scientificamerican--2020-11-18--Prospects for Life on Venus Fade--but Aren't Dead Yet

Signs of the gas phosphine in Venus ’ s atmosphere have faded—but they ’ re still there , according to a new data analysis .
In September , an international team of astronomers made headlines when it reported finding phosphine—a potential marker of life—in the planet ’ s atmosphere .
Several studies questioning the observations and conclusions quickly followed .
Now , the same team has reanalysed part of its data , citing a processing error in the original data set .
The researchers confirmed the phosphine signal , but say that it ’ s fainter than before .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resolving the most exciting Venus debate in decades .
“ I ’ ve waited all my life for this , ” says Sanjay Limaye , a planetary scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison , who says the debate has reinvigorated the field .
The reanalysis , based on radio-telescope observations at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array ( ALMA ) in Chile , concludes that average phosphine levels across Venus are about one part per billion—approximately one-seventh of the earlier estimate .
Unlike in their original report , the scientists now describe their discovery @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It is the researchers ’ first public response to the criticisms that have been levelled against them in the past two months .
“ The scientific process is working , ” says Bob Grimm , a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder , Colorado , who is not involved with any of the phosphine studies .
Researchers tend to respond to big claims with big efforts to gather evidence and either prove or disprove them .
In its September report , the team used data from ALMA and the James @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hawaii to make its discovery .
Team leader Jane Greaves , an astronomer at Cardiff University , UK , says she and her colleagues redid the work because they had learnt that the original ALMA data contained a spurious signal that could have affected the results .
ALMA posted the corrected data on 16 November , and Greaves and her team ran a fresh analysis that night and posted it ahead of peer review on the preprint server arxiv.org .
“ We ’ ve been working like crazy , ” she told a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a NASA community forum , on 17 November .
According to Greaves and her colleagues , the ALMA data show the spectral signature of phosphine , a molecule made of one phosphorus and three hydrogen atoms .
They say no other compound can explain the data .
Finding phosphine on Venus would be tantalizing because microbes produce the gas on Earth .
If the signal is real and indeed due to phosphine , it ’ s possible that microbes living in and drifting among the planet ’ s clouds could be producing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also possible there might be a non-living source that scientists have yet to identify .
Before they can determine whether either of these scenarios is true , researchers first need to confirm phosphine ’ s presence .
In one critique of the original study , researchers suggested that the signal reported as phosphine might really be coming from sulfur dioxide , a gas that is common in Venus ’ s clouds but is not produced by life there .
Greaves and her team fired back in their latest report that that can ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how the phosphine fingerprint appears in data collected by the second telescope they used , the JCMT .
Other critiques have focused on the difficulty of extracting a phosphine signal out of complicated data .
The reanalysis found that phosphine concentrations in Venus ’ s atmosphere occasionally peak at five parts per billion .
That means levels of the gas might wax and wane over time at different places on the planet , said Greaves—a situation similar to methane spikes appearing on Mars .
One other new strand of evidence supports phosphine on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ original report , a team led by Rakesh Mogul , a biochemist at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona , dug through decades-old data from NASA ’ s 1978 Pioneer Venus mission .
This spacecraft dropped a probe that measured the chemistry of clouds in the planet ’ s atmosphere as it fell .
It detected a phosphorus signal that could be attributed to phosphine or another phosphorus compound .
But “ we believe the simplest gas that fits the data is phosphine ” , Mogul said at the meeting on 17 November @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a mystery .
Even at the one-part-per-billion level , there ’ s too much of it to be explained by volcanic eruptions at the planet ’ s surface or by lightning strikes in the atmosphere , several scientists said at the meeting .
But phosphorus-based compounds might be produced by geological processes and then transform into other chemicals , such as phosphine , as they rise into the clouds , said Mogul .
The only spacecraft currently orbiting Venus , Japan ’ s Akatsuki , does not carry instruments that could help settle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Organisation is planning a Venus mission that would launch in 2025 and could potentially carry instruments capable of looking for phosphine .
In the meantime , Greaves and other researchers are applying for more time on Earth-based telescopes , including ALMA .
Researchers are investigating many other aspects of Venus , says David Grinspoon , an astrobiologist at the Planetary Science Institute who is based in Washington DC .
“ There are 1,001 reasons to go back to Venus , and if the phosphine ‘ goes away ’ through further observations and analysis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to go.
” This article is reproduced with permission and was first published on November 17 2020 .

Signs of the gas phosphine in Venus’s atmosphere have faded—but they’re still there, according to a new data analysis.
In September, an international team of astronomers made headlines when it reported finding phosphine—a potential marker of life—in the planet’s atmosphere. Several studies questioning the observations and conclusions quickly followed. Now, the same team has reanalysed part of its data, citing a processing error in the original data set. The researchers confirmed the phosphine signal, but say that it’s fainter than before.
The work is an important step forward in resolving the most exciting Venus debate in decades. “I’ve waited all my life for this,” says Sanjay Limaye, a planetary scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, who says the debate has reinvigorated the field.
The reanalysis, based on radio-telescope observations at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, concludes that average phosphine levels across Venus are about one part per billion—approximately one-seventh of the earlier estimate. Unlike in their original report, the scientists now describe their discovery of phosphine on Venus as tentative.
It is the researchers’ first public response to the criticisms that have been levelled against them in the past two months. “The scientific process is working,” says Bob Grimm, a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, who is not involved with any of the phosphine studies. Researchers tend to respond to big claims with big efforts to gather evidence and either prove or disprove them.
Taking another look
In its September report, the team used data from ALMA and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) in Hawaii to make its discovery. Team leader Jane Greaves, an astronomer at Cardiff University, UK, says she and her colleagues redid the work because they had learnt that the original ALMA data contained a spurious signal that could have affected the results. ALMA posted the corrected data on 16 November, and Greaves and her team ran a fresh analysis that night and posted it ahead of peer review on the preprint server arxiv.org. “We’ve been working like crazy,” she told a meeting of the Venus Exploration Analysis Group, a NASA community forum, on 17 November.
According to Greaves and her colleagues, the ALMA data show the spectral signature of phosphine, a molecule made of one phosphorus and three hydrogen atoms. They say no other compound can explain the data. Finding phosphine on Venus would be tantalizing because microbes produce the gas on Earth. If the signal is real and indeed due to phosphine, it’s possible that microbes living in and drifting among the planet’s clouds could be producing the gas — but it’s also possible there might be a non-living source that scientists have yet to identify. Before they can determine whether either of these scenarios is true, researchers first need to confirm phosphine’s presence.
In one critique of the original study, researchers suggested that the signal reported as phosphine might really be coming from sulfur dioxide, a gas that is common in Venus’s clouds but is not produced by life there. Greaves and her team fired back in their latest report that that can’t be the case, because of how the phosphine fingerprint appears in data collected by the second telescope they used, the JCMT. Other critiques have focused on the difficulty of extracting a phosphine signal out of complicated data.
The reanalysis found that phosphine concentrations in Venus’s atmosphere occasionally peak at five parts per billion. That means levels of the gas might wax and wane over time at different places on the planet, said Greaves—a situation similar to methane spikes appearing on Mars.
One other new strand of evidence supports phosphine on Venus. Inspired by Greaves’s original report, a team led by Rakesh Mogul, a biochemist at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, dug through decades-old data from NASA’s 1978 Pioneer Venus mission. This spacecraft dropped a probe that measured the chemistry of clouds in the planet’s atmosphere as it fell. It detected a phosphorus signal that could be attributed to phosphine or another phosphorus compound. But “we believe the simplest gas that fits the data is phosphine”, Mogul said at the meeting on 17 November.
Work still ahead
Where the phosphine comes from remains a mystery. Even at the one-part-per-billion level, there’s too much of it to be explained by volcanic eruptions at the planet’s surface or by lightning strikes in the atmosphere, several scientists said at the meeting. But phosphorus-based compounds might be produced by geological processes and then transform into other chemicals, such as phosphine, as they rise into the clouds, said Mogul.
The only spacecraft currently orbiting Venus, Japan’s Akatsuki, does not carry instruments that could help settle the debate. The Indian Space Research Organisation is planning a Venus mission that would launch in 2025 and could potentially carry instruments capable of looking for phosphine. In the meantime, Greaves and other researchers are applying for more time on Earth-based telescopes, including ALMA.
Researchers are investigating many other aspects of Venus, says David Grinspoon, an astrobiologist at the Planetary Science Institute who is based in Washington DC. “There are 1,001 reasons to go back to Venus, and if the phosphine ‘goes away’ through further observations and analysis, there will still be 1,000 reasons to go.”
This article is reproduced with permission and was first published on November 17 2020.


