Science & Technology News

[StuM]

Originally Posted by GordMay

We know that Earth’s warmer regions have greater biological diversity, so a planet somewhat warmer than Earth could host more life.

\
Heresy! Burn him!

[GordMay]

“Face masks: what the data say”
“... Across the United States, mask use has held steady around 50% since late July. This is a substantial increase from the 20% usage seen in March and April, according to data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle (see go.nature.com/30n6kxv). The institute’s models also predicted that, as of 23 September, increasing US mask use to 95% — a level observed in Singapore and some other countries — could save nearly 100,000 lives in the period up to 1 January 2021...
... Further confusing the public are controversial studies and mixed messages. One study13 in April found masks to be ineffective, but was retracted in July. Another, published in June14, supported the use of masks before dozens of scientists wrote a letter attacking its methods (see go.nature.com/3jpvxpt). The authors are pushing back against calls for a retraction. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) initially refrained from recommending widespread mask usage, in part because of some hesitancy about depleting supplies for health-care workers. In April, the CDC recommended that masks be worn when physical distancing isn’t an option; the WHO followed suit in June...
... Nevertheless, most scientists are confident that they can say something prescriptive about wearing masks. It’s not the only solution, says Gandhi, “but I think it is a profoundly important pillar of pandemic control”. As Digard puts it: “Masks work, but they are not infallible. And, therefore, keep your distance.”

Much more here:
“Face masks: what the data say”
➥ https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02801-8

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by StuM

\
Heresy! Burn him!

Yes, it's well past time for a Grand Inquisitor to have been appointed to root out these miscreants and there is probably a great deal of support among the more enthusiastic adherents to The Cause for a return to more effective, traditional means of inducing them to see the errors of their ways and recant.

[GordMay]

MARS:
Mars reached its closest point to Earth on Oct. 6, at a mere 62 million kilometres, relatively close, when you think that the planet can be as far away as 400 million kilometres.
The last time Mars was closer, was in 2018, when it was only 57.6 million kilometres away. However, that year the planet was in the midst of a massive dust storm, that caused it to be slightly fainter than it would normally have been.
However, on Tuesday (Oct. 13), the planet reaches opposition, a point where Earth lies directly between it and the sun, which means it will be at its brightest. This occurs roughly once every two years. In fact, it's already brighter than Jupiter, which is typically the second-brightest planet in the sky, after only Venus.
➥ https://mars.nasa.gov/all-about-mars...ky/opposition/
➥ https://mars.nasa.gov/all-about-mars...lose-approach/

[GordMay]

SARS-CoV-2 virus 'survivability' ➥ https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_relea...-nro100920.php

CSIRO researchers said that at 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit), and in the dark* (to avoid UV), the SARS-COV-2 virus was “extremely robust” and remained infectious for 28 days on smooth surfaces such as plastic banknotes and glass found on mobile phone screens. By comparison, Influenza A virus has been found to survive on surfaces for 17 days.
Experiments done at 20, 30 and 40 degrees Celsius (68, 86, and 104 Fahrenheit) showed the virus survived longer at cooler temperatures, smooth surfaces, and on paper banknotes rather than plastic ones.
The researchers said that on cloth at 20 degrees they were unable to detect any viable virus beyond 14 days. At 30 degrees, the virus’ viability fell to just three days on cotton, compared with seven days for steel and smoother surfaces. Viability dropped further at 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
The infectious dose of SARS-CoV-2 is not yet known but, based on related viruses, it is thought to be about 300 particles. Researchers said if the virus was placed on smooth surfaces, at the standard mucus concentration of an infected person, “enough virus would easily survive for two weeks to be able to infect another person”.

* So in the real world, results would likely be shorter, as research has shown direct sunlight (UV) can kill the virus.

"The effect of temperature on persistence of SARS-CoV-2 on common surfaces” ~ by Shane Riddell et al ➥ https://virologyj.biomedcentral.com/...85-020-01418-7

[GordMay]

Game 'pre-bunks' COVID-19 conspiracies as part of fight against fake news
Research, from Cambridge psychologists, that found by giving people a taste of the techniques used to spread fake news on social media, it increases their ability to identify and disregard misinformation in the future.
Fact-checking is vital, but it comes too late, and lies have already spread like the virus. We are aiming to pre-emptively debunk, or pre-bunk, misinformation, by exposing people to a mild dose of the methods used to disseminate fake news. It's what social psychologists call 'inoculation theory'."

