TomoNews US
SpaceX Halfway Done Building Starship's Massive Booster
- Title
- SpaceX Halfway Done Building Starship's Massive Booster
- Runtime
- 1:15
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- BOCA CHICA, TEXAS — The Teslarati website recently posted the latest photos of SpaceX’s Super Heavy booster prototype, saying that the photos show that the massive booster is already halfway built.
The prototype, called BN1, is set to become the world’s largest booster ever. It will also be the tallest, heaviest and most powerful liquid-fuel booster ever built.
BN1 will measure around 70 meters in height, weigh 3700 metric tons fully fueled, and produce around 7500 metric tons of thrust.
It will equal the power of almost ten of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 boosters at full thrust and outclass every rocket ever built.
A flurry of public photos from local and visiting photographers have confirmed that the Super Heavy prototype is effectively halfway to completion and currently stands at 18 steel segments.
As the final rocket would be 38 segments tall, this means that BN1 is a ring away from half of its full height, leavin...
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- Shark Population Down 70 Percent Since 1970
- Runtime
- 1:56
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- Scientists say more than 70 percent of the world’s sharks and rays disappeared from the ocean between 1970 and 2018, in large part due to overfishing — and more than three quarters of shark species are now threatened with extinction.
According to a study published in the journal Nature, there are 31 species of oceanic sharks and rays. Of these, three are critically endangered and 13 are endangered. Eight are listed as vulnerable and three as near threatened. Only six are classified as of least concern.
The study in Nature attributes the declines to decades of overfishing, notably longline fishing. Longlines can stretch to 100 km and catch fish and other wildlife indiscriminately.
SOURCES: Nature, Smithsonian, BBC News, Global Shark Movement Project
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-03173-9
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/oceanic-sharks-and-rays-have-declined-70-1970-180976890/
https://www.bbc.com/news/scien...
- Title
- Mummy With Golden Tongue Found in Egypt
- Runtime
- 1:06
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT — The New York Times reports that archaeologists digging at an ancient Egyptian site called Taposiris Magna, in western Alexandria, unearthed 16 burial sites in tombs cut into rock, with one containing a mummy bearing a tongue made of gold.
The team speculates that after the person’s tongue was removed during embalming, it was replaced with the golden object so the deceased could speak to Osiris in the afterlife.
Osiris is the Egyptian “Lord of the Underworld” and judge of the dead — one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt.
The scientists estimate the mummy to be around 2,000 years old, which would place it in the time long after the time of the pyramids, and in the time of the Greek and Roman empires.
According to egyptologists, if individuals encountered Osiris, god of the underworld, in his domain, they would have needed a way to communicate with the deity.
The team is unsure wh...
- Title
- Amazon Adds Helix Tower to Its 2.5 Billion Dollar HQ
- Runtime
- 1:10
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA — Amazon is planning to build a 350-foot-tall tower in the shape of a double helix as part of the second phase of its 2.5 billion-dollar headquarters in Arlington County in Virginia.
CNN reports that construction on the first phase is already well underway at the site, and Amazon’s plans for the second phase have just been submitted to authorities.
Dubbed PenPlace, the newly unveiled proposal for the project's second phase will provide a further 2.8 million square feet of office space across three 22-story buildings.
The site's focal point will be The Helix, a tree-covered glass structure where a series of “alternative work environments” will be set amid indoor gardens and greenery from the nearby area.
“We're doing a lot on the site to connect people to nature,” said lead architect Dale Alberda in a video interview, adding that the design aims to symbolize both nature and science.
“B...
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- Ancient Rocket Booster Finally Breaks Free From Earth
- Runtime
- 1:08
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- WASHINGTON — Earth’s so-called “second moon” will make one final pass this week before floating out into space forever.
Astronomers first spotted an unknown object with an incoming trajectory in September 2020 and initially believed it was an asteroid.
On closer inspection, it became clear that the object is a discarded rocket booster from the failed Surveyor 2 mission from 1966.
The lunar lander it was ferrying ended up crashing into the moon.
After ferrying this failed research lander to the moon, the booster floated past the moon, ending up in an orbit very similar to Earth’s.
Now, after decades of floating out there, this far-out piece of hardware managed to get itself trapped in Earth’s gravitational pull again.
Ironically, it is also this rare entrapment that will finally set the booster free to fall into the gravitational arms of the sun.
This is made possible by the sli...
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- Freak Mini Avalanche Caused Dyatlov Pass Mystery: Study
- Runtime
- 1:26
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- DYATLOV PASS, RUSSIA — This photo of Russian students cutting a snow shelter in the middle of a howling windstorm, is one of the reasons why a new study says the nine students who died freakishly in the Dyatlov Pass Incident, dug their own grave. Here are the details:
In January 1959, in the middle of the Russian winter, nine students set off on a long ski hike into Siberia and never returned.
When rescue teams later found their bodies strewn about the snow of Dyatlov Pass, their horrific injuries became the seeds of many a conspiracy theory, ranging from an alien attack to a Russian missile strike aimed at killing double agents.
National Geographic reports that a new scientific study found evidence that the nine unlucky students were killed by hypothermia after being crushed by a very unique type of avalanche.
The study postulates that the group sealed their own fate when they cut a shelter into a slope under the shoulder of a h...
- Title
- How Johnson & Johnson’s Single-Dose COVID Vaccine Works
- Runtime
- 3:36
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY — Johnson & Johnson announced on Jan. 29 that its single-dose coronavirus vaccine was 66 percent effective in preventing moderate disease 28 days after injection in its Phase 3 global trials, according to a company press release.