scientificamerican--2020-11-18--More Frequent, Severe Climate-Fueled Disasters Exacerbate Humanitarian Crises

Extreme weather and climate-linked disasters have killed 410,000 people since 2010 , according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies .
The group ’ s “ World Disasters Report 2020 ” released yesterday says more frequent and severe catastrophes threaten to exacerbate humanitarian crises and lead to economic hardship even as global death counts drop because of steps to improve resilience .
The relief organization warns that major disasters are increasingly happening in succession , such as the half-dozen typhoons and tropical storms that have hit Southeast Asia since early October .
By combing through data @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responded to in the past decade , IFRC says that 83 % of them were climate-related in some way , usually severe flooding , violent storms and deadly heat waves .
“ The number of such disasters triggered by extreme weather- and climate-related events has been increasing since the 1960s , and has risen almost 35 % since the 1990s , ” the new report says .
“ These extreme weather- and climate-related disasters have killed more than 410,000 people in the past ten years , the vast majority in low and lower-middle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Heatwaves , then storms , have been the biggest killers.
” The group said 308 major natural disasters occurred in 2019 .
Of these , 237 could be tied to weather and climate in some way .
The most frequent were major floods , with 127 occurring last year .
Following floods were severe storms , disease and earthquakes .
IFRC representative Alison Freebairn said that not every event the group counted can be conclusively linked to human-caused global warming .
But she noted that researchers and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evidence that greenhouse gases have made these weather-related disasters more likely to occur and more devastating when they do .
She pointed to recent findings that argue climate change made the devastating 2019-2020 bush fire season in Australia 30 % more probable .
“ What we know in terms of the impacts of climate change is from the IPCC reports , which give high , medium or low confidence that certain events were made more likely due to climate change .
And then we also know climate change makes extreme climate and weather @ @ @ @ @ @ @ variable , ” Freebairn explained .
“ The statistics show we have had exactly that ; more frequent and intense extreme climate and weather-related disasters in both real numbers and as a percentage of all disasters , ” she added .
Ilan Noy , an economist at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand , specializes in researching the economic costs of climate change-related disasters .
He said organizations like IFRC and insurance companies are increasingly able to link natural disasters to climate change given the advancements in attribution science .
“ While @ @ @ @ @ @ @ connected to climate change we didn ’ t really have solid scientific evidence to prove it , ” Noy said .
“ Now I think in the last five years the climate science has progressed and actually they have much stronger statements , or producing much stronger scientific statements about the connections between weather events and climate change.
” Noy ’ s research argues that global warming is making previously rare natural disasters more probable and frequent .
But he cautions that while such estimates can be made for major disasters in specific @ @ @ @ @ @ @ difficult to do that for the world as a whole .
“ For that , you need to quantify the changing probability of all these extreme events that are happening globally , and the science is not there yet , ” he said .
The IFRC report expresses concern about “ concurrent and consecutive disasters ” that leave affected populations “ with little time to recover before the next shock arrives.
” For example , the United Nations is still scrambling to deliver emergency aid to 675,000 people in Cambodia , Laos , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Typhoon Goni and Typhoon Vamco .
The storms followed nearly identical tracks within two weeks of each other this month , with Vamco striking northern Vietnam on Sunday and Monday .
The U.N. said Typhoon Goni was “ the world ’ s most powerful tropical cyclone this year thus far.
” Freebairn of IFRC said there is a bright spot in the grim data .
“ The great news is that deaths are going down even as the number and severity of events has increased and the population has increased , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a great sign that we hope means that efforts at disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation are working.
” But IFRC argues that governments need to do far more on climate mitigation and adaptation , endorsing the United Nations ’ call for COVID-19 pandemic recovery funds to be aimed at reducing emissions and building resilience .
The report recommends designing all new infrastructure to “ withstand projected climate and weather extremes and rising sea levels.
” Reprinted from Climatewire with permission from E & E News .
E & E provides daily coverage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ www.eenews.net .

Extreme weather and climate-linked disasters have killed 410,000 people since 2010, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The group’s “World Disasters Report 2020” released yesterday says more frequent and severe catastrophes threaten to exacerbate humanitarian crises and lead to economic hardship even as global death counts drop because of steps to improve resilience.
The relief organization warns that major disasters are increasingly happening in succession, such as the half-dozen typhoons and tropical storms that have hit Southeast Asia since early October.
By combing through data on thousands of disasters the federation has responded to in the past decade, IFRC says that 83% of them were climate-related in some way, usually severe flooding, violent storms and deadly heat waves.
“The number of such disasters triggered by extreme weather- and climate-related events has been increasing since the 1960s, and has risen almost 35% since the 1990s,” the new report says.
“These extreme weather- and climate-related disasters have killed more than 410,000 people in the past ten years, the vast majority in low and lower-middle income countries,” IFRC says. “Heatwaves, then storms, have been the biggest killers.”
The group said 308 major natural disasters occurred in 2019. Of these, 237 could be tied to weather and climate in some way. The most frequent were major floods, with 127 occurring last year. Following floods were severe storms, disease and earthquakes.
IFRC representative Alison Freebairn said that not every event the group counted can be conclusively linked to human-caused global warming. But she noted that researchers and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have uncovered strong evidence that greenhouse gases have made these weather-related disasters more likely to occur and more devastating when they do.
She pointed to recent findings that argue climate change made the devastating 2019-2020 bush fire season in Australia 30% more probable.
“What we know in terms of the impacts of climate change is from the IPCC reports, which give high, medium or low confidence that certain events were made more likely due to climate change. And then we also know climate change makes extreme climate and weather events more frequent and intense and more variable,” Freebairn explained.
“The statistics show we have had exactly that; more frequent and intense extreme climate and weather-related disasters in both real numbers and as a percentage of all disasters,” she added.
Ilan Noy, an economist at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, specializes in researching the economic costs of climate change-related disasters. He said organizations like IFRC and insurance companies are increasingly able to link natural disasters to climate change given the advancements in attribution science.
“While previously it was hypothesized that they are connected to climate change we didn’t really have solid scientific evidence to prove it,” Noy said. “Now I think in the last five years the climate science has progressed and actually they have much stronger statements, or producing much stronger scientific statements about the connections between weather events and climate change.”
Noy’s research argues that global warming is making previously rare natural disasters more probable and frequent. But he cautions that while such estimates can be made for major disasters in specific countries or regions, it’s difficult to do that for the world as a whole.
“For that, you need to quantify the changing probability of all these extreme events that are happening globally, and the science is not there yet,” he said.
The IFRC report expresses concern about “concurrent and consecutive disasters” that leave affected populations “with little time to recover before the next shock arrives.”
For example, the United Nations is still scrambling to deliver emergency aid to 675,000 people in Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines and Vietnam in the wake of Typhoon Goni and Typhoon Vamco. The storms followed nearly identical tracks within two weeks of each other this month, with Vamco striking northern Vietnam on Sunday and Monday. The U.N. said Typhoon Goni was “the world’s most powerful tropical cyclone this year thus far.”
Freebairn of IFRC said there is a bright spot in the grim data.
“The great news is that deaths are going down even as the number and severity of events has increased and the population has increased,” she said. “And this is a great sign that we hope means that efforts at disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation are working.”
But IFRC argues that governments need to do far more on climate mitigation and adaptation, endorsing the United Nations’ call for COVID-19 pandemic recovery funds to be aimed at reducing emissions and building resilience.
The report recommends designing all new infrastructure to “withstand projected climate and weather extremes and rising sea levels.”
Reprinted from Climatewire with permission from E&E News. E&E provides daily coverage of essential energy and environmental news at www.eenews.net.


