National Geographic: Fauci ‘seriously doubts’ the Russia vaccine is ready for widespread use

National Geographic: Fauci ‘seriously doubts’ the Russia vaccine is ready for widespread use

By Nsikan Akpan

Russia has just announced that it has approved the first COVID-19 vaccine. National Geographic interviewed NIAID director Anthony Fauci for his take on this development. He says that he seriously doubts whether Russia has in fact run all the trials to make sure the vaccine is safe and effective.

    Stage Three is when a vaccine is tested on human subjects. It is meant to measure how effective and safe it is, and how much should be administered. The Kremlin has claimed that it completed all the proper tests before President Putin's announcement, but other Russian officials insist otherwise. An executive financing the vaccine said that although tests began in several countries, no records of completion could be found in the country's Health Ministry.

    Fauci has also said that the US currently has half a dozen drugs in testing, and could roll them out to have no or even harmful effects as soon as next week. "But that's not the way it works."

CNN 10 8/12/2020 ~ 8/14/2020

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Wednesday, August 12, 2020

As kids prepare to go back to school, different parts of the country are learning in different ways. Some are doing in-person classes, while others are doing hybrid or distanced learning. And as the US surpasses 5 million coronavirus cases, the percentage of infected children is ticking up as well. This is probably because they have been staying home. After many schools closed in March and April, they have hardly had any outside contact, leading to the assumption that younger people are less likely to catch the disease. But as they head back outside, they are catching the virus. Luckily, they appear to suffer less severe symptoms. Russia has approved the first COVID-19 vaccine in the world. They say they have run all necessary tests and that this is an important milestone. Some have expressed concerns that human trials weren't conducted, but Putin said that nurses and teachers are being vaccinated first and that even his rarely seen daughter has been treated. Earlier this week, President Trump signed an executive order banning TikTok in the US unless its Chinese parent company sells its operations in the US to an American company. Lawmakers are concerned that the massive amount of data the app collects could be given to the Communist government of China. Finally, what will be the fate of stores? The retail crisis has only worsened, and Amazon is set to buy some spaces in malls for its warehouses. This isn't all bad, though, because some of the money could go to mall maintenance for the other stores, and brings Amazon products closer to people who need them.

Thursday, August 13, 2020

This year's election will take place on November 3rd. The two candidates for the major political parties are set. Neither has been formally nominated, but both have gained enough delegates to be all but set. For the Republicans, incumbent President Donald Trump is running for reelection with Vice President Mike Pence; the Democratic nominee is former Vice President Joe Biden, campaigning with California Senator Kamala Harris. Harris is the first Black woman on the VP ballot for a major party. Usually, the nominations would be made official at party conventions with many delegates present. However, due to COVID-19, these will be small, virtual events. College football has been postponed for BIG-10 and PAC-12 teams due to the pandemic. But the ACC and SEC doctors have told their leagues that they should play with proper precautions. Something that has come earlier because of coronavirus - Halloween candy. The industry makes billions of dollars every year, and with many people planning not to go out, producers wanted to make sure everyone gets their candy. A haptic baton could be a game-changer for many blind musicians. Because they cannot see the conductor, it is difficult for them to be part of an orchestra or band. This new device takes the movements of the conductor's arm and sends them to the player via a pulsing band in real-time, enabling them to be part of a larger group.

Friday, August 14, 2020

A state of environmental emergency has been declared in Mauritius. A Japanese oil tanker crashed into a reef of the East African island in late July, and its expanding cracks have been releasing oil. Workers are going around the clock to remove the oil with helicopters and smaller tankers. Its government has reported that all the oil that remained on the tanker was extracted, but Greenpeace says that 1000 metric tons of it are still in the ocean near two protected ecosystems. Many locals and charities have been helping, and the Mauritian government has asked for help from France to get the ship floating again. The US presidential election works on the system of Electoral College. It was set up by the Founding Fathers, and 538 electors currently cast each state's official votes for president. The number of electors each state gets is based on seats in Congress, so more populated states have more votes. The winner of a state gets all of its electoral votes, except in Nebraska and Maine, where it is based on statewide results plus the number of won districts. 270 votes win the election, and the House picks the president in case of a tie, with the VP pick going to the Senate. The system is a compromise that the Founding Fathers made, and it is rather controversial. Some say it allows people to become president without a majority of voters' support, while others say it makes sure small states matter. Electors are chosen by their parties, and they cannot hold office. An elector can ignore the popular vote, but this is very rare and in some states, illegal. Bones from a new type of dinosaur that is related to the t-rex have been found on the Isle of Wight. It probably lived about 115 million years ago and was 4 meters long. The future of space flight is nearly here. Virgin Galactic, which was supposed to have its first passenger space flight this year, has postponed it to next year due to the pandemic. But after a few more tests, it will be ready. It is designed to be a fully immersive experience, so it has 16 cameras to capture everything, windows all around, special seats and clothes, and a mirror so you can see yourself in space.

