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NASA Remembers Its Worst Space Mission Diasters

February 9, 2017 By Jenna Lewis

NASA day of remembrance

It’s been 31 years since the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff killing a crew of seven astronauts, including Christa McAuliffe, who was to be the first civilian and school teacher in space. It was Jan. 28, 1986, and many Americans still remember where they were and what they were doing on that morning 39 minutes after 11 a.m. when the Challenger erupted into a mass of smoke and fire 10,000 feet above the earth.

NASA recently held a commemorative event on Jan. 31 called a Day of Remembrance to honor the Challenger, and also the Apollo I fire that killed three astronauts in 1967. Memoralizing the Columbia, the Space Shuttle that exploded in 2003 killing seven crew members, rounded out the day’s observance.

Huge Live TV Audience

The Challenger was the first catastrophic disaster for the Space Shuttle program since this class of launch system first flew in 1981. The first operational flight for the Space Shuttle, or STS, was in 1982. After four years of successful missions NASA was confident enough to add its first non-astronaut to a flight crew.

Christa McAuliffe was a school teacher from Concord, New Hampshire, who was selected from a field of 11,000 applicants for the NASA Teacher in Space Program. The fact that McAuliffe was aboard made the mission an extremely high-profile event – tens of thousands of school children were tuned in around the nation to watch the launch on live TV. An estimated 17% of all Americans were tuned into the event.

Also killed were astronauts Dick Scobee, Michael Smith, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Judith Resnick. The Challenger disaster is considered America’s greatest space disaster, although The Columbia also killed seven astronauts after it broke up upon re-entry in 2003. However, the presence of McAuliffe on the Challenger gave added poignancy to the event in addition to being the first fail catastrophically.

Grounding And Investigation

The entire Space Shuttle fleet was grounded for 32 months after the Challenger exploded. A special commission was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to investigate the cause of the event. The Rogers Commission was headed by former Secretary of State William Rogers. It included such famous members as Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon, and world famous physicist Richard Feynman, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics.

The Commission ultimately concluded that the explosion was due to the failure of an O-Ring that served as a seal for a joint in the Challenger’s right solid rocket booster. Hot fuel burned through the ring which then allowed flames to contact the fuel in an external tank. The result was an explosion powerful enough to break up the entire STS launch complex.

Part of the reason the O-Ring failed was because temperatures were unusually cold at the Florida launch site on Jan. 28. Icy temperatures made the material in the O-Rings brittle and less responsive to changes in pressure and temperature. This facet was famously illustrated by Feynman before news cameras when he dropped a sample O-Ring into a glass of ice water.

Controversy Over NASA Deaths

While many assumed that all seven astronauts died instantly in the catastrophic explosion, most experts believe the crew survived the blast and lived at least for the two minutes and 45 seconds it took for the crew cab to fall back to the Atlantic Ocean. The impact speed of contact with the water was 207 mph.

The ultimate cause of death for the crew has never been released – although NASA astronaut and medical doctor Story Musgrave said it is likely the crew remained conscious and aware after the blast, and lived at least until they impacted the water.

 

Image source: kennedyspacecenter.com

Filed Under: Tech & Science

Invasive Grass Carp Found In Great Lakes Worries Wildlife Biologists

February 9, 2017 By Jenna Lewis

 

Invasive grass carp

The grass carp, an invasive species of fish not natural to U.S. waters, has entered three of North America’s Great Lakes sparking great concerns among wildlife biologists. The large foreign species of carp has been discovered in lakes Ontario, Erie and Michigan.

They hold the potential to wreak great damage upon the Great Lakes’ aquatic environment. What worries experts further is that 9 out of the 10 of the recent grass carp caught are fertile. Most previous grass carp found in American waters have been infertile.

What Is the Grass Carp and How It Got Here

The grass carp is a freshwater fish that can reach weights up to 90 pounds. It’s an herbivorous species meaning it eats only plant life. They are native to eastern Asia, with a natural range from northern Vietnam to the Amur River on the Siberia-China border. The fish was imported to the United States in 1963 from Taiwan and Malaysia to aquaculture facilities in Alabama and Arkansas.

