Wis Senate Candidates Wrestle With Health Policy Issues
Medicare and the health law also are emerging as flashpoints in Pennsylvania’s Senate contest and various House races. Kaiser Health News: Wis. Senate Candidates Spar Over Health IssuesThe hard-fought campaign for an open Senate seat in Wisconsin—a centrist state that recently has become politically torn—has delved deeply into the politics of health policy and Medicare (Cohen, 10/22).Politico Pro: DSCC Ad Focuses On Thompson’s Medicare SlipTommy Thompson’s slip of the tongue on Medicare last summer was always going to be hard for the Democrats to the resist. And sure enough, they’re pouncing. In a new radio ad out Monday, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee seizes on the Republican Wisconsin Senate candidate’s comments that he would “do away” with both Medicaid and Medicare. The ad features a clip of Thompson saying, “Who better than me … to do away with Medicaid and Medicare?” during a speech to a tea party group in June (Smith, 10/22).The Washington Post: In Pennsylvania, Sen. Robert Casey Gets Unexpected Republican ChallengeCasey finally began running an ad that links Smith to the Senate conservatives who would overhaul Medicare and Social Security, a key issue for a state that has one of the nation’s oldest populations. “This isn’t just a one-liner. They are deadly serious,” Casey warned supporters. The aim is to define (GOP contender Tom) Smith as a fringe member of the tea party movement (Kane, 10/22).The Associated Press: Obama Health Care Law A Flashpoint In 3rd DistrictU.S. Rep. Charles Boustany (of Louisiana) has voted to repeal President Barack Obama’s signature health care overhaul more than 30 times in Congress. That hasn’t stopped his congressional race opponent, U.S. Rep. Jeff Landry, from attacking Boustany as a supporter of the law known as Obamacare. In a recurring point of attack, Landry has run ads saying Boustany has backed many of the broader ideas in the health care law, called the Affordable Care Act (10/22).Los Angeles Times: After 40 Years, California’s Rep. Pete Stark Faces Tough BattleStark first gained national attention as the “hippie banker” who, during the Vietnam War, put a peace symbol on the headquarters of the bank he founded in the East Bay. He was an architect of landmark legislation that allowed workers to extend health coverage for a time after leaving their jobs and required emergency rooms to screen and stabilize anyone who showed up at their doors, regardless of their ability to pay. He also played an important role in developing the 2010 Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s healthcare law (Simon, 10/23). This is part of the KHN Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription. Wis. Senate Candidates Wrestle With Health Policy Issues
This is part of the KHN Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription. Navigating The Health Law’s New Insurance Options In some states, the task of helping consumers find their way through the health law’s new online insurance marketplace has fallen to “navigators.” In general, though, news outlets report on the strategies and public outreach efforts underway in locations across the country. The Associated Press: S. Texas Provides Gauge On Health Care Law ImpactPromoters of the new federal health care law have spent months crisscrossing border communities in South Texas, speaking to church congregations and making presentations in community centers where some of the nation’s largest pockets of uninsured can be found (9/29).The Associated Press: Florida Pushes Health Care Law EducationWith less than 24 hours until the launch of one of the key components of the new federal health law, hundreds of health counselors and volunteers are fanning out across the state, knocking on doors, working phone banks and manning tables at concerts and sporting events to tell people how to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (Kennedy, 9/29).The CT Mirror: Pitching Obamacare In Hartford, Home Of 34,000 UninsuredWith about 3.4 percent of the state’s population, Hartford is home to close to 10 percent of Connecticut’s uninsured. And so, as efforts intensify to get the state’s uninsured covered through new options becoming available under the federal health reform law, Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra has charged the agencies he oversees with making a special push to reach “the Hartford 34,000” (Becker, 9/30). The Philadelphia Inquirer: Becoming A Navigator Is No Simple MatterIt happened during the exam for Eligibility and Enrollment–an SAT flashback. I was back in high school baffled by questions with multiple-choice answers so nuanced they would fluster a philosopher. … But this wasn’t the SATs. I was testing to become a navigator. Not one who directs airplanes, ships, or that annoying GPS voice that continually says “recalculating.” No, I was studying to become a navigator for the Affordable Care Act (Calandra, 9/29).
Los Angeles Times: A California Solution For A Medicaid Quirk The 2010 federal health care reform law required virtually all adult Americans to carry insurance, starting this year. And to help make policies affordable, it offered subsidies to lower-income households while expanding the Medicaid insurance program to more of the poorest residents. But there’s a key difference between those two groups: Only those in the Medicaid program may find their estates billed after they die to pay back some of the aid (9/9). The Washington Post: Va. GOP Bemoans The Cost Of Medicaid Expansion, But Those Without Insurance Pay The Virginia legislature is expected to convene a special session next week to discuss the crippling problem of 1 million citizens who lack health insurance. Note that we said lawmakers will “discuss” the problem, not “resolve,” “tackle” or even “ease” it. The plain fact is that the Republicans who control things in Richmond have made clear that they have no intention of dealing with the commonwealth’s coverage gap in a serious way — much less tapping $2 billion in federal funding to extend coverage to some 400,000 Virginians by expanding Medicaid under Obamacare (9/9).MSNBC: Mike Pence’s Medicaid Problem Yet despite his efforts to cultivate the fiscal conservative vote, [Indiana Gov. Mike] Pence still has a major dark spot on his record that could land him in trouble with the GOP’s Tea Party base: his administration’s decision to expand Indiana’s Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) as an alternative to the Medicaid expansion made possible under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Gov. Pence has described his so-called HIP 2.0 plan as a conservative alternative to outright Medicaid expansion, but many conservative groups aren’t convinced (Ned Resnikoff, 9/10).The New York Times’ The Upshot: Narrow Health Networks: Maybe They’re Not So Bad The proliferation of these more limited plans [with fewer doctors and hospitals], called narrow networks, has worried consumer advocates and insurance regulators. The concern is that people will struggle to find the care they need if their choices are limited. Maybe we don’t have to worry so much. A new study suggests that, done right, a narrow network can succeed in saving money and helping certain patients get appropriate health care (Margot Sanger-Katz, 9/9).The Washington Post’s Plum Line: Even In Romney States, More Want To Keep Obamacare Than Repeal It The new Washington Post/ABC News poll finds that even in the states carried by Mitt Romney, there is slightly more support for keeping Obamacare than repealing it. No, this doesn’t mean the health law is a winner for Dems or that approval of it is rising. But it does suggest reasons for optimism about the law’s long-term prospects (Greg Sargent, 9/9). The Wall Street Journal’s Washington Wire:The Media’s Challenge When the ACA Cools As A Political StoryAs the image above shows, reporters and pundits–including some of the most respected ones I know–have different takes on the importance of Obamacare as an election issue now that implementation of the law is moving forward and some of the controversy around it has cooled. Observers are split: Some emphasize the law’s decline as a hot political issue, others its staying power as a rallying cry for the right, and a few suggest that the ACA may emerge as an issue Democrats want to run on (Drew Altman, 