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World Wars section of the BBC History website

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Dirt bike Racing

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The History of Motocross - American Style | MotoSport

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Motocross arrived to the United States from Europe in the 1960s thanks to Edison Dye, affectionately known as the "Father of American Motocross." He ran a motorcycle touring business in Europe and his travels across the pond exposed him to a new style of motorcycle racing.

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Featured

Vietnam Background: Uneasy French Rule *&nbsp;1887: France imposes a colonial system over Vietnam, calling it French Indochina. The system includes Tonkin, Annam, Cochin China and Cambodia. Laos is added in 1893. *&nbsp;1923-25: Vietnamese nationalist Ho Chi Minh is trained in the Soviet Union as an agent of the Communist International (Comitern). *&nbsp;February 1930: Ho Chi [...]
Read more Read more about Vietnam War Timeline

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Vietnam War: Dates and Timeline | HISTORY

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The Vietnam War lasted about 40 years and involved several countries. Learn about Vietnam War protests, the Tet Offensive, the My Lai Massacre, the Pentagon Papers and more.

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Honey Bees

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The Amazon is the world's largest rainforest and the largest river basin on the planet. More species are found here than anywhere else.

The region is believed to be home to 10% - 1 in 10 - known species on Earth. Of plant species found in this region, 75% are unique to the Amazon, and there are 3,000 species of fish, the largest number of freshwater fish species in the world.

Today, the Amazon is facing a multitude of threats as a result of unsustainable economic development; 20% of the Amazon biome has already been lost and the trend will worsen if gone unchecked.

Amazon is the biggest deforestation front in the world and interventions are urgently needed to prevent a large-scale, irreversible ecological disaster.

WWF estimates that 27 per cent - more than a quarter - of the Amazon biome will be without trees by 2030 if the current rate of deforestation continues.

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The Amazon is the world's largest rainforest and the largest river basin on the planet. More species are found here than anywhere else. The region is believed to be home to 10% - 1 in 10 - known species on Earth.

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What Is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency created in January 2009. It follows the ideas set out in a white paper by the mysterious and pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. The identity of the person or persons who created the technology is still a mystery. Bitcoin offers the promise of lower transaction fees than traditional online payment mechanisms do, and unlike government-issued currencies, it is operated by a decentralized authority.

Bitcoin is known as a type of cryptocurrency because it uses cryptography to keep it secure. There are no physical bitcoins, only balances kept on a public ledger that everyone has transparent access to (although each record is encrypted). All Bitcoin transactions are verified by a massive amount of computing power via a process known as "mining." Bitcoin is not issued or backed by any banks or governments, nor is an individual bitcoin valuable as a commodity. Despite it not being legal tender in most parts of the world, Bitcoin is very popular and has triggered the launch of hundreds of other cryptocurrencies, collectively referred to as altcoins. Bitcoin is commonly abbreviated as BTC when traded.

Understanding Bitcoin

The Bitcoin system is a collection of computers (also referred to as "nodes" or "miners") that all run Bitcoin's code and store its blockchain. Figuratively speaking, a blockchain can be thought of as a collection of blocks. In each block is a collection of transactions. Because all of the computers running the blockchain have the same list of blocks and transactions and can transparently see these new blocks as they're filled with new Bitcoin transactions, no one can cheat the system.

Anyone-whether they run a Bitcoin "node" or not-can see these transactions occurring in real time. To achieve a nefarious act, a bad actor would need to operate 51% of the computing power that makes up Bitcoin. Bitcoin has around 13,768 full nodes, as of mid-November 2021, and this number is growing, making such an attack quite unlikely.

But if an attack were to happen, Bitcoin miners-the people who take part in the Bitcoin network with their computers-would likely split off to a new blockchain, making the effort the bad actor put forth to achieve the attack a waste.

Balances of Bitcoin tokens are kept using public and private "keys," which are long strings of numbers and letters linked through the mathematical encryption algorithm that creates them. The public key (comparable to a bank account number) serves as the address published to the world and to which others may send Bitcoin.

The private key (comparable to an ATM PIN) is meant to be a guarded secret and only used to authorize Bitcoin transmissions. Bitcoin keys should not be confused with a Bitcoin wallet, which is a physical or digital device that facilitates the trading of Bitcoin and allows users to track ownership of coins. The term "wallet" is a bit misleading because Bitcoin's decentralized nature means it is never stored "in" a wallet, but rather distributed on a blockchain.

Peer-to-Peer Technology

Bitcoin is one of the first digital currencies to use peer-to-peer (P2P) technology to facilitate instant payments. The independent individuals and companies who own the governing computing power and participate in the Bitcoin network-Bitcoin "miners"-are in charge of processing the transactions on the blockchain and are motivated by rewards (the release of new Bitcoin) and transaction fees paid in Bitcoin.

These miners can be thought of as the decentralized authority enforcing the credibility of the Bitcoin network. New bitcoins are released to miners at a fixed but periodically declining rate. There are only 21 million bitcoins that can be mined in total. As of November 2021, there are over 18.875 million Bitcoin in existence and less than 2.125 million Bitcoin left to mine.

In this way, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies operate differently from fiat currency; in centralized banking systems, the currency is created at a rate matching the growth of the economy; this system is intended to maintain price stability. A decentralized system, like Bitcoin, sets the release rate ahead of time and according to an algorithm.

Bitcoin Mining

Bitcoin mining is the process by which Bitcoin is released into circulation. Generally, mining requires solving computationally difficult puzzles to discover a new block, which is added to the blockchain.

Bitcoin mining adds and verifies transaction records across the network. Miners are rewarded with some Bitcoin; the reward is halved every 210,000 blocks. The block reward was 50 new bitcoins in 2009. On May 11, 2020, the third halving occurred, bringing the reward for each block discovery down to 6.25 bitcoins.

A variety of hardware can be used to mine Bitcoin. However, some yield higher rewards than others. Certain computer chips, called application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and more advanced processing units, such as graphic processing units (GPUs), can achieve more rewards. These elaborate mining processors are known as "mining rigs."

One bitcoin is divisible to eight decimal places (100 millionths of one bitcoin), and this smallest unit is referred to as a Satoshi. If necessary, and if the participating miners accept the change, Bitcoin could eventually be made divisible to even more decimal places.

Early Timeline of Bitcoin

The domain name Bitcoin.org is registered. Today, at least, this domain is WhoisGuard Protected, meaning the identity of the person who registered it is not public information.

A person or group using the name Satoshi Nakamoto makes an announcement to the Cryptography Mailing List at metzdowd.com: "I've been working on a new electronic cash system that's fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party." This now-famous white paper published on Bitcoin.org, entitled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System," would become the Magna Carta for how Bitcoin operates today.

The first Bitcoin block is mined-Block 0. This is also known as the "genesis block" and contains the text: "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks," perhaps as proof that the block was mined on or after that date, and perhaps also as relevant political commentary.

The first version of the Bitcoin software is announced to the Cryptography Mailing List.

Block 1 is mined, and Bitcoin mining commences in earnest.

Who Is Satoshi Nakamoto?

No one knows who invented Bitcoin, or at least not conclusively. Satoshi Nakamoto is the name associated with the person or group of people who released the original Bitcoin white paper in 2008 and worked on the original Bitcoin software that was released in 2009. In the years since then, many individuals have either claimed to be or been rumored to be the real-life people behind the pseudonym, but as of November 2021, the true identity (or identities) of Satoshi Nakamoto remains obscured.

Although it is tempting to believe the media's spin that Satoshi Nakamoto is a solitary, quixotic genius who created Bitcoin out of thin air, such innovations do not typically happen in a vacuum. All major scientific discoveries, no matter how seemingly original, were built on previously existing research.

There are precursors to Bitcoin: Adam Back's Hashcash, invented in 1997, and subsequently Wei Dai's b-money, Nick Szabo's bit gold, and Hal Finney's Reusable Proof of Work. The Bitcoin white paper itself makes reference to Hashcash and b-money as well as various other works spanning several research fields. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many of the individuals behind the other projects named above have been speculated to have also had a hand in creating Bitcoin.

There are a few possible motivations for Bitcoin's inventor to keep their identity secret. One is privacy: As Bitcoin has gained in popularity-becoming something of a worldwide phenomenon-Satoshi Nakamoto would likely garner a lot of attention from the media and from governments. Another reason could be the potential for Bitcoin to cause a major disruption in the current banking and monetary systems. If Bitcoin were to gain mass adoption, the system could surpass nations' sovereign fiat currencies. This threat to existing currency could motivate governments to want to take legal action against Bitcoin's creator.

The other reason is safety. Looking at 2009 alone, 32,490 blocks were mined; at the reward rate of 50 Bitcoin per block, the total payout in 2009 was 1,624,500 Bitcoin. One may conclude that only Satoshi and perhaps a few other people were mining through 2009 and that they possess a majority of that stash of Bitcoin.

Someone in possession of that much Bitcoin could become a target of criminals, especially considering that Bitcoin is less like stocks and more like cash, wherein the private keys needed to authorize spending could be printed out and literally kept under a mattress.

Special Considerations

Bitcoin as a form of payment

Bitcoin can be accepted as a means of payment for products sold or services provided. Brick-and-mortar stores can display a sign saying "Bitcoin Accepted Here"; the transactions can be handled with the requisite hardware terminal or wallet address through QR codes and touchscreen apps. An online business can easily accept Bitcoin by adding this payment option to its other online payment options: credit cards, PayPal, etc.

Bitcoin employment opportunities

Those who are self-employed can get paid for a job related to Bitcoin. There are several ways to achieve this, such as creating any internet service and adding your Bitcoin wallet address to the site as a form of payment. There are also several websites and job boards that are dedicated to digital currencies:

Jobs4Bitcoins is part of Reddit.com.

BitGigs describes itself as "a Bitcoin job board."

Bitwage offers a way to choose a percentage of your work paycheck to be converted into Bitcoin and sent to your Bitcoin address.

Investing in Bitcoin

Many Bitcoin supporters believe that digital currency is the future. Many individuals who endorse Bitcoin believe it facilitates a much faster, low-fee payment system for transactions across the globe. Although it is not backed by any government or central bank, Bitcoin can be exchanged for traditional currencies; in fact, its exchange rate against the dollar attracts potential investors and traders interested in currency plays. Indeed, one of the primary reasons for the growth of digital currencies like Bitcoin is that they can act as an alternative to national fiat money and traditional commodities like gold.

In March 2014, the IRS stated that all virtual currencies, including Bitcoin, would be taxed as property rather than currency. Gains or losses from Bitcoin held as capital will be realized as capital gains or losses, while Bitcoin held as inventory will incur ordinary gains or losses. The sale of Bitcoin you mined or purchased from another party, or the use of Bitcoin to pay for goods or services, are examples of transactions that can be taxed.

Like any other asset, the principle of buying low and selling high applies to Bitcoin. The most popular way of amassing the currency is through buying on a Bitcoin exchange, but there are many other ways to earn and own Bitcoin.

Risks Associated With Bitcoin Investing

Speculative investors have been drawn to Bitcoin after its rapid price appreciation in recent years. Bitcoin had a price of $7,167.52 on Dec. 31, 2019, and a year later, had appreciated more than 300% to $28,984.98. It continued to surge in the first half of 2021, trading at a record high of over $68,000 in November 2021.

Thus, many people purchase Bitcoin for its investment value rather than its ability to act as a medium of exchange. However, the lack of guaranteed value and its digital nature means its purchase and use carry several inherent risks. Many investor alerts have been issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and other agencies.

The concept of a virtual currency is still novel and, compared to traditional investments, Bitcoin doesn't have much of a long-term track record or history of credibility to back it. With its increasing popularity, Bitcoin is becoming less experimental every day; still, after only a decade, all digital currencies remain in a development phase. "It is pretty much the highest-risk, highest-return investment that you can possibly make," saysBarry Silbert, CEO of Digital Currency Group, which builds and invests in Bitcoin and blockchain companies.

Regulatory risk

Investing money in any of Bitcoin's many guises is not for the risk-averse. Bitcoin is a rival to government currency and may be used for underground market transactions, money laundering, illegal activities, or tax evasion. As a result, governments may seek to regulate, restrict, or ban the use and sale of Bitcoin (and some already have). Others are coming up with various rules.

