Monthly Archives: July 2020

Gravity on Space Stations and Free Fall – The Great Courses Daily News

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By Don Lincoln, Ph.D., University of Notre DameThere is gravity on the International Space Station, but astronauts appear to be weightless because both the space station and the astronauts are in free fall. (Image: NASA/Public domain)Weight of a Person on Space Stations

Lets work it out. The radius of the Earth is about 6,400 kilometers and the International Space Station orbits about 400 kilometers straight up, or at an orbital radius of about 6,800 kilometers.

Remember that Newtons law of gravity says that the force between two objects, in this case a person and the Earth, is equal to G times the persons mass times the Earths mass divided by the squared distance between the person and the center of the Earth.

Now to show you that gravity does exist on the space station, we can look up the numbers or we can be smart and set the problem up as a simple ratio. We want to know the weight of a person on the surface of the Earth compared to the weight of a person in the space station, there are some constants in the problem. The mass of the person and the Earth doesnt change and neither does G. So, we dont have to worry about those things. Instead, we remember that a weight is a force.

What we can do is we can set-up the two equations in the following way. Lets take a person with a weight of 150 pounds on the surface of the Earth and lets have our unknown as the weight of a person on the International Space Station. The two equations will be the 150 pounds equals G times the masses divided by the 6400 kilometers squared and the unknown weight on the space station being the same G times masses divided by 6800 kilometers squared.

So, we can take the ratios and the G and masses cancel out and we get the weight on the space station divided by 150 pounds equals 6400 divided by 6800 all squared. Doing the arithmetic, we find that a person who weighs 150 pounds on Earth will weigh 133 pounds on the space station.

Its incorrect to say that they wont weigh anything. So how do we understand what we see with our own eyes? The astronauts definitely look like they are weightless. Or are the conspiracy theory crew right after all and its all a fake? No, definitely not. We shouldnt have even asked such a ridiculous question. But, whats the explanation?

This is a transcript from the video series Understanding the Misconceptions of Science. Watch it now, on The Great Courses Plus.

Believe it or not, the explanation is that both the space station and the astronauts are literally falling. If you stopped the space station in its orbit or, if it was just lifted straight up 400 kilometers right after it was originally built, it would fall straight back to Earth, much like Alan Eustace or Felix Baumgartner did when they jumped off a platform 40 kilometers above the Earths surface.

The space station and everything in it is also moving sideward. So, what is really happening is that the station is constantly falling toward the Earth, but its constantly missing.

Now this way of thinking isnt new. Its something that Isaac Newton came up with. He thought about shooting a cannonball horizontally. As you know, it will fly horizontally as it falls. Shoot it faster and it will go further. Shoot it even faster and it will go further still. Eventually, he reasoned, the ball will go fast enough that the curvature of the Earth comes into play and the ball will be able to orbit the Earth. The same thing is going on with the space station and the astronauts. They are constantly falling and missing the Earth.

Learn more about the myths of orbital motion.

In fact, the correct word you should use is that the astronauts are not in zero gravity, but rather in free fall. They are most definitely not in zero gravity. As far back as Galileo, we realized that objects of different mass fall at the same speed. So, the space station and the astronauts fall together.

An astronaut once told us about certain unexpected things they encounter in space. He taught us something that takes this whole free fall understanding to an even higher level. He said that if you sat completely still in the shuttle, you would slowly drift forward toward the nose of the ship.

Thats because the shuttle was in low enough orbit that there was a little air drag. Even though the space shuttle was mostly in free fall, the air slowed the shuttle down just a little bit. The astronauts were shielded from the drag and so they didnt slow down and the net effect is that if you sat there for a while, youd drift towards the front of the spacecraft.

Of course, you generally dont need to worry about such little things. One of the brilliant features of science is the ability to simplify a problem by ignoring tiny effects. But if you want to know how a precise answer, eventually ignoring those things will lead you astray and youll end up believing something not quite right, like the statement that planetary orbits are perfect ellipses. It just goes to show you that theres always something to learn in science.

Learn more about what the world gets wrong about science.

Yes, there is gravity on the International Space Station. Based on Newtons law of gravity, which says that the force between two objects, in this case a person and the Earth, is equal to G times the persons mass times the Earths mass divided by the squared distance between the person and the center of the Earth, we can calculate that a person who weighs 150 pounds on Earth will weigh 133 pounds on the space station.

The reason astronauts float inside the space station is that both the space station and the astronauts are in free fall. As far back as Galileo, we realized that objects of different mass fall at the same speed. So, the space station and the astronauts fall together, which creates the illusion of zero gravity or weightlessness.

The basic concept of free fall was first demonstrated by Isaac Newton with the canonball experiment, in which, theoretically, when the canonball is shot out fast enough to bring the curvature of the Earth into play, the ball will be able to orbit the Earth. The same thing happens with the space station and the astronauts. They are constantly falling and missing the Earth.

Yes, astronauts are in free fall on space stations. There is gravity on space stations, and thats the only force acting on astronauts. Since the only force working on the space station itself is also gravity, both the astronauts and the space station are in free fall together.

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Gravity on Space Stations and Free Fall - The Great Courses Daily News

NASA snaps stunning space station photo of ‘stars, cities, spaceships and a comet’ – Mirror Online

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From their position on the International Space Station, astronauts are treated to a unique view of our planet that most people will never have the chance to see.

The ISS orbits Earth at a height of around 250 miles, meaning the space station makes around 16 trips around Earth every single day.

Now, one NASA astronaut on board the ISS has snapped a stunning photo of "stars, cities spaceships and a comet".

Astronaut Bob Behnken, who has only been on the ISS for a month, posted the beautiful photo to Twitter.

He wrote: Night sky, just before dawn from @Space_Station. Stars, cities, spaceships, and a comet!

While it remains unclear which cities can be seen in the photo, the comet is Comet NEOWISE, which will be visible throughout July.

The comet will reach its closest point to Earth on July 23, at which point it will be at a distance of 103 million kilometres, according to Paul Sutherland, author of Skymania.

He explained: The comets track is currently carrying it between the constellations of Auriga and Gemini, so in early July you will have to look to the north-east, a little way beneath the bright star Capella, to find it.

During the rest of July, Comet NEOWISE will head through Lynx and into Ursa Major, passing beneath the familiar asterism of seven bright stars known as the Big Dipper, or the Plough. This will keep it low in the sky before dawn, but it will increasingly be visible earlier in the night, in a darker sky.

By the third week of July, the comet will be on view all night long and stargazers will be able to view it before going to bed, rather than having to get out of their warm beds before dawn!

While the comet is likely to be visible with the naked eye, binoculars could come in handy if you have them.

Mr Sutherland added: Binoculars will be very helpful in finding it, even if the comet is just visible in the brightening twilight.

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NASA snaps stunning space station photo of 'stars, cities, spaceships and a comet' - Mirror Online

When to spot the International Space Station, 2 planets and 1 comet – prepare for super Sunday – Newbury Weekly News Group

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IT'S back! The International Space Station is visible over UK skies from now until the beginning of August - that's three weeks when you can spot an actual spaceship, carrying real life astronauts, looking down on us looking up at them.

But it's not just about a man made craft - Comet Neowise is making its presence felt too and the picture above was taken by Phil Hawkins from Thatcham who wrote: 'Inspired by Dave Foulger's superb photo (see Dave's picture below), here is another photo of the same comet taken in the early hours of Sunday morning from the car park near where the Ridgeway path crosses the A34.'

Phil used a 600mm lens, F8 with 2 sec exposure.

Comet Neowise is visible to the naked eye until the end of the month and will reach its closest point to Earth on July 23, when it will be about 64 million miles away - or about 400 times further away than the Moon. But many people are spotting it in these great clear skies already. With cloudy evenings forecast over the next week, you might want to make the most of this evening, when Comet Neowise will be visible low on the northern horizon from about 11pm.

Joining in the fun will be the planets Jupiter and Saturn which should also both be visible throughout the night.

But if it's the International Space Station you are waiting for, if you missed it last night, then you need to stay up until 1.37am or 3.14am, not technically Sunday we know, but the early hours of July 13, to catch your first glimpse.

Here are some of the more civilised times for next week: Monday, July 13, 11.19pm; Tuesday, July 14 - 00.50am, 10.26pm; Wednesday, July 15, 00.02am, 11.14pm; Thursday, July 16, 10.26pm; Friday, July 17,00.02am, 11.14pm and Saturday, July 18 10.27pm.