9/10). Bloomberg: Obamacare Premiums Are Magical Mystery Tour Last week, we finally learned the prices for the new benchmark plans for Obamacare. The good news: Prices are falling slightly. The bad news: Contrary to optimistic early reports, that doesn’t mean that everyone’s costs are falling; consumers will have to be attentive to make sure that their costs don’t go up. The worse news: We won’t actually know what effect the Affordable Care Act is having on insurance prices until 2017, when a bunch of temporary subsidies for insurers expire (Megan McArdle, 9/9). Bloomberg: Bill Kristol’s Still Wrong On Health Care Sahil Kapur dragged out Bill Kristol’s famous 1993 memo about President Bill Clinton’s health care reform plan. Kapur argues that Kristol’s doomsaying about the politics of health care turned out to be true and that this dynamic will benefit Democrats now — as Kristol feared would happen if the Clinton plan had been passed and implemented. Wrong! (Jonathan Bernstein, 9/9). The New York Times’ The Upshot: Can We Have a Fact-Based Conversation About End-of-Life Planning? Dealing with health care needs at the end of life is a difficult but unavoidable issue in an aging society with rising health care costs like ours. After a failed attempt to deal with the issue as part of the Affordable Care Act, it may again be returning to the policy agenda. Can we avoid another catastrophic bout of misinformation? (Brendan Nyhan, 9/10).The Washington Post: The Global Complacency On Ebola Must End The Ebola epidemic now sweeping West Africa is a public health catastrophe, yet the world’s response has been to treat it like a faraway monsoon or volcano, perhaps frightening but not something that much can be done about. This complacency is wrong-headed and dangerous. The catastrophe is worsening by the day because of the actions and inactions of people, those on the ground and those far away (9/9). Viewpoints: Medicaid And Assets; A Surprising Look At Narrow Networks This is part of the KHN Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
An incredible deal on the Huawei Mate 20 Pro has just become available, allowing you to make the flagship device yours for just £24 per month.The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is an incredibly powerful smartphone with a large edge-to-edge screen and a great triple camera. If you’re a power user, this could be a great choice for your next device. This deal offers the smartphone, which had an RRP of £899 at launch, for just £24 per month and £40 upfront (with the code TRUSTED10) — for which you’ll get a monthly allowance of 10GB of mobile data. Huawei Mate 20 Pro – Huge Data DealHuawei Mate 20 Pro – 10GB of data, unlimited calls and texts on O2 (use code TRUSTED10)At just £40 upfront (with the code TRUSTED10) and a measly £24 a month, you can get one of the best smartphones of 2018 alongside a whopping 10GB to keep you streaming for ages.Mobiles.co.uk|£40 upfront w/code|£24/monthView Deal£24/month|£40 upfront w/code|Mobiles.co.uk The 6.39-inch screen is not just one of the biggest screens, it’s also one of the very best. Contrast is phenomenal, and colours are stunningly vibrant, making HDR videos in particular look incredible and irresistible. The one small complaint we had is that the sides of the screen are curved, which takes some getting used to.The battery is also very impressive; we found that it lasted us from 8am one day until midnight the next, which is far better than most phones on the market. Not only does it have a hefty 4200mAh capacity, but the phone is supplied with a speedy 40W fast charger than can replenish the battery from nothing to 65-70% in just 30 minutes.Related: Amazon Prime Day Phone DealsThe processor is the 7nm Kirin 980, which is very powerful and also efficient, putting most other Android phones in the shade. Everything feels quick and smooth with this snappy bit of hardware, whether you’re streaming videos or playing games.Camera performance puts this device firmly in the first rank, as its three rear sensors give the user a tremendous amount of versatility. The main camera alone boasts an impressive resolution of 40-megapixels. Huawei Mate 20 Pro – Huge Data DealHuawei Mate 20 Pro – 10GB of data, unlimited calls and texts on O2 (use code TRUSTED10)At just £40 upfront (with the code TRUSTED10) and a measly £24 a month, you can get one of the best smartphones of 2018 alongside a whopping 10GB to keep you streaming for ages.Mobiles.co.uk|£40 upfront w/code|£24/monthView Deal£24/month|£40 upfront w/code|Mobiles.co.uk This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Sign up for the Mobile NewsletterSign Up Please keep me up to date with special offers and news from Goodtoknow and other brands operated by TI Media Limited via email. You can unsubscribe at any time. If you’re looking for a highly capable smartphone that can deal with anything you throw at it, not to mention its enviable battery life and high-performing camera, then go for this deal quickly — it probably won’t stick around at this price.Want to stay up to date with Amazon Prime Day 2019? We’ve got you covered. For more amazing offers, follow us @TrustedDealsUKWe may earn a commission if you click a deal and buy an item. That’s why we want to make sure you’re well-informed and happy with your purchase, so that you’ll continue to rely on us for your buying advice needs.
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Al Charest / Postmedia Facebook Comment More Reddit Darren Makowichuk / Postmedia It was not a close call. Despite all the hand-wringing, all the reminders that the polls had gotten it wrong in Alberta before, in the end the province’s election unfolded precisely as expected: Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party won, handily.Just after 4 a.m. MT Wednesday, the UCP led or had been elected in 63 of the province’s 87 ridings, with the NDP, diminished to opposition status after their single term in government, leading or elected in the remaining 24. The NDP looked set to hold nearly all of Edmonton, with the UCP sweeping much of the rest of the province.Kenney entered UCP headquarters at Calgary’s Stampede Grounds Tuesday night in the blue pickup truck he made famous on the campaign trail. As a “build that pipe” chant went up in the room, the UCP leader stopped the crowd to correct them. It’s not just one pipeline we need, it’s several, he said. “It’s build those pipes,” said Kenney.“Today, we Albertans begin to fight back.”Alberta United Conservative leader Jason Kenney on election night at Big Four Roadhouse on the Stampede grounds in Calgary. April 17, 20199:55 AM EDT Filed underCanadian Politics THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson Twitter 716 Comments Jason Franson / The Canadian Press David Bloom / Postmedia Kenney’s victory sets up a long-anticipated fight with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal government in Ottawa. In his time on Alberta’s opposition benches, Kenney seemed to direct as much criticism at Trudeau as at Notley. The primary point of friction has been the federal climate change plan. Kenney has vowed to make scrapping Alberta’s carbon tax his first order of business. That would lead to the federal carbon-pricing plan being imposed in Alberta, but Kenney has vowed that under his leadership Alberta will use the courts to challenge the federal plan’s constitutionality, the same approach taken by Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick.Trudeau was asked in Kitchener, Ont., earlier Tuesday whether he was concerned about his climate plan should Kenney win.“We have chosen to put a price on pollution right across the country and there are conservative politicians who are using taxpayer money to fight a price on pollution in court,” he responded.“They are using your dollars to try to make pollution free again, which makes no sense.”But in a statement late Tuesday, Trudeau took a more conciliatory tone, offering Kenney “sincere congratulations.”“I look forward to working with the provincial government,” Trudeau said, “to create good, middle class jobs, build infrastructure, and grow the businesses and industries at the heart of Alberta’s prosperity so the province can remain competitive in our changing economy.”Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley and her son Ethan vote in the provincial election in Edmonton on Tuesday.