The company said the vaccine was 85 percent effective at preventing severe COVID, and that no one had died or was hospitalized 28 days following their vaccination.
Like the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine and Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, and unlike Pfizer and Moderna’s mRNA vaccines, Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine uses a modified adenovirus as a vector.
SOURCES: Johnson & Johnson, CNN, Washington Post
https://www.jnj.com/johnson-johnson-announces-single-shot-janssen-covid-19-vaccine-candidate-met-primary-endpoints-in-interim-analysis-of-its-phase-3-ensemble-trial
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/29/health/johnson-coronavirus-vaccine-results/index.html
https://www.washingtonpost.co...
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- The TRAPPIST-1 Planets May Have More Water Than Earth
- Runtime
- 2:21
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- LIEGE, BELGIUM — A new international study led by astrophysicist Eric Agol from the University of Washington and involving scientists from the University of Liege has measured the densities of the seven Earth-size planets around TRAPPIST-1 with extreme precision.
According to a press release from the University of Liege, scientists now know more about the densities of these planets than of any other planets outside our solar system, and this provides an important clue as to their compositions.
The study was published on Jan. 22 in the Planetary Science Journal.
SOURCES: University of Liege, Planetary Science Journal, NASA /JPL-Caltech
https://scitechdaily.com/astronomers-uncover-new-details-about-the-remarkable-seven-rocky-planets-of-trappist-1/
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/abd022
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/the-7-rocky-trappist-1-planets-may-be-made-of-similar-stuff
- Title
- F-35s to Strike From Rough Jungle Airstrips in Pacific
- Runtime
- 1:20
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, GUAM — The Pentagon is starting to upgrade old, rough airstrips on Pacific islands so they can handle modern fighter jets — in case its big air bases get taken out. Here are the details:
The US military is preparing for what could happen if China launches military strikes to take out its major runway facilities in the Pacific region.
The Drive reports that the Pentagon is speeding up efforts to create rough jungle airfields that would be capable of launching and receiving fighter jets if big airfields, like Guam’s Andersen Air Force Base, were attacked by swarms of ballistic missiles or by more conventional weapons.
That’s why Andersen’s rough Northwest Field airstrip is currently being upgraded to handle F-35 fighters from Alaska and F-16s from Japan.
In the past, only C-130 cargo planes and helicopters sometimes operated from the field.
This field has now been lengthened and fitted...
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- How Trump’s Impeachment Trial Could Play Out
- Runtime
- 1:28
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- WASHINGTON — Former U.S. president Donald Trump faces an impeachment trial for “incitement of insurrection” in a speech to supporters before the deadly attack on the Capitol. This animation explains the possible outcomes of the trial, which is set to being on Feb. 9, 2021.
SOURCES: Reuters, CNN
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-impeachment-idUSKBN29U13G
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-impeachment-explainer-idUSKBN29H1A8
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/28/politics/senate-democrats-trump-impeachment-trial/index.html
- Title
- Supersonic Passenger Jet Takes a Big Leap
- Runtime
- 1:20
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- MELBOURNE, FLORIDA — These are some of the supersonic passenger jets that are currently competing to be the first to take off from the drawing board and soar into the skies of tomorrow. One of these projects just reached a major milestone toward that goal. Here are the details:
CNN reports that US planemaker Aerion just took a major step in the race to build the first supersonic passenger jet in more than 50 years.
Aerion, whose AS2 jet promises to fly from New York to London in 4.5 hours, is building a massive new global headquarters in Florida, ahead of production beginning on the supersonic plane in 2023.
The eight to 12-passenger AS2 business jet will travel at Mach 1.4, or 1,700 kilometers per hour, which means it could shave more than four hours off long trips like JFK to Singapore and JFK to Sydney.
It's a big step forward for the company, which will build the 110-acre Aerion Park right next to Orlando Melbourne Internatio...
- Title
- 737 MAX Problems Not Solved, Warns Former Boeing Manager
- Runtime
- 1:11
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- RENTON, WASHINGTON — BBC reports that a former senior manager at Boeing's 737 plant, Ed Pierson, has raised new concerns over the safety of the company’s 737 Max planes.
Before Pierson spoke out, all attention was on the Max’s MCAS system, which was designed to make the new Max models perform more like the older 737 models.
The Max models are longer, and use more powerful engines that are much bigger than before.
So, the idea was to save design costs by simply taking an old design and stretching it, and solving the oversized engine problem by simply putting the engine forward and higher, so it could clear the ground.
But the new engine position tended to push the plane’s nose up, so Boeing came up with MCAS, which controls the horizontal stabilizers and pushes the plane’s nose down automatically.
However, faulty sensor readings could too easily make the MCAS crash the plane, which is why the MCAS has now be...
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- Futuristic ‘Defiant X’ Unveiled to Replace Black Hawk
- Runtime
- 1:42
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA — Lockheed-owned Sikorski and Boeing released details of the Defiant X helicopter, which they plan to submit for the U.S. Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft competition, on Monday, Jan. 26.
The U.S. Army in December issued a request for proposals in its competition to build the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft, which it expects to be “twice as fast and be able to fly twice as far” as conventional aircraft. A contract is expected to be awarded sometime in 2022, with the new aircraft fielded by 2030.