These times are approximate, so give yourself 10 minutes either side and can also change if the space station performs an orbital boost and changes its orbit. The International Space Station always appears from the westerly part of the sky, although not necessarily the same point, and a pass can last around five minutes.

The ISS is also visible at regular intervals throughout the night, but we reckon you need to get some sleep! We'll post the following week's times next Sunday.

Happy sky gazing and don't forget to email your cosmic photographs to geraldine.gardner@newburynews.co.ukso we can create a gallery of pictures.

Can you take a photograph like Phil Hawkins, above, or this shot taken by Dave Foulger from Combe Gibbet?

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When to spot the International Space Station, 2 planets and 1 comet - prepare for super Sunday - Newbury Weekly News Group

Safety fixes added to Boeing space capsule – The Columbian

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. NASA has added more safety fixes for Boeings space capsule before it can fly astronauts following a pair of close calls during last years test flight.

In closing out the seven-month investigation, NASA officials said Tuesday they have now identified 80 corrective actions, mostly involving software and testing, that must be done before the Starliner capsule launches again. The previous count was 61.

Its a bit of a wake-up call for NASA and its contractors across the board, said Steve Stich, manager of NASAs commercial crew program.

During its space debut in December with no one on board, the Starliner ended up in the wrong orbit and could not reach the International Space Station. Ground controllers barely had time to solve another software problem that could have destroyed the capsule at flights end.

Boeing will repeat the flight later this year before attempting to launch astronauts next spring.

SpaceX, meanwhile, successfully launched two NASA astronauts to the space station in May. They will return home next month aboard their Dragon capsule, splashing down off the Florida coast.

In hindsight, NASA did not focus enough on the software portion of the Boeing flight, Stich said. The space agency instead probably concentrated more on SpaceX because of its nontraditional approach to software development, he acknowledged.

Boeing had plenty of experience working on large NASA projects like the space shuttle and space station, and so NASA was a little more used to the Boeing process, Stich said.

Its often natural for a human being to spend more time on that newer approach, and maybe we didnt quite take the time we needed with the more traditional approach, he added.

NASA has since added more of its own staff to monitor software development at both Boeing and SpaceX.

NASA is also borrowing SpaceXs robust approach to software, which involves going back to the designers following testing for feedback, said Kathy Lueders, NASAs new human spaceflight chief who until a month ago managed commercial crew. She wants to see more of that type of approach across other NASA programs.

Boeing will need several more months to complete its software upgrades and tests before repeating the first test flight, officials said.

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Safety fixes added to Boeing space capsule - The Columbian

This is why we are trying to make organs in the International Space Station – ThePrint

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Gravity can be a real downer when you are trying to grow organs.

Thats why experiments in space are so valuable. They have revealed a new perspective into biological sciences, including insights into making human tissues.

Gravity influences cellular behavior by impacting how protein and genes interact inside the cells, creating tissue that is polarized, a fundamental step for natural organ development. Unfortunately, gravity is against us when we try to reproduce complex three dimensional tissues in the lab for medical transplantation. This is difficult because of the intrinsic limitations of bio-reactors used on Earth.

I am a stem cell biologist and interested on brain health and evolution. My lab studies how the human brain is formed inside the womb and how alterations in this process might have lifelong consequences to human behavior, such as in autism or schizophrenia. Part of that work includes growing brain cells in space.

Also read: In zero gravity, this is how poorly your brain will function

To build organized tissues in the lab, scientists use scaffolds to provide a surface for cells to attach based on a predetermined rigid shape. For example, an artificial kidney needs a structure, or scaffold, of a certain shape for kidney cells to grow on. Indeed, this strategy helps the tissue to organize in the early stages but creates problems in the long run, such as eventual immune reactions to these synthetic scaffolds or inaccurate structures.

By contrast, in weightless conditions, cells can freely self-organize into their correct three-dimensional structure without the need for a scaffold substrate. By removing gravity from the equation, we researchers might learn new ways of building human tissues, such as cartilage and blood vessels that are scaffold-free, mimicking their natural cellular arrangement in an artificial setting. While this is not exactly what happens in the womb (after all the womb is also subject to gravity), weightless conditions does give us an advantage.

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And this is precisely what is happening at the International Space Station.

These experiments help researchers optimize tissue growth for use in basic science, personalized medicine and organ transplantation.

But there are other reasons why we should manufacture organs in space. Long-term space missions create a series of physiological alterations in the body of astronauts. While some of these alterations are reversible with time, others are not, compromising future human spaceflights.

Studying astronauts bodies before and after their mission can reveal what goes wrong on their organs, but provides little insights on the mechanisms responsible for the observed alterations. Thus, growing human tissues in space can complement this type of investigation and reveal ways to counteract it.

Finally, all forms of life that we know about have evolved in the presence of microgravity. Without gravity, our brains might have evolved in a different trajectory, or our livers might not filter liquids as it does on Earth.

By recreating embryonic organ formation in space, we can anticipate how the human body in the womb would develop. There are several research initiatives going on in my lab with human brain organoids at ISS, designed to learn the impact of zero gravity on the developing human brain. These projects will have profound implications for future human colonization (can humans successfully reproduce in space?). These studies will also improve the generation of artificial organs that are used for testing drugs and treatments on Earth. Will better treatments for neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative conditions that affects millions of people come from research in space?

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Also read: Elon Musks top concern now is SpaceX getting to Mars before he dies

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This is why we are trying to make organs in the International Space Station - ThePrint

Spacestation Gaming and Misfits advance to CRL West 2020 spring season finals – Dot Esports

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The finalists for the $75,000Clash RoyaleLeague (CRL) West 2020 spring season have been locked in. Spacestation Gaming and Misfits Gaming won their respective semifinals today to qualify for the CRL West finals.

The first semifinal saw Spacestation Gaming take on Group-A winners, Tribe Gaming. Tribe were the favorites coming into the match since the team hadnt dropped a single match in the regular season. Spacestation Gaming, which had knocked the reigning world champions out of the league just one day before, was also confident of making it to the finals.

Tribe had a strong start after they won the two-versus-two set and the first one-versus-one set. Spacestation made a comeback, however, as the team reverse swept Tribe Gaming in the next three sets to advance to the finals.

Here are the set wise results of the first semifinal between Tribe Gaming and Spacestation Gaming:

Tribe Gamings Jarod Azilys Emmanuel Quesada and Charlie Boeufmac McLaren defeated Spacestations Nicholas thegod_rf Kublin and Joshua Ah Craap Sharon 2-1.

Tribe Gamings Jung TNT Min Lee defeated Spacestations Samuel Samuel Henrique 2-1.

Spacestations Tsimafei LaPoKaTi Lapanik took down Tribes Boeufmac 2-0.

Spacestations thegod_rf defeated Tribes Eungyu JupiterKing Park 2-0.

Spacestation Gaming won the set 3-1 to advance to the finals.

In the second semifinals, Misfits Gaming locked horns with defending CRL West champions, SK Gaming.

The semifinal was very close as both teams played tremendously. The teams alternated the first four sets bringing the match to a 2-2 tie before the King of the Hill.

The King of the Hill set was smooth sailing for Misfits Gaming, though. The teams James Wings Wingard defeated all three of SK Gamings players to take Misfits Gaming to the finals of the CRL West.

Here are the set-wise results of the semifinals between Misfits Gaming and SK Gaming.

SK Gamings Samuel xopsam Klotz and Morten Morten Mehmert took down Misfits Michael Razzer Roper and George Dip Galvin 2-1.

Misfits Gamings Wings defeated SKs xopsam 2-1.

SK Gamings Javier Javi14 Rodriguez defeated Misfits Jack airsurfer McHugh 2-1.

Misfits Razzer defeated SK Gamings Morten 2-0.

Misfits Gaming took the final set as the teams Wings defeated SK Gamings Sergio SergioRamos Eduardo Ramos, Javi14, and Morten.

Misfits Gaming and Spacestation Gaming will now face off in the finals on July 18 to crown the spring season champions of the CRL West 2020.

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Spacestation Gaming and Misfits advance to CRL West 2020 spring season finals - Dot Esports

Why are scientists trying to manufacture organs in space? – The Conversation US

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Gravity can be a real downer when you are trying to grow organs.

