Day: September 25, 2020

The U.S. space agency NASA released the results of its first-ever agency-wide economic impact study Friday, indicating its work generated more than $64 billion for the U.S. economy last year. In a release on its official website, NASA said through all its activities during fiscal year 2019, the agency supported more than 312,000 jobs nationwide, and generated an estimated $7 billion in federal, state and local taxes throughout the country. NASA said it commissioned the study to better understand how the U.S. economy benefited from its work and paid back the investment by the federal government. FILE – NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine speaks at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., May 23, 2020.In the release, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said the study provides numbers and data to illustrate how taxpayer investment of one-half of one percent of the total federal budget in America’s space program pays off, in both a stronger economy and through advances in science and technology. The study showed that every state in the country saw some benefit from NASA activities, with 43 states seeing an economic impact of $10 million or more, and eight showing an impact of $1 billion or more. The analysis also showed that NASA’s “Moon to Mars” program alone generated $14 billion in economic output, brought in $1.5 billion in tax revenue and supported more than 69,000 jobs. The study said the program is expected to double those figures next year. The program aims to return people to the moon by 2024, and use it as a base for operations to Mars and elsewhere. The economic impact study also showed NASA has generated more than 2,000 technologies since 1976. The study was conducted by the Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement at the University of Illinois at Chicago. 
 
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Thousands of mostly young people gathered Friday in Berlin to demand more action on climate change, part of a global day of action for the environment.Defying gray skies, the participants, many on bicycles, brought placards and banners to a rally near the iconic Brandenburg Gate. Most wore face masks as a COVID-19 precaution. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus.Germany is a focal point for the demonstrations in Europe because it holds the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union, which together with Britain accounts for 22 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans.The climate has made headlines around the world recently, from melting Arctic ice to record Siberian heat to wildfires in California and elsewhere.German climate activist Luisa Neubauer told the crowd, “We’re here because we know that climate justice is possible as long as we keep fighting for it. That’s why we’re here today.”Fridays for Future activists protest calling for a “Global Day of Climate Action” in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 25, 2020.The demonstration was one of 3,000 scheduled to be held around the world Friday, as part of the youth activist movement “Fridays for Future.” COVID-19 restrictions forced many of the activities online.In Stockholm, the person considered to be the founder of the movement, teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, was in her usual location, in front of the Swedish parliament. She told a reporter the main goal of the protests was to raise awareness and sway public opinion on the urgency of climate issues.She said, “We need to treat the climate crisis as a crisis. It’s just as simple as that. The climate crisis has never once been treated as a crisis, and unless we treat it as a crisis, we won’t be able to so-called ‘solve’ it.’ ”In 2018, at age 15, Thunberg began skipping school on Fridays and going to the parliament to hold demonstrations for legislation on climate change. Soon, she was joined by others, and the protests eventually went viral through social media.
 
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The governor of the eastern U.S. state of Virginia announced Friday that he and his wife have tested positive for COVID-19.
 
Governor Ralph Northam said they were notified Wednesday that a staff member who works in the living quarters of their official residence developed symptoms and subsequently tested positive, after which the couple had their own tests done.
 
He said his wife, Pamela, is experiencing mild symptoms, while he remains asymptomatic.
 
The couple is isolating for 10 days, during which the governor is continuing his work.
 
Crews are also cleaning the governor’s mansion, and the Northams are working with state health officials on contact-tracing efforts to make sure anyone they may have been in contact with is aware of their positive tests.
 
Northam said the best thing people can do is “take this seriously.” 
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A new survey indicates more than 80% of people living in Britain with COVID-19 symptoms or who have had contact with someone who has tested positive are ignoring self-isolation guidelines.
 
The survey, released Friday and conducted by Kings College London and the National Health Service (NHS), found that only 18.2% of people who reported having symptoms of COVID-19 in the previous seven days have stayed isolated since their symptoms developed, and only 11.9% requested a COVID-19 test.
 
The research also shows fewer than half those surveyed were able to identify the symptoms of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.
 
The research also found that only 10.9% of people told to self-isolate after close contact with a COVID-19 case had done so for 14 days as required.
 
In a statement, the survey’s senior author, Kings College researcher Dr. James Rubin, said the research indicated that while the public seems to have good intentions to adhere to the test, trace and isolate guidelines, financial constraints are the most common reason given for non-compliance, among other factors.
 
Britain this week introduced fines of up to $12,780 for breaking self-isolation rules, and it is offering nearly $640 in support payments to low-paid workers who lose income from quarantining.
 
The study shows other reasons for non-compliance ranged from not knowing government guidance to being unable to identify the symptoms.
 
Kings College says the data was collected through surveys conducted among 30,000 people living in Britain between March and August of this year.
 