scientificamerican--2020-11-19--Slow Gains against the Virus

Slow Gains against the Virus

If we must find some good news about the global novel coronavirus pandemic , we perhaps could point to the @ @ @ @ @ the latest tallies—about 1.5 percent of diagnosed cases ending in death as of the beginning @ @ @ @ @ about 7 percent fatality during the spring ’ s devastating first wave .
Researchers have @ @ @ @ @ of what preexisting conditions dispose an individual to higher risk of death from COVID-19 , @ @ @ @ @ s most virus-vulnerable populations .
In this edition ’ s cover story [ “ Why @ @ @ @ @ from COVID-19 ” ] , journalist Claudia Wallis profiles these conditions and creates the compelling @ @ @ @ @ dolls , in which vulnerability to death is a complex equation : underlying roots , @ @ @ @ @ are confounded by social and economic factors .
Such insights haven ’ t quite given @ @ @ @ @ insidious virus , but we are slowly gaining ground .
We hope you find many @ @ @ @ @

If we must find some good news about the global novel coronavirus pandemic, we perhaps could point to the improved survival rates recorded in the latest tallies—about 1.5 percent of diagnosed cases ending in death as of the beginning of November, compared with about 7 percent fatality during the spring’s devastating first wave. Researchers have also assembled a clearer picture of what preexisting conditions dispose an individual to higher risk of death from COVID-19, which helps identify society’s most virus-vulnerable populations.
In this edition’s cover story [“Why Some People Get Terribly Sick from COVID-19”], journalist Claudia Wallis profiles these conditions and creates the compelling takeaway image of Russian nesting dolls, in which vulnerability to death is a complex equation: underlying roots, such as specific genes, are confounded by social and economic factors. Such insights haven’t quite given humans an edge over this insidious virus, but we are slowly gaining ground. We hope you find many takeaways in this issue.


scientificamerican--2020-11-19--We Sometimes Missed the Boat--and Bridge

A friend had a grandfather named August , who passed away on a September 1st .
His widow would later say , “ The beginning of September was the end of August.
” Moving on , as perspicacious readers may have noticed , the end of August 2020 was the 175th anniversary of the first issue of Scientific American .
In 1921 we published an interview with Marie Curie .
In 1950 we ran an article on relativity by Albert Einstein .
But even institutions with a long and successful track record are bound to sometimes run off the track @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that we 've made the occasional boo-boo .
Here are some of our best , which in this case means our worst .
Way back in 1846 , we shared a terrible notion about boat propellers .
“ It is truly astonishing , ” we wrote , “ that men of capital in England ... suppose that a propeller of any form on the screw principle , can compete with the simple Fultonian paddle-wheel.
” We missed the fact that as a ship rolls , more of one side of the paddle is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ output .
The resulting steering problem is just one reason for the lack today of paddle-wheel aircraft carriers .
In 1869 we floated an idea about how to cross the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn without a boat or a suspension bridge with big abutments .
The proposal involved a large double-decker platform a few feet above the water hanging from a piloted trolley .
The trolley would sit on a lightweight , skeletal bridge about 140 feet up and tow the platform back and forth .
Transport time from one bank @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as one minute .
In the end , we decided that a conventional bridge or ferries made more sense than this dangling port of peril .
And as a lifelong New Yorker , I feel qualified to note that if there 's anything worse than being 140 feet above the East River , it 's being just a few feet above it .
We still do n't have flying cars .
And if humans ’ driving ability on the ground is any indication , thank goodness .
But back in 1915 , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Military authorities await the development of the new French invisible aeroplane ... .
Over the [ aluminum ] framework , instead of canvas , is stretched a transparent material ... called ‘ cellon ’ ... a chemical combination of cellulose and acetic acid .
Of almost the same transparency as glass , it does not crack or splinter and has the toughness and pliability of rubber.
” Which is why cellulose acetate is used today for eyeglass frames .
Through which you would n't see a French invisible plane even if it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we thought nobody would want telephones : “ Despite the fact that recent experiments have demonstrated the possibility of telephoning over long circuits , it is to be doubted if the instrument will be used otherwise than locally ... .
By telephone it is the sound of a word , and not its vowel and consonants , which the operator receives , and a mistake can easily happen.
” Yes , that 's why the game is called telephone .
Actually we might ultimately have been right—with the advent of texting , many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to talking .
As comedian Gary Gulman said of the modern phone call , “ To me the phone is just this seldom-used app on my phone .
And if you use it on me , I am furious.
” Finally , Scientific American in the 1920s was enthusiastic about debunking séance holders who claimed to communicate with the dead .
We even offered prizes to any mediums who could withstand the scrutiny of our judges , including Harry Houdini .
( We never had to pay . )
But in 1923 we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for their efforts .
“ After all , even a medium must live .
Nobody has ever suggested the doctor ought to have a job , on the side , as carpenter or hack driver , earning his living from this and giving such time as he can spare from it to the gratuitous healing of disease ... .
The medium , to the people he serves , gives just as real a service as does the doctor ... .
Why ask him to give it for nothing ?
” Years later we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we no longer have even any small medium largesse .