Thats why experiments in space are so valuable. They have revealed a new perspective into biological sciences, including insights into making human tissues.

Gravity influences cellular behavior by impacting how protein and genes interact inside the cells, creating tissue that is polarized, a fundamental step for natural organ development. Unfortunately, gravity is against us when we try to reproduce complex three dimensional tissues in the lab for medical transplantation. This is difficult because of the intrinsic limitations of bio-reactors used on Earth.

I am a stem cell biologist and interested on brain health and evolution. My lab studies how the human brain is formed inside the womb and how alterations in this process might have lifelong consequences to human behavior, such as in autism or schizophrenia. Part of that work includes growing brain cells in space.

To build organized tissues in the lab, scientists use scaffolds to provide a surface for cells to attach based on a predetermined rigid shape. For example, an artificial kidney needs a structure, or scaffold, of a certain shape for kidney cells to grow on. Indeed, this strategy helps the tissue to organize in the early stages but creates problems in the long run, such as eventual immune reactions to these synthetic scaffolds or inaccurate structures.

[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversations newsletter.]

By contrast, in weightless conditions, cells can freely self-organize into their correct three-dimensional structure without the need for a scaffold substrate. By removing gravity from the equation, we researchers might learn new ways of building human tissues, such as cartilage and blood vessels that are scaffold-free, mimicking their natural cellular arrangement in an artificial setting. While this is not exactly what happens in the womb (after all the womb is also subject to gravity), weightless conditions does give us an advantage.

And this is precisely what is happening at the International Space Station.

These experiments help researchers optimize tissue growth for use in basic science, personalized medicine and organ transplantation.

But there are other reasons why we should manufacture organs in space. Long-term space missions create a series of physiological alterations in the body of astronauts. While some of these alterations are reversible with time, others are not, compromising future human spaceflights.

Studying astronauts bodies before and after their mission can reveal what goes wrong on their organs, but provides little insights on the mechanisms responsible for the observed alterations. Thus, growing human tissues in space can complement this type of investigation and reveal ways to counteract it.

Finally, all forms of life that we know about have evolved in the presence of microgravity. Without gravity, our brains might have evolved in a different trajectory, or our livers might not filter liquids as it does on Earth.

By recreating embryonic organ formation in space, we can anticipate how the human body in the womb would develop. There are several research initiatives going on in my lab with human brain organoids at ISS, designed to learn the impact of zero gravity on the developing human brain. These projects will have profound implications for future human colonization (can humans successfully reproduce in space?). These studies will also improve the generation of artificial organs that are used for testing drugs and treatments on Earth. Will better treatments for neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative conditions that affects millions of people come from research in space?

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Why are scientists trying to manufacture organs in space? - The Conversation US

On This Day: Skylab falls to earth – UPI News

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On July 11, 1979, Skylab, the United States' first space station, fell to Earth after six years in orbit, scattering tons of debris across the Australian desert. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

Patrick Hannon Sr. holds a baseball signed by Baseball Hall of Fame member Babe Ruth on opening day of the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame Bar and Grill in Maryland Heights, Mo., on March 30, 2012. On July 11, 1914, Ruth makes his debut in Major League Baseball. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

The photo exhibit "Srebrenica, remembrance for the future," is on display in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. on June 16, 2005. On July 11 1995, Bosnian Serbs claim the town of Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina, starting a genocide that would result in the deaths of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys. UPI File Photo | License Photo

U.S. President George W. Bush awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Harper Lee, author of "To Kill a Mockingbird," in the East Room of the White House in Washington on November 5, 2007. The book was published on July 11, 1960. File Photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI | License Photo

Newly commissioned 2nd lieutenants celebrate as the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds fly over the U.S. Air Force Academy class of 2016 graduation ceremony at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colo., on June 2, 2016. In 1955, the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado was dedicated, with 300 cadets in its first class. File Photo by Mike Kaplan/U.S. Air Force/UPI | License Photo

July 11 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1804, U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr killed longtime political foe Alexander Hamilton, the first treasury secretary, in a duel at Weehawken, N.J.

In 1847, songwriter Stephen Foster's first major hit, "Oh! Susanna," was performed for the first time, in a Pittsburgh saloon. It soon became a standard for minstrel shows.

In 1859, Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities was published.

In 1914, legendary hitter Babe Ruth makes his debut in Major League Baseball. The Great Bambino would go on to become one of the greatest baseball players of all time and was included in the inaugural class of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

In 1952, U.S. Army Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was nominated as the Republican presidential candidate, with Richard Nixon as his running mate. They were elected that November.

In 1955, the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado was dedicated, with 300 cadets in its first class.

In 1960, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird was published.

In 1979, Skylab, the United States' first space station, fell to Earth after six years in orbit, scattering tons of debris across the Australian desert.

In 1995, the United States resumed diplomatic relations with Vietnam.

In 1995, Bosnian Serbs claim the town of Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina, starting a genocide that would result in the deaths of more than 7,000 Muslim men and boys.

In 2006, more than 200 people were killed and another 700 injured in coordinated rush-hour terrorist attacks on the transit system in Mumbai.

In 2011, an overloaded Russian cruise ship with a malfunctioning engine capsized in the Volga River during a thunderstorm and quickly sank, killing 122 people. There were 79 survivors.

In 2015, Drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman escaped from a maximum-security Mexican prison on through a 5,000-foot tunnel. It was his second escape from prison, and he would {link:later be caught: "https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2016/01/08/Joaquin-El-Chapo-Guzman-nabbed-in-Mexico-six-months-after-prison-break/8441452277841/" target="_blank"} in January 2016.

In 2019, Japan's asteroid-circling probe executed a {link:second touchdown: "https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2019/07/11/Japans-Hayabusa-2-completes-second-asteroid-touchdown-collects-another-sample/4761562848303/" target="_blank"} on Ryugu.

Hayabusa-2's camera captured a photograph of the spacecraft just four seconds after it touched-down briefly on the surface of the asteroid Ryugu. File Photo by JAXA

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On This Day: Skylab falls to earth - UPI News

Video: Where to watch the UAE’s historic Hope Probe launch – Gulf News

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Hope Probe reaches Japanese Island Image Credit: Supplied

Dubai: Mark the date: July 15 (Wednesday) and the time 12:51am (UAE time). Its a big moment as we witness the historic launch of the first Arab interplanetary mission.

Hope Probe, which will begin its journey to Mars on July 15 at exactly 12:51:27am from Japans Tanegashima Space Centre (TNSC), will be streamed live on https://www.emiratesmarsmission.ae/live/.

The launch of Hope Probe will also mark as the first time in history that the countdown for a space mission will be done in Arabic.

With a voice that will make history, the Hope Probe to Mars will be launched with the first Arabic countdown ever, the Dubai Media Office tweeted earlier.

Our voice will echo our ancestors legacy and a voice will make history with the first Arabic countdown, added a video released by the EMM.

From Mars and beyond

The spacecraft will take a 495-million kilometre journey to reach and orbit Mars. The voyage will take around 200 days and Hope Probe is expected to reach Mars in February 2021, coinciding with the UAEs Golden Jubilee celebrations.

It is touted as the first true weather satellite at Mars. It will provide a complete view of Mars atmosphere and answer vital scientific questions, including why Mars the loss hydrogen and oxygen gases into space. Hope Probe will help international scientist understand the weather and learn how Mars lost some of its atmosphere over billions of years

According to a tweet by Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) on Sunday, Hope is more than just a word. Hope has become a probe that carries with it our ambitions for Mars and beyond.

Emirati engineer Hamad Al Hazmi, who is part of the EMM team, told Gulf News: Hope Probe is a true testament to the efforts by Emiratis, Arabs and Muslims. It represents a major turning point in the UAEs past 50 years and (what it will achieve) in the next 50 years.

Al Hazmi also described Hope Probe as a scientific mission that is a symbol of hope for hundreds of millions of people across the 56 Arab and Islamic countries. The UAE has initiated the Arab Space Co-operation Group, an organisation of 14 Arab nations exchaning knowledge in space science.

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Video: Where to watch the UAE's historic Hope Probe launch - Gulf News

Eau de Space brings the scent of outer space down to Earth – CTV News

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Space, the final fragrance.