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As winter brings shorter days and lower temperatures to the Northern Hemisphere, there is a chance we could see more COVID-19 cases.But experts say it is still too early to know exactly how seasons will affect the virus. They emphasize that human behaviors are still the most important driver of the pandemic.“The most important factor at the moment is … the control measures that we have in place. Things such as social distancing and mask-wearing — those are really key to lowering transmission of disease at this point,” said Rachel Baker, infectious disease researcher at Princeton University.COVID and climateMany diseases, such as the flu, are seasonal, with cases spiking when the weather is cool and dry.“It’s well known that many respiratory viruses have seasonality,” said Akiko Iwasaki, professor of immunology at Yale University. “And so, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s actually elevated transmission during the winter months from COVID.”There are three main reasons why scientists think the coronavirus could be affected by climate.“The virus doesn’t like certain seasons, or our bodies don’t like certain seasons. Or it’s just that we’re putting more of our bodies together in closed spaces,” said Ben Zaitchik, associate professor of Earth and planetary sciences at Johns Hopkins University.SARS-CoV-2, the official name of the virus that causes COVID-19, is spread by respiratory droplets produced when people breathe, talk, sneeze or cough. The virus survives better in cold, dry conditions typical of temperate winters. Low humidity also promotes evaporation of virus droplets into tiny aerosol particles that linger in the air, increasing the risk of airborne transmission in winter.Cold weather may further increase disease spread by driving us indoors.“The longer that household contacts are together, the more likely they are to transmit [the virus],” John Lynch, professor of infectious diseases at the University of Washington, said at a press conference. “When we think about the places where we’re seeing transmissions occur, it’s mostly homes. It’s mostly constrained workplaces where people don’t have the ability to separate from each other.”Winter weather can also hinder the body’s ability to fend off viral infections. A lack of sunshine may deplete vitamin D levels and weaken the immune system, and one study found a link between low vitamin D levels and COVID-19 cases.Cold, dry winter air also damages the cells in our airways that clear away virus particles. If your body can’t get rid of these virus particles, it might take fewer virus particles to make you sick, or the disease might be more severe, Iwasaki said.Iwasaki recommends that people use humidifiers to moisten the air of homes and offices. She also said that masks can help.In addition to reducing spread of the virus, “another thing [a mask] does is it warms the nose and moistens the respiratory tract. So, I think masks are a great idea for multiple reasons, just even to boost this moisture inside the respiratory tract to better fight off the infection,” Iwasaki said.How will winter affect COVID?There’s good reason to believe that COVID-19 is sensitive to the seasons, and some studies have linked cold, dry conditions with outbreaks of the disease. But researchers say that weather takes a back seat at the early stages of a pandemic because everyone is susceptible to the virus.“When you have a population with no immunity to the virus, it spreads really well, no matter the climate conditions. So it just kind of takes off,” said Princeton’s Baker.In a new study, Baker predicts that human behaviors such as mask-wearing and social distancing will be the most important factors in slowing disease spread during winter in New York and other cities, although she notes that the study has not yet undergone a formal review process.But in areas where disease cases are slightly declining, “it’s possible that climate could give you enough of a boost of transmission to cause a large outbreak,” Baker said. “So, we are a bit worried that when winter comes, if you’re in a place that gets really cold, dry winters, it might be enough to push transmission [up], and then you’d start to see a growth in cases.”COVID-19: A future seasonal disease?As more people develop immunity to the virus after overcoming an infection or through vaccination, researchers say that COVID-19 could become a seasonal disease, with numbers of cases oscillating between the seasons.“As more of the population has had the virus, more of the population develops immunity to the virus,” Baker said. “As that immunity increases, then you’ll start to see more effects of climate.”However, the future of the disease will be shaped by what this immunity looks like — a question that has not yet been answered. Researchers predict that the timing and number of COVID-19 cases will hinge on the effectiveness of potential vaccines and how long immunity lasts.Disease predictions were very different depending on whether “SARS-CoV-2 is a type of virus where you get it once and you’re done, you can never transmit it again, you can never get infected again,” compared with “if it’s a type of virus where you might have some amount of protective immunity, but you could potentially be reinfected again,” said Caroline Wagner, assistant professor of bioengineering at McGill University.Slowing the spreadExperts emphasize that the course of the pandemic is still largely in our hands.“What we know works is social distancing, wearing masks or face coverings, and practicing good hand hygiene. If we stick with those things, we’re going to have really good success with interrupting transmission,” said the University of Washington’s Lynch.Jeanne Marrazzo, professor of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, agrees that we have the tools to deal with the potential of more cases in winter.“We know what to do. The question is, do we have the social, political and economic will? I think we have the medical will. We have the public health will. It’s just a question of, ‘Can we mobilize the community to continue to exercise the kinds of caution we need?’ ” said Marrazzo at a press conference.“As we face the coming months, I really, really hope we can pull together to recognize that we can change the trajectory if we work together,” she said. 