It was hoped that the grass carp would be an effective weapon against weed control in some American waters. As early as 1966 a number of grass carp escaped from a Fish Farming Experimental Station in Stuttgart, Arkansas. Several more subsequent escapes, and several illegal releases have resulted in the unwanted spread of the species into greater American and Canadian water systems.

Trouble For Native Fish

The reason grass carp can be devastating to American water systems is that they are extremely aggressive feeders on a variety of aquatic plants. Native species of fish, such as Great Lakes salmon, lake trout, smelt, walleye, northern pike, perch and many others also rely on the same vegetation not just for food, but to provide underwater habitat conducive to maintaining an overall environment for survival.

Too many grass carp can essentially “deforest” underwater ecosystems, leaving behind barren aquatic landscapes that starve out native fish. Grass carp eat about three times their own body weight daily – a lot of food for those reaching 90 pounds.

Still Time to Control

Scientists estimate they have about 10 years to counter the incursion of grass carp into the Great Lakes. The fish still require several generations to gain sufficient numbers before they can radically alter the aquatic ecosystems here. One suggested tactic is to place nets over areas where the carp are likely to spawn during mating season. Another is to simply control the number of new invaders from being released from other U.S. locations where the fish are legally cultivated.

Another possible weapon against the grass carp are fisherman. This fish possesses many of the qualities that angling enthusiasts enjoy – it’s large, puts up a good fight on the rod and reel, and they are good to eat. A problem, however, is that because grass carp are strictly vegetarians, baiting them is a challenge.

A preferred method to lure the grass carp is chumming – scattering foods like corn, cherry tomatoes or bread on the surface of the water – and then floating a hook “pinch-baited” with corn or bread nearby. Spearing and bow fishing are other popular methods.

Other Invasive Carps

The grass carp is just one of several Asian species of carp causing great concern in American waters. The bighead carp and the silver carp — also called the flying silver carp — have been found in great numbers in many U.S. waterways. These species were also imported from Asia for the purpose of weed and plankton control, but escaped through either accidental or illegal release.

 

Photo by Peter Salasz, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.

Filed Under: Tech & Science

Mumps Outbreak In Washington Has Health Officials Scrambling

February 9, 2017 By Jenna Lewis

Syringe & vaccine

Health officials in the state of Washington are alarmed about a significant outbreak of mumps in January. Nearly 300 cases have been confirmed across five counties. That includes 166 cases in King County where Seattle is located. On the opposite side of the state in Spokane, 94 cases have been recorded. Health officials there ordered 300 students to stay home because they were not up to date with their vaccines.

Mumps: A Pain In The Jaw

Mumps is a common condition spread by an airborne virus. It most often affects children but adults are susceptible to the disease as well. The most visible symptom of mumps is a painful swelling of the salivary glands between the jaw and ear. This produces the characteristic puffy cheeks and neck.

The word mumps originally meant “grimace,” or “having a miserable expression,” according to the 16th Century English dictionary.

Along with swelling around the face, the illness produces fever, muscle pain, headache, and extreme exhaustion. In 25% of the cases only one side of the face swells. The swelling peaks in 1 to 3 days.

Vaccination Effective But Not Perfect

Just about all children in the United States are routinely vaccinated for mumps with the MMR vaccine. The first dose is given at age 12 to 15 months; a second round is given at ages 4 to 6 years. The vaccine is not 100% effective, but it does prevent 88% of cases.

Even so, new outbreaks such as those in Washington can still happen, most likely due to an influx of people who have not been vaccinated. These people tend to come from other countries where vaccine programs are not universal, but 12 out of a 100 people still contract mumps even if they are vaccinated.

Treatment

Mumps does not respond to antibiotic treatment, because it caused by a virus and not by a bacteria. Doctors recommend rest, over-the-counter pain medications, such as acetaminophen or aspirin, and using ice or heat pads for swollen, painful areas of the neck and jaw.

Drinking a lot of fluids also counters the effects of fever and prevents dehydration. Last, but not least, sucking on ice chips can provide extra relief.

Washington Not the First

Washington is just the latest state in recent years to experience a spike in mumps. The largest outbreaks have occurred in Arkansas, Iowa, Oklahoma, New York and Illinois, all of which saw more than 300 cases. Last year 5,311 cases in 46 states and the District of Columbia were reported to the CDC.