For example, in 2015, the New York State Department of Financial Services finalized regulations that would require companies dealing with the buy, sell, transfer, or storage of Bitcoin to record the identity of customers, have a compliance officer, and maintain capital reserves. Any transactions worth $10,000 or more will have to be recorded and reported.

The lack of uniform regulations about Bitcoin (and other virtual currencies) raises questions over their longevity, liquidity, and universality.

Security risk

Most individuals who own and use Bitcoin have not acquired their tokens through mining operations. Rather, they buy and sell Bitcoin and other digital currencies on any of the popular online markets, known as Bitcoin exchanges or cryptocurrency exchanges.

Bitcoin exchanges are entirely digital and-as with any virtual system-are at risk from hackers, malware, and operational glitches. If a thief gains access to a Bitcoin owner's computer hard drive and steals their private encryption key, they could transfer the stolen Bitcoin to another account. (Users can prevent this only if their Bitcoin is stored on a computer that is not connected to the internet, or else by choosing to use a paper wallet -printing out the Bitcoin private keys and addresses and not keeping them on a computer at all.)

Hackers can also target Bitcoin exchanges, gaining access to thousands of accounts and digital wallets where Bitcoin is stored. One especially notorious hacking incident took place in 2014, when Mt. Gox, a Bitcoin exchange in Japan, was forced to close down after millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin were stolen.

This is particularly problematic given that all Bitcoin transactions are permanent and irreversible. It's like dealing with cash: Any transaction carried out with Bitcoin can only be reversed if the person who has received them refunds them. There is no third party or payment processor as in the case of a debit or credit card-hence, no source of protection or appeal if there is a problem.

Insurance risk

Some investments are insured through the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Normal bank accounts are insured through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) up to a certain amount depending on the jurisdiction.

Generally speaking, Bitcoin exchanges and Bitcoin accounts are not insured by any type of federal or government program. In 2019, prime dealer and trading platform SFOX announced it would be able to provide Bitcoin investors with FDIC insurance, but only for the portion of transactions involving cash.

Though Bitcoin uses private key encryption to verify owners and register transactions, fraudsters and scammers may attempt to sell false Bitcoin. For instance, in July 2013, the SEC brought legal action against an operator of a Bitcoin-related Ponzi scheme. There have also been documented cases of Bitcoin price manipulation, another common form of fraud.

Market risk

As with any investment, Bitcoin values can fluctuate. Indeed, the value of the currency has seen wild swings in price over its short existence. Subject to high volume buying and selling on exchanges, it has a high sensitivity to any newsworthy events. According to the CFPB, the price of Bitcoin fell by 61% in a single day in 2013, while the one-day price drop record in 2014 was as big as 80%.

If fewer people begin to accept Bitcoin as a currency, these digital units may lose value and could become worthless. Indeed, there was speculation that the "Bitcoin bubble" had burst when the price declined from its all-time high during the cryptocurrency rush in late 2017 and early 2018.

There is already plenty of competition, and although Bitcoin has a huge lead over the hundreds of other digital currencies that have sprung up because of its brand recognition and venture capital money, a technological breakthrough in the form of a better virtual coin is always a threat.

Splits in the Cryptocurrency Community

In the years since Bitcoin launched, there have been numerous instances in which disagreements between factions of miners and developers prompted large-scale splits of the cryptocurrency community. In some of these cases, groups of Bitcoin users and miners have changed the protocol of the Bitcoin network itself.

This process is known as "forking," and it usually results in the creation of a new type of Bitcoin with a new name. This split can be a " hard fork," in which a new coin shares transaction history with Bitcoin up until a decisive split point, at which point a new token is created. Examples of cryptocurrencies that have been created as a result of hard forks include Bitcoin Cash (created in August 2017), Bitcoin Gold (created in October 2017), and Bitcoin SV (created in November 2018).

A " soft fork" is a change to the protocol that is still compatible with the previous system rules. For example, Bitcoin soft forks have added functionalities such as segregated witness (SegWit).

Why Is Bitcoin Valuable?

Is Bitcoin a Scam?

How Many Bitcoins Are There?

Should I Capitalize the B in Bitcoin?

Where Can I Buy Bitcoin?

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Bitcoin Definition: How Does Bitcoin Work?

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Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency created in January 2009. It follows the ideas set out in a white paper by the mysterious and pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. The identity of the person or persons who created the technology is still a mystery.

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What Is Artificial Intelligence (AI)? | Built In

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Artificial intelligence refers to computer systems capable of performing tasks that are typically thought to require human intelligence.

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Here is where you find 5G technology explained-how 5G works, why 5G is important and how it's changing the way the world connects and communicates. At Qualcomm, we invented the foundational breakthroughs that make 5G possible.

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What is 5G | Everything You Need to Know About 5G | 5G FAQ | Qualcomm

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Here is where you find 5G technology explained-how 5G works, why 5G is important and how it's changing the way the world connects and communicates. At Qualcomm, we invented the foundational breakthroughs that make 5G possible.

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Victoria Woodhull, a stockbroker, publisher, and protégé of Cornelius Vanderbilt, ran for president of the United States on the Equal Rights Party ticket.

Click here for a complete list of women who have run for president and vice president.

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Milestones for Women in American Politics

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Victoria Woodhull, a stockbroker, publisher, and protégé of Cornelius Vanderbilt, ran for president of the United States on the Equal Rights Party ticket. Click here for a complete list of women who have run for president and vice president.

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More than 500 Asian giant hornets have been collected from the first known nest of the invasive species in the United States, officials announced Tuesday.

Washington State Department of Agriculture entomologists discovered the nest of "murder hornets" last month in a tree in Blaine, north of Seattle, near the Canadian border.

After eradicating the nest, during which the crew vacuumed out nearly 100 hornets, the entomologists removed the portion of the tree with the nest and opened it the following week to collect any hornets that had remained. The crew had pumped carbon dioxide into the tree during the nest removal to kill or anesthetize any remaining hornets, and many were still alive, officials said.

Upon opening the tree, the team determined that the nest was about 14 inches long and up to 9 inches wide. Hornets in various life stages were collected, including approximately 200 queens, Sven Spichiger, the agency's managing entomologist, told reporters during a virtual press briefing Tuesday.

"As far as we can tell, we got there just in time," Spichiger said. "We know from the literature that a small percentage of these will go on to form colonies next year, should they have been given the chance to escape."

In total, the nest contained 190 larvae, 112 worker (female) bees, nine drone (male) bees and six unhatched eggs, Spichiger said. There were 76 queen bees, and 108 capped cells with pupae, most of which were believed to be of new virgin queens.

Spichiger said there is "no way of knowing" how many queens there were in total, and if any had escaped.

"From accounts we have, we're very close to having the majority of them," Spichiger said of the queen bees, who typically produce most of the bees in a hive. "But I can't give you an absolute, certainly, that we got every single one from the nest."

The findings from the Blaine nest come about a month after the first giant hornet was detected in the region. The agency placed live traps in the area in early October after a homeowner reported a specimen, Spichiger said.

Four live hornets were caught in the traps, after which entomologists were able to attach radio trackers to three of them, and one led them to the nest -- located in the cavity of a tree on private property -- on Oct. 22.

After the team observed dozens of hornets entering and leaving the tree, the property owner gave the agency permission to eradicate the nest and, if necessary, remove the tree, officials said.

On Oct. 24, the agency announced that that the removal of the nest "appears to have been successful," and that 85 specimens were vacuumed out of the nest.

Despite this success, state entomologists believe there are additional nests in the state, based on additional specimens captured in different regions.

Hundreds of traps have been set throughout Washington by agriculture department staff, scientists and others, in an attempt to eliminate the pest from the state. At 2 inches, the world's largest hornet can kill an entire honey bee hive in just hours. With bee populations already in decline in the U.S. due to what's known as "colony collapse disorder," the killer hornets pose another threat to the ecosystem if they become established over several years.

Agency officials say they'll continue to keep their traps up through Thanksgiving, at which point it typically becomes too cold for the hornets to fly. But Spichiger said it's possible they could find another nest before the end of the year, as the first hornets in the state were detected last Dec. 8.

"The more people are outside and looking at this time of year, the more chances we have," he said.

Officials said the agency will continue to trap for at least three more years to ensure the region is hornet-free -- and to prevent the insects from becoming a costly problem.

"Just look at gypsy moths," Spichiger said. "In the East, when gypsy moths get out of control, it costs millions of dollars. At least for long term, the smart path here is to eradicate it if we can."

The invasive species has been found as far away as British Columbia, though the "epicenter" appears to be in Washington, experts said.

For humans, the giant hornet's sting is more painful than that of a typical bee or wasp, and people are advised to use caution near the insects and not attempt to remove or eradicate nests themselves.

It's not known how the killer hornets, which are native to Asian countries including China and Japan, arrived in the Pacific Northwest -- but a likely theory is that they came in via international cargo. Another less likely theory is that someone smuggled the hornets in to raise them as food, Spichiger said.

"These are sought-after food items in their native range," he said. But, he added, "I think most people don't want to travel with such a thing."

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More than 500 'murder hornets' collected from first known nest in US

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More than 500 Asian giant hornets have been collected from the first known nest of the invasive species in the United States, officials announced Tuesday. Washington State Department of Agriculture entomologists discovered the nest of "murder hornets" last month in a tree in Blaine, north of Seattle, near the Canadian border.

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Falcon 9's first stage incorporates nine Merlin engines and aluminum-lithium alloy tanks containing liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) propellant.

Falcon 9 generates more than 1.7 million pounds of thrust at sea level.

The nine Merlin engines on the first stage are gradually throttled near the end of first-stage flight to limit launch vehicle acceleration as the rocket's mass decreases with the burning of fuel. These engines are also used to reorient the first stage prior to reentry and to decelerate the vehicle for landing.

The Falcon 9 first stage is equipped with four landing legs made of state-of-the-art carbon fiber with aluminum honeycomb.

Placed symmetrically around the base of the rocket, they are stowed at the base of the vehicle and deploy just prior to landing.

Learn more about SpaceX reusability

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Falcon 9's first stage incorporates nine Merlin engines and aluminum-lithium alloy tanks containing liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) propellant. Falcon 9 generates more than 1.7 million pounds of thrust at sea level. The nine Merlin engines on the first stage are gradually throttled near the end of first-stage flight to limit launch vehicle acceleration as the rocket's mass decreases with the burning of fuel.

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The ultimate kids' guide to the new coronavirus

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"Will school be closed?" and "Should I be worried about getting sick?"

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Please Note: NCSL does not have the names of the individual presidential electors in each state, nor does NCSL have their contact information. You must contact either your state's election officials or political parties for information.
Overview

The Electoral College is a unique method for indirectly electing the president of the United States. It was established by Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution and modified by the and 23rd Amendments.

The Electoral College consists of a total of 538 members, one for each U.S. senator and representative, and three additional electors representing the District of Columbia. Each state has a number of electoral votes equal to the combined total of its congressional delegation, and each state legislature is free to determine the method it will use to select its own electors.

Currently, all states select electors through a popular vote (although how that vote works can differ), but that was not always the case throughout American history. In many states, the state legislature selected electors, a practice which was common until the mid-1800s.

The Electoral College in 2020

The following is a summary of how the Electoral College will work in the 2020 presidential election:

Spring and Summer 2020: Nomination of Electors. The political parties in each state nominate their electors. Parties and states have different ways of going about this, but a party's presidential electors are generally loyal or consistent party members. The parties want to be sure they can rely on their electors to cast their votes for the party's nominee for president.

Nov. 3, 2020: Election Day, when voters in each state will select their presidential electors. The names of electors are not on the ballot in most states. Rather, when a voter casts a vote for a presidential candidate, s/he is also casting a vote for the electors already selected by the party of that candidate. If a majority of voters in a state vote for the Republican candidate for president, the Republican slate of electors is elected. If a majority vote for the Democratic candidate, the Democratic slate of electors is chosen.

Dec. 8, 2020: Deadline for Resolving Election Disputes. All state recounts and court contests over presidential election results must be completed by this date. (3 U.S.C. § 5). For the majority of states the date of certification is the same as for all contests, but in eight states there is a deadline that either directly references 3 USC §5 or uses similar language, requiring that disputes surrounding the selection of presidential electors be resolved in time to meet the "safe harbor" deadline: Indiana, Iowa, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. For detailed information on state post-election processes, please visit this page.

