Short Takes – 4-24-25

Simple blood test could enable detection of Parkinson’s disease before symptoms emerge. ChemistryWorld.com article. Pull quote: “However, Barran highlights that surveys have suggested that only half of people with Parkinson’s would have liked to know their status earlier, because currently there is no cure. ‘As a test currently, this is not appropriate and would not be useful except for a very small – about 12 to 14% – number of people who have a genetic link,’ she explains. ‘Those people tend to want to know because their chances of getting Parkinson’s are higher than people who don’t have [a genetic link]…. Where learning about those people’s Parkinson’s status is useful clinically, is that treatments are being developed for people who have genetic risk factors.’”

Anti-Vaxxers Are Grifting Off the Measles Outbreak—and Claim a Bioweapon Caused It. Wired.com article. Pull quote: ““This is the standard radical anti-vaccine extremist playbook,” Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, tells WIRED. “You can see RFK Jr. has translated his anti-vaccine lies into political power. You can see others have converted it into economic power. And there’s some that just do it because it makes them feel good to be listened to, to be important, to be the center of a community. There’s always an ulterior motive.””

DOGE vs. TSCA: Is EPA Prepared?  Pull quote: “She [Shari Barash, director of new chemicals within the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics] also added that she doesn't think the new chemicals division will face severe cuts, given the administration's focus on reducing the review backlog. “I feel like the new chemicals program is hopefully well-positioned to maintain our resources,” she said. “I haven't been informed at this point, so we're all hopeful.””

Bad News for China: Rare Earth Elements Aren’t That Rare. Wired.com article. Pull quote: “Because companies only need tiny quantities of these minerals, the market for them is very volatile—prices can drop when a single new factory comes online and starts mass producing and refining them. That means if a mining company were to open up shop in the US, it could inadvertently tank the price of the same mineral it’s trying to profit from, says Lange.”

NASA Airborne Sensor’s Wildfire Data Helps Firefighters Take Action. JPL.NASA.gov article

. Pull quote: “AVIRIS and the Firesense Airborne Campaign are part of NASA’s work to leverage its expertise to combat wildfires using solutions including airborne technologies. The agency also recently demonstrated a prototype from its Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations project that will provide reliable airspace management for drones and other aircraft operating in the air above wildfires.”

Statement from Matt Hartman on the CVE Program. CISA.gov press release. Pull quote: “The CVE Program is an invaluable public resource relied upon by network defenders and software developers alike. As the nation’s cyber defense agency, it is a foundational priority for CISA. Recent public reporting inaccurately implied the program was at risk due to a lack of funding. To set the record straight, there was no funding issue, but rather a contract administration issue that was resolved prior to a contract lapse. There has been no interruption to the CVE program and CISA is fully committed to sustaining and improving this critical cyber infrastructure.” ‘Funding issue’ – ‘Contract administration issue’: Lack of communication makes the two the same thing.

China Report – 4-24-25. SpaceNews.com article. Space debris - Commercial activities expand scope – Space Day –

Alpha FLT006 Message in a Booster. FireFlySpace.com mission page. Pull quote: “Alpha FLTA006 is the second mission Firefly is launching for Lockheed Martin and the first of Firefly’s multi-launch agreement with Lockheed Martin that includes up to 25 missions over the next five years. This mission will launch Lockheed Martin’s LM 400 tech demo to prove out the risk-reduction and path finding efforts the company has done for its multi-mission satellite bus. Launching the mid-size satellite to low Earth orbit, FLTA006 will further validate Alpha’s robust performance to take customers directly to their preferred orbits as the only operational 1 metric ton rocket.”