Short Takes – 9-17-24

Senate Republicans losing patience with Johnson as shutdown nears. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““You get to the point where we have to take this. If [House Republicans] don’t move this week, then I think we do,” Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said, predicting Schumer will begin to lay the groundwork for the Senate to move first on a stopgap funding measure if House Republicans don’t pass a continuing resolution by Wednesday or Thursday.”

Earth from space: Ghostly figure emerges in Greenland ice after underground lake collapses. LiveScience.com article. Pull quote: “Researchers initially believed the majority of the water that reentered the lake came from surface meltwater that trickled down below the ground. However, calculations later revealed that meltwater could only account for 65% of the water in the lake, meaning some other unknown source of water was also at work.”

Are Alzheimer’s disease and colorectal cancer inversely related? CEN.ACS.org article. Pull quote: “Healthy mice who were fed lipopolysaccharides from the outer membrane of Prevotella bacteriademonstrated signs of cognitive decline. When those mice received the carcinogenic treatment, they developed fewer and smaller tumors than control mice. The authors suggested that Prevotella-derived lipopolysaccharides could be responsible for both promoting cognitive decline and helping the mice build up tolerance to intestinal inflammation. That tolerance may also inhibit colorectal cancer, the researchers wrote. They emphasized that further studies are needed to confirm the findings.”

Senate Armed Services Committee to hold UFO hearing. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “The [November] hearing announcement follows an increase in sightings of what’s officially known as unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAP, including one purportedly near Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. It would also come more than a year after an explosive House hearing in July 2023, when three former Pentagon officials testified about their experience with or sightings of UAP, warning that a lack of information on the phenomena could pose national security risks.”

Israel Planted Explosives in Pagers Sold to Hezbollah, Officials Say. NYTimes.com article. Pull quote: ““These pagers were likely modified in some way to cause these types of explosions — the size and strength of the explosion indicates it was not just the battery,” said Mikko Hypponen, a research specialist at the software company WithSecure and a cybercrime adviser to Europol.”

FAA plans to fine SpaceX $630,000 for alleged launch violations. Space.com article. Pull quote: “For that mission, SpaceX used a newly built rocket propellant farm at KSC that the FAA had not yet approved; according to the agency, the company submitted a revision request concerning the propellant farm earlier that same month. The FAA is proposing a $283,009 penalty for this alleged violation, bringing the fine total for the two missions to $633,009.”

Elon Musk says SpaceX will sue FAA for ‘regulatory overreach’. Pull quote: “In a recent blog post, SpaceX complained about “difficulties launch companies face in the current regulatory environment,” specifically pertaining to “launch and reentry licensing.””