General Science topics

NASA Science Shows Human Impact of Clean Air Policies

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As local, federal, and international policies targeting the quality of the air we breathe continue to evolve, questions arise of how effective existing policies have been in improving human health. For example, how many lives have been saved by tough air pollution policies? How many illnesses have been caused by lax policies?

Annual mean levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution declined in the United States between 1990 (left) and 2010 (right), leading to thousands of lives saved, according to researcher Jason West.
Credits: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

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NASA recently initiated two projects to provide some answers drawing on its scientific expertise and global observations of air pollution from spacecraft orbiting Earth. It is information air quality managers say they need to refine current policies and develop effective new ones.

One project demonstrated that improvements in air quality in the United States between 1990 and 2010 reduced deaths from air pollution by nearly half. The other project, taking a global view of asthma, found that high levels of air pollution caused millions of emergency room visits annually.

The study of asthma impacts caused by air pollution used data on several pollutants including ozone. Shown here are annual average ozone concentrations from 2015; red indicates high concentrations, blue indicates lower levels.

Credits: Environmental Health Perspectives

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Both projects are part of NASA’s ongoing efforts to help air quality managers and policymakers solve clean air problems using NASA data and products. These quick-turnaround, high-priority projects are funded by the agency’s Earth Science Division drawing on expertise in its Health and Air Quality Applied Sciences Team.

The project that focused on U.S. air quality improvements used a 21-year computer simulation to estimate air pollutant concentrations, combining that with county population and baseline mortality rates. The findings showed that pollution-related deaths from heart disease, pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and stroke declined as a result of air quality improvements.

more at the link...

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-science-shows-human-impact-of-clean-air-policies

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back on this world...

15 hours ago, slear said:

Anyone has ever heard about this startup? Any chance that their claims could be real?

 

Electriq Global

 

Translation via Google, full article on Italian news Repubblica here https://it.businessinsider.com/una-startup-e-riuscita-a-stabilizzare-lidrogeno-sara-il-carburante-del-futuro-meta-prezzo-doppia-autonomia-e-0-emissioni/

 

Thanks for posting this. Anything towards green energy or pollutant reductions is a big deal in my book.

First off though...flags were set..although this may be legitimate. If one can't explain it simply in a few sentences, without avoidance tactics... there are issues. Questions that initially arose were...fuel cell, demand production, new process, damn it...spit it out...what is it..

Answers are avoided which bothers me to no end. It appears the "fuel" is a mixture of 60% water (issue in cold climates) and a special "compound" which allows a catalyst to generate hydrogen. This sounds like a metered consumption process derived from a tank of "special fuel" that one must purchase from the "new fuel overlords".

Quick summary....special fuel to be used in hydrogen fuel cell. We have a "plant process" involved, a distribution network requirement and a special "apparatus" required for the vehicle. This also fails the efficiency standards.

Nice idea and I hope they can refine this concept...but...I will state without hesitation, this is no match for batteries.....and recharging stations are well under way world wide.

The Sun is a massive nuclear engine throwing vast amounts of free energy in our face...we would be wise to use it in any process we pursue......and if we have a solar spill...we get a nice day.

Again..Thanks for posting this...If you find anything else as well or something neat that you like...please post it...hungry science pets await treats.

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This is a rarely seen image.

This one is disturbing...we need scribes and documentation on this...so generations centuries to come, may interpret it.

Another toy to play with....

leads to here...

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REMA

The Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA) is a high resolution, time-stamped Digital Surface Model (DSM) of Antarctica at 8-meter spatial resolution.

https://www.pgc.umn.edu/data/rema/

Purpose...

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The Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA) provides the first, high resolution (8-meter) terrain map of nearly the entire continent.

 

Since each REMA grid point has a timestamp, any past or future point observation of elevation provides a measurement of elevation change.

 

REMA may provide corrections for a wide range of remote sensing processing activities, such image orthorectification and interferometry, and provide constraints for geodynamic and ice flow modeling, mapping of grounding lines, and surface processes.

