scientificamerican--2020-10-26--Water Found in Sunlight and Shadow on the Moon

For most of the space age , the moon has been considered a waterless world .
In recent years , however , a steady drip-drip of discovery has shown that at least some parts of the moon—such as the large , permanently shadowed craters at its poles—contain significant deposits of water .
This week , two new studies published in Nature Astronomy turn on the tap a bit more to the prospect of an unexpectedly watery moon .
The timing is good for NASA and other space agencies now planning ambitious human missions of lunar exploration and even settlement .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there can be life—even if that life still requires space suits and radiation-hardened habitats .
The first new whiff of lunar water emerged from data gathered by NASA ’ s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy ( SOFIA ) .
This modified Boeing 747SP jet provides its 2.7-meter telescope a view above 99 percent of the atmosphere ’ s obscuring water vapor—a unique capability that allows agile observations in infrared without the use of space-based facilities .
In late August 2018 a team led by Casey Honniball , a NASA Postdoctoral Program fellow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Flight Center and a researcher at the University of Hawaii at Manoa , used infrared instruments onboard SOFIA to study the sunlit lunar surface .
The observations , which spanned a mere 10 minutes , focused on a region at high southern latitudes near the moon ’ s large crater Clavius , and they revealed a strong infrared emission at a wavelength of six microns ( µm ) from the crater and the surrounding landscape .
Warmed by the sun , something on the lunar surface was reemitting the absorbed radiation just as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unaware of any other material reasonable for the Moon that exhibits a single spectral feature at 6 µm other than H2O , ” Honniball and her fellow researchers report in their new paper .
The authors suggest that the putative water is most likely stored in naturally occurring volcanic glass or sandwiched between microscopic grains of rock dust .
Either scenario could provide shielding from the extreme temperatures and near-vacuum conditions on the moon ’ s surface , allowing the water to persist .
As to how it got there in the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but the leading explanation is that the water could have formed from free oxygen and hydrogen liberated from lunar rocks by micrometeorite impacts .
Using SOFIA is a new and unique approach for lunar science , Honniball says , but it is not the first time Earth-bound observations have revealed a six-micron emission from the moon .
Balloon-borne observations by astronomers G. R. Hunt and J. W. Salisbury showed the spectral feature , she says .
But Hunt and Salisbury made no mention of this in their paper on that research , published @ @ @ @ @ @ @ characterizing minerals on the lunar surface .
“ Maybe they just didn ’ t know they made a huge discovery , ” Honniball speculates .
Honniball and her colleagues have already received additional time on SOFIA for follow-up observations .
“ We hope to map a majority of the moon to characterize the behavior of water , ” she says .
“ Does it vary across the lunar surface with lunar time of day and latitude ?
This will help us understand its sources and where it resides.
” And that , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how useful this newfound water might someday prove to be .
Extraction will be straightforward if the water exists predominantly on the surfaces of rock grains : one will just need to scoop up lunar soil and subject it to moderate heating .
If , however , the water is locked in glass , the material must be melted to release the water for collection—a much more energy-hungry process .
“ Currently we do not have a good idea if the water we see with SOFIA is in amounts that make melting the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ However , if we find abundances are high enough , this may be a more feasible option than mining water ice in permanently shadowed regions , which are extreme environments and hard to work in.
” Jack Schmitt , a geologist who , as a member of the Apollo 17 crew , remains the only professional scientist to have walked on the moon , says the SOFIA measurement may not be revealing true molecular water but something more fragile and transient .
Previous studies have revealed that protons from the solar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ electrons from materials at its surface , forming atomic hydrogen that then reacts with oxygen atoms from silicate rocks to make hydroxyl—a molecule just one hydrogen atom short of water .
( Honniball says the six-micron emission seen by SOFIA is not consistent with hydroxyl . )
Regardless of what substance is behind SOFIA ’ s signal , however , Schmitt notes that basic chemistry should allow moisture to be wrung from even bone-dry lunar material .
“ Heating of hydrogen-bearing regolith to several hundred degrees would result in some of the hydrogen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ water almost anywhere on the moon , ” he says .
Another paper published alongside the SOFIA study in Nature Astronomy spotlights an uptick in the distribution of permanently shadowed areas on the moon—sunlight-shy places known as cold traps—in which extremely low temperatures could freeze and sequester water essentially indefinitely , allowing it to accumulate into significant deposits over geologic time .
Scientists have studied such lunar regions for decades for their water-harboring potential , but previous work has focused on large cold traps within huge craters at the moon ’ s poles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ extends the range of considered cold trap sizes down to one centimeter in diameter .
Analyzing high-resolution imagery from NASA ’ s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter , a team led by University of Colorado Boulder planetary scientist Paul Hayne found that such “ micro ” cold traps are far more prevalent than the well-studied large ones in the vicinity of the lunar poles .
The new accounting raises the total surface area with the capacity to trap water to roughly 40,000 square kilometers—a pan-lunar region that , collectively , would be twice the size @ @ @ @ @ @ @ micro cold traps are the most numerous on the moon , thousands of times more abundant than previously mapped cold traps , ” Hayne says .
“ If they are all full of ice , this could be a substantial quantity , perhaps more than a billion kilograms of water.
” Hayne adds , however , that in situ sampling by robots or astronauts is required to properly assess their actual ice content .
“ What is really exciting about the micro cold traps is that they are much more accessible , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for both science and exploration purposes , ” he says .
Indeed , this proliferation of tiny potential ice reservoirs could be much more accessible to future missions , Hayne says , because they exist in areas where a sunlight-bathed astronaut could comfortably and safely use a tool to reach into a dangerously cold shadow to dig out any ice .
For now , to further judge the value of micro cold traps , Hayne and his colleagues will use a high-tech camera dubbed the Lunar Compact Infrared Imaging System , which will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ south polar lander mission of NASA ’ s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program as early as 2022 .
The camera will take close-up pictures of micro cold traps for the first time and will measure their temperatures .
On one hand , SOFIA and micro cold trap studies are welcomed news .
Nevertheless , the big picture remains the same , says Ian Crawford , a lunar expert at Birkbeck , University of London .
Clearly , he says , the more easily accessible water there is on the moon , the greater @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use to sustain immediate exploration efforts .
Eventually the development of lunar water as a resource could spark an entire extraterrestrial economy in which the substance would become a lucrative feedstock for rocket fuel and other precious consumables .
For now , though , “ ‘ ground truth ’ measurements are urgently required to confirm inferences made on the basis of remote-sensing measurements , ” Crawford says .
Angel Abbud-Madrid , director of the Colorado School of Mines ’ Center for Space Resources in Golden , Colo. , also flags direct measurements as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the new findings .
“ What is now needed is to touch the lunar surface and gather detailed ground truth , ” he says .
“ Confirmation of not just the existence of water ice but its morphology , concentration , distribution and abundance is a must to proceed with existing exploration and resource-utilization plans .
”