Dec. 14, 2020: Meeting of the Electors. The electors meet in each state and cast their ballots for president and vice president. Each elector votes on his or her own ballot and signs it. The ballots are immediately transmitted to various people: one copy goes to the president of the U.S. Senate (who is also the vice president of the United States); this is the copy that will be officially counted later. Other copies go to the state's secretary of state, the National Archives and Records Administration, and the presiding judge in the district where the electors meet (this serves as a backup copy that would replace the official copy sent to the president of the Senate if it is lost or destroyed).

Dec. 23, 2020: Deadline for Receipt of Ballots. The electors' ballots from all states must be received by the president of the Senate by this date. There is no penalty for missing this deadline.

Jan. 6, 2021: Counting of the Electoral Ballots. The U.S. Congress meets in joint session to count the electoral votes.

Jan. 20, 2021: Inauguration Day. The president-elect becomes the president of the United States.

Nomination of Electors

The U.S. Constitution does not specify procedures for the nomination of candidates for presidential elector. The two most common methods the states have adopted are nomination by state party convention and by state party committee. Generally, the parties select members known for their loyalty and service to the party, such as party leaders, state and local elected officials and party activists. In some states, the electors' names appear on the ballot along with the names of the candidates for president and vice president. However, in most states, electors' names are not printed on the ballot. When a voter casts a vote for a candidate for President of the United States, s/he is in actuality casting a vote for the presidential electors who were selected by that candidate's party.

Awarding Electoral Votes

All 50 states and the District of Columbia use one of two methods for awarding their electoral votes:

The Winner-Take-All System

In 48 states and the District of Columbia, when a candidate for president wins a state's popular vote, that party's slate of electors will be the ones to cast the vote for president of the United States in December. For example, Florida has 29 electoral votes. If President Donald Trump wins the state's popular vote on Nov. 3, the 29 electors nominated by the Republican Party in Florida will be selected. These 29 people will gather on Dec. 14 to cast their votes for president of the United States.

The District System

Maine and Nebraska are the only states that do not use a winner-take-all system. Instead, in these two states, one electoral vote is awarded to the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote in each congressional district, and the remaining two electoral votes are awarded to the candidates receiving the most votes statewide. This is known as the district system. It is possible under the district system to split the electoral vote for the state. This happened in 2008 in Nebraska: Barack Obama won the electoral vote in the congressional district including Omaha, while John McCain won in the state's other two districts and won the statewide vote as well, securing the state's two at-large votes. Thus, when the Nebraska presidential electors met in December 2008, there were four Republican electors and one Democrat. That election was the first time Nebraska's electoral vote was split.

Proposed Changes to the Electoral College

In the years since the highly controversial 2000 presidential election, bills have been introduced in every state in the country to change the process for selecting electors. During the period of 2001-2006, most Electoral College reform bills proposed switching to the district system. None of these bills passed. In the years since, attention has largely shifted to the National Popular Vote (NPV). This is an idea that would allow states to bypass the Electoral College without amending the U.S. Constitution. When a state joins the NPV Compact, it promises that it will give all of its electoral votes to the party that wins the national popular vote, rather than the party that wins the state popular vote. For instance, if the Democratic candidate won the popular vote in California, but the Republican candidate won the popular vote nationwide, California would be required to send the Republican slate of electors to the meeting of the electors. The NPV has not yet taken effect; states with a total of at least 270 electoral votes must join before it can function. Read more about the National Popular Vote.

The idea of abolishing the Electoral College and instead electing the president by direct popular vote comes about every few years. Abolishing the Electoral College requires an amendment to the US Constitution. There are two ways to do that:

Congress can propose an amendment by a two-thirds vote of both chambers. The amendment then has to be ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states. All existing amendments to the Constitution were made in this manner.

The legislatures of two-thirds of the states can petition Congress to convene a Constitutional Convention. At a Constitutional Convention, any part of the Constitution could be amended; action is not restricted to the sections governing the Electoral College or any other part of the Constitution. Again, any proposed amendment would have to be ratified by three-fourths of the states. This method has never been invoked.

Faithless Electors

There is no federal law or constitutional provision requiring electors to vote for the party that nominated them, and over the years a number of electors have voted against the instructions of the voters. In 2004, a Minnesota elector nominated by the Democratic Party cast a ballot for John Edwards, the vice presidential running mate of John Kerry--thought to be an accident. Electors generally are selected by the political party for their party loyalty, and many are party leaders, and thus not likely to vote other than for their party's candidate.

In 2016, there were seven faithless electors, the most since 1972-three Democratic electors from Washington state cast their votes for Republican Colin Powell, instead of Democrat Hillary Clinton; one Democratic elector from Washington state cast his vote for Faith Spotted Eagle, a woman who is a member of the Yankton Sioux Nation; one Democratic elector from Hawaii cast his vote for Bernie Sanders, instead of Hillary Clinton; one Republican elector from Texas cast his vote for John Kasich, instead of Donald Trump; and one Republican elector from Texas cast his vote for Libertarian Ron Paul. The last time an elector crossed party lines was in 1972, when an elector nominated by the Republican Party cast his ballot for the Libertarian ticket.

Some states have passed laws that require their electors to vote as pledged. These laws may either impose a fine on an elector who fails to vote according to the statewide or district popular vote, or may disqualify an elector who violates his or her pledge and provide a replacement elector. In July 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it is constitutional for states to enact this type of law. The states with laws that attempt to bind the votes of presidential electors are below:

Alabama (Ala. Code §17-14-31)

Mississippi (Miss. Code Ann. §208.46)

Alaska (Alaska Stat. §15.30.090)

Montana (Mont. Code Ann. §13-25-307)

Arizona (Ariz. Rev. Stat. §16-212)

Nebraska (Neb. Rev. Stat. §32-714)

California (Cal. Elec. Code §6906)

Nevada (Nev. Rev. Stat. §298.075)

Colorado (Colo. Rev. Stat. §1-4-304)

New Mexico (N.M. Stat. Ann. §1-15-9)

Connecticut (Conn. Gen. Stat. §9-176)

North Carolina (N.C. Gen. Stat. §163-212)

Delaware (Del. Code Ann. tit. 15, §4303(b))

Oklahoma (Okla. Stat. tit.26 §10-102)

District of Columbia (D.C. Code §1-1001.08)

Ohio (Ohio Rev. Code §3505.40)

Florida (Fla. Stat. §103.021)

Oregon (Or. Rev. Stat. §248.355)

Hawaii (Haw. Rev. Stat. §14-28)

South Carolina (S.C. Code Ann. §7-19-80)

Indiana (Ind. Code §3-10-4-1.7)

Tennessee (Tenn. Code Ann. §2-15-104)

Iowa (Iowa Code §54.8)

Maine (Me. Stat. tit.21-A, §805)

Vermont (Vt. Stat. Ann. §2732)

Maryland (Md. Code Ann. §8-505)

Virginia (Va. Code Ann. §24.2-203)

Massachusetts (Mass Gen. Laws ch.53, §8)

Washington (Wash. Rev. Code §29A.56.090)

Michigan (Mich. Comp. Laws §168.47)

Wisconsin (Wis. Stat. §7.75)

Minnesota (Minn. Stat. §208.46)

Wyoming (Wyo. Stat. Ann. §22-19-108)

Most of the laws cited above require electors to vote for the candidate of the party that nominated the elector, or require the elector to sign a pledge to do so. Some go further: Oklahoma imposes a civil penalty of $1,000; in North Carolina, the fine is $500, the faithless elector is deemed to have resigned, and a replacement is appointed. In South Carolina, an elector who violates his or her pledge is subject to criminal penalties, and in New Mexico a violation is a fourth degree felony. In Michigan, a candidate who fails to vote as required is considered to have resigned, and a replacement is appointed.

Additional Resources

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national conference of state legislatures

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Please Note: NCSL does not have the names of the individual presidential electors in each state, nor does NCSL have their contact information. You must contact either your state's election officials or political parties for information. The Electoral College is a unique method for indirectly electing the president of the United States.

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In March 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) published a report Uyghurs for sale: 'Re-education', forced labour and surveillance beyond Xinjiang, which identified 83 foreign and Chinese companies as allegedly directly or indirectly benefiting from the use of Uyghur workers outside Xinjiang through potentially abusive labour transfer programs.

ASPI estimates at least 80,000 Uyghurs were transferred out of Xinjiang and assigned to factories in a range of supply chains including electronics, textiles, and automotives under a central government policy known as 'Xinjiang Aid'. The report identified 27 factories in nine Chinese provinces that are using Uyghur labour transferred from Xinjiang since 2017.

ASPI reached out to the 83 brands to confirm their relevant supplier details. Where companies responded before publication, they have included their relevant clarifications in their report.

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Abercrombie & Fitch, adidas, Amazon, BMW, Gap, H&M, Inditex, Marks & Spencer, Nike, North Face, Puma, PVH, Samsung and UNIQLO to respond ; their responses are provided. We invited Apple, Esprit, and Fila to respond; they did not. L Brands sent its response after publication of our Weekly Update, in October 2020. We will continue to post further company responses as we receive them.

Further company comments can also be found in the articles linked below.

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China: 83 major brands implicated in report on forced labour of ethnic minorities from Xinjiang assigned to factories across provinces; Includes company responses - Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

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In March 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) published a report Uyghurs for sale: 'Re-education', forced labour and surveillance beyond Xinjiang, which identified 83 foreign and Chinese companies as allegedly directly or indirectly benefiting from the use of Uyghur workers outside Xinjiang through potentially abusive labour transfer programs. ASPI estimates at least 80,000 Uyghurs were transferred out of Xinjiang and assigned to factories in a range of supply chains including electronics, textiles, and automotives under a central government policy known as 'Xinjiang Aid'.

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Contents

1. Origins of Renaissance Art

2. Early Renaissance Art (1401-1490s)

3. Florence in the Renaissance

4. High Renaissance Art (1490s-1527)

5. Renaissance Art in Practice

6. Expansion and Decline

Known as the Renaissance, the period immediately following the Middle Ages in Europe saw a great revival of interest in the classical learning and values of ancient Greece and Rome. Against a backdrop of political stability and growing prosperity, the development of new technologies-including the printing press, a new system of astronomy and the discovery and exploration of new continents-was accompanied by a flowering of philosophy, literature and especially art.

The style of painting, sculpture and decorative arts identified with the Renaissance emerged in Italy in the late 14th century; it reached its zenith in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, in the work of Italian masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. In addition to its expression of classical Greco-Roman traditions, Renaissance art sought to capture the experience of the individual and the beauty and mystery of the natural world.

Origins of Renaissance Art

The origins of Renaissance art can be traced to Italy in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. During this so-called "proto-Renaissance" period (1280-1400), Italian scholars and artists saw themselves as reawakening to the ideals and achievements of classical Roman culture. Writers such as Petrarch (1304-1374) and Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) looked back to ancient Greece and Rome and sought to revive the languages, values and intellectual traditions of those cultures after the long period of stagnation that had followed the fall of the Roman Empire in the sixth century.

Did you know? Leonardo da Vinci, the ultimate "Renaissance man," practiced all the visual arts and studied a wide range of topics, including anatomy, geology, botany, hydraulics and flight. His formidable reputation is based on relatively few completed paintings, including "Mona Lisa," "The Virgin of the Rocks" and "The Last Supper."

The Florentine painter Giotto (1267?-1337), the most famous artist of the proto-Renaissance, made enormous advances in the technique of representing the human body realistically. His frescoes were said to have decorated cathedrals at Assisi, Rome, Padua, Florence and Naples, though there has been difficulty attributing such works with certainty.

Early Renaissance Art (1401-1490s)

In the later 14th century, the proto-Renaissance was stifled by plague and war, and its influences did not emerge again until the first years of the next century. In 1401, the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti (c. 1378-1455) won a major competition to design a new set of bronze doors for the Baptistery of the cathedral of Florence, beating out contemporaries such as the architect Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) and the young Donatello (c. 1386- 1466), who would later emerge as the master of early Renaissance sculpture.

The other major artist working during this period was the painter Masaccio (1401-1428), known for his frescoes of the Trinity in the Church of Santa Maria Novella (c. 1426) and in the Brancacci Chapel of the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine (c. 1427), both in Florence. Masaccio painted for less than six years but was highly influential in the early Renaissance for the intellectual nature of his work, as well as its degree of naturalism.

