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People

Here’s why saving more lives does not lead to overpopulation

U.S. troops provide medical care in Belize
U.S. Air Force Maj. Crystal Palmatier, a pediatrician with the 96th Medical Support Group from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, checks a patient's heart beat at a medical readiness event in Dangriga, Belize, May 22, 2017. This is the third and final medical event scheduled for Beyond the Horizon 2017, a U.S. Southern Command-sponsored, Army South-led exercise designed to provide humanitarian and engineering services to communities in need, demonstrating U.S. support for Belize. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Kelson Brooks)

The Earth is getting more crowded every single day. As of December 2017, the world population was estimated at 7.6 billion. It took 200,000 years for our human population to reach 1 billion, and only 200 years to reach 7+ billion. The United Nations estimates it will further increase to 11.2 billion in the year 2100. Another fact is, that now people live longer and healthier lives, and the infant mortality rate (IMR) is declining rapidly.

In the early 1800s, newborns were expected to live only a dismal 30 years. But, thanks to advances in farming, medicine, and sanitation, a newborn today can expect to live more than 70 years. Is that trend dangerous? Does saving more lives lead to overpopulation? In the video below, Bill Gates answers that question.

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Physics

Stephen Hawking dies at 76

Stephen Hawking in Cambridge
Sad news for the science and the humanity: Professor Stephen Hawking (born 8 January 1942) died in his home in Cambridge, England, early in the morning of 14 March 2018. From astronauts to world leaders, tributes have poured in for the modern British physicist and author.

Very sad news for the science and the humanity: Professor Stephen Hawking (born 8 January 1942) died in his home in Cambridge, England, early in the morning of 14 March 2018. From astronauts to world leaders, tributes have poured in for the modern British physicist and author.

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People History

People today are living longer, healthier, and happier lives than ever before

Steven Pinker thinks people today are living longer, healthier, and happier lives than ever before
Steven Pinker, the Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, linguist, popular science author and Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University explains why people today are living longer, healthier, and happier lives than ever before. In the developed parts of the world, a newborn today can expect to live more than 80 years, Steven Pinker says. Image: PXhere.com

In a video published by Bill Gates on his Youtube channel, originally titled “Humanity is fighting back against the Grim Reaper”, Steven Pinker, the Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, linguist, popular science author, and Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University explains why people today are living longer, healthier, and happier lives than ever before. Pinker is one of Gates’ favorite authors.

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Mars Moon Landing Science Fiction Space Exploration

Others Will Follow [Short Sci-Fi Film]

A great science fiction short film, "Others Will Follow", published on Vimeo, tells the story of a manned Mars mission. An accident occurs and the lone survivor uses his last moments to inspire the people on Earth. The film is inspired by the undelivered speech of Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994), the American politician who served as the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 until 1974. The speech was revealed in 1999. It was prepared by Nixon's then speechwriter, William Safire (December 17, 1929 - September 27, 2009), the American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter, to be used in the event of a disaster that would maroon the astronauts on the moon.

A great short science fiction film, “Others Will Follow”, created and directed by Andrew Finch and published on Vimeo, tells the story of a crewed Mars mission. An accident occurs and the spacecraft breaks apart, the last survivor (we don’t see what happens to the rest of the crew, but presumably they have died) manages to send an inspirational message back to Earth. A must-watch.

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Solar System Planet Earth

The “Synestia Theory” says the Moon was formed 1,000 years earlier than Earth

A terrestrial synestia and formation of the Moon
Artist's conception of hot, molten Moon emerging from a terrestrial synestia, a giant spinning donut of vaporized rock that formed when planet-sized objects collided. Image by Sarah Stewart/UC Davis based on NASA rendering. According to a new study, the Moon might have been formed a thousand years earlier than Earth. The new, "synestia theory" suggests a Mars-sized object smashed into the proto-Earth. The "giant impact" vaporized about 10 percent of the rock and liquefied the rest, and created a rapidly spinning donut-shaped mass of vaporized rock called "synestia". The synestia eventually shrunk and cooled. Computer models demonstrated that the Earth subsequently emerged about 1,000 years after the moon.

According to a new study, the Moon might have been formed a thousand years earlier than Earth. The new “synestia theory” suggests a Mars-sized object smashed into the proto-Earth. The “giant impact” vaporized about 10 percent of the rock and liquefied the rest, and created a rapidly spinning donut-shaped mass of vaporized rock called “synestia”. The synestia eventually shrunk and cooled. Computer models demonstrated that the Earth subsequently emerged about 1,000 years after the moon.

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Astrobiology Solar System Space Exploration

We May Have Already Detected Signs of Alien Microbes on Saturn’s Moon Enceladus

Enceladus as viewed from NASA's Cassini spacecraft
Enceladus as viewed from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. It is Saturn's sixth-largest moon, only 157 miles (252 km) in mean radius, but it's one of the most scientifically compelling bodies in our solar system. Hydrothermal vents spew water vapor and ice particles from an underground ocean beneath the icy crust of Enceladus. This plume of material includes organic compounds, volatile gases, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, salts, and silica. With its global ocean, unique chemistry, and internal heat, Enceladus has become a promising lead in our search for worlds where life could exist. Image: NASA.gov

According to a new study, microbes like those found in Earth’s deep ocean could potentially thrive in the underground ocean of Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus. Both molecular hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4) already have been detected in the plume. Researchers have shown that Methanothermococcus okinawensis, a methanogenic archaeon first isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent on the western Pacific Ocean, can produce methane under conditions known to exist on Enceladus.