Mumps became extremely rare in the United States after 1967 when a national vaccination program was instituted. Before the program there were more than 186,000 cases in the U.S. every year. After the vaccine program the rate of infection was reduced by 99%.

Another Possible Source?

Although extremely controversial and sure to produce arguments everywhere it is suggested, there is some evidence that new outbreaks of common diseases such as measles and mumps are being driven by people who are opting out of vaccine programs.

A recent review funded by the National Institutes of Health found a connection between vaccine refusal and the rise of measles and whooping cough. Although this study did not mention mumps specifically, the vaccines for these conditions are generally combined into a single shot.

Health officials say our greatest weapon against such common diseases is vaccination. Scientists insist that rigorous, scientific proof ensures that vaccine are safe and cannot produce other harmful long-term conditions.

The vaccine not only prevents the disease in each individual treated, but a;sp prevents it from spreading to others who are not vaccinated. This makes achieving a nearly universal vaccination goal a significant public health issue, in spite of anti-VAX movements arguing otherwise.

 

Image by NIAID, available under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Filed Under: Health & Lifestyle

Peter Thiel Gives Up on His Dream of Libertarian Floating Utopia

February 8, 2017 By Jenna Lewis

Floating island project

Peter Thiel, the 49-year-old billionaire co-founder of PayPal, told journalists he no longer has any faith in creating a floating island for libertarians. Although Thiel invested millions of his own money into this floating island project, better known as seastead, he recently said that he now believes this island isn’t physically possible.

Although Thiel has given up on the dream of living on a floating island in the near future, a group of dedicated workers on the seastead are still actively pursuing Thiel’s dream.

Why Peter Thiel Believes The Dream Island Is Over

News of Thiel’s lack of faith in the seastead broke in an interview with Maureen Dowd, a reporter who works for The New York Times. Not only did Thiel express a lack of faith in his own floating island, but also with the entire concept of the “floating city.” Thiel told Dowd that floating cities are “not quite feasible from an engineering perspective.” Thiel heavily supported the idea of the seastead from 2008 until 2011.

During that time, Thiel donated about $1.7 million of his own money to The Seasteading Institute. While The Seasteading Institute is still active today, Thiel has resigned from the board of directors in 2011. One of the major reasons investors suspect Thiel left The Seasteading Institute has to do with his involvement in the 2016 race for the presidency. Thiel threw all of his support behind Donald Trump right from the start, a move that shocked many techies in left-leaning Silicon Valley.

It’s been estimated that Thiel gave $1.25 million to the Trump campaign. Peter Thiel is now an unofficial tech advisor to the president-elect. In addition to serving the president-elect, this billionaire tech titan has suggested he will run for the governorship of California. While nothing has been definitively stated about Thiel’s political future in the Golden State, he’s certainly more focused on national politics now than he is on retreating to a floating island paradise.

The Seasteading Institute Pushes Forward Without Thiel

People involved in The Seasteading Institute are sad to see Peter Thiel leave, but they are determined to prove to the world that floating island technology is the way of the future. Just last autumn a bunch of executives from The Seasteading Institute met with leaders of French Polynesia. This meeting was held to clarify plans on developing a seastead just off the coast of the French Polynesian islands.

The Seasteading Institute said French Polynesia will most likely allow the seastead to determine many of its own rules, but major French Polynesian laws on crime and the environment would have to be enforced on the seastead. Reporters say the meeting went very well between the two parties. Some insiders believe we might see The Seasteading Institute begin work on their seastead this year.

Members of The Seasteading Institute claim that this city will be about the size of half a football field and have two or three platforms once completed. The facility’s executives also told reporters that the city would be able to comfortably house 30 people. After they can confirm this initial city is both safe and effective, The Seasteading Institute will get to work on adding more platforms.

It’s Still Going To Be Awhile Before The First Seastead Appears

There are still numerous challenges The Seasteading Institute will have to overcome in the upcoming years if they want to make their dream a reality. First, they’ll have to develop some kind of foundation that’ll be able to withstand the impact of seawater for at least 100 years. The institute will then have to work on establishing a viable autonomous economic policy.

