake, and you can bring water toys.
Needs work: Weeds, weeds, weeds!
n Powers Lake: on Lake Park Drive in the town of Randall.
This nice little beach has a good-sized swimming area. There is one porta-potty at the beach. Beach toys and rafts can be used. Note: No lifeguards.
Top choice: The beach is nicely groomed, and I appreciate the big shade trees.
Needs work: There are in theory two sides to the swimming area, but in reality, you have to stay to the one side of the pier. The other side is choked with weeds.
Warning: The parking lot fills up on weekends.
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MASSAPEQUA, N.Y. (AP) Pay up, comrade.
A decadeslong good neighbor policy that granted more than 100 free beach passes each summer to Russian diplomats and their families has come to an end in one suburban New York town.
Oyster Bay officials say if residents have to pay for access to the sand and sun, then so do the emissaries from Moscow.
One of two Long Island retreats for Russian diplomats working at the United Nations headquarters in New York City had been located in the town until December, when the Obama administration ordered it shut in response to alleged Russian hacking in the 2016 presidential election.
There have been reports that the ouster may be reversed under President Donald Trump, but local officials say their decision is based only on local concerns.
Our decision has absolutely nothing to do with anything that is going on in the federal government, insists Joseph Saladino, who was appointed Oyster Bay town supervisor earlier this year. The Republican is seeking election to a full term in November. If our residents have to pay, they have to pay.
Oyster Bay, a township of nearly 300,000 people east of New York City that was once home to former President Theodore Roosevelt, has four beaches on both the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound. Residents can pay a $20 daily fee for access to any of the beaches or buy a seasonal pass for $60. Fees for non-residents range between $50 and $60 a day, and some are open to non-residents only on summer weekdays.
Since the days of the former Soviet Union, the town has provided free beach passes to the diplomats, ostensibly because of their presence at a mansion in Upper Brookville called Elmcroft. The house originally had 27 rooms and 11 baths and was once the home of a former New York governor, Nathan Miller.
Satellite photography shows the grounds today include a tennis court, gardens, a soccer field and another large, modern building.
The Obama administration had claimed the Cold War-era estate, along with one in Maryland, were being used for intelligence activities.
The U.S. closed the sites in December and ordered 35 Russian officials to leave the country in retaliation for Moscows alleged meddling to help President Donald Trumps election chances. Their return has been atop Moscows wish list since Trump entered office.
When the town received a request this spring from the Russians for 116 free passes, Saladino said he responded, Nyet.
He said he did offer to let them buy seasonal passes at the residential rate of $60 each, but did not receive a response. A spokesman with the Russian mission to the United Nations did not address the towns decision on the beach passes when reached for comment via email.
In a 2014 story in a Long Island weekly newspaper, a Russian mission spokesman, Alexey Zaytsev said most of the Russian Mission to the UN staff enjoys the beaches.
In any beach facility we meet friendly and attentive people, so we are really thankful to the Oyster Bay authorities and residents for their hospitality.
Saladinos decision appears to be playing well with locals.
Were paying, why shouldnt they? said Susan Carfora as she arrived with a friend at Tobay Beach, the largest of the town beaches that sits on the Atlantic Ocean just east of the famed Jones Beach State Park.
I dont believe in special privileges for anybody, added Roseann Celauro.
Mike Davis said he didnt have a problem with the town providing free passes in the past, but said he supports the town decision because of the election hacking and stuff. I think they should pay.
Its still not clear whether the Russians will be permitted to return to the property in Upper Brookville. Officials in Washington recently said high-level negotiations are ongoing. Some elected officials oppose any return.
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NY town says 'nyet' to Russian request for free beach passes - The Seattle Times
Despite a dense population and seemingly denser traffic, Northern Virginia has its fair share of prime stargazing spots, many of which host regular educational classes and programs. Photo courtesy of Allexxandarx/Adobe Stock
For both amateur and seasoned astronomers, there are plenty of ways to get lost looking into space in D.C., like the National Air and Space Museumand farther out at Shenandoah National Park and Richmonds Virginia Living Museum. But despite a dense population and seemingly denser traffic, Northern Virginia also has its fair share of prime stargazing spots, many of which host regular classes and programs to grow a fledgling hobby and learn more about the sky above.
Burke Lake Park
Burke Lake Parks open fields lend themselves well to stargazing, and on Jan. 21, the parks resident astronomical naturalist will lead acampfirewith a discussionabout stargazing. There, you can learn more about constellations and try outprovided telescopes. //7315 Ox Road, Fairfax Station
C.M. Crockett Park
C.M. Crockett Parks expansive open field is an ideal location to spot constellations, planets, star clusters and galaxies. The Northern Virginia Astronomy Club holds monthly public viewings, and club members and nonmembers of all experience levels are welcome. The next viewing will take place Jan. 28. // 10066 Rogues Road, Midland
David M. Brown Planetarium
Located at the Arlington Schools Education Center, the David M. Brown Planetarium hosts itsStars Tonightprogram on the first Monday of every month at 7:30 p.m. Regular attendeescan track changes in the solar system. //1426 N. Quincy St., Arlington
GMU Observatory
While George Mason Universitys observatory is typically reserved for students, it frequently hosts its Evening Under the Stars program, where participants can look through the schools primary telescope. //George Mason University College of Science: 10401 York River Road, Fairfax
Meadowkirk at Delta Farm
Meadowkirks Brinton Observatory, also partnered with the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club, is an ideal spot check out the night sky, featuring a number of telescopes and regular astronomy programs. There are programs geared toward both children and more experienced stargazers that explore the moon and planets, the greater solar system and constellations and deep space. //38012 Delta Farm Lane, Middleburg
Observatory Park at Turner Farm
Out in Great Falls, you can see the stars from one of the regions darkest locations, and even better, Turner Farmrecently opened a new roll-top observatory that offers programs and equipment for optimal viewing. The Analemma Society helms educational programming at the park, including weekly Fridayobserving sessionsfrom 7:30-9:30 p.m. Participants who stop by this month might just be able to seeVenus, the Andromeda galaxy and the Orion nebula. // 925 Springvale Road, Great Falls
Sky Meadows State Park
Sky Meadows offers a dedicated observing fieldnear the Bleak Hill House for Northern Virginia Astronomy Club members as well as nonmembers, and the parkregularly partners with the National Air and Space Museum for events. // 11012 Edmonds Lane, Delaplane
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Adobe Stock photo
FILE With an impending deep solar eclipse overshadowing their efforts, the Clark Planetarium hosted a gala to foster excitement for astronomy education.