If you've ever wondered what space smells like, a new perfume may answer that for you. A Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign was recently launched for a new fragrance called Eau de Space to bring the smell of outer space back down to Earth.

The fragrance was developed by Steve Pearce, according to Eau de Space product manager Matt Richmond. Pearce is a chemist and the founder of Omega Ingredients, a company focused on the "creation of the highest quality, provenance driven, natural flavours and ingredients for the food and beverage industry," its website says.

Pearce was originally contracted by NASA to recreate the smell in 2008 after he worked on a scent exhibition for which he recreated the smell of the inside of the Mir Space Station, Pearce told CNN.

Using notes from astronauts who described space smelling like ozone, hot metal and fried steak, Pearce used his knowledge of flavour and fragrance chemistry to produce combinations matching those descriptions, he said.

It took Pearce a few weeks to gather the "right aroma chemicals" to try out a few ideas before arriving at something he found satisfactory, he said.

The scent was created to help astronauts train before launching in orbit, and it was part of NASA's goal of eliminating any potential surprises astronauts might encounter or experience in space, according to the Kickstarter.

"It's kind of like a smell from a gun, right after you fire the shot," Peggy Whitson, an astronaut and former resident of the International Space Station, told CNN in a 2002 interview about the smell of space. "I think it kind of has almost a bitter kind of smell in addition to being smoky and burned."

Richmond said that he has struggled to describe how the fragrance smells, adding, "Astronauts describe the smell as a mix of gunpowder, seared steak, raspberries and rum."

The company's main goal with Eau de Space is to increase interest in STEM learning for K-12 students through what Richmond called "experiential education." He hopes that Eau de Space will start the discussion, with parents, teachers and scientists taking it from there.

Richmond revealed that they are looking into releasing a fragrance called Smell of the Moon based on the excitement around Eau de Space.

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Eau de Space brings the scent of outer space down to Earth - CTV News

Is antifa the leftist radical group we think it is? – SC Times

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Lois Thielen, Times Writers Group Published 2:35 p.m. CT July 6, 2020

In the wake of the nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd, angry protesters looted, vandalized and burned buildings in cities across the country.

While most of the protests were peaceful, those that were not were condemned as violence begetting more violence. Among those accused of perpetrating this violence were members of a movement known as antifa.In fact, President Donald Trump even wanted antifa listed as a terrorist organization.

Lois Thielen(Photo: Times photo)

But antifa isn't even an organization and its name is short for antifascist.Its followers fight authoritarian right-wing movements of the kind found in Nazi Germany or Mussolini's Italy.

Rather than an organized group, it's a loose collection of groups and individuals who believe in active, aggressive opposition to far-right movements, according to the Anti-Defamation League.Their ideology is rooted in the belief that the Nazi Party would not have been able to assume the power it had in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s had citizens fought more aggressively in the streets at the time.

According to a June 24 article of the Smithsonian Magazine by James Stout entitled"A Brief History of Anti-Fascism,""Anti-fascism began where fascism began, in Italy." Known as "The People's Daring Ones," the anti-fascist movement began in 1921 to fight the increasingly violent forces supported by Benito Mussolini, Italy's fascist dictator from 1925-1945.The resistance brought together trade unionists, anarchists, socialists, communists, republicans and former army officers.

About the same time in Germany, anti-fascists fought in the streets against the repression of Jews and gays as perpetrated by the Nazis, until forcibly disbanded in 1933 when Adolf Hitler became dictator.

Antifa gained visibility in the United States after the white supremacist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where white supremacists and anitifa clashed.

Because antifa is not a group but members of groups as well as individuals not part of a group, it's been hard to identify who antifa is and what their goals are.This leads to false accusations, such as after the Black Lives Matter protests, when Trump labeled them a left-wing terrorist group, although they are not a group and many involved with antifa are not leftists.

Furthermore, according to a June 6article in The Guardian by Jason Wilson, the FBI has said it found no evidence of antifa involvement in the George Floyd protests or related destruction.

But rumors flooded social media sites of bands of terrorists traveling en masse into rural areas of America.InCoeur d'Alene, Idaho, groups of 30-50 men armed with semi-automatic weapons occupied downtown streets, guarding against the "busloads of radical leftists" they had been assured were heading their way.

"But the 'antifa' discussed in the presidents tweets and on Fox News bears little resemblance to this morally gray reality," saidZack Beauchamp in a June 8 Vox blog entitled "Antifa, explained.""They are a trumped-up boogeyman for the conservative movement, a totem used to justify their violent law and order approach to legitimate demonstrations demanding racial justice."

Nor is antifa responsible for the current unrest.Systemic racism has beenthe focus of the recent protests and antifais about opposing this systemic racism, according to Mark Bray, a historian of antifa at Rutgers University.

They believe, and I think rightly so, that fascism and proximate far-right politics are inherently aggressive and that, if youre not ready to defend yourself in advance, it may be too late when the time comes.

This is the opinion of Lois Thielen, a dairy farmer who lives near Grey Eagle. Her column is published the first Tuesday of the month.

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Is antifa the leftist radical group we think it is? - SC Times

The Shot Heard Roundand Round and Roundthe World – The Dispatch

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Howdy,

Like most Americans, I spent a lot of Fourth of July weekend taking pictures of my moms cats. But I did find the time to tweet.

One tweet in particular got a lot of attention:

Many of the responses were quite depressing. I have no serious problem with people saying I was being simplistic or glibits Twitter after all. Thats like complaining my diorama of the Battle of Waterloo using guinea pigs in period garb didnt capture all of the facets and nuance of the conflict: correct on the merits but a bit shabby given the limits of the medium.

Many Canadians and Brits of a certain stripe smugly claimed that they have all sorts of rights, too. So why make a big deal about the founding? Others pointed out that the American Revolution had more to do with taxation than inalienable rights, which has a much relevance to me as the pedantic noting that my guinea pigs aren't carrying the standard .70 caliber smoothbore flintlocks of the period.

But the complaints that bothered me the most were those that scoffed at the idea we should feel any gratitude toward the founding.

That said, Adam Gurri of Liberal Currents asks a fair question:

He is right. Which is why I wrote an entire book (now out in paperback!) dedicated to this very task.

So let me start with what I mean by gratitude: I mean gratitude.

We protect what we are grateful for. We are less inclined to do so for things for which we are ungrateful, or even resentful of. Of course, you can hate the founding and even America and still cherish the Bill of Rights. But you can see how such hatred, if given free rein, could lead you in the opposite direction. At the very minimum, championing ingratitude toward the founding cuts off one important source of support for the fruit of the founding.

In other areas of life, I dont think my claim would be very controversial. If you had good parents who worked hard to provide for you and teach you right from wrong, your gratitude for their sacrifices would be one of the benchmarks of how you define good character and decent decision making. Again, its not the only one. Right conduct can be deduced from other principles. But the fear that you are betraying something at the heart of what your parents expected of you is an important restraint on bad behavior.

If you worked your way up through a business or institution and became its leader, your sense of gratitude for what it has done for you and others would be one of the guideposts for managing it with integrity and aiming to pass it on in good order when you retire. Gratitude creates a sense of obligation. Ingratitude breeds a spiteful spirit and indifference. Im not a Christian, but I find it difficult to imagine a good Christian who would be ungrateful or indifferent to Jesuss death on the cross. The sacrifices of martyrs, not just for Christianity, but for any faith or righteous cause fortifies our sense of commitment to that cause. Sure, guilt plays a role, but guilt is often simply the word for knowing youre not living up to your obligations.

I suspect that if I wrote that no one should have a sense of gratitude for Martin Luther King Jr.s sacrifices, many of the same people would denounce me from the opposite direction.

Now, Im not arguing that one should feel personal gratitude to the founders who risked a traitors death when they signed the Declaration, the final words of which were, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor. I have no problem with that argument, but I dont spend my days thinking, What Would John Adams Do?

My point is that we should feel grateful for the founding, because it was a massive advance for all of humanity.

The shot heard round the world.

I understand that race is the most important issueeven the only issuefor a lot of people today. But it wasnt then. The 1619 Project people can claim the American Revolution was intended to protect slavery all they like, it wont make it true. Similarly, people can dust off their Charles Beard and claim that the founders were nothing more than taxophobic landowners uninterested in real human liberty until theyre blue in the face.