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Astronomy

Amateur Astronomer Recorded a Newborn Supernova Accidentally

Amateur Astronomer spotted a newborn supernova: SN-2016gkg
A newborn supernova named 2016gkg (indicated by red bars) in the spiral galaxy NGC 613, located about 67 million light years from Earth in the constellation Sculptor. Image: UC-Santa Cruz/Las Campanas Observatory. On September 20, 2016, Argentinian amateur astronomer Victor Buso was testing his camera-telescope setup. He pointed his Newtonian telescope at NGC613, a barred spiral galaxy located some 67 million light years away in the southern constellation of Sculptor. Then he started taking a series of short-exposure photographs. To ensure his new camera was functioning properly, he examined the images right away. While doing that, he noticed something very interesting: a previously invisible point of light near the end of a spiral arm of the galaxy: a newborn supernova - an elusive event that nobody had ever captured before.

On September 20, 2016, Argentinian amateur astronomer Victor Buso was testing his camera-telescope setup. He pointed his Newtonian telescope at NGC613, a barred spiral galaxy located some 67 million light-years away in the southern constellation of Sculptor. Then he started taking a series of short-exposure photographs. To ensure his new camera was functioning properly, he examined the images right away. While doing that, he noticed something very interesting: a previously invisible point of light near the end of a spiral arm of the galaxy: a newborn supernova – an elusive event that nobody had ever captured before.

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Categories
Space Exploration Solar System

Asteroid Mining: We Need Powerful Rockets like Falcon Heavy

Falcon Heavy Test Flight: Liftoff
Falcon Heavy Test Flight: Liftoff. When the rocket lifted off, it became the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two. This rocket that may one day carry humans to the Moon or Mars!

On February 6, 2018, SpaceX successfully tested Falcon Heavy, the most powerful rocket that the American company ever built. When lifted off, it became also the most powerful operational rocket in the world. Powerful rockets like Falcon Heavy may one day carry humans to the Moon or Mars. But there might be an even more important use of powerful rockets like SpaceX’ Falcon Heavy and BFR, Blue Origin’s New Glenn or NASA’s SLS: asteroid mining.

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Space Exploration Astronomy Earth from Space Solar System

OSIRIS-REx Captures New Earth-Moon Image from 39.5 Million Miles

Earth and Moon from 39.5 million miles. OSIRIS-REx image captured on January 17, 2018
NASA's asteroid-sampling OSIRIS-REx spacecraft captured a new Earth-Moon image on Jan. 17, 2018, from a distance of 39.5 million miles (63.6 million kilometers). Spacecraft used its NavCam1 imager to take this photo, as part of an engineering test. In the image, The Earth and the moon are just two bright dots against the vastness of black space - which reminds us Carl Sagan's famous speech: "That's here. That's home. That's us." The purpose of OSIRIS-REx spacecraft (acronym for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) is to study, map and return samples for detailed analysis from asteroid 101955 Bennu, a carbon-rich hunk of rock that might contain organic materials or molecular precursors to life. It was launched on September 8, 2016, and expected return date is September 24, 2023. If successful, OSIRIS-REx will be the first NASA spacecraft to return samples from an asteroid. 101955 Bennu was discovered on September 11, 1999 by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) project, a collaboration of the United States Air Force, NASA, and the MIT's Lincoln Laboratory for the systematic detection and tracking of near-Earth objects. It is It is a potential Earth impactor. It has a 1-in-2,700 chance of impacting Earth in the late 22nd century. With a mean diameter of approximately 492 meters (1,614 ft; 0.306 mi), it can wipe out our civilization if it impact our planet. This is a cropped and resized image. You can see the original image on NASA web site.

NASA’s asteroid-sampling OSIRIS-REx spacecraft captured a new Earth-Moon image on Jan. 17, 2018, from a distance of 39.5 million miles (63.6 million kilometers). Spacecraft used its NavCam1 imager to take this photo, as part of an engineering test. In the image, The Earth and the moon are just two bright dots against the vastness of black space – which reminds us of Carl Sagan’s famous speech: “That’s here. That’s home. That’s us.”

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Global Warming Climate Environment

Global Sea-Level Rise Accelerating [New Study]

Global sea level rise: tidal Flooding in Miami. October 17, 2016
October 17, 2016 tidal flooding on a sunny day during the "king tides" in Brickell, Miami that peaked at four feet MLLW. Tidal flooding is getting worsened because of the global sea level rising. Rather than increasing steadily, global sea level rise has been accelerating in recent decades. If this trend continues, by the year 2100, sea level rise will be around 65 cm (25.6 in), twice as big as previously thought. This is more than enough to cause significant problems for coastal cities. Image: wikipedia

As a result of global warming, the seas warm and ice melts. Naturally, Earth’s oceans have risen steadily – or at least, it was thought so. According to a new study based on 25 years of NASA and European satellite data, rather than increasing steadily, global sea-level rise has been accelerating in recent decades. If this trend continues, by the year 2100, sea-level rise will be around 65 cm (25.6 in), twice as big as previously thought. This is more than enough to cause significant problems for coastal cities.

Satellite altimetry (see notes 1) has shown that since 1993, the global mean sea level has been rising at a rate of ∼3 ± 0.4 millimeters per year. Researchers show that this rate is accelerating at 0.084 ± 0.025 mm/y2, which agrees well with climate model projections. This acceleration is driven mainly by increased melting in Greenland and Antarctica because of global warming. If the sea level continues to change at this rate and acceleration, sea-level rise by 2100 (∼65 cm ± 12 cm, compared with 2005) will be more than double the amount if the rate was constant at 3 mm/y, researchers conclude.

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