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martyb writes:

About a Third of Medical Vaccine Exemptions in San Diego Came From one Doctor:

She wrote 141 exemptions since 2015. The second highest number was 26.

A single San Diego doctor wrote nearly a third of the area’s medical vaccination exemptions since 2015, according to an investigation by the local nonprofit news organization Voice of San Diego.

[...]Medical vaccination exemptions are intended for the relatively few people who have medical conditions that prevent them from receiving vaccines safely. That includes people who are on long-term immunosuppressive therapy or those who are immunocompromised, such as those with HIV or those who have had severe, life-threatening allergic reactions (e.g. anaphylaxis) to previous immunizations. Such patients typically receive medical exemptions incidentally during their medical care. But some doctors are providing evaluations specifically to determine if a patient qualifies for an exemption and granting exemptions using criteria not based on medical evidence. Some doctors are even charging fees for these questionable exemption evaluations—including the doctor in San Diego, Tara Zandvliet.

[...]Zandvliet charges $180 for the evaluation, and her practice does not accept insurance.

Since 2015, Zandvliet has issued 141 of the 486 total medical exemptions granted in the San Diego Unified School District. After Zandvliet, the second highest number of medical exemptions granted by a single doctor was 26. The Voice of San Diego noted that Zandvliet’s practice is listed on several websites as being friendly to anti-vaccine parents.

I would not trust such a doctor to have only my best interests at heart.

If my paying a fee can persuade the doctor to write my desired exemption, then it stands to reason that an incentive from, say, a "big pharma" representative could induce the doctor to prescribe medications for me that are either questionably warranted or for which there are better or less expensive alternatives.

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martyb writes:

Where Spider-Man and Captain America Intern: The White House Economic Team:

The 2019 Economic Report of the President [pdf] runs 705 pages and features chapters on “expanding labor force opportunities” and “ensuring a balanced financial regulatory landscape.” It also claims to be written by Batman.

For the second straight year, the group of economists that do regression analyses and forecast annual growth rates for President Trump has slipped a straight-out-of-Comic-Con Easter egg into its annual report.

[...] The list of Council of Economic Advisers interns on Page 624 of the report includes Steve Rogers (a.k.a. Captain America), Peter Parker (Spider-Man) and Bruce Wayne (Batman). There’s also Aunt May (Peter Parker’s guardian; apparently there are no anti-nepotism rules at the council), J. T. Hutt (a superfan abbreviation for Jabba the Hutt, the “Star Wars” gangster who hangs a frozen Han Solo on his wall), the actor John Cleese, Kathryn Janeway (a “Star Trek” captain) and someone called John Snow

[...] Also, who is this “John Snow” they speak of? Is he the former Treasury secretary under President George W. Bush? An actual intern? Or did the council, in a blow to its nerd cred, misspell the name of the “Game of Thrones” hero Jon Snow?

The New York Times asked a council spokeswoman to clarify. “Have a sense of humor!” she replied.

If the White House hires superheroes as interns, what hope does a mere mortal have of getting a job?

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realDonaldTrump writes:

Faster space ships for less money, it's what we do.

foxnews.com/science/scientists-have-found-a-way-to-levitate-objects-with-light

California scientists think they’ve found a way to make objects levitate using concentrated light — a theory that could even propel spacecraft farther than they’ve ever traveled before, according to a report.

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology believe that by covering the surfaces of objects with microscopic nanoscale patterns specially designed to interact with beams of light, they could be propelled without fuel — and potentially by light sources millions of miles away, according to Phys.org.

Also at Phys.org

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hemocyanin writes:

New Zealand has banned possession of Tarrant's manifesto and it is mentioned that possessing the manifesto is a crime. None of the articles I read noted what the penalties are for possession, so I looked up the law referenced in the article above, the "Films, Videos & Publications Classification Act 1993". The maximum penalties are pretty staggering if I have these figured right:

• Mere possession without knowledge: $2000 fine for a person; corporate offenders $5k fine
• Mere possession with knowledge: 10 years in jail, $50k fine; corporate offenders $100k fine
• Distributes without knowledge (the "strict liability" part): $3000 fine, corporate offenders $10k fine
• Possession with the intent to share: 14 years in jail; corporate offenders $200k fine