Stuart Thomson and Kenney’s victory marked the culmination of a years-long plan. The former Conservative cabinet minister left his seat in Ottawa in 2016 — after holding it for nearly two decades — with hopes of uniting Alberta’s fractured provincial conservative movement. The 2015 election saw the Progressive Conservatives, who had governed the province since 1971, hobbled by a split with the breakaway Wildrose Party. Vote-splitting between the two right-wing parties allowed Notley’s New Democrats to take power for the first time in the province’s history.“As proud of I am of our record, the fact is the people of Alberta have spoken,” Notley, fighting a cold, told supporters at NDP headquarters on Tuesday night. It was a fiery concession speech, with Notley, who retained her seat, vowing to assume the role of opposition leader and “make sure that our vision of Alberta endures.”“I believe we have set a much higher standard for ethics and honesty in government.”Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley gives her concession speech following the 2019 election. ‘Today we begin to fight back’: Jason Kenney’s UCP wins majority in Alberta election It was not a close call: Within 45 minutes after polls closed, it was clear Kenney would defeat Rachel Notley and the NDP Share this story’Today we begin to fight back’: Jason Kenney’s UCP wins majority in Alberta election Tumblr Pinterest Google+ LinkedIn Email Jake Edmiston Tyler Dawson, Kenney has promised that his UCP government will start with a bang, launching a frantic first 100 days of legislation to undo the work of the previous NDP government. Beyond repealing the provincial carbon tax, their first move will be to make law a bill passed last year that would “turn off the taps” on oil and gas shipments to British Columbia, a move Kenney hopes will give him leverage if the west coast province tries to further interfere with the expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline.After that, Kenney will begin knocking down the many dominos contained in his massive campaign platform, with a focus on boosting investment in the province. Cutting the corporate tax rate, lowering the youth minimum wage and big push on deregulation are all on the docket in Kenney’s first session.“Tonight I send a message to businesses everywhere: if you want to benefit from what will be the lowest taxes in Canada, a government that will cut its red tape burden by at least one third, with Canada’s best educated population and a deep culture of enterprise and innovation, come to Alberta,” Kenney said in his victory speech.Kenney vowed to push back against environmental campaigns protesting Alberta’s oil industry, announcing plans for a public inquiry “into the foreign source of funds behind the campaign to landlock Alberta energy.”“When multinational companies like HSBC boycott Alberta, we’ll boycott them,” he said.Tuesday’s election is the latest in a series that have seen conservative governments taking power in provinces across the country. While Trudeau once enjoyed close working relationships with Liberal allies like former Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and former Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, as well as Notley, conservative governments now hold power from Alberta through New Brunswick.With files from The Canadian Press, the Calgary Herald and the Edmonton Journal• Email: tdawson@postmedia.com | Twitter: • Email: sxthomson@postmedia.com | Twitter: stuartxthomson Kevin Libin: On election day, Alberta confronts the betrayal that Notley made possible As Alberta election campaign winds down, Notley stays upbeat while Kenney campaigns deep in NDP territory Colby Cosh: With advance polling, prepare for extra suspense in Alberta’s election The economy has long been top of mind in the province. Since 2016, when the bottom fell out of the international oil market, Alberta has been in a prolonged recession; recovery, economists say, has stalled coming into 2019, with unemployment hovering around seven per cent.Kenney argued Notley’s government made a bad situation worse with higher taxes, more regulations and increases in minimum wage. Notley, in turn, said Kenney’s plan to freeze spending and pursue more private healthcare options would have a profound effect on students and patients.Sarah Hoffman, the former NDP health minister who held onto her seat in Edmonton, had tears in her eyes as she told reporters she was excited, despite it not being the outcome they’d wanted. “Honestly, it’s just so nice to see all the people who had your back,” Hoffman said. “I keep thinking about how we had thousands of more volunteers on this campaign than we did on the last one.”An NDP supporter watches as the polling numbers in Edmonton. She could barely get the opening bits of her speech out through the cheering and chants of “Rachel! Rachel! Rachel!” She thanked the “over-caffeinated, under-showered and overworked” campaign staff and volunteers.The rollicking 28-day campaign in Alberta saw sustained attacks on Kenney’s character, as the NDP unearthed and released controversial comments he made on LGBTQ rights. Kenney insisted it was simply a “fear and smear” campaign, meant to distract from the NDP’s economic record.“It was horrible,” said Dan Rose, a voter in Edmonton, told the Edmonton Journal. “I can’t think of a worse, more negative, more caustic campaign in my time. It was just awful.”Alberta United Conservative supporters cheer on leader Jason Kenney on election night at Big Four Roadhouse. 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Source: Charge Forward Tesla has deployed an interesting new Powerpack system to provide backup power to a train in Osaka in case of an emergency and to reduce peak energy demand. more…The post Tesla builds Powerpack system to provide backup power to Osaka train appeared first on Electrek.