National Geographic: My generation grew up online. Endless ‘virtual life’ would be terrifying

National Geographic: My generation grew up online. Endless ‘virtual life’ would be terrifying

By Oliver Whang

The philosopher Frank Jackson once devised an interesting thought experiment. A very intelligent person has lived in a black and white room their entire life, with tons of information and knowledge that color exists. Only, they've never seen it. So when they go outside and see the world and touch things, do they learn anything new? Jackson claims that yes, there are things that we can only by living in the physical world, which he calls qualia.

    The latest generation has grown up online, and the pandemic seems to reinforce that maybe, we can simply do everything online. Along with the fear that the virus will not go away, the fear that this virtual life will not end has also come. The idea that perhaps, some may never come out of this quarantine, losing their connection with the world.

Air and Space: This Satellite Tow Truck Could Be the Start of a Multibilion-Dollar Business

Air and Space: This Satellite Tow Truck Could Be the Start of a Multibilion-Dollar Business

By Michael Behar

In February, a new type of spacecraft flew toward its client. Its name is MEV-1, or Mission Extension Vehicle 1. The Intelsat IS-901 was its client. It is a satellite in geosynchronous orbit, and it had run out of fuel. MEV-1 would dock on the satellite and use its electric thrusters to tow the satellite around in orbit for a few more years at which time it would drag the satellite further out to the "satellite graveyard" and find a new client. Northrop Grumman is the company that built it, and the motivation came out of the fact that satellites are super expensive. If a new satellite has a few kinks during its beginning stages, vehicles like MEV-1 could help fix it, saving a company millions.

    Other vehicles by NASA and DARPA are set to launch in 2022. These will have a more diverse range of features, such as refueling and space construction. The NASA OSAM-1 would have robotic arms that cut through the padding on a satellite's fuel hatch to refuel it. During its first mission, it will also use its arms to assemble an antennae and spacecraft.

    Some researchers also believe that the new technology could help us get to other planets. Right now, spacecraft and satellites are very bulky and require many special features to survive the stress of leaving Earth's atmosphere. If they could simply be assembled in space, it would make the loads much lighter and the designs simpler.

TedEd: Which is stronger: Glue or tape?

A TedEd by Elizabeth Cox

Long ago, people used glue made from plants and animals to waterproof baskets and make other utensils. Today, we have many types of glue and tape to fix a variety of objects. But why do they work, and which one is better? Adhesives can be made from synthetic materials or natural starches and proteins. They work by using adhesive and cohesive bonds. Adhesive bonds attach an adhesive to an object and cohesive bonds hold the adhesive itself together. Most glues today are made from adhesive polymers mixed in a solvent, which prevents the glue from sticking to the bottle. The downside is that solvents evaporate when exposed to air, leaving behind that bad smell. Some solvents are water based, while others use chemicals. Other glues, like epoxy, use multiple substances that react when exposed to air, providing a stronger bond. Glues dry and harden when they are used, which is why it is irreversible. However, tape creates weaker bonds with a surface, which is why it can be reused. These are called Van Der Waals forces, which occur when two objects are extremely close together. Most tapes are made from a slightly rubbery backing with a sticky tackifier on it. Tape does not create adhesive bonds. Instead, it employs viscoelasticity, which means it can slide into grooves on a surface and stay there. So which is stronger? Glue is obviously stronger in terms of absolute strength, but it doesn't work for all circumstances. The strongest glues are cyanoacrylates, or superglue. However, epoxies can withstand more heat and shearing. However, glues need a decent amount of space where objects touch to work. So if you were putting two round objects together, tape would work better. Tape also works in space, whereas glues do not.