A friend had a grandfather named August, who passed away on a September 1st. His widow would later say, “The beginning of September was the end of August.”
Moving on, as perspicacious readers may have noticed, the end of August 2020 was the 175th anniversary of the first issue of Scientific American. In 1921 we published an interview with Marie Curie. In 1950 we ran an article on relativity by Albert Einstein. But even institutions with a long and successful track record are bound to sometimes run off the track. So it comes as no surprise that we've made the occasional boo-boo. Here are some of our best, which in this case means our worst.
Way back in 1846, we shared a terrible notion about boat propellers. “It is truly astonishing,” we wrote, “that men of capital in England ... suppose that a propeller of any form on the screw principle, can compete with the simple Fultonian paddle-wheel.” We missed the fact that as a ship rolls, more of one side of the paddle is submerged, which causes an unbalanced power output. The resulting steering problem is just one reason for the lack today of paddle-wheel aircraft carriers.
In 1869 we floated an idea about how to cross the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn without a boat or a suspension bridge with big abutments. The proposal involved a large double-decker platform a few feet above the water hanging from a piloted trolley. The trolley would sit on a lightweight, skeletal bridge about 140 feet up and tow the platform back and forth. Transport time from one bank to the other could take as little as one minute. In the end, we decided that a conventional bridge or ferries made more sense than this dangling port of peril. And as a lifelong New Yorker, I feel qualified to note that if there's anything worse than being 140 feet above the East River, it's being just a few feet above it.
We still don't have flying cars. And if humans’ driving ability on the ground is any indication, thank goodness. But back in 1915, we were looking forward to transparent planes: “Military authorities await the development of the new French invisible aeroplane.... Over the [aluminum] framework, instead of canvas, is stretched a transparent material ... called ‘cellon’ ... a chemical combination of cellulose and acetic acid. Of almost the same transparency as glass, it does not crack or splinter and has the toughness and pliability of rubber.” Which is why cellulose acetate is used today for eyeglass frames. Through which you wouldn't see a French invisible plane even if it was a fait accompli.
In 1883 we thought nobody would want telephones: “Despite the fact that recent experiments have demonstrated the possibility of telephoning over long circuits, it is to be doubted if the instrument will be used otherwise than locally.... By telephone it is the sound of a word, and not its vowel and consonants, which the operator receives, and a mistake can easily happen.” Yes, that's why the game is called telephone. Actually we might ultimately have been right—with the advent of texting, many of us apparently prefer those mini telegrams to talking. As comedian Gary Gulman said of the modern phone call, “To me the phone is just this seldom-used app on my phone. And if you use it on me, I am furious.”
Finally, Scientific American in the 1920s was enthusiastic about debunking séance holders who claimed to communicate with the dead. We even offered prizes to any mediums who could withstand the scrutiny of our judges, including Harry Houdini. (We never had to pay.) But in 1923 we advocated that some mediums should be compensated for their efforts. “After all, even a medium must live. Nobody has ever suggested the doctor ought to have a job, on the side, as carpenter or hack driver, earning his living from this and giving such time as he can spare from it to the gratuitous healing of disease.... The medium, to the people he serves, gives just as real a service as does the doctor.... Why ask him to give it for nothing?” Years later we think differently about that service. And we no longer have even any small medium largesse.


scientificamerican--2020-11-19--The COVID Cold Chain: How a Vaccine Will Get to You

Two drug companies have now reported highly successful results from phase III trials of COVID-19 vaccines .
On November 18 Pfizer and partner BioNTech said their vaccine was 95 percent effective at preventing the disease , based on full trial results .
Two days earlier Moderna reported its vaccine was 94.5 percent effective , based on interim data .
Both Pfizer and Moderna use the same genetically engineered vaccine approach , which involves messenger RNA molecules .
Assuming the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorizes the vaccines for “ emergency use , ” each firm will have to ramp up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to produce up to 50 million doses worldwide in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion in 2021 .
Moderna intends to manufacture approximately 20 million doses in 2020 and 500 million to one billion in 2021 .
A person receiving either vaccine will need two doses , administered three or four weeks apart .
Multiple steps are needed to deliver so many little glass vials of vaccine to local hospitals and pharmacies , where the medication can be injected into a person ’ s arm .
Moderna ’ s vaccine has to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ degrees Fahrenheit ) , and it can then be stored at that temperature for six months .
Once thawed and kept in a refrigerator between two and eight degrees C ( 36 to 46 degrees F ) it is good for up to 30 days .
Pfizer ’ s vaccine must be kept at –70 degrees C ( –94 degrees F ) —a much greater challenge .
Once transferred to a refrigerator , it must be administered within five days .
In the U.S. , Moderna will manufacture its vaccine in New Hampshire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ship vials to McKesson Corporation ’ s distribution center in Irving , Tex.
, the hub of the federal government ’ s Operation Warp Speed vaccination initiative .
Moderna also plans to manufacture the intervention in Switzerland and Spain .
Pfizer will make its U.S. vaccine in Kalamazoo , Mich .
It is not distributing through Operation Warp Speed , so it will ship large thermal boxes of filled vials , jammed with dry ice , via companies such as UPS and FedEx to locations around the country .
Pfizer also has a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ company launched a pilot program to test its delivery plan to four states : Rhode Island , Tennessee , Texas and New Mexico .
The system for distributing products ( including meat and chemicals ) at low temperatures is known as the “ cold chain.
” What will it take for this network to successfully disperse massive numbers of vials ?
How is vaccine safely preserved ?
How many facilities can even handle the challenge , and how will that affect who gets vaccinated and when ?
Scientific American asked Julie Swann , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of industrial and systems engineering at North Carolina State University , to reveal the details .
Swann specializes in health care supply chains , and she was on loan to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the emergency response to the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic .
[ An edited transcript of the interview follows . ]
Moderna ’ s shipping temperature will be –20 degrees C. Is that typical for frozen products ?
And is Pfizer ’ s temperature of –70 degrees C extreme ?
There are different cold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deep freeze , is the one at –70 degrees C. There ’ s the “ frozen ” chain , at –20 degrees C , which is more like a regular freezer .
And then [ there is ] the refrigerated chain : Many vaccines , like flu vaccines , are refrigerated between two and eight degrees C. Only a couple have to be frozen to –20 C , such as [ those for ] varicella and zoster .
The Ebola vaccine did have an ultracold supply chain .
Some animal vaccines , like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , too .
What kind of facilities can handle –70 degrees C ?
Not that many .