But its worth remembering what people at the time thought of the American Revolution. In response to the Declaration, Austrian Empress Maria Theresa conveyed to George III her hearty desire to see the restoration of obedience and tranquility in every quarter of his dominions. Her son Joseph, a nominal co-ruler, told the British ambassador, "The cause in which England is engaged ... is the cause of all sovereigns who have a joint interest in the maintenance of due subordination ... in all the surrounding monarchies."

As Henry Fairlie recounted in The New Republic more than 30 years ago, the revolt in America horrified the despots of Europe: The rulers feared that their subjects would see the American action not as a rebellion against a rightful monarch in his own territoriesthere had been plenty of rebellions against European sovereignsbut as the proclamation of a revolutionary doctrine of universal application, as the Declaration indeed announced it to be. A. P. Bernstorff, the Danish foreign minister wrote to a friend, The public here is extremely occupied with the rebels [in America], not because they know the cause, but because the mania of independence in reality has infected all the spirits, and the poison has spread imperceptibly from the works of the philosophes all the way out to the village schools. I am grateful for the American founding. I am grateful for the Declaration of Independence. I am thankful that I was born in this country. I am grateful for the founders and their revolutionaryin every sensebreak with the past.

Fairlie quotes at length from newspapers and letters across the continent, demonstrating how the American cause was seen as one of universal appeal and a sharp break from the arbitrary rule of even enlightened despots. In England, public sentiment was obviously mixed, but many saw how the colonists were in fact fighting for the best traditions of English liberty (which is why Edmund Burke was always sympathetic to their cause). When the news of the Boston Tea Party reached England, Fairlie writes, the London Packet called such resistance lawful and even honorable against tyrannic measures. After Lexington and Concord the London Evening Post said that the prevailing toast in every company of true Englishmen is, 'Victory to the Americans, and re-establishment to the British Constitution.

All of the smug Twitter gadflies boasting that England and Canada have their liberties, no thanks to the American founders, have no idea that the American cause inspired Englishmen and their loyal colonists in Canada to recommit to those very liberties. As one Danish historian observed, the Declaration of Independence had a decisive impact on the course of events leading to the attainment in 1849 of Denmark's first democratic constitution.

The American founding did something profoundly radical. For thousands of years, every nation had some notion of heredity status, royalty, nobility, aristocracy. The Founders did away with that. By all means, we can condemn their decision not to carry that democratic logic all the way and end the institution of slavery. But cant we also be grateful for the enormous stride they took in the right direction?

Similarly, the Founders took the best parts of Englands traditions of liberty and codified them. They took mere cultural norms of liberty that previously had been in open conflict with other cultural norms of tyranny and said, These are our principles. They refined them, elevated them, and turned them into rights for all the world to emulate. Again, they fell short on the issue of slavery. As I keep saying, the choice the Founders faced at the Constitutional Convention wasnt between a Constitution without slavery or one with it, but a choice between a workable Constitution or no Constitution at all.

And it was the principles in that document, as well as the Declaration, that gave moral and intellectual force to the cause of abolition. Thats why Martin Luther King Jr. invoked the Declaration as a promissory note that was long overdue.

I am grateful to the Founders for that gift. I suspect King was as well, because it gave him the best ammunition possible to persuade white Americans that they were falling short on their own highest ideals. After all, if white Americans were as dedicated to white supremacy as so many radicals claim, they would not care about those ideals. True believers in white supremacy, whether were talking about Hitler or the idiot poltroons of the alt-right, recognize this fact better than the radicals of the new alt-left, which is why they disparage constitutionalists as paper worshippers, vellum supremacists, and parchment fetishists.

The founders are guilty of hypocrisy when it comes to slaverynot all of them, but enough of them. But that hypocrisy is a gift we should be grateful for. You can only be a hypocrite if you have ideals. If you believe in nothing other than your self-interest, its very difficult to be a hypocrite. But if you have ideals, noble and revolutionary ideals, its very easy to be a hypocrite because ideals are hard to live up to. But thats the great benefit of hypocrisy, it highlights where you are falling short. It would be nice if the Founders had been angels, but they were the first to concede they werent, which is why they set up a constitutional order designed to protect against the worst aspects of human nature. That constitutional order, and the principles that inform it, is the greatest weapon for justice and progress toward a more perfect union you could reasonably ask for in the 18th century. And it isor at least should bethe best tool for those grateful for our liberties and eager to live in a just society.

And despite its flaws, real or perceived, I think we should all be grateful for it.

Photograph of the Howard Chandler Christy painting The Signing of the Constitution of the United States, with George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 by GraphicaArtis/Getty Images.

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The Shot Heard Roundand Round and Roundthe World - The Dispatch

Multiplying the Bounty: Cloning Free Plants | MOTHER EARTH NEWS – Mother Earth News

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Several weeks ago, when it became clear that we would not be able to have monthly garden club meetings, I began a podcast about gardening in St. Johns. I also put together short videos as I was doing things around my garden and put them on TikTok, as well as posting to our Garden Club Facebook page. One thing I had several people asking me about was how to take cuttings and turn them into new plants.

Many plants can be cloned through taking softwood stem cuttings. I've used Wisteria for this blog post, but I've done grapes, Rose of Sharon, roses, hydrangea, and many more. If you want to know if you can propagate your plants from softwood stem cuttings, do a general web search. Most deciduous shrubs can be copied this way.

In St. Johns and the surrounding area, maintaining moisture while cuttings take root is the hardest part, so preparing your rooting area should take place before you go to cutting stems off of plants.

Fill a pot with some soilless mix.When you are going to take cuttings, rooting them in soilless mix is much easier and more successful than it would be to try to root them in heavy soil. It is easier to water and is more consistent.

When I water potting "soil" for the first time, I always overwater, making sure water runs all the way through and out the holes in the bottom of the pot. Northern Arizona in incredibly arid, with "humid" days being somewhere around 25-30% humidity. Extra water will drain out of the pot very quickly.

Knowing when to take cuttings, and how to take them and prepare them to root is the first step. Most cuttings should be taken from soft wood, before the bark has hardened.

The cuttings themselves should only be about 6" long, at a maximum, and all but the top couple leaves should be cut off. This not only helps the cutting to send out roots rather than sending energy to the leaves, but it also helps the cutting to lose less water through respiration out of the leaves.

**Note** This next part can be done with or without rooting hormone. I have had less than 60% success with wisteria in the past without rooting hormone, so I did use it for this round.

Once you have your stem cuttings (notice how they are still somewhat green, rather than covered with bark), dip them in rooting hormone. Shake off the excess powder.

Whether or not you used rooting hormone, it is best at this point to poke holes in the soil with a stick or something, about 4" deep. The potting soil will rub off the hormone if you used it, or can plug the phloem at the bottom of the cutting if you didn't use it, so it is best not to use the cuttings and press them right into the soil. Blocking the phloem, or the little channels water runs up the stem through, will cut down your success rate. Just poke a hole with a pencil or small stick, set the cutting in it, firm the soil around the cutting, and then continue with all the rest of the cuttings.

In a pot this size, about 8 inches in diameter, you can place 10 or so cuttings. Once the soil is firmed up around each of the cuttings, water well, allowing water to run through the bottom of the pot. This pushes out air from around the cuttings, and will allow the stems to be in good contact with the potting soil.

Because we are in this arid area, I always set my watered pot in a seedling tray to allow a small amount of water to sit to increase the humidity immediately around the pot. Then cover the pot with a big trash bag or other plastic cover, making sure the plastic doesn't touch the leaves (more important in more humid areas). In 4-6 weeks, the cuttings should have roots strong enough to allow you to transplant each new baby plant into its own pot or directly in the ground where it will be growing.

Make sure you water well, until the plant recovers from the shock of transplanting, and then enjoy your new babies as they grow!

Regina Hitchockis a high school biology teacher in St. Johns, Arizona, where she co-founded the Gardeners with Altitude organic garden club and brings gardening, aquaponics, aeroponics, hydroponics, and seed starting into her classrooms. She serves as Secretary for White Mountain Community Cooperative to promote food- and economically secure self-sufficiency in Arizona. Connect withRegina on Facebook, and read all of her MOTHER EARTH NEWS postshere.