They will also have to raise about $30 million to begin constructing the first iteration of the seastead. Despite all of these challenges, The Seasteading Institute said it will move forward and try its best to manifest Thiel’s dream of a libertarian floating island near French Polynesia.

 

Image by ejacobhansen, available under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Filed Under: Technology

The Fitness Trends to Be Widely Popular in 2017

February 8, 2017 By Jenna Lewis

Woman doing fitness exercises

According to data from Statistic Brain, about 41 percent of Americans make a New Year’s Resolutions every year. Of those 41 percent, about 32 percent make the resolution to lose weight and exercise more. Unfortunately, as we all settle into the New Year and the “new normal,” we often slacken off and fail to integrate our resolution into our daily lives.

While 72 percent of people who make resolutions keep them for the first week, only 44 percent keep up with their goals six months later. In order to help people trying to get into fitness and wellness, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has just released a brand new report on the top fitness trends to expect this year. This report took into account the responses of over 1,800 fitness professionals, and it revealed the top trends to look out for in 2017.

The Top Fitness Trends ACSM Discovered For 2017

One of the main fitness trends ACSM sees continuing into this year is the use of wearable technologies. Just a few of the companies ACSM believes will do very well in 2017 include Garmin, Fitbit, and Apple. Now that more wearable fitness devices are able to track a person’s heart rate, speed, distance, and even provide GPS tracking, the fitness experts involved in ACSM’s report believe wearable devices and fitness apps aren’t just a short-term “fad.”

A few of the top reviewed wearables now on the market include the Apple Watch Nike+, the WiseWear Calder, and the Huawei Fit watch. Despite the popularity of these wearables, ACSM discovered many fitness trends that don’t require equipment at all. In fact, body weight exercises continue to dominate the ACSM report.

Also, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) programs, especially group training programs such as CrossFit and Biogilates, continue to increase in popularity as a means of quickly burning calories.

Some ACSM Respondents Support Lower Intensity Training

Walter Thompson, ACSM’s current president-elect, told reporters that ACSM didn’t consider any “items as trends for this list unless they’re sustained over many years.” The ACSM report has been released annually for 11 years now, and every year they use the same criteria to judge whether something is just a “fad” or a sustained trend.

Of course, while HIIT programs may seem like a great option, Thompson said most respondents still recommend seeking out the counseling of certified fitness professional and going for personal training sessions. Thompson told reporters,

Overall, people who work in the fitness industry are much more accountable and professional than previously.

Not only are there better-qualified fitness instructors out there, there’s also more of them in the USA. The U.S. Department of Labor expects a whopping 8 percent rise in employment for fitness professionals between 2014 and 2024. While HIIT programs may have more flair, ACSM notes that simple strength training and yoga programs are still extremely effective exercise regimens to safely enhance a person’s quality of life.

How Can You Get Started On Your Fitness Journey?

There are numerous cheap and easy ways to get motivated and achieve your fitness goals in 2017. Even if you don’t have the money for the latest wearable device, you can easily download at least one high-quality fitness app to track your progress and get you pumped. For those who don’t need a fitness app or a trainer, ACSM recommends getting out into nature and walking, biking, or hiking.

For those in need of a group setting, yoga, personal training groups, and body weight training programs are perfect for those at various levels of fitness. While HIIT programs are still popular, ACSM recommends them for younger fitness fanatics that can handle the strain of working out for long stretches without breaks.

 

Image source: pexels.com/photo/woman-girl-strength-fitness-136405/

Filed Under: Health & Lifestyle

ZeniMax Demanding 2 Billion from Facebook

February 4, 2017 By Jenna Lewis

Oculus Rift Crescent Bay prototype

ZeniMax is accusing Facebook’s Oculus of stealing their VR technology.

ZeniMax Media is suing Facebook and its subsidiary Oculus for $2 billion over allegedly stolen virtual reality technology. They are accusing Oculus of using stolen technology in the creation of the Oculus VR headset. The first day of the trial was on January 17, 2017, and the court battle is expected to last around three weeks.

