Short Takes – 3-16-23

Beating 'hearts on a chip' will travel to space on SpaceX's Dragon cargo ship tonight. LiveScience.com article. Pull quote: “The [beating heart] tissue will be used in two experiments — Cardinal Heart 2.0 and Engineered Heart Tissues-2 — which will test whether existing drugs can help prevent or reverse spaceflight's negative effects on the heart.”

Meltdown: Paul storms out of Homeland Security markup after clash on amendments. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “Paul (R,KY) vented his frustration over Peters’s (D,MI) use of procedural tactics to effectively shield Democrats on the committee from voting on Republican amendments to the Fire Grants and Safety Act.” Paul was pushing amendments that would have been voted down by Democrats if allowed to come to a vote. Nothing new here, other than Paul is now the Ranking Member of the Committee.

Impressions of the U.S. National Cybersecurity Strategy of 2023. SCADAMag.Infracritical.com blog post. An OT perspective on the Strategy document. Pull quote: “My advice as someone who has worked on strategy documents for a small country to those working for a high-tech superpower:  when seeking to protect modern economic activity, national security and well-being of your society form threats emanating from cyberspace – invite the engineers.”

New Moon Suit for NASA’s Artemis Astronauts Unveiled. NYTimes.com article. Pull quote: “By turning to this private company [Axiom Space], NASA is again relying on new commercial space enterprises to provide key components faster and cheaper than it could itself develop.”

Homeland Security Advisory Council. Federal Register notice. Summary: “The Secretary of Homeland Security has determined that the renewal of the Homeland Security Advisory Council is necessary and in the public interest. This determination follows consultation with the Committee Management Secretariat, General Services Administration.” Extends HSAC thru March 11^th, 2025.

Toilet paper is an unexpected source of PFAS in wastewater. ScienceDaily.com article. Could it be that the PFAS problem is being overblown? Pull quote: “Then, the team combined their results with data from other studies that included measurements of PFAS levels in sewage and per capita toilet paper use in various countries. They calculated that toilet paper contributed about 4% of the 6:2 diPAP in sewage in the U.S. and Canada, 35% in Sweden and up to 89% in France.”

EV Charging Infrastructure Offers an Electric Cyberattack Opportunity. DarkReading.com article. Pull quote: “Consumer devices are also a problem. About 80% of charging takes place in the home, according to ChargePoint session data. But unfortunately, those devices may be easier to disrupt because consumers are not focused, nor should they need to be focused, on cybersecurity, Tonkin says.” Home charging systems have been essentially ignored in cybersecurity discussions.