For most of the space age, the moon has been considered a waterless world. In recent years, however, a steady drip-drip of discovery has shown that at least some parts of the moon—such as the large, permanently shadowed craters at its poles—contain significant deposits of water. This week, two new studies published in Nature Astronomy turn on the tap a bit more to the prospect of an unexpectedly watery moon.
The timing is good for NASA and other space agencies now planning ambitious human missions of lunar exploration and even settlement. After all, where there is water, there can be life—even if that life still requires space suits and radiation-hardened habitats.
A Possible Sky-High Signal of Sun-Warmed Water
The first new whiff of lunar water emerged from data gathered by NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). This modified Boeing 747SP jet provides its 2.7-meter telescope a view above 99 percent of the atmosphere’s obscuring water vapor—a unique capability that allows agile observations in infrared without the use of space-based facilities.
In late August 2018 a team led by Casey Honniball, a NASA Postdoctoral Program fellow at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center and a researcher at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, used infrared instruments onboard SOFIA to study the sunlit lunar surface. The observations, which spanned a mere 10 minutes, focused on a region at high southern latitudes near the moon’s large crater Clavius, and they revealed a strong infrared emission at a wavelength of six microns (µm) from the crater and the surrounding landscape. Warmed by the sun, something on the lunar surface was reemitting the absorbed radiation just as molecular water—plain H2O—would.
NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is shown airborne with the sliding door over its 17-metric-ton infrared telescope wide open. Credit: NASA and Jim Ross
“We are unaware of any other material reasonable for the Moon that exhibits a single spectral feature at 6 µm other than H2O,” Honniball and her fellow researchers report in their new paper. The authors suggest that the putative water is most likely stored in naturally occurring volcanic glass or sandwiched between microscopic grains of rock dust. Either scenario could provide shielding from the extreme temperatures and near-vacuum conditions on the moon’s surface, allowing the water to persist. As to how it got there in the first place, no one is certain, but the leading explanation is that the water could have formed from free oxygen and hydrogen liberated from lunar rocks by micrometeorite impacts.
Using SOFIA is a new and unique approach for lunar science, Honniball says, but it is not the first time Earth-bound observations have revealed a six-micron emission from the moon. Balloon-borne observations by astronomers G. R. Hunt and J. W. Salisbury showed the spectral feature, she says. But Hunt and Salisbury made no mention of this in their paper on that research, published in 1969. Instead they focused on characterizing minerals on the lunar surface. “Maybe they just didn’t know they made a huge discovery,” Honniball speculates.
A Glass Half-Full
Honniball and her colleagues have already received additional time on SOFIA for follow-up observations. “We hope to map a majority of the moon to characterize the behavior of water,” she says. “Does it vary across the lunar surface with lunar time of day and latitude? This will help us understand its sources and where it resides.”
And that, in turn, could tell the world just how useful this newfound water might someday prove to be. Extraction will be straightforward if the water exists predominantly on the surfaces of rock grains: one will just need to scoop up lunar soil and subject it to moderate heating. If, however, the water is locked in glass, the material must be melted to release the water for collection—a much more energy-hungry process.
“Currently we do not have a good idea if the water we see with SOFIA is in amounts that make melting the glass worth it,” Honniball says. “However, if we find abundances are high enough, this may be a more feasible option than mining water ice in permanently shadowed regions, which are extreme environments and hard to work in.”
Jack Schmitt, a geologist who, as a member of the Apollo 17 crew, remains the only professional scientist to have walked on the moon, says the SOFIA measurement may not be revealing true molecular water but something more fragile and transient. “The question that I would ask,” Schmitt says, “is if the SOFIA data may be related to the possible weak bonding of solar wind hydrogen with oxygen at the surface of grains of silicate glasses and minerals in the regolith rather than being actual molecular water?”
One product of such reactions could be hydroxyl, a molecule just one hydrogen atom short of water. Honniball, however, says the six-micron emission seen by SOFIA is not consistent with hydroxyl.
Regardless of what substance is behind SOFIA’s signal, Schmitt notes that basic chemistry should allow moisture to be wrung from even bone-dry lunar material. “Heating of hydrogen-bearing regolith to several hundred degrees would result in some of the hydrogen reacting with oxygen in silicates to produce water almost anywhere on the moon,” he says.
Small Shadows, Immense Possibilities
Another paper published alongside the SOFIA study in Nature Astronomy spotlights an uptick in the distribution of permanently shadowed areas on the moon—sunlight-shy places known as cold traps—in which extremely low temperatures could freeze and sequester water essentially indefinitely, allowing it to accumulate into significant deposits over geologic time.
Oblique view of the sunlit rim of Shackleton, a large, deep crater near the lunar south pole with a permanently shadowed interior that harbors substantial water ice. Credit: NASA, GSFC and Arizona State University
Scientists have studied such lunar regions for decades for their water-harboring potential, but previous work has focused on large cold traps within huge craters at the moon’s poles. In contrast, this latest result extends the range of considered cold trap sizes down to one centimeter in diameter. Analyzing high-resolution imagery from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, a team led by University of Colorado Boulder planetary scientist Paul Hayne found that such “micro” cold traps are far more prevalent than the well-studied large ones in the vicinity of the lunar poles. The new accounting raises the total surface area with the capacity to trap water to roughly 40,000 square kilometers—a pan-lunar region that, collectively, would be twice the size of Wales.
“The newly discovered micro cold traps are the most numerous on the moon, thousands of times more abundant than previously mapped cold traps,” Hayne says. “If they are all full of ice, this could be a substantial quantity, perhaps more than a billion kilograms of water.”
Hayne adds, however, that in situ sampling by robots or astronauts is required to properly assess their actual ice content. “What is really exciting about the micro cold traps is that they are much more accessible, which could enable more efficient extraction and utilization for both science and exploration purposes,” he says. Indeed, this proliferation of tiny potential ice reservoirs could be much more accessible to future missions, Hayne says, because they exist in areas where a sunlight-bathed astronaut could comfortably and safely use a tool to reach into a dangerously cold shadow to dig out any ice.
For now, to further judge the value of micro cold traps, Hayne and his colleagues will use a high-tech camera dubbed the Lunar Compact Infrared Imaging System, which will voyage to the moon on the first south polar lander mission of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program as early as 2022. The camera will take close-up pictures of micro cold traps for the first time and will measure their temperatures.
Ground Truthing
On one hand, SOFIA and micro cold trap studies are welcomed news. Nevertheless, the big picture remains the same, says Ian Crawford, a lunar expert at Birkbeck, University of London.
Clearly, he says, the more easily accessible water there is on the moon, the greater the opportunities for its on-the-spot extraction and use to sustain immediate exploration efforts. Eventually the development of lunar water as a resource could spark an entire extraterrestrial economy in which the substance would become a lucrative feedstock for rocket fuel and other precious consumables. For now, though, “‘ground truth’ measurements are urgently required to confirm inferences made on the basis of remote-sensing measurements,” Crawford says.
Angel Abbud-Madrid, director of the Colorado School of Mines’ Center for Space Resources in Golden, Colo., also flags direct measurements as the most important next step to follow from the new findings. “What is now needed is to touch the lunar surface and gather detailed ground truth,” he says. “Confirmation of not just the existence of water ice but its morphology, concentration, distribution and abundance is a must to proceed with existing exploration and resource-utilization plans.”