Above: Talking Tesla with the fellas at Morimoto Asia in Orlando pre-launch (Instagram: Tesla Geeks)Even though the launch didn’t happen on Wednesday night, everyone arrived at the breathtaking Exploration Tower to view the launch. Tesla did it right. They invited an expert SpaceX team leader to explain the launch. And it turns out that he and his wife both have Teslas. Meanwhile, I was humbled to meet so many well-known YouTube stars in-person including Kim from Like Tesla and Ben Sullin from Teslanomics — two of my favorite channels for Tesla news. There were also YouTube personalities who cover the tech space and own, of course, Teslas. I was happy to meet Matt Ferrell, Andy Slye, and the indomitable What’s Inside crew. Above: Steve Sasman checks in for Tesla’s “Secret Level 3” SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch event for Referral Program Winners (Image: Tesla Renter)After arriving at the Courtyard Marriott in Lake Nona — chosen partially for its plentiful Tesla and EV chargers on-site — we were psyched for our first-ever SpaceX launch. I spoke with South Floridans Mojo (from Signature Custom Wraps) and Teslatino who were also en route to Cape Canaveral. We even heard Everyday Astronaut was roaming around, but, we couldn’t track him down. Days passed as there were several launch delays. But it didn’t matter. I was humbled to have been part of such a wonderful group of Tesla Referral Winners (not me, I was Steve’s +1) and learn more about their dedication, support, and love of Tesla. We’re Blown Away By Tales & Details From Incredible Tesla Road Trip Star Trek Discovery Pays Tribute To Tesla, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk Again Could Tesla And SpaceX Join Hands For Global Internet Service? A MAN WITH TESLA SUPERPOWERS, A SPACEX LAUNCH, AND A MEETING OF THE MINDSWhen Steve Sasman invited me to the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch, I jumped at the chance. Steve and I met back in 2015 during his first 48-state Tesla road trip. At the time, Elon Musk tweeted Steve’s blog post about his travels. Since then, Steve also completed another 48-state road trip while visiting 107 Tesla stores and meeting over 500 Tesla employees. Steve also got massive press (CNN, NBC, ABC, Bloomberg, etc.) when he opened the first-ever Tesla Hotel. Steve nearly played pro volleyball, he’s a triathlete, and he hikes up and down mountains in minutes (literally). This guy has superpowers.Lead Image: Tesla owners arrive in Cape Canaveral for something special (Twitter: Everyday Astronaut / For more: Everyday Astronaut)Check Out These Stories: *This article comes to us courtesy of EVANNEX (which also makes aftermarket Tesla accessories). Posted by Matt Pressman. The opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily our own at InsideEVs.I quickly accepted Steve’s invitation and we met not far from Cape Canaveral in a small town called Lake Nona. Sure, Steve could’ve flown to Orlando from his home in Phoenix. Instead, of course, he chose to make yet another Tesla road trip. BTW, if you’re interested in Tesla road trips, Steve has some super-helpful advice. Sure, Tesla Mom is the Queen of Tesla road trips, but, Steve is definitely the King. Of the three Teslas that Steve proudly owns, he picked his trusty 2012 Model S in order to break (gulp) the 200,000 mile mark on his road trip to see the Falcon Heavy.
Top: Pre-launch excitement (Instagram: Like Tesla); Bottom: Arriving at Exploration Tower to view the launch (Image: EVANNEX)Wind shear became an issue and SpaceX pushed the launch back, yet again. I had a bit of a family emergency and had to leave first thing the next day. And, grrrrr…. I missed the launch that night. However, Steve and I kept radio contact and the Falcon Heavy launch went off without a hitch. According to Steve, it was a life-altering experience. He even tweeted that one of the guys we were hanging out with, Chad Hurrin (who runs Frunk Yea Tesla Rentals), impressed his father so much at the launch, that his Dad immediately ordered a Model X for himself after the whole experience. Teslarati even ran a feature on it..embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }Above: A recap of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch (Youtube: CNN)In any event, I wanted to thank Steve for the gracious invite. It was great to see SpaceX and Tesla fans mixing it up together. And although I missed the main event, it was fun to meet so many Tesla owners who’ve recommended the car to so many others. Tesla’s Referral Program is a remarkable example of how Tesla’s owners can really become the company’s best ambassadors. Meeting so many of these folks over the course of the week was an honor. It gives me continued faith that the EV revolution, led by Tesla, is not coming soon — it’s already upon us.*Editor’s Note: EVANNEX, which also sells aftermarket gear for Teslas, has kindly allowed us to share some of its content with our readers, free of charge. Our thanks go out to EVANNEX. Check out the site here. Source: Electric Vehicle News Top: Tesla’s destination chargers were plentiful at the Courtyard Marriott in Lake Nona (Image: EVANNEX); Bottom: The coveted event pass (Twitter: Steve Sasman)It turns out that Steve wasn’t the only person I met with superpowers. After reading about his adventures in an enthralling comic book, I actually met the real-life Starman (see below) — back here on earth, I presume, for this special occasion. I also ran into plenty of Tesla Owners Club Presidents from all over the planet (Taiwan, England, etc.). I happened to be long distance pals with one particularly cool Tesla club owner, Eli, from My Tesla Adventure. I’ve been a huge fan of Eli for years — following him religiously on YouTube and Instagram — and it was amazing to finally meet him in-person. Above: Starman checks out the official EVANNEX Tesla Model S (Image: EVANNEX)Eli introduced me to Anuarbek Imanbaev, who I’d been a big fan of via his Tesla Geeks YouTube channel. You’ve probably also seen Anuarbek in Tesla’s sensational Roadster video. Between Eli and Anuarbek, Steve and I learned so much about Tesla. Look out for some more big things (coming soon) from these guys. On Tuesday, we all had dinner at a stellar sushi spot in Orlando, Morimoto Asia, while talking Tesla and drinking whiskey until we were the last ones in the restaurant. Author Liberty Access TechnologiesPosted on April 16, 2019Categories Electric Vehicle News
We just can’t get enough of this beauty.Source: Electric Vehicle News
Elevate Your FCPA Research There are several subject matter tags in this post. However, only subscribers to FCPA Professor’s premium search feature can see and use them in research. Efficient and cost-effective FCPA research is just a click away. As highlighted in this prior post, in January 2017 former Och-Ziff executives Michael Cohen and Vanja Baros were civilly charged by the SEC with Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and other, violations in connection with the same core conduct as the DOJ and SEC’s September 2016 enforcement action against Och-Ziff.Recently, the DOJ unsealed criminal charges against Cohen. While some media sources have called the charges “bribery charges,” (see here for the Wall Street Journal article) this is false as Cohen was not charged with any FCPA offenses, but rather various fraud based offenses based on his role as an investment advisor. However, as detailed in this post, Cohen was also charged conspiracy to obstruct justice and making material false statements, charges at least indirectly related to the DOJ’s and SEC’s FCPA inquiry of Och-Ziff.The bulk of the criminal indictment against Cohen alleges that he, along with others, made material misrepresentations and omissions to a U.K. based charitable organization and investor concerning conflicts of interest and self-dealing that existed with certain investment transactions.However, the indictment also alleges that Cohen backdated several document in connection with the investment transaction when he learned in 2012 that Och-Ziff was under investigation by the SEC. Moreover, the indictment alleges that Cohen, through his attorney, produced the backdated document in response to an SEC subpoena served on him in his personal capacity. Finally, the indictment alleges that Cohen made false statements regarding the backdated document in 203 when he attended a meeting with the DOJ, FBI, SEC and IRS.The Cohen indictment is a useful reminder that when a company or individual is under Foreign Corrupt Practices Act scrutiny, law enforcement is not going to have “blinders” on and focus just on FCPA conduct, but other potential improper conduct as well that may be unearthed during the investigation. Elevate Your Research
