Something is wrong in Jupiter. Astronomer Anthony Wesley's photos show that one of its two dark stripes is gone. Maybe Sir Arthur C. Clarke was right and the gas giant will turn into a star to jumpstart life in Europa. More »
Astronomy - Amateur - Jupiter - Beginners - Anthony Wesley
Not to be outdone by the guy who built an Imperial Walker bunk bed for his son, one of our readers built a triple bunk bed Imperial Walker. Crazy? Yes. Awesome? Oh yes! More »
Bunk bed - United States - Home and Garden - Arts - Crafts
 CNET | 'Hurt Locker' producers follow RIAA footsteps CNET If I were them I'd upload my own movie complete with product placements/etc that are paid for and be glad people are watching it at all... it would cost ... |
Nearly a thousand pages in length, the Senate climate and energy bill (pdf) is here. Senators John Kerry and Joseph Lieberman unveiled the revised bill today.
The carbon emissions targets are: 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, and 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050. That’s made to match the goals in the House bill that passed in 2009. In addition, the bill proposes putting a price on carbon. Sen. Kerry says:
“The most important and unique thing this bill does is to put a price on carbon that reflects its real cost to our society and our economy,” he said. Investing in renewable energy, he continued, “becomes financially attractive once carbon is really priced at what it costs us.” Kerry added, “This is going to change the face of American energy” [CBS News].
The so-named American Power Act comes out in the shadow of the ongoing BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, something that’s painfully clear in the new text.
One of the central elements of the Senate bill — incentives to increase domestic offshore oil production — has been radically rewritten in recent days, in the aftermath of the explosion and fire on a drilling rig in the gulf on April 20, leaving an undersea well leaking oil that has yet to be stanched. Instead of providing for a broad expansion of offshore drilling, the Kerry-Lieberman measure would have the effect of drastically limiting oil operations off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts by giving states the right to veto any drilling plan that could cause environmental or economic harm [The New York Times].
That veto power would extends to 75 miles beyond the state’s shoreline, and the Interior Department would have to study how badly a leak would affect the economy or environment of a state. That’s not the only concession to the states written into the new bill.
States that go ahead with offshore drilling would retain 37.5 percent of the federal revenue generated — a shift from current policy. Now royalty revenue goes to the Treasury; states collect no royalties [AP].
President Obama praised the bill and its chances for passage. But, as the New York Times reports, it’s not clear yet whether the bill will even make it to the Senate floor this year because of the crowded schedule. We’ll keep following the story.
Related Content:
80beats: Climate Bill Passes in the House, Moves on to Senate
80beats: 5 Offshore Oil Hotspots Beyond the Gulf That Could Boom—Or Go Boom
DISCOVER: It’s Getting Hot in Here: The Big Battle Over Climate Science, interviews with Judith Curry & Michael Mann
DISCOVER: The State of the Climate—And of Climate Science
The Intersection: The Waxman-Markey Climate Bill… Tuff Enuff?
Image: flickr / cliff1066
See for yourself. It's hard to get a sense of scale, but it is still extremely dramatic--and ominous:
What you're looking at is a tidy visualization of what Facebook's default privacy settings looked like back in 2005. What follows is that same image, recalibrated for 2010. It's worse than you think. More »
Adding new voices to the debate over NASA’s future, Senator Rockefeller (D-W.V.), Senator Warner (D-Virginia), and Senator Brownback (R-Kansas) attended today’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing and registered supportive comments concerning the commercial space industry.
Senator Rockefeller (Committee Chairman) stated, “The American people deserve the most from their space program. NASA’s role cannot stay static. The President has challenged the United States Government to seek greater international collaboration, enable commercial services and develop new exploration technologies leading to human expansion beyond low-Earth orbit. These are good priorities and should help ensure that in tough fiscal times, we build our space future in a measured, relevant, innovative, and sustainable way. This is not easy to do but we can do it – and we must. NASA cannot continue down the same path.”
Senator Brownback stated, “I am a strong supporter of NASA, as I mentioned, and of the commercial space industry … With the impending retirement of the Shuttle, NASA is now assuming a much different role than in our past space effort, and I think there is great opportunity to have a space program that leads the world but will be a space program that is firmly embedded in opportunity for all. By opening up commercial space, it ensures a strong future for the US and the competitive aerospace industry.”
