ANTI-SCIENCE - The Florida Law

"Two Sad Ironies In Florida Passing Its 'Anti-Science' Law" by Marshall Shepherd, Forbes 7/1/2017

COMMENT:  Mr. Shepherd, you don't understand, the members of the legislator and the Governor likely flunked science in high school.

It is officially called Florida House Bill 989, and it was signed into law by Florida Governor Rick Scott on June 26th, 2017 after passing both chambers of the house.  According to the National Center for Science Education's website:

• With the law now in place, any county resident — not just any parent with a child in the country's public schools, as was the case previously — can now file a complaint about instructional materials in the county's public schools, and the school will now have to appoint a hearing officer to hear the complaint.

Does this mean that some "Joe or Jane" public can file a complaint if they think schools should be teaching that the Earth is flat and not an oblate spheroid?  Many of the affidavits filed in support of the bill complained about evolution and climate change being taught.  One even complained that they have seen global warming being taught as a reality.  Hellooooo000, it is a reality.  Numerous credible sources show that our climate system is warming, and even many conservatives are now acknowledging the threat.  Sea level doesn't care about "red" and "blue," it just rises.  This week one of the climate doubter's signature arguments was dealt a blow.  A new study by some of the pioneering satellite climate scientists found that their measurements of warming had been underestimated.  What struck me about the Florida law is that there are two sad ironies with this so-called "Anti-Science" Law.

Florida is particularly vulnerable to climate change.  This first irony has implications for life and property.  This week arguably the most comprehensive study estimating economic damage from climate change was published in one of the world's top peer-review journals, Science.  The study examined economic damage as a function of crime, energy, storms, human mortality, and labor.  A key finding is that there is an economic cost of about 1.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) for every 1°C rise in temperature.  They also found that Southern states in the United States are most vulnerable, particularly Florida.  A map of the most economically-vulnerable counties can be found by clicking this link.  My colleague Pam Knox also made me aware of more detailed maps showing each contributing factor.  I have worked as a scientist developing major satellite missions, but it does not take a rocket scientist to understand why Florida is so vulnerable.  It is a peninsula state vulnerable to increasing sea level rise, saltwater intrusion in its drinking water supply, and hurricanes.  Joe Romm recently wrote an excellent analysis of climate change being the nightmare scenario for Florida's Coasts.  Florida Congresswoman Schultz opined last month in the Miami Herald

Human activity is contributing to climate change.  Its effects, expected to only worsen over time, are happening right now in South Florida.  Hiding from that reality will not change it.  And if the near-universal conclusions of climate scientists aren't enough for him (referring to President Trump's exit from the Paris climate agreement) perhaps he should consult with the property appraisers or insurance companies in South Florida who are already factoring sea level rise into their home value assessments.....Ask any of my constituents about an experience they've recently had with flooding, and you'll likely get a lengthy story.  Listen to enough stories about South Florida's ever-increasing king tides, and you'll hear about fish swimming in the streets.

Florida has been a leader in science.  The other irony comes from reflecting on some of the greatest science and technology achievements in history.  NASA is a national treasure, and I was privileged to work at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center for twelve years as a scientist working on Earth science related missions.  As I left NASA to join the faculty at the University of Georgia, people were stunned that I was leaving NASA.  It is that awesome.  One of the interesting things as I reflect on from my NASA days is that people would always ask me if I worked at Kennedy Space Center.  My answer was always no.  NASA has several different space centers around the United States, and they all have different specialities.  As I reflect on this new Florida law, it is almost a slap in the face to a state that so many associate with scientific greatness and the space program.  It is also now hosts several private enterprises like Space X, which are pushing the boundaries of science and technology.  These companies will need a scientifically literate workforce not students spewing fringe theories.  This Florida law sends a dangerous message about sound science and would make me nervous if I was a parent sending a child into this type of situation.

