Science & Technology News

[GordMay]

How the coronavirus infects cells — and why Delta is so dangerous

Scientists are unpicking the life cycle of SARS-CoV-2, the tricks it uses to evade detection, and the quirks that make the Delta variant so dangerous. Researchers have discovered key adaptations, that help the virus to grab on to human cells with surprising strength, and then hide itself once inside. Later, as it leaves cells, SARS-CoV-2 executes a crucial processing step, to prepare its particles for infecting even more human cells.

More ➥ https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02039-y

[GordMay]

Finding our place in the universe

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, 'Science News' looks back at a century of astronomy.

In that time, Earth has been booted out from its place at the centre of the Universe, spacecraft have flown past every one of the Solar System’s planets, and and the Milky Way, we now know, is just one of billions of galaxies, positively packed with exoplanets.
A century ago, the Milky Way galaxy was the entirety of the known universe. We had no idea what made the stars shine, and only one star, our own sun, was known to harbor any planets. Of those planets, humans had explored only one: Earth.

Much more [longer read] ➥ https://www.sciencenews.org/century/...s-solar-system

[SailOar]

MIT Predicted in 1972 That Society Will Collapse This Century. New Research Shows We’re on Schedule.

• The book "The Limits to Growth" (1972) argued that industrial civilization was bound to collapse if corporations and governments continued to pursue continuous economic growth, no matter the costs
• The Business as Usual (BAU) scenario — predicted that the world's economic growth would peak around the 2040s, then take a sharp downturn, along with the global population, food availability and natural resources
• A new analysis examines data across 10 key variables, namely population, fertility rates, mortality rates, industrial output, food production, services, non-renewable resources, persistent pollution, human welfare, and ecological footprint
• It found that the latest data most closely aligns with two particular scenarios, ‘BAU2’ (business-as-usual) and ‘CT’ (comprehensive technology).
• “BAU2 and CT scenarios show a halt in growth within a decade or so from now,” the study concludes. “Both scenarios thus indicate that continuing business as usual, that is, pursuing continuous growth, is not possible. Even when paired with unprecedented technological development and adoption, business as usual as modeled by LtG would inevitably lead to declines in industrial capital, agricultural output, and welfare levels within this century.”

The study was published in the Yale Journal of Industrial Ecology and is available on the KPMG website.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by SailOar

MIT Predicted in 1972 That Society Will Collapse This Century. New Research Shows We’re on Schedule.

• The book "The Limits to Growth" (1972) argued that industrial civilization was bound to collapse if corporations and governments continued to pursue continuous economic growth, no matter the costs
• The Business as Usual (BAU) scenario — predicted that the world's economic growth would peak around the 2040s, then take a sharp downturn, along with the global population, food availability and natural resources
• A new analysis examines data across 10 key variables, namely population, fertility rates, mortality rates, industrial output, food production, services, non-renewable resources, persistent pollution, human welfare, and ecological footprint
• It found that the latest data most closely aligns with two particular scenarios, ‘BAU2’ (business-as-usual) and ‘CT’ (comprehensive technology).
• “BAU2 and CT scenarios show a halt in growth within a decade or so from now,” the study concludes. “Both scenarios thus indicate that continuing business as usual, that is, pursuing continuous growth, is not possible. Even when paired with unprecedented technological development and adoption, business as usual as modeled by LtG would inevitably lead to declines in industrial capital, agricultural output, and welfare levels within this century.”

The study was published in the Yale Journal of Industrial Ecology and is available on the KPMG website.

And yet all of their dire predictions that time has expired for . Have not happened due to ....( wait for it)......... SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY!!!

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by SailOar

MIT Predicted in 1972 That Society Will Collapse This Century. New Research Shows We’re on Schedule. ...

“The limits to growth” ~ by Donella Meadows, Dennis Meadows, Jørgen Randers, and William W. Behrens III [1972]
➥ http://www.donellameadows.org/wp-con...an-version.pdf
➥ https://donellameadows.org/wp-conten...an-version.pdf

“A Synopsis: Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update” ~ by Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, & Jørgen Randers [2004]
➥ https://donellameadows.org/archives/...0-year-update/

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by newhaul

And yet all of their dire predictions that time has expired for . Have not happened due to ....( wait for it)......... SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY!!!

That’s a nice simple formula , like ‘42', but for perpetual motion.

