Short Takes – 8-29-24

Why Russia has struggled to halt Ukraine’s incursion in the Kursk region. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““The Russian system is very hierarchical and stiff, so it always takes them a significant amount of time to adapt to a new situation,” Lange said, “but we will have to see how Ukraine can sustain there, once Russia has adapted and comes with full force.””

New algorithms could enhance autonomous spacecraft safety. Phys.org article. Pull quote: “Chung and his co-authors envision that the proposed method will establish a new way of making expensive space exploration safer and more cost effective. "Space systems make autonomous operations necessary since we cannot grab and fix spacecraft and Mars helicopters operating in a world far away from us," Chung says. "Space is our ultimate 'proving ground' for any autonomy research we do for Earth-based vehicle systems."”

Large patch of the Atlantic Ocean near the equator has been cooling at record speeds — and scientists can't figure out why. LiveScience.com article. Pull quote: “Using data from satellites, oceanic buoys and other meteorological tools, Tuchen and McPhaden are among several climate scientists who are intently tracking the cold patch and any forthcoming effects it would have on the surrounding continents — which could take months to become apparent.”

'Sloth Fever' Virus Is Spreading. Here’s What You Need to Know about Oropouche. ScientificAmerican.com article. Pull quote: “What also raises concern is the finding of local transmission in Cuba for the first time. and imported cases in Europe and in the United States. As the Culicoides paraensis midge is found throughout the Americas, from the United States to Argentina, whenever there are infected people and there are vectors, there may be local transmission events. So, any infected individual can generate a local epidemic, that’s the main concern.”

The US Grid Is Adding Batteries at a Much Faster Rate Than Natural Gas. Wired.com article. Pull quote: “While solar power is growing at an extremely rapid clip, in absolute terms, the use of natural gas for electricity production has continued to outpace renewables. But that looks set to change in 2024, as the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) has run the numbers on the first half of the year and found that wind, solar, and batteries were each installed at a pace that dwarfs new natural gas generators. And the gap is expected to get dramatically larger before the year is over.”

Blue Origin sends six people on suborbital space trip, marking a first for researchers. Geekwire.com article. Pull quote: “During today’s flight at Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in West Texas, Ferl activated an experiment that was meant to document how plants respond to the transitions to and from microgravity.” Researcher actually flew with the experiment.