SALT LAKE CITY With an impending deep solar eclipse overshadowing their efforts, the Clark Planetarium hosted a gala Thursday to foster excitement for astronomy education.
In anticipation a solar eclipse that will be viewable across much of the United States on Aug. 21, the Clark Planetarium has renewed its efforts to offer education resources and draw excitement to its programs for students with the help of former NASA scientist Phil Plait.
"Total eclipses are rare, and we haven't had one in the United States for quite some time," said Tom Beckett, an organizer of the planetarium gala. "This is a great opportunity to use an astronomical event to get people interested in astronomy."
Though Salt Lake City will not see the totality of the eclipse only a 91 percent partial coverage people may see the complete event from as close as Driggs, Idaho.
The planetarium's gala is a fundraiser to create astronomy education resources.
Plait returned to the planetarium for his third speaking appearance. Known as the "Bad Astronomer," he offered a keynote speech to explain the mechanics behind the eclipse and dispel some of the misunderstandings about eclipses.
"There are a lot of eclipse myths like, if you look at it, you'll go blind," Plait said.
Plait, who began public speaking while he was working for on the Hubble telescopes, said he sees his speaking engagements as something of a stand-up routine for science. He refers to himself as a science communicator and earned the title of the "Bad Astronomer" through his efforts at dispelling scientific misconceptions and creating humor around the concepts.
The risk associated with viewing an eclipse, he explained, comes after the roughly two-minute period of totality where the moon passes in front of the sun. That period of time allows the pupil of the eye to dilate, adjusting to the shadow cast by the moon, and the risk of injury follows as the moon continues forward, suddenly exposing the brightness of the sun once again.
Plait noted that despite this effect, he has yet to encounter a documented case of anyone becoming totally blinded by a passing eclipse.
"You can lose a little bit of your vision forever, or all of it for a short time, but your eye can heal," he said.
Beckett said there will be educators and telescopes available at the planetarium and throughout Salt Lake County during the eclipse to accommodate viewers who are not able to drive to Idaho to see the full eclipse.
Beckett also said the planetarium will have a viewing party as the Earth comes into alignment with Saturn and the sun, creating the best chance for people to see the rings of Saturn for another 17 years.
Read this article:
Planetarium sees solar eclipse as opportunity to raise interest in astronomy - Deseret News
June 15, 2017 An international team of astronomers, led by Dutch scientists, has discovered a region in our Milky Way that contains many nitrogen compounds in the southeast of a butterfly-shaped star formation disk and very little in the north-west. This artistic impression shows the universe around the star formation area with, as an overlay, the scientists' observations. Credit: Veronica Allen/Alexandra Elconin
An international team of astronomers, led by Dutch scientists, has discovered a region in our Milky Way that contains many nitrogen compounds in the southeast of a butterfly-shaped star formation disk and very little in the north-west. The astronomers suspect that multiple stars-to-be share the same star formation disk, but the precise process is still a puzzle. The article with their findings has been accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics.
An international team of astronomers studied the star forming region G35.20-0.74N, more than 7000 light years from Earth in the southern sky. The astronomers used the (sub)millimeter telescope ALMA that is based on the Chilean Chajnantor plateau. ALMA can map molecular gas clouds in which stars form.
The researchers saw something special in the disk around a young, heavy star. While large amounts of oxygen-containing and sulfur-containing hydrocarbons were present throughout the disk, the astronomers found only nitrogen-containing molecules in the southeastern part of the disk. In addition, it was 150 degrees warmer on the nitrogen side than on the other side of the disk.
Based on these observations, the scientists suspect that there are multiple stars forming at the same time in one disk and that some stars are hotter or heavier than others. The researchers expect the disk to eventually break into several smaller disks as the stars grow.
A few years ago, there have been observed chemical differences in a star forming region in Orion. First author Veronica Allen (University of Groningen and SRON): "The area in Orion is five times bigger than our area. We have probably been lucky because we expect that such a chemical difference to be short-lived."
Second author Floris van der Tak (University of Groningen and SRON): "Many of the nitrogen molecules are poisonous cyanides. We do not know much about them because it is dangerous to work with those molecules in laboratories on earth."
The astronomers are now investigating the star formation cloud in more detail. Allen: "Maybe we can see the disk break into smaller disks in real time." In addition, the astronomers make models to see how differences in age, mass, temperature or gas density can cause a difference in chemical composition, too.
Explore further: First radio detection of lonely planet disk shows similarities between stars and planet-like objects
More information: V. Allen et al. Chemical segregation in hot cores with disk candidates. An investigation with ALMA, Astronomy & Astrophysics (2017). DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201629118
First radio observations of the lonely, planet-like object OTS44 reveal a dusty protoplanetary disk that is very similar to disks around young stars. This is unexpected, given that models of star and planet formation predict ...