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Facebook’s highly anticipated independent oversight board, a group that will be empowered to overrule the company’s leadership on issues pertaining to the platform’s content moderation decisions, plans to launch in October, just in time for the November U.S. presidential election.The board was created by Facebook after the platform was criticized for its handling of problematic content, most recently a backlash over its decision to take no action in response to posts from U.S. President Donald Trump containing misinformation about mail-in voting and inflammatory language directed toward the Black Lives Matter anti-racism protests that erupted over the summer.Other platforms that contain user-generated content, such as Twitter, have taken measures to combat misinformation online, including attaching fact-checking warning labels to posts.Facebook has not yet announced whether the board will hear cases related to the election. Representatives from the company said that the board did not consider cases involving Trump’s posts in its preliminary hearings.  Reviewing removed postsMembers of the oversight board will review appeals only over posts that Facebook has taken down initially, instead of taking into consideration content that the company leaves up. It will also deal only with individual posts that fall under the areas where Facebook exercises editorial control.Content that is regulated by Facebook includes algorithms that shape how much distribution a post receives, taking down or leaving up Facebook groups, pages, and events, and whether to leave specific pieces of content up on the site.The board has been harshly criticized for starting by reviewing appeals concerning posts that were taken down, which experts say will have little impact on addressing problems like misinformation and hate speech that are rampant on the platform. Critics say that the long-awaited board has not moved fast enough to curb these issues before the election.  Prioritizing casesAccording to the board’s website, the criteria for the prioritization of cases has not been decided and is being debated by the board’s 20 members. While tens of thousands of cases are expected to be presented to the board, leaders say that the board will take only a small number of cases each year, most likely in the “tens or hundreds.”Board members include lawyers, academics, journalists and policy experts from around the world, who collectively speak 27 different languages and represent having lived in 29 different countries.Preparation leading up to the board’s launch includes educating members on Facebook’s community standards, international human rights law and receiving technical training on case management rolls that will allow members to receive and consider appeals.
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A new study released this week describes how binge drinking — consuming too much alcohol, too fast — affects the brain, leading to anxieties and other cognitive issues.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines binge drinking as a man consuming five or more drinks in about two hours; four drinks for a woman. The CDC reports the habit is growing problem in the United States, especially among young people, with 1 in 6 adults binge drinking about four times a month.Previous research examined the long-term effects of binge drinking on the brain, but this latest study, published Tuesday in the journal Science Signaling, focused specifically on immediate effects of binge drinking on the brain.To do this, the researchers from the University of Porto in Portugal gave an alcohol solution to mice, equivalent to 10 days of binge drinking, which spurred immune cells in mice brains to destroy the synapses — or connections — between neurons, leading to anxiety and other cognitive issues.University of Porto researcher João Relvas, co-author of the study, said in an interview, “Even for a short period of time, excessive drinking is likely to affect the brain, increasing the level of anxiety, a relevant feature in alcohol abuse and addiction.”Dangers of alcohol ‘underestimated’Relvas said further studies in humans could reveal the exact drinking patterns that spark synaptic dysfunction. But for now, Relvas cautioned that people should pay attention to their intake and follow public health guidelines on drinking in moderation.”The dangers of alcohol drinking, especially amongst the younger population, have been widely underestimated and excessive alcohol drinking is socially relatively well tolerated,” Relvas said.He said studies like theirs should help increase public awareness and education among people young and perhaps change the way society looks at alcohol consumption.Dietary guidelines determined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture define moderate drinking as up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men.
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A group of Apple Inc.’s critics, including Spotify Technology SA, Match Group Inc. and “Fortnite” creator Epic Games, have joined a nonprofit group that plans to advocate for legal and regulatory action to challenge the iPhone maker’s App Store practices. Apple charges a commission of between 15% and 30% for apps that use its in-app payment system and sets out extensive rules for apps in its App Store, which is the only way Apple allows consumers to download native apps to devices such as the iPhone. Those practices have drawn criticism and formal legal complaints from some developers. FILE – Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during an announcement of new products at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif., June 4, 2018.The Coalition for App Fairness, structured as a nonprofit based in Washington and Brussels, said it plans to advocate legal changes that would force Apple to change. Beyond Epic, Match and Spotify, other members include smaller firms such as Basecamp, Blix, Blockchain.com, Deezer, and Tile, along with developers from Europe, including the European Publishers Council, News Media Europe and Protonmail. Epic is suing Apple over antitrust claims in a U.S. federal court in California, while Spotify has filed an antitrust complaint against Apple in the European Union. Sarah Maxwell, a representative for the group, declined to comment on how much funding the Coalition for App Fairness has raised and from whom. Apple declined to comment but on Thursday unveiled a new section of its website explaining the benefits of its approach, saying it had blocked 150,000 apps last year for privacy violations. It says App Store fees fund the creation of developer resources such as 160,000 technical documents and sample code to help developers build apps. Mike Sax, founder of The App Association, a group sponsored by Apple, said in a statement that the new coalition’s “big brands do not speak for the thousands of app makers that are the foundation of the app economy.” 
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