Short Takes – 7-17-24

Study: Rising sea levels causing longer days. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “The study’s authors found that during the 20th century, the rate of slowing fell between 0.3 and 1 milliseconds per century but has increased to 1.3 milliseconds since 2000 as the melting of polar ice accelerated. Researchers estimated that the current rate of slowing is already likely the highest in thousands of years.”

Baltic countries notify Russia and Belarus they will exit the Moscow-controlled electricity grid. Yahoo.com article. Pull quote: “The three former Soviet republics do not currently buy electricity from Russia, but remain physically connected to a grid in which the electricity frequency is controlled by Moscow under the 2001 BRELL agreement. The Baltic systems plan to synchronize with the continental European system on Feb. 9, 2025. Both systems use 50 Hz alternating current.”

Europe Announces New Mission to Infamous Asteroid Apophis. ScientificAmerican.com article. Pull quote: “DellaGiustina and her colleagues are confident that they can use the mission’s data to reconstruct how the close pass with Earth affected Apophis. But a mission like Ramses, which is targeting a six-month stay at Apophis beginning two months before the encounter with Earth, could offer priceless observations of the asteroid’s pre-flyby state. Ramses may even provide a whole-asteroid view of Apophis responding to the tug of Earth’s gravity, says Paolo Martino, an engineer at ESA leading the Ramses project. The agency also hopes to equip the spacecraft with a smaller, deployable companion that could touch down on Apophis before the encounter for a firsthand, ground-truth report.”

Is It Time for U.S. Farmworkers to Get Bird Flu Shots? ScientificAmerican.com article. Pull quote: “He and others stressed that the United States should be doing everything it can to curb infections before flu season starts in October. The vaccine could provide an additional layer of protection on top of testing, wearing gloves, and goggles, and disinfecting milking equipment. Scientists worry that if people get the bird flu and the seasonal flu simultaneously, bird flu viruses could snag adaptations from seasonal viruses that allow them to spread swiftly among humans.”