Such a law opens up so many "cans of worms" that another commentary could be written on that topic.  We are currently in a time period where opinions and beliefs mean more than facts.  If you stand on the top of your roof, do no get too close to the edge because there is still gravity whether you believe so or not.  As I write this, CBS News is reporting that the current White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is unstaffed and there is currently no person appointed as White House Science Advisor.  There is still no NASA Administrator appointed either.  We have officials at the Department of Energy that dispute published science that people from both sides of the aisle acknowledge.  We have an EPA Administrator calling for silly "red and blue" team climate reviews when science journals, conferences, the National Academies, and others already provide sound mechanisms for independent review.

Pay attention to what is going on with science education and policy at the local, regional, and national levels because our kids and their future depend on our diligence now.

And perhaps the ultimate irony as someone suggested in a tweet, it adds more layers of process and government intervention.....For more on this travesty, one of my former professors at Florida State, University, Dr. Paul Ruscher, blogged his thoughts, and it is worth the read.

GAMES - New 'Legend of Zelda'

"The Coolest Thing About The New 'Legend of Zelda' For Wii U" by Erik Kain, Forbes

Nintendo had a good showing at the Game Awards Friday night.

The company won Developer of the Year, took Best Fighting Game for Super Smash Bros. and Best Racing Game and Best Family Game for Mario Kart 8.

But perhaps the very best moment for Nintendo at the award show was the extended gameplay footage of the upcoming video game, The Legend of Zelda—the first new game in the franchise to hit Wii U.

You can watch that footage yourself right here:

The game looks lovely, and the big open world is full of promise.  I can’t wait to how the designers of the carefully designed Zelda franchise handle a truly open-world.

But the coolest thing we saw—to me at least—was the way the game handles horseback-riding.

As Link rides about Hyrule on the back of his longtime equine companion, Epona, he can do so “hands-free.”  Link, and by extension the gamers who play Link, can trust in the horse to keep riding without having to steer.

Epona will ride around trees because “real horses don’t run into trees very often” producer Eiji Aounuma remarks to Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto.  It’s one of those funny, obvious observations that makes so much sense but isn’t really evoked in game design at all.  In some games it’s hard not to run your horse into trees and other obstacles.  In Nintendo’s hands, horses don’t just run into trees because gamers can’t steer.  Horses, thinking beasts that they are, run around them.

This frees up Link to fight—with sword and bow—and so forth.

The other neat thing about horseback riding in the new Zelda game is Link’s ability to leap off of Epona and slow down time midair.  We saw a CGI animation of this in the game’s reveal trailer.  Now we see that it’s an actual gameplay mechanic, not just a flashy, cinematic CGI moment.

If the care going into Link and Epona’s traversal options is any indication, we’re looking at something very special in the Wii U’s first new Zelda title.  It must be getting harder and harder to not own this console.

NASA - Mars Journey and SETI

"How NASA crews could sleep for 6 months on the journey to Mars" by James Rogers, Fox News 10/8/2014

Existing medical techniques are laying the foundations for an ambitious research project to send astronauts into a deep sleep on a six-month journey to Mars, according to the engineer leading the study.

"There's technology being used in the medical community that could support this - there's a wealth of data out there to support it," John Bradford, president of Atlanta-based SpaceWorks, told FoxNews.com.  "It's a big step, but it could be adopted for space flight."

The NASA-funded study began 12 months ago, and conjures up images of science fiction - putting astronauts into a deep sleep, or torpor, during the long six-month journey to Mars.

“I don’t think that we could go to Mars without something like this technology,” Bradford said.  Putting the crew into a deep sleep, he explained, would significantly reduce the amount of supplies and infrastructure needed to support the long space journey, from food to onboard living space.

The study predicts that putting a spacecraft’s crew into torpor, or stasis state, would cut the mission requirements from 400 tons to 220 tons of equipment and supplies.

Bradford told FoxNews.com that the torpor could be achieved by a technique called therapeutic hypothermia, which is already used in hospitals, albeit for a much shorter time period.

Therapeutic, or protective, hypothermia lowers a patient’s body temperature to reduce the risk of tissue injury following, say, a cardiac arrest when blood flow is limited.

In the thermal management system envisaged by SpaceWorks, a tube inserted into an astronaut’s nasal cavity will emit a cooled gas, lowering their temperature by about 10 degrees.  Low-dose drugs will also be administered to suppress their shiver reflex and ease their passage into a deep sleep.