A government watchdog reiterates his allegations against Douglas County offcials who he contends mismanaged assets in violation of State law. Glen Morgan is the author of the blogsite, We The Governed. He claims County Commissioners along with the County Auditor and Prosecutor are to blame for failing to document properties in the annual capital asset inventory report. Commissioners (see story below) have refuted the claims but in an interview aired today on The Agenda with Steve Hair, Morgan responded . . Audio Playerhttps://kpq.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/GLENNMORGAN.mp300:0000:0000:00Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume. Posted May 24,2016Douglas County Commissioners deny a government watchdog’s allegations of wrongdoing. Chairman Steve Jenkins responds to the blogsite, “We the Governed”, that accused the County of mishandling county finances and hid the sale of a 12 acre parcel of property in its annual inventory of assets . . . Audio Playerhttps://kpq.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/052416-AssetInventory-1.wav00:0000:0000:00Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.Contrary to the blog’s allegations, Jenkins claims the land in question was included in the annual asset inventory as part of the 19th Street property where the County Transportation and Land Services building is located. Jenkins says the parcel was sold at a significant loss because covenants included in its original sale made it useless for development.Commissioner Steve Jenkins and Dale Snyder joined Steve Hair on Monday’s The Agenda. (Click on podcast below for interview) Audio Playerhttps://kpq.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/052416-DouglasCounty.wav00:0000:0000:00Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.
Sign up for our daily newsletter Get more great content like this delivered right to you! Country The chief mover and shaker for neuroscience at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is retiring.Neurobiologist Story Landis has spent 19 years at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), becoming its director in 2003 after 8 years as scientific director. She helped develop NIH programs for young investigators, coordinated neuroscience research across NIH, served as point person for human embryonic stem cell research, and steered an effort to improve the reproducibility of preclinical studies. Since last year, she has co-led NIH’s role in the federal brain-mapping project known as the BRAIN Initiative. As scientific director, Landis overhauled the institute’s intramural program. “I leave with a great sense of pride in what we were able to accomplish together,” she wrote in a farewell note to her staff.Earlier this year, Landis drew attention to the shrinking share of funding for basic research at NINDS. She worried that investigators mistakenly believed that her institute was more interested in disease-focused studies. In a statement on 31 July, NIH Director Francis Collins called Landis “one of the true giants at the NIH” and “one of my closest advisors and ‘go-to’ leaders.” Eve Marder, a neuroscientist at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, and a member of NINDS’s advisory council, says Landis has been “a fabulous NINDS director.”Landis, 69, left academia for NIH in 1995. She plans to step down at the end of September and will join her husband in Maine. NINDS Deputy Director Walter Koroshetz will serve as acting NINDS director until her successor is chosen. Email
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Email At an oversight hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday, lawmakers grilled health officials over the response to the first domestic cases of Ebola and asked them to respond to the idea—which many Republicans now promote—of banning incoming flights from West Africa. When Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explained that restrictions would only cause travelers to reroute through other countries, making them harder to track, Representative Henry Waxman (D–CA) came to his defense with a visual aid.The map he presented, illustrating the relative flow of passengers out of Ebola-affected countries in West Africa to the rest of the world, came from an article published on 2 September in PLOS Currents: Outbreaks. One of its authors, physicist Alessandro Vespignani of Northeastern University in Boston, says he didn’t know his work had figured in the debate until a few colleagues alerted him yesterday. The map demonstrates the complexity of global travel flow, he says, but in the rest of the paper, “we are more quantitative than that.” The authors combined this flight information with equations describing likely transmission dynamics in 16 countries at highest risk of Ebola importation to predict the probability that each will see a new imported case. According to the group’s more recent predictions, the risk of another infected person arriving in United States by 31 October given the current reductions in air traffic is about 25%. The published work simulates how reductions in travel can reduce the spread of the disease—right now, their estimates assume an 80% overall reduction in travel—but Vespignani notes that cutting down on traffic is just “postponing the problem for a finite amount of time.” (The 80% drop amounts to a 3- to 4-week delay in a probable case, he says.) “This debate doesn’t have to divert the discussion from the real issue, which is to win the battle in Africa.” Country * Afghanistan Aland Islands Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote d’Ivoire Croatia Cuba Curaçao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People’s Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Moldova, Republic of Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Norway Oman Pakistan Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Qatar Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin (French part) Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten (Dutch part) Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Vietnam Virgin Islands, British Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Click to view the privacy policy. Required fields are indicated by an asterisk (*)
Sign up for our daily newsletter Get more great content like this delivered right to you! Country Ira Longini, a biostatistician at the University of Florida in Gainesville and another author on the PLOS paper, says he thinks “it’s fine” for Congress to make use of the work in a hearing, but laments that “people are notoriously bad about interpreting probability.” The group’s plots show how the probability of new imported cases would drop if the flow of travelers decreased, but it doesn’t wade into the complex costs and benefits of a travel ban. “You can point at that plot and make the argument in either direction,” Longini says. The group plans to publish a new paper next week that looks at the impact of travel restrictions that some airlines and governments have already imposed. “They can point at that one next,” he says.*The Ebola Files: Given the current Ebola outbreak, unprecedented in terms of number of people killed and rapid geographic spread, Science and Science Translational Medicine have made a collection of research and news articles on the viral disease freely available to researchers and the general public.
