Short Takes – 2-28-23

CDC warns of drug-resistant stomach bug amid rise in cases. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““If your diarrhea lasts longer than usual or if it’s bloody or accompanied with severe stomach cramping, get to the doctor to determine whether it’s a run-of-the-mill norovirus or if it’s shigellosis,” Hill explained.”

Fighting toxic air pollution. TheHill.com article. Look at activists taking on ethylene oxide facilities. Pull quote: “Asked why these plants were still in operation, an EPA spokesperson said that its authority to shut down facilities is limited. But, the spokesperson said, the agency is working with state authorities to reduce emissions while developing a new regulation.”

Quieter Senate gives Fetterman recovery room. TheHill.com article.  Pull quote: “With Fetterman out, Democrats still have a 50-49 majority that allows unilateral confirmation of nominees — without a vice presidential tie-breaker. The chamber has no immediate plans to consider legislation that would require 60 votes to break a filibuster.”

12 exotic bacteria found to passively collect rare earth elements from wastewater. NewsWise.com article. Pull quote: “In Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, German scientists showed that the answer is yes: the biomass of some exotic photosynthetic cyanobacteria can efficiently absorb REEs [Rare earth elements] from wastewater, for example derived from mining, metallurgy, or the recycling of e-waste. The absorbed REEs can afterwards be washed from the biomass and collected for reuse.”

One is bad enough: climate change raises the threat of back-to-back hurricanes. NewsWise.com article. Pull quote: “The researchers said it is important for community planners and regional emergency officials to recognize this emerging threat. Improvements in both resilience and response are required to meet the increasing hazard. For resilience, communities will need to deal with increased flooding threats and harden systems that remove floodwater and protect critical infrastructure such as transportation, water systems and power grids. Emergency response teams will have to be prepared to handle multiple storms in relatively quick succession. On the state and federal level, this could mean being ready to dispatch resources to many stricken communities at the same time.” An emergency planning nightmare.

Telling time on the Moon. ESA.int article. Pull quote: “The international team working on the subject will face considerable technical issues. For example, clocks on the Moon run faster than their terrestrial equivalents – gaining around 56 microseconds or millionths of a second per day. Their exact rate depends on their position on the Moon, ticking differently on the lunar surface than from orbit.” SciFi missed this as a plot driver.

A new economic engine for culture. On.Substack.com article. Substack explained. Pull quote: “In the months ahead, we will work with writers to explore how we can give them more power to publish in whatever formats they want and to find new audiences on their own terms. We will also work with readers to help them be part of conversations that add to, rather than subtract from, their lives, and to reclaim control of their attention.”

Shortly before liftoff, SpaceX cancels a crew launch due to igniter issues. ArsTecnica.com article. Pull quote: “This is useful for igniting rocket engines, which turns out to be a rather tricky thing to do, at least when it comes to precisely starting engines at a certain time, in a carefully controlled manner. For the Merlin 1D engines inside the Falcon 9, oxygen is pumped into the engines' combustion chambers to meet up with TEA-TEB. After combustion begins, kerosene is injected into the chamber, and the flow of the TEA-TEB igniter fuel is turned off. Then, to increase thrust, the flow of oxygen and kerosene is increased.”

The Dream of Mini Nuclear Plants Hangs in the Balance. Wired.com article. Pull quote: “The price jump was not rooted in the arcana of nuclear physics, but the mundane details of big construction projects: copper wire up 32 percent, steel piping up 106 percent. Higher interest rates made everything more expensive over the course of construction, which is scheduled to wrap up in 2030. Without extra subsidies from the new Inflation Reduction Act—on top of $1.4 billion already committed to the project by the US Department of Energy—the price to energy users in places like Los Alamos would have doubled.”

Democrats unveil bill to tighten regulations for trains with hazardous materials. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “The Decreasing Emergency Railroad Accident Instances Locally (DERAIL) Act — introduced by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) — would direct the Transportation secretary to amend the definition of a “high-hazard flammable train” to increase the number of trains subject to stricter regulations. Those regulations include slower speeds, newer cars, better breaking equipment and required reporting.”