scientificamerican--2020-10-25--The Psychology of Fact-Checking

The Psychology of Fact-Checking

Distortions and outright lies by politicians and pundits have become so common that major news outlets like the Associated Press , CNN , BBC , Fox News , and Washington Post routinely assign journalists and fact-checkers to verify claims made during stump speeches and press briefings .
The motivation to uncover falsehoods and misleading statements taken out of context is laudable .
But when it comes to real-world complexities , the trouble is that people often see different things when looking at the same event , a phenomenon repeatedly documented by psychologists .
Laboratory studies reveal that , when shown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , people see either a peaceful protest or an unruly mob blocking pedestrian access , depending on their sociopolitical beliefs .
The world outside the lab shows similar biased perception : For example , 68 percent of Republicans consider the videotaped demonstrations in Portland , Ore. , Kenosha , Wisc.
, and New York City to be riots , versus only 30 percent of Democrats , according to a Fox News poll released in September .
Journalists and fact-checkers are human beings subject to the same psychological biases as everyone else—and their analyses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ affected by their own political and ideological values , resulting in what psychologists term selective perception .
Consider the claim that during an interview with the progressive activist Ady Barkan , Joe Biden stated he favors defunding the police .
This allegation has been dismissed as taken out of context and consequently false by some journalists and fact-checkers ( e.g.
, Politifact ’ s Jon Greenberg ) , and CNN ’ s Facts First argued that Biden had denied he favored defunding in comments that were not included in the published interview with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s statement about supporting “ redirecting ” funds to other agencies was a clear acknowledgement of his support of decreased funding for police .
For example , Evie Fordham of Fox News states that redirecting funds from the police is the only context in which Biden ’ s “ yes , absolutely ” answer to Barkan ’ s question can be understood , in her words : “ despite the fact that Barkan did not say `` for police '' at the end of the question , the context of the original @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about redirecting police funding.
” ) .
The result is a massive disagreement , with many journalists and fact-checkers arguing that Biden ’ s critics did indeed take his statement out of context , and he did not intend to support a redirection of funds away from law enforcement , as fact-checkers Hope Yen at the Associated Press and the BBC ’ s Jake Horton contended , whereas CNN cited a Biden statement from early June in which he said it makes sense for some local communities to reduce police funding .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it is possible to make a case for both positions .
The same is true of the allegation that in the aftermath of Heather Heyer ’ s death in Charlottesville , Va. , in 2017 , Trump said there were “ fine people ” among protestors and counterprotestors , a statement generally interpreted by liberal fact-checkers and journalists as referring to fine people among the white supremacists and Neo-Nazis , but disputed by conservative journalists .
Even when the original facts may tilt in the direction of journalists ’ and fact-checker ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ambiguous to justify the unequivocal headlines that have appeared : ( “ AP Fact Check : Trump distorts record ; BLM falsely accused ” ) Fact-checkers ’ decisions have significant consequences for debates about fake news that can not be overstated .
Researchers have studied the cascading cognitive effects of misinformation , and their findings are relevant to current concerns about fake news and to the limitations of fact-checking .
Misinformation can be insidious ; it can seep into the unconscious mind and influence beliefs and behaviors long after we have forgotten its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it .
Under laboratory conditions , a selection of objective facts and complete fabrications can be presented , and researchers can then examine the spread of misinformation about these facts and whether and how this spread results in false beliefs .
Unlike a pristine laboratory setting , however , the world of politics is messy , and there can be deep disagreements about the facts themselves , as the above contradictory claims illustrate .
When it comes to partisan fact-checking about complex issues—which describes much of the fact-checking that takes place in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is often the subjective opinion of people with shared political views .
One path to a solution is “ adversarial fact-checking.
” Fact-checking is often done by teams of two or more journalists rather than by a single person .
We propose that political claims continue to be aggressively fact-checked , but by teams of individuals with diverse sociopolitical views ; for example , by pairing fact-checkers from major liberal and conservative news sources .
This would add little , if any , cost .
The media should abandon fact-checkers ’ pretext of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their sociopolitical leanings in much the way that NPR tries to pit pro and con points of view in political coverage .
Research underscores that fact-checkers ’ personal biases influence both their choice of which statements to analyze and their determination of accuracy .
Let diverse fact-checkers work as members of an adversarial team , much like two sides in arbitration .
Fact-checkers are human beings who live in the real world , rather than in a sociopolitical monastery .
Let ’ s abandon the pretense of objectivity and design a system of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ competing claims front and center .
Exposure to contrasting views sometimes happens when a counterclaim appears days or weeks later or an independent fact-checker like PolitiFact requests a retraction , but the key to better cognitive reasoning outcomes is for both sides ’ claims to appear simultaneously in the very same report .
This would minimize the creation of false beliefs that emerge as a consequence of exposure to only one side .
When adversarial fact-checking leads to unresolvable disagreements among team members , readers will be better able to judge how persuasive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arrive at a more informed conclusion than they would if only one side ’ s evidence is presented .
It would be a valuable antidote to the tendency of Americans to base their views on sources solely within their “ bubble.
” Such an adversarial arrangement challenges the presumption that there can be no doubt about the validity of fact-checkers ’ conclusions , as implied by CNN ’ s Facts First feature : “ CNN holds elected officials and candidates accountable by pointing out what ’ s true and what ’ s not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is somehow a psychologically straightforward process .
Having each side ’ s fact-checkers checked by the other side ’ s fact-checkers could lead to an infinite regress toward an uncertain truth .
But this is preferable to belief in a truth that may not exist .
Adversarial fact-checkers would debate the same “ evidence ” and ensure a balanced presentation of the facts .
This may not guarantee that fact-checkers will agree or even that readers will discern the truth .
But it will reveal the sometimes-tenuous nature of fact-checkers ’ claims and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unfolds—and this would be a meaningful barrier to the spread of fake news and the creation of false beliefs among voters .

Distortions and outright lies by politicians and pundits have become so common that major news outlets like the Associated Press, CNN, BBC, Fox News, and Washington Post routinely assign journalists and fact-checkers to verify claims made during stump speeches and press briefings. The motivation to uncover falsehoods and misleading statements taken out of context is laudable. But when it comes to real-world complexities, the trouble is that people often see different things when looking at the same event, a phenomenon repeatedly documented by psychologists.
Laboratory studies reveal that, when shown a video of a group of protesters, people see either a peaceful protest or an unruly mob blocking pedestrian access, depending on their sociopolitical beliefs. The world outside the lab shows similar biased perception: For example, 68 percent of Republicans consider the videotaped demonstrations in Portland, Ore., Kenosha, Wisc., and New York City to be riots, versus only 30 percent of Democrats, according to a Fox News poll released in September. Journalists and fact-checkers are human beings subject to the same psychological biases as everyone else—and their analyses of what constitute “facts” is affected by their own political and ideological values, resulting in what psychologists term selective perception.
Consider the claim that during an interview with the progressive activist Ady Barkan, Joe Biden stated he favors defunding the police. This allegation has been dismissed as taken out of context and consequently false by some journalists and fact-checkers (e.g., Politifact’s Jon Greenberg), and CNN’s Facts First argued that Biden had denied he favored defunding in comments that were not included in the published interview with Barkan. However, others argued Biden’s statement about supporting “redirecting” funds to other agencies was a clear acknowledgement of his support of decreased funding for police.
For example, Evie Fordham of Fox News states that redirecting funds from the police is the only context in which Biden’s “yes, absolutely” answer to Barkan’s question can be understood, in her words: “despite the fact that Barkan did not say "for police" at the end of the question, the context of the original exchange made clear that Barkan was talking about redirecting police funding.”). The result is a massive disagreement, with many journalists and fact-checkers arguing that Biden’s critics did indeed take his statement out of context, and he did not intend to support a redirection of funds away from law enforcement, as fact-checkers Hope Yen at the Associated Press and the BBC’s Jake Horton contended, whereas CNN cited a Biden statement from early June in which he said it makes sense for some local communities to reduce police funding. In examining the evidence that each side invoked, it is possible to make a case for both positions.
The same is true of the allegation that in the aftermath of Heather Heyer’s death in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017, Trump said there were “fine people” among protestors and counterprotestors, a statement generally interpreted by liberal fact-checkers and journalists as referring to fine people among the white supremacists and Neo-Nazis, but disputed by conservative journalists.
Even when the original facts may tilt in the direction of journalists’ and fact-checker’s claims, they may be too ambiguous to justify the unequivocal headlines that have appeared: (“AP Fact Check: Trump distorts record; BLM falsely accused”)
Fact-checkers’ decisions have significant consequences for debates about fake news that cannot be overstated. Researchers have studied the cascading cognitive effects of misinformation, and their findings are relevant to current concerns about fake news and to the limitations of fact-checking. Misinformation can be insidious; it can seep into the unconscious mind and influence beliefs and behaviors long after we have forgotten its source or the evidence invoked to support it. Under laboratory conditions, a selection of objective facts and complete fabrications can be presented, and researchers can then examine the spread of misinformation about these facts and whether and how this spread results in false beliefs.
Unlike a pristine laboratory setting, however, the world of politics is messy, and there can be deep disagreements about the facts themselves, as the above contradictory claims illustrate. When it comes to partisan fact-checking about complex issues—which describes much of the fact-checking that takes place in the context of political news—the truth as stated is often the subjective opinion of people with shared political views.
One path to a solution is “adversarial fact-checking.” Fact-checking is often done by teams of two or more journalists rather than by a single person. We propose that political claims continue to be aggressively fact-checked, but by teams of individuals with diverse sociopolitical views; for example, by pairing fact-checkers from major liberal and conservative news sources. This would add little, if any, cost. The media should abandon fact-checkers’ pretext of objectivity and political disinterest and instead acknowledge their sociopolitical leanings in much the way that NPR tries to pit pro and con points of view in political coverage.
Research underscores that fact-checkers’ personal biases influence both their choice of which statements to analyze and their determination of accuracy. Let diverse fact-checkers work as members of an adversarial team, much like two sides in arbitration. Fact-checkers are human beings who live in the real world, rather than in a sociopolitical monastery. Let’s abandon the pretense of objectivity and design a system of adversarial fact-checking that places the evidence for competing claims front and center.
Exposure to contrasting views sometimes happens when a counterclaim appears days or weeks later or an independent fact-checker like PolitiFact requests a retraction, but the key to better cognitive reasoning outcomes is for both sides’ claims to appear simultaneously in the very same report. This would minimize the creation of false beliefs that emerge as a consequence of exposure to only one side. When adversarial fact-checking leads to unresolvable disagreements among team members, readers will be better able to judge how persuasive each side’s argument is and arrive at a more informed conclusion than they would if only one side’s evidence is presented.
It would be a valuable antidote to the tendency of Americans to base their views on sources solely within their “bubble.” Such an adversarial arrangement challenges the presumption that there can be no doubt about the validity of fact-checkers’ conclusions, as implied by CNN’s Facts First feature: “CNN holds elected officials and candidates accountable by pointing out what’s true and what’s not,” as if determining the truth is somehow a psychologically straightforward process.
Having each side’s fact-checkers checked by the other side’s fact-checkers could lead to an infinite regress toward an uncertain truth. But this is preferable to belief in a truth that may not exist. Adversarial fact-checkers would debate the same “evidence” and ensure a balanced presentation of the facts. This may not guarantee that fact-checkers will agree or even that readers will discern the truth. But it will reveal the sometimes-tenuous nature of fact-checkers’ claims and the psychological context in which human cognition unfolds—and this would be a meaningful barrier to the spread of fake news and the creation of false beliefs among voters.