Stars form from gas and dust floating in interstellar space. But, astronomers do not yet fully understand how it is possible to form the massive stars seen in space. One key issue is gas rotation. The parent cloud rotates ...
For the first time, astronomers have been able to peer into the heart of planet formation, recording the temperature and amount of gas present in the regions most prolific for making planets.
Observations led by astronomers at the University of Leeds have shown for the first time that a massive star, 25 times the mass of the Sun, is forming in a similar way to low-mass stars.
For the first time, astronomers have seen a dusty disk of material around a young star fragmenting into a multiple-star system. Scientists had suspected such a process, caused by gravitational instability, was at work, but ...
(Phys.org)A team of researchers from the U.S. and Taiwan has captured the first clear image of a young star surrounded by an accretion disk. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the team describes ...
Astronomers have released an image of a vast filament of star-forming gas, 1200 light-years away, in the stellar nursery of the Orion Nebula.
An international team of astronomers, led by Dutch scientists, has discovered a region in our Milky Way that contains many nitrogen compounds in the southeast of a butterfly-shaped star formation disk and very little in the ...
China successfully launched on Thursday its first X-ray space telescope to study black holes, pulsars and gamma-ray bursts, state media reported.
For decades, scientists thought that the magnetic field lines coursing around newly forming stars were both powerful and unyielding, working like jail bars to corral star-forming material. More recently, astronomers have ...
A small international team of researchers has found that water waves created due to scattering from a spinning vortex can show rotational superradiancean effect astrophysicists have predicted likely to occur in black holes, ...
Researchers at the University of Texas San Antonio using observations from NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, SOFIA, found that the dust surrounding active, ravenous black holes is much more compact ...
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Astronomers see mysterious nitrogen area in a butterfly-shaped star formation disk - Phys.Org
As if the gas giant wasnt impressive enough, Jupiters already long list of moons has just grown by two.
While on the hunt for Planet X, DTM staff scientist Scott Sheppard, along with David Tholen from the University of Hawaii and Chadwick Trujillo from Northern Arizona University, decided to point their telescopes toward Jupiter. From there, the team could study Jupiter in the foreground while continuing their search for Planet X in the background.
While making those observations, they discovered many lost moons in addition to two new, mile-wide moons theyre calling S/2016 J 1 and S/2017 J 1. The new moons lie about 13 million miles (21 million kilometers) and 15 million miles (24 million kilometers) from Jupiter.
Several of the moons Sheppards team found qualify as lost moons - despite their discovery back in 2003, there was not enough information to define their exact orbits, so astronomers lost track of them as they circled Jupiter. Some moons have been found since that time, but at the beginning of 2016, 14 were still considered lost.
While observing, Sheppard and his team added their data from 2016-2017 to data from 2003 and found five of those lost moons. They will continue observing for another year to see if they can identify the rest of the lost moons; they may find more new moons, too.
In the meantime, after checking their 2016-2017 data against images taken in 2003, the team confirmed that S/2016 J 1 and S/2017 J 1 are previously undiscovered moons, bringing the number of Jupiters moons up to 69.
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Jupiter has two new moons | Astronomy.com - Astronomy Magazine
URMC / Biochemistry & Biophysics
The Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics (B&B) strives to understand the molecular mechanisms of important biological processes, thereby providing insight into how disruption of these mechanisms causes disease. Departmental research is generously supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH instrument funds have contributed to our recent two million dollar investment in cutting edge structural biology, biophysical and mass spectrometry-based equipment. Furthermore, income generated from intellectual property derived from departmental research discoveries continues to be reinvested back into the department, and used to stimulate the genesis of private biotechnology companies.
In addition to supporting our research, the NIH has recognized our excellence in the Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (BMB) and Biophysics, Structural & Computational Biology (BSCB) Ph.D. programs by awarding the university a highly competitive interdepartmental T32 graduate training grant. Our commitment to graduate education is apparent from the positions acquired by our previous students and fellows, who are professors at major research universities and leaders in corporate research. Our continued focus on pioneering research and quality education ensures our position as a premier Biochemistry & Biophysics department.
Jeffrey J. Hayes , Ph.D. Chair, Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics
Unraveling the Role of RNA Structure in Gene Regulation Through Studies of the RNA Helicase Dbp2/DDX5
Elizabeth J. Tran, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
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December 12, 2016 Mitchell O'Connell Lab To Open
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August 21 is the Great American Eclipse the first total solar eclipse in American history exclusive to the US. Elsewhere on Earth, though, a total solar eclipse occurs roughly every 18 months. But what about other planets? Can they happen there?
Mercury No. In a total solar eclipse, a moon slides between a planet and its sun, blocking the suns light and casting a shadow on the world below. But Mercury doesnt have a moon, making eclipses there impossible.
Venus No. Venus doesnt have a moon either. But that doesnt mean there arent eclipses. Venus has planetary eclipses or transits caused by Mercury orbiting between Venus and the Sun. Earth experiences transits, too, every time Mercury or Venus pass between the Sun and Earth. But theyre rare. Mercury and Venus transit Earth 8 years apart, then it takes over a century for the cycle to start over. The next planetary eclipse here on Earth is December 11, 2117.
