Current Events 9

A second mysterious repeating fast radio burst has been detected in space

Far outside our Milky Way galaxy, something is causing repeating short bursts of radio waves to be released into space. Scientists have recorded the second repeating fast radio burst to be discovered, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
The finding was also presented at the 233rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle. These radio bursts are only millisecond-long radio flashes, and such rapid bursts themselves aren’t rare in space. But this is only the second one that has been found to repeat. The mystery about why these bursts happen and where they come from continues. The first one, deemed FRB 121102, was discovered in 2015 by the Arecibo radio telescope, and it was revealed in 2018 that the bursts release an enormous amount of energy. This new repeating fast radio burst is called FRB 180814.J0422+73 and was recorded six times coming from the same location, 1.5 billion light-years away.
This is one of the very first detections made by the new Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment, or CHIME. The radio telescope was still in its pre-commissioning phase and operating with only a small amount of its full capacity in the summer of 2018 when it detected this and 12 singular fast radio bursts. That could mean [the source is] in some sort of dense clump like a supernova remnant,” team member Cherry Ng, an astronomer at the University of Toronto, said in a statement. “Or near the central black hole in a galaxy. But it has to be in some special place to give us all the scattering that we see.” And if CHIME was able to make these detections before it was even fully up and running, the researchers are hopeful that the new radio telescope will help them find answers about these mysterious signals.
question: Do these signals bursts mean something good or bad?

Current events 8

 

Rare blue pigment found in medieval woman’s teeth rewrites history

The discovery of a rare, expensive blue pigment in the dental plaque of a medieval woman’s skeleton is shedding light on hidden chapter of history, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances. Researchers studied burial remains from a medieval cemetery connected with a women’s monastery in Germany, where they believe a women’s community existed as early as the 10th century. There are few records of the monastery itself because it was destroyed in a fire after a series of nearby battles during the 14th century, but written records their date to 1244. The discovery of a rare, expensive blue pigment in the dental plaque of a medieval woman’s skeleton is shedding light on hidden chapter of history, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances. Researchers studied burial remains from a medieval cemetery connected with a women’s monastery in Germany, where they believe a women’s community existed as early as the 10th century. There are few records of the monastery itself because it was destroyed in a fire after a series of nearby battles during the 14th century, but written records their date to 1244. But blue flecks were embedded in her teeth. Multiple spectrographic analyses revealed the blue pigment to be ultramarine, a rare pigment made from crushed lapis lazuli stones. That the discovery was made in a rural German monastery is no surprise; books were being produced during this time in monasteries across the country. But women were not known to be the illustrators of such prized creations. There was little evidence for physical labor in her skeleton, which aligns with the understanding that German women in medieval monastic communities were often highly educated aristocrats or nobles. “Here we have direct evidence of a woman, not just painting, but painting with a very rare and expensive pigment, and at a very out-of-the way place,” said Christina Warinner, senior study author and anthropologist at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, in a statement. “This woman’s story could have remained hidden forever without the use of these techniques. It makes me wonder how many other artists we might find in medieval cemeteries — if we only look.”

Question: why did she place it behind her tooth and what was she painting?

Link https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/09/health/medieval-woman-ultramarine-teeth-study/index.html

 

Current Events 7

Death toll in California Wildfires Climbs To At Least 31

Wildfires continue to tear through Northern and Southern California, at least 31 people have died statewide.  Authorities in Northern California said six more bodies wee found in the scorched path of the what officials call the camp fire,  which was blamed for 23 deaths. As of Sunday night, the camp fire was only 25 percent contained at 11,000 acres, the butte county Fire Department and Cal Fire Said in a Sunday evening. More than 4,500 personnel are working to combat it. According to authorities, 52,000 people have evacuated the Camp Fire area and 1,385 people are in shelters. Many people who were reported missing have been found and put into shelters. Steve Kaufman said 6,713 structures have been  leveled by the camp fire. Wind gusts increased Saturday night, setting a “red flag wind warning” causing a challenge to fire fighter and containment efforts. A red flag warning will remain in effect until 7a.m. pacific time and authorities are anticipating additional spot fires, and are primed and ready to combat potential fires in the area.

This article is important cause its bringing attention to what is going on in California and the effect its having on the state. Its bringing awareness to how dangerous this situation is and how the authorities are trying to control the situation.

What will they do if the fires become to erratic and touches more parts of the state?

Citation: “Death Toll In California Wildfires Climbs To At Least 31.” NPR.Org, https://www.npr.org/2018/11/11/666817955/death-toll-in-california-wildfires-climbs-to-at-least-31. Accessed 12 Nov. 2018.

Current Event 6

Article Title: Michelle Obama Wanted Democrats to ‘Go High.’ Now They Aren’t So Sure.
Summary: Michelle Obama is obviously a democrat since she became the spokesperson to try and tell the American people to vote for Hillary instead of Trump. Democrats don’t believe Mrs. Obama is fit to be a spokesperson for the campaign because Trump still won. Mrs. Obama sat down with NBC on Thursday and said “Fear, is not a proper motivator. Hope wins out.” “Going high”, says democrats, got them minority status across the federal government. Going high got us a president accused of sexual assault. Also, a Supreme Court justice accused of sexual assault (both deny it).
Significance: This is and should be important to society because we need to think about who we are voting into our government. These people are being accused of very serious crimes and are just getting it swept under the rug and continue with their campaign.
Question: Why are they not being suspended from the campaign and getting prosecuted?
Reference: Michelle Obama Wanted Democrats to ‘Go High.’ Now They Aren’t So Sure. – The New York Times. http://apple.news/A-AG1xAi9R92EXfn5gkvUFA Accessed 19 Nov. 2018

Current Event 5

Article Title: Next Month the People Vote on Kavanaugh
Summary: Judge Brett Kavanaugh has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman. This occurred in high school during a party. Drinking was taking place. Kavanaugh has denied being a heavy drinker. Although everyone they have interviewed and questioned has said the exact opposite. Yet somehow this man’s campaign has not been suspended.
Significance: We need to be mindful of who we could possibly be electing into office. Also this man needs to get some type of punishment.
Question: Why is nobody taking this seriously?
Reference: Next Month the People Vote on Kavanaugh – The Wall Street Journal. http://apple.news/A3KsnrC_xT3-brMML57pgHQ . Accessed 20 Nov. 2018

Current Events

Article Title: Trump Clinches Re-branded NAFTA as Canada Joins Pact With Mexico

Summary: U.S. President Donald Trump is set to sign a successor to the North American Free Trade Agreement that will make modest revisions to a deal. U.S and Canadian negotiators worked hard to secure an agreement just before the deadline, allowing leaders from those nations and Mexico to sign the accord by late November. The NAFTA will now be superseded by the USMCA, covering a region that trades more than 1 trillion annually.

Significance: This deal will cause a turbulence in the relationship between the U.S. and Canada; and because of the support from Mexico Trump doesn’t care for Canada’s opinion. NAFTA was created to eliminate tariff barriers to agricultural, manufacturing, and services; to remove investment restrictions; and to protect intellectual property rights.

Question: What will happen to the relation between Canada and the U.S. for the future?

Source: Iphone news app by Jenny Leonard, Josh Wingrove, Jennifer Jacobs, and Andrew Mayeeda. October 1.