scientificamerican--2020-10-24--Acorn Woodpeckers Fight Long, Bloody Territorial Wars

What you ’ re hearing is war—among woodpeckers , a species called acorn woodpeckers .
The birds fight long , bloody battles over access to trees , where these woodpeckers nest and store their food : you guessed it , acorns .
“ They build these giant acorn granaries , and these are basically acorn-storage structures , where they store thousands of acorns every fall.
” Sahas Barve , with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History .
“ In bark and in dead parts of trees , they make individual holes in which they store one acorn at a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tens of thousands of holes.
” When woodpeckers that hold high-quality territory die , others come to claim it for themselves .
That ’ s when the fighting begins .
“ It ’ s a lot of energy that they put in , and that sort of tells you how valuable the granaries are for them .
They put in a lot of effort in the short term for this big long-term prize.
” Barve and his colleagues tracked acorn woodpeckers during these power struggles .
The researchers observed up to 12 groups @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , typically with three or four birds per clan .
Individual birds may fight more than 10 hours a day for several days .
“ We didn ’ t know that bird conflicts could last that long ; it ’ s really amazing .
You can imagine the oak savanna of California—big oak trees .
And you can just hear birds calling , because they give these very distinct ‘ wacka wacka ’ calls when they are fighting each other .
You can hear it from far away , because there are so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go closer , you see birds flying around pretty chaotically .
There are birds posturing , so most coalitions will group together , every now and then , and spread out their wings on a very prominent branch of the tree and show , basically , who they are and that they are together .
But these conflicts are often very violent , so you will see birds with big injuries .
So you ’ ll see bloodied feathers .
You can see eyes gouged out , birds with some injuries that are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ birds with broken wings .
And also birds fall to the ground fighting each other .
Like I often say , these birds have spears for mouths , so they can do a lot of damage to each other.
” Other woodpeckers flew in from up to three kilometers away just to watch the fighting—and to glean social information .
The study is in the journal Current Biology .
[ Sahas Barve et al.
, Tracking the warriors and spectators of acorn woodpecker wars ] The scientists say these battles reveal a lot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ often think of birds as not very intelligent animals , but we are discovering , very quickly , that we are not the only busybody , nosy , supercurious social animal out there .
And birds are doing that all the time .
Social complexity is something that ’ s evolved multiple times in the animal kingdom , and we are just one of them.
” [ The above text is a transcript of this podcast . ]

Full Transcript
[CLIP: Acorn woodpeckers fight]
What you’re hearing is war—among woodpeckers, a species called acorn woodpeckers. The birds fight long, bloody battles over access to trees, where these woodpeckers nest and store their food: you guessed it, acorns.
“They build these giant acorn granaries, and these are basically acorn-storage structures, where they store thousands of acorns every fall.”
Sahas Barve, with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
“In bark and in dead parts of trees, they make individual holes in which they store one acorn at a time. And some granaries may have tens of thousands of holes.”
When woodpeckers that hold high-quality territory die, others come to claim it for themselves. That’s when the fighting begins.
“It’s a lot of energy that they put in, and that sort of tells you how valuable the granaries are for them. They put in a lot of effort in the short term for this big long-term prize.”
Barve and his colleagues tracked acorn woodpeckers during these power struggles. The researchers observed up to 12 groups of birds sparring for a single territory, typically with three or four birds per clan. Individual birds may fight more than 10 hours a day for several days.
“We didn’t know that bird conflicts could last that long; it’s really amazing. You can imagine the oak savanna of California—big oak trees. And you can just hear birds calling, because they give these very distinct ‘wacka wacka’ calls when they are fighting each other. You can hear it from far away, because there are so many birds calling, and when you go closer, you see birds flying around pretty chaotically. There are birds posturing, so most coalitions will group together, every now and then, and spread out their wings on a very prominent branch of the tree and show, basically, who they are and that they are together. But these conflicts are often very violent, so you will see birds with big injuries. So you’ll see bloodied feathers. You can see eyes gouged out, birds with some injuries that are obviously fatal. We’ve seen birds with broken wings. And also birds fall to the ground fighting each other. Like I often say, these birds have spears for mouths, so they can do a lot of damage to each other.”
Other woodpeckers flew in from up to three kilometers away just to watch the fighting—and to glean social information. The study is in the journal Current Biology. [Sahas Barve et al., Tracking the warriors and spectators of acorn woodpecker wars]
The scientists say these battles reveal a lot about animal social behavior.
“We often think of birds as not very intelligent animals, but we are discovering, very quickly, that we are not the only busybody, nosy, supercurious social animal out there. And birds are doing that all the time. Social complexity is something that’s evolved multiple times in the animal kingdom, and we are just one of them.”
—Annie Sneed
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]


scientificamerican--2020-10-23--Coronavirus News Roundup: October 17-October 23

The items below are highlights from the free newsletter , “ Smart , useful , science stuff about COVID-19.
” To receive newsletter issues daily in your inbox , sign up here .
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control ( CDC ) this week broadened its definition of a “ close contact ” with an infected person , thereby expanding “ the pool of people considered at risk of contracting the novel coronavirus , ” writes Lena H. Sun at The Washington Post ( 10/21/20 ) .
To be considered a “ close contact , ” the 15-minute exposure time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cumulative or total time during a 24-hour period , not sequential , consecutive time .
State and county health departments use the definition for contract tracing efforts , the story states .
The CDC ’ s change “ is likely to have its biggest impact in schools , workplaces , and other group settings where people are in contact with others for long periods of time , ” Sun writes .
Epidemiologists offer advice on how to avoid SARS-CoV-2 while voting or working as a poll worker in this 10/14/20 piece by Jim @ @ @ @ @ @ @ masks , socially distancing , and disinfecting surfaces and voting equipment , tips in the piece include : 1 ) choose a booth that is next to an empty booth and wipe down the booth before touching anything in it ; 2 ) vote at off-hour times that could be less crowded ; 3 ) participate in “ early voting ” if available in your region ; and 4 ) study up on your ballot choices so once you ’ re in the booth , you can vote quickly .
SARS-CoV-2 cares not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state ” or a “ blue state ” in the U.S. , as this dramatic , animated graphic by web developer Dan Goodspeed illustrates .
The graphic , based on data from The New York Times , shows U.S. case growth over time , from June to present , sorted by U.S. state and political leaning .
The Center for Digital Health , a partnership between Brown University 's Medical School and a Rhode Island health care system , has published an easy-to-use online calculator for what appears to be one ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The site asks visitors for such information as zip code , planned activity , duration of activity , and percent of people wearing a mask .
A 10/16/20 essay in Science sums up the latest evidence for children ’ s limited role in spreading SARS-CoV-2 and the harms that result from school closures .
Matthew D. Snape of the University of Oxford , who studies vaccines for children , and pediatrician Russell M. Viner of University College London conclude that re-opened schools so far play “ only a limited role in transmission @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The writers discourage the use of school closures to address future waves of COVID-19 for various reasons .
“ Emerging evidence suggests ” that outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 among children are not a key route for spreading the coronavirus , the authors write .
“ When household outbreaks of infection have occurred , it appears that children were responsible for only a small minority of household introductions of the virus , ” the authors write .
However , efforts to curb the pandemic have resulted in indirect “ harms being disproportionately borne by children @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The harms include school closures , reduced skills , illness due to kids not getting vaccinations for diseases such as measles , a rise in kids getting injured at home , and possible mental health effects .
Schools should remain vigilant and keep transmission-prevention measures in place , the essay suggests , such as face mask wearing , creating separate cohorts or “ bubbles , ” regular screenings of students and staffers , and social distancing .
The rise in SARS-CoV-2 infections in the U.S. is now driven by “ small gatherings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control , reports Carolyn Crist for WebMD ( 10/14/20 ) .
People should continue to wear face-masks and to practice social distancing “ since most people have still not been exposed to the coronavirus worldwide , '' the researchers suggest , Crist writes .
Some trombone , flute , trumpet , saxophone , and tuba players in the U.S. have devised masks that allow them to “ reduce the risk of COVID-19 without silencing the music , ” reports Laura Ungar for Kaiser Health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , air filters , magnets , bolts of fabric , and `` surgical masks with slits cut in them , ” the story states ( 10/16/20 ) .
The photos in this piece are fun .
You might enjoy , “ Vaccines I ’ m Working On , ” by Jack Handey at The New Yorker ( 10/19/20 ) .