Mars No. Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, so solar eclipses are totally possible they just arent total. Theyre annular. Just like a total solar eclipse, the moon passes between its planet and the Sun, covering the Suns center. But when a moons too far from the planet to cover the Sun or as with Phobos and Deimos too small, the rest of the Sun sticks out around the sides. See one for yourself in this video Curiosity Rover took on Mars September 13, 2012:
Read more:
Total eclipse of a planet | Astronomy.com - Astronomy Magazine
A cloud of gas and young stars in the Perseus molecular cloud may be revealing a strange truth to the universe: most, if not all, stars are born in pairs. This means that somewhere out there, the Sun has a lost companion and it may be one of several known stars. Essentially, all stars form in molecular clouds. In the Perseus observations, nearly all of these stars were gravitationally bound. This may be a requirement of protostars the egg-like objects could require a common center of gravity with a companion to accumulate mass. The dense cores then use leftover material to form more stars, continuing the process. So why doesnt the Sun have a binary companion (well, depending on who you ask)? It seems that 60 percent of stars shed their binary sister over time, gaining a wider distance from their partner until they are gravitationally severed. They also may not all have the same symmetry with regard to mass, meaning that some former companions could be brown dwarfs cast out by larger stars. The authors of the paper, accepted in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, say more work is needed to confirm their hypothesis. But if its true, the hunt may be on for the companion the Sun once had.
Read more:
Stars may all be born in pairs and lose their siblings later - Astronomy Magazine
NEW YORK Smithsonian astrophysicist Martin Elvis would like to see astronomers take on a crucial role for future asteroid mining: as astronomical prospectors scoping out the next big catch.
Elvis, a researcher with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Massachusetts, discussed his dream for applied astronomy June 4 here at the Dawn of Private Space Science Symposium. Efficientasteroidmining would jump-start a space economy and bring down costs for exploration and space science, guiding humans into a modern space age, he said.
"My basic goal is just to revolutionize our exploration of the solar system, of the universe," Elvis said at the conference. [How Asteroid Mining Could Work (Infographic)]
Right now, he said, spaceflight and space science is unsustainably expensive. But asteroid mining could play a critical role in making those endeavors doable on a smaller budget, as private companies likeSpaceXhave decreased the launch cost per pound of payload.
But asteroid mining will face a critical problem, Elvis said: How to choose which asteroids will be worth the trip. And astronomers can play a crucial role in that determination, he said.
"The problem with asteroids is not many of them are valuable. You've got to find the right ones," he said. "We want to throw away that gray, stony stuff and deal with the carbonaceous or metallic ones, depending on whether you're looking for water or precious metals like platinum and palladium. So, this is where we [astronomers] come in."
As an example, Elvis pointed to the twin Magellan 6.5-meter telescopes in Chile. Professional astronomers could use telescopes of that size to characterize a faint asteroid in about 1-2 minutes. Eighty-five percent of asteroids could be thrown out based just on their color, he said, and the remaining 15 percent would be good prospects for sending small, exploratory probes using the data gathered about the objects' orbits and sizes.
Even a few nights per year would allow for the characterization of about 300 such objects, he said. And as larger telescopes come online, like the European Extremely Large Telescope and theGiant Magellan Telescope, the midsize telescopes could become more accessible for even more space-mining projects, he said.
"This means astronomers can turn out to be useful again [like] what [they] used to be, back in the days of navigation," he said. Similar to modern-day mining on Earth, there could be a multistep process of prospecting remotely "you don't just go straight to start digging rocks" before making a trip, Elvis added.
Such a process could cut asteroid prospecting costs by a factor of 10, he said. That would allow asteroid mining to flourish, lowering the cost commercially to put people and science in space.
On Earth, most of the precious metals, like platinum and palladium, are located 3,700 miles (6,000 kilometers) down, but they can come much nearer to the surface on asteroids. Those metals have dissolved in iron and were drawn to the center of the Earth, Elvis said, and the same thing happened on asteroids but the asteroids were then smashed up enough that it made the precious metals much more accessible. (Cometsalso contain valuable resources, especially water, Elvis said, but the energy needed to reach those fast-moving bodies makes them less worth the cost to explore.)
So far, Elvis has talked to the asteroid-mining companiesPlanetary ResourcesandDeep Space Industries, but neither company initially believed that this kind of remote prospecting would be necessary, he said.
"Both of them are dominated by engineers who are very good at building small spacecraft, and I'm sure they will succeed at building interplanetary cubesat-scale spacecraft for prospecting at the asteroid, but they were initially unbelieving of what I just told you," Elvis said.
They might come around, though, he added. "One of the companies did eventually realize that this was a necessary precursor to their sending out satellites," he said. "The other still isn't interested."
Original article onSpace.com.
EDITOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS Asteroid Basics: A Space Rock Quiz Deep Space Industries Sets Sights On Asteroids | Video Planetary Resources Unveils Asteroid-Hunting Arkyd Telescope | Video
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Using Astronomy to Prospect for Asteroids Could Help Us Mine the ... - Seeker
London:It began with a sudden, frantic knocking on a door, late at night.
On the fourth floor of Grenfell Tower, a block of flats in west London, pregnant Maryam Adam, 41, had been deep in sleep when the loud banging woke her. The clock told her it was just after a quarter to one in the morning.
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Fears the toll will rise with 12 confirmed dead and 78 taken to hospital after the massive blaze at the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in London.
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A blimp at the US Open golf tournament in Wisconsin caught fire and crashed on Thursday.
Fears the toll will rise with 12 confirmed dead and 78 taken to hospital after the massive blaze at the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in London.
She went to the door. It was her neighbour, identified by one newspaper on Thursday as a 44-year old taxi driver from Ethiopia.
"He was shouting that his flat was on fire," Adam said.
She looked across the central corridor in the core of the 24-storey tower. A big bag of clothes sat outside the man's flat.