New Zealand does have a Bill of Rights of sorts, but it is merely a statute rather than a superseding law — in other words, it's just fluff because typically, specific statutes prevail over general statutes and so a later enacted censorship law is going to trump a general 1A type "guarantee" of the freedom of expression. Worse, the NZ Bill of Rights has a built-in neutering provision:

Section 4 specifically denies the Act any supremacy over other legislation. The section states that Courts looking at cases under the Act cannot implicitly repeal or revoke, or make invalid or ineffective, or decline to apply any provision of any statute made by parliament, whether before or after the Act was passed because it is inconsistent with any provision of this Bill of Rights.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Bill_of_Rights_Act_1990

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Runaway1956 writes:

BREAKING: US District Court Strikes Down New York’s Ban on TASERs and Stun Guns

As Judge Hurd wrote . . .

        New York’s sweeping prohibition on the possession and use of tasers and stun guns by all citizens for all purposes, even for self-defense in one’s own home, must be declared unconstitutional in light of Heller. To be clear, this conclusion does not foreclose the possibility that some restriction(s) on the possession and/or use of tasers and stun guns would be permissible under the Second Amendment. Other states have already done this. See, e.g., WIS. STAT . § 941.295(2g)(b) (permitting possession of “electric weapon” in home or place of business). New York might consider doing so as well.

        Therefore, it is

        ORDERED that

        1. Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED;

        2. Defendant’s cross-motion for summary judgment is DENIED;

        3. New York Penal Law § 265.01(1), as applied to “electronic dart guns” and “electronic stun guns,” is an unconstitutional restriction on the right to bear arms; and

        4. Defendant, his officers, agents, servants, employees, and all persons in active concert or participation with the New York State Police are hereby ENJOINED from enforcing New York Penal Law § 265.01(1) as applied to “electronic dart guns” and “electronic stun guns.”

https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2019/03/daniel-zimmerman/breaking-us-district-court-strikes-down-new-yorks-ban-on-tasers-and-stun-guns/

Actual ruling here: https://www.scribd.com/document/402776387/NY-Stun-Gun-Decision (warning, expect javascript to screw with your ability to read the article)

Commentary: Amid the controversy over owning lethal weapons, why wouldn't we want people to have access to non-lethal weapons? Aren't a lot of people likely to purchase a non-lethal weapon, in preference to a lethal weapon? In a high population area, aren't non-lethal weapons preferable?

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realDonaldTrump writes:

Folks were wondering for so long, what happened to these brave men & women? Now we know. Thank you Global Warming!

foxnews.com/science/melting-mount-everest-glaciers-reveal-dead-climbers-bodies-report

Melting glaciers on Mount Everest are revealing the bodies of dead climbers, sparking concern from the organizers of expeditions to the famous peak, according to the BBC.

The BBC reports that global warming is unlocking the deadly mountain’s gruesome secrets. Everest has claimed the lives of almost 300 climbers since the first attempt to conquer the mountain in 1921, two-thirds of whom are buried in the mountain’s ice and snow. In 1953 Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to reach Everest's summit.

"Because of global warming, the ice sheet and glaciers are fast melting and the dead bodies that remained buried all these years are now becoming exposed," Ang Tshering Sherpa, former president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, told the news outlet.

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takyon writes:

Patrick Shanahan: Pentagon chief's ties to Boeing investigated

The Pentagon has launched an inquiry into acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan for alleged favouritism to his ex-employer, Boeing. The Defence Department's inspector general will look into the matter following a complaint from a watchdog group.

Mr Shanahan is accused of frequently praising Boeing in meetings about government contracts and acquisitions. Mr Shanahan, who denies any wrongdoing, spent 30 years at Boeing. He rose through the ranks to become a senior executive at the world's biggest planemaker.

Last week Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint with the Pentagon inspector general about Mr Shanahan.

[...] The inquiry casts a shadow over Mr Shanahan as the White House considers whether to formally nominate him to fill the defence secretary post left vacant by Jim Mattis, who stepped down in December.

Boeing is already under pressure after the deadly crash of one of its 737 Max 8 passenger jets in Ethiopia last week.