The items below are highlights from the free newsletter, “Smart, useful, science stuff about COVID-19.” To receive newsletter issues daily in your inbox, sign up here.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) this week broadened its definition of a “close contact” with an infected person, thereby expanding “the pool of people considered at risk of contracting the novel coronavirus,” writes Lena H. Sun at The Washington Post (10/21/20). To be considered a “close contact,” the 15-minute exposure time for individuals within six feet is now cumulative or total time during a 24-hour period, not sequential, consecutive time. State and county health departments use the definition for contract tracing efforts, the story states. The CDC’s change “is likely to have its biggest impact in schools, workplaces, and other group settings where people are in contact with others for long periods of time,” Sun writes.
Epidemiologists offer advice on how to avoid SARS-CoV-2 while voting or working as a poll worker in this 10/14/20 piece by Jim Daley for Scientific American. Beyond wearing masks, socially distancing, and disinfecting surfaces and voting equipment, tips in the piece include: 1) choose a booth that is next to an empty booth and wipe down the booth before touching anything in it; 2) vote at off-hour times that could be less crowded; 3) participate in “early voting” if available in your region; and 4) study up on your ballot choices so once you’re in the booth, you can vote quickly.
SARS-CoV-2 cares not if you live in a “red state” or a “blue state” in the U.S., as this dramatic, animated graphic by web developer Dan Goodspeed illustrates. The graphic, based on data from The New York Times, shows U.S. case growth over time, from June to present, sorted by U.S. state and political leaning.
The Center for Digital Health, a partnership between Brown University's Medical School and a Rhode Island health care system, has published an easy-to-use online calculator for what appears to be one’s risk of catching SARS-CoV-2 in various settings. The site asks visitors for such information as zip code, planned activity, duration of activity, and percent of people wearing a mask.
A 10/16/20 essay in Science sums up the latest evidence for children’s limited role in spreading SARS-CoV-2 and the harms that result from school closures. Matthew D. Snape of the University of Oxford, who studies vaccines for children, and pediatrician Russell M. Viner of University College London conclude that re-opened schools so far play “only a limited role in transmission when mitigation measures are in place.” The writers discourage the use of school closures to address future waves of COVID-19 for various reasons. “Emerging evidence suggests” that outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 among children are not a key route for spreading the coronavirus, the authors write. “When household outbreaks of infection have occurred, it appears that children were responsible for only a small minority of household introductions of the virus,” the authors write. However, efforts to curb the pandemic have resulted in indirect “harms being disproportionately borne by children and teenagers,” the essay states. The harms include school closures, reduced skills, illness due to kids not getting vaccinations for diseases such as measles, a rise in kids getting injured at home, and possible mental health effects. Schools should remain vigilant and keep transmission-prevention measures in place, the essay suggests, such as face mask wearing, creating separate cohorts or “bubbles,” regular screenings of students and staffers, and social distancing.
The rise in SARS-CoV-2 infections in the U.S. is now driven by “small gatherings in people’s homes,” according to officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, reports Carolyn Crist for WebMD (10/14/20). People should continue to wear face-masks and to practice social distancing “since most people have still not been exposed to the coronavirus worldwide," the researchers suggest, Crist writes.
Some trombone, flute, trumpet, saxophone, and tuba players in the U.S. have devised masks that allow them to “reduce the risk of COVID-19 without silencing the music,” reports Laura Ungar for Kaiser Health News. Improvisations include pantyhose, pillowcases, air filters, magnets, bolts of fabric, and "surgical masks with slits cut in them,” the story states (10/16/20). The photos in this piece are fun.
You might enjoy, “Vaccines I’m Working On,” by Jack Handey at The New Yorker (10/19/20).


scientificamerican--2020-10-27--One Climate-Change Wildfire Risk Lurks in the Dark

As recording-breaking wildfires continue to rage across the West , firefighters are confronting a new challenge that has snuck in under cover of darkness : rising nighttime temperatures .
Days and nights are both warming while heat-trapping greenhouse gases build up in the atmosphere , but scientists say nighttime increases are outpacing daytime rates .
Since 2000 California ’ s daytime highs have been about 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit above the average for the previous 125 years , whereas overnight lows have been about 2.6 degrees F higher for the same period , says Tim Brown , director of the Western @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ It ’ s a significant difference , with potential serious consequences for wildfires and those who combat them , ” he says .
Firefighting crews wielding shovels and chain saws have traditionally worked at night to build fuel breaks , strips of land where flammable vegetation is removed .
Flames that once reliably dwindled just after sundown are now remaining startlingly active and aggressive , however .
For example , in the 319,000-acre North Complex fire that is still burning in northeastern California , a blaze advancing toward a rural community one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But three hours later trees suddenly burst into flames— “ one here , small groups there , crown fires torching off in the middle of the night .
We ’ re not used to seeing that , ” says Jonathan Pangburn , a forester and fire behavior analyst at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection .
Climate change , forest management and a century of intensive fire suppression are all contributing to the West ’ s wildfires , which have already burned an area nearly the size of Massachusetts and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Oregon , Colorado and Washington State this year .
The 192,560-acre East Troublesome fire , Colorado ’ s second largest in history , calmed on Monday , thanks to two feet of fresh snow , which hampered access for firefighters .
In California , 361,000 customers were without electricity after the Pacific Gas and Electric Company shut off power as a precautionary measure against fires started by winds , which gusted up to 106 miles per hour on Sunday .
Pangburn and other experts say largely unheralded warmer nighttime temperatures are feeding the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the number of hours when dead trees , leaf litter and other forest fuels are primed to burn .
Summer days in the West are typically warm and arid , allowing fuels to dry out and burn hot .
But as temperatures cool at night , humidity increases .
Dead trees and other materials absorb this water to balance their moisture levels and stay in equilibrium with the atmosphere , making it more difficult for them to burn .
Firefighters have based their suppression strategies on this cycle , attacking flames harder at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drying .
Working with headlamps , they clear trees and brush from wide lanes in forests .
They also sometimes set small , controlled fires in front of advancing flames to consume fuels while things are less volatile and the flames are easier to manage .
In recent years , however , wildfires have been frustrating these tactics .
Ryan Bauer , a Plumas National Forest firefighter with 24 years of experience , watched as the Claremont fire in northeastern California flared one August morning , “ spreading and hooking around , making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” he says .
The flames raced down a canyon hours before the heat of midafternoon , when fires would typically grow and spread .
“ When you don ’ t get a cooldown at night or humidity recovery , ” Bauer says , “ it just keeps drying the fuels all night long.
” Scientists explain the increasing evening heat by pointing to the section of the atmosphere called the boundary layer , which sits just above the ground .
This layer expands during the day as temperatures rise ( because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contracts at night as they cool .
For every excess bit of heat carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases trap in the atmosphere , the shallower nighttime layer will warm faster than the deeper daytime one , according to a 2016 study published in the International Journal of Climatology by climate scientist Richard Davy of the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center in Norway and his colleagues .
University of Exeter scientists studying worldwide temperatures from 1983 to 2017 found an average difference of nearly 0.5 degree F between daytime and nighttime warming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ found that overnight lows have increased about 0.3 degree F per decade since 1900 .
Since 2000 , however , the trend has accelerated to 0.7 degree F per decade .
This is one symptom of a warming world , says Deke Arndt , a climate scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration .
Such changes also hit human communities in a more direct way .
Public health consequences extend beyond the smoke and danger of wildfires because lower-income and elderly individuals are more sensitive to a loss of ability to recover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of night .
Warmer nights also mean more people are running air conditioning at higher levels for more hours , consuming more energy .
“ An overnight low of 81 [ degrees F ] is not as sexy as an afternoon high of 106 , ” Arndt says .
“ But it can , in a systemic way , affect the health of our economy and people.
” Firefighters do have some options for adapting tactics to warmer nights—yet they are limited , Bauer says .
Many of those battling this year ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the sides of advancing blazes instead of the more aggressive fronts , for example .
Still , Pangburn notes , out-of-control fires will continue to be pumped up by changes in wind and precipitation and by higher temperatures—at both night and day .
“ Until we learn to live with fire in this changing climate scenario , ” he says , “ this is our new normal .
”