Large universities certainly have such storage in their research labs , and some large hospitals [ do ] —but not the average physician ’ s office or pharmacy .
Pharmacy chain distribution centers may have that storage—the “ sub-80 freezers ” [ boxes that can refrigerate down to –86 degrees C ] .
So they could possibly send vaccines from there to their retail stores , all of which will have preplanned who is going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t have to stay frozen right up to the time of inoculation .
The CDC has a playbook for states , publicly available , that lays out what you can do with vaccine type A or vaccine type B .
It says once a facility receives a thermal shipper [ such as that from Pfizer ] , it has to replace the dry ice within 24 hours and again every five days .
And you can only open the box one or two times a day .
After day 15 from when the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be transferred to refrigerated temperatures and used within five days .
So there is some time to vaccinate people .
Pfizer ’ s thermal shipper holds 975 vials .
Trucks will take the shippers to planes that will fly them in all directions .
About half of medical products are shipped on commercial flights , though , and those flights are way down .
Will that be a problem ?
I don ’ t see that as a challenge in the U.S .
Cargo companies need to make money right now , so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they need to get the 50 million doses to the locations .
You can imagine a hub-and-spoke system shipping direct to centers around the country .
They want to cut the extra two days off the lead time : Moderna vaccine first goes to the McKesson distribution center and , from there , goes to the providers—that probably adds a couple of days .
Worldwide , however , the challenge of a Pfizer vaccine is quite significant .
One study estimated there are only 25 or 30 countries that have the ultracold infrastructure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doses .
How is that handled ?
The place doing immunization adds a dilutant , creating five doses .
At that point the solution is good for six hours .
So a clinic has to figure out how many health care workers or customers will be vaccinated , and it starts the dilution process for that day .
It sounds like places need to line up a lot of recipients so vaccine is not wasted .
What I ’ ve seen is that each Pfizer tray has 195 vials , each with five @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1,000 doses .
And a box can hold up to five trays .
If , in the beginning , you are prioritizing by vaccinating just frontline workers who are handling COVID-19 patients , you ’ d want to line up enough people at one location to use a tray of vaccines within five days , or have people from the region come to you .
States could also purchase sub-80 freezers .
The New York State plan says it will set up several regional distribution centers .
If they do that , then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ each location .
I don ’ t know if their plan will change now that Moderna has come out with more information .
I think most states will not have the resources to set up regional distribution centers .
What I would do if I were them is look for large hospitals that do have the freezers and use those as the points of distribution .
I would certainly partner with the regional pharmacies .
And I would look at models where you drive some of it around : ship it to one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around with refrigeration that can store vials for five days .
And you can ask people to drive to locations to get vaccinated .
I think all of these [ steps ] will happen .
Of course , there will be questions of equity , at least in the beginning , when vaccination is dependent on just the Pfizer vaccine .
What about spoilage ?
Pharmaceutical companies report that from 5 to 20 percent of other vaccines spoil during distribution .
That will have be factored in .
There is a way to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ probe .
In the ideal world , the monitoring would go down to the individual vial , but I don ’ t know if current technology will allow that .
We could look at how Ebola vaccine has been distributed around Africa ; it is a specialized cold chain .
In usual vaccine production and shipping , potency and stability are checked .
Certainly , Pfizer and Moderna are doing that .
All of this is complicated by the fact that each person has to receive two injections , three or four weeks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of people who could be vaccinated is cut in half .
Right .
And for each person , your second dose has to be the same as your first dose , either Pfizer or Moderna .
But does that persist over time ?
What if scientists find that people need a booster after two years ?
Does it matter , then , if I had Pfizer or Moderna the first time around ?
I ’ m hoping that it does not , but I ’ ve not gotten a clear answer .
There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ information side of the supply chain .
The companies are sending product to distributors , but they are not responsible for who gets vaccinated .
That ’ s the hospitals and pharmacies .
How do the manufacturers know when and where to ship product ?
The different [ players ] have to do a lot of information sharing .
That ’ s largely how public health works .
There ’ s one system for ordering and shipping vaccines , but it doesn ’ t tell you anything after a vaccine has arrived at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ each state uses its own system for registering who receives vaccine—that ’ s called the immunization registry .
Those two systems do n't talk to each other , so without the addition of another layer , it ’ s difficult for states to know this location has 50 doses left , this location is completely out—that kind of information .
The federal government did invest in a system that would allow such capability , but states may be using their own .
There are systems that can do this—like those that coordinate diagnostic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be rolled out .
They provide two real advantages : One is that you can tell consumers where they can go to get [ a ] vaccine—not where it ’ s been shipped but if there ’ s any left .
And if companies know where the inventory is , they can make better decisions about where to send the next batch .
Or localities can increase public messaging to raise demand for a vaccine , because we know there will be issues with people being hesitant to get it .
I imagine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re just hearing about could make information tracking even harder—you know , frontline workers should get the vaccines first , then teachers , and so on .
The National Academy of Medicine recommends phases : first high-risk workers in health care facilities plus first responders , then people with underlying conditions that put them at high risk , then , later , teachers , then young adults , then the rest of us .
There is also talk about sending the early vaccines to areas of high prevalence of disease .
All of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccination challenge .
Because it ’ s likely that only large institutions could provide ultracold storage , it has been suggested that Pfizer ’ s vaccine could end up going to cities and Moderna ’ s vaccine could end up going to less densely populated areas .
But these are commercial companies .
Why would they limit their markets ?
You can imagine that the Pfizer boxes might be more appropriate for densely populated cities .
When we have sufficient supply of any vaccine you want , then the market will choose Moderna @ @ @ @ @ @ @ efficacy are high enough—because of the refrigeration difference .
But in the early stages , with so many people everywhere needing vaccine , I think a lot of decisions will be made based on what is best for the system .
If we find there is a difference in safety and efficacy , however , then we get into questions of equity : Are you sending an inferior vaccine to the cities or to the rural areas ?
Read more about the coronavirus outbreak from Scientific American here .
And read coverage from @ @ @ @ @ @ @