His door was open and through it she saw a "small" fire in his kitchen, she said later.
Another woman on the same floor, Aalya Moses, had a similar experience.
"There was no alarm, no sprinkler, just my neighbour who told everyone on my floor and the surrounding floors," she said. "If he hadn't told me I wouldn't have known."
Adam echoed the sentiment. "If he had not knocked, I don't know what would have happened."
They left the building, spooked. It was about 10 minutesto one in the morning on Wednesday, June 14.
Within an hour, the place would be an inferno.
This is a story that has many revisions to come.There will be surprise reunions and inevitable funerals. There will be police reports, fire reports and an inquest into the deaths: 17 at Thursday's count, a number that will rise over days and possibly weeks.
And there will be an official public inquiry into what happened and what can be learnt, what must be learntfrom a tragedy that, it appears, could have been and was foreseen, and could have been but wasn't prevented.
It was a pleasant night after a warm day. Many in Grenfell Tower had left their windows open to capture a light, cool night breeze.
The building benefited from new insulation, installed in a renovation that finished in 2016: a sleek aluminium composite cladding covering old, stained concrete.
That cladding was starting to catch fire.
Mahal Egal was another who got out from the fourth floor with his two small children, warned by a neighbour, among the first to evacuate.
He said the neighbour told him his fridge had exploded.
Leaving was against the building's fire safety advice. If residents knew there was a fire outside their flat, they were supposed to shut their door and wait for rescue.
Such buildings are designed to isolate fires. And with residents safe inside their flats, firefighters have more chance of running an orderly evacuation if it becomes necessary.
Indeed, this was reportedly the early advice that firefighters and 000 emergency operators were giving before an evacuation was ordered some time later. If this turns out to be the case, it could have been a fatal mistake firefighters and fire safety experts later said this fire spread faster than any high-rise blaze they had seen before.
Even as Egal left his flat, the first of many fire engines were arriving.
"At first it seemed controllable," he said, watching the fire from the outside. "At this point the fire was no higher than an average tree.
"But really quickly the fire started to rise, as the cladding caught fire."
There was already smoke inside the building, in the single central stairwell, he said.
He thought of his extended family and friends still inside the building, and he worried, and he watched the fire grow out of control, leaping eagerly up the building.
Within minutes it had climbed a dozen floors.
Witness Tanya Thompson said she saw it go "up like a firewall, straight up the side of the building" in about ten minutes. Another, Omar, said it was "like a piece of paper like dominos, fire and then fire and then fire. It was so quick and shocking."
Mickey (Michael) Paramasivan, 37, was woken on the seventh floor by the smell of burning plastic. He tucked his six-year-old daughter Thea into her dressing gown and they ran downstairs.
By the time they were outside "we looked up at the tower and it was like a horror movie", he said.
Mouna Elogbani was on the 11th floor with her husband and three children a friend called and warned her to get out. When they first opened the door to escape "flames burst into the house", she said. They managed to get out down the stairs.
On the 17th floor a man who identified himself on radio as "Methrob" was woken by fire sirens, grabbed his aunty and they started to make their way down.
"By the time that we got downstairs, the fire had gone all the way up and was just about reaching our windows," he said. "The whole side of the building was on fire. The cladding went up like a matchstick."
There are many more stories of narrow escapes. Other stories do not end well.
Jessica Urbano, 12, borrowed someone's phone as she hid in a stairwell with a group of friends making their way down from the 20th floor. She rang her mum.
"Jessica had been asleep in our flat when something woke her - I don't know if it was the smoke or a fire alarm - so she rang me at 1.39am as I was on my way home from work," Jessica's mum, Adriana, told the London Telegraph. "She said,''Mum where are you? Mummy come and get me'." Mrs Urbano urged Jessica to run down the stairs of the tower block and try to find a fire fighter to lead her to safety.
"I told her to get out of there as quickly as she could. I said 'run as fast as you can', but then the line cut out".
On Thursday Jessica was listed among the missing.
On the 14th floor, at 1.38am, ZainabDean phoned her brother Francis.
"She said there was a fire in the building," Francis said later. "She was very nervous and scared. She is a nervous person anyway. She said the fire service arrived and had told everyone to keep calm and to stay where she was."
Twenty minutes later, he got to the building and tried to get in to rescue his sister, but police stopped him.
After an hour, he was desperate with worry.
"I could see the building was going up in flames. I said Zainab you have to get out of the building it's not looking good. She said she didn't want to go down the stairs because there was too much smoke.
"But she tried anyway and then [her three-
year-old son]Jeremiah collapsed in her arms."
Their last contact was at 3am.
"On the phone I just keep telling her they were coming to get her."
He handed his phone to a fireman. The fireman handed it back, saying "tell her you love her".
"I knew then to fear the worst. The phone went dead and I couldn't talk to her."
One firefighter was heard telling his crew "we're going in and we're going up".
"My firefighters battled through intense heat to reach some of the highest floors," said London Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton.
"I was looking at a building that was engulfed in fire where I knew members of the public were still trapped yet I was committing hundreds of firefighters into a building that to a lot of people looked terribly unsafe.
"My firefighters were desperate to get in there and desperate to rescue people, and we committed crew after crew into a very dangerous, very hot and very difficult situation because we had a passion to do as much as we could to rescue the people in there."
The firefighters were told to write their names and numbers on their helmets before they went in.
"It was like a war zone in there," said one. They rescued at least 65 people.
Another said they were "knee deep in debris and bodies" once they climbed past the 11th floor but they kept going up as high as they could, as far as their legs and oxygen canisters would taken them, touching and feeling their way along corridors and stairs, "sweeping and stamping" to check for obstacles or collapsed flooring.