“Long-term effectiveness of inoculation against misinformation: Three longitudinal experiments.” ~ by Maertens, R., Roozenbeek, J., Basol, M., & van der Linden, S.
➥ https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?d...7%2Fxap0000315

“Good News about Bad News: Gamified Inoculation Boosts Confidence and Cognitive Immunity Against Fake News” ~ by Melisa Basol,, Jon Roozenbeek, & Sander van der Linden
➥ https://www.journalofcognition.org/a...0.5334/joc.91/

By using a simulated environment to show people how misinformation is produced, we can demystify it," said Dr Jon Roozenbeek, co-developer of Go Viral! and researcher at Cambridge's Department of Psychology.
"The game empowers people with the tools they need to discern fact from fiction."
Misinformation about COVID-19 is spreading far and wide. Play the role of a media manipulator and uncover their tactics to learn how to resist them in the future.
Go Viral ➥ https://www.goviralgame.com/en

Face aux fausses informations sur la COVID-19, mets-toi dans la peau d’un manipulateur de l’information et découvre ses tactiques afin d’apprendre à leur résister à l’avenir.
➥ https://www.goviralgame.com/fr

Fehlinformationen über COVID-19 verbreiten sich weit und breit. Schlüpfe in die Rolle eines Medienmanipulators und lerne ihre trügerischen Taktiken. Dadurch wist du in Zukunft besser gegen Manupulatoren gewappnet sein.
➥ https://www.goviralgame.com/de

Go Viral! is based on a pre-COVID iteration, Bad News, which has been played over a million times since its 2018 launch. Cambridge researchers developed and tested Bad News, and found that just one play reduced perceived reliability of fake news by an average of 21% compared to a control group.
Bad News ➥ https://www.getbadnews.com/#intro

[GordMay]

IEA World Energy Outlook 2020
WEO-2020 ➥ https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2020

IEA World Energy Outlook 2020
The World Energy Outlook, the IEA’s flagship publication, provides a comprehensive view of how the global energy system could develop in the coming decades.
Solar output is expected to lead a surge in renewable power supply in the next 10 years, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said, with renewables seen accounting for 80 percent of growth in global electricity generation under current conditions, with renewables expected to overtake coal as the primary means of producing electricity by 2025.
The combined share of solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind in global generation will rise to almost 30 percent in 2030 from 8 percent in 2019, it said, with solar PV capacity growing by an average 12 percent a year. Solar PV is now cheaper than new coal (or gas) fired power plants in most countries.
Despite the increase in solar and wind power, carbon emissions are projected to pick up in 2021, after a 2.4 gigatonne (Gt) drop in 2020, and to exceed 2019 levels in 2027, before growing to 36 Gt in 2030.
WEO-2020 ➥ https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2020

Related analysis ➥ https://www.iea.org/analysis/all?top...energy-outlook

World Energy Model
The WEO provides a set of scenarios that explore different possible futures, the actions (or in-actions) that bring them about and the interconnections between different parts of the system.
➥ https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-model

Sustainable Recovery
The Sustainable Recovery Plan set out in this report shows governments have a unique opportunity today to boost economic growth, create millions of new jobs and put global greenhouse gas emissions into structural decline. This work was done in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund.
➥ https://www.iea.org/reports/sustainable-recovery

Energy Statistics
IEA Key World Energy Statistics (KWES) is an introduction to energy statistics, providing top-level numbers across the energy mix, from supply and demand, to prices and research budgets, including outlooks, energy indicators and definitions.
KWES ➥ https://www.iea.org/reports/key-worl...tatistics-2020

[jimbunyard]

Despite the increase in solar and wind power, carbon emissions are projected to pick up in 2021, after a 2.4 gigatonne (Gt) drop in 2020, and to exceed 2019 levels in 2027, before growing to 36 Gt in 2030.

Well, at least the conspiros don't have to worry about 'Agenda 21' doing the depopulating...

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by jimbunyard

Well, at least the conspiros don't have to worry about 'Agenda 21' doing the depopulating...

