Short Takes – 1-2-25

Why EVs are (mostly) set for solid growth this year. TechnologyReview.com article. Pull quote: “As noted, there is a revamped Chevy Bolt on the way for US consumers, as well as a $25,000 Jeep. But the actual price tags won’t be clear until these vehicles hit dealerships and the Trump administration translates its campaign rhetoric into policies.”

The Descent of an Army Vet Turned Corporate Consultant Named in the New Year’s Attack. WSJ.com article (free). Pull quote: “Jabbar was born in 1982 and raised in Beaumont, Texas, a city about an hour east of Houston and not far from the Louisiana border. Records show his family has longstanding ties in East Texas and other parts of the South.”

Scientists predict an undersea volcano eruption near Oregon in 2025. ScienceNews.org article. Pull quote: “Geophysicist Michael Poland of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Wash., agrees. Because most of today’s efforts rely on recognizing patterns, he says, “there’s always the risk that a volcano will follow a pattern that we haven’t seen before and do something unexpected.” Both Poland and Acocella hope that forecasts will evolve to be based on the physics and chemistry of the magma systems that underlie a volcano.”

Johnson doesn’t have the votes to remain speaker. But his allies insist it’s trending his way. Politico.com article. Pull quote: “Still, Johnson and his allies are putting Trump at the center of their two main arguments as they try to sway the holdouts. First, they point out that a messy, drawn-out speaker's race risks a delay in certifying Trump’s presidential win on Jan. 6. Second, if Republicans are consumed with trying to iron out their own leadership it overshadows the start of the second Trump administration, right at a time when leaders want to look unified. In recent weeks, Trump has privately warned GOP lawmakers against doing anything that takes away from the start of his second presidency, according to one GOP lawmaker who has spoken with him, granted anonymity to speak frankly.”

Conservatives seek commitments as Johnson scrambles for Speaker votes. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “The undecided House Republican told The Hill on Thursday that Johnson was “making some progress,” noting that the Speaker acknowledged “some of the failures of the past, and is trying to course correct and create some systemic changes in the way his office functions, which is what we need to hear.””

Building Consensus: Making the Business Case for OT Security. LinkedIn.com/pulse/ article. Pull quote: “Involve cross-functional teams in roadmap development to foster buy-in. Engaging operations, finance, and compliance leaders ensure the plan is practical and aligned with broader business priorities. When stakeholders see their input reflected in the strategy, they’re more likely to support it.”

In 2025, People Will Try Living in This Underwater Habitat. Spectrum.IEEE.com article. Pull quote: “Deep’s agenda has a major milestone this year—the development and testing of a small, modular habitat called Vanguard. This transportable, pressurized underwater shelter, capable of housing up to three divers for periods ranging up to a week or so, will be a stepping stone to a more permanent modular habitat system—known as Sentinel—that is set to launch in 2027. “By 2030, we hope to see a permanent human presence in the ocean,” says Krack. All of this is now possible thanks to an advanced 3D printing-welding approach that can print these large habitation structures.”

Stanford researchers' flu vaccine breakthrough could help US fight bird flu. SFGate.com article. Ability to target multiple strains. Pull quote: ““Overcoming subtype bias this way can lead to a much more effective influenza vaccine, extending even to strains responsible for bird flu,” Davis said in the blog. “The bird flu could very likely generate our next viral pandemic.”