Outside, the fire hoses simply couldn't reach the upper floors.
By the time the fire reached the top floors, the internal stairwell was ink-black with smoke and those remaining felt there was no escape.
Nura Jemal, mother of three on the 22nd floor, told a friend on the telephone "I'm so sorry, goodbye. Please forgive us. We are not going to make it."
The first victim of the fire to be name was Mohammed al-Haj Ali, 23, a Syrian refugee who came to the UK in 2014 and was studying civil engineering.
He had been in a flat on the 14th floor with his brother Omar.
"We smelled the smoke, opened the door, saw smoke," Omar said. "The smoke came inside. I've seen the fire around me."
They left the apartment together and headed for the stairs.
"I couldn't see anything, even my fingers," Omar said. "I thought I was going to die on those stairs. I was breathing smoke, lots of smoke."
Then, when he was almost out, "I looked behind me and I didn't see my brother."
"I called him [on the phone] and said 'where are you'? He said 'I'm in the flat'. I said 'why didn't you come?' He said 'no one brought me outside'."
There they stayed, Omar outside and Mohammed in. They spoke to the end.
"I was speaking to my brother [on the phone]he said 'I'm dying'. He said 'I cannot breathe'."
Among the lost are a 57-year-old man who told his wife and son to leave him behind, and has not been seen since, and Tony Disson, 66, whose phone fell silent at 4am after speaking to a friend and saying "tell my sons I love them".
Ali Jafari, 82, was escaping with his wife and daughter in the lift but got out at the 10th floor, unable to breathe, and did not get back in before the doors closed.
A mother lost her grip on her 12-year-old daughter's hand as they stumbled down the pitch-black stairwell. She spent Thursday travelling from hospital to hospital searching for her child.
Rania Ibrahim posted frightened videos on Snapchat and Facebook while trapped on the 23rd floor, the hallway outside impassable with smoke. Her last message was "guys, I can't get out".
But there were more survivors, too, emerging from the blaze in the arms of firefighters.
Natasha Elcock, trapped on the 12th floor with her six-year-old daughter, flooded the bathroom and kept her flat damp. After 90 minutes the fire crew told them to get out but they couldn't the door of the flat was too hot to open.
"The door was buckling and the windows bubbling and cracking, it was terrifying," she said.
Fire crews rescued her at 3am. She stepped over a body on the way out.
Schools inspector Marcio Gomes, 38, was told to stay put but by 4.30am the fire had engulfed the whole building, and fire crews were unable to make it up to them.
He wrapped his family up in wet towels and said, "There's no turning back, we have to go," he told the Sun.
"As soon as we opened the door all the smoke came in. We had no choice because the fire started coming in through the windows. We had to go down the stairs.
"You couldn't see anything. We didn't see people, we just felt people. We were just climbing over bodies."
He stayed on the line to the fire operator all the way down.
"They said 'keep going down, keep using your voice'."
Read more:
London fire: Anatomy of a high-rise horror - The Sydney Morning Herald
By Bob LundebergMid-Valley Media Group
The two longest winning streaks in Division I baseball this year belong to Oregon State.
The top-seeded Beavers (54-4), who open the College World Series at noon Saturday against Cal State Fullerton (39-22), will take the field at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska as winners of 21 consecutive games. OSU closed the regular season with 16 straight victories and has outscored opponents 44-9 during its five NCAA tournament games.
Earlier this year, the Beavers won a program-record 23 in a row from Feb. 25 to April 9, including a 12-0 start in Pac-12 play.
The two streaks have accounted for 44 of the teams 54 victories, another single-season school record. With a winning percentage of .931, OSU is on pace to break Arizona States 45-year-old all-time mark of .914 (the Sun Devils finished 64-6 in 1972).
Below is a breakdown of the Beavers winning streaks.
Streak 1, Feb. 25-April 9
Length: 23 games
Runs scored: 136 (5.9 per game)
Runs allowed: 49 (2.1 per game)
One-run games: 6
Shutouts: 6
A loss to Ohio State, which finished 148th in the NCAA RPI, dropped Oregon State to 5-1 early in the season.
The Beavers began the longest winning streak in school history with a 5-2 neutral-site victory over Nebraska, which later came to Oregon for the Corvallis Regional. OSU then got revenge against the Buckeyes to wrap up play in Surprise, Arizona before sweeping consecutive home series with UC Davis and Ball State.
Entering Pac-12 play 14-1 overall, the Beavers outscored Arizona State 16-1 during the three-game set to seize an immediate stranglehold on the conference standings. Starting pitchers Luke Heimlich (eight two-hit innings), Bryce Fehmel (eight innings, one run, four hits) and Jake Thompson (seven two-hit innings) were close to untouchable in the desert.
OSU picked up its first of six walk-off wins at Goss Stadium on March 24, knocking off Arizona 4-3 on a KJ Harrison single that plated Adley Rutschman. The Beavers trailed 3-1 entering the eighth.
One night later, OSU again overcame a deficit and walked off again when Preston Jones scored all the way from second on a wild pitch for a 5-4 win. A comfortable 11-7 decision in the series finale pushed the team to 20-1 overall and 6-0 in Pac-12 play.
The Beavers kept the streak alive with another come-from-behind effort, scoring three times in the ninth to steal a 4-3 victory at Saint Marys on March 28. Nick Madrigal collected the game-winning hit, a two-out, two-RBI single with the bases loaded.
Following another road sweep in which the Beavers outscored Stanford 25-8, OSU pulled out a 4-3 road decision at Portland for its 20th win in a row. Rutschmans two-run single in the sixth put the Beavers in front for good.