Boeing said in its press release that the Defiant X is designed to provide improved performance with the same footprint of the UH-60 Black Hawk with minimal alteration of current tactics, techniques, procedures, training or infrastructure.
SOURCES: Defense News, Military.com, Boeing, Lockheed Martin
https://www.defensenews.com/land/2021/01/25/lockheed-boeing-team-pitch-defiant-x-its-candidate-for-the-armys...
- Title
- Canada to Use Dams to Power Huge Hydrogen Fuel Plant
- Runtime
- 1:21
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- VARENNES, CANADA — The Daniel-Johnson hydroelectric dam in Canada’s Quebec province will soon be one of the dams powering one of the biggest green hydrogen plants in the world. Here are the details:
The dream of a world running on a fuel that leaves only water vapor when it is burned, is becoming reality.
CNBC reports that German industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp has won a contract to build a huge hydrogen plant in Varennes, in one of Canada’s biggest hydroelectric power grids.
The biggest problem with hydrogen fuel is that it takes a lot of water and electricity to sustain the electrolysis process that produces the hydrogen, so it makes a lot of sense to use nearby dams to deliver water and sustained green energy for the electrolysis process.
The huge new plant will use a whopping 88 megawatts of electrical energy, that’s 88 million joules per second, to produce 11,000 tons of hydrogen per year.
The compan...
- Title
- China Ramps Up Military Pressure on Taiwan to Test Biden
- Runtime
- 2:03
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- TAIPEI — China flew an unusually large number of warplanes into Taiwanese airspace over the weekend in what can only be interpreted as an early test of U.S. President Joe Biden.
China sent 15 military aircraft, including 12 fighter jets, into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone on Sunday, Jan. 24, the country’s defence ministry said.
The incursions came a day after China sent eight nuclear-capable bombers and four fighter jets into the same airspace.
Citing the defense ministry, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reports that the aircraft flew between the southern part of Taiwan and the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in the South China Sea but did not cross the median line.
The incursions came a day after a U.S. aircraft carrier group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt entered the South China Sea to promote “freedom of the seas,” Reuters reports, citing a statement released Sunday by the U.S. military.
SOURCE...
- Title
- China Builds Massive COVID Camp in a Week
- Runtime
- 1:13
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- SHIJIAZHUANG, CHINA — You won’t believe how fast China has built this massive quarantine camp. Here’s why they did it:
CNN reports that China is rushing to build a massive quarantine camp that can house more than 4,000 people, after an outbreak of Covid-19 this month that has left tens of millions of people under strict lockdown.
The camp is located on the outskirts of Shijiazhuang, not far from Beijing.
Construction began on January 13 and the first section of the camp is now complete and ready for use, according to state-owned broadcaster CCTV.
China has largely contained the spread of the virus, but a sudden rise in cases has alarmed officials and raised concerns ahead of the Lunar New Year, the county's most important annual festival, during which hundreds of millions of people are expected to travel to visit family members.
Officials in Shijiazhuang, where the outbreak is centered, have initiated mass testin...
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- Astronomers Find ‘Spider Stars’ That Devour Their Companions
- Runtime
- 1:54
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- WASHINGTON — Astronomers have discovered a new type of “spider star” — violent pulsars that shred material from companion stars, LiveScience reports.
Pulsars that rotate every 30 milliseconds or less are called “spider stars” if they are locked in close orbit with a companion star. They siphon the material that they use to become pulsars from their companion.
In a new paper published to the arXiv database that has not yet been peer reviewed, an international team of researchers identified five of these systems in the Milky Way.
Three of these are “black widows,” pulsars that have reduced their companion to significantly less than a tenth the mass of our Sun. One is called a “redback,” with a companion star larger than a tenth of our Sun’s mass. And one appeared to be a hybrid between a black widow and redback.
SOURCES: LiveScience, arXiv
https://www.livescience.com/venemous-spider-hybrid-stars-discovered.ht...
- Title
- Paris Plans to Blow Your Mind
- Runtime
- 1:16
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- PARIS — Paris is preparing a treat for people who enjoy being
surrounded by beautiful architecture and nature. Here’s a look at the grand design:
The city of Paris is famous for its beautiful architecture, urban design, and landscape architecture. This attention to intelligent design has made the city one of the top destinations for the world’s richest tourists and their holiday spending.
However, CNN reports that the city has now decided to spend 305 million dollars to make the city even more beautiful.
One of the most famous avenues in Paris, the Champs-Élysées, is set for a facelift that will see it transformed into a green, pedestrian-friendly space, after Mayor Anne Hidalgo gave the go-ahead for a major renovation project.
The thoroughfare, one of the world's most famous shopping streets, accommodates eight lanes of traffic as it runs between the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde.
Under t...
- Title
- 72-Foot Robotic Saildrone Sets Sail to Map the Ocean Floor
- Runtime
- 1:45
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA — A Bay Area startup that builds autonomous ocean data collecting vessels launches its largest ship this week, the Saildrone Surveyor.
The Surveyor is powered by wind and solar energy and is designed to map the ocean floor while collecting DNA samples and climate data. The Surveyor is designed to spend up to 12 months at sea, according to Saildrone.
Only 19 percent of the world’s seabed has been mapped to modern standards, according to UNESCO.
The UN agency says a more complete map would help with ocean conservation efforts and facilitate a better understanding of weather systems, sea level rise and climate change.
Wired reports the Surveyor will sail from San Francisco to Hawaii after initial sea trials.
En route it will map regions near a series seamounts where fish and other marine animals congregate.