BERLIN—Glaciers covered with thick layers of rocks and boulders should be insulated from a warming world. But two new studies—presented here last month at the Third Pole Environment Workshop—find that dirty Himalayan glaciers are melting away just as quickly as clean ones. As a result, debris-covered glaciers might be disappearing faster than previously thought, threatening the long-term water supplies of more than a billion people.Glaciers in the Himalaya Mountains cover an area of 50,000 square kilometers. Intense monsoons erode the still-growing mountains, creating thick blankets of debris that cover more than 10% of the total glacier area. “But we know very little about how much ice they are losing over a long period of time,” because the remoteness and rugged terrains have prevented long-term field measurements, says Harish Chandra Nainwal, a glaciologist at Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University in Srinagar, India, who is not involved in the studies.So glaciologist Francesca Pellicciotti of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology’s Institute of Environmental Engineering in Zurich, Switzerland; Tobias Bolch, a remote-sensing expert at the University of Zurich; and colleagues turned to declassified data from a U.S. spy satellite called Hexagon, which was used in the 1970s and 1980s at the height of the Cold War. The researchers compared the satellite’s measurements of glacier surface elevations in 1974 with those from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, which flew on board the space shuttle Endeavour in February 2000. In all, the researchers studied four debris-covered glaciers in Nepal’s Langtang River watershed. Click to view the privacy policy. Required fields are indicated by an asterisk (*) Email Sign up for our daily newsletter Get more great content like this delivered right to you! Country
Country * Afghanistan Aland Islands Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote d’Ivoire Croatia Cuba Curaçao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People’s Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Moldova, Republic of Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Norway Oman Pakistan Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Qatar Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin (French part) Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten (Dutch part) Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Vietnam Virgin Islands, British Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Dirty glaciers, it turns out, melt just as fast as clean ones. The height of debris-covered glaciers thinned by 32 centimeters a year between 1974 and 1999, the team will report in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Glaciology. That’s similar to the average thinning rate of clean glaciers in the Himalayas. Yet the debris-covered glaciers have not retreated significantly since 1974—despite the fact that they are melting away. “So we have this dead ice body slowly wasting away for decades” with meters of rocks on top of it, without giving away any signs of doom and gloom, Bolch says. “This is quite different from clean glaciers, which tend to recede rapidly when losing ice,” he says.The findings illustrate why changes in the length of dirty glaciers is a poor indicator of their health, Nainwal says. “People have been saying that there has been little retreat [with many Himalayan glaciers], so there is no problem.”To understand how debris-covered glaciers were wasting away, another team of researchers—led by glacier hydrologist Walter Immerzeel of Utrecht University in the Netherlands—flew a sensor-ridden unmanned aerial vehicle across the tongue of the Lirung Glacier in Langtang before and after the monsoon season in May and October 2013, respectively—the first such mission in the Himalayas. The sensors allowed the researchers to map changes in surface elevations of the glaciers. The team found that the majority of the melting took place at ice cliffs and lakes on the glacier, up to 10 times faster than on other areas of the glacier. Ice cliffs, a unique feature of debris-covered glaciers, “are normally very dark and dirty and absorb a lot of solar radiation,” Pellicciotti says. More crucially, the ice cliffs also soak up heat emitted by hot rocks around them, she says. Heated by strong solar radiation at high elevations, the rocks can reach temperatures as hot as 40°C during the day. “The ice cliffs are literally surrounded by hot stoves,” she says. The researchers also spotted numerous lakes on the glacier, often next to an ice cliff, in May 2013. Water is darker and absorbs more solar radiation than the surrounding ice. “You can see the warm water cutting further into the ice cliff, possibly accelerating the glacial melt,” Immerzeel says.Curiously, when the scientists went back 5 months later after the monsoon season, all the lakes were gone. They suspect that there must have been channels in the glacier that were frozen in May but were then opened by warm lake water and monsoonal rain. “This may have allowed the drainage to occur and caused more melt underneath the debris,” Immerzeel says. After feeding the field measurements into a computer model, the researchers found that a third of the total ice melt in the Langtang catchment originates from the parts of the glaciers that are covered by debris, which constitute only 27% of the glaciated area. The result “highlights the importance of debris-covered glaciers for streamflow,” which has hitherto been underappreciated, Pellicciotti says.As the climate continues to warm, assessing the health of debris-covered glaciers across the Himalayas is more pressing than ever, researchers say. The retreat—or, worse, the total disappearance—of Himalayan glaciers would deprive about a billion people of their precious solid water reservoirs. Glacier melt is a key source of agricultural water, especially in spring before the arrival of the annual monsoon. Already several debris-covered glacier tongues in Langtang have been disconnected from their source regions. “They are kept alive solely by the redistribution of snow through avalanches,” Immerzeel says. His team plans to investigate how conduits in the glaciers develop and evolve throughout the year and how they interact with ice cliffs and supraglacial lakes by using radars that can penetrate through the debris.Meanwhile, Nainwal’s team has drilled through debris more than 1 meter thick and planted about 60 bamboo stakes into the ice of the Satopanth Glacier in the western Himalayas, so it can monitor the changes in ice volumes in the coming decades. At 4000 to 5300 meters above sea level, “it’s a major engineering work,” Nainwal says. Such field investigations are essential for reducing the uncertainties of satellite analyses and for understanding the physical processes that drive the melting, Bolch says. “This will allow us to better predict the glacier status and water availability in the future.”
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On Friday, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) revealed that it had begun to phase out controversial monkey experiments at one of its labs in Poolesville, Maryland. The action followed an aggressive yearlong campaign by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), but an NIH director tells ScienceInsider today that financial straits—not animal rights pressures—led to the decision.“NIH has to make decisions on how to spend its research dollars regardless of what others may think,” says Constantine Stratakis, the scientific director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), which oversees the lab in question. “Clearly the timing is awkward, but I can assure you that PETA was not a factor in this decision.”The lab is run by Stephen Suomi, who has been at NICHD since 1983. His team studies how early environment shapes behavior—work that involves separating young rhesus macaques from their mothers, measuring their addiction to alcohol, and monitoring their long-term stress levels. PETA has been targeting the lab since last year. It ran extensive ad campaigns, successfully pushed for a congressional inquiry, and—most recently—sent hundreds of letters to the neighbors of Suomi and NIH Director Francis Collins, accusing the lab of “cruel psychological experiments” and revealing both Suomi’s and Collins’s home addresses and telephone numbers.“They did the right thing by shutting down this work,” says Justin Goodman, PETA’s director of laboratory investigations. “It’s a historic moment that appears to be the death knell for horrendous maternal deprivation experiments.”But Stratakis says the decision was purely financial. For decades, the animal facility in Poolesville was shared by many of the agency’s institutes, including NICHD, the National Cancer Institute, and the National Institute of Mental Health. A number of these institutes have decided to pull out because they couldn’t afford to stay there, he says, leaving NICHD to assume the costs of running the entire facility. “For us, it wasn’t tenable in the long run.”Stratakis says that NICHD decided this summer to begin phasing out the animal work at Suomi’s lab, the only NICHD lab at Poolesville. It currently houses about 300 monkeys, all of which will be transferred to other facilities over the course of the next 3 years. In the meantime, Suomi’s team can continue working with the animals it has, but it cannot breed new ones. “It won’t be business as usual,” Stratakis says.Still, some are concerned that NICHD’s action will be seen as a victory for the animal rights movement. “If these types of strategies are influencing decisions about scientific research, that would be very worrying,” says Tom Holder, the director of Speaking of Research, an international organization that supports the use of animals in scientific labs. “NIH needs to stand up for the value of animal studies and allow its researchers to speak more clearly to the public about their work.”Stratakis says the Poolesville monkeys may still be used in research after they leave Suomi’s lab. And he says the work itself has been invaluable. “There is a treasure trove of material that has been collected over the years,” he says. “The lab has made critical observations on the impact of certain behavior on genetics.” Even after the animals leave, he says, researchers will be able to analyze any remaining serum, DNA, and tissue samples. “This work is going to produce amazing data.” (Suomi did not respond to a request for comment.)In the end, Goodman says PETA is just happy the macaques are leaving the lab. “We don’t care why NIH made its decision. We just care about the monkeys.” He says his group will continue to put pressure on the agency to end all federally funded experiments of nonhuman primates. “We’re also trying to get NIH to start counting the number of mice and rats it uses.”