Florence in the Renaissance

Though the Catholic Church remained a major patron of the arts during the Renaissance-from popes and other prelates to convents, monasteries and other religious organizations-works of art were increasingly commissioned by civil government, courts and wealthy individuals. Much of the art produced during the early Renaissance was commissioned by the wealthy merchant families of Florence, most notably the Medici family.

From 1434 until 1492, when Lorenzo de' Medici-known as "the Magnificent" for his strong leadership as well as his support of the arts-died, the powerful family presided over a golden age for the city of Florence. Pushed from power by a republican coalition in 1494, the Medici family spent years in exile but returned in 1512 to preside over another flowering of Florentine art, including the array of sculptures that now decorates the city's Piazza della Signoria.

High Renaissance Art (1490s-1527)

By the end of the 15th century, Rome had displaced Florence as the principal center of Renaissance art, reaching a high point under the powerful and ambitious Pope Leo X (a son of Lorenzo de' Medici). Three great masters- Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael-dominated the period known as the High Renaissance, which lasted roughly from the early 1490s until the sack of Rome by the troops of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Spain in 1527.

Leonardo (1452-1519) was the ultimate "Renaissance man" for the breadth of his intellect, interest and talent and his expression of humanist and classical values. Leonardo's best-known works, including the "Mona Lisa" (1503-05), "The Virgin of the Rocks" (1485) and the fresco "The Last Supper" (1495-98), showcase his unparalleled ability to portray light and shadow, as well as the physical relationship between figures-humans, animals and objects alike-and the landscape around them.

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) drew on the human body for inspiration and created works on a vast scale. He was the dominant sculptor of the High Renaissance, producing pieces such as the Pietà in St. Peter's Cathedral (1499) and the David in his native Florence (1501-04). He carved the latter by hand from an enormous marble block; the famous statue measures five meters high including its base. Though Michelangelo considered himself a sculptor first and foremost, he achieved greatness as a painter as well, notably with his giant fresco covering the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, completed over four years (1508-12) and depicting various scenes from Genesis.

Raphael Sanzio, the youngest of the three great High Renaissance masters, learned from both da Vinci and Michelangelo. His paintings-most notably "The School of Athens" (1508-11), painted in the Vatican at the same time that Michelangelo was working on the Sistine Chapel -skillfully expressed the classical ideals of beauty, serenity and harmony. Among the other great Italian artists working during this period were Sandro Botticelli, Bramante, Giorgione, Titian and Correggio.

Renaissance Art in Practice

Many works of Renaissance art depicted religious images, including subjects such as the Virgin Mary, or Madonna, and were encountered by contemporary audiences of the period in the context of religious rituals. Today, they are viewed as great works of art, but at the time they were seen and used mostly as devotional objects. Many Renaissance works were painted as altarpieces for incorporation into rituals associated with Catholic Mass and donated by patrons who sponsored the Mass itself.

Renaissance artists came from all strata of society; they usually studied as apprentices before being admitted to a professional guild and working under the tutelage of an older master. Far from being starving bohemians, these artists worked on commission and were hired by patrons of the arts because they were steady and reliable. Italy's rising middle class sought to imitate the aristocracy and elevate their own status by purchasing art for their homes. In addition to sacred images, many of these works portrayed domestic themes such as marriage, birth and the everyday life of the family.

Expansion and Decline

Over the course of the 15th and 16th centuries, the spirit of the Renaissance spread throughout Italy and into France, northern Europe and Spain. In Venice, artists such as Giorgione (1477/78-1510) and Titian (1488/90-1576) further developed a method of painting in oil directly on canvas; this technique of oil painting allowed the artist to rework an image-as fresco painting (on plaster) did not-and it would dominate Western art to the present day.

Oil painting during the Renaissance can be traced back even further, however, to the Flemish painter Jan van Eyck (died 1441), who painted a masterful altarpiece in the cathedral at Ghent (c. 1432). Van Eyck was one of the most important artists of the Northern Renaissance; later masters included the German painters Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) and Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/98-1543).

By the later 1500s, the Mannerist style, with its emphasis on artificiality, had developed in opposition to the idealized naturalism of High Renaissance art, and Mannerism spread from Florence and Rome to become the dominant style in Europe. Renaissance art continued to be celebrated, however: The 16th-century Florentine artist and art historian Giorgio Vasari, author of the famous work "Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects" (1550), would write of the High Renaissance as the culmination of all Italian art, a process that began with Giotto in the late 13th century.

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Known as the Renaissance, the period immediately following the Middle Ages in Europe saw a great revival of interest in the classical learning and values of ancient Greece and Rome. Its style and characteristics emerged in Italy in the late 14th century and persisted through the early16th century.

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Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality

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Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality

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Read the Spanish version of this article translated by Yesica Danderfer
Despite having many things in common, VR, AR, and MR are not the same thing. We discuss the key differentiators, driving forces, and use cases for these three promising related technologies.
Today's technology has come a long way from the days of View-Master's thin cardboard discs containing seven stereoscopic 3D pairs of small color photographs, to today's VR and its close cousin AR. In fact, thanks to heavy investments from giants like Facebook, Google, Samsung, and many others betting on high-value returns, virtual and augmented reality are finding their way into our newsfeeds more and more frequently.

In this article, we start by highlighting the nuances between VR, AR, and MR, and then take a quick trip back in time to see how VR/AR evolved. Finally, we evaluate how they fit in today's reality, and how they may affect tomorrow's.

What Is Virtual Reality (VR)?

Virtual Reality, or VR, is a simulated and immersive experience projected by a device into the user's sight. Imagine walking down the Champs-Elisée (Paris), while still sitting in your basement in San Francisco. All you need is a headset projecting you into a simulation via a viewfinder. That's exactly what VR promises, and much more.

How Does VR work?

Some of you may remember what a thrilling experience it was using Mattel's View-Master, which was introduced in the 1960s. Today's VR is the modern version of that stereoscopic sightseeing effect: It requires a set of lenses inside a viewport on a headset, and a mounted device where the experience is stored or computed.

From pure observation to complete immersion, the range of VR capabilities varies depending on the device and type of headset used. Using a remote control in sync with the mounted headset allows the user to interact with 3D objects in space, within the experience-either for VR games or virtual interfaces and apps.

The Brief History of VR and Its Evolution Through Time

Leaving aside the technicality of VR for a moment, and focusing on the immersive 360° experience that it aims to project us into, we could argue that virtual reality started from the "360-degree murals (or panoramic paintings) from the nineteenth century," as the Virtual Reality Society states on their History of Virtual Reality. We shifted from an early flight simulator (1929), to Morton's first VR Head Mounted Display in 1960, to Neo experiencing the whole world as a simulation inside The Matrix in 1999.

Which Companies Are Leading the VR Market Today?

Fast forward to 2014 where Google initiated a mass market DIY headset that uses a smartphone to drive the VR experience: Google Cardboard. Samsung followed the year after with their Gear VR, and the new race for virtual reality was officially on. Officially acquired in June 2014, Oculus VR joined the Facebook family to accelerate its aim for domination in the high-end spectrum of the virtual reality headset.

What Is Augmented Reality (AR)?

Just as the name suggests, Augmented Reality, or AR, adds to our perception of the world by overlapping computer generated graphics, images, or a set of interactive data.

How Does AR Work?

As of today, AR only requires a smartphone with a camera and an AR app. Two key elements that make it work are the camera capacity to capture the environment around you as you move and the software that calculates and projects some computer-generated visuals or content.

One great example of this in action is IKEA's recent AR app that allows anyone to imagine how any room or space would feel with some of the brand's furniture.

Designers and architects could clearly benefit from this new way of creating life-scale objects in a real life context. "Now, technology has caught up with our ambition. AR lets us redefine the experience for furniture retail once more, in our restless quest to create a better everyday life for everyone, everywhere," says Michael Valdsgaard, Leader of Digital Transformation at Inter IKEA Systems.

A Brief History of AR

From casting the first virtual yellow line marker during a live NFL game in 1998 to overlapping map data to assist NASA flight simulations, augmented reality has lived outside of science fiction for many decades.

Back in 1974, Myron Kruger combined projectors and video cameras in an interactive environment-it was the birth of AR as we know it today.

More recently, AR took a big leap towards wider adoption at Apple's WWDC 17 when AR development was introduced to the masses with ARKit, a development framework for augmented reality applications created for iPhones and iPads.

ARkit vs. ARCore - The Fight Between Apple and Google for AR Domination

Apple's ARKit for iOS 11 promises to democratize AR content development and mass consumption. It is a direct response to Google's ARCore who have the advantage of leveraging its knowledge from also being in the VR space, contrary to Apple. Both AR design and development frameworks promise to simplify and accelerate the creation process and put the technology in the hands of millions already using Android and iOS phones.

As augmented reality apps are still new to the mass market, it is too early to tell how really different these development kits are, except that they are each specific to their own operating systems and core audiences.

Now that the two most prominent tech companies-between them controlling 99% of the smartphone market-have made such a public move behind augmented reality, we should be ready to see industries being disrupted-again.

What About Mixed Reality (MR)?

Mixed reality is a hybrid of VR and AR and aims to offer the best of both worlds. For instance, while it uses a headset just like VR, seeing through a translucent viewport or glass, it also projects visuals on top of our environment.

What makes MR stand out is its highly interactive aspect, and the realistic rendering of the projection it adds to our surroundings. Instead of depending solely on remote controllers or phone screens, we can interact with the immersive content using natural body and finger gestures.

Apple and Google clearly lead the way on AR technology, but today's MR landscape favors Microsoft (HoloLens), and massively funded Magic Leap (so far a concept demo only).

Microsoft HoloLens and Magic Leap - The Two Kings of the Mixed Reality Race

Microsoft HoloLens

Despite the commercial failure of Google Glass, Microsoft didn't shy away from trying their own "holographic computer" in the MR game. The name "HoloLens" comes from the core experience "enabling you to engage with your digital content and interact with holograms in the world around you."

Magic Leap

As one of the most funded pre-product startups, this Google-backed venture is also one of the tech industry's most secretive projects ever. Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz calls it "cinematic reality-a complete shift in visual computing." This mixed-reality technology company tackles the challenge of designing for interactive environments by leveraging the best of both virtual and augmented reality systems.

Although it hasn't been made public yet, the holographic glasses use Dynamic Digitised Lightfield Signal-projecting images directly into the eye and "tricking" the brain into thinking it's real. The result is a richer and more believable augmented experience.

How Are VR, AR, and MR Redefining the Way We See and Experience the World?

One of the obvious winners from the emergence of VR is the entertainment industry. Lego Star Wars 360 Experience is one example of great adoption and implementation of virtual reality, making it possible for viewers to experience storytelling in a totally different way.

By announcing the first ever standalone VR headset (not requiring a phone or a computer to be attached to it) tech giant Facebook is on the offensive with its plan to democratize VR.

AR Reinvents Nintendo-a Century-old Company-Almost Overnight

With the explosive success of Pokemon Go in 2016, the world had its first look at how AR could literally "move" our reality by augmenting it with little monsters popping in and out of our smartphone screens.

Mixed Reality. Merged Reality? Mixed Feelings.

With unclear distinctions from its cousins VR and AR, mixed reality has a hard time defining its future.

Just like VR, MR uses a headset to launch the experience. But mixed reality devices are different from typical VR hardware because they use mounted translucent glasses like Google Glass that let us stay grounded in the real world-the virtual reality is mixed with actual reality.

Like AR, MR overlays digital content and simulations on top of what we would normally see. But mixed reality experiences let you physically interact with the simulation in ways that AR can't... yet. And instead of depending on your phone screen alone, you can use your body and remote controllers to engage with the environment more interactively.

The VR, AR, and MR Landscape in Numbers

In order to really pick up and reach wider adoption, financial traction will be a key indicator of both technological and experiential traction.

Backed by high-profile investors such as Alphabet's Google Ventures, Alibaba, and Andreessen Horowitz, Magic Leap leads the MR investments game with nearly $2 billion in venture funding to date.

Let's review the major investments on key VR/AR companies in the market today.

Design Considerations for the New Realities

Designing for VR , AR, and MR is akin to creating new realities. This new paradigm of immersive and multi-dimensional content crafting demands new rules and considerations. Augmented, virtual, and mixed reality design leverages existing skills ranging from visual design (3D, UI) to experience design (UX, product) and development, among others.

From an understanding of human anatomy, empathy, sound to visual design and beyond-when it comes to designing outside of the standard 2D rectangular canvas, creatives have a brand new playing field.

