Short Takes – 8-28-24

Welcome to our 125th anniversary issue! TechnologyReview.com editorial. Pull quote: “The longer you report on tech, the more you realize how often we get the future wrong. Predictions have a way of not coming true. The things that seem so clear now can shift and change, rearranging themselves into wholly new forms we never thought of.”

For His Second Trip to Space, Billionaire Has Grander, Riskier Aspirations. NYTimes.com article (free). Pull quote: “Mr. Isaacman recalled that he and Ms. Gillis had gone to NASA’s test facility at White Sands, N.M., to observe small projectiles fired at the spacesuits to see how they would stand up. “We obviously weren’t in them," he said, “but to see how the suit performs in a micrometeorite environment.”

SpaceX postpones historic mission featuring first private spacewalk. Phys.org article. Pull quote: “But SpaceX announced Tuesday it was pushing back the launch plans "due to unfavorable weather forecasted in Dragon's splashdown areas off the coast of Florida," in a message on X.”

The latest mpox outbreak and its threat to vision. D.NewsWise.com article. Pull quote: “In a new review article, NIH-funded researchers summarize the natural history of mpox, its modes of transmission, and its clinical course with special attention to the virus' effects on the eye. The authors also address mpox epidemiology and potential approaches to prevention and treatment.” ScienceDirect.com article.

Both Harris and Trump are historically behind on presidential transition planning. GovExec.com article. Pull quote: “Transition planning for Vice President Harris, who only became the presumptive Democratic nominee in July after President Joe Biden dropped out, might seem easy. However Stier noted that one of the worst presidential handovers in modern history was the “friendly” transition between Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.”