As recording-breaking wildfires continue to rage across the West, firefighters are confronting a new challenge that has snuck in under cover of darkness: rising nighttime temperatures.
Days and nights are both warming while heat-trapping greenhouse gases build up in the atmosphere, but scientists say nighttime increases are outpacing daytime rates. Since 2000 California’s daytime highs have been about 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit above the average for the previous 125 years, whereas overnight lows have been about 2.6 degrees F higher for the same period, says Tim Brown, director of the Western Regional Climate Center in Reno, Nev. “It’s a significant difference, with potential serious consequences for wildfires and those who combat them,” he says.
Firefighting crews wielding shovels and chain saws have traditionally worked at night to build fuel breaks, strips of land where flammable vegetation is removed. Flames that once reliably dwindled just after sundown are now remaining startlingly active and aggressive, however. For example, in the 319,000-acre North Complex fire that is still burning in northeastern California, a blaze advancing toward a rural community one night in August slackened close to midnight. But three hours later trees suddenly burst into flames—“one here, small groups there, crown fires torching off in the middle of the night. We’re not used to seeing that,” says Jonathan Pangburn, a forester and fire behavior analyst at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Climate change, forest management and a century of intensive fire suppression are all contributing to the West’s wildfires, which have already burned an area nearly the size of Massachusetts and killed dozens of people in California, Oregon, Colorado and Washington State this year. The 192,560-acre East Troublesome fire, Colorado’s second largest in history, calmed on Monday, thanks to two feet of fresh snow, which hampered access for firefighters. In California, 361,000 customers were without electricity after the Pacific Gas and Electric Company shut off power as a precautionary measure against fires started by winds, which gusted up to 106 miles per hour on Sunday. Pangburn and other experts say largely unheralded warmer nighttime temperatures are feeding the flames of most western fires by increasing the number of hours when dead trees, leaf litter and other forest fuels are primed to burn.
Summer days in the West are typically warm and arid, allowing fuels to dry out and burn hot. But as temperatures cool at night, humidity increases. Dead trees and other materials absorb this water to balance their moisture levels and stay in equilibrium with the atmosphere, making it more difficult for them to burn. Firefighters have based their suppression strategies on this cycle, attacking flames harder at night to get ahead of the daytime drying. Working with headlamps, they clear trees and brush from wide lanes in forests. They also sometimes set small, controlled fires in front of advancing flames to consume fuels while things are less volatile and the flames are easier to manage.
In recent years, however, wildfires have been frustrating these tactics. Ryan Bauer, a Plumas National Forest firefighter with 24 years of experience, watched as the Claremont fire in northeastern California flared one August morning, “spreading and hooking around, making new runs across all our control lines,” he says. The flames raced down a canyon hours before the heat of midafternoon, when fires would typically grow and spread. “When you don’t get a cooldown at night or humidity recovery,” Bauer says, “it just keeps drying the fuels all night long.”
Scientists explain the increasing evening heat by pointing to the section of the atmosphere called the boundary layer, which sits just above the ground. This layer expands during the day as temperatures rise (because hotter air expands), and it contracts at night as they cool. For every excess bit of heat carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases trap in the atmosphere, the shallower nighttime layer will warm faster than the deeper daytime one, according to a 2016 study published in the International Journal of Climatology by climate scientist Richard Davy of the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center in Norway and his colleagues.
University of Exeter scientists studying worldwide temperatures from 1983 to 2017 found an average difference of nearly 0.5 degree F between daytime and nighttime warming. In California, analyses by Brown found that overnight lows have increased about 0.3 degree F per decade since 1900. Since 2000, however, the trend has accelerated to 0.7 degree F per decade. This is one symptom of a warming world, says Deke Arndt, a climate scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Such changes also hit human communities in a more direct way. Public health consequences extend beyond the smoke and danger of wildfires because lower-income and elderly individuals are more sensitive to a loss of ability to recover from a scorching day in the cool of night. Warmer nights also mean more people are running air conditioning at higher levels for more hours, consuming more energy. “An overnight low of 81 [degrees F] is not as sexy as an afternoon high of 106,” Arndt says. “But it can, in a systemic way, affect the health of our economy and people.”
Firefighters do have some options for adapting tactics to warmer nights—yet they are limited, Bauer says. Many of those battling this year’s intense fires have focused their attacks on the sides of advancing blazes instead of the more aggressive fronts, for example. Still, Pangburn notes, out-of-control fires will continue to be pumped up by changes in wind and precipitation and by higher temperatures—at both night and day. “Until we learn to live with fire in this changing climate scenario,” he says, “this is our new normal.”


scientificamerican--2020-10-27--New Bio-Inspired Molecule Helps Concrete Resist Freeze Damage

Daily temperature swings can make water freeze and expand , then thaw and contract .
Because concrete is porous and absorbs liquid , these changes often make its surface flake and peel .
But researchers say a new process can help prevent such deterioration .
“ The primary way in which we have resisted this freeze-thaw damage in the past was by using a technology that was developed in the 1930s , which was to put in tiny little air bubbles all throughout the concrete , ” says Wil Srubar , a materials scientist and architectural engineer at the University @ @ @ @ @ @ @ absorb some pressure but also reduce concrete 's strength , make it soak up more water and require a finicky distribution process .
Srubar 's laboratory looked to the natural world , specifically “ antifreeze ” proteins that let some fish and bacteria endure frigid temperatures .
In cells , these molecules cling to ice crystals ' surfaces and prevent them from growing too large—but they do not function in highly alkaline cement paste , a key concrete ingredient .
So the researchers tried a tougher substance with similar properties : a polymer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in time-released pharmaceutical pills .
To test it , the team mixed several batches of concrete , including one control , one with air bubbles and a few with different concentrations of the PEG-PVA additive .
After 300 consecutive freeze-thaw cycles , the quality of the control sample plummeted while others maintained their integrity .
The research was published in June in Cell Reports Physical Science .
Vikki Edmondson , a civil engineer at Northumbria University in England , who was not involved in the study , says the new work is important @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ For instance , if we look at the design life of a bridge , ” she says , “ how is this going to help protect critical infrastructure ?
” Edmondson wonders how this additive would function in the real world , where concrete must withstand vibrations , for instance , and endure exposure to contaminants .
“ Anything that makes cement more durable ... is obviously progress , ” says Roland Pellenq , a director of research at the French National Center for Scientific Research , who was also not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ freeze-thaw damage presents such a threat to infrastructure , other researchers are also exploring solutions—Pellenq says his own team has experimented with a water-repelling black carbon additive for this purpose .
Srubar has filed a provisional patent and hopes to bring the PEG-PVA process to market within five years .
Meanwhile he continues the hunt for molecules that mimic antifreeze proteins ' behavior .
“ Everybody in my lab is convinced that nature has solved all of our problems for us , ” he says .
“ We just have to know where @ @ @ @