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Multiplying the Bounty: Cloning Free Plants | MOTHER EARTH NEWS - Mother Earth News

Fosmid Cloning Market 2020 | Size and Forecast Research 2025 With Covid-19 Impact Analysis And Top Performing Players (Bio S?T, Illumina, Lucigen…

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This report focuses on the global Fosmid Cloning status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players. The study objectives are to present the Fosmid Cloning development in United States, Europe and China.

Fosmids are DNA vectors similar to cosmids with F-factors replication which are used for DNA segregation and replication.Increasing demand due to the fosmid cloning offers clone stability afforded by single-copy cloning with the benefits of high yields of genomic material obtained by induction of fosmid clones to high copy-number.

ACCESS THE PDF SAMPLE OF THE REPORT @HTTPS://WWW.ORBISRESEARCH.COM/CONTACTS/REQUEST-SAMPLE/2308564

Global Fosmid Cloning market witnessed rapid growth due to rising demand for potential benefits like DNA yields for sequencing, sub-cloning, fingerprinting, transcription and others.United States dominates the global fosmid cloning Market due to the high acceptance among research organizations, and in United States, USA is a major stakeholder due to the high penetration.

In 2017, the global Fosmid Cloning market size was xx million US$ and it is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025.

The key players covered in this studyBio S?TIlluminaLucigen

MAKE AN ENQUIRY OF THIS REPORT @HTTPS://WWW.ORBISRESEARCH.COM/CONTACTS/ENQUIRY-BEFORE-BUYING/2308564

Market analysis by product typeSequencingSub-cloningFingerprintingTranscriptionOthers

Market analysis by marketResearch OrganizationsEducational InstitutesManufacturing Companies

Market analysis by RegionUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaCentral & South America

Browse the complete report @https://www.orbisresearch.com/reports/index/global-fosmid-cloning-market-size-status-and-forecast-2018-2025

The study objectives of this report are:To analyze global Fosmid Cloning status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players.To present the Fosmid Cloning development in United States, Europe and China.To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their development plan and strategies.To define, describe and forecast the market by product type, market and key regions.

In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Fosmid Cloning are as follows:History Year: 2017-2018Base Year: 2017Estimated Year: 2018Forecast Year 2018 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.

Table of Contents

Chapter One: Report Overview

1.1 Study Scope

1.2 Key Market Segments

1.3 Players Covered

1.4 Market Analysis by Type

1.4.1 Global Fosmid Cloning Market Size Growth Rate by Type (2018-2025)

1.4.2 Sequencing

1.4.3 Sub-cloning

1.4.4 Fingerprinting

1.4.5 Transcription

1.4.6 Others

1.5 Market by Application

1.5.1 Global Fosmid Cloning Market Share by Application (2017-2025)

1.5.2 Research Organizations

1.5.3 Educational Institutes

1.5.4 Manufacturing Companies

1.6 Study Objectives

1.7 Years Considered

Chapter Two: Executive Summary

2.1 Fosmid Cloning Market Size

2.2 Fosmid Cloning Growth Trends by Regions

2.2.1 Fosmid Cloning Market Size by Regions (2017-2025)

2.2.2 Fosmid Cloning Market Share by Regions (2017-2025)

2.3 Industry Trends

2.3.1 Market Top Trends

2.3.2 Market Use Cases

Chapter Three: Key Players

3.1 Fosmid Cloning Revenue by Manufacturers (2017-2018)

3.2 Fosmid Cloning Key Players Head office and Area Served

3.3 Key Players Fosmid Cloning Product/Solution/Service

3.4 Date of Enter into Fosmid Cloning Market

3.5 Key Players Fosmid Cloning Funding/Investment Analysis

3.6 Global Key Players Fosmid Cloning Valuation & Market Capitalization

3.7 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion Plans

Continued.

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Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.

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Fosmid Cloning Market 2020 | Size and Forecast Research 2025 With Covid-19 Impact Analysis And Top Performing Players (Bio S?T, Illumina, Lucigen...

Summit Pacific Opens Family Medicine Clinic for Graduates to Complete their Residency and Provide Exceptional Care – GraysHarborTalk

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Its hard to believe that Summit Pacific first broke ground in 2011 with the ongoing buzz that surrounds their nearly constant expansions and projects. Since the doors opened to the main Medical Center in East Grays Harbor County in 2013, the facility and its offerings have grown to include a third primary care clinic, Wellness Center, Virtual Care, Urgent Care and the addition of 3D mammography and bone density scans, to name a few. All the while, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Summit Pacific has also managed to open their new Family Medicine Clinic.

The brand-new Summit Pacific Family Medicine Clinic, located in the Wellness Center, was created for graduates with either a Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. These individuals have completed four years of rigorous education learning a broad range of medical knowledge and clinical patient care skills. Upon graduation from medical school, recent graduates must further advance their training through a residency program. The graduate doctors are then known as residents until their training has concluded. For family medicine physicians, their residency program is three years long. During this time, theyll gain hands on knowledge and clinical skills that will assist them in their journey to become fully licensed and able to practice independently.

The Family Medicine Clinic is an ideal fit for Summit Pacific as their board-certified family medicine physicians and professionals are able to partner together to teach and supervise the residents. Residents will benefit immensely from the collaboration with the entire health care team as they learn how best to serve the Grays Harbor community.

At Summit Pacifics fully accredited Family Medicine Clinic, there are currently two residents who began their training June 15. Dr. Rabab Cheema was born in India, has a keen interest in community service and served as a mentor while in medical school. Cheema is passionate about providing quality care to under-served populations.

The second resident physician is Dr. Roy D. Miller. Miller was born in Olympia, has experience as a medical technologist and has worked in a microbiology lab. He is passionate about rural emergency medicine and volunteered as an emergency medical technician in Wisconsin. Both residents graduated medical school in early 2020, relocated to Grays Harbor to put down roots and are eager to get to know their patients and serve their needs.

For community members that have never been seen by a resident doctor, there are quite a few benefits that come with these appointments. As a physician supervisor is on hand for the duration of the appointment, there are two sets of eyes and knowledge in the room. Residents are also known to spend a lot more time with their patients as they collect detailed patient history and data, offer a broad range of in-office procedures, conduct extremely thorough exams and provide comprehensive explanations.

A few of the routine services that are provided by the resident physicians include physical exams; wellness checks; sports physicals; in-office medical procedures such as skin biopsies and arthritis injections; well-woman and reproductive health care; prenatal, obstetrical, and post-partum care; immunizations and much more. The Family Medicine Clinic is an ideal place for the entire family to be seen as the residents work as part of the entire healthcare team to diagnose, treat and coordinate healthcare among other medical specialists as needed.

While right now the Family Medicine Clinic has two resident physicians available, two more will be added in 2021 and the final two will be added in 2022. All of us at Summit Pacific are very excited to have this program in our clinic that will eventually include six resident physicians, states Dr. Laurie Belknap, program director at Summit Pacific. While 2020 has been difficult for everyone, the entire team at Summit Pacific aims to provide comprehensive care while taking all of the COVID-19 precautions including mandatory mask wearing, social distancing and frequent hand washing.

Billing for the Family Medicine Residency Clinic is the same as for regular primary care visits with a supervising physician. This includes copays and deductibles. To learn more about the Family Medicine Clinic and the two current resident physicians, visit Summit Pacifics website.

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Summit Pacific Opens Family Medicine Clinic for Graduates to Complete their Residency and Provide Exceptional Care - GraysHarborTalk

COVID-19 research is widening the gender gap in academic medicine – Open Access Government

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Researchers looked at 1,893 articles related to COVID-19 published between January and June and compared that to 85,373 papers published in the same journals in 2019. They found the share of women first authors dropped 14% for COVID-19 papers compared to papers published in 2019 and that the differences were most striking in March and April to compared to May. Looking only at March and April publications, the share of women first authors was 23% lower than for 2019 papers.

While the study does not assess the reasons for this drop, the authors suggest that during the initial lockdown, women were more likely to take on child care as the results show a staggering difference during the first two months of the coronavirus pandemic when schools were closed and researchers were told to work from home. Previous research has already shown women are underrepresented among authors of medical research and female physician-scientists often spend more time on domestic tasks.

Study author Reshma Jagsi, M.D., D.Phil., director of the Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine at the University of Michigan said: The coronavirus pandemic may be creating even greater challenges than before for women in academic medicine. We suspect school closures, limited child care and work-related service demands might have taken the greatest toll on early career women, especially during the height of the disruptions.

