Panic Buying & Isolation Dodging

‘Live your life as though your every act were to become a universal law’. EPA/ Salvatore Di Nolfi

The coronavirus crisis has forced us to look at our behaviour in a way that we’re not used to. We are being asked to act in the collective good rather than our individual preservation and interest. Even for those of us with the best of intentions, this is not so easy.

This is a problem for governments. Practically, they need us to obey their recommendations and to only buy what we need. They can enforce these behaviours upon us through policing, but some, such as the UK government, have preferred to appeal to our sense of duty and morality to act in the interest of society as a whole. They say “we have to ask you” rather than “you must”. They are invoking a communal spirit to do what’s right. The key point being that we should follow guidelines out of a sense of duty rather than needing to be commanded. Judging from the fact that I am having to ration my coffee supply, this is having mixed success.

Friederich Nietzsche argues that appeals to morality are no less a system of power and discipline than the police. In his book The Genealogy of Morals, he argues that moral thinking arises first, not from a desire to be a good and happy human being, but from the upper classes as a way of distinguishing themselves from the lower classes – justifying why they had benefits those less fortunate did not.

He points out that, in most languages, the words for good and evil arise from the words for “clean” and “unclean”. The evidence of the moral nobility of the upper classes was their cleanliness and the decadence of the lower classes was proven by their dirtiness. This still seems to be true today, as we are told it is a moral duty to be clean and that those who do not obey the bodily discipline of handwashing, facial awareness and social distancing are not simply dangerous but selfish.  READ MORE..

Snowing Somewhere

 

Lake Atagahi

The secret lake hidden in the Smoky Mountains

Legend states that Atagahi Lake was shallow, purple, and fed by mountain springs (photo by Petr Jelinek/stock.adobe.com)

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is dotted with well-preserved conclaves of cabins and barns. And the occasional mill or silo.

Places like Cades Cove or Greenbrier or Roaring Fork serve as reminders of life in the mountains in the decades leading up to the formation of the park.

And as we walk through these places, running our hands along the rough-hewn wood, feeling the planks creaking beneath our feet and feeling the crisp breath of a breeze blowing through, we try to imagine ourselves living in such a time and such a place.

In fact, it is impossible for most of us.  READ MORE...

Rainfall

 

Glasses

 

Stellar Cocoon With Organic Molecules

Artist’s conceptual image of the protostar discovered in the extreme outer Galaxy. Credit: Niigata University

For the first time, astronomers have detected a newborn star and the surrounding cocoon of complex organic molecules at the edge of our Galaxy, which is known as the extreme outer Galaxy. The discovery, which revealed the hidden chemical complexity of our Universe, appears in a paper in The Astrophysical Journal.

The scientists from Niigata University (Japan), Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (Taiwan), and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile to observe a newborn star (protostar) in the WB89-789 region, located in the extreme outer Galaxy. 

A variety of carbon-, oxygen-, nitrogen-, sulfur-, and silicon-bearing molecules, including complex organic molecules containing up to nine atoms, were detected. Such a protostar, as well as the associated cocoon of chemically-rich molecular gas, were for the first time detected at the edge of our Galaxy.

The ALMA observations reveal that various kinds of complex organic molecules, such as methanol (CH3OH), ethanol (C2H5OH), methyl formate (HCOOCH3), dimethyl ether (CH3OCH3), formamide (NH2CHO), propanenitrile (C2H5CN), etc., are present even in the primordial environment of the extreme outer Galaxy. Such complex organic molecules potentially act as the feedstock for larger prebiotic molecules.