ZeniMax Wants to Be Compensated $2 Billion for Its Alleged Stolen VR Intellectual Property

ZeniMax, a media company that develops and publishes video games, claims that their former employee, John Carmack, used their technology without permission when designing the Oculus. He worked for them from 2009 to 2013. The company also acquired Carmack’s business iD Software in 2009 for $405 million. The man resigned from ZeniMax in November 2013 to work exclusively for Oculus.

What makes this situation messier is he was working for both companies before the official resignation. He even worked on the virtual reality version of Doom 3 for Oculus VR a year before leaving ZeniMax. The latter suspects that Carmack copied thousands of documents from a computer at the company onto a USB storage device. He then shared that information with Palmer Luckey, one of the founders of Oculus.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder of Facebook, declared he’s confident that Oculus products are based on its own technology. He doesn’t think the company stole the technology. In fact, he doesn’t even consider it a possibility:

“The idea that Oculus products are based on someone else’s technology is just wrong.”

Zuckerberg announced he had never even heard of ZeniMax before. The social media mogul also disregards the possibility of the technology being stolen because:

“It is pretty common when you announce a big deal or do something that all kinds of people just kind of come out of the woodwork and claim that they just own some portion of the deal.”

ZeniMax is the parent company of the well-known video game publisher Bethesda and the video game developer iD Software. They have some big hits in the video game industry, such as Fallout and The Elder Scrolls.

The evidence that ZeniMax presented to prove Oculus misappropriated their VR intellectual property includes intentional destruction of evidence by the defendant. Additional proof consists of stolen confidential information, trade secrets, and computer code.

More Background on ZeniMax’s Dispute with Facebook and Oculus

According to Gamespot, Facebook bought Oculus for $4 billion in 2014. And the dispute isn’t new. ZeniMax sued Oculus months after the announcement that Facebook would acquire the business.

They accused Oculus of using important parts of their technology in creating a virtual reality headset. The company later included Facebook in the legal battle because they bought Oculus.

Although it’s common for tech companies or developers to fight over ownership rights, it’s rare that this type of dispute makes it to a jury trial like this one did. The dispute between ZeniMax, Oculus, and Facebook has reached the federal court.

ZeniMax’s lawyer questioned Zuckerberg about how quickly he closed the deal with Oculus to acquire the company. If he can prove Facebook’s CEO was negligent in his purchase of a company that has stolen technology, then his client has a better chance of winning the case.

Zuckerberg believes that making fast deals in the technology industry is essential, otherwise, another company will snap up your opportunity.

Is Oculus Innocent?

Zuckerberg probably shouldn’t have as much confidence as he does that Oculus technology wasn’t stolen because he didn’t personally develop it. He has no way of knowing 100% whether or not Carmack wrongfully used ZeniMax’s technology. It will have to be a battle sorted out by the judicial system.

Image Source: Flickr

Filed Under: Technology

Venus Scientists Rejected by NASA Again

January 31, 2017 By Jenna Lewis

venus globe photo

Scientists at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) who are researching Venus are very disappointed to find out that their projects were again not chosen for funding. They had two proposals in the top six, but the agency decided neither one was worth being funded at this time.

The team behind the proposals warned that if NASA does not find a way to fund a project on the planet soon, interest in Venus among scientists will fizzle out.

How Are NASA Projects Chosen?

While most people would assume that NASA gets to decide how they want to spend the money that they get from Congress, it’s actually not the case. The process of getting any funding approved is over two years long.

The procedure begins before March, when the head of NASA (until the 20th of January, this was Charles F. Bolden) asks all of his managers to submit budget proposals for what they will need in two years. NASA operates 10 space centers. The manager of each center must create a budget for their own division.

This is the first time that funding for Venus projects may be declined because the project manager lacks the faith in its importance. Since there haven’t been many exciting developments on Venus lately, the number of people supporting a mission on Venus is diminishing.

By July, the Head of NASA must submit his detailed budget proposal to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO). This group of people then makes sure that the submitted plans meet the commitments set by NASA, from the top of the agency to the bottom. The budget then goes back to NASA for a final approval of any changes made by OCFO.

By September, the budget then goes to the Office of Management and Budget(OMB). This office has many smaller committees. In the case of NASA proposals, the budget must be approved by the Science and Space Branch of the Energy, Science, and Water Division.

