Sci-tech
Flooding slams downtown Davenport, pushing all-time record
The breach of the levee came as Iowa and Minnesota were bracing for flooding. The National Weather Service (NWS) sent an alert around 4 p.m. of a flash flood emergency in Davenport, a city of approximately 100,000 people on the west bank of the Mississippi River The alert urged people downtown to seek higher ground immediately. [Full Article...]
Alberta proclaims law that could cut energy flows to British Columbia
Alberta is home to Canada's vast oil sands but has struggled with a lackluster economy since the 2014-15 global oil price crash, as well as steep discounts on its crude because of congestion on oil export pipelines. The legislation, also known as the "turn off the taps" act, was introduced but not enacted by the previous New Democratic Party government past year in retaliation for British Columbia... [Full Article...]
NASA Says Aluminum Fraud Caused $700 Million Satellite Failures
As NASA explains in its own account of the matter, both the Glory mission (2011) and Orbiting Carbon Observatory mission (2009) ended when the nosecones of the Taurus XL rockets carrying the pricey hardware failed. NASA relies on the integrity of our industry throughout the supply chain. A hot potato: An Oregon aluminum supplier has admitted to altering test results and falsifying certific... [Full Article...]
Expect a major asteroid strike in your lifetime — NASA head
NASA and other agencies are conducting doomsday exercises this week to determine how we will react to a meteorite hitting the planet. Lindley Johnson, the space agency's planetary defense officer, said at the time that the country "already has significant scientific, technical and operational capabilities" to help with NEOs, but implementing the new plan would "greatly increase our nation's readi... [Full Article...]
Wonky black hole seen firing off plasma "bullets"
Researchers think that in the case of Cygni , the disk of material and the black hole are misaligned, causing the inner part of the disk to wobble and fire out jets in different directions as it changes orientation. Then, in 2015, V404 Cygni began spewing radiation in a massive outburst that lasted two weeks. Using the Very Long Baseline Array-an intercontinental system of 10 radio telescopes o... [Full Article...]
Pole-to-pole study of ocean life identifies nearly 200,000 marine viruses
That might soon change. An global team has conducted the first pole-to-pole survey of the ecological diversity of viruses in the oceans and have identified just under 200,000 marine viral species. In addition to the prior research in the temperate and tropical oceans, this new work includes samples from the schooner's circumnavigation of the Arctic Ocean - the area most significantly impacted ... [Full Article...]
London Climate Protests To End After 11 Days Of Gridlock
Extinction Rebellion members said their campaign drew plenty of public attention but failed to get the government to budge. When asked how sure he was the painting is one of Banksy's, he said: "100% it's a Banksy, it's already been confirmed by street artists and the whole community knows about this". [Full Article...]
SpaceX, NASA tight-lipped on cause of crew capsule incident
That incident enveloped the vehicle in a fireball and created a smoke plume visible far from the site. Its first human-crewed test flight is chalked down for a launch in July this year with USA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. "In a statement, SpaceX said it is dedicated to ensuring that its methods" meet rigorous safety standards" It says it is investigating why the anomaly occurred. [Full Article...]