We know that diverse teams are important for solving complex problems like those related to COVID-19. Its critical in this time of crisis that we have policies that support the full inclusion of diverse scholars, including transforming attitudes about domestic expectations for women and resources to support all those balancing great demands both at home and at work.

Additional authors: Jens Peter Andersen, Mathias Wullum Nielsen, Nicole L. Simone, Resa E. Lewiss

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COVID-19 research is widening the gender gap in academic medicine - Open Access Government

Ron Paul: Is the Texas COVID ‘Spike’ Fake News? – OpEd – Eurasia Review

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On July 2nd, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order mandating the wearing of face masks across the state, whether indoors or outdoors, when six feet cannot be maintained between people. In the governors decree, he cited a rise in Covid cases, a rise in test positivity, and a rise in hospitalizations as justification to force people to cover their faces in public.

The move is not only a violation of the civil liberties of all Texans. Abbott may have based his executive order on inaccurate information about a rise in Covid cases due to the Texas State Department of Health Services changing the definition of what constitutes a Covid case.

Thanks goes to Collin County Judge Chris Hill for blowing the whistle on what appears to be a move in mid-May to redefine what was a Covid case to open the door to a massive increase all to match the mainstream media line that a second wave was on the way.

In a Commissioners Court hearing for Collin County on May 18th, it was revealed that while previously the determination of a Covid case was a confirmed test result, the definition was suddenly changed to count probable cases as cases. At the same time, the threshold for determining probable was lowered to a ridiculous level.

As Judge Hill said at that May 18th meeting, If you have a subjective fever and you have a headache and you live in Collin County, you now meet the qualifications to be a probable COVID patient. It is remarkable how low the standard is now.

Even worse, once a probable case was determined based on possibly unrelated subjective criteria, up to 15 people in possible contact with that probable case were also listed as probable cases. And probable cases were considered cases.

Repeat that farce across Texas and is it any wonder there was a spike in cases?

Also, Governor Abbotts claim that hospitals were being over-run by Covid patients was refuted by the Houston hospital directors themselves, who said they were nowhere near actual capacity and in fact were about the same level as they were last year.

The basis for Abbotts unconstitutional executive order has been shown to be false. Will he admit his mistake?

It is encouraging to see so many local and county officials across Texas announcing they will refuse to enforce Governor Abbotts unconstitutional face mask order. Thankfully the spirit of freedom and love of liberty is still alive in Texas.

The second wave is driven by propaganda. Across the country, Covid testing increased from about 150,000 to more than 700,000 per day. You cant drive through Houston without seeing a flurry of signs advertising Free Covid test! Results in 15 minutes! Last week Reuters reported that tests shipped around the country by the federal government were contaminated.

Deaths from coronavirus even the deaths with coronavirus rather than deaths from coronavirus are down more than 90 percent since the peak in April. The decline in deaths continues. That means we are closer to the herd immunity that will finally kill this virus. Yet Governor Abbott and others across the country see this as a reason to lock the country back down.

This article was published by RonPaul Institute.

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Ron Paul: Is the Texas COVID 'Spike' Fake News? - OpEd - Eurasia Review

Reader: Police have more important things to do than mask patrol – Midland Daily News

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To the editor:

In answer to the letter Ms. Culberson wrote, there are quite a few people due to medical conditions who cannot wear the masks. Did that ever occur to you, or were you too busy thinking only of yourself? You ought to be more worried about the rioters, looters, killers which are taking the country apart. COVID-19 is just the beginning of government control. Ron Paul said this, "Many physicians and scientists have said masks are worthless and potentially harmful. Lockdowns are meant to condition people to obey without question."

I am sure the police have much more to do than run around to the grocery stores and look for people who are not wearing a mask or walking the wrong way down the aisle to give them a ticket. Next time when you are in the store and you see someone walking the wrong way down an aisle, just tell them to walk backward.

DONNA M. MASON

Midland

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Reader: Police have more important things to do than mask patrol - Midland Daily News

Great Grouping: Parishioners from four Catholic churches volunteer to feed the hungry – Ellwood City Ledger

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Since October, Good Samaritan in Ambridge, along with Our Lady of Peace in Conway, Saint John the Baptist in Baden, and Saints John and Paul in Franklin Park work collectively as the "Great Grouping," a reorganization of parishes in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh thats expected to be completed next year. Volunteers operate a food bank, cook a hot meal once a week, and work with the YMCA to supply schoolchildren with meals.

AMBRIDGE Vehicles line the parking lot of Good Samaritan Parish on Glenwood Avenue at least 15 minutes before its food pantry opens. People come not only to receive boxes of canned goods; fresh fruit and produce; bread; milk; butter; juices; and frozen meat, but also for Tuesday evenings bonus: a free, hot, take-out meal.

Ron Genauldi of Ambridge, driving an older-model Chevy van, comes once a week. Immediately, a volunteer rushes to greet him.

Genauldi asks about the hot meal, which this night is chicken enchilada, Mexican rice, and mixed fruit cubes.

Hell take one.

"How about a box of produce?"

Genauldi says hes still eating the last one he got.

"I think the ministrys great for the community, especially Ambridge, especially the people that dont know they need to be down here to get some free food and some help in any way they can because they need it whether they know it or not and its a friendly place, too," he says.

Many do need it now.

Last month, The Times reported the areas April jobless rate largely due to the novel coronavirus lockdown was the highest since the collapse of the steel industry in the 1980s. Roughly 15,900 Beaver County residents were out of work. The countys unemployment rate was 18.7 percent the regions second highest up from its March jobless rate of 6.4 percent, according to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Labor and Industry. More than 2 million Pennsylvanians have filed for unemployment since mid-March.

And thats when Good Samaritan and three area Catholic churches ramped programs to serve the needy, not only in Ambridge, but surrounding communities. Some come as far as Ohio.

Since October, Good Samaritan, along with Our Lady of Peace in Conway, St. John the Baptist in Baden, and SS. John and Paul in Franklin Park work collectively as the "Great Grouping," a reorganization of parishes in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh thats expected to be completed next year.

"Its not as arrogant as it sounds," said Cindy Deschaine of Economy, director of faith formation for the three valley churches of the self-named group. "Thats what we call ourselves. We dont have a name yet. We wont get that until next year. When the pastor went to every church, everybody would say to him, Oh, youre going to love it here. Were so great."

With the groupings various community outreach programs especially for the food insufficient the churches accomplish great things.

Good Samaritans Society of St. Vincent de Paul a lay organization that offers services to the communitys most vulnerable previously operated a food pantry, but assisted only about 20 to 30 families three times a year, Deschaine said usually at the holidays.

When the pandemic hit, the Great Grouping realized need would escalate and assumed, tweaked and expanded operations.

"We started with what they had on their shelves and put a plea out to our parishes," said Deschaine, and filmed a video posted on Facebook.

"Thats what started the donations rolling in," she said. Within three days, enough canned, boxed and other non-perishable items were received to enable volunteers to launch the new pantry.

"It was that quick of a turnaround," she said, complimenting parishioners for their generosity of not only food, but money.

"Over 200 volunteers signed up to get it off the ground. It was amazing amazing and beautiful," she said. "Now, we give out 170 to 200 boxes a week."

The pantry had buy-in from other churches and community, too.

New Hope Lutheran Church in Cranberry Township also provides food, and volunteers grocery shop for items to "fill in the gap."

"Every time we need something, it shows up," she said. "If I told you we needed jelly now, by the time I go to the pantry somebody would drive by with jelly to drop off. God truly does work in such wonderful ways for everything we do."

Each church in the grouping has a collection site and every day two volunteers from Saints John and Paul pick up whats donated and deliver to Good Samaritan where its sorted and readied for boxing.

Economy Ambulance Services hosted a food drive.

A Society of St. Vincent de Paul member delivers to elderly and shut-ins who cant come in person.

Deschaine said the grouping also works with the Center for Hope in Ambridge, which also operates a food bank.

The pantry at Good Samaritan operates from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. every day except Sunday, and from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays, simultaneously with the hot meal distribution.

The pantry and hot meals are open to anyone no questions asked, Deschaine said.

"God teaches us to give without question You have to look at each person as God sent them to you because he wanted you to help them," she said. "When you run out, come back. We dont have any checks or balance. When you need it, you come."

And Deschaine does not think anyone abuses the system.

