Short Takes – 4-22-24

Syphilis case increase sparks Colorado public health order. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““People should know that this is a treatable disease for adults. A course of penicillin generally does the trick. Some adults have very mild symptoms, there’s a lack of diagnosis, others who were symptomatic and treated with penicillin,” Polis said. “But the real danger here is for newborns.””

Suddenly micro-factories are real ... with prices starting at $300,000. NewAtlas.com article. Pull quote: ““There is an urgent need for affordable low-energy homes, but building high-quality, sustainable timber homes is hard to scale, and AUAR intends to change that. Robots and AI allow us to deliver high-quality housing at significantly lower costs, increasing margins and productivity while lowering the cost for the end users. By using our solution, construction companies can hit their sustainability targets at a cost they are comfortable with.””

Trial attention: don’t let a pecker distract from more important stories. EmptyWheel.net post. Pull quote: “All of which is my way of saying: beware of letting this trial drown out more important events. Yes, it is unprecedented to see Trump subjected to discipline. But this trial is sucking up far, far too much attention that might better be directed elsewhere — and all that attention is one of the reasons why jury and witness tampering are such a risk.”

Biomanufacturing isn’t cleaning up chemicals. CEN.ACS.org article. Shooting for the Moon too early in the technology development process. Pull quote: “But will this renewed enthusiasm for synthetic biology yield a different result? While biomanufacturing companies have already found niches for some expensive products, doubters say it might take decades before fermentation-derived molecules are cheap enough to replace oil-derived commodities. And they warn that without policies forcing the petrochemical industry to account for the health and environmental costs of its carbon emissions, fermentation may never displace fossil fuels.”

NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft finally phones home after 5 months of no contact. Space.com article. Pull quote: “By Saturday (April 20), however, the team confirmed their modification had worked. For the first time in five months, the scientists were able to communicate with Voyager 1 and check its health. Over the next few weeks, the team will work on adjusting the rest of the FDS software and aim to recover the regions of the system that are responsible for packaging and returning vital science data from beyond the limits of the solar system.”

Astronomers Find Evidence Of A Massive Object Beyond The Orbit Of Neptune. IFLScience.com article. Pull quote: “Carrying out simulations to try and discover what best explains the orbits of these objects, the team found that a model that includes a massive planet beyond the region of Neptune explained the steady state of these objects much better than in simulations where planet 9 was not included. In the model, the team included other variables, such as the galactic tide and the gravitational influence of passing stars.”

Bird Flu Is Infecting More Mammals. What Does That Mean for Us? NYTimes.com article. Pull quote: “Government leaders are typically cautious, wanting to see more data. But “given the rapid speed at which this can spread and the devastating illness that it can cause if our leaders are hesitant and don’t pull the right triggers at the right time, we will be caught flat-footed once again,” Dr. Bright said.”