 

REMA also provides a powerful new resource for field logistics planning.

impressive work...

and yes..Rocket Lab's Electron is there...

meanwhile..just "fueling around"...

....true.......

😎

Just to cap things off for Xmas...humour me...I'm old....

Merry Xmas....

Some of these old time remedies actually worked...they just did not know how at the time....

Bacteria found in ancient Irish soil halts growth of superbugs -- new hope for tackling antibiotic resistance

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Researchers analysing soil from Ireland long thought to have medicinal properties have discovered that it contains a previously unknown strain of bacteria which is effective against four of the top six superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics, including MRSA.

 

Antibiotic resistant superbugs could kill up to 1.3 million people in Europe by 2050, according to recent research.

 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes the problem as "one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development today".

 

The new strain of bacteria was discovered by a team based in Swansea University Medical School, made up of researchers from Wales, Brazil, Iraq and Northern Ireland.

 

They have named the new strain Streptomyces sp. myrophorea.

 

The soil they analysed originated from an area of Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, which is known as the Boho Highlands. It is an area of alkaline grassland and the soil is reputed to have healing properties.

 

The search for replacement antibiotics to combat multi-resistance has prompted researchers to explore new sources, including folk medicines: a field of study known as ethnopharmacology. They are also focusing on environments where well-known antibiotic producers like Streptomyces can be found.

 

One of the research team, Dr Gerry Quinn, a previous resident of Boho, County Fermanagh, had been aware of the healing traditions of the area for many years.

 

Traditionally a small amount of soil was wrapped up in cotton cloth and used to heal many ailments including toothache, throat and neck infections. Interestingly, this area was previously occupied by the Druids, around 1500 years ago, and Neolithic people 4000 years ago.

snip

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Our results show that folklore and traditional medicines are worth investigating in the search for new antibiotics. Scientists, historians and archaeologists can all have something to contribute to this task. It seems that part of the answer to this very modern problem might lie in the wisdom of the past."

Dr Gerry Quinn from the research team said:

"The discovery of antimicrobial substances from Streptomyces sp.myrophorea will help in our search for new drugs to treat multi-resistant bacteria, the cause of many dangerous and lethal infections.

We will now concentrate on the purification and identification of these antibiotics. We have also discovered additional antibacterial organisms from the same soil cure which may cover a broader spectrum of multi-resistant pathogens."

The research was published in Frontiers in Microbiology.

more at the link...

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-12/su-bfi122718.php?utm_source=64&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=EurekAlert!-(@EurekAlert)&utm_term=EurekAlert&utm_content=AAAS

This above is more for you medical guys...Opinion with generalities follows...This era is of interest to me though...This was a time...approx 400 Ad where the Romans left Hadrians Wall and pulled out of Britain. The influx of( various origins) Saxon's at the time are of recent interest where it is believed they were actually "more barbaric", if you could use that term, since they wiped out major traces of Pictish origin in the area. The language is composed of a majority of Saxon derivatives in lieu of Pictish origins. When the "Viking" incursions approached around approx 450 years later, it ended with the (Saxon) English and "Northmen" establishing a "boundary line" between themselves. The northern part of Britain contains "Northman" linguistic attributes, but not to the extent of the Saxons in lower Britian. Interestingly enough, Ireland was left alone for awhile, for the most part till "Northmen" arrived and made there presence. This gave the Pict's "breathing room if you will.

 The entire area consisted of many more Tribal factions from pre-Roman to about 1200 AD but the Saxon and Norse really put a dent in local lifestyles...to put it mildly. Such a dangerous time for families and farmsteads.

end of mini dribble...

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This one made me laugh....and you cats...you're there too...

more recent...

Few odds and ends...

 These large dish behemoths are hard to tell for size in close up images...this works great.

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I have not seen this image before...cool...

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This would be awesome to gaze at every night.....

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