A home sweep of Utah including two more walk-offs left OSU 28-1 overall (12-0 Pac-12). Steven Kwan hit a game-winning single in the opener while a Rutschman sacrifice fly brought home Jack Anderson for a 5-4, 16-inning victory in Game 2.
The streak finally came to an end April 13, a 3-2 loss at Washington. But the Beavers fought back to win the final two games of the series.
Streak 2, April 30-current
Length: 21 games
Runs scored: 158 (7.5 per game)
Runs allowed: 41 (2.0 per game)
One-run games: 5
Shutouts: 6
After starting the year 28-1, the Beavers went just 5-3 during a two-week span from April 13-29. The rocky patch included a 7-5, 10-inning home loss to USC, which finished in the Pac-12 basement with Arizona State.
Oregon State came back to rout the Trojans 10-1 in the series finale, igniting a winning streak that has yet to end.
A midweek home victory over Oregon followed by a three-game sweep of California put the Beavers on the brink of the Pac-12 championship. After cruising past the Ducks in Game 1 of the Civil War conference series, Mitchell Verburg struck out Ryne Nelson with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to seal a 5-4 victory and the outright Pac-12 title.
Verburgs heroics also delivered career win No. 1,000 for coach Pat Casey.
The Beavers blanked Oregon 1-0 to sweep the series and cruised by Portland two days later before coming out flat against Washington State May 19. Trailing 3-2 entering the ninth, Steven Kwan and Jack Anderson drew consecutive base-loaded walks off Cougars closer Scott Sunitsch for a true walk-off.
OSU went on to outscore Washington State 19-3 in the final two games of the series, finishing with the best record in conference history at 27-3.
The streak nearly ended again May 26 against Abilene Christian, the Beavers final regular-season opponent. Knotted at 4 in the bottom of the 11th, Anderson knocked in Andy Atwood with a single for the teams sixth walk-off of the year. Reliever Mitch Hickey proposed to his girlfriend on the Goss Stadium turf immediately following the game.
The Beavers entered the NCAA tournament with a 49-4 record and breezed through the Corvallis Regional, outscoring Holy Cross and Yale by a combined margin of 27-3. Two comfortable wins over Vanderbilt in the Corvallis Super Regional pushed the winning streak to 21 as OSU prepares for its CWS opener.
Read more from the original source:
The anatomy of Beavers' win streaks - Mail Tribune
E. Martin Maida, MD, an MDVIP-affiliated internist in Livingston, has been named a Top Doctor in Livingston, New Jersey. Dr. Maida is an attending physician at RWJ Barnabas Health Center. Top Doctor Awards is dedicated to selecting and honoring those healthcare practitioners who have demonstrated clinical excellence while delivering the highest standards of patient care.
Dr. E. Martin Maida is a highly experienced internist, having been in practice for nearly three decades. His long and successful medical career began in 1985, when he graduated from the School of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Torino, Italy. He completed an internship, residency and served as chief resident at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, where he has attending privileges
With his wealth of experience as an internist to call upon, Dr. Maida diagnosis and treats a wide range of conditions for patients ages 18 to 100+. He is certified in bariatric medicine, helping patients lose weight and improve their overall health. He is also certified in the Bale Doneen method of cardiovascular prevention as well as anti-aging medicine including the use of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. Dr. Maida also continues to practice what he advocates, as a long time practitioner of the martial arts (7th degree black belt), that exercise is crucial to overall well being.
As an MDVIP physician, Dr. Maidas practice focuses on wellness and prevention and is noted for its patient centric approach, finding tailored solutions for each individual patient. As the Director of the Livingston location of the Center for Medical Weight Loss, he offers medically supervised weight loss programs as an adjunct in the goal to maintain health and wellness for his patients. Just recently, Dr. Maida became certified in the technique of CoolSculpting, an FDA approved fat loss technique that requires no down time.
About Top Doctor Awards
Top Doctor Awards specializes in recognizing and commemorating the achievements of todays most influential and respected doctors in medicine. Our selection process considers education, research contributions, patient reviews, and other quality measures to identify top doctors.
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Respected Internist, E. Martin Maida, MD, is to be Recognized as a 2017 Top Doctor in Livingston, New Jersey - PR NewsChannel (press release)
Prairie Fields Family Medicine has expanded to offer aesthetic services, the first of its kind in Fremont.
Prairie Fields Aesthetic Services began offering skin treatments at the beginning of May. Dr. Tom Wolf said they can help with many things involving skin care. They can treat scaring, brown spots that come with age, fine lines and wrinkles, solar damage and sun spots, acne and acne scaring, leg and facial veins, angiomas and more.
Now, Fremonters will have a local option for these treatments, instead of having to travel to Omaha.
Its something thats new to the community, Wolf said. No one else is doing anything like this in Fremont or in Dodge County.
In addition to treating existing imperfections, theyll help with general skin care. Aesthetic Services has partnered with EltaMD, who offers sunscreen and other skin care products like cleansers and moisturizers that are available only through physicians offices.
Wolf said the EltaMD products can help prevent skin cancer, the most common cancer.
We at Prairie Fields Aesthetics are taking a proactive approach to prevention by educating our patients and staff how they can protect themselves and prevent skin cancer, he said. All of our sunscreens are physical in nature and contain no chemicals, while providing protection against both UVA and UVB rays.
The products help with prevention and are useful after treatments. Debra Mullins, a representative from EltaMD said the sunscreen is best for anti-aging in addition to preventing skin cancer. She said 99 percent of aging in skin lines, wrinkles, hyperpigmentation is from the sun.