Daily temperature swings can make water freeze and expand, then thaw and contract. Because concrete is porous and absorbs liquid, these changes often make its surface flake and peel. But researchers say a new process can help prevent such deterioration.
“The primary way in which we have resisted this freeze-thaw damage in the past was by using a technology that was developed in the 1930s, which was to put in tiny little air bubbles all throughout the concrete,” says Wil Srubar, a materials scientist and architectural engineer at the University of Colorado Boulder. These flexible bubbles absorb some pressure but also reduce concrete's strength, make it soak up more water and require a finicky distribution process.
Srubar's laboratory looked to the natural world, specifically “antifreeze” proteins that let some fish and bacteria endure frigid temperatures. In cells, these molecules cling to ice crystals' surfaces and prevent them from growing too large—but they do not function in highly alkaline cement paste, a key concrete ingredient. So the researchers tried a tougher substance with similar properties: a polymer called PEG-PVA, which is currently used in time-released pharmaceutical pills.
To test it, the team mixed several batches of concrete, including one control, one with air bubbles and a few with different concentrations of the PEG-PVA additive. After 300 consecutive freeze-thaw cycles, the quality of the control sample plummeted while others maintained their integrity. The research was published in June in Cell Reports Physical Science.
Vikki Edmondson, a civil engineer at Northumbria University in England, who was not involved in the study, says the new work is important but will need investigation beyond the lab. “For instance, if we look at the design life of a bridge,” she says, “how is this going to help protect critical infrastructure?” Edmondson wonders how this additive would function in the real world, where concrete must withstand vibrations, for instance, and endure exposure to contaminants.
“Anything that makes cement more durable ... is obviously progress,” says Roland Pellenq, a director of research at the French National Center for Scientific Research, who was also not involved in the new study. Because freeze-thaw damage presents such a threat to infrastructure, other researchers are also exploring solutions—Pellenq says his own team has experimented with a water-repelling black carbon additive for this purpose.
Srubar has filed a provisional patent and hopes to bring the PEG-PVA process to market within five years. Meanwhile he continues the hunt for molecules that mimic antifreeze proteins' behavior. “Everybody in my lab is convinced that nature has solved all of our problems for us,” he says. “We just have to know where to look.”


scientificamerican--2020-10-27--A Flu Shot Might Reduce Coronavirus Infections, Early Research Suggests

U.S. health officials are urging Americans to get their flu shots this year in the hopes of thwarting a winter “ twindemic ” —a situation in which both influenza and COVID-19 spread and sicken the public .
But a new study suggests that there could be another key reason to get a flu jab this year : it might reduce your risk of COVID-19 .
The research , released as a preprint that has not yet been peer-reviewed , indicates that a flu vaccine against the influenza virus also may trigger the body to produce broad infection-fighting molecules that combat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in line with some other recent studies published in peer-reviewed journals that point to similar effects .
But researchers caution the research is preliminary and needs to be bolstered by more rigorous experiments .
In the new study , Mihai Netea , an infectious disease immunologist at Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands , and his colleagues combed through their hospital ’ s databases to see if employees who got a flu shot during the 2019–2020 season were more or less likely to get infected by SARS-CoV-2 , the virus behind COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the researchers found , were 39 percent less likely to test positive for the coronavirus as of June 1 , 2020 .
While 2.23 percent of nonvaccinated employees tested positive , only 1.33 percent of vaccinated ones did .
Netea and his team posted their findings on the preprint server MedRxiv on October 16 .
These findings do not prove that flu vaccines prevent COVID-19 , however .
“ This is an intriguing study , but it doesn ’ t provide definitive evidence , ” says Ellen Foxman , an immunobiologist and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Medicine .
There could be other explanations for the association the Radboud scientists and their colleagues found .
For instance , people who choose to receive a flu shot may be more health-conscious and more likely to follow COVID-19 prevention guidelines than individuals who do not get vaccinated .
Netea agrees , noting that overall behavior , rather than the shot , might have made people in the former group less likely to get sick in his study .
Studies such as these , which find correlations between behaviors and outcomes , can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whether flu shots actually prevent COVID-19 “ requires big clinical trials at the level of the [ general ] population , ” says Maziar Divangahi , a pulmonary immunologist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center .
Netea acknowledges this but points out that such a clinical trial would require a randomly chosen control group of subjects to be denied flu shots .
“ That ’ s not ethical , ” he says .
Netea and his team also conducted a laboratory experiment that suggested how flu shots could prevent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blood cells taken from healthy individuals .
Then they exposed some of the cells to the Vaxigrip Tetra flu vaccine , made by Sanofi Pasteur , and let the cells grow for six days .
After that , the researchers exposed the cells to the Sars-CoV-2 virus and analyzed them one day later .
The cells that had first been primed with the flu vaccine produced more of several kinds of virus-fighting immune molecules , known as cytokines , than did those that had not been exposed to the vaccine .
Though such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ produced late in a patient ’ s course of COVID-19—inciting a so-called cytokine storm , which can damage many body organs—cytokines produced early in the infection process are helpful , Divangahi explains .
They “ get rid of the pathogen , ” he says , making the infection milder .
It might seem far-fetched that a vaccine designed to protect against one infection could protect against others , too .
But a growing body of research suggests that this does , in fact , occur through a process called “ trained innate immunity.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ stimulating the adaptive immune system , causing the body to make antibodies that can recognize and attack a specific pathogen if it is encountered again .
But recent studies suggest that some vaccines also train the body ’ s faster-acting and less specific innate immune system , improving its ability to fight off many kinds of infections .
Vaccines appear to achieve this feat by reprogramming stem cells that give rise to cells involved in this early innate immune response .
“ There is evidence from the literature that trained immunity does exist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unexpected ways , against other pathogens besides what the vaccine was designed against , ” Foxman says .
Although results have overall been mixed , other recent studies have linked flu vaccines—as well as other vaccines—with lower COVID-19 risk .
In two papers , one published in the journal Vaccines in September and the other in the Journal of Medical Virology in June , researchers found that COVID-19 rates were lower in regions of Italy where higher percentages of adults aged 65 and older had received a flu vaccine .
And in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the Mayo Clinic and the biomedical computing company nference found that adults who had received vaccines for flu , polio , chicken pox , measles-mumps- rubella ( MMR ) , Haemophilus influenzae type B ( Hib ) , hepatitis A or B , or pneumococcal disease over the past five years were less likely to test positive for the novel coronavirus than people who had not received any of them .
Now nearly two dozen clinical trials around the world are underway to determine whether the bacillus Calmette-Guérin ( BCG ) vaccine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Netea is helping to run one of them . )
BCG has been linked to a reduced risk of infections and of overall child mortality even when tuberculosis is not spreading in a particular region .
In Netea ’ s new study , he and his team exposed a subset of immune cells to the BCG vaccine before the flu vaccine .
They found that exposure to both vaccines increased cytokine production even more than the flu vaccine alone .
Netea says that he plans to design additional studies to tease out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 risk , including among older adults .
For now , though , there are still more questions than answers .
“ As far as telling people , ‘ You should go get a flu vaccine because it can protect you from COVID , ’ that 's a little bit of a stretch at this point , ” Foxman says .
But , she adds , people should still go get the flu shot—because , at the very least , “ it ’ s going to protect you from the flu.
” Read @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American here .
And read coverage from our international network of magazines here .