Top: Radio spectrum of a protostar in the extreme outer Galaxy discovered with ALMA. Bottom: Distributions of radio emissions from the protostar. Emissions from dust, formaldehyde (H2CO), ethynylradical (CCH), carbon monosulfide (CS), sulfur monoxide (SO), silicon monoxide (SiO), acetonitrile (CH3CN), formamide (NH2CHO), propanenitrile (C2H5CN), methyl formate (HCOOCH3), ethanol (C2H5OH), acetaldehyde (CH3CHO), deuterated water (HDO), and methanol (CH3OH) are shown as examples. In the bottom right panel, an infrared 2-color composite image of the surrounding region is shown (red: 2.16 μm and blue: 1.25 μm, based on 2MASS data). Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), T. Shimonishi (Niigata University)

  

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Landing

 

Space Art

Astrophotography allows us all to become citizens of the cosmos.

At a glimpse, we can be transported into the depths of space to gaze upon Jupiter's dazzling cloudscape. Moments later we can picture the shifting rust-colored sands of Mars, or navigate our way across the lunar surface.

It's a gift that's easy to take for granted. After all, a century and a half ago it took the creative hand of a talented artist to preserve what only a privileged few ever got to see; a hand not unlike Étienne Léopold Trouvelot's.

Born in France in 1827, the lithography printer fled to America with his wife Adele following a coup by Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte in 1851. There, a brief foray into entomology would have devastating consequences for his new home, leading Trouvelot to return to old passions – art and astronomy.

At a time when photography was in its infancy and even the best telescopes were little more than finely crafted lenses, there was no substitute for a generous dose of artistic license when it came to preserving what the eye saw.

"A well-trained eye alone is capable of seizing the delicate details of structure and of configuration of the heavenly bodies, which are liable to be affected, and even rendered invisible, by the slightest changes in our atmosphere," Trouvelot wrote of his work.

Today, his astronomical artworks can still stir up emotions of awe and wonder over the stunning beauty of stars and gas clouds few have the fortune of seeing first hand.

(Étienne Léopold Trouvelot/Public Domain)

Or his intricate mapping of the texture of a Moon so many of us are familiar with, but rarely see up close.  READ MORE...

Small Bird

 

Using A Drunkard's Walk

(Image credit: Adrienne Bresnahan/Getty Images)

A physics problem that has plagued science since the days of Isaac Newton is closer to being solved, say a pair of Israeli researchers. The duo used "the drunkard's walk" to calculate the outcome of a cosmic dance between three massive objects, or the so-called three-body problem.

For physicists, predicting the motion of two massive objects, like a pair of stars, is a piece of cake. But when a third object enters the picture, the problem becomes unsolvable. That's because when two massive objects get close to each other, their gravitational attraction influences the paths they take in a way that can be described by a simple mathematical formula. But adding a third object isn't so simple: Suddenly, the interactions between the three objects become chaotic. 

Instead of following a predictable path defined by a mathematical formula, the behavior of the three objects becomes sensitive to what scientists call "initial conditions" — that is, whatever speed and position they were in previously. Any slight difference in those initial conditions changes their future behavior drastically, and because there's always some uncertainty in what we know about those conditions, their behavior is impossible to calculate far out into the future. 

In one scenario, two of the objects might orbit each other closely while the third is flung into a wide orbit; in another, the third object might be ejected from the other two, never to return, and so on.

In a paper published in the journal Physical Review X, scientists used the frustrating unpredictability of the three-body problem to their advantage.

"[The three-body problem] depends very, very sensitively on initial conditions, so essentially it means that the outcome is basically random," said Yonadav Barry Ginat, a doctoral student at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology who co-authored the paper with Hagai Perets, a physicist at the same university. "But that doesn't mean that we cannot calculate what probability each outcome has."

To do that, they relied on the theory of random walks — also known as "the drunkard's walk." The idea is that a drunkard walks in random directions, with the same chance of taking a step to the right as taking a step to the left. If you know those chances, you can calculate the probability of the drunkard ending up in any given spot at some later point in time.

So in the new study, Ginat and Perets looked at systems of three bodies, where the third object approaches a pair of objects in orbit. In their solution, each of the drunkard's "steps" corresponds to the velocity of the third object relative to the other two.

