Short Takes – 4-3-25

Watch live plant cells build their cell walls. ScienceNews.org article. Pull quote: “The researchers identified four stages of cell wall development. First, enzymes in the cell’s outer layer pump out short pieces of cellulose that “swim around” on the cell’s surface, Lam says. Next, those fragments start to collide and attach to one another. Then, as the cellulose fibers continue to thicken and elongate, they also link up with perpendicular fibers to form a mesh. Finally, that mesh of cellulose keeps rearranging itself and compacting until it becomes a rigid, stable cell wall.”

How North Korea Cheated Its Way to Crypto Billions. WSJ.com article (free). Pull quote: “North Korea’s success reflects the major resources dedicated to the task. The regime commands more than 8,000 hackers as though they were in a military unit, with the country’s brightest minds. State support means its hackers can wait months or years to exploit a single slip in a company’s digital security. Pyongyang’s desperation for cash, and its lack of concern for diplomatic blowback, have fueled its drive to be better than anyone else.”

We should talk more about air-conditioning. TechnologyReview.com article. Pull quote: “Another piece of this whole thing: It’s not just about how much total electricity we need to run air conditioners but about when that demand tends to come. As we’ve covered in this newsletter before, your air-conditioning habits aren’t unique. Cooling devices tend to flip on around the same time—when it’s hot. In some parts of the US, for example, air conditioners can represent more than 70% of residential energy demand at times when the grid is most stressed.”

A New Frontier in Radios: Rocket Lab Announces Expanded Radio Products for Reliable Command and Control. RocketLabUSA.com press release. Pull quote: ““We are excited to add this suite of software-defined radios to our expanding portfolio of products,” said Brad Clevenger, Vice President of Rocket Lab Space Systems.  “We continue to demonstrate our ability to deliver high reliability, high performance products at constellation scale.  While much of the industry struggles with supply chain challenges, Rocket Lab continues to demonstrate that it is the right partner for merchant component supply to the most demanding missions.””

Voyager Technologies to acquire LEOcloud. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “LEOcloud is preparing to install its Space Edge micro datacenter on the International Space Station with support from the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, which manages the ISS National Laboratory. Testing on ISS is a precursor to establishing cloud infrastructure for low-Earth Orbit.”

Contractors could hack back against adversaries, top cyber Democrat says. NextGov.com article. Pull quote: “Directing the private sector to hack back may present legal challenges because private firms would have to consider the consequences of mistakenly harming civilians. But that dynamic may have to become a part of a Trump administration strategy to hack back, as Chinese cyber operatives have often used stolen credentials to target various civilian critical infrastructure systems around the country.”

Rivals are rising to challenge the dominance of SpaceX. TechnologyReview.com article. Pull quote: “Regardless of the politics, the commercial competition will surely heat up throughout 2025. But SpaceX has a considerable head start, Bingen argues: “It’s going to take a lot for these companies to effectively compete and potentially dislodge SpaceX, given the dominant position that [it has] had.””

Trump backs Luna push for House parental proxy voting. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““I’m gonna let the Speaker make the decision, but I like the idea of being able to — if you’re having a baby, I think you should be able to call in and vote. I’m in favor of that,” Trump added.” Trump playing both sides.

EO 14250 - Addressing Risks From WilmerHale. Federal Register.

EO 14251 - Exclusions From Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs. Federal Register.

EO 14252 - Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful. Federal Register.

EO 14253 - Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History. Federal Register.

EO 14254 - Combating Unfair Practices in the Live Entertainment Market. Federal Register.

EO 14255 - Establishing the United States Investment Accelerator. Federal Register.