Senator Warner stated, “I do think there’s interesting opportunities to leverage off of things like the X PRIZE Foundation and the kind of energy that that generated in this sector … I think it [commercialization] holds some great possibilities and opportunities, particularly possibilities for Wallops as a facility in the commonwealth of Virginia.” (Wallops is a spaceport located in Virginia’s eastern shore.)
Senators Rockefeller, Brownback, and Warner’s statements join other voices from both political parties including New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), Newt Gingrich (R), and Norm Mineta (who served under both the Clinton and Bush administrations) in support of commercial spaceflight in Low Earth Orbit, as proposed by President Obama in his new plan for NASA.
The webcast of the hearing can be viewed at the following URL. Brownback’s comments begin 47:10 into the video, and Warner’s at 120:20. http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Hearings&ContentRecord_id=54f5c39e-f62c-487f-b9ed-fd4be38d096f
Rockefeller’s statement is available online at http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=c7e0dd7e-f059-4aca-80f4-87cc94e5506b
About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit http://www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.
Domestic chicks perceive stereokinetic illusions. "Stereokinetic illusions occur when certain 2-D patterns are set in slow rotation in a plane perpendicular to the line of sight. Such phenomena have never been investigated in animal species other than our own. We used the domestic chick (Gallus gallus) to check whether these illusions are experienced by non-human species, taking advantage of filial imprinting. Newly hatched visually naive chicks were individually exposed for 4 h to 2-D stimuli producing, to a human observer, the perception of a stereokinetic cone (experiment 1) or of a stereokinetic cylinder (experiment 2). Thereafter, each chick underwent a free-choice test between a solid 3-D cone and a solid 3-D cylinder. A control group of newly hatched but not imprinted chicks underwent the same testing procedure, to check for the presence of any spontaneous preference for one or other of the two solid objects. Imprinted chicks approached the 3-D stimulus closely resembling the stimulus they had been exposed to during imprinting (the cone in experiment 1 and the cylinder in experiment 2). Non-imprinted chicks did not show any preference. These results suggest that domestic chicks experience stereokinetic illusions." Photo: flickr/Hello, I am Bruce Related content:
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Magnetic resonance temperature mapping of ...
Someone built the entire city of Helsinki, Finland, using motherboards. At first sight, I thought it was a realistic model, made to scale. I can't wait for someone to make Manhattan. And then Berlin. More »
It's official: the Sprint Evo 4G will be on sale for $200 (with contract) on June 4th—even earlier than we thought. It'll feature two-way video chat on 3G and 4G networks, which makes sense given the forward-facing camera. More »
Twitterrific, one of the nicer iPad Twitter apps so far, is adding media upload support. A nice feature, especially if combined with the iPad Camera Connection Kit. The update should be in the iTunes store soon now. [Twitterific via MacWorld] More »
Hello,
I am attempting to inventory some reels of surface mount components and am coming up short on an accurate way to do this. I have tried several different methods derived from formulas found online but none of these methods seem to produce the same results (or even anything resembling simila
Armstrong Says Obama 'Poorly Advised' on NASA, Experts Ignored, Bloomberg
"A plan that was invisible to so many was likely contrived by a very small group in secret who persuaded the president that this was a unique opportunity to put his stamp on a new and innovative program," Armstrong said in remarks prepared for a Senate hearing. "I believe the president was poorly advised."
Former Astronauts unhappy with Obama space plan, AP
"Cernan said in his written testimony that he, Armstrong and Apollo 13 Commander James Lovell agreed that the administration's budget for human space exploration "presents no challenges, has no focus, and in fact is a blueprint for a mission to 'nowhere.'" Lovell, while not present at the hearing, issued a statement opposing Obama's NASA budget."