Why did a humpback whale just save this seal’s life?At first it seemed like the usual clever attack. Several killer whales were trying to catch a Weddell seal that had taken refuge atop a drifting patch of Antarctic ice. The orcas swam alongside each other, creating a wave that knocked the hapless pinniped into the water. Death seemed certain. Then something amazing happened: A pair of humpback whales turned up and pushed the seal to safety. Scientists aren’t sure why this—and similar rescues—are taking place, but they suspect that it might be due to inadvertent altruism.New antibiotic found in human nose Click to view the privacy policy. Required fields are indicated by an asterisk (*) Email You may have heard about drugs disappearing into people’s noses. But at a meeting in the United Kingdom this week, scientists proposed the opposite: a new antibiotic that has, quite literally, emerged from the human nose. The compound is produced by one species of nose-dwelling bacterium to kill another microbe—Staphylococcus aureus—which kills thousands of people every year.How do you save a wolf that’s not really a wolf?When is a wolf a wolf? For more than 30 years, the question has dogged scientists, conservationists, and policymakers attempting to restore and protect the large wild canids that once roamed North America. Now, a study of the complete genomes of 28 canids reveals that despite differences in body size and behavior, North American gray wolves and coyotes are far more closely related than previously believed, and only recently split into two lineages. Gender lawsuit stimulates discussion of ways to improve undergraduate scienceA lawsuit against the University of Cincinnati in Ohio for allegedly segregating students by sex in a physics lab course points to widespread confusion among academics over how to increase women’s participation in science. Devi Shastri reports on the lab practice that triggered the recent legal action.Neurons get fresh ‘batteries’ after strokeIf your car’s battery dies, you might call on roadside assistance—or a benevolent bystander—for a jump. When damaged neurons lose their “batteries,” energy-generating mitochondria, they call on a different class of brain cells, astrocytes, for a boost, a new study suggests. These cells respond by donating extra mitochondria to the floundering neurons. The finding, still preliminary, might lead to novel ways to help people recover from stroke or other brain injuries, scientists say.Now that you’ve got the scoop on this week’s hottest Science news, come back Monday to test your smarts on our weekly quiz!
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Email Country * Afghanistan Aland Islands Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote d’Ivoire Croatia Cuba Curaçao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People’s Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Moldova, Republic of Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Norway Oman Pakistan Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Qatar Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin (French part) Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten (Dutch part) Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Vietnam Virgin Islands, British Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Sign up for our daily newsletter Get more great content like this delivered right to you! Country Cultura RM/Alamy Stock Photo The objects and people children play with as early as toddlerhood may provide clues to their eventual sexual orientation, reveals the largest study of its kind. The investigation, which tracked more than 4500 kids over the first 15 years of their lives, seeks to answer one of the most controversial questions in the social sciences, but experts are mixed on the findings.“Within its paradigm, it’s one of the better studies I’ve seen,” says Anne Fausto-Sterling, professor emerita of biology and gender studies at Brown University. The fact that it looks at development over time and relies on parents’ observations is a big improvement over previous studies that attempted to answer similar questions based on respondents’ own, often unreliable, memories, she says. “That being said … they’re still not answering questions of how these preferences for toys or different kinds of behaviors develop in the first place.”The new study builds largely on research done in the 1970s by American sex and gender researcher Richard Green, who spent decades investigating sexuality. He was influential in the development of the term “gender identity disorder” to describe stress and confusion over one’s sex and gender, though the term—and Green’s work more broadly—has come under fire from many psychologists and social scientists today who say it’s wrong to label someone’s gender and sexuality “disordered.” Click to view the privacy policy. Required fields are indicated by an asterisk (*)
A controversial study finds children who engage in more gender-stereotypical play are more likely to self-identify as heterosexual later in life. By Michael PriceMar. 10, 2017 , 10:30 AM Toddler play may give clues to sexual orientation In the decades since, other studies have reported that whether a child plays along traditional gender lines can predict their later sexual orientation. But these have largely been criticized for their small sample sizes, for drawing from children who exhibit what the authors call “extreme” gender nonconformity, and for various other methodological shortcomings.Seeking to improve on this earlier research, Melissa Hines, a psychologist at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, turned to data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. The study includes thousands of British children born in the 1990s. Parents observed and reported various aspects of their children’s behavior, which Hines and her Cambridge colleague, Gu Li, analyzed for what they call male-typical or female-typical play.An example of stereotypical male-typical play, as defined by the study, would include playing with toy trucks, “rough-and-tumble” wrestling, and playing with other boys. Female-typical play, on the other hand, would include dolls, playing house, and playing with other girls.Hines and Li looked at parental reporting of children’s play at ages 2.5, 3.5, and 4.75 years old, and arranged them on a scale of one to 100, with lower scores meaning more female-typical play and higher scores more male-typical play. They then compared those results to the participants’ self-reported responses as teenagers to a series of internet-administered questions about their sexuality.Beginning with the 3.5-year-old age group, the team found that children who engaged mostly in “gender-conforming” play (boys who played with trucks and girls who played with dolls, as an example) were likely to report being heterosexual at age 15, whereas the teenagers who reported being gay, lesbian, or not strictly heterosexual were more likely to engage in “gender-nonconforming” play. The same pattern held true when they expanded the teenagers’ choices to a five-point spectrum ranging from 100% heterosexual to 100% homosexual.Teens who described themselves as lesbian scored on average about 10 points higher on the gender-play scale at age 4.75 (meaning more stereotypically male play) than their heterosexual peers, and teens who described themselves as gay men scored about 10 points lower on the scale than their peers, the researchers report in Developmental Psychology. Questions of transgender identity were not addressed in the study.“I think it’s remarkable that childhood gender-typed behavior measured as early as age 3.5 years is associated with sexual orientation 12 years later,” wrote Li in an email. “The findings help us to understand variability in sexual orientation and could have implications for understanding the origins of this variability.”The paper “is just a well-done study in terms of getting around some of the problems that have plagued the field,” says Simon LeVay, a retired neuroscientist whose 1991 paper in Science sparked interest in brain differences associated with sexual identity. “It shows that something is going on really early in life and points away from things like role modeling and adolescent experiences as reasons for becoming gay.”Others dispute the paper’s methods and significance. Parents’ own beliefs and biases about gender almost certainly influence how they described their children’s gendered play, which could skew their reporting, says Patrick Ryan Grzanka, a psychologist who studies sexuality and multicultural issues at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. But more worrisome to him are the cultural assumptions underlying the study itself. The authors appear to regard gender nonconformity as the primary marker of gayness, which doesn’t align with current research suggesting that your individual preferences for either stereotypically male or female behaviors and traits has little to do with your sexual orientation, he says.Grzanka is also dismayed that the paper fails to critique the history of similar research that investigated whether childhood behaviors lined up with eventual sexual orientation. It wasn’t long ago that such research was used to stigmatize and pathologize gender-nonconforming children, he says. “I think it’s important to ask why we’re so invested in this purported link [between gender conformity and sexuality] in the first place.”*Correction, 13 March, 12:19 p.m.: An earlier version of this incorrectly asserted that Richard Green and Melissa Hines are life partners.