Updated Global Sustainable Development Goals were agreed, by the UN, in 2015.
“Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”
➥ https://sustainabledevelopment.un.or...ment%20web.pdf

➥ https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelo...opment-agenda/

The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (Agenda 21), and the Statement of principles for the Sustainable Management of Forests were adopted by more than 178 Governments at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 3 to 14 June 1992.
Agenda 21 ➥ https://sustainabledevelopment.un.or...s/Agenda21.pdf

Agenda 21 was not a treaty. It has no force of law, no enforcement mechanisms, no penalties, and no significant funding (nor does the 2030 Agenda).
It’s hard to see why Agenda 21 was so controversial, but right wing anti-internationalist critics hysterically argued that Agenda 21 (a 28-year-old non-binding UN resolution) that suggests ways for governments and NGOs to promote sustainable development, is the linchpin in a plot to subjugate humanity, under an eco-totalitarian regime.
While it urged international cooperation, it was hardly the totalitarian, internationalist screed that critics claimed.
Far from promoting international governance, for example, it called for greater local government involvement, in sustainable agricultural and urban development.


Obviously, the aspirations expressed in Agenda 21 are proving to have been wildly optimistic.
I fear those of the 2030 Agenda may prove similarly unobtainable.

[GordMay]

A 2016 study* revealed that for a cover-up to stay under-wraps for a decade, fewer than 1,000 people would need to be involved. And to remain secret for a century, the number of people 'in on it' would need to be below 125.
Grimes's equation assumed that conspirators are really good at keeping secrets, and that no external investigations were going on.

His results suggest (among other things):
climate change 'fraud' would have been revealed in 3.7 to 26.8 years.

*“On the Viability of Conspiratorial Beliefs” ~ by David Robert Grimes
“Conspiratorial ideation is the tendency of individuals to believe that events and power relations are secretly manipulated by certain clandestine groups and organisations. Many of these ostensibly explanatory conjectures are non-falsifiable, lacking in evidence or demonstrably false, yet public acceptance remains high. Efforts to convince the general public of the validity of medical and scientific findings can be hampered by such narratives, which can create the impression of doubt or disagreement in areas where the science is well established. Conversely, historical examples of exposed conspiracies do exist and it may be difficult for people to differentiate between reasonable and dubious assertions. In this work, we establish a simple mathematical model for conspiracies involving multiple actors with time, which yields failure probability for any given conspiracy...”
➥ https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ar...l.pone.0147905

Large-scale conspiracies would quickly reveal themselves, equations show
➥ https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0126162330.htm

“Understanding Conspiracy Theories” ~ by Karen M. Douglas et al
➥ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/...111/pops.12568

“The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories” ~ by Karen M. Douglas et al
➥ https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf...63721417718261

[RaymondR]

Ahh Gord, quiet obviously a conspiracy to reassure the public that it is not being conspired against. Where will it end?

[GordMay]

8 Nations Sign NASA Artemis Accords for Peaceful Exploration of the Moon and Deep Space
The Artemis Accords reinforce and implement the 1967 Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, otherwise known as the Outer Space Treaty. They also reinforce the commitment by the U.S. and partner nations to the Registration Convention, the Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, and other norms of behavior that NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data.
➥ https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/
➥ https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/n...rtemis-accords

[Singularity]

What if a Pill Can Change Your Politics or Religious Beliefs?
A new mental health treatment using the psychedelic compound psilocybin raises questions about medicine and values

...psilocybin seems to make people more liberal. Scientific reports associating psychedelic use and liberal values stretch back as far as 1971...
Notably, one study of psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression reported that the treatment decreased authoritarian political views in patients. That clinical trial also detected another effect that had previously been reported in healthy participants: psilocybin use leads to increases in the personality domain of openness, itself a predictor of liberal values.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...m_medium=email

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by Singularity

...psilocybin seems to make people more liberal.

Makes sense to me - most of the liberals I've met are detached from reality

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by GordMay

8 Nations Sign NASA Artemis Accords for Peaceful Exploration of the Moon and Deep Space
The Artemis Accords reinforce and implement the 1967 Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, otherwise known as the Outer Space Treaty. They also reinforce the commitment by the U.S. and partner nations to the Registration Convention, the Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, and other norms of behavior that NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data.
➥ https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/
➥ https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/n...rtemis-accords

Ahaa, another conspiracy, they're obviously conspiring to rein in Elon Musk, I knew when he started littering space with Teslas it would end badly.