Short Takes – 5-14-24

Welcome to the Laser Wars. Wired.com article. Pull quote: “Beyond functional issues, there’s also the question of teaching service members to operate a laser effectively in a combat setting. The CRS report notes that “thermal blooming”—where a sustained laser beam heats up the air it’s passing through, which in turn defocuses the beam—makes head-on (or “down-the-throat”) shots against incoming targets less effective, a problem that will require a training and doctrinal fix in order to compensate. And while many of the US military laser weapons in development require minimal training to use (the BlueHalo Locust on which the P-HEL is based runs on an Xbox controller), the 2023 GAO assessment indicated that the US military will need to develop brand new “tactics, techniques, and procedures” for operating the novel systems in complex combat environments. The laser may work, but it’s up to service members to get the most out of it.”

Covert Connections. MediaDefense.gov technical article. Pull quote: “A 2023 report by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency reveals that social networking ranks among the most common contact methods for adversary intelligence services, particularly those originating from East Asia and the Pacific. A consulting offer serves merely as the initial enticement, paving the way for further exploitation. In the digital age, the acquisition, storage, and analysis of personal information far surpass “any secret police files” compiled by the Soviets during the Cold War. Moreover, advancements in algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) make analysis even more accessible.”

Supervisory Compliance Investigator. USAJobs.gov PHMSA job opening. Summary: “The incumbent serves as Chief Investigator within the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety (OHMS), Field Operations. The incumbent serves as the first line supervisor for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA) hazardous materials accident investigation staff.”

Strange, red-glowing planet may be 'melting from within,' scientists report. LiveScience.com article. Pull quote: “"This teaches us a lot about the extremes of how much energy can be pumped into a terrestrial planet, and the consequences of that," Kane said in the statement. "There have been several cases of terrestrial planets that are close to their star and heated by the energy from the star, but very few cases where the tidal energy is melting the planet from within," he told Universe Today.”

Cows might host both human and bird flus. ScienceNews.org article. Pull quote: “In the new study, Kristensen and colleagues tested whether cows have receptors that bird flu viruses can use to infect their cells. Not only did the team find such entry portals but also found that the receptors, especially the duck version, were abundant in the mammary glands, at low levels in the respiratory tract and at very low levels in the brain. That fits with the description of the illness in cows, Kristensen says, which affects milk production but doesn’t seem to make most cows very sick.”

Solar storms made GPS tractors miss their mark at the worst time for farmers. TheVerge.com article. Pull quote: “LandMark Implement, which owns John Deere dealerships in Kansas and Nebraska, warned farmers on Friday to turn off a feature that uses a fixed receiver to correct tractors’ paths. LandMark updated its post Saturday, saying it expects that when farmers tend crops later, “rows won’t be where the AutoPath lines think they are” and that it would be “difficult - if not impossible” for the self-driving tractor feature to work in fields planted while the GPS systems were hampered.”

How to Check If You’re Immune to Measles. ScientificAmerican.com article. Pull quote: “People born before 1957 are presumed to be immune to measles because they had it in childhood. Those born in 1957 or later, however, are likely protected only if they have been vaccinated. Initially, U.S. children received just one dose of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, but that changed after a big measles outbreak that occurred from 1989 to 1991 and resulted in a reported 55,622 cases in the country. The outbreak killed 123 people and led to a congressional hearing.”