By Katie LanginApr. 2, 2018 , 12:00 PM A four-eyed lizard walked the earth 49 million years ago Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung/Andreas Lachmann/Digimorph If you lived in what is now Wyoming 49 million years ago, you could have spotted a four-eyed lizard—the one and only known example of such a creature among jawed vertebrates. The species, an extinct monitor lizard called Saniwa ensidens (above), had two standard eyes and also sported so-called pineal and parapineal “eyes” on the top of its head (shown as white dots in the reconstructed image below).
Anne Petersen/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND) Researchers figured that out by taking a closer look at two S. ensidens fossils that were unearthed from a Wyoming escarpment in 1871. Detailed x-ray scans, generated using computerized tomography, revealed two holes on the top of the lizard’s skull. The holes would have connected the lizard’s brain to eyelike structures, called pineal and parapineal organs, the team reports today in Current Biology.Many vertebrates alive today—such as some turtles, lizards, and fish—have a third “eye” on the top of their head, which may be important for sensing direction or regulating the animal’s biological clock. But apart from jawless lampreys, the extinct monitor lizard is the only vertebrate known to have two additional eyes. It’s not clear what S. ensidens used those eyes for, but the researchers think the light-sensitive structures may have acted like a compass, helping the lizard figure out what direction it was facing.
Email Sign up for our daily newsletter Get more great content like this delivered right to you! Country Report urges massive digitization of museum collections By Elizabeth PennisiApr. 4, 2019 , 9:00 AM Click to view the privacy policy. Required fields are indicated by an asterisk (*) Kristen Grace/Florida Museum 
The United States should launch an effort to create an all-encompassing database of the millions of stuffed, dried, and otherwise preserved plants, animals, and fossils in museums and other collections, a U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)–sponsored white paper released today urges. The report, titled Extending U.S. Biodiversity Collections to Promote Research and Education, also calls for new approaches to cataloging digitized specimens and linking them to a range of other data about each organism and where it was collected. If the plan is carried out, “There will be [a] huge potential impact for the research community to do new types of research,” says NSF biology Program Director Reed Beaman in Alexandria, Virginia.The effort could take decades and cost as much as half a billion dollars, however, and some researchers are worried the white paper will not win over policymakers. “I just wish that the report focused more on the potential benefits for noncollections communities,” says James Hanken, director of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.For the past 8 years, NSF has sponsored the $100 million, 10-year Advancing Digitization of Biodiversity Collections program, which has paid for nearly 62 million plant and animal specimens to be digitally photographed from multiple angles for specific research studies. New technology has greatly sped up the process. Already, researchers studying natural history and how species are related are reaping the benefits of easy access to a wealth of information previous locked in museums. Other, smaller digitization efforts have also paid off. Since the 1993 outbreak of the deadly mouse-transmitted hantavirus in the Four Corners region of the southwest, the Museum of Southwestern Biology at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque has been warehousing mammals used in public health studies and natural history research. From the beginning it digitized those specimens and linked them to relevant pathogen and genome data, enabling disease experts, microbiologists, and other scientists to tap into the database for their research, says Joseph Cook, the museum’s curator of mammals.The Advancing Digitization program is a stand-alone effort that ends in 2021, so NSF set up an initiative called the Biodiversity Collections Network to plan the next steps. Based on findings from surveys and workshops, it is now proposing an expanded effort that would also target smaller collections and develop a standardized, upgradable system for linking disparate databases to create an “extended specimen.” The idea is that anyone looking up a species will see not only detailed images of a specimen, but also all the research associated with it: DNA sequences, analyses of diets and climate based on isotopic studies, micro–computerized tomography scans, and even environmental information from the specimen’s collection site. “We want to pull together everything that’s known about a specimen,” says Barbara Thiers, a botanist at the New York Botanical Garden in New York City who heads the network.Cook calls the new plan “a great opportunity to build important infrastructure for the big questions that society is going to ask help with,” such as assessing environmental change and shifts in animal and disease ranges. “We need to understand our planet and how populations are changing through time.”Thiers estimates it will take up to $500 million to “get all the bells and whistles we would like” to realize this vision. For that reason, some collections experts are calling for stronger advocacy. “Somebody needs to hit the pavement and convince other agencies to support this [effort],” Hanken says. Otherwise, it risks getting ignored because “it’s another in a long line of calls to the community to imagine a new future for biological collections.” adds Scott Edwards, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard University.Thiers sees it differently, calling the plan “a novel approach” that will combine “diverse data types in ways that have not been considered.” Beaman is noncommittal about its prospects. “It’s premature for me to say we would develop new programs” to support it, he says. But he acknowledges the value of expanding access to natural history collections, noting that the equivalent of billions of dollars has gone into building them. “It’s not stamp collecting,” he concludes. “The potential for use and societal impact is huge.” Fish expert Larry Page of the Florida Museum in Gainesville shows off a standard setup for making digital images of specimens. 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