Short Takes – 8-2-23

We’re now finding out the damaging results of the mandated return to the office–and it’s worse than we thought. Fortune.com commentary. Pull quote: “Unispace found that nearly half (42%) of companies with return-to-office mandates witnessed a higher level of employee attrition than they had anticipated. And almost a third (29%) of companies enforcing office returns are struggling with recruitment. In other words, employers knew the mandates would cause some attrition, but they weren’t ready for the serious problems that would result.”

Earth to Voyager: NASA detects signal from spacecraft, two weeks after losing contact. NPR.org article. Pull quote: “What might seem like a slight error had big consequences: NASA said it wouldn't be able to communicate with the craft until October, when the satellite would go through one of its routine repositioning steps.”

1,4-Dioxane; Draft Supplement to the TSCA Risk Evaluation; Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) Meeting; Amended Notice of Public Meeting. Federal Register EPA meeting notice. Summary: “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a 4-day virtual public meeting on September 12–15, 2023, from 10 a.m. to approximately 5:00 p.m. (EDT), via a webcast platform such as “Zoomgov.com” and audio teleconference for the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) to review EPA's “2023 Draft Supplement to the 1,4-Dioxane Risk Evaluation” prepared under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This September 2023 meeting was previously announced in the Federal Register of March 23, 2023, and in the Federal Register of July 10, 2023, EPA announced the availability of the supplement and related documents for public comment. This notice provides additional details regarding the meeting, including meeting times.”

Police say all Senate buildings cleared, no active shooter found. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““I think at this point we can say that we’ve found no confirmation that there was an active shooter and that this might have been a bogus call,” he said.” A new level of swatting? Just imagine if the Senate had been in session.

Near-Earth “Potentially Hazardous” Asteroid Discovered: First Triumph for HelioLinc3D Algorithm. SciTechDaily.com article. This one is a little geeky. Pull quote: ““This is just a small taste of what to expect with the Rubin Observatory in less than two years, when HelioLinc3D will be discovering an object like this every night,” said Rubin scientist Mario Jurić, director of the DiRAC Institute, professor of astronomy at the University of Washington and leader of the team behind HelioLinc3D.  “But more broadly, it’s a preview of the coming era of data-intensive astronomy. From HelioLinc3D to AI-assisted codes, the next decade of discovery will be a story of advancement in algorithms as much as in new, large, telescopes.””

Mobile mass spec provides new insight into pollutants released by East Palestine train derailment. ChemistryWorld.com article. Pull quote: “‘We have been systematically underfunding our environmental agencies at the local, state and national levels,’ DeCarlo says. ‘If you want the most sensitive methods for detecting compounds and understanding the exposures and the risks that people face in incidents like this, then the EPA needs the resources to have them.’”