For Sale: Starter motor for Perpetual Motion Machine.
Only used once.

I would have told an infinite loop joke ...
but you’d never hear the end of it.

[GordMay]

Water transformed into shiny, golden metal
If you can’t turn water into gold, like a good alchemist would, the next best thing might be to transform water, itself, into a shiny, metallic material.
Researchers have achieved that feat [1], by forming a thin layer of water around electron-sharing alkali metals.
The water stayed in a metallic state for only a few seconds, but the experiment did not require the high pressures, that are normally needed, to turn non-metallic materials into electrically conductive metals.
More about ➥ https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02065-w

[1] “Spectroscopic evidence for a gold-coloured metallic water solution” ~ by Philip E. Mason et al
➥ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03646-5

[jimbunyard]

Originally Posted by SailOar

MIT Predicted in 1972 That Society Will Collapse This Century. New Research Shows We’re on Schedule.

• The book "The Limits to Growth" (1972) argued that industrial civilization was bound to collapse if corporations and governments continued to pursue continuous economic growth, no matter the costs
• The Business as Usual (BAU) scenario — predicted that the world's economic growth would peak around the 2040s, then take a sharp downturn, along with the global population, food availability and natural resources
• A new analysis examines data across 10 key variables, namely population, fertility rates, mortality rates, industrial output, food production, services, non-renewable resources, persistent pollution, human welfare, and ecological footprint
• It found that the latest data most closely aligns with two particular scenarios, ‘BAU2’ (business-as-usual) and ‘CT’ (comprehensive technology).
• “BAU2 and CT scenarios show a halt in growth within a decade or so from now,” the study concludes. “Both scenarios thus indicate that continuing business as usual, that is, pursuing continuous growth, is not possible. Even when paired with unprecedented technological development and adoption, business as usual as modeled by LtG would inevitably lead to declines in industrial capital, agricultural output, and welfare levels within this century.”

The study was published in the Yale Journal of Industrial Ecology and is available on the KPMG website.

And, not a moment too soon...for the rest of the Earthly life forms. (and 'us' too)

[GordMay]

A 2019 article [1], in the journal Nature, listed nine tipping points, around the world, that scientists are watching with growing concern. A prime example is the ice-sheets in parts of Antarctica and Greenland. Rather than gradually shrinking as the climate warms, research suggests the sheets could hit points of no return leading to rapid and irreversible ice loss, and a corresponding rise in global sea levels.

[1] “Climate tipping points — too risky to bet against” ~ by Timothy M. Lenton et al
➥ https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03595-0


Emergency: do the maths
We define emergency (E) as the product of risk and urgency. Risk (R) is defined by insurers as probability (p) multiplied by damage (D). Urgency (U) is defined in emergency situations as reaction time to an alert (τ) divided by the intervention time left to avoid a bad outcome (T). Thus:
E = R × U = p × D × τ / T
The situation is an emergency if both risk and urgency are high. If reaction time is longer than the intervention time left (τ / T > 1), we have lost control.

[Sheriffdep]

Originally Posted by GordMay

A 2019 article [1], in the journal Nature, listed nine tipping points, around the world, that scientists are watching with growing concern. A prime example is the ice-sheets in parts of Antarctica and Greenland. Rather than gradually shrinking as the climate warms, research suggests the sheets could hit points of no return leading to rapid and irreversible ice loss, and a corresponding rise in global sea levels.

[1] “Climate tipping points — too risky to bet against” ~ by Timothy M. Lenton et al
➥ https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03595-0


Emergency: do the maths
We define emergency (E) as the product of risk and urgency. Risk (R) is defined by insurers as probability (p) multiplied by damage (D). Urgency (U) is defined in emergency situations as reaction time to an alert (τ) divided by the intervention time left to avoid a bad outcome (T). Thus:
E = R × U = p × D × τ / T
The situation is an emergency if both risk and urgency are high. If reaction time is longer than the intervention time left (τ / T > 1), we have lost control.

Wow, what an article ---my placeholder while i rewrite it so that it is correct. No mention of Greenland actually gaining snow and ice, no mention that the Antarctic continent has actually grown, no mention of the Beaufort Gyre and if that currently spins opposite , which it will at some point, but due to the amount of ice there now, no mention that there have been more cold temperatures recorded than hot ones in the past two years . etc....

