Short Takes – 10-10-24

Scientists long urged NASA to search for signs of life near Jupiter; now it's happening. Phys.org article. Pull quote: “Today, with inflation further flattening NASA's budget and the high cost of its current focus—human spaceflight—there's another slump in large, strategic science missions. That has also created hardships for JPL.”

FEMA has enough funding for Hurricane Milton. What’s next is less certain. WashingtonPost.com article (free). Pull quote: “The agency [SBA] needs roughly $1.6 billion to stabilize its budget for the rest of the 2025 fiscal year, which only began Oct. 1, a White House official said. It is already receiving about 3,000 applications a day from Helene survivors, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss disaster recovery publicly.”

The Problem With the Hurricane Category Rating. NYTimes.com article. Pull quote: “Weather experts have gotten much better over the years at forecasting major storms — hurricanes or not. But they can’t easily overcome how entrenched the hurricane category system is when it comes to the public’s sense of risk.

Common heart conditions raise the risk of dementia, experts say. CNN.com article. Pull quote: “The disease [Coronary heart disease] also takes a toll on the brain. The narrowing of arteries that occurs with coronary heart disease and high blood pressure can reduce blood flow and cause damage to the small blood vessels in the brain, resulting in cognitive impairment, the AHA said. High blood pressure and type 2 diabetes can also reduce blood flow to the brain and increase inflammation, leading to cognitive decline and dementia.”

Here’s what’s happening with the Marburg virus outbreak in Rwanda. CEN.ACS.org article. Pull quote: “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that the risk of Marburg virus disease in the US is low. On Oct. 7, however, the federal agency upped its travel health advisory to level 3, urging people to reconsider nonessential travel to Rwanda. Starting the week of Oct. 14, the CDC will also screen travelers arriving in the US who’ve been in Rwanda in the past 21 days. For now, here’s what we know about the virus, its disease symptoms and spread, and potential treatments.”