"Other than the duration, the procedural aspects of this are pretty benign," said Bradford.

Technologies are already commercially available in this area, such as the RhinoChill IntraNasal cooling system, which is used to induce therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest.

However, SpaceWorks acknowledges that there's a lot more research needed before someone is placed in a six-month sleep.  Up to now, the longest torpor induced by therapeutic hypothermia is 14 days, according to Bradford.

The engineer told FoxNews.com that, while the research aims to wake astronauts just once, at the end of their journey, other sleep durations may be used.  The crew, he explained, could sleep in shifts, with each astronaut in torpor for about two weeks and then conscious for two days, ensuring that one crew member is always awake during the mission.

While in stasis state, astronauts would be fed intravenously with an aqueous solution of carbohydrates, amino acids, dextrose, and lipids, according to Bradford.  "They would not have any solid waste - it would be strictly urine," he said, noting that a catheter would be used to dispose of the liquid.

The medical industry is also developing technologies such as infection-resistant IV lines that could prove useful during the flight to Mars, Bradford said.

The crew could be brought out of their torpor by turning off the cooling gas and shivering suppressant.  "Nominally, it would take about two hours to wake somebody," said the SpaceWorks president.  "It would probably take a couple of days [for the astronauts] to get [fully] acclimated - our testing will include cognitive tests to examine their mental faculties when they wake up."

Bradford estimates that a typical Mars mission will involve a six month journey, followed by a year and a half on the red planet, and a six month journey back to earth.

While NASA has successfully completed unmanned missions to Mars, such as the Curiosity rover, putting humans on the planet is a much more challenging endeavor.  NASA, for example, has a 2035 target for landing humans on Mars, although SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has predicted that people could be on Mars within 10 to 12 years.

SpaceWorks’ Bradford expects to see human Mars missions in 20 years, noting that the deep sleep research project is still in its infancy.

“There’s a ways to go,” he told FoxNews.com.  “We have concluded the phase one effort, which is developing the initial design, the engineering details, and medical plausibility - we’re now looking at the next steps, which will be continued studies of the engineering challenges.”

"Here's How NASA Is Expanding Its Search For Alien Life" by Eric Mack, Forbes 10/8/2014

Over the next five years, NASA and seven partner institutions will be taking on new projects to help paint a more complete picture about how life comes to be in the universe.   The projects include preparing to bring back samples of the Martian terrain to Earth, investigating the role of comets and asteroids in delivering water and organic compounds around the solar system and researching how our own planet has managed to sustain life for so much of its history.

This week, NASA announced the winners of its seventh Cooperative Agreement Notice grant competition (CAN7), who will receive $50 million between them to conduct their research.

There are no plans to build a Starship Enterprise to hop from galaxy to galaxy in search of aliens among the projects, rather they will all take place here on Earth.

A team at the SETI Institute will be looking into the best ways to ensure that a planned 2020 NASA mission to bring back samples from Mars selects the ideal scoops of Maritan soil or rock and takes the best care of that precious cargo.  Another project based at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. will use natural hydrothermal chimney systems on our own planet as models to investigate how conditions on icy worlds such as Europa, Ganymede, and Enceladus might be able to support life.

A team from the University of Colorado at Boulder will examine the potential of how rocks might power life on planets such as Mars when their chemical energy is released through interaction with water.  Others will look at how Earth’s history might hold key secrets to the search for E.T., like a University of California at Riverside project to examine the history of oxygen in our own atmosphere and oceans.

“The intellectual scope of astrobiology is vast, from understanding how our planet went from lifeless to living, to understanding how life has adapted to Earth’s harshest environments, to exploring other worlds with the most advanced technologies to search for signs of life,” said Mary Voytek, director of NASA’s astrobiology program.

Each project team will receive about $8 million and join five continuing astrobiology project teams already participating in the program at the University of Washington in Seattle; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge; University of Wisconsin, Madison; University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; and University of Southern California, Los Angeles.