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Sheriffdep

Wow, what an article ---my placeholder while i rewrite it so that it is correct. No mention of Greenland actually gaining snow and ice, no mention that the Antarctic continent has actually grown, no mention of the Beaufort Gyre and if that currently spins opposite , which it will at some point, but due to the amount of ice there now, no mention that there have been more cold temperatures recorded than hot ones in the past two years . etc....

Remember one thing this article was in 2019 based on false data from 2018 and earlier

[SailOar]

Originally Posted by Sheriffdep

Wow, what an article ---my placeholder while i rewrite it so that it is correct. No mention of Greenland actually gaining snow and ice, no mention that the Antarctic continent has actually grown, no mention of the Beaufort Gyre and if that currently spins opposite , which it will at some point, but due to the amount of ice there now, no mention that there have been more cold temperatures recorded than hot ones in the past two years . etc....

What there is no mention of is the FACT that deniers routinely make fantastically false statements with no supporting data.


https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-m...t-4/assessment

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by SailOar

What there is no mention of is the FACT that deniers routinely make fantastically false statements with no supporting data.


https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-m...t-4/assessment

Really bunch of bs there . Just look at the funding entity.
If that is so then explain this .

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Sheriffdep

Wow, what an article ---my placeholder while i rewrite it so that it is correct. No mention of Greenland actually gaining snow and ice ...

I look forward to your rewrite.

In the tug-of-war between coastal melting and inland ice buildup, the meltdown is winning in both Greenland and Antarctica.

Ice in eastern Antarctica, and central Greenland, thickened, slightly, from 2003 to 2019. Researchers suspect this is the result of increased snowfall, because in a warmer climate, more ocean water evaporates, and the air holds more moisture.

But a minor thickening of inland ice was no match for the massive ice losses along Greenland and Antarctica’s coastlines, researchers report online in ‘Science’ [A].
Greenland and Antarctica lost an average 200 billion and 118 billion metric tons of land ice per year, respectively, over this 16-year period.

Ice all around the coast of Greenland thinned drastically, due to warmer summer temperatures. But the most severe thinning happened on Greenland’s outlet glaciers, which are like a whole bunch of little fingers, that spread out into the ocean. Where the tips of these glacial fingers poke out from between cold fjords, and meet warmer ocean water, that water erodes the ice, causing the glaciers to flow out faster, and thin inland. Greenland’s southern Kangerdlugssuaq and Jakobshavn glaciers have thinned most rapidly — by 4 to 6 meters of ice thickness per year.

[A] “Pervasive ice sheet mass loss reflects competing ocean and atmosphere processes” ~ by Ben Smith et al [12 Jun 2020]
➥ https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6496/1239




As human-caused climate change warms the planet, ice loss has increased rapidly. According to a study [1] published in the journal Cryosphere, Earth has lost a staggering 28 trillion tonnes of ice since the mid-1990s, a large portion of which was from the Arctic, including the Greenland ice sheet.

Greenland lost more than 8.5 billion tons of surface mass on Tuesday, and 18.4 billion tons since Sunday, according to the Denmark Meteorological Institute. [3]

While this week's total ice loss is not as extreme as a similar event in 2019 (Greenland lost roughly 532 billion tons of ice, & global sea level rose permanently by 1.5 millimeters as a result) [2], the area of the ice sheet that's melting is larger. It's the third instance of extreme melting in the past decade, during which time the melting has stretched farther inland than the entire satellite era, which began in the 1970s.

Corrigendum to
“Review article: Earth’s ice imbalance”
➥ https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/1...orrigendum.pdf

[1] “Review article: Earth's ice imbalance” ~ by Thomas Slater et al [25 Jan 2021]
“... The overall rate of ice loss has increased by 57 % over the past 24 years compared to the 1990s ...
... there can be little doubt that the vast majority of Earth's ice loss is a direct consequence of climate warming.”
➥ https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/233/2021/

[2] “Return to rapid ice loss in Greenland and record loss in 2019 detected by the GRACE-FO satellites” ~ by Ingo Sasgen et al
➥ https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-020-0010-1

[3] Greenland Ice Sheet gains and loses mass on a daily basis [surface mass balance]
➥Surface Conditions: Polar Portal

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by newhaul

... If that is so then explain this .

Perhaps, you'd be so kind as to explain that unidentified illustration, or it's source.

Edit:
I see SailOar's explained it, for you.
I hope you & Sheriffdep are paying attention.