"In the Catholic faith, we lean a lot on saints to help us lead by example," she said. One is St. Teresa of Calcutta who served the sick and poor.

When COVID-19 hit, volunteers prayed to St. Teresa every morning, said Deschaine, "to help us remember that were not there to judge another person. Were there to be that face of God to them and after truly a week, maybe two, I dont feel weve been taken advantage of at all. Everyone is here because God wants us to help them."

Each box feeds a family of four for a week, she said. Boxes are filled with cereal, rice, pasta, pasta sauce, soups, canned meats, vegetables and fruits, ramen noodles, peanut butter, jelly, macaroni and cheese. Many are brand-name products.

"Everybody gets a Little Debbie snack because we want everybody to have a smile," Deschaine said. "Thats the first thing they see when they open the box."

Plus, each box contains a trash bag and roll of toilet paper.

"Its all about preserving human dignity," she said.

As part of the federal Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, the USDAs Agricultural Marketing Service partnered with national, regional and local suppliers impacted by the closing of food-service businesses to buy and package family-sized boxes of produce, dairy and meat products for distribution to food banks, non-profits, and community and faith-based organizations serving those in need.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Purdue expected that the first round of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program would deliver up to 40 million boxes throughout the country by June 30, according to the USDA.

Great Grouping is a recipient of the program, Deschaine said, through which it receives milk, eggs, butter, meat, bread, and fresh produce from local providers including Monteverdes Inc. in Pittsburgh; Schneiders Dairy Inc. in Whitehall; and Turner Dairy Farms in Penn Hills.

Grace Struss of New Brighton has visited once a week since June, this night picking up three dinners, a box of fresh produce, bread, and juice.

"Its very kind and giving of them," she said of Great Grouping volunteers. "We appreciate it. Theyre so helpful."

Her reaction is typical of most, Deschaine said.

Some, who never expected to find themselves in a food line, cry.

Others promise a monetary donation when unemployment checks arrive like the woman who gave Deschaine $20.

"Not that we want people to pay us back," she said. "Seeing the face of God in them is what we hope that were that face for them."

Deschaine said volunteers "definitely form relationships with the people that come through. We know who they are; what the kids names are. There have been some beautiful experiences."

One autistic boy who comes with his grandmother brings her flowers. Through their conversations, she knows his interests and favorite movie.

"We play out the lines from the movie when he comes through the line," she said.

"Its more than just giving food. Were giving fellowship to others in a very dark time in our worlds history, in our countrys history."

Good Samaritan hosted a fish fry on Friday nights until the pandemic reeled it in.

But the church still had food supplies and cooks offered to make meals and give them out, said Deschaine.

SS. John and Paul has a group called Meal Makers that prepares meals for those who are sick, facing unexpected or planned surgery, or other instances when meals are needed.

Members wanted to assist with the weekly take-out meals, too, offered Tuesdays to "anyone in need whether you are laid off, not working, or just need a little help."

Different groups in the Great Grouping Christian Mothers or choirs, for example volunteer to prepare the meal. This day Meal Makers signed up to cook, package and pass food to those who walk or drive up in the parking lot.

Nina Faber and her 14-year-old daughter, Evelyn, of Marshall Township were food runners Tuesday.

"This is a wonderful opportunity to give back to people that are in need, particularly during this time of COVID. Were all struggling," Nina said. And its a chance for her daughter to "give back and experience what it feels like to help others."

This was the first time the pair volunteered, but theyve signed up for several more times throughout the summer. "Im kind of excited by it. They make it very easy," she said,.

"I think its an amazing way to give back," Evelyn said. "And its really good to help others during this time."

Eventually, when people can gather communally, meals will be served in Good Samaritans dining hall.

And Good Samaritan became a grab-and-go meal distribution site for children when schools were shut down during the pandemic. The church partnered with the YMCA of Beaver County. Lunch is available for pick up at schools; breakfast and dinner at the church from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Meals vary based on whats donated, Deschaine said. About 225 students are served.

Janet Roberto, director of outreach at Saints John and Paul, was among those loading food and produce boxes into trunks of cars and handing out hot meals Tuesday.

Why does she volunteer?

"Thats just who God made us to be. I dont know how not to," she said. "I dont mean that to sound arrogant at all. Its our responsibility just to love people where theyre at and help them. Thats just what were meant to do. Were all in this together. Theres no way around it."

To watch a video of the food pantry and hot meal distribution, visit http://www.timesonline.com.

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Great Grouping: Parishioners from four Catholic churches volunteer to feed the hungry - Ellwood City Ledger

Join NASA for the Launch of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover – NASA Mars Exploration

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No matter where you live, choose from a menu of activities to join NASA as we "Countdown to Mars" and launch the Perseverance rover to the Red Planet.

Team with NASA to send off the Perseverance rover to Mars from the convenience of your own home. The mission launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida, this summer, and you're invited to participate remotely with a global, collective launch countdown where you can submit your own videos, take a photo on Mars or next to the rover, dive into an interactive launch packet, and sign up to send your name to Mars on a future space mission.

After a seven-month journey to the Red Planet, the rover will land in Jezero Crater, an ancient lakebed with intriguing geology. In its search for astrobiological evidence of ancient microbial life, Perseverance will gather rock and soil samples there for future return to Earth. It will also characterize the planet's climate and geology and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet.

In addition, Perseverance carries the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, a technology demonstration that marks the first attempt at powered, controlled flight on another planet.

"During these challenging times, no matter where you are, you can participate in this launch and help send this robotic geologist on a mission to explore worlds beyond our own," said Michael Greene, the director for communications and education at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the mission.

With local restrictions on public gatherings in place, NASA recommends watching the launch virtually. To learn how, use our launch toolkit. And here's a menu of options for sharing in the Perseverance launch:

CountdownToMars

You know that "5-4-3-2-1" right before a spacecraft blasts off? You can record your own version of a launch countdown video clip and tag it on social media using #CountdownToMars. Your clip may be featured on NASA social media or even on launch day. Here's how to participate.

Send Your Name to Mars, Again!

Perseverance carries three dime-size chips with 10.9 million names submitted worldwide to travel aboard the rover. The people who already signed up can get a special "Now Boarding" stamp and are ready for launch. If you missed that opportunity, you can soon sign up to send your name on a future mission to Mars.

Mars Photo Booth

While sharing the Mars Launch at Home virtually, take a souvenir photo with our virtual Mars Photo Booth. You can pose next to the mighty Atlas V rocket that will launch the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, strike a pose on Mars, or put yourself next to the rover in the JPL clean room where it was assembled. Just upload your favorite picture, choose a background, and download the new image.

Virtual Launch Packet

Get an interactive magazine-style booklet to enhance your launch-viewing experience. The flipbook includes information about the Perseverance rover launch and all the print products for the mission. You can also download it as a PDF.

Spacecraft 3D Rover Experience

Zoom in, rotate, and twirl around the Perseverance rover in an interactive 3D experience. Click and select different sections to learn all about the science tools and instruments that make up this mighty rover.

Watch the Launch and Share Your Excitement

Watch the mission briefings and other Mars 2020 programming on NASA TV, culminating with the launch on July 30. See the schedule for Perseverance programming.

How to stream NASA TV.

Stay connected with the mission on social media, and let people know you're following it on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram using the hashtag #CountdownToMars. Follow and tag these accounts:

Twitter: @NASA, @NASAPersevere, @NASAMars

Facebook: NASA, NASAPersevere

Instagram: NASA

Perseverance videos will be posted to the NASA JPL YouTube channel and NASA YouTube channel.

You can also sign up for the Mars newsletter to stay informed about all the ways to experience this launch.

However you choose to participate in the Mars Launch at Home, we look forward to seeing you online for launch, which is targeted for July 30: The time in which the Mars 2020 Perseverance mission can launch extends to Aug. 15. Check out this page for the latest launch date and time. Doing a Mars Launch from Home may burn up some energy. Perseverance pancakes, anyone?

More information about the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover is on this mission website.

News Media Contacts

DC AgleJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.818-393-9011agle@jpl.nasa.gov

Grey Hautaluoma / Alana JohnsonNASA Headquarters, Washington202-358-0668 / 202-358-1501grey.hautaluoma-1@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov

- Written by Jane Platt

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Join NASA for the Launch of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover - NASA Mars Exploration