Two drug companies have now reported highly successful results from phase III trials of COVID-19 vaccines. On November 18 Pfizer and partner BioNTech said their vaccine was 95 percent effective at preventing the disease, based on full trial results. Two days earlier Moderna reported its vaccine was 94.5 percent effective, based on interim data.
Both Pfizer and Moderna use the same genetically engineered vaccine approach, which involves messenger RNA molecules. Assuming the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorizes the vaccines for “emergency use,” each firm will have to ramp up production and distribution tremendously. Pfizer expects to produce up to 50 million doses worldwide in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion in 2021. Moderna intends to manufacture approximately 20 million doses in 2020 and 500 million to one billion in 2021. A person receiving either vaccine will need two doses, administered three or four weeks apart.
Multiple steps are needed to deliver so many little glass vials of vaccine to local hospitals and pharmacies, where the medication can be injected into a person’s arm. Moderna’s vaccine has to be shipped at –20 degrees Celsius (–4 degrees Fahrenheit), and it can then be stored at that temperature for six months. Once thawed and kept in a refrigerator between two and eight degrees C (36 to 46 degrees F) it is good for up to 30 days. Pfizer’s vaccine must be kept at –70 degrees C (–94 degrees F)—a much greater challenge. Once transferred to a refrigerator, it must be administered within five days.
In the U.S., Moderna will manufacture its vaccine in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Indiana. It will ship vials to McKesson Corporation’s distribution center in Irving, Tex., the hub of the federal government’s Operation Warp Speed vaccination initiative. Moderna also plans to manufacture the intervention in Switzerland and Spain. Pfizer will make its U.S. vaccine in Kalamazoo, Mich. It is not distributing through Operation Warp Speed, so it will ship large thermal boxes of filled vials, jammed with dry ice, via companies such as UPS and FedEx to locations around the country. Pfizer also has a production site in BelgiumOn November 16 the company launched a pilot program to test its delivery plan to four states: Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas and New Mexico.
The system for distributing products (including meat and chemicals) at low temperatures is known as the “cold chain.” What will it take for this network to successfully disperse massive numbers of vials? How is vaccine safely preserved? How many facilities can even handle the challenge, and how will that affect who gets vaccinated and when? Scientific American asked Julie Swann, a professor and head of the department of industrial and systems engineering at North Carolina State University, to reveal the details. Swann specializes in health care supply chains, and she was on loan to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the emergency response to the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic.
[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]
Moderna’s shipping temperature will be –20 degrees C. Is that typical for frozen products? And is Pfizer’s temperature of –70 degrees C extreme?
There are different cold chains. The ultralow chain, the deep freeze, is the one at –70 degrees C. There’s the “frozen” chain, at –20 degrees C, which is more like a regular freezer. And then [there is] the refrigerated chain: Many vaccines, like flu vaccines, are refrigerated between two and eight degrees C. Only a couple have to be frozen to –20 C, such as [those for] varicella and zoster. The Ebola vaccine did have an ultracold supply chain. Some animal vaccines, like vaccines for chickens, are kept ultracold, too.
What kind of facilities can handle –70 degrees C?
Not that many. Large universities certainly have such storage in their research labs, and some large hospitals [do]—but not the average physician’s office or pharmacy. Pharmacy chain distribution centers may have that storage—the “sub-80 freezers” [boxes that can refrigerate down to –86 degrees C]. So they could possibly send vaccines from there to their retail stores, all of which will have preplanned who is going to get vaccinated.
The vaccines don’t have to stay frozen right up to the time of inoculation.
The CDC has a playbook for states, publicly available, that lays out what you can do with vaccine type A or vaccine type B. It says once a facility receives a thermal shipper [such as that from Pfizer], it has to replace the dry ice within 24 hours and again every five days. And you can only open the box one or two times a day. After day 15 from when the vials were produced, they have to be transferred to refrigerated temperatures and used within five days. So there is some time to vaccinate people.
Pfizer’s thermal shipper holds 975 vials. Trucks will take the shippers to planes that will fly them in all directions. About half of medical products are shipped on commercial flights, though, and those flights are way down. Will that be a problem?
I don’t see that as a challenge in the U.S. Cargo companies need to make money right now, so they’ll run extra flights if they need to get the 50 million doses to the locations. You can imagine a hub-and-spoke system shipping direct to centers around the country. They want to cut the extra two days off the lead time: Moderna vaccine first goes to the McKesson distribution center and, from there, goes to the providers—that probably adds a couple of days. Worldwide, however, the challenge of a Pfizer vaccine is quite significant. One study estimated there are only 25 or 30 countries that have the ultracold infrastructure.
Each Pfizer vial actually supplies five doses. How is that handled?
The place doing immunization adds a dilutant, creating five doses. At that point the solution is good for six hours. So a clinic has to figure out how many health care workers or customers will be vaccinated, and it starts the dilution process for that day.
It sounds like places need to line up a lot of recipients so vaccine is not wasted.
What I’ve seen is that each Pfizer tray has 195 vials, each with five doses, so that’s about 1,000 doses. And a box can hold up to five trays. If, in the beginning, you are prioritizing by vaccinating just frontline workers who are handling COVID-19 patients, you’d want to line up enough people at one location to use a tray of vaccines within five days, or have people from the region come to you. States could also purchase sub-80 freezers. The New York State plan says it will set up several regional distribution centers. If they do that, then they will probably have sub-80 freezers at each location. I don’t know if their plan will change now that Moderna has come out with more information.
I think most states will not have the resources to set up regional distribution centers. What I would do if I were them is look for large hospitals that do have the freezers and use those as the points of distribution. I would certainly partner with the regional pharmacies. And I would look at models where you drive some of it around: ship it to one place, then drive a local van around with refrigeration that can store vials for five days. And you can ask people to drive to locations to get vaccinated. I think all of these [steps] will happen. Of course, there will be questions of equity, at least in the beginning, when vaccination is dependent on just the Pfizer vaccine.
What about spoilage? Pharmaceutical companies report that from 5 to 20 percent of other vaccines spoil during distribution.
That will have be factored in. There is a way to monitor the thermal shipper with a temperature probe. In the ideal world, the monitoring would go down to the individual vial, but I don’t know if current technology will allow that. We could look at how Ebola vaccine has been distributed around Africa; it is a specialized cold chain.
What about production quality control?
In usual vaccine production and shipping, potency and stability are checked. Certainly, Pfizer and Moderna are doing that.
All of this is complicated by the fact that each person has to receive two injections, three or four weeks apart. So immediately, the number of people who could be vaccinated is cut in half.
Right. And for each person, your second dose has to be the same as your first dose, either Pfizer or Moderna. But does that persist over time? What if scientists find that people need a booster after two years? Does it matter, then, if I had Pfizer or Moderna the first time around? I’m hoping that it does not, but I’ve not gotten a clear answer.
We’ll all need accurate records.
There are a lot of challenges with the information side of the supply chain. The companies are sending product to distributors, but they are not responsible for who gets vaccinated. That’s the hospitals and pharmacies. How do the manufacturers know when and where to ship product? The different [players] have to do a lot of information sharing.
That’s largely how public health works. There’s one system for ordering and shipping vaccines, but it doesn’t tell you anything after a vaccine has arrived at a location. Then, typically, each state uses its own system for registering who receives vaccine—that’s called the immunization registry. Those two systems don't talk to each other, so without the addition of another layer, it’s difficult for states to know this location has 50 doses left, this location is completely out—that kind of information. The federal government did invest in a system that would allow such capability, but states may be using their own.
There are systems that can do this—like those that coordinate diagnostic testing. But they will have to be rolled out. They provide two real advantages: One is that you can tell consumers where they can go to get [a] vaccine—not where it’s been shipped but if there’s any left. And if companies know where the inventory is, they can make better decisions about where to send the next batch. Or localities can increase public messaging to raise demand for a vaccine, because we know there will be issues with people being hesitant to get it.
I imagine the vaccination prioritization schedules that we’re just hearing about could make information tracking even harder—you know, frontline workers should get the vaccines first, then teachers, and so on.
The National Academy of Medicine recommends phases: first high-risk workers in health care facilities plus first responders, then people with underlying conditions that put them at high risk, then, later, teachers, then young adults, then the rest of us. There is also talk about sending the early vaccines to areas of high prevalence of disease. All of that complicates the information side of the vaccination challenge.
Because it’s likely that only large institutions could provide ultracold storage, it has been suggested that Pfizer’s vaccine could end up going to cities and Moderna’s vaccine could end up going to less densely populated areas. But these are commercial companies. Why would they limit their markets?
You can imagine that the Pfizer boxes might be more appropriate for densely populated cities. When we have sufficient supply of any vaccine you want, then the market will choose Moderna over Pfizer—as long as the safety and efficacy are high enough—because of the refrigeration difference. But in the early stages, with so many people everywhere needing vaccine, I think a lot of decisions will be made based on what is best for the system. If we find there is a difference in safety and efficacy, however, then we get into questions of equity: Are you sending an inferior vaccine to the cities or to the rural areas?
Read more about the coronavirus outbreak from Scientific American here. And read coverage from our international network of magazines here.