3D and Visual Design

Virtual reality designers must use a completely different approach and set of tools when crafting immersive experiences and interfaces. More precisely, they have to think outside 2D screen or rectangles and instead think of their creative canvas as a boundless 360° space.

Everything becomes three dimensional, and consequently, VR designers are better off collaborating with 3D experts and/or acquiring a basic understanding of 3D graphics using WebGL and other open-source tools.

Popular 3D creation software includes:

Understanding Scale and Positioning

Scale and positioning considerations for VR and AR design are linked and affect each other. On one hand, the distance of an element from the viewer affects legibility and how easily one can interact with it. On the other hand, the scale of an object within the simulated reality reflects how big/small, or far/near the same object would be in the real the world.

Tracking and Movement

The concept of motion tracking is tied to the virtual, augmented, and mixed reality hardware and software used. For example, while Google Cardboard mostly allows basic motion tracking from the phone's accelerometer, the more recent Google Daydream VR headset comes with a remote controller that allows you to point at things and drives interactions within the virtual space.

At the higher end of the spectrum, immersive systems like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive allow more responsive motion tracking systems and interactive controllers.

Designing for motion trackers and controllers requires a good understanding of natural human gestures and physical affordance. Getting this right helps enhance the immersion effect.

Taking Cues from More Traditional Disciplines

It's not necessary to re-invent the wheel when it comes to designing for AR/VR/MR. Much the same as when we transitioned from print to web, we can take a lot of cues and apply many principles from more traditional art forms.

For instance, color theory, composition rules, and lighting best practices still apply to new media. Because it's still the real world that we're attempting to emulate and experience in a different context, by taking advantage of the new technologies, core visual arts principles can be leveraged when designing for the new realities we are building.

Animation and Transition Principles

The same goes for animation principles-transition effect and movement in a virtual reality gain a lot of believability when the 12 Principles of Animation (by none other than Disney) are applied. Let's briefly review them:

1. Squash and Stretch: Expanding and compressing an object to simulate weight and volume in motion.

2. Anticipation: An indicator that an important action is about to take place.

3. Staging: Having a clear intention throughout every state/position of an object.

4. Straight Ahead and Pose to Pose: Defining start and end states first, then filling in the gap.

5. Follow Through and Overlapping Action: When many pieces in motion come to a stop, they don't all stop at once.

6. Slow-In and Slow-Out: A.k.a. easing effect - going slow, then fast, then slow.

7. Arc: Simply put, adding a little bit a curviness in most movements.

8. Secondary Action: Adding to a primary action to reinforce or complement it.

9. Timing: Using speed or latency to simulate physics or time scale.

10. Exaggeration: Accentuating specific movements to help emphasize something.

11. Solid Drawings: Making things look more three dimensional.

12. Appeal: This principle calls for interesting and compelling characteristics.

Tools and Resources

In the interest of democratizing these emerging technologies and stimulating a spirit of co-creation, many companies share their design and development frameworks with the world. Here are some key resources to get you started with virtual, augmented, and mixed realities:

The Future of Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Realities

AR has shown a broader adoption rate if we consider the worldwide success of the Pokemon Go hit. Today, all it takes to experience augmented reality is a smartphone with an up-to-date OS, a decent camera, and an AR app-there is no cost of entry, and we have the whole world as our canvas.

The recent entry of Apple into the AR game promises to even further boost augmented reality trends. Tim Cook has voiced his position on the matter: "There are clearly some cool niche things for VR, but it's not profound in my view. AR is profound."

Despite a longer history than AR or MR, virtual reality seems to have an audience problem, mostly because of the high cost of adoption getting a decent VR headset, the physical discomfort with prolonged use, and the lack of concrete use cases for the technology.

"How does virtual reality work?" is a question we often hear online as well as at VR events. Notwithstanding, many sectors could use the technology to create new opportunities. For example, virtual reality in the automotive industry shows some exciting possibilities.

Lastly, mixed reality is the perfect blending of real, augmented, and virtual reality. "Applications are endless," says Avegant CEO Joerg Tewes. He muses on how designers and engineers could directly manipulate 3D models with their hands. "Mixed reality enables people to interact directly with their ideas rather on screens or keyboards," he adds.

The world is on the verge of expanding its boundaries with immersive 3D content and the digital realm like never before. It's a unique opportunity for designers, engineers, and companies alike to join the revolution.
Let us know what you think! Please leave your thoughts, comments, and feedback below.
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Further reading on the Toptal Design Blog:

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Augmented Reality vs. Virtual Reality vs. Mixed Reality - An Introductory Guide

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Read the Spanish version of this article translated by Yesica Danderfer Despite having many things in common, VR, AR, and MR are not the same thing. We discuss the key differentiators, driving forces, and use cases for these three promising related technologies.

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How much screen time is OK for my kid(s)?

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How much screen time is OK for my kid(s)? Get expert advice and tips from Common Sense Media editors.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Important update: Healthcare facilities

CDC has updated select ways to operate healthcare systems effectively in response to COVID-19 vaccination. Learn more

Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Vaccination

Below are answers to commonly asked questions about COVID-19 vaccination.

Getting Your Updated COVID-19 Vaccine(s)

Yes, COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or trying to get pregnant now, as well as people who might become pregnant in the future. People who get a COVID-19 infection during pregnancy are more likely to deliver a preterm (born earlier than 37 weeks of pregnancy) or stillborn infant and may also be more likely to have other pregnancy complications.

COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy helps:

Learn more about vaccination considerations and the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy helps:

Prevent severe illness and death in people who are pregnant

Protect children aged 6 months to 5 years from hospitalization caused by COVID-19

Learn more about vaccination considerations and the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

No. You should wait to be vaccinated until after you complete your isolation period to avoid potentially exposing healthcare personnel and others during the vaccination visit.

Learn more about the benefits of getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

You should get a COVID-19 vaccine even if you already had COVID-19.

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine after you recover from COVID-19 infection provides added protection against COVID-19. You may consider delaying your vaccine by 3 months. However, certain factors could be reasons to get a vaccine sooner rather than later, such as:

People who already had COVID-19 and do not get vaccinated after their recovery are more likely to get COVID-19 again than those who get vaccinated after their recovery.

Learn more about the benefits of getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

Getting Children and Teens Vaccinated

The COVID-19 vaccines for children have the same active ingredients as the vaccines given to adults. However, children receive a smaller, age-appropriate dose that is right for them. The smaller doses were rigorously tested and found to create the needed immune response for each age group.

Parents and caregivers should get their child vaccinated as soon as possible. Getting vaccinated provides the best protection against serious illness if a child gets infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.

Safety

Adults and children may have  some side effects from a COVID-19 vaccine, including pain, redness or swelling at the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever, and nausea. These side effects typically resolve after a few days.   Serious side effects are rare but may occur.

Vaccine ingredients vary by manufacturer. None of the vaccines contain eggs, gelatin, latex, or preservatives.

Learn more about the ingredients in available COVID-19 vaccines

Although COVID-19 vaccines were developed quickly, research and development on vaccines like these has been underway for decades. All vaccine development steps were taken to ensure COVID-19 vaccine safety and effectiveness, including:

Clinical Trials - All vaccines in the United States must go through three phases of clinical trials to ensure they are safe and effective. The phases overlapped to speed up the process, but all phases were completed.

Authorization or Approval - Before vaccines are available to people, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews data from clinical trials. FDA has determined COVID-19 vaccines meet FDA's standards and has granted those vaccines Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) or full FDA approval.

Tracking Safety Using Vaccine Monitoring Systems - Like every other vaccine approved for use in the United States, COVID-19 vaccines continue to be monitored for safety and effectiveness. Hundreds of millions of people in the United States have safely received COVID-19 vaccines. CDC and FDA continue to provide updated information on the safety of U.S. authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccines using data from the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), and other safety monitoring systems.

Learn more about developing COVID-19 vaccines.

Benefits

COVID-19 vaccines are working well  to prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Compared to people who are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations, unvaccinated people are more likely to get COVID-19, much more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19, and much more likely to die from COVID-19.

After Your Vaccine

CDC no longer distributes the white CDC COVID-19 Vaccination cards and does not maintain vaccination records.

Contact your state health department's immunization information system (IIS). Your state's IIS cannot issue you a vaccination card, but they can provide a digital or paper copy of your full vaccination record, including your COVID-19 vaccinations.

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Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Vaccination

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See answers to FAQs about COVID-19 vaccines, including vaccine safety for kids, during pregnancy, and what to do if you lost your vaccination card.

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Middle Ages for Kids: Black Death Plague

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Kids learn about the Black Death during the Middle Ages and Medieval times. Plague that killed many in Europe and throughout the world.

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Not being racist is a good start toward creating real equality in our country but it's not enough anymore.

If we really want to see change, we need to learn our country's history, acknowledge privilege, realize we all have our own implicit biases, work toward overcoming those biases and confront bias and racism - no matter how big or small - whenever we see it.

In other words, we need to be anti-racist and these resources can help you and your kids learn how to do it.

Tune in on Facebook Live to listen to Black parents as they share their parenting experiences.

Daniel Tiger and his friends use videos, letters, activities and our kids' natural tendency to categorize things to help kids value and appreciate the ways people are alike and the ways that they are different.

This document by Victoria Alexander offers a variety of resources to help understand and explain racial inequality, white supremacy, police violence and injustice. Scroll through it for organizations, protests, petitions and more.

Black Lives Matter curated this list of music, films and readings for all ages to "shine a light on the path to justice, equality and reform." The site is written in both English and Spanish.

Find interviews and expert advice from experts on how to talk to kids about discrimination, violence against Black people and racial stereotypes.

This list includes kids' books that celebrate African American culture and values written by African American authors and illustrators between 1970 and the present. The 2020 winners are New Kid by Jerry Craft and The Undefeated by Kadir Nelson.

NPR put together its Talking Race with Young Children podcast to help parents talk about skin color, hair texture and more. Other tough parenting topics, too.

This town hall originally appeared on CNN on June 6, but you can re-watch it with your kids anytime. You can also sing along to the Sesame Street song, I Love My Hair.

This organization offers a list that features books, articles, films and organizations that teach about and fight against inequality. They even have an implicit bias test so you can see where your unrealized biases are.
For more anti-racism resources, including books about racism, and tips on teaching your kids about race and racism, visit the talking about race page at ChicagoParent.com. Follow Chicago Parent on Instagram.

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9 Anti-Racism Resources for Kids and Families

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Not being racist is a good start toward creating real equality in our country but it's not enough anymore. If we really want to see change, we need to learn our country's history, acknowledge privilege, realize we all have our own implicit biases, work toward overcoming those biases and confront bias and racism - no matter how big or small - whenever we see it.

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The climate crisis looms large for young people. We see teenagers like Greta Thunberg inspiring kids around the world to take part in political activism. Then, there are solution-seekers like Fionn Ferreira, an 18 year-old Irish wunderkind, who won the grand prize at the 2019 Google Science Fair for creating a method to remove microplastics from the ocean.

Ferreira's project used a novel, but effective methodology for removing ocean plastics. He used magnets to attract microplastics from water. The project found that a magnetic liquid called ferrofluid attracted the tiny plastic particles and removed them from the water. After nearly a thousand tests, his device successfully removed about 88 percent of the microplastics from water samples, according to The Irish Times.

"I look forward to applying my findings and contributing towards a solution in tackling microplastics in our oceans worldwide," he said.

The Google Science Fair invited 24 young scientists from around the world to its Mountain View, California campus to show off their projects. The invitees were chosen from a short list of 100 global entries. Ferreira's grand prize is $50,000 in educational funding.

His idea came to him after finding a rock covered in oil near his remote coastal town in Ireland's southwest. He noticed tiny bits of plastic stuck to the oil. The tiny size of microplastics has befuddled scientists looking for ways to remove them from the environment. But Ferreira thought of something.

"It got me thinking," Ferreira said, as Business Insider reported. "In chemistry, like attracts like."

Those microplastics, which are less than 5mm long, come from beauty products, various textiles and larger bits of plastic that break down. Since they are so small, they escape water filtration systems and end up polluting waterways. Once in rivers and oceans, marine animals of all sizes end up ingesting them.

They are ending up in humans as well. A recent study found that people, on average, consume more than 50,000 pieces of microplastics every year. That number skyrockets up for people who mainly drink bottled water, as EcoWatch reported.

