Short Takes – 6-13-24

Blue Origin joins SpaceX and ULA on Pentagon list for $5.6B in launch contracts. GeekWire.com article. Pull quote: “The amounts going to each of the three launch providers in the Phase 3 Lane 1 program will be determined by the task orders that go out for specific launches over the next five years. In a news release, the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command said it was releasing requests for proposals relating to two task orders so far — one that would cover seven launches for the Space Development Agency, and another for the National Reconnaissance Office.”

This Strange Fungal Condition Makes You Drunk without Drinking. ScientificAmerican.com article.  Pull quote: “The currently understood mechanism for how this happens involves a number of factors that may contribute to an increased likelihood of the syndrome developing. These include having taken frequent or prolonged courses of antibiotics; having diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease or liver disease; and having a possible genetic predisposition through mutations that affect specific enzymes that help to metabolize and eliminate alcohol. “These factors need to collide together to create the perfect storm,” Zewude says.”

Massive potential lithium source found in Pennsylvania. CEN.ACS.org article. Pull quote: “Wells in northeastern Pennsylvania have a median lithium concentration of 205 mg/L, while those in the southwest had a median of 127 mg/L. Lithium today is extracted from brines containing 200 mg/L, but higher concentrations of over 500 mg/L improve the economics for traditional evaporation-based techniques.”