SOURCES: Saildrone, Wired, TechCrunch, UNESCO
https://www.saildrone.com/abou...
- Title
- What We Know About the Redesigned $5.3 Billion Air Force One
- Runtime
- 2:26
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- WASHINGTON — The presidential fleet is getting an upgrade with two modern Boeing 747s to serve as Air Force One.
Though former U.S. president Donald Trump changed the plane’s color scheme and claims he shaved US$1.5 billion off the program’s cost, according to reports, the first president to fly in the planes will be Joe Biden.
According to the War Zone, the new jets are larger Boeing 747-8is that will feature more efficient next generation engines and have a range of 5,900 nautical miles.
The planes will lack some features of their predecessors, including inflight refueling, the result of cost-cutting efforts by the Air Force and Trump administration.
SOURCES: Defense One, War Zone, AFP, Bloomberg, BBC News, Defense News
https://www.defenseone.com/business/2020/04/owners-manual-trumps-new-air-force-one-cost-84-million/164651/
https://www.defenseone.com/business/2017/09/searching-1-billion-inside-pentagons-struggle-m...
- Title
- ‘Heat Blob’ Contributing to Sea Ice Loss in the Arctic
- Runtime
- 1:40
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- ARCTIC OCEAN — An underwater “heat blob” from the Atlantic is exacerbating the warming of the Arctic Ocean and contributing to the rapid disappearance of Arctic sea ice, according to a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
The study shows that the amount of heat transported to the Nordic Seas and Arctic Ocean by ocean currents has increased dramatically since 2001.
This poleward heat transport has been implicated as one possible cause of the warming of the Arctic Ocean and the rapid disappearance of Arctic sea ice.
As warm surface waters travel to regions further north, they lose heat and gain in salinity as freshwater evaporates.
When warm Atlantic water reaches the Arctic, it sinks to form a “heat blob” because the cool, fresh water from the Arctic is less salty and thus more buoyant.
This facilitates the formation of sea ice over the ocean. However, the increased transmission of heat to north...
- Title
- Trapped Miners Still Alive, Many Days After Cave-In
- Runtime
- 1:33
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- QIXIA, YANTAI CITY, CHINA — This crumpled note is famous in China as it proved that at least 12 miners were still alive on Monday 18 January, after 22 miners were trapped deep underground eight days before.
The ongoing drama started when an explosion caused yet another deadly cave-in at yet another mine in China.
Rescuers in China broke into a loud cheer on the afternoon of Sunday 17 January when they finally heard signs of life after drilling rescue holes for seven days.
According to the BBC, the rescue attempt started on 10 January, after an explosion caused a cave-in in a gold mine near Qixia city, trapping 22 miners 600 meters underground.
After seven days of drilling multiple holes, rescuers suddenly heard clanging sounds coming from one of the holes on Sunday afternoon.
Rescuers then lowered oxygen and basic supplies, including pencils and paper, down the hole at around 10 PM.
Half an hour later,...
- Title
- Juno to Explore Jupiter’s Moons and Rings in Extended Mission
- Runtime
- 1:39
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- PASADENA, CALIFORNIA — NASA has extended the mission of its Juno spacecraft exploring Jupiter to 2025, the space agency announced in a press release on Jan. 13.
Juno, which arrived at Jupiter on July 4, 2016, has already made important discoveries about Jupiter’s interior structure, magnetic field and magnetosphere.
The four-year extension will allow Juno to explore the full Jovian system. If all goes according to plan, the spacecraft will make multiple passes of Ganymede, Europa and Io, as well as Jupiter’s rings.
SOURCES: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-juno-mission-expands-into-the-future/
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press_kits/juno/jupiter/
- Title
- Rocket Glitch Could Be Big Setback for NASA’s Moon Mission
- Runtime
- 1:20
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- STENNIS SPACE CENTER, MISSISSIPPI — On Saturday 16 January, NASA had strapped their massive SLS moon rocket onto a massive test cradle and started to fill it with 2 million liters of liquid hydrogen and 742,000 liters of liquid oxygen.
The engines roared to life at 5:27 PM, Eastern Standard Time.
The BBC reports that NASA had hoped for at least 250 seconds of the rocket’s four engines firing together to have high confidence in the vehicle.
However, after around 60 seconds, controllers witnessed a flash next to the thermal-protection blanket covering engine four. Shortly afterward, that engine registered a major component failure.
As a result, an onboard computer sent a message to another computer called the core-stage controller, which took a decision to shut down the vehicle.
It's not yet clear what happened. The engines’ power levels were being throttled down and up again. They were also being prepared to piv...
- Title
- Giant Prehistoric ‘Prawns’ Developed Night-Vision Eyes
- Runtime
- 1:23
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- ARMIDALE, AUSTRALIA — Most of us can look at a rock fossil like this and not see much, but scientists have looked and concluded that these long-gone sea animals had night vision eyes that sparked a prehistoric arms race. Here’s the details:
Radiodonta, meaning “radiating teeth”, are a group of arthropods that dominated the oceans around 500 million years ago.
The many species share a similar body layout resembling elongated prawns with cone-shaped teeth arranged in a circle around the mouth.
Scientists led by Dr John Paterson published a new study in the journal Science Advances, claiming they have now found that radiodonta developed sophisticated eyes over 500 million years ago, with some specially adapted to the dim light of deep water.
The study focused on fossils from Emu Bay Shale on Kangaroo Island, in South Australia. The scientists explain that these fossils are unique because it’s the only place where the visual ...