"I was alarmed to find out how many microplastics enter our wastewater system and consequently the oceans," he wrote in his project, as CNN reported.

Since plastic and oil stick together, Ferreira wondered if the same thing would happen if he used ferrofluid, which helps control vibration in speakers and seals off electronic devices from debris.

Both microplastics and ferrofluids have similar properties, so they attract. For his experiments, shown in this video, Ferreira added ferrofluids to water and then stirred in a solution chock full of microplastics. When the microplastics found the ferrofluids, they adhered together. Ferreira then dipped a magnet to the solution, which attracted the combined ferrofluids and microplastics. It left behind clear water, as CNN reported.

Ferreira is proud of what he created and the prize he received before heading to the University of Groningen in the Netherlands for college. However, he warned that solely removing plastics from the water is not the answer.

"I'm not saying that my project is the solution," he said, as Business Insider reported. "The solution is that we stop using plastic altogether."
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that people eat an average of 50,000 pieces of microplastics every week. It has been corrected to state that people eat an average 50,000 pieces of microplastics every year.
Related Articles Around the Web

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Irish Teenager Wins Google Science Award for Removing Microplastics From Oceans

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Ferreira's project used a novel, but effective methodology for removing ocean plastics. He used magnets to attract microplastics from water. The project found that a magnetic liquid called ferrofluid attracted the tiny plastic particles and removed them from the water. After nearly a thousand tests,...

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Chimpanzee lead guitarists are thin on the ground. The stage at London's Royal Albert Hall sees few lemur violin virtuosos. Conventional wisdom has it that music is a relatively modern human invention, and one that, while fun and rewarding, is a luxury rather than a basic necessity of life.

This appears to be borne out by the archaeological evidence. While the first hand axes and spears date back about 1.7 million years and 500,000 years respectively, the earliest known musical instruments are just 40,000 years old.

But dig a little deeper and the story becomes more interesting. While musical instruments appear to be a relatively recent innovation, music itself is almost certainly significantly older. Research suggests it may have allowed our distant ancestors to communicate before the invention of language, been linked to the establishment of monogamy and helped provide the social glue needed for the emergence of the first large early and pre-human societies. There is also emerging evidence that music might have even deeper origins: some monkeys can distinguish between sound patterns in ways similar to how humans can recognise slight differences between melodies.

There is a clear musical tradition

A literal reading of the prehistory of music begins about 40,000 years ago, with Europe on the brink of a momentous change. The region was then home to the Neanderthals, who had inherited it from earlier human species stretching back a million years. But now a new species of human - our own - was racing across Europe. Homo sapiens were clever in a way that Neanderthals were not. Perhaps most importantly, they were armed with much more effective weapons. Within about 5,000 years our species had spread and multiplied so effectively that it may have outnumbered the Neanderthals 10 to one. Not long afterwards the Neanderthals vanished entirely.

The dramatic pace of this change suggests there were some fundamental differences between our species and the Neanderthals. The evidence on (and in) the ground strengthens the case. For instance, the Neanderthals sometimes lived in caves but for the most part didn't bother to decorate them, although evidence published in September 2014 suggests they may have created some rudimentary, abstract art, etched into a wall of a cave in Gibraltar (see video below: credit: S. Finlayson, Gibraltar Museum).

However when our species arrived cave walls became canvases for impressively ambitious paintings. Modern humans also began carving human figurines and animals out of bone and ivory shortly after they arrived in Europe. And, to go with their new fascination with the visual arts, they began making bone and ivory musical instruments.

"There is a clear musical tradition," says Nicholas Conard at the University of Tübingen in Germany, who helped discover many of the best examples of these early instruments. "In southwest Germany we have eight flutes from three different sites."

These artistic endeavours might at first glance seem irrelevant to our species' remarkable success at the Neanderthals' expense. Indeed, some researchers have argued that music is little more than a useless byproduct of our intellectual advancement. For Conard and others however, music and art were important in helping those early modern humans forge a sense of group identity and mutual trust that enabled them to become so successful.

"I'd say the symbolic artefacts we find show that there were more people on the ground and this was social glue that helped hold people together and contributed to their adaptive advantage," he says.

Our poor Neanderthal cousins may have struggled to build that level of social unity and failed to compete partly because they lacked art and music.

There is growing evidence that Neanderthal cognitive capacities were comparable to those of modern humans

In truth, Conard and others think the story is probably more complicated than that because, they argue, the art and musical instruments that appeared in Europe 40,000 years ago are so sophisticated that they must have evolved out of earlier artistic traditions. In 2011, for example, archaeologists revealed they had found tools and shells probably used to mix up body paint 100,000 years ago in a cave in South Africa.

It's also likely that Neanderthals were not the uncultured brutes of popular imagination. A reassessment of the available evidence carried out by a Dutch group suggests it does not support widely held ideas about the species having only primitive tools and weapons, lacking the ability to communicate using signs and symbols, having a narrow diet and only basic forms of social organisation.

"There is growing evidence that Neanderthal cognitive capacities were comparable to those of modern humans," says Ruth Biasco at the Gibraltar Museum. It's not inconceivable that Neanderthals might have made and used musical instruments, she says - although until solid evidence is found to back up the suggestion, she prefers to remain cautious.

In fact, there is at least one candidate Neanderthal musical instrument - a 43,000-year-old bone flute found at a Neanderthal site in Slovenia. The find is controversial, though, with many researchers arguing that the flute's "finger holes" are nothing more than puncture wounds left when a large carnivore chewed on the bone.

It's a debate that highlights some of the difficulties in identifying early musical instruments. For one thing, they may not have been made entirely from scratch but from materials that, through natural processes, were suitable for making music. Even today, for example, didgeridoo craftsmen begin making their instruments by searching for trees that have been hollowed out by termites. Recognising instruments like this at ancient human sites is not impossible, says origin-of-music researcher Francesco d'Errico at the University of Bordeaux in France. "But it requires a lot of effort and dedicated research."

When the vocal anatomy looked like ours you can conclude that they had vocal abilities rather like ours

Iain Morley at the University of Oxford, UK, who has studied the music created by modern hunter-gather groups, identifies another obstacle to finding the earliest musical instruments. In his book The Prehistory of Music, published last year, he emphasised the point that many traditional instruments are made from perishable materials that rot away relatively quickly. This means it may be very difficult to find the earliest objects used for making music, let alone establish whether Neanderthals made use of them.

But in a sense this doesn't really matter. There is one musical instrument researchers can say with some confidence substantially predates 40,000 years - and it's one that Neanderthals almost certainly had at their disposal. The human voice may have gained its full vocal range at least 530,000 years ago, suggesting several species of extinct human - including Neanderthals - had the potential to sing.

We know this because of some remarkable fossil finds made within the last decade or so. There is a tiny horseshoe-shaped bone in our neck called the hyoid, and some researchers think its shape changed when our voice box moved down our throat to take up a position that allows us to talk and sing. Archaeologists have now found a small number of these fragile hyoids belonging to Neanderthals and to another, earlier human species called Homo heidelbergensis: they have the same shape as the modern human hyoid.

"I take the view that when the vocal anatomy looked like ours you can conclude that they had vocal abilities rather like ours, as long as they could control it," says Morley.

The voice box may actually have begun to descend even earlier. Its soft tissue doesn't preserve in human fossils, but its lower position in our necks affects the shape of the base of our skulls. A careful look at ancient skulls suggests even those belonging to our 1.8-million-year-old forerunners had slightly descended voice boxes. This means our ancestors may have had some crude ability to sing for a very long time, and that the ability gradually improved through time. If so, this would imply that humans had something to gain from using the pitch and tone of their voice - but what?

Charles Darwin, the 19th century naturalist and father of evolutionary biology, was one of the first to try to explain why humans became musical. In his 1871 book on evolutionary theory The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, he proposed it was analogous to bird song, in that it helped males attract mates and warn off rivals. The idea has now largely fallen out of fashion, though, because singing is not an exclusively male pastime: in almost three-quarters of songbirds, for instance, females sing too.

More recently Thomas Geissmann at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, came up with another interesting theory. In a book published in the year 2000, he pointed out that the four other singing primates (some lemurs, tarsiers, titi monkeys and gibbons) all form monogamous breeding pairs - as do many humans, and amongst birds duetting mainly occurs in monogamous species. Perhaps, Geissmann suggested, singing is somehow related to the evolution of monogamy - although exactly how or why is still unclear.

Other explanations for the origin of music emphasise the obvious similarities between human song and language. Most of us recognise that music can communicate to us - even a wordless melody can make us feel happy or sad. Dean Falk at Florida State University in Tallahassee, US, points out that we can also often understand the emotional state of someone from the tone of their voice, even if they are speaking a language we are unfamiliar with.

Perhaps music and language both evolved out of the need for early humans to communicate their emotional state to other members of the group. Other primates often rely on grooming to connect emotionally with their peers - but at some point in our prehistory, humans began to come together in larger groups, and needed a way to broadcast their emotional state to a greater number of individuals to keep the group united.

The case for mothers and infants jump-starting the evolution of motherese, which eventually evolved into proto-language and proto-music, is supported by strong evidence

In the 1990s Leslie Aiello and Robin Dunbar, both then at University College London, suggested our ancestors began communicating with emotional tones they called 'vocal grooming' to cement social ties on a large scale. Aiello and Dunbar were really looking for a way to explain the evolution of language, but others including Morley think their emphasis on the early importance of tone shows that the use of emotional tones to strengthen social cohesion might equally explain the origin of music.

Falk thinks a better way to look for the origins of music might be to explore how our anatomy differs from that of our primate relatives. One of the biggest differences is that human babies are born in a far less developed and more helpless state than many other primates. There are obvious reasons why this is the case: even as infants we have large brains that can make childbirth a painful experience for the mother. If our skulls grew any larger in the womb, it would become almost inevitably lethal.

One consequence of our helplessness as newborns is that human babies can't cling to their mothers for protection and reassurance in the same way that baby chimps can. Human mothers have to carry their babies, which interferes with their ability to perform daily tasks. Falk thinks that mothers in prehistory had to put their babies down at regular intervals to free up their hands for other activities, and that they used an early form of baby talk, or 'motherese', to keep them reassured.

I want to investigate to what extent their natural drumming resembles ours, and see what kind of musical patterns chimpanzees can imitate

It might be no coincidence that our ancestors' brains became particularly large, and their babies perhaps especially helpless, around 1.8 million years ago. This is the same time that researchers who have examined ancient skulls say the human voice box first began to descend in a way that would have made the voice more versatile. "I think the case for mothers and infants jump-starting the evolution of motherese, which eventually evolved into proto-language and proto-music, is supported by varied and strong evidence," says Falk.

Any, or all, of these hypotheses for the origin of music might be true. There are differences between them, but they all suggest our ability to make and appreciate music was an important step in early human evolution. Many also highlight music's role in social bonding - fitting neatly with the idea that the 40,000-year-old musical instruments are evidence of the strong social ties that contributed to modern human success in Europe.

But there is still some way to go before scientists have a comprehensive picture of the origins of music. For instance, some primates that don't use music nonetheless seem to have an ear for a tune. Last year Andrea Ravignani at the University of Vienna in Austria and the University of Edinburgh in the UK found that squirrel monkeys can recognise subtle differences in sound patterns in much the same way that humans can distinguish between different melodies or different word phrases in spoken language.

Why would the monkeys have this ability when they don't seem to use it in the wild? "I don't have an easy answer for that," says Ravignani. He is now studying the musical talents of other primates, beginning by giving captive chimps access to a custom-built electronic drum machine. "I want to investigate to what extent their natural drumming resembles ours, and see what kind of musical patterns chimpanzees can imitate."

"Abilities that underlie some of our musical traits seem to be showing up in animals more and more," says Morley. Perhaps that's because the brain circuits we now use to process music originally had some other purpose. If that turns out to be the case, those researchers ignoring Stone Age flutes in favour of listening to the primal tattoos drummed out by chimpanzees might be in with a better chance of finding the true origins of music.

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Did early humans, or even animals, invent music?

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Chimpanzee lead guitarists are thin on the ground. The stage at London's Royal Albert Hall sees few lemur violin virtuosos. Conventional wisdom has it that music is a relatively modern human invention, and one that, while fun and rewarding, is a luxury rather than a basic necessity of life.