Also at NYT.

See also: How Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan May Have Promoted Boeing Over Competitors

Related: DoJ Issues Subpoenas in 737 Max Investigation

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takyon writes:

Spectacular new fossil bonanza captures explosion of early life

A wealth of ancient remains found by chance on the banks of a river in China are some of the most astoundingly preserved fossils now known on Earth, researchers report today in the journal Science [DOI: 10.1126/science.aau8800] [DX].

The 518-million-year-old site, called Qingjiang, joins just a few places around the world where fossil preservation is so extraordinary, it captures even soft-bodied animals. Called Lagerstätten, these special types of deposits include Canada's famous Burgess shale, which dates to 507 million years ago, and China's Chengjiang locality, which formed at about the same time as Qingjiang but in shallower waters.

"Most fossil localities throughout all of time are going to preserve the shelly things, the hard things ... [but] what these localities give you is anatomy," says Harvard paleontologist Joanna Wolfe, an expert on Cambrian life who wasn't involved in the study. "These are the best of the best."

So far, researchers have identified 101 animal species in the remains, and more than half of them are brand-new to science. "I can see a bright future," says lead study author Dongjing Fu, a paleontologist at Northwest University in Xi'an, China. "Qingjiang will be the next Burgess shale."

Also at Ars Technica.

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takyon writes:

New York Times CEO warns publishers ahead of Apple news launch

Apple Inc is expected to launch an ambitious new entertainment and paid digital news service on Monday, as the iPhone maker pushes back against streaming video leader Netflix Inc. But it likely will not feature the New York Times Co.

Mark Thompson, chief executive of the biggest U.S. newspaper by subscribers, warned that relying on third-party distribution can be dangerous for publishers who risk losing control over their own product.

"We tend to be quite leery about the idea of almost habituating people to find our journalism somewhere else," he told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. "We're also generically worried about our journalism being scrambled in a kind of Magimix (blender) with everyone else's journalism."

Thompson, who took over as New York Times CEO in 2012 and has overseen a massive expansion in its online readership, warned publishers that they may suffer the same fate as television and film makers in the face of Netflix's Hollywood insurgence.

See also: Apple secures deal with WSJ for paid Apple News service, NYT and Washington Post opt out
Apple reaches deal with Vox for upcoming Apple News subscription service, report says
Apple is on a hardware-launching bonanza ahead of its big TV announcement
Apple teams with media literacy programs in the US and Europe

Previously: Apple in Talks to Create "Netflix for News" Subscription Service

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takyon writes:

Microsoft device stores digital info as DNA

Microsoft is on its way to replacing data centers with DNA. The company and researchers from the University of Washington have successfully automated the process to translate digital information into DNA and back to bits. They now have the first, full end-to-end automated DNA storage device. And while there's room for improvement, Microsoft hopes this proof-of-concept will advance DNA storage technology.

In its first run, the $10,000 prototype converted "HELLO" into DNA. The device first encoded the bits (1's and 0's) into DNA sequences (A's, C's, T's, G's). It then synthesized the DNA and stored it as a liquid. Next, the stored DNA was read by a DNA sequencer. Finally, the decoding software translated the sequences back into bits. The 5-byte message took 21 hours to convert back and forth, but the researchers have already identified a way to reduce the time required by 10 to 12 hours. They've also suggested ways to reduce the cost by several thousand dollars.

martyb writes:

Neuroscience Proves Nietzsche Right: Some People are Wired to be More Spontaneous than Others:

“Why can’t you just relax into it?” is a question many of us have asked in frustration with ourselves or others – be it on the dance floor, the sporting field or in rather more private circumstances. The task typically requires us to respond spontaneously to external events, without any deliberation whatsoever. It ought to be easy – all you have to do is let go – yet it can be infuriatingly difficult.

“Stop thinking about it!” is the standard remedial advice, although cancelling thought with thought is something of a paradox. The retort, “I am trying!”, is equally puzzling, for deliberate intent is precisely what we are here struggling to avoid. So what is this act of choosing not to choose, of consciously relinquishing control over our actions? Our new study, published in Communications Biology, has finally provided insights into how this capacity is expressed in the brain.