- Title
- Shocking Discovery! Electric Eels Hunt in Packs
- Runtime
- 1:36
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- WASHINGTON — Scientists have discovered that electric eels living deep in the Brazlian Amazon River basin work together to hunt their prey.
They made the observation in a small lake along the banks of the Iriri River, according to a press release from the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.
At dawn and dusk, packs of eels would rise and begin swimming in large circles to herd shoals of thousands of 1-to-2-inch tetras.
With their prey corralled into a tightly packed ball, two of the eels would split off from the main group and shock the tetras. The entire pack would then move in and feast on the fish.
The scientists noted in the press release that this behavior is similar to that of dogs and killer whales — and quite rare in fishes.
C. David de Santana, who led the researchers, previously made headlines by discovering that electric eels — which are technically not eels but more closely related to carp and catfish —...
- Title
- How the Scaled-Down Biden Inauguration Will Work
- Runtime
- 1:09
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- WASHINGTON — Organizers of Joe Biden’s inauguration say people should expect to see few attendees at his inauguration on January 20, because of security fears and the pandemic.
More than 10,000 national guards have been employed, and Washington will remain under a state of emergency imposed since the storming of the Capitol buildings.
The proceedings will start when Biden arrives on a train on the day before the inauguration. That afternoon, at 5:30 PM, he will attend a memorial service for COVID-19 victims at the Lincoln Memorial Reflection Pool.
The next day, January 20, will be inauguration day, which will start with Biden being inaugurated and giving a speech at 12 PM.
As the new commander in chief, he will then do the Pass In Review ceremony, which will see him inspecting troops on the east front of the Capitol buildings.
Biden and Kamala Harris, with their spouses, will then be given a military escort to th...
- Title
- Iran Converts Massive Oil Tanker Into Forward Floating Base
- Runtime
- 1:28
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- TEHRAN, IRAN — Iran’s navy has formally commissioned its largest vessel, the Makran, a former oil tanker converted into a logistics vessel with a helicopter pad.
State TV reported the Makran joined a missile drill in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday, Jan. 13, according to a report by the Associated Press.
The Makran was converted from the oil tanker Persian Gulf. Citing Irananian state TV, the Drive’s War Zone blog reports the 121,000-metric ton vessel is 748 feet long, 138 feet wide and 70 feet tall.
The War Zone cited Iranian media reports that the Makran will be able to carry six or seven helicopters. Video posted to YouTube by the semi-official Tasnim news outlet shows RH-53D Sea Stallion, AS-61A-4 Sea King and AB212ASW helicopters flying from the ship, as well as what the War Zone identified as an indigenous Pelican-2 drone.
SOURCES: Associated Press, War Zone, Defense News
https://www.defensenews.com/training-sim/2021/...
- Title
- Conservatives Turning to These Social Media Platforms
- Runtime
- 1:08
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- WASHINGTON — Reuters reports that social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have started to ban conservative commentators and the American president from their platforms.
Amazon Web Services even went so far as to shut down a website called Parler, touted as a free-speech alternative to Twitter.
The big tech companies behind the move say they’re doing this because some of the commentators on these channels are inciting violence.
Conservative and liberal analysts alike have expressed concern over the move, with the American Civil Liberties Union saying: “It should concern everyone when companies like Facebook and Twitter wield the unchecked power to remove people from platforms that have become indispensable for the speech of billions.”
With Parler closed down, conservatives now have few dependable platforms to speak through. The most popular option seems to be a social network website called Gab, which is touted as a w...
- Title
- Ancient ‘Super-Earth’ Found Orbiting One of the Galaxy’s Oldest Stars
- Runtime
- 1:32
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA — Scientists have discovered a unique rocky “super Earth” near one of the oldest stars in the galaxy, according to a statement from the University of California, Riverside.
The planet, known as TOI-561b, is located 280 light-years away in a part of the Milky Way known as the galactic thick disk.
TOI-561b is about 50 percent larger than Earth and roughly three times its mass and roughly the same density. It orbits a star named for NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite — TESS Object of Interest 561, or TOI-561.
Discovery of planet TOI-561b and observations made about its composition have been accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal.
SOURCES: University of California, Riverside, Astronomical Journal
https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2021/01/11/super-earth-discovered-near-one-our-galaxys-oldest-stars
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2020arXiv200903071W/abstract
- Title
- China Tightens Grip Over Asia’s Water Supply With Mega Dam
- Runtime
- 1:51
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- MEDONG, CHINA — China plans to build up to 60 gigawatts of hydropower capacity on the Yarlung Zangbo River, better known as the Brahmaputra.
The hydropower project, which would dwarf the output of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, is part of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan.
Details of the project were first announced in Chinese state media.
The mega dam would be constructed in Tibet on the “Great Bend” in the Brahmaputra, where water can drop up to 2,000 meters in the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon.
Citing officials, China’s state-run Global Times reports the hydropower station would help “maintain water resources and domestic security” — and could generate income of $3 billion annually for Tibet.
SOURCES: Global Times, Times of India, Reuters, FTV (Taiwan), Economic Times
https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1208405.shtml
https://m.timesofindia.com/india/china-plans-dam-on-brahmaputra-how-it-...
- Title
- Engineers Fixing Ice Station Amid Risk of Ice Calving
- Runtime
- 1:13
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- HALLEY STATION, ANTARCTICA — Amid fears that the structure might meet a catastrophic end when the ice it stands on breaks off into the ocean, a small party of engineers has reopened the UK's Halley research station in the Antarctic.