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By Larry Buchanan, Quoctrung Bui and Jugal K. Patel

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Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History (Published 2020)

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Recent polls suggest that about 15 million to 26 million people in the U.S. have participated in recent protests.

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What is a wildfire?
A wildfire also known as a wildland fire, forest fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, peat fire, bushfire (in Australia), or hill fire is an uncontrolled fire often occurring in wildland areas, but which can also consume houses or agricultural resources. Wildfires often begin unnoticed, but they spread quickly igniting brush, trees and homes.

What causes a wildfire?
Common causes of wildfires include lightning, human carelessness, arson, volcano eruption, and pyroclastic cloud from active volcano. Heat waves, droughts, and cyclical climate changes such as El Niño can also have a dramatic effect on the risk of wildfires. Although, more than four out of every five wildfires are caused by people.

Where can wildfires occur?
Wildfires can occur anywhere, but are common in the forested areas of the United States and Canada. They are also susceptible in many places around the world, including much of the vegetated areas of Australia as well as in the Western Cape of South Africa. The climates are sufficiently moist to allow the growth of trees, but feature extended dry, hot periods. Fires are particularly prevalent in the summer and fall, and during droughts when fallen branches, leaves, and other material can dry out and become highly flammable. Wildfires are also common in grasslands and scrublands.

What are the Santa Ana winds?
The Santa Ana winds are hot, dry winds that aggravate the fire danger in forests and bush lands. These winds characteristically appear in Southern California and Northern Baja California weather during autumn and early winter. In southern California, under the influence of Santa Ana winds, wildfires can move at tremendous speeds, up to 40 miles in a single day, consuming up to 1,000 acres per hour. Dense clouds of burning embers push ahead of the flames crossing firebreaks without a problem.

What is a fire tornado?
A fire tornado or fire whirl is just a tornado made of fire. It happens when certain conditions (depending on air temperature and currents), acquires a vertical vorticity and forms a whirl, or a tornado-like effect. Fire tornadoes may be whirlwinds separated from the flames, either within the burn area or outside it. A fire tornado can make fires more dangerous.

How do firefighters put out the wildfires?
Firefighters use a tool known as a pulaski. Its a combination of an ax and hoe used to dig a fireline. A fireline is a strip of land from which all brush and debris have been cleared to rob a wildfire of its fuel. Firefighters also use hotshots and smoke jumpers to clear a large path in a big circle around the fire so the blaze is contained in a ring of dirt. When the fire reaches this area, it runs out of fuel and starves to death. If the fire is too large, however, planes and helicopters fly overhead, dropping water and special chemicals that smother the flames. This pink, fire-retardant chemical is called sky jell-o.

Click Here to get the latest wildfire information.

Click Here for to get more wildfire information.

Click Here to see if there has been any recent wildfire activity across the U.S.

SURFACE FIRES - The most common type of wildfires, surface fires move slowly and burn along the forest floor, killing and damaging vegetation.

GROUND FIRES - These are usually started by lightning, ground fires burn on or below the forest floor through the root system.

CROWN FIRES - These fires spread by wind moving quickly along the tops of trees.

SANTA ANA WINDS - "Santa Ana" is the name given to the gusty northeast or east wind that occurs in Southern California during the fall and winter months. Santa Ana winds are often hot and very dry, greatly aggravating the fire danger in forests and bush lands.

CONFLAGRATION - A large and destructive fire, typically aggravated by strong winds that carry firebrands over natural or artificial barriers.

Click Here to learn about more wildfire facts!

BEFORE A WILDFIRE: Have a disaster plan. Know whether you're in a wildfire prone area. Plant fire resistant shrubs and trees around your home. Have a garden hose that is long enough to reach around your home. Prepare a disaster supplies kit for your home and car. Include a first aid kit, canned food and a can opener, bottled water, battery-operated radio, flashlight, protective clothing and written instructions on how to turn off electricity, gas, and water. Always listen to the radio and television for the latest information and instructions for your area.

DURING A WILDFIRE: If you're advised to evacuate then do so immediately. Wear protective clothing and lock your home. Tell someone you left and where you are going. Choose a safe route away from fire hazards. Watch for changes in the speed and direction of fire and smoke.

AFTER A WILDFIRE: Stay away from wildfire areas until it is safe.

Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan on teaching students to have an escape plan if a fire threatens their home.

Science Fair Project Ideas: Here is a complete list of science fair project ideas. Discover the science behind the weather that impacts us every day.

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What is a wildfire? A wildfire also known as a wildland fire, forest fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, peat fire, bushfire (in Australia), or hill fire is an uncontrolled fire often occurring in wildland areas, but which can also consume houses or agricultural resources.

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Unsustainable industrial and agricultural development, however, has severely degraded the health of the world's rainforests. Citizens, governments, intergovernmental organizations, and conservation groups are working together to protect these invaluable but fragile ecosystems.
Rainforest Structure
In the Amazon rainforest, the towering trees of the emergent layer include the Brazil nut tree ( Bertholletia excelsa) and the kapok tree ( Ceiba pentandra). The Brazil nut tree, a vulnerable species, can live up to 1,000 years in undisturbed rainforest habitats. Unlike many rainforest species, both the Brazil nut tree and the kapok tree are deciduous-they shed their leaves during the dry season.

Animals often maneuver through the emergent layer's unstable topmost branches by flying or gliding. Animals that can't fly or glide are usually quite small-they need to be light enough to be supported by a tree's slender uppermost layers.

The animals living in the emergent layer of the Amazon rainforest include birds, bats, gliders, and butterflies. Large raptors, such as white-tailed hawks ( Geranoaetus albicaudatus) and harpy eagles ( Harpia harpyja), are its top predators.

In rainforests on the island of New Guinea, pygmy gliders populate the emergent layer. Pygmy gliders ( Acrobates pygmaeus) are small rodents that get their name from the way flaps of skin between their legs allow them to glide from branch to branch.

Bats are the most diverse mammal species in most tropical rainforests, and they regularly fly throughout the emergent, canopy, and understory layers. For instance, one of the world's largest species of bat, the Madagascan flying fox ( Pteropus rufus)-found on the African island of Madagascar-is an important pollinator that mainly feeds on juice from fruit, but will chew flowers for their nectar.
Canopy Layer
Beneath the emergent layer is the canopy, a deep layer of vegetation roughly six meters (20 feet) thick. The canopy's dense network of leaves and branches forms a roof over the two remaining layers.

The canopy blocks winds, rainfall, and sunlight, creating a humid, still, and dark environment below. Trees have adapted to this damp environment by producing glossy leaves with pointed tips that repel water.

With so much food available, more animals live in the canopy than any other layer in the rainforest. The dense vegetation dulls sound, so many-but not all-canopy dwellers are notable for their shrill or frequent vocalizing. In the Amazon rainforest, canopy fruit is snatched up in the large beaks of screeching scarlet macaws ( Ara macao) and keel-billed toucans ( Ramphastos sulfuratus), and picked by barking spider monkeys and howler monkeys. The silent two-toed sloth chews on the leaves, shoots, and fruit in the canopy.

Thousands and thousands of insect species can also be found in the canopy, from bees to beetles, borers to butterflies. Many of these insects are the principal diet of the canopy's reptiles, including the "flying" draco lizards of Southeast Asia.
Understory Layer
Located several meters below the canopy, the understory is an even darker, stiller, and more humid environment. Plants here, such as palms and philodendrons, are much shorter and have larger leaves than plants that dominate the canopy. Understory plants' large leaves catch the minimal sunlight reaching beyond the dense canopy.

Understory plants often produce flowers that are large and easy to see, such as Heliconia, native to the Americas and the South Pacific. Others have a strong smell, such as orchids. These features attract pollinators even in the understory's low-light conditions.

Animals call the understory home for a variety of reasons. Many take advantage of the dimly lit environment for camouflage. The spots on a jaguar ( Panthera onca), which are found in the rainforests of Central and South America, may be mistaken for leaves or flecks of sunlight, for instance. The green mamba, one of the deadliest snakes in the world, blends in with foliage as it slithers up branches in the Congo rainforest. Many bats, birds, and insects prefer the open airspace the understory offers. Amphibians, such as dazzlingly colored tree frogs, thrive in the humidity because it keeps their skin moist.

Central Africa's tropical rainforest canopies and understories are home to some of the most endangered and familiar rainforest animals-such as forest elephants, pythons, antelopes, and gorillas. Gorillas, a critically endangered genus of primate, are crucial for seed dispersal. Gorillas are herbivores that move throughout the dark, dense rainforest as well as more sun-dappled swamps and jungles. Their droppings disperse seeds in these sunny areas where new trees and shrubs can take root. In this way, gorillas are keystone species in many African rainforest ecosystems.
Forest Floor Layer
The forest floor is the darkest of all rainforest layers, making it extremely difficult for plants to grow. Leaves that fall to the forest floor decay quickly.

Decomposers, such as termites, slugs, scorpions, worms, and fungi, thrive on the forest floor. Organic matter falls from trees and plants, and these organisms break down the decaying material into nutrients. The shallow roots of rainforest trees absorb these nutrients, and dozens of predators consume the decomposers!

Animals such as wild pigs ( Sus scrofa), armadillos, and anteaters forage in the decomposing brush for these tasty insects, roots and tubers of the South American rainforest. Even larger predators, including leopards ( Panthera pardus), skulk in the darkness to surprise their prey. Smaller rodents, such as rats and lowland pacas (a type of striped rodent indigenous to Central and South America), hide from predators beneath the shallow roots of trees that dominate the canopy and emergent layer.

Rivers that run through some tropical rainforests create unusual freshwater habitats on the forest floor. The Amazon River, for instance, is home to the boto ( Inia geoffrensis), or pink river dolphin, one of the few freshwater dolphin species in the world. The Amazon is also home to black caimans ( Melanosuchus niger), large reptiles related to alligators, while the Congo River is home to the caimans' crocodilian cousin, the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus).

Types of Rainforests
Tropical Rainforests
Tropical rainforests are mainly located between the latitudes of 23.5°N (the Tropic of Cancer) and 23.5°S (the Tropic of Capricorn)-the tropics. Tropical rainforests are found in Central and South America, western and central Africa, western India, Southeast Asia, the island of New Guinea, and Australia.

Such ample sunlight and moisture are the essential building blocks for tropical rainforests' diverse flora and fauna. Roughly half of the world's species can be found here, with an estimated 40 to 100 or more different species of trees present in each hectare.

Tropical rainforests are the most biologically diverse terrestrial ecosystems in the world. The Amazon rainforest is the world's largest tropical rainforest. It is home to around 40,000 plant species, nearly 1,300 bird species, 3,000 types of fish, 427 species of mammals, and 2.5 million different insects. Red-bellied piranhas ( Pygocentrus nattereri) and pink river dolphins swim its waters. Jewel-toned parrots squawk and fly through its trees. Poison dart frogs warn off predators with their bright colors. Capuchin and spider monkeys swing and scamper through the branches of the rainforest's estimated 400 billion trees. Millions of mushrooms and other fungi decompose dead and dying plant material, recycling nutrients to the soil and organisms in the understory. The Amazon rainforest is truly an ecological kaleidoscope, full of colorful sights and sounds.
Temperate Rainforests
Temperate rainforests are located in the mid-latitudes, where temperatures are much more mild than the tropics. Temperate rainforests are found mostly in coastal, mountainous areas. These geographic conditions help create areas of high rainfall. Temperate rainforests can be found on the coasts of the Pacific Northwest in North America, Chile, the United Kingdom, Norway, Japan, New Zealand, and southern Australia.

As their name implies, temperate rainforests are much cooler than their tropical cousins, averaging between 10° and 21°C (50° and 70°F). They are also much less sunny and rainy, receiving anywhere between 150-500 centimeters (60-200 inches) of rain per year. Rainfall in these forests is produced by warm, moist air coming in from the coast and being trapped by nearby mountains.

This productivity allows many plant species to grow for incredibly long periods of time. Temperate rainforest trees such as the coast redwood in the U.S. state of California and the alerce in Chile are among the oldest and largest tree species in the world.