U.S. health officials are urging Americans to get their flu shots this year in the hopes of thwarting a winter “twindemic”—a situation in which both influenza and COVID-19 spread and sicken the public. But a new study suggests that there could be another key reason to get a flu jab this year: it might reduce your risk of COVID-19. The research, released as a preprint that has not yet been peer-reviewed, indicates that a flu vaccine against the influenza virus may also trigger the body to produce broad infection-fighting molecules that combat the pandemic-causing coronavirus.
The paper is in line with some other recent studies published in peer-reviewed journals that point to similar effects. But researchers caution the research is preliminary and needs to be bolstered by more rigorous experiments.
In the new study, Mihai Netea, an infectious disease immunologist at Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands, and his colleagues combed through their hospital’s databases to see if employees who got a flu shot during the 2019–2020 season were more or less likely to get infected by SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19. Workers who received a flu vaccine, the researchers found, were 39 percent less likely to test positive for the coronavirus as of June 1, 2020. While 2.23 percent of nonvaccinated employees tested positive, only 1.33 percent of vaccinated ones did. Netea and his team posted their findings on the preprint server MedRxiv on October 16.
These findings do not prove that flu vaccines prevent COVID-19, however. “This is an intriguing study, but it doesn’t provide definitive evidence,” says Ellen Foxman, an immunobiologist and clinical pathologist at the Yale School of Medicine. There could be other explanations for the association the Radboud scientists and their colleagues found. For instance, people who choose to receive a flu shot may be more health-conscious and more likely to follow COVID-19 prevention guidelines than individuals who do not get vaccinated. Netea agrees, noting that overall behavior, rather than the shot, might have made people in the former group less likely to get sick in his study.
Studies such as these, which find correlations between behaviors and outcomes, cannot establish cause and effect. Determining whether flu shots actually prevent COVID-19 “requires big clinical trials at the level of the [general] population,” says Maziar Divangahi, a pulmonary immunologist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center. Netea acknowledges this but points out that such a clinical trial would require a randomly chosen control group of subjects to be denied flu shots. “That’s not ethical,” he says.
Netea and his team also conducted a laboratory experiment that suggested how flu shots could prevent coronavirus infections. First, they purified blood cells taken from healthy individuals. Then they exposed some of the cells to the Vaxigrip Tetra flu vaccine, made by Sanofi Pasteur, and let the cells grow for six days. After that, the researchers exposed the cells to SARS-CoV-2 and analyzed them one day later.
The cells that had first been primed with the flu vaccine produced more of several kinds of virus-fighting immune molecules, known as cytokines, than did those that had not been exposed to the vaccine. Though such molecules can be detrimental when they are produced late in a patient’s course of COVID-19—inciting a so-called cytokine storm, which can damage many body organs—cytokines produced early in the infection process are helpful, Divangahi explains. They “get rid of the pathogen,” he says, making the infection milder.
It might seem far-fetched that a vaccine designed to protect against one infection could protect against others, too. But a growing body of research suggests that this does, in fact, occur through a process called “trained innate immunity.” Vaccines are known to work by stimulating the adaptive immune system, causing the body to make antibodies that can recognize and attack a specific pathogen if it is encountered again. But recent studies suggest that some vaccines also train the body’s faster-acting and less specific innate immune system, improving its ability to fight off many kinds of infections. Vaccines appear to achieve this feat by reprogramming stem cells that give rise to cells involved in this early innate immune response.
“There is evidence from the literature that trained immunity does exist and can offer broad protection, in unexpected ways, against other pathogens besides what the vaccine was designed against,” Foxman says.
Although results have overall been mixed, other recent studies have linked flu vaccines—as well as other vaccines—with lower COVID-19 risk. In two papers, one published in the journal Vaccines in September and the other in the Journal of Medical Virology in June, researchers found that COVID-19 rates were lower in regions of Italy where higher percentages of adults aged 65 and older had received a flu vaccine. And in a preprint paper released in July, researchers at the Mayo Clinic and the biomedical computing company nference found that adults who had received vaccines for flu, polio, chicken pox, measles-mumps- rubella (MMR), Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), hepatitis A or B, or pneumococcal disease over the past five years were less likely to test positive for the novel coronavirus than people who had not received any of them.
Now nearly two dozen clinical trials around the world are underway to determine whether the bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine against tuberculosis could protect against COVID-19. (Netea is helping to run one of them.) BCG has been linked to a reduced risk of infections and of overall child mortality even when tuberculosis is not spreading in a particular region. In Netea’s new study, he and his team exposed a subset of immune cells to the BCG vaccine before the flu vaccine. They found that exposure to both vaccines increased cytokine production even more than the flu vaccine alone. Netea says that he plans to design additional studies to tease out the flu vaccine’s effects on COVID-19 risk, including among older adults.
For now, though, there are still more questions than answers. “As far as telling people, ‘You should go get a flu vaccine because it can protect you from COVID,’ that's a little bit of a stretch at this point,” Foxman says. But, she adds, people should still go get the flu shot—because, at the very least, “it’s going to protect you from the flu.”
Read more about the coronavirus outbreak from Scientific American here. And read coverage from our international network of magazines here.


scientificamerican--2020-10-27--Election Science Stakes: Medicine and Public Health

For this installment of our pre-election podcast series I spoke to Scientific American ’ s senior medicine editor , Josh Fischman .
Steve Mirsky : So Josh , tell me about the issues in medicine and public health that are going to be affected by this election .
Obviously , the first one is the coronavirus pandemic .
Josh Fischman : Yeah .
COVID is the big one .
And it 's going to be affected by this election because we have the current Trump administration , which has a record that we can look at .
And that record @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ignoring a lot of public health advice .
And the results are sadly obvious to most of the country…we ’ ve got cases going up in 38 states .
And the reasons for this are the administration 's ongoing refusal to develop a robust contact tracing force , to develop tests and a testing program that will enable public health authorities to quickly identify hotspots and isolate people…so step one would be to get the virus under control .
And the Biden campaign actually has announced a plan to do that by increasing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ starting up a national testing board with the ability and the resources to ramp up testing .
So at least we could get a handle on who 's infected , where infections are spreading rapidly .
And we 'll be able to direct resources to isolating that , not letting it spread .
So I think that that is the starkest and most important contrast .
SM : And let 's talk just briefly about all the other public health and medical issues that are pretty much out of our consciousness right now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You can look back at the last four years of budgets that the Trump administration has submitted , and see that every year they have tried to slash the budgets for the National Institutes of Health , the National Science Foundation , the Centers for Disease Control .
Now , every year Congress has countermanded those cuts and actually increased funding for the National Institutes of Health and the other agencies .
But there 's a clear difference in what the Trump administration 's priorities are .
They would like to bring these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 've never really articulated except to say that the federal government spends too much money .
But it 's hard to see how spending too much money on health is really too much money .
SM : Yeah , because that 's not overhead as much as it is an investment .
JF : Exactly .
You can see that when you look at health insurance…and when people have more complete health insurance , they are able to go to the doctor , they 're able to get prescription drugs and they 're @ @ @ @ @ @ @ end up costing the U.S. taxpayer a lot more .

Full Transcript
For this installment of our preelection podcast series I spoke to Scientific American’s senior medicine editor Josh Fischman.
So Josh, tell me about the issues in medicine and public health that are going to be affected by this election. Obviously, the first one is the coronavirus pandemic.
“Yeah, COVID is the big one. And it’s going to be affected by this election because we have the current Trump administration, which has a record that we can look at. And that record is of handling the coronavirus poorly—ignoring a lot of public health advice. And the results are sadly obvious to most of the country: we’ve got cases going up in 38 states. And the reasons for this are the administration’s ongoing refusal to develop a robust contact tracing force, to develop tests and a testing program that will enable public health authorities to quickly identify hotspots and isolate people. So step one would be to get the virus under control. And the Biden campaign actually has announced a plan to do that by increasing the number of contact tracers, by starting up a national testing board with the ability and the resources to ramp up testing. So at least we could get a handle on who’s infected, where infections are spreading rapidly. And we’ll be able to direct resources to isolating that, not letting it spread. So I think that that is the starkest and most important contrast.”
And let’s talk just briefly about all the other public health and medical issues that are pretty much out of our consciousness right now because of the pandemic.
“You can look back at the last four years of budgets that the Trump administration has submitted and see that every year they have tried to slash the budgets for the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control. Now, every year Congress has countermanded those cuts and actually increased funding for the National Institutes of Health and the other agencies. But there’s a clear difference in what the Trump administration’s priorities are. They would like to bring these budgets down for reasons that they’ve never really articulated except to say that the federal government spends too much money. But it’s hard to see how spending too much money on health is really too much money.”
Yeah, because that’s not overhead as much as it is an investment.
“Exactly. You can see that when you look at health insurance. And when people have more complete health insurance, they are able to go to the doctor, they’re able to get prescription drugs, and they’re able to stave off serious illnesses that end up costing the U.S. taxpayer a lot more.”
—Steve Mirsky
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]