"One can calculate what the probabilities for each of those possible speeds of the third body is, and then you can compose all those steps and all those probabilities to find the final probability of what's going to happen to the three-body system in a long time from now," meaning whether the third object will be flung out for good, or whether it might come back, for instance, Ginat said.  READ MORE...

Remember the Night

 

WELL... Well... well...

 

I Was Conceived in Rape But I’m Glad I Wasn’t Aborted. I Did Not Deserve Death for My Father’s Crime...

If you want to read this article, click here...

Vehicle Performance Chips

Want to inject some additional performance into your car? Performance chips are an easy way to add more horsepower and torque.       By Patrick Rall Nov 13, 2020


If you are looking to get more power and better fuel economy from your vehicle, one of the simplest and most efficient options is an aftermarket engine tuning device. Some people might refer to these systems as performance chips, as in the early era of computerized automotive tuning, they were literally microchips that you would plug into the vehicle’s computer system.

Due to advancements in automotive computer technology and the introduction of the OBDII port under the dash, those microchips are a thing of the past. They have been replaced by plug-and-play tuning devices. These modern tuning devices offer improved power and fuel economy, just like the performance chips of the 1980s and 1990s, but the modern tools do much more than that. Depending on the product chosen, modern tuning devices can sharpen throttle response, adjust the transmission shifts, and check diagnostic trouble codes. Some of the most advanced systems even come with elaborate display screens that report a wide range of engine parameters.

The problem is that there are many different types and brands of tuning devices on today’s market, so we put together a list looking at the best options.


1. Editor's Pick: Power Tune Performance Engine Tuning Module



The Power Tune Performance Engine Tuning Module is in the most basic class of modern tuning devices. It works similarly to the old school performance chips. You simply plug it into the OBDII port under the dash of your vehicle and it automatically communicates with your engine’s computerized control system.

The small module makes small adjustments to your engine’s fuel delivery and ignition timing to increase power output. In many cases, these changes will also improve fuel economy in addition to adding power. The Power Tune also sharpens both throttle response and transmission shifts, leading to further improvements in overall performance.

If you don’t have a world of mechanical knowledge and you are looking to get slightly better performance from your car, truck, or SUV, a performance chip system like this one is your best option. Installation is simple and you don’t have to make any manual adjustments or select modes. It is truly a plug-and-play system that improves the overall performance of your vehicle.

Pros/Easy to install, no mechanical knowledge required, very inexpensive, applies to many makes and models
Cons/Limited functions, no customization options

TO READ ABOUT OTHER PERFORMANCE CHIPS, CLICK HERE...

More Water

 

Ancient DNA Analysis

A photograph of the skeleton of one of the four individuals who we have sequenced who we think is likely to have participated in the migration we detect into southern Britain and to have displaced half the ancestry of the local population. This skeleton was excavated from the site of Cliffs End Farm in Kent. Credit: Wessex Archaeology

A major new study of ancient DNA has traced the movement of people into southern Britain during the Bronze Age.

A major new study of ancient DNA has traced the movement of people into southern Britain during the Bronze Age.

In the largest such analysis published to date, scientists examined the DNA of nearly 800 ancient individuals


The new study, led by the University of York, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Vienna, shows that people moving into southern Britain around 1300‒800 BC were responsible for around half the genetic ancestry of subsequent populations.

This image is of bronze age tools from the National Museums of Scotland, which could give readers a sense of the material culture associated with people who lived at the time of the migration. Credit: Bronze Age tools curated the National Museums of Scotland

The combined DNA and archaeological evidence suggests that, rather than a violent invasion or a single migratory event, the genetic structure of the population changed through sustained contacts between mainland Britain and Europe over several centuries, such as the movement of traders, intermarriage, and small scale movements of family groups.

The study finds evidence that the new migrants became thoroughly mixed in to the Southern British population in the period 1000‒875 BC.

