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Thursday, July 29, 2021
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FBI Uncovers New Emails in Hillary Clinton Server Case

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FBI reopens investigation in Hillary Clinton server case after new “pertinent” material surfaces.

In an unexpected twist to the U.S. presidential campaign the FBI uncovered potentially significant material in the Hillary Clinton server case.

New emails sent through Hillary Clinton’s private server surfaced after the Federal Bureau of Investigation seized devices belonging to Huma Abedin and her husband, Anthony Weiner, in an unrelated case.  The shocking revelation was announced through a letter sent to Congress members.

“In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation.”

The initial investigation into Hillary Clinton’s unauthorized use of a private email server concluded in July with a recommendation of no criminal charges against the Democratic presidential candidate. However, in light of recent events, the FBI has decided to take investigative steps to determine if the newly discovered emails contain any classified information.

“Although the FBI cannot yet assess whether or not this material may be significant and I cannot predict how long it will take to complete this additional work, I believe it is important to update your Committees about our efforts in light of my previous testimony” declared James Comey, FBI’s director, who previously criticized Hillary Clinton as being careless. 

With less than 11 days before the US presidential election, the FBI’s decision to reopen the investigation shows how serios the discovery is. Several lawmakers questioned the timing of the letter, seeing as there is currently no evidence that Mrs Clinton or the State Department withheld information.

“Why would FBI reopen Hillary investigation unless there is evidence of more than extreme carelessness in handling classified information?” tweeted John Cornyn, second-ranking Republican in the Senate

A senior law enforcement official declared that Comey’s letter was sent out of extra caution. Although FBI’s director provided no details about the nature of the mails, the politically explosive development raises serious questions about the Democratic presidential candidate. The shocking revelation seems to have caught the Clinton campaign by surprise. Tim Kaine, Clinton’s VP running mate, said he has to “read a little more” about the situation before giving an official statement.

GOP nominee Donald J. Trump, realizing that the new development in the Hillary Clinton server case may represent a turning point in the race, was quick to add fuel to the fire. Despite the fact that he has repeatedly called the FBI corrupt and inept, during a campaign event in New Hampshire, he went on to praise the law enforcement agency.

“I have great respect for the fact that the FBI and the DOJ are now willing to right the horrible mistake that they made. This is a grave miscarriage of justice that the American people fully understand.” Donald J. Trump declared.

Comey, who is also a Republican, endured severe criticism in July after he decided not to charge Clinton. The language used by the FBI in the letter made it clear that agents will be going through the newly discovered emails to determine any intent to violate the law. Only time will tell how the Hillary Clinton server case will unfold.

Deodorants and Antiperspirants Affects Underarm Microbiome

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"deodorants"

Deodorant has some undoubtedly positive effects. I’m pretty sure that every person reading this article has wished at least once that someone was wearing deodorant. Antiperspirant is pretty much in the same dog house, providing us with slightly more tolerable public transportation rides. But according to a study from North Carolina, deodorants and antiperspirants mess up our microbiome.

You and your microbiome

For those of you that don’t know what your microbiome is, here is a very succinct biology lesson. The microbiome is the community of microbes living in a certain environment. There is also a pan-microbiome, referring to all the microbes on Earth.

In this case, the study refers to the microbes living under our arms – on our armpits, to be more exact. Most microbes living on the surface of your skin – and there are a lot of those – are beneficial, or at least harmless.

They tend to feed on what your body excretes – and by that I mean very small stuff, like sweat, dead skin, etc. – and to fend off other microbes that want to make you their home, usually by not letting them feed and having them starve to death.

The largest part of benevolent bacteria living on a human body is Corynebacteria. They are responsible for your body odor, as they feed off the sweat you eliminate from your glands.

In the study, a team of researchers from the North Carolina Central University wanted to find out the effect of antiperspirants and deodorants on the microbiome living under your arms. And this is the beginning of the experiment.

Antiperspirant vs. deodorant vs. nothing

For the study, the team had a sample of 17 men and women, and divided them into three groups. The first group would wear antiperspirant for eight days, while the second would wear deodorant. The third group was the control group, and they would use nothing for the following eight days.

But there is slightly more to the experiment – samples of armpit bacteria were collected both at the beginning of the eight days, and during the final day; additionally, all subjects used antiperspirants after the eighth day sample, and another one was collected afterwards.

The group that didn’t use anything was found to have the highest amount of Corynebacteria, as well as the lowest number of the harmful Staphylococcaceae bacteria.

The antiperspirant group showed pretty much the same number of Staphylococcaceae as the deodorant group, but far fewer Corynebacteria than the other two groups. Meanwhile, unidentifiable bacterium were present as 10% in the control group, as 5% in the deodorant group, and as 20% in the antiperspirant group.