Up to this point, all people working on the budget are hired permanently. Once the budget reaches the OMB, the budget sees its first political appointee. The committees must present their recommendations to the Director of the OMB. This person is appointed by the President and serves on his cabinet.

Therefore, Venus projects can be turned down at this point because this director doesn’t think that the President would be interested. As you can see, it’s a pretty complicated procedure overall.

What Happens Next? Will We Have a Venus Mission?

After the director makes a decision, this person sends a letter back to the Head of NASA. In in, the director can tell the leader of the agency that he needs to alter how NASA recommends spending money, cancel whole programs or make changes to NASA’s policy.

In this most recent case, NASA asked for funding for six projects. Two of those projects were Venus projects. The committee denied both Venus projects.

Bolton has just one chance to state his case again. Alternatively, he can simply accept what OMB recommends. Once NASA and the OMB agrees, then the final writing of the budget happens to make sure that it looks nice. The plans then go to Congress who must approve the budget. Finally, the president signs the budget.

Robert Grimm, a program director in the space science division of San Antonio based Southwest Research Institute says

With five total missions, and an expectation that two missions were going to be accepted, it seemed natural to do a Venus one and an asteroid one.

But when the process was done, the budget was approved for two asteroid projects, while no Venus proposal was greenlighted.

Conclusion

Getting a Venus project funded is a complicated process involving many different steps. It starts with project managers recommending budgets to NASA’s head. Then, the budget goes to the OCFO who then makes their changes to projects sending it back to NASA’s administrator for his approval.

The budget then goes to the OMB who makes more changes. Finally, the budget goes to Congress for their approval. The final step is for the president to sign the budget. Sadly, considering the recent rejection of the two projects, a Venus mission doesn’t seem to be in stars in the immediate future.

Image source: here.

Filed Under: Tech & Science

New Discovery Could Make Genetic Engineering Safer to Use

January 30, 2017 By Jenna Lewis

dna close up in blue

Genetic engineering has been used in the agricultural industry for decades. When crops are genetically engineered, they become what is labeled as genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. There is much debate about the safety and future of GMOs in terms of food safety and food supplies.

Still, genetic engineering can also be used to actually modify human tissue. This scientific process is accomplished by manipulating the genetic codes in DNA and using the genes’ own defense mechanisms against itself.

The Challenge of Using Genetic Engineering for Good

Human genetic engineering has the potential to bring out the worst in science. We could, presumably, manipulate DNA to create humans that possess characteristics and traits that would put the entire human species in jeopardy. Fortunately, scientists have devised a way to curb their own temptation to use this technology for bad rather than good.

The CRISPR-Cas9 genetic engineering tool facilitates this science for the betterment of humans and makes it more difficult to change human DNA for the worst.

This tool works in party by manipulating genes’ own defense mechanisms against themselves. Normally genes use these defenses to prevent phages from attaching themselves to the genes for the purpose of making more phages.

The genes use their own DNA sequences to verify whether or not the phages are safe organisms or if they are a danger. If the genes find the same sequence in their DNA, they attack and eliminate the phage entirely.

However, the tool can manipulate this process and trick the genes into accepting phages that it would otherwise deny. The result is a modified organism that can be used to treat or cure diseases like Parkinson’s disease, MS, cancer, and a host of other deadly illnesses.

As scientists become familiar with this tool and learn more about its potential applications, it is predicted that beneficial genetic engineering could soon make its way into the healthcare and medical industries. Scientists could be on the verge of discovering cures for diseases that kill millions of people each year.

The Risks of Human Genetic Engineering

Despite the existence of the CRISPR-Cas9 genetic engineering tool, scientists may still be tempted to use this technology for the worse rather than the benefit of humankind. In fact, scientific experts theorize that modifying humans to eliminate what are perceived to be bad traits and replicate the characteristics that are deemed desirable could introduce a dangerous precedent to the world.

Some experts even compare it to Hitler’s attempts to create a master race of blue-eyed, blonde hair people. Genetic engineering, when used for the bad, could give leeway to bias and personal consumer choices in matters where no one should have this kind of a say. Imagine the world we would live in if parents would be able to ‘shop’ for their perfect child.