For those people (you know who you are) who wake up, stumble to the bathroom, and look to the mirror hoping to see a species of Homo other than sapiens, you're in luck, thanks to a new app for the iPhone and Android phones. MEanderthal combines an uploaded photo of your face with an early human one created by a paleo-artist using early human fossils. LiveScience explains:
"You choose which human species you'd like to become, including: Homo floresiensis who lived between 95,000 and 17,000 years ago; Homo neanderthalensis who lived 200,000 to 28,000 years ago; and Homo heidelbergensis who lived 700,000 to 200,000 years ago."
What changes might you expect when you're Neanderthal-ized? For one thing, your schnoz will most likely expand quite a bit. This larger nasal organ helped early humans warm up and moisturize the cold, dry air during the ice age (no humidifiers back then).
"Big noses also meant sloping cheekbones compared with the flat cheekbones of modern humans. Neanderthals, especially males, also had big brow ridges and receding chins, she added. The large brow ridges are also found on chimps, gorillas and orangutans."
The app will bring today's humans in closer touch with our ancestors, some scientists say... perhaps ...
As Facebook completes its Galactic Senate-to-Imperial Empire transformation, four enterprising NYU students thought the world could do with a social networking service that wouldn't treat your personal information like advertiser catnip. So they started building Diaspora. More »
The problem: iPads don't charge through USB ports that aren't 10w. The solution: none! Sorry. But the QuickerTek iPad charge monitor at least shows how much power outflow your USB port has, and whether it's enough to charge your device. More »
While you’re down at the drug store picking up toothpaste and sleeping pills, why not have your DNA tested? Walgreens says that this month it will become the first drug store to offer personal genomics tests in its store. For the low, low price of $20-30 you can pick up a kit to take a sample of your own saliva, which you mail off to Pathway Genomics, a company partnering with Walgreens.
Customers can then go Pathway’s Web site and order tests. Pathway says the tests — for drug response, “pre-pregnancy planning” and “health conditions” — start at $79 and run up to $249 for all three [AP].
With the personal genomics trend continuing to accelerate, this was perhaps an inevitable development. But the fact that personal tests are going into drug stores doesn’t mean that personal tests are as readily reliable or regulated as the rest of the tests and medications that fill the aisles.
1. The FDA is not pleased.
The Pathway test has not been approved by the Federal Drug Administration. In a statement after announcing this deal, Walgreens washed their hands of responsibility in this regard, saying Pathway assured them that the product didn’t require FDA approval. The FDA, however, does not agree.
In a statement, the FDA said it has regulatory authority over all lab-developed tests. “As new technologies become available and are marketed directly to consumers, FDA will consider all regulatory options,” the agency said. “Consumers should understand that the claims made by a company with an unapproved test have limitations and that they should not be making important medical and lifestyle decisions without first consulting a health care professional” [Wall Street Journal].
The FDA isn’t the only public body worried about these tests. Here in New York, where DISCOVER is located, we won’t be able to run down to Walgreens and pick up a DNA test. The state considers these to be medical tests, and medical tests require a license. When personal genomics companies first began to spring up, New York State issued nearly 40 cease-and-desist orders in 2007 and 2008. It’s still going to take some time to sort out the legality of who can look into your genome.
2. Can you actually learn anything useful?
Remember, only six years have passed since the human genome was fully sequenced. Incorporating personal genomics into medicine is moving fast, but it’s still in the early stages.
In most cases, the current level of DNA scanning technology and science is unable to offer meaningful predictions about the risk that a person will get a disease. “It is a really wonderful form of recreation,” said Scott R. Diehl, a geneticist at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. But as for applying it to health care, he said, “It’s very premature” [The New York Times].
The tests by personal genomics companies like 23andMe and Pathway look at particular point mutations that scientists think to be associated with diseases like Alzheimer’s or cystic fibrosis. Making clear predictions from a person’s DNA, though, will require not only a further understanding of what genes are linked to what diseases, but also how those genes interact with environmental factors, lifestyle choices, and each other, as our reporter found out in 2008 when having her DNA examined by several of the most prominent companies.
All that knowledge won’t come fast, or cheap.
That might take a few years and require sequencing a person’s entire genome, not just sampling selected bits, as the companies do now [The New York Times].