Image source: Wikimedia

Ship noise affects endangered killer whales’ ability to catch prey and hear each other

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"orca"

Noise pollution, although not as deadly to us as other types of pollution we usually generate, might have some devastating effects on other life forms. Some marine creatures use sound to be able to navigate and communicate with each other and as it turns out, killer whales are sound blocked by ship noises.

Orcas and ships in Washington State

As you may or may not know, Southern Resident killer whales are an endangered type of orca living in Washington State’s Haro Strait. This is the core critical habitat for the aquatic mammals, allowing the salmon eating creatures to thrive, all the while bringing millions of dollars to Canadian and Pacific Northwestern ecotourism.

Unfortunately for them, they share their habitat not only with their favorite food source, the Chinook salmon, but also with thousands of ships which pass through the strait all the time. This might not be such a good thing for the creatures, mostly because of the noises all the ships make.

When hunting, swimming, or just communicating with other members of their species, killer whales use sonar and echolocation. By attuning to mid and high frequencies, the animals can hunt, navigate, and swim better.

Since the 1960s, the levels of noise pollution in the oceans have risen ten-fold due to the rise of commercial shipping. The fact that the frequencies emitted by the ships were affecting baleen whales was already known, but the team of scientists wanted to see if it also affects toothed whales.

Noise pollution for all frequencies

In order to make sure that they cover all of the frequencies that can be picked up by the marine mammals, the researchers measured a very wide range of frequencies, from 10Hz all the way up to 40,000 Hz.

What they found didn’t really work to boost their morale.

As it turns out, not only do most ships generate very high levels of background noise at low frequencies, but they also reach medium and very high frequencies. This includes the 20,000 Hz frequency which killer wales use to hear the best.

This means that their entire core habitat, the costal environment teeming with salmon and shipping lanes for kilometer on end, is filled with noise disruptions that are interfering with the animals’ echolocation. These are some bad news for the region’s orcas, as they risk getting hurt quite a lot because of the noise interferences.

The team did find, however, two solutions for reducing the levels of noise pollution in the oceans – equipping commercial ships with military level noise cancelling technology, or just slowing down, since every knot reduces the noise levels by one decibel.

Image source: Wikimedia

SpaceX successfully tests Crew Dragon parachutes; manned mission to commence soon

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"The SpaceX parachutes that were tested successfully by NASA"

SpaceX is already working on a propulsion mechanism that will land the spacecraft on land.

NASA released some footage to the general public revealing that the SpaceX parachutes were successfully tested. The Crew Dragon system for landing developed by Elon Musk’s company, Space X was tested in Coolidge, Arizona and the results were more than satisfying.

SpaceX Parachutes Were Successfully Tested

A cargo aircraft model C-130 carried the parachute assembly thousands of feet in the air in order for the drop test to be carried out. In place of an actual Crew Dragon craft, SpaceX used a weight that was similar in weight and form to the actual spacecraft. The parachutes were rigged to the weight to deploy in similar conditions as they would in the actual Crew Dragon mission to return astronauts from the ISS.

The test did not include all of the parachute-based landing mechanism developed by SpaceX. The additional parachutes that are meant to open when the full landing will take place were not added to the experiment because the drogue parachutes will be enabled at an altitude that was not consistent with the one from which the weight was dropped.

Nonetheless, the tests were a success, meaning that the landing mechanism devised by SpaceX will some bring back home the astronauts that serve on the ISS.

This Is Not the First Parachute Test Performed by Space X

But this is not the first parachute test performed by SpaceX. In the last month of 2013, Elon Musk’s program performed an early drop test for the landing mechanism. The test that was performed, then did not include the modification made for human transport. It was just meant to see how the parachutes react in real-life conditions. The Dragon Crew module was designed afterwards.

The 2013 test included only three main parachutes and two drogue ones. Since then, the Crew Dragon has received four main parachutes in order to make the descent more stable.

The Crew Dragon Will Land the Astronauts in the Ocean

For now, the Crew Dragon will land the astronauts in the ocean, a technique that was also used in the Apollo missions. But since the SpaceX parachutes were successfully tested, the company is already working on a propulsion system that will not make swimming a mandatory skill for astronauts.

Last November the Crew Dragon’s SuperDraco super engines were also put to the test. After the experiments, SpaceX noted the fact that a landing strategy using propulsion is important in the development of a landing mechanism that does not involve the surface of the ocean.

NASA declared that additional tests will be made, as they are trying to replicate real-life landing conditions as best as they can.

If everything goes as smooth as the SpaceX parachutes tests, NASA estimates that the Crew Dragon will be bringing back the astronauts from the ISS as soon as 2017.

Image source: www.wikimedia.org

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