The BBC reports that the base had been “mothballed”; in part because of Covid, but also because the ice shelf it stands on could soon calve into the ocean.
The British Antarctic Survey, or BAS, is trying to avoid having staff in the base when this happens. But some maintenance still has to be performed and a suite of instruments needs servicing.
The party of ten will only stay until mid-February before shutting Halley down again. Halley station sits on a floating platform of ice known as the Brunt Ice Shelf.
The shelf has developed a number of cracks over the years, and the widening of two of these prompted BAS in 2017 to move Halley to a more secure location. The whole station was dragged on ski...
- Title
- Astronomer Doubles Down: ‘Oumuamua Could be Alien Craft’
- Runtime
- 1:29
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS — Astronomer Avi Loeb just published a new book in which he doubles down on his controversial claim that interstellar object Oumuamua could have been an alien craft. Here’s what you need to know:
Oumuamua is the first interstellar object ever observed by humans. It was discovered on 19 October 2017, when it was about 33 million kilometers from Earth, and already heading away from Earth.
Scientists were unable to get a clear picture of how the object looked, but estimate it is roughly a cigar-shaped object that entered the solar system at an unusual orbit and unusually high speed.
Researchers found it hard to determine some of the phenomena displayed by the object.
One scientist, Avi Loeb, published an article in 2018 stating that the object could be a light sail or probe sent intentionally to Earth’s vicinity by an alien civilization.
Other astro-physicists were not impressed. In 2019, a...
- Title
- Boeing 737 Crashes Minutes After Takeoff in Indonesia
- Runtime
- 1:30
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- JAKARTA, INDONESIA — Sixty-two people are presumed dead after a passenger plane went missing off Indonesia’s coast shortly after takeoff from Jakarta on Saturday, Jan. 9.
Sriwijaya Air flight SJ182 departed from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 2:36 p.m. local time, nearly an hour after its scheduled departure time of 1:40 p.m.
Four minutes later, at 2:40 p.m., the Boeing 737-500 disappeared from radar, BBC News reports, citing Indonesia’s transportation ministry.
Fishermen in the area told the Associated Press they heard an explosion, followed by a large splash in the water.
According to flight tracking website Flightradar24.com, the plane fell more than 3,000 meters, or 10,000 feet, in less than a minute.
According to reports there were 50 passengers on board — including seven children and three babies — along with six working crew and six other crew. All were Indonesian.
SOURCES: BBC News,...
- Title
- US Capitol Stormed by Angry Americans — Timeline
- Runtime
- 1:31
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- WASHINGTON — On 6 January, hundreds of thousands of Americans protested outside the US Capitol building and hundreds of people stormed the building itself. One woman was shot dead by a guard and three people died in medical emergencies. Here’s how it happened:
On Wednesday 6 January hundreds of thousands of Americans gathered outside the US Capitol building to protest what they believed to be a stolen election and deep-seated corruption within the US political system.
CBS News reports that this is how events unfolded: At around noon, President Trump spoke to supporters at a rally outside the White House.
He repeated his claim that the election was stolen and encouraged his supporters to join a planned protest outside the Capitol building. At 1 PM, a joint session of Congress started inside the Capitol building.
Around 1:30, some protesters started confronting the police. At 2:15, the Senate suddenly recessed as protesters swarm...
- Title
- How Trump Could Be Removed From Office
- Runtime
- 2:13
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- WASHINGTON — The storming of the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Donald Trump supporters on Wednesday, Jan. 6, has prompted calls to remove the 45th president of the United States from office before his term ends on Jan. 20.
This animation explains how invoking the 25th Amendment or impeachment and removal would work.
SOURCES: Reuters, U.S. Constitution
https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-25/
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-removal-explainer-idUSKBN29C01I
- Title
- UK’s Biggest Warship Ever Is Ready for War
- Runtime
- 1:17
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- PORTSMOUTH, UK — CNN reports that the Royal Navy announced on January 4 that its Carrier Strike Group, centered on its brand new carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, had achieved Initial Operating Capability.
This means that the 65,000-ton carrier, with its air assets and support units, is ready to deploy within five days of receiving orders to do so.
Officials have said the carrier's first deployment would include Asia, on a route that would likely take it past China and Taiwan.
The carrier is designed to carry up to 72 aircraft like the F-35 stealth fighter jet, and various types of helicopters.
In a Force Protection role, the helicopter force may consist of nine Merlin HM2 anti-submarine helicopters and five Merlin HM2 Crowsnest early-warning helicopters.
For shallow-water operations, the helicopter force may consist of a mixture of transport and attack helicopters like the Chinook and Apache AH1.
For sup...
- Title
- Floating Igloos Would Protect Penguins and Cool Sea Ice
- Runtime
- 1:08
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- PARIS — An Iranian architect has shared a design that aims to protect penguins and control the melting of polar ice in Antarctica.
Sajjad Navidi’s Penguin Protection System consists of two components: a warming igloo above the surface, and an underwater section powered by a pendulum that cools the sea ice penguins need for safety and breeding.
The concept was conceived as part of a competition launched by French organization Fondation Jacques Rougerie and ranked 7th among the top 12 projects in the “innovation for the sea” category, according to a report in Designboom.