scientificamerican--2020-11-19--Your Tears Might Save Your Life Someday

Your Tears Might Save Your Life Someday

At any given moment , about seven microliters of tears are present in each of our eyes—about a tenth of a drop of water .
You might think of them as nothing more than salty water , but it ’ s more accurate to think if them filtered blood ; they deliver oxygen and nutrients to our eyes , removing waste , serving as the first line of defense against pathogens and helping to heal injuries .
Tears also contain traces of the various chemicals originally present in blood , some of which serve as markers of illness—glucose , for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or enzymes that point to possible liver disease .
That ’ s a primary reason doctors order blood tests .
But it also that means that physicians—and maybe , in the near future , you—can look for indicators of illness by looking at your tears .
Research has already shown that markers of many of the most common and devastating diseases , such as cancer , multiple sclerosis , diabetes mellitus , cystic fibrosis and Parkinson ’ s disease are found in tears .
Work is already under way to validate the use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disease .
And recently , a technology named TearExo has been developed for breast cancer screening using tears collected by patients themselves .
That could greatly reduce the costs of testing and allow earlier detection of malignancy than mammograms can provide .
Tear testing could also make an impact in the COVID-19 pandemic : current research has focused on developing a test to diagnose SARS-CoV-2 infections , as well as document prior infections , through antibody testing .
These assays are typically done with blood—but coronavirus RNA has been detected in tears as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may also be measured from tears .
That means a rapid and cheap tear test could be developed in the near future—and because no needles are involved , this , too , could in principle be self-administered at home .
But the potential advantages of tears as indicators of health go beyond occasional testing .
One promising tear-based technology is a smart contact lens that continuously monitors a patient ’ s biomarkers , significantly improving disease prevention and early detection ; it has attracted the attention of Novartis and Google , among other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ development in research laboratories around the world .
One significant step in its development was the first stand-alone contact lens with an integrated battery in 2019 .
More recently , a smart contact lens has been successfully developed for continuous glucose monitoring and treatment of diabetic retinopathy .
Such a product probably won ’ t be ready for commercial use for several years .
But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , about 45 million people in the U.S. already wear contact lenses to correct their vision .
Switching to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them—and of course , you can wear smart lenses even if your vision is perfect , As with detecting diseases , we can use mouse models to find tear markers for conditions ranging from environmental pollution to chronic stress to drug abuse .
In 2019 , I worked on developing a technique allowing the first-ever metabolite marker screening from mouse tears .
This was challenge because a mouse ’ s tears have less than 10 percent of the volume of human tears .
I was able to overcome this challenge by using thin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ liquid from the surface of the eye , similar to how a paper towel absorbs water .
Interestingly , in 2018 , NASA proposed to use tear markers to monitor astronauts ' health in space .
This would allow us to better understand the effects on human health of long-term exposure to space environmental factors such as radiation and weightlessness .
Tear markers from veteran astronauts and new astronauts without space exposure would be used to establish a health database , which might be one of the first stepping-stones toward making space colonization @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential in tears beyond crying .
Tears can provide an inexpensive , rapid and easy-to-use alternative to monitor health .
Given the unprecedented advantage in tear technology to externally and continuously monitor health , and to be used even by the healthy , such technology will almost certainly lead more effective prevention of diseases—rather than having to deal with the difficulties of treating them .

At any given moment, about seven microliters of tears are present in each of our eyes—about a tenth of a drop of water. You might think of them as nothing more than salty water, but it’s more accurate to think if them filtered blood; they deliver oxygen and nutrients to our eyes, removing waste, serving as the first line of defense against pathogens and helping to heal injuries.
Tears also contain traces of the various chemicals originally present in blood, some of which serve as markers of illness—glucose, for example, which can signal diabetes, or enzymes that point to possible liver disease. That’s a primary reason doctors order blood tests. But it also that means that physicians—and maybe, in the near future, you—can look for indicators of illness by looking at your tears.
Research has already shown that markers of many of the most common and devastating diseases, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes mellitus, cystic fibrosis and Parkinson’s disease are found in tears. Work is already under way to validate the use of such markers for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease. And recently, a technology named TearExo has been developed for breast cancer screening using tears collected by patients themselves. That could greatly reduce the costs of testing and allow earlier detection of malignancy than mammograms can provide.
Tear testing could also make an impact in the COVID-19 pandemic: current research has focused on developing a test to diagnose SARS-CoV-2 infections, as well as document prior infections, through antibody testing. These assays are typically done with blood—but coronavirus RNA has been detected in tears as well, and antibodies to the virus may also be measured from tears. That means a rapid and cheap tear test could be developed in the near future—and because no needles are involved, this, too, could in principle be self-administered at home.
But the potential advantages of tears as indicators of health go beyond occasional testing. One promising tear-based technology is a smart contact lens that continuously monitors a patient’s biomarkers, significantly improving disease prevention and early detection; it has attracted the attention of Novartis and Google, among other major companies, and is currently under development in research laboratories around the world. One significant step in its development was the first stand-alone contact lens with an integrated battery , in 2019. More recently, a smart contact lens has been successfully developed for continuous glucose monitoring and treatment of diabetic retinopathy. Such a product probably won’t be ready for commercial use for several years. But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 45 million people in the U.S. already wear contact lenses to correct their vision. Switching to a smart version would be simple for them—and of course, you can wear smart lenses even if your vision is perfect,
As with detecting diseases, we can use mouse models to find tear markers for conditions ranging from environmental pollution to chronic stress to drug abuse. In 2019, I worked on developing a technique allowing the first-ever metabolite marker screening from mouse tears. This was challenge because a mouse’s tears have less than 10 percent of the volume of human tears. I was able to overcome this challenge by using thin threads to absorb very small amounts of liquid from the surface of the eye, similar to how a paper towel absorbs water.
Interestingly, in 2018, NASA proposed to use tear markers to monitor astronauts' health in space. This would allow us to better understand the effects on human health of long-term exposure to space environmental factors such as radiation and weightlessness. Tear markers from veteran astronauts and new astronauts without space exposure would be used to establish a health database, which might be one of the first stepping-stones toward making space colonization a living reality.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential in tears beyond crying. Tears can provide an inexpensive, rapid and easy-to-use alternative to monitor health. Given the unprecedented advantage in tear technology to externally and continuously monitor health, and to be used even by the healthy, such technology will almost certainly lead more effective prevention of diseases—rather than having to deal with the difficulties of treating them.


scientificamerican--2020-11-19--New Space Weather Network Extends over Africa

A new network of dedicated antennas in Africa will lend insight into the havoc that storms of charged particles from the sun wreak on satellite and radio communications .
Zambia set up its first such sensor in March—one of eight multifrequency receivers being deployed around the continent , in addition to four already operating in South Africa .
Kenya and Nigeria will install their receivers by the end of the year .
Feeding into an upgraded space weather center scheduled to open in South Africa in 2022 , the network will provide real-time data on how solar storms distort the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Earth 's atmosphere .
This distortion can have dangerous consequences , says Mpho Tshisaphungo , a space weather researcher at the South African National Space Agency ( SANSA ) .
Signals between crucial satellites and the ground pass through this region , where charged particles can cause interference .
Also , high-frequency radio signals ( often used in defense and emergency services communications ) have to bounce off the ionosphere ; Tshisaphungo notes that when solar storms alter the layer , “ the radio signal may either be attenuated , delayed or absorbed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already been providing global networks with information about the ionosphere above the country in periodic batches , relying on satellite and ground data from international space weather programs .
The new network will give Africa its first access to 24/7 local details on how the sun 's behavior is affecting the atmosphere overhead , researchers say .
“ While there are international data available , if you want to look at what 's happening on the African continent , then you need to take measurements in Africa , ” says John Bosco Habarulema @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Habarulema , researcher Daniel Okoh of Nigeria 's National Space Research and Development Agency , and their colleagues developed a model last year that maps electron density in the ionosphere and fills in measurement gaps .
( Tshisaphungo is also a co-author . )
The new local receivers will boost this model 's accuracy and let it describe fluctuations over the full continent .
“ We need to have the global perspective and put that [ data ] into our global models , ” says Terry Onsager , a physicist at the U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Weather Prediction Center .
“ But at the same time , space weather disturbances can vary enormously from location to location.
” And it is becoming increasingly important to model the ionosphere 's behavior , he says , because “ we 're getting more and more reliant on technologies that are reliant on space weather .
”