Astonishingly, this fundamental human phenomenon has no name. It might have escaped academic recognition entirely had the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche not given it a brilliant gloss in his first book The Birth of Tragedy, itself a paradoxical work of philosophy in tacitly encouraging the reader to stop reading and get a drink instead. Whereas other thinkers saw culture on a single continuum, evolving into ever greater refinement, order and rationality, Nietzsche saw it as distributed across two radically different but equally important planes.

Perpendicular to the conventional “Apolline” dimension of culture, he introduced the “Dionysiac”: chaotic, spontaneous, vigorous and careless of the austere demands of rationality. Neither aspect was held to be superior, each may be done badly or well, and both are needed for a civilisation to find its most profound creative expression. Every Batman needs a Joker, he might have said, had he lived in a more comical age.

Of course, Nietzsche was not the first to observe that human beings sometimes behave with wanton abandon. His innovation consisted in realising it is a constitutional characteristic we could and should develop. And as with any behavioural characteristic, the facility to acquire it will vary from one person to another.

takyon writes:

Boeing takes $5 billion hit as Indonesian airline cancels 737 MAX order

Indonesia's largest air carrier has informed Boeing that it wants to cancel a $4.9 billion order for 49 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. Garuda Indonesia spokesperson Ikhsan Rosan said in a statement to the Associated Press that the airline was cancelling due to concern that "its business would be damaged due to customer alarm over the crashes."

Garuda had originally ordered 50 737 MAX aircraft, and Boeing delivered the first of those aircraft in December of 2017. The airline already operates 77 older Boeing 737 models; two of the aircraft ordered were conversions from earlier orders for 737-800s. Garuda also flies Boeing's 777-300 ER, and the company retired its 747-400 fleet in the last few years—so the airline was looking for an economical long-range aircraft to fill in gaps.

Doomed Boeing Jets Lacked 2 Safety Features That Company Sold Only as Extras

As the pilots of the doomed Boeing jets in Ethiopia and Indonesia fought to control their planes, they lacked two notable safety features in their cockpits. One reason: Boeing charged extra for them.

For Boeing and other aircraft manufacturers, the practice of charging to upgrade a standard plane can be lucrative. Top airlines around the world must pay handsomely to have the jets they order fitted with customized add-ons. Sometimes these optional features involve aesthetics or comfort, like premium seating, fancy lighting or extra bathrooms. But other features involve communication, navigation or safety systems, and are more fundamental to the plane's operations.

Many airlines, especially low-cost carriers like Indonesia's Lion Air, have opted not to buy them — and regulators don't require them. Now, in the wake of the two deadly crashes involving the same jet model, Boeing will make one of those safety features standard as part of a fix to get the planes in the air again.

See also: They didn't buy the DLC: feature that could've prevented 737 crashes was sold as an option

Previously: Second 737 MAX8 Airplane Crash Reinforces Speculation on Flying System Problems
Boeing 737 Max Aircraft Grounded in the U.S. and Dozens of Other Countries
DoJ Issues Subpoenas in 737 Max Investigation
Pilot Who Hitched a Ride Saved Lion Air 737 Day Before Deadly Crash

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takyon writes:

Bloodhound: Land speed record car is relaunched

The Bloodhound supersonic car is back, under new management and preparing to renew its pursuit of the land speed record.

The project went into administration last year, unable to secure the financing needed to go racing - even though the vehicle was all but built. But with the purchase of the car by entrepreneur Ian Warhurst, Bloodhound has been put on a new footing. Engineers are looking to start high-speed trials "as soon as possible". These could take place in the South African desert later this year, although team-members are being cautious about giving hard timelines for the re-booted venture.

Previously: 3D-Printed Tech to Steer Bloodhound Supersonic Car
Bloodhound Supersonic Car to be Tested in October
Bloodhound Supersonic Car Project Terminated Due to Lack of Funds

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upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Scientists hunt down the brain circuit responsible for alcohol cravings

Scientists at Scripps Research have found that they can reverse the desire to drink in alcohol-dependent rats—with the flip of a switch. The researchers were able to use lasers to temporarily inactivate a specific neuronal population, reversing alcohol-seeking behavior and even reducing the physical symptoms of withdrawal.