The researchers say the origin of these migrants cannot yet be established with certainty, but they are most likely to have come from communities in and around present-day France.

The Middle to Late Bronze Age was a time when settled farming communities expanded across the landscapes of southern Britain, and extensive trade routes developed to allow the movement of metal ores for the production of bronze.

These new networks linked wide-ranging regions across Europe, as seen from the spread of bronze objects and raw materials.

The study’s lead archaeologist Professor Ian Armit, from the University of York, said: ‘We have long suspected, based on patterns of trade and shared ideologies, that the Middle to Late Bronze Age was a time of intense contacts between communities in Britain and Europe.  READ MORE...

Drone Works

 

Early Disaster Warnings

Magnetic field information could provide earlier disaster warning to at-risk regions, potentially saving lives.

A new study finds the magnetic field generated by a tsunami can be detected a few minutes earlier than changes in sea level and could improve warnings of these giant waves.

Tsunamis generate magnetic fields as they move conductive seawater through the Earth’s magnetic field. Researchers previously predicted that the tsunami’s magnetic field would arrive before a change in sea level, but they lacked simultaneous measurements of magnetics and sea level that are necessary to demonstrate the phenomenon.

The new study provides real-world evidence for using tsunamis’ magnetic fields to predict the height of tsunami waves using data from two real events — a 2009 tsunami in Samoa and a 2010 tsunami in Chile — that have both sets of necessary data. The new study was published in AGU’s Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, which focuses on the physics and chemistry of the solid Earth.

The study confirms the magnetic field generated by a tsunami arrives ahead of sea-level change and that its magnitude can be used to estimate the tsunami’s wave height. How much earlier the magnetic field arrives depends on water depth, but in their results, the study authors found the early arrival time to be about one minute prior to sea level change over a 4,800-meter deep sea.

This information could provide earlier disaster warning if incorporated into tsunami risk models, potentially saving lives.

The aftermath of a 2010 tsunami in Chile, which was analyzed in a new study in JGR Solid Earth. Earlier warnings made possible by the study of tsunami-generated magnetic fields could better prepare coastal areas for impending disasters. Credit: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies  

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Boat Ride

 

An Unusual Decomposition Process

A fetus previously identified in a mummified Egyptian woman has remained preserved for more than 2,000 years due to an unusual decomposition process.

In April 2021, the Warsaw Mummy Project published an article that revealed the first known case of a pregnant Ancient Egyptian mummy.

The mummy, which is housed in the National Museum in Warsaw was previously thought to be the remains of the priest Hor-Djehuti, until it was discovered in 2016 to be an embalmed woman.

A closer examination using tomographic imaging revealed that the woman was between 20-30 years old when she died and was in her 26th to 30th week of her pregnancy.

In a new study published in the “Journal of Archaeological Science”, Ożarek-Szilke, co-director of the Warsaw Mummy Project explained that the deceased was covered with natron to dry the body.

Natron is a naturally occurring mixture of sodium carbonate decahydrate (Na2CO3·10H2O, a kind of soda ash) and around 17% sodium bicarbonate (also called baking soda, NaHCO3) along with small quantities of sodium chloride and sodium sulfate.

During this process, the fetus was still in the uterus and essentially began too “pickle” in an acidic environment. Formic acid and other compounds (formed after death in the uterus because of various chemical processes related to decomposition) changed the Ph inside the woman’s body.

The change from alkaline to an acidic environment caused the leaching of minerals from the fetal bones, which began to dry out and mineralise. According to the researchers, the process of Egyptian mummification from a chemical point of view is the process of mineralisation of tissues that can survive for a millennia.

Ożarek-Szilke said: “These two processes explain to us why you hardly see the bones of the fetus in CT scans. You can see, for example, hands or a foot, but these are not bones, but dried tissues. The skull, which develops the fastest and is the most mineralised has been partially preserved.”

Lilipads