A new network of dedicated antennas in Africa will lend insight into the havoc that storms of charged particles from the sun wreak on satellite and radio communications. Zambia set up its first such sensor in March—one of eight multifrequency receivers being deployed around the continent, in addition to four already operating in South Africa. Kenya and Nigeria will install their receivers by the end of the year.
Feeding into an upgraded space weather center scheduled to open in South Africa in 2022, the network will provide real-time data on how solar storms distort the ionosphere, the charged outer layer of Earth's atmosphere. This distortion can have dangerous consequences, says Mpho Tshisaphungo, a space weather researcher at the South African National Space Agency (SANSA). Signals between crucial satellites and the ground pass through this region, where charged particles can cause interference. Also, high-frequency radio signals (often used in defense and emergency services communications) have to bounce off the ionosphere; Tshisaphungo notes that when solar storms alter the layer, “the radio signal may either be attenuated, delayed or absorbed by the ionosphere.”
South Africa has already been providing global networks with information about the ionosphere above the country in periodic batches, relying on satellite and ground data from international space weather programs. The new network will give Africa its first access to 24/7 local details on how the sun's behavior is affecting the atmosphere overhead, researchers say.
“While there are international data available, if you want to look at what's happening on the African continent, then you need to take measurements in Africa,” says John Bosco Habarulema, a space scientist at SANSA. Habarulema, researcher Daniel Okoh of Nigeria's National Space Research and Development Agency, and their colleagues developed a model last year that maps electron density in the ionosphere and fills in measurement gaps. (Tshisaphungo is also a co-author.) The new local receivers will boost this model's accuracy and let it describe fluctuations over the full continent.
“We need to have the global perspective and put that [data] into our global models,” says Terry Onsager, a physicist at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center. “But at the same time, space weather disturbances can vary enormously from location to location.” And it is becoming increasingly important to model the ionosphere's behavior, he says, because “we're getting more and more reliant on technologies that are reliant on space weather.”


scientificamerican--2020-11-17--Vaping Industry Echoes Big Tobacco's Misleading Call for Science

The on-screen type appears in boldface and capital letters .
“ WHAT CIGARETTE DO YOU SMOKE , DOCTOR ?
” it asks .
The answer has that certain 1950s-radio-announcer quality : “ The brand named most was Camel , ” an off-screen voice says as a man in a doctor ’ s white coat lights up a cigarette and a nurse bustles about .
In a subsequent scene , he bends forward to light his patient ’ s smoke as they sit puffing in his office couch .
“ Yes folks , ” another voice says , “ the pleasing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enjoyable to a doctor as it is to you or me .
This mid-20th-century television advertisement would seem shocking if it ran today .
But some public health experts say the strategy behind such ads—using science as a legitimizer—is very much alive , thanks to its reincarnation by the vaping industry .
“ When we look at what ’ s going on with e-cigarettes , with the development of the science , and look at that interrelationship to the marketing , you can ’ t understand it unless you go back and look @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says David Michaels , an epidemiologist at George Washington University .
“ That ’ s gotten us to where we are today.
” In this short documentary , Retro Report partners with Scientific American to dig deep into that history .
What becomes clear is that all the way back in the 1950s , big tobacco started to build a kind of denialist playbook about the health risks of smoking .
Part of that strategy involved co-opting research to serve the cause of uncertainty .
Now , as science races to understand the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some say plays from that book appear to be resurfacing .
“ The concern is that exactly the same kinds of illegitimate debate that delayed tobacco regulation could very well be happening again , ” says Samir Soneji , an associate professor of health behavior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill .
This could not come at a more troubled time for respiratory health in the U.S .
Flu season hasn ’ t gotten into full swing yet , but its peak is coming .
And COVID cases are rising @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that as temperatures drop and winter descends on the Northern Hemisphere , the battle over the science of e-cigarettes will just be heating up .

The on-screen type appears in boldface and capital letters. “WHAT CIGARETTE DO YOU SMOKE, DOCTOR?” it asks. The answer has that certain 1950s-radio-announcer quality: “The brand named most was Camel,” an off-screen voice says as a man in a doctor’s white coat lights up a cigarette and a nurse bustles about. In a subsequent scene, he bends forward to light his patient’s smoke as they sit puffing in his office couch. “Yes folks,” another voice says, “the pleasing mildness of a Camel is just as enjoyable to a doctor as it is to you or me.
This mid-20th-century television advertisement would seem shocking if it ran today. But some public health experts say the strategy behind such ads—using science as a legitimizer—is very much alive, thanks to its reincarnation by the vaping industry.
“When we look at what’s going on with e-cigarettes, with the development of the science, and look at that interrelationship to the marketing, you can’t understand it unless you go back and look at the history of tobacco,” says David Michaels, an epidemiologist at George Washington University. “That’s gotten us to where we are today.”
In this short documentary, Retro Report partners with Scientific American to dig deep into that history. What becomes clear is that all the way back in the 1950s, big tobacco started to build a kind of denialist playbook about the health risks of smoking. Part of that strategy involved co-opting research to serve the cause of uncertainty.
Now, as science races to understand the effects vaping has on the body, some say plays from that book appear to be resurfacing. “The concern is that exactly the same kinds of illegitimate debate that delayed tobacco regulation could very well be happening again,” says Samir Soneji, an associate professor of health behavior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
This could not come at a more troubled time for respiratory health in the U.S. Flu season hasn’t gotten into full swing yet, but its peak is coming. And COVID cases are rising dramatically around the country.
It seems that as temperatures drop and winter descends on the Northern Hemisphere, the battle over the science of e-cigarettes will just be heating up.


scientificamerican--2020-11-20--See a Male Seahorse Give Birth

See a Male Seahorse Give Birth

In all of the vast animal kingdom spanning the planet , seahorses ( and their pipefish and sea dragon relatives ) are the only species whose male members give birth to young .
This underwater photograph shows a male Korean seahorse ( Hippocampus haema ) releasing juveniles into the water off the coast of Japan .
The tiny species , which was only recognized in 2017 , generally grows to between about five and nine centimeters long and is native to the Korea Strait and the seas to the east of the Korean peninsula and to the south and west @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ dance , ” females deposit their eggs into a male ’ s brood pouch , where he fertilizes them .
As the embryos grow , the male ’ s abdomen becomes distended , just as in a human pregnancy .
When he is ready to give birth , the abdomen opens , and contractions expel the juvenile seahorses .
Some newborns resemble miniature versions of adults , while others may still be curled up and covered by some of their egg membrane .
A male and female seahorse pair can have multiple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have this sex reversal when it comes to procreation , but one idea is that having the male bear young leaves the female free to start producing the next batch of eggs .
Science in Images is a new category of articles featuring photographs and videos from all the disciplines of science .
Click on the button below to see the full collection .

In all of the vast animal kingdom spanning the planet, seahorses (and their pipefish and sea dragon relatives) are the only species whose male members give birth to young. This underwater photograph shows a male Korean seahorse (Hippocampus haema) releasing juveniles into the water off the coast of Japan. The tiny species, which was only recognized in 2017, generally grows to between about five and nine centimeters long and is native to the Korea Strait and the seas to the east of the Korean peninsula and to the south and west of Japan. After an elaborate courtship “dance,” females deposit their eggs into a male’s brood pouch, where he fertilizes them. As the embryos grow, the male’s abdomen becomes distended, just as in a human pregnancy. When he is ready to give birth, the abdomen opens, and contractions expel the juvenile seahorses. Some newborns resemble miniature versions of adults, while others may still be curled up and covered by some of their egg membrane. A male and female seahorse pair can have multiple broods. It is unknown why seahorses have this sex reversal when it comes to procreation, but one idea is that having the male bear young leaves the female free to start producing the next batch of eggs.
Science in Images is a new category of articles featuring photographs and videos from all the disciplines of science. Click on the button below to see the full collection.
Science in Images