SOURCES: Designboom, Amazing Architecture, Fondation Jacques Rougerie
https://www.designboom.com/architecture/sajjad-navidi-penguin-protection-system-controls-melting-polar-ice-12-17-2020/
https://www.amazingarchitecture.com/visualization/penguins-protection-system-antarctica-designed-by-sajjad-navidi
https://www.fondation-jacques-rougerie.com/competition
- Title
- Venezuela to Make Its Economy 100% Digital — No Notes
- Runtime
- 1:14
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- CARACAS, VENEZUELA — Bloomberg reports that Venezuela’s government says it’s planning to move to a fully digital economy, as hyperinflation has made its worthless bolivar notes practically disappear.
It says the move is also aimed at halting the “dollarization” of Venezuela’s financial system.
President Maduro said 18.6% of all commercial transactions are in dollars, while 77.3% are carried out in bolivars with debit cards. Only 3.4% are paid with bolivar notes.
Maduro said: “They have a war against our physical currency. We are moving this year to a more profound digital economy.”
He said the goal is an economy that’s 100% digital, adding that physical money will eventually disappear.
Venezuela’s currency has lost 99% of its value during three years of hyperinflation, forcing the country to issue higher-denomination notes that in turn become useless in record time.
The largest note ...
- Title
- Human Poo and Rotting Food to Power New Trains
- Runtime
- 1:09
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- LONDON — The Times newspaper reports that trains powered by human sewage and discarded food will be introduced to Britain’s railway for the first time under plans to phase out dirty diesel engines.
A full-size “BioUltra” train capable of carrying 120 passengers is being developed with government funding.
The lightweight, low-cost train will be fuelled by biomethane. Biomethane is a renewable gas made from organic waste.
Britain currently has a number of sewage plants fitted with fermentation tanks. These fermentation tanks are filled with a combination of human sewage sludge, rotting food waste and other organic waste to create a potent mixture that is digested by bacteria in a process that creates methane gas.
The gas then rises to the top of the pungent mixture, where it is siphoned off to mechanisms that separates the methane from other gases.
The new, lightweight trains will burn the gas in special engines...
- Title
- Caribbean Island on Alert After Dormant Volcano Wakes Up
- Runtime
- 1:41
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- ST. VINCENT — Residents of St. Vincent and the Grenadines have been warned they may have to evacuate their homes within 24 hours as a volcano that was dormant for decades shows signs of erupting.
The La Soufriere volcano is located on the island of Saint Vincent. The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency announced on its website that scientists observed an “effusive eruption within the crater, with visible gas and steam” on Dec. 29.
The West Indies Seismic Research Unit said in a statement posted on Facebook that a new lava dome formed from fresh magma at the base of the volcano’s crater on the same day.
According to the United States Geological Survey, earthquake and volcanic activity in the Eastern Caribbean results from the subduction of the North American plate beneath the Caribbean plate.
SOURCES: Associated Press, Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, West Indies Seismic Research Unit, United States Ge...
- Title
- SpaceX Wants to Catch Returning Boosters Before They Land
- Runtime
- 1:10
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- HAWTHORNE, CALIFORNIA — Elon Musk says SpaceX will try a very different approach to landing its future reusable rocket boosters, according to tech website Techcrunch.
On 31 December, Musk tweeted: “We’re going to try to catch the Super Heavy booster with the launch tower arm, using the grid fins to take the load.”
Current Falcon 9 boosters return to Earth and land propulsively on their own built-in legs — but Musk’s new plan for the Super Heavy booster is for the larger rocket not to have legs at all.
SpaceX’s Super Heavy booster is still under development. This giant booster rocket would be the biggest rocket stage ever built, featuring up to 28 Raptor rocket engines.
The booster’s landing sequence would still involve the use of its engines to control the velocity of its descent, but the new plan would see the grid fins — which help control its orientation during flight — double as catch arms that would catch ...
- Title
- Japan Developing Wooden Satellites
- Runtime
- 2:01
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- KYOTO, JAPAN — Researchers from Kyoto University have teamed up with Japanese company Sumitomo Forestry to test the potential of using wood as a component in satellite construction, according to a report by the BBC and an article on Sumitomo Forestry’s website.
Satellites with wooden housings would leave fewer harmful materials behind when they burn up in the atmosphere. Per the BBC, the partnership will experiment with different types of wood in extreme environments on Earth and hopes to develop the world’s first wooden satellites by 2023.
Another benefit of using wooden housings is that many wavelengths of electromagnetic energy can pass through the material, so antennas could be housed internally. A Sumitomo Forestry spokesperson told the BBC that the wood it is using is an “R&D secret.”
SOURCES: BBC News, Tech Xplore, World Economic Forum, Sumitomo Forestry
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55463366
https://techxplore.com...
- Title
- Rugby Lawsuits Over Brain Damage Could Be Tip of Huge Iceberg
- Runtime
- 1:08
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- LONDON — Former international rugby players are suing rugby’s governing bodies after being diagnosed with degenerative brain diseases, and CNN reports that this could be the tip of a very large iceberg, as more players are reporting symptoms of dementia and memory loss.
Among players putting forward a legal case against the game's governing bodies are Steve Thompson, Michael Lipman and Alix Popham.
All three are in their early 40s and have recently been diagnosed with early onset dementia and probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
CTE is a progressive, degenerative brain disease caused by repeated hits to the head.
Thompson says his memory has deteriorated to the extent that he can't remember playing for England in the 2003 Rugby World Cup final, let alone even being in Australia for the tournament.
Thompson is part of a group of nine former players suing the governing bodies, but a wider group of mor...