Further, genetic engineering could also devalue and even jeopardize the lives of people with disabilities, disfigurements, and other uncommon physical appearances. These people are already facing enough discrimination as it is.

Genetic engineering could also remove the spontaneity found in human recreation now. People who are scientifically modified could all look, sound, and perform the same rather than exhibit unique characteristics that set people apart from each other now.

Undoubtedly, this type of research will continue to have an important role in science in the future. It continues to be used to modify farm crops like wheat, corn, and other commodities. Just as scientists debate the safety of GMOs produced in farming, they likewise debate the safety and need for modified humans.

To keep themselves in check and to increase the likelihood that this technology will be used for good, scientists have created the CRISPR-Cas9 tool. Hopefully, we will hear more good things about it in the years to come.

Image source: here.

Filed Under: Tech & Science

Jobs Stagger, But Wages Have Hit a Postcrisis High

January 26, 2017 By Jenna Lewis

animated figures waiting in line for jobs

President Obama’s presidency has been hallmarked by stagnant job growth and lackluster economic performance. Even as his approval rating climbed to a respectable percentage right before he left office, his final job report showed that his administration only added 156,000 jobs in the last month of his presidency. His advocates say that this report proves that he provided the results that the country needed to regain confidence in the American economy. However, critics state that the small growth shows signs of confidence thanks to Trump’s election.

The Final Job Report of Obama’s Presidency

Along with creating 156,000 jobs, the economy last month saw wage growth of around nine percent. This small increase means that people are making more money; however, many of those people are still working on a part-time or temporary basis. Even more, the job growth is much lower than what was predicted by economists who thought the final month of Obama’s presidency would see a creation of around 175,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate likewise rose just slightly from 4.6 percent to 4.7 percent. That rate, however, does not take into account the number of people who dropped out of the job market because of dismal economic performance and a lack of jobs in their specialties. The slight uptick of the unemployment rate can also be linked to the number of Baby Boomers who retired or stopped working.

The exit of Baby Boomers from the job market may also account for why wages are up just slightly as opposed to previous months. Employers are willing to invest more money in younger recruits because they speculate that they will get a return on that investment with labor and skills provided to the company.

The increase in wages also indicates that companies are willing to spend more money on employees because of the new administration. Trump’s pro-growth and pro-business policies are expected to create a hiring boom and a need for more workers to flood the American economy.

The Promise of Trump’s Pro-Business Agenda

Since he launched his presidential campaign in summer 2015, Donald Trump made it clear that he would advocate for businesses of all sizes and push for American companies to return overseas jobs back to U.S. soil. He proposes to accomplish this goal by taxing American companies 30 percent at the border when they import their goods back into the country. He also proposes incentives for companies that decide to expand or rebuild businesses and factories in America rather than shipping factories and manufacturing overseas. So far his agenda has paid off with companies like Ford, Fiat, Sprint, and others promising to stay in the country and invest more money in job creation, building new factories, and bettering existing manufacturing plants.

Some economists say that Trump’s ability to create jobs even before he takes office proves that he has what it takes to vastly improve the economy to levels it has not seen since the Reagan era. Many American businesses are taking this as a sign of promise and, as such, have demonstrated more positivism on their part in the decisions they are making right now about their futures. Economists say that Americans should embrace this agenda for the simple fact that the entire country will benefit from it.

Even so, Obama and his followers say that the uptick in the number of jobs and amount of wages being paid should be credited to his White House instead of Trump’s pro-business agenda. They argue that Trump’s economic plans will end up hurting the U.S. and taking jobs away from America’s international partners like Mexico. However, Obama’s worries are not echoed by businesses that now see the American market as more lucrative than ever.

Image Source: Maxpixel

Filed Under: Business & Financial News

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January 13, 2017 By Robert Bell

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Homeless Memorial Day Remembers the People Who Died on the Streets in 2016

Homeless Memorial Day Remembers the People Who Died on the Streets in 2016

January 4, 2017 By Kelly Holzschlag

Chicago’s Rahm Emanuel Also Used Personal Email Account for Business Purposes

Chicago’s Rahm Emanuel Also Used Personal Email Account for Business Purposes

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