[...] Although the laser treatment is far from ready for human use, [associate professor Olivier] George believes identifying these neurons opens the door to developing drug therapies or even gene therapies for alcohol addiction.

[...] George and his colleagues have been hunting for the brain cells that driving drinking in an alcohol-addicted rat model. In 2016, they reported that they had found a possible source: a neuronal “ensemble,” or group of connected cells in a brain region called the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA).

[...] For the new study, they tested the role of a subset of neurons in the ensemble, called corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) neurons. The George laboratory had found that these CRF neurons make up 80 percent of the ensemble.

[...] First, the scientists established a baseline for how much the rats would drink before they got addicted to alcohol. The rats drank little this point—the equivalent of a glass of wine or one beer for a human. The scientists then spent several months increasing consumption in these rats to establish alcohol dependence.

The researchers then withdrew the alcohol, prompting withdrawal symptoms in the rats. When they offered alcohol again, the rats drank more than ever. The CeA neuronal ensemble was active, telling the rats to drink more.

Then the scientists flipped on the lasers to inactivate the CRF neurons—and the results were dramatic. The rats immediately returned to their pre-dependent drinking levels. The intense motivation to drink had gone away. Inactivating these neurons also reduced the physical symptoms of withdrawal, such as abnormal gait and shaking.

[...] The effect was even reversible. Turn off the lasers, and the rats returned to their dependent behavior.

Inactivation of a CRF-dependent amygdalofugal pathway reverses addiction-like behaviors in alcohol-dependent rats, Nature (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09183-0)

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takyon writes:

SpaceX's Starlink satellite lawyers refute latest "flawed" OneWeb critique

After years of relentless legal badgering from internet satellite constellation competitor OneWeb, SpaceX's regulatory and legal affairs team appears to have begun to (in a professional manner) lose patience with the constant barrage.

On February 21st, SpaceX published a withering refutation of OneWeb's latest criticism that offered a range of no-holds-barred counterarguments, painting the competitor – or at least its legal affairs department – as an entity keen on trying to undermine Starlink with FCC-directed critiques based on flawed reasoning, false assumptions, misinterpretations, and more. Alongside a number of memorable one-liners and retorts, legal counselors William Wiltshire and Paul Caritj and SpaceX executives Patricia Cooper and David Goldman openly "wonder whether OneWeb would be satisfied with SpaceX operating at any altitude whatsoever."

In late 2018, SpaceX filed a request with the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) that would allow the company to significantly modify parts of its Starlink satellite constellation license, cutting 16 spacecraft from the original total of 4425 and moving Phase 1's now-1584 satellites from an operating altitude of ~1100-1300 km (680-810 mi) to just 550 km (340 mi). Aside from further reducing the latency of communications, SpaceX also argues that "the principal reason" behind lowering the operational altitude of the first ~37% of Starlink satellites was "to [further] enhance the already considerable space safety attributes of [the] constellation."

[...] [There] is a great deal more irony to be found in OneWeb's attempt to block SpaceX from lowering the orbit of its first ~1600 satellites. In 2017 and 2018, the company repeatedly complained to the FCC about the fact that SpaceX's Starlink constellation was to nominally be placed in orbits from ~1100-1300 km, effectively sandwiching OneWeb's own ~1200 km constellation. OneWeb continues to demand an unreasonable level of special treatment from the FCC, hoping that the commission will allow it to establish a sort of buffer zone extending 125 km above and below its own constellation, basically demanding that a huge swath of low Earth orbit be OneWeb's and OneWeb's alone. In reality, this is likely nothing more than a thinly veiled anti-competitive tactic, in which success would almost entirely bar other prospective space-based internet providers from even considering the same orbit.

Starlink and OneWeb satellite constellations.

Related: Competing Communications Constellations Considered
Airbus and OneWeb Begin Building Satellites for Internet Constellation
FCC Authorizes SpaceX to Provide Broadband Satellite Services
U.S. Air Force Awards SpaceX $28.7 Million to Study Military Applications of Starlink
Blue Origin to Provide Multiple Orbital Launches for Telesat
SpaceX Seeks Approval for 1 Million Starlink Ground Stations, Faces Pentagon Audit

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