3. Overreaction—and mixed results
As the FDA noted in its statement quoted above, customers must understand the limitations of these tests—and not act too drastically. As DISCOVER’s own Kat McGowan wrote last year, “Another worry is that people may overreact to their results. Someone who has an elevated risk of breast cancer, for example, might take a drastic step like getting a mastectomy, not realizing that the test predicts increased risk, not a particular outcome.”
Then again, if you get curious enough to try multiple tests, you might have the opposite problem. Some curious folks who’ve tried out multiple personal genomics firms have received contradictory answers.
4. The fine print
Even if you don’t act on the information that a personal genetic test brings, it could impact you emotionally to learn about your ancestry or your family (say, if your father wasn’t your genetic father). That’s why the fine print on personal-genomics products is so extensive.
And the ramifications could do beyond the emotional realm. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 offers some protection for personal genetic information, but how much is not terribly clear. Things are changing fast in the world of personal genomics, and it may be difficult or impossible to predict the significance, or even risk, of information you learn in 2010. As 23andMe’s terms and conditions notes:
Even if you share genetic information that has no or limited meaning today, that information could have greater meaning in the future as new discoveries are made. If you are asked by an insurance company whether you have learned genetic information about health conditions and you do not disclose this to them, this may be considered to be fraud.
5. Ready for the shelves?
Still, though, why shouldn’t you have the choice of whether to test your own genome? You get to test yourself in other health capacities:
Drug stores already carry a variety of diagnostic tests, like those for pregnancy, cholesterol and blood sugar. When some of these tests were introduced, there was controversy about whether consumers could test themselves.
Although broader in scope, Pathway’s test is not the first DNA-based analysis to be sold in drug stores. Sorenson Genomics began selling a paternity test through Rite Aid stores in late 2007. Sorenson has sold more than 100,000 tests through Rite Aid and other major pharmacy chains since then, according to Jacob Moon, a spokesman for the company [The New York Times].
But personal genomics is a different ballgame. Paternity tests and pregnancy tests bring you clear yes-or-no answers; they don’t evaluate complicated, multifactorial questions like those that personal DNA tests try to answer. And that complexity may be more than consumers bargained for.
Related Content:
DISCOVER: How Much Can You Learn from a Home DNA Test?
DISCOVER: Your Genome, Now Available for a Relative Discount
Gene Expression: Creative Destruction in Personal Genomics
Gene Expression: Personal Genomics Is Dead; Long Live Personal Genomics
Image: flickr / twodolla
Space Adventures is going to use an Armadillo Technologies rocket to launch amateur astronauts 62 miles into the sky. Nothing new, except that they will do it for half the price of Virgin Galactic's ticket, and in a real rocket! More »
Keith's note: The witnesses for todays's hearing: Holdren, Bolden, Armstrong, Cernan, and Augustine. ESMD AA Doug Cooke briefed Armstrong and Cernan last week via telecon on the results of NASA's internal exploration working group studies in advance of today's Senate hearing.
Keith's update: Prepared statements: Charles Bolden, John Holdren, Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernan, Norm Augustine
Keith's update: Gene Cernan testified that he had a telecon last week with Bolden and that Bolden said that he was determined to do whatever was required to make the commerical space portion of the new policy successful and that commercial space may need a "bailout like GM/Chrysler" and that it "may be the largest bailout in history".
I find it rather astonishing that Mr. Bolden would say such a thing and then not recall saying it. Either he was freelancing (something that OSTP has had issues with in the past) or he was repeating something that the White House had told him. If indeed the White House has discussed this possibility and assured Bolden that he'd have their backing, then Bolden is all but admitting that he and the Administration are embarking upon a commercial strategy with substantial pitfalls (i.e. Chrysler/GM bailouts of $15-17 billion). Moreover, these pitfalls have, up until this moment, not been divulged in public or (apparently) to Congress.
But wait -- the "largest bailout in history" was AIG - and that was for $180 billion. Is Bolden really suggesting that this is what all of this could cost? I am also confused as to what he means by "bail out" since GM and Chrysler have to pay this money back. Is Bolden suggesting that these companies would pay this money back?
From a staff perspective, someone on Bolden's staff should have flagged this comment of Bolden's when he made it and made certain that he was (at a minimum) prepared to respond and explain - and not be caught off guard in the manner that he was.
