Short Takes – 10-11-23

Digital Piracy Returns to Sea: Protecting Autonomous Ships from Online Attacks. WarOnTheRocks.com article. Pull quote: “While the International Maritime Organization has been at the forefront of developments in autonomous ships and has been important in standardizing and guiding autonomous ships, it has lagged in understanding the cyber security risks. The future of autonomous shipping relies on interconnected networks, not only within ships, but also between ship and port. The development of remote-controlled systems means operational systems will be connected to information systems. This means the International Maritime Organization will have their work cut out for them, as regulation and guidance enforcement will be in the hands of port regulators and port authorities. Cyber security is already a large component of port security, but direct access to shipping operational systems will inevitably increase risk.”

Chocolate manufacturer fined after failing to evacuate before gas leak explosion killed seven. HazardExOnTheNet.com article. Pull quote: “The Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation into R.M. Palmer found the company did not remove workers from the manufacturing plant despite workers' concerns about what OSHA later determined was a natural gas leak. The agency cited the company under its general duty clause for not evacuating workers. OSHA also cited R.M. Palmer for not marking emergency exit signs clearly, using flexible cords improperly and for recordkeeping violations.”

GOP split over rules change to keep Speaker ‘mess’ behind closed doors. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) — who is undecided on the change — argued that it could slow down the process of nominating a Speaker because lawmakers would take more time coming to a consensus behind closed doors compared to bringing the candidate who gets support from at least half of the conference to the floor.”

Scientists Use CRISPR to Make Chickens More Resistant to Bird Flu. NYTimes.com article. Pull quote: “Some breakthrough infections still occurred, especially when gene-edited chickens were exposed to very high doses of the virus, the researchers found. And when the scientists edited just one chicken gene, the virus quickly adapted. The findings suggest that creating flu-resistant chickens will require editing multiple genes and that scientists will need to proceed carefully to avoid driving further evolution of the virus, the study’s authors said.”

This next NASA mission to an asteroid is seriously metal. NPR.org article. Pull quote: “"Because we don't know what its surface looks like, we're not ready to land. We're not ready to sample," says Elkins-Tanton. "We have to have some sense of what this object is like before we can take that next step."”

The Flu Vaccine Works—In a Way Most People Don’t Appreciate. ScientificAmerican.com article. Pull quote: “Instead the vaccine produces defenses that are active deeper in the body—in the heart, liver and kidney, for example—and can stop the virus from sneaking into organs, where it can cause a severe to possibly life-threatening infection. For the flu, vaccination isn’t about reducing infections overall but instead about reducing the hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and tens of thousands of deaths the disease causes in the U.S. each year.”

Scalise nominated by U.S. House GOP as speaker in closed-door meeting. GovExec.com article. Pull quote: “The nominee picked in the conference meeting only needed to get the backing of a majority of the 221 House Republicans, but Scalise will need about 217 on the floor before he can hold the gavel.”

Toxic Substances Control Act Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements for Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances. Federal Register EPA final rule. Summary: “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing reporting and recordkeeping requirements for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). In accordance with obligations under TSCA, as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, EPA is requiring persons that manufacture (including import) or have manufactured these chemical substances in any year since January 1, 2011, to submit information to EPA regarding PFAS uses, production volumes, byproducts, disposal, exposures, and existing information on environmental or health effects. In addition to fulfilling statutory obligations under TSCA, this rule will enable EPA to better characterize the sources and quantities of manufactured PFAS in the United States.” Effective date: November 13^th, 2023.