People here in the Midwest, theyre outside, Wolf said. We spend time outside a lot. Its important that we can provide products to help maintain their health.
They also offer hair removal. Wolf said hair removal is popular for underarms and is relatively permanent after about five treatments.
Prairie Fields Family Medicine has been in business since 1981. The focus at Prairie Fields is still family medicine, Wolf said, but these new services mean they can do more to help patients feel comfortable in their skin. They made the commitment to add the services at Prairie Fields in March.
Its a new endeavor that were going down, Tom Wolf said. We wanted to offer patients in the community the same type of great care that we provide here, but also for their aesthetic needs.
The treatments can help reduce perceived aging, he said.
When you look at someone, you dont even really know that youre doing it, but the more changes to their complexion that you see, variability, the older you generally think a person is, Wolf said. As we age, and sun affects our skin, it has more variability to it: freckles, brown spots, age spots.
Consultations are free. Treatment plans are then customized based on the individuals needs.
We really try to look at the whole patient and figure out what things are most concerning to them and come up with the treatment, said Misti Wolf, a registered nurse and Tom Wolfs wife.
In the short time since theyve opened, Wolf said things have been great.
Its been very well received, he said. When patients come in for treatments and they leave just excited and happy, really joyful about it, thats a fun thing to do day in and day out.
Tom Wolf, M.D., works with his wife Misti Wolf andSam Renter, both registered nurses. To prepare they took training on operating a laser for treatment known as laser genesis.
The first patients have been nervous to be operated on with the laser, Tom Wolf said, but have come away pleasantly surprised. Its not painful and redness fades after a few hours. Prairie Fields Aesthetic Services also uses a limelight procedure to treat patients.
Misti Wolf said she treated a woman with spider veins in her legs. For the patient, it was more personal than an issue that others noticed.
We treated her and she pretty much instantly noticed a difference, she said. She was thrilled. She was truly ecstatic.
Experiences like that are beneficial for more than the patient; Tom Wolf and registered nurses Misti Wolf and Sam Renter said helping customers be happier with their appearance has been rewarding.
Its been exciting to have patients come in wanting to improve their skin conditions and making them comfortable in their own skin, Misti Wolf said.
When you look better, you feel better, Tom Wolf added. That translates to improvements in well-being all around.
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Prairie Fields now offers aesthetic services in Fremont - Fremont Tribune
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, by astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, is exactly what it says it is a short tour of our understanding of the cosmos that is charming, conversational, witty and perfect to read in short bursts. Its a great introduction to astrophysics. If you lack time to read a longer book but remain curious about why a subject like astrophysics matters, pick this one up.
Tyson is director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, hosts his own television show, hosted an updated version of Carl Sagans classic television series Cosmos, and frequently appears on talk shows. His enthusiasm for astrophysics, contagious on television, translates to print. I could hear his voice as I read the words.
Tyson breaks his book down into 12 easily-read chapters. He starts with the beginning of the universe and then continues through subjects such as dark matter, dark energy, the space between galaxies, alien intelligence and the prevalence of round objects, until he ends with an argument on why the cosmological perspective is essential for humanity.
Its fascinating, succinctly written limited jargon. That doesnt mean its an easy read. The books shortness means you can stop reading on occasion to make sense of all the big ideas and still finish the book. (Remember, this is written for curious people in a hurry.)
Along with the mind-blowing science, Tyson is funny, full of interesting opinions, and folksy proclamations. Yes, Einstein was a badass, writes Tyson. And then, later, Without a doubt, Einsteins greatest blunder was having declared that Lambda was his greatest blunder.
Towards the end, after explaining what we know about the universe, Tyson attempts to put it all in perspective. Why does astrophysics matter to us, in our daily lives? Understanding the rules of the universe helps us understand ourselves and equips us for the future, he argues. Figuring out the rules of the universe is how people moved from caves to agriculture. This is the continuation of that movement.
How does it help us understand ourselves? Simply put, we are made of the stuff of stars.
We do not simply live in this universe; the universe lives in us.
Furthermore, if we ever discover alien intelligence, it too will be made of the stuff of stars. It behooves us in the meantime to study the stars and understand how the universe works. After reading this, youll see that there are a lot of strange, unanswered questions lurking in space.
This short, excellent read should find a happy home in every librarys science section. After reading this, readers who want more can move on to books with additional detail.
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Review: "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" | Mo Books ... - The Missourian (blog)
Facebookhas spoken for the first time about the artificialintelligence programmes it uses to deter and remove terrorist propagandaonline after the platform was criticised for not doing enough to tackle extremism.
The social media giantalso revealed it is employing 3,000 extra people this year in order to trawl through posts and remove those that break the law or the sites' community guidelines.
It also plans to boost it's "counter-speech" efforts, to encourage influential voices to condemn and call-out terrorism online to prevent people from being radicalised.
In a landmark post titled "hard questions", Monika Bickert, Director of Global Policy Management, and Brian Fishman, Counterterrorism Policy Manager explained Facebook has been developing artificial intelligence to detect terror videos and messages before they are posted live and preventing them from appearing on the site.
The pair state: "In the wake of recent terror attacks, people have questioned the role of tech companies in fighting terrorism online. We want to answer those questions head on."
Explaining how Facebook works to stop extremist content being posted the post continues: "We are currently focusing our most cutting edge techniques to combat terrorist content about ISIS, Al Qaeda and their affiliates, and we expect to expand to other terrorist organizations in due course.
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Facebook using artificial intelligence to combat terrorist propaganda - Telegraph.co.uk