- Title
- Korea’s Tokamak Artificial Sun Sets Crazy Plasma Record
- Runtime
- 1:11
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- DAEJEON, SOUTH KOREA — On November 24, Korea’s KSTAR, a superconducting fusion device called a tokamak, set a new world record when it managed to keep plasma sizzling at over 100 million degrees Celsius for a full 20 seconds.
This marks an important step toward reaching the elusive goal of creating cleaner energy via nuclear fusion.
In a fusion process, two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, resulting in a release of energy.
To achieve this, hydrogen isotopes are placed inside a tokamak like KSTAR to create a plasma state where ions and electrons are separated, and the ions are then heated and maintained at extreme temperatures.
A tokamak is a machine that creates three powerful magnetic fields to keep a superheated plasma confined.
The powerful magnetic fields are designed to keep the plasma from touching the machine, as the plasma would vaporize the giant metallic machine if it escaped.
- Title
- Nashville Bombing: How It Happened
- Runtime
- 1:13
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE — Authorities believe that Anthony Warner was the only person responsible for the Christmas day bombing in Nashville, and that he died in the explosion, according to the BBC.
The initial theory is that Warner managed to concoct a powerful bomb and place it in his RV.
He then drove the RV bomb to downtown Nashville on Christmas morning and parked it right next to an AT&T transmission building on Second Avenue North at 1:22 AM.
Residents were woken up by the sound of around 20 gunshots between 5:11 AM and 5:26 AM.
Police responded to the area at about 6 AM, and heard a warning coming from a loudspeaker on the RV.
The voice warned of a bomb in the vehicle and told people to evacuate, while also counting down the minutes before the detonation.
The bomb exploded at 6:29 AM, severely damaging the AT&T transmission building and knocking out data services in five states.
War...
- Title
- Iceberg A68a Breaks Into Smaller Chunks Near South Georgia
- Runtime
- 5:44
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- SOUTH GEORGIA — A massive iceberg that threatened the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia has broken up into four pieces, Live Science reported, citing the U.S. National Ice Center and the European Space Agency.
The BBC reports experts feared the iceberg would become grounded on the underwater shelf just offshore. This would have devastated the local ecosystem as it would have forced animals such as king penguins and elephant seals to travel much greater distances to find food. The iceberg would also have crushed wildlife on the seafloor where it anchored.
SOURCES: Live Science, BBC News, Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands, Swoop Antarctica, U.S. National Ice Center, British Antarctic Survey
https://www.sciencealert.com/world-s-largest-iceberg-is-now-a-lot-smaller-splitting-into-four-pieces
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-55413969
https://www.gov.gs/environment/south-georgia-the-south-sandwich-isla...
- Title
- Floating ‘Mini-Nukes’ Could Power Countries by 2025
- Runtime
- 1:17
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- COPENHAGEN, DENMARK — The Guardian reports that Danish company Seaborg Technologies plans to fit barges with small nuclear reactors, to provide energy to developing countries.
These reactors will be Compact Molten Salt Reactors, or CMSRs, in short.
This is how CMSRs work:
The primary loop is where the heat from standard nuclear rods are transferred to molten fluoride salt.
The secondary loop is where this superheated liquid transfers its heat to a heat exchanger filled with coolant salt.
The third loop is where the heat from the coolant salt is finally transferred to the liquids that will now transmit the nuclear heat energy into high-pressure steam, that spin the turbines, that spin fast to create lots of electricity.
So, instead of Light Water, these reactors use salt that only melts at very high temperatures.
Seaborg says this means that if the reactor core is ever exposed, the salt wi...
- Title
- Detachable Hydrogen Pods Would Also Contain Plane Engines
- Runtime
- 1:08
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- LEIDEN, NETHERLANDS — Airbus recently announced a breakthrough concept to sidestep a lot of the challenges associated with hydrogen-powered flight.
The company’s new idea is to place fully independent hydrogen fuel systems into pods that can easily be clicked on and off the wings of a turboprop airplane.
These pods would contain their own fuel and engine systems, allowing Airbus to remove all fuel tanks from the plane’s fuselage, thereby adding a lot more space for cargo and passenger seats.
The pods would also add a safety element, as it would move the flammable hydrogen fuel from the fuselage to the wing, where a pod can easily be jettisoned in the unlikely event of a fire.
The plan is to attach three pods on each wing. Each pod would contain a liquid hydrogen tank — with its own cooling system — a fuel cell, power electronics, and electric motors that will spin an eight-bladed lightweight propeller.
On ...
- Title
- New Fungi Turn Flies Into Parasite-Spewing Zombies
- Runtime
- 1:53
- Date posted
- 6 years ago
- Description
- COPENHAGEN — Two new species of fungi have been discovered in Denmark that turn flies into zombies and eat them from the inside out, according to researchers from the Natural History Museum of Denmark and the University of Copenhagen's Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences
The new species, Strongwellsea tigrinae and Strongwellsea acerosa, infect two types of Danish fly, Coenosia tigrina and Coenosia testacea.
Research published in the Journal of Invertebrate Pathology describes how spores from the fungus burrow their way into the fly’s abdomen, where they bore holes from which thousands of torpedo-shaped spores burst to infect other flies.
The researchers suspect the two fungi may produce amphetamine-like substances that keep their hosts alive and energized until there is nothing left in the fly’s abdomen but fungus. These amphetamine-like chemicals may also keep other microorganisms away from the flies’ wounds.
SOU...