The animals of the temperate rainforest are mostly made up of large mammals and small birds, insects, and reptiles. These species vary widely between rainforests in different world regions. Bobcats ( Lynx rufus), mountain lions ( Puma concolor), and black bears ( Ursus americanus) are major predators in the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest. In Australia, ground dwellers such as wallabies, bandicoots, and potoroos (small marsupials that are among Australia's most endangered animals) feast on the foods provided by the forest floor. Chile's rainforests are home to a number of unique birds such as the Magellanic woodpecker and the Juan Fernández firecrown, a hummingbird species that has a crown of color-changing feathers.

People and the Rainforest

Rainforests have been home to thriving, complex communities for thousands of years. For instance, unique rainforest ecosystems have influenced the diet of cultures from Africa to the Pacific Northwest.

The Mbuti, a community indigenous to the Ituri rainforest in Central Africa, have traditionally been hunter-gatherers. Their diet consists of plants and animals from every layer of the rainforest.

From the forest floor, the Mbuti hunt fish and crabs from the Ituri River (a tributary of the Congo), as well as gather berries from low-lying shrubs. The giant forest hog, a species of wild boar, is also frequently targeted by Mbuti hunters, although this species is hunted for sale more often than food. From the understory, the Mbuti may gather honey from bee hives, or hunt monkeys. From the canopy and emergent layers, Mbuti hunters may set nets or traps for birds.

Although they are a historically nomadic society, agriculture has become a way of life for many Mbuti communities today as they trade and barter with neighboring agricultural groups such as the Bantu for crops such as manioc, nuts, rice, and plantains.

The temperate rainforest of the northwest coast of North America is the home of the Tlingit. The Tlingit enjoy a diverse diet, relying on both marine and freshwater species, as well as game from inland forests.

Due to bountiful Pacific inlets, rivers, and streams, the traditional Tlingit diet consists of a wide variety of aquatic life: crab, shrimp, clams, oysters, seals, and fish such as herring, halibut, and, crucially, salmon. Kelps and other seaweeds can be harvested and eaten in soups or dried. One familiar Tlingit saying is "When the tide is out, our table is set."

In more inland areas, historic Tlingit hunters may have targeted deer, elk, rabbit, and mountain goats. Plants gathered or harvested include berries, nuts, and wild celery.

The Yanomami are a people and culture native to the northern Amazon rainforest, spanning the border between Venezuela and Brazil. Like the Chimbu, the Yanomami practice both hunting and shifting-cultivation agriculture.

Game hunted by the Yanomami include deer, tapirs (an animal similar to a pig), monkeys, birds, and armadillos. The Yanomami have hunting dogs to help them search the understory and forest floor for game.
Benefits of Rainforests Ecological Well-Being
Rainforests are critically important to the well-being of our planet. Tropical rainforests encompass approximately 1.2 billion hectares (3 billion acres) of vegetation and are sometimes described as the Earth's thermostat.

Rainforests also help maintain the world's water cycle. More than 50% of precipitation striking a rainforest is returned to the atmosphere by evapotranspiration, helping regulate healthy rainfall around the planet. Rainforests also store a considerable percentage of the world's freshwater, with the Amazon Basin alone storing one-fifth.
Human Well-Being
Rainforests provide us with many products that we use every day. Tropical woods such as teak, balsa, rosewood, and mahogany are used in flooring, doors, windows, boatbuilding, and cabinetry. Fibers such as raffia, bamboo, kapok, and rattan are used to make furniture, baskets, insulation, and cord. Cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, and ginger are just a few spices of the rainforest. The ecosystem supports fruits including bananas, papayas, mangos, cocoa and coffee beans.

Rainforests also provide us with many medicinal products. According to the U.S. National Cancer Institute, 70% of plants useful in the treatment of cancer are found only in rainforests. Rainforest plants are also used in the creation of muscle relaxants, steroids, and insecticides. They are used to treat asthma, arthritis, malaria, heart disease, and pneumonia. The importance of rainforest species in public health is even more incredible considering that less than one percent of rainforest species have been analyzed for their medicinal value.

Even rainforest fungi can contribute to humanity's well-being. A mushroom discovered in the tropical rainforest of Ecuador, for example, is capable of consuming polyurethane-a hard, durable type of plastic used in everything from garden hoses to carpets to shoes. The fungi can even consume the plastic in an oxygen-free environment, leading many environmentalists and businesses to invest in research to investigate if the fungi can help reduce waste in urban landfills.

Threats to Rainforests

Rainforests are disappearing at an alarmingly fast pace, largely due to human development over the past few centuries. Once covering 14% of land on Earth, rainforests now make up only 6%. Since 1947, the total area of tropical rainforests has probably been reduced by more than half, to about 6.2 to 7.8 million square kilometers (3 million square miles).

Such rapid habitat loss is due to the fact that 40 hectares (100 acres) of rainforest are cleared every minute for agricultural and industrial development. In the Pacific Northwest's rainforests, logging companies cut down trees for timber while paper industries use the wood for pulp. In the Amazon rainforest, large-scale agricultural industries, such as cattle ranching, clear huge tracts of forests for arable land. In the Congo rainforest, roads and other infrastructure development have reduced habitat and cut off migration corridors for many rainforest species. Throughout both the Amazon and Congo, mining and logging operations clear-cut to build roads and dig mines. Some rainforests are threatened by massive hydroelectric power projects, where dams flood acres of land. Development is encroaching on rainforest habitats from all sides.

Rainforest Conservation

Many individuals, communities, governments, intergovernmental organizations, and conservation groups are taking innovative approaches to protect threatened rainforest habitats.

Intergovernmental groups address rainforest conservation at a global scale. The United Nations' REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) Program, for example, offers financial incentives for reducing carbon emissions created by deforestation to 58 member countries. The Democratic Republic of the Congo used REDD funds to create an online National Forest Monitoring System that tracks and maps data on logging concessions, deforestation in protected areas, and national forestry sector measures. REDD funds were also used to investigate best practices in solving land disputes in Cambodia, which lacks proper forest zoning and boundary enforcement.

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A rainforest is an area of tall trees and a high amount of rainfall.

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The Official Website for the United States Space Force

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Child Labor and Slavery in the Chocolate Industry

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Credit: International Labor Rights Forum Child Labor and Slavery in the Chocolate Industry Chocolate is a product of the cacao bean, which grows primarily in the tropical climates of Western Africa, Asia, and Latin America.[1] The cacao bean is more...

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Home World History Wars, Battles & Armed Conflicts
Table of Contents

Also called:

Second World War

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Date:

September 3, 1939 - September 2, 1945

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What was the cause of World War II?

What countries fought in World War II?

Who were the leaders during World War II?

What were the turning points of World War II?

How did World War II end?

How many people died during World War II?

World War II, conflict that involved virtually every part of the world during the years 1939-45. The principal belligerents were the Axis powers- Germany, Italy, and Japan-and the Allies- France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and, to a lesser extent, China. The war was in many respects a continuation, after an uneasy 20-year hiatus, of the disputes left unsettled by World War I. The 40,000,000-50,000,000 deaths incurred in World War II make it the bloodiest conflict, as well as the largest war, in history.

Along with World War I, World War II was one of the great watersheds of 20th-century geopolitical history. It resulted in the extension of the Soviet Union's power to nations of eastern Europe, enabled a communist movement to eventually achieve power in China, and marked the decisive shift of power in the world away from the states of western Europe and toward the United States and the Soviet Union.
(Read Sir John Keegan's Britannica entry on the Normandy Invasion.)

Axis initiative and Allied reaction

The outbreak of war

By the early part of 1939 the German dictator Adolf Hitler had become determined to invade and occupy Poland. Poland, for its part, had guarantees of French and British military support should it be attacked by Germany. Hitler intended to invade Poland anyway, but first he had to neutralize the possibility that the Soviet Union would resist the invasion of its western neighbour. Secret negotiations led on August 23-24 to the signing of the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact in Moscow. In a secret protocol of this pact, the Germans and the Soviets agreed that Poland should be divided between them, with the western third of the country going to Germany and the eastern two-thirds being taken over by the U.S.S.R.

Pop Quiz: 17 Things to Know About World War II

Having achieved this cynical agreement, the other provisions of which stupefied Europe even without divulgence of the secret protocol, Hitler thought that Germany could attack Poland with no danger of Soviet or British intervention and gave orders for the invasion to start on August 26. News of the signing, on August 25, of a formal treaty of mutual assistance between Great Britain and Poland (to supersede a previous though temporary agreement) caused him to postpone the start of hostilities for a few days. He was still determined, however, to ignore the diplomatic efforts of the western powers to restrain him. Finally, at 12:40 pm on August 31, 1939, Hitler ordered hostilities against Poland to start at 4:45 the next morning. The invasion began as ordered. In response, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, at 11:00 am and at 5:00 pm, respectively. World War II had begun.

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World War II | Facts, Summary, History, Dates, Combatants, & Causes

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World War II was a conflict that involved virtually every part of the world during 1939-45. The main combatants were the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) and the Allies (France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and China). It was the bloodiest conflict, as well as the largest war, in human history.

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The New York Times Presents, our documentary TV series, investigates recordings, 911 calls and over 1,500 pages of police records to reveal a clearer picture of the botched drug raid by the Louisville police that led to Breonna Taylor's death.

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With renewed interest in renewable and sustainable energy systems, solar-powered cars have come to the forefront. Many automobile companies are working towards making solar cars, and they are changing the automotive industry.

Solar cars are electric cars that use solar energy. They use photovoltaic cells to convert energy from sunlight into electricity. These cars can store some solar energy and can also run smoothly at night or in the absence of direct sunlight. Solar-powered cars not only help with environmental pollution but also noise pollution.
RELATED: HYUNDAI UNVEILS SOLAR ROOF CHARGING CAR THAT REPLENISHES UP TO 60% OF BATTERY
Many prototypes of solar-powered cars are being tested at the moment. Many big players and startups are involved in developing hybrid solar cars. If statistics are to be believed, the market for solar-powered cars is likely to be USD 1 billion by 2020. Automobile companies are already capitalizing on the popularity and are building solar car kits. These kits can help cars go long distances using solar energy.

However, solar cars have design limitations because aesthetics need to be considered as well so that they can accommodate solar panels. Therefore, most solar vehicles have been developed to run in solar car races so far, and not for regular use.

Sunswift IV is the fastest solar car that exists currently. This car was built by the students of the University of New South Wales for Solar Racing. The car uses technology that is similar to and a combination of the one used in a bicycle, aerospace, and the automotive industry.

However, so far, none of the vehicles have been designed in a way that they can 100% rely on solar energy alone.

How does a solar-powered car work?

A solar-powered car uses energy from the sun with the help of solar panels to recharge their batteries. These cars depend on photovoltaic cells that help them in converting sunlight into electricity.

Technically speaking, the photons of sunlight strike the photovoltaic cells and excite the electrons. This allows an electron flow that creates an electric current in the process. This electrical current is then used as a "fuel" to run the vehicle.

There are some of the advantages of using solar cars:

Saves money on fuel

Is sustainable and environment-friendly

No additional costs except battery replacement

Does not cause noise pollution or air pollution

Developments

The first solar-powered car was made by General Motors and was showcased in a convention in Chicago in the year 1955. This solar car was made of a small Pooley electric motor and a 12 selenium photovoltaic cells.

The Pooley electric motor was responsible for turning a pulley that rotated the rear wheel shaft. It was the first-ever solar car, but it was too small to drive.

However, Sion can be considered as the first hybrid electric vehicle that charges itself using solar energy. It has 248 solar cells that are integrated into its body, and it uses solar energy to charge itself.

When used for short distances, it has complete self-sufficiency. What's more, on average, it takes about 30 minutes to charge up to 80% at a charging station.

This car can be driven up to 155 miles (249 km) on a single charge depending on how you drive, but it is ideal for everyday use. Sion is using 100% renewable sources of energy for manufacturing it. This car is sold at an estimated price of $28,500 by Sono Motors, a German company. They are a startup aiming to revolutionize how cars work and reduce overall carbon footprints.

Companies like Toyota, Hyundai, and others are also trying to use solar panels to build a fully functioning solar car or a hybrid version of it. There are also other solar car projects, making automobile technology more sustainable in the future.

Hyundai's solar roof charging car. Source: Hyundai

The Stanford Solar project has also built some solar cars and is developing some more and bring them to the market.

Earlier this year, a Netherland startup named Lightyear unveiled a prototype of its first solar-powered electric car called 'Lightyear One' that boasts a range of 450 miles (724 km) on a single charge.

Solar roof on the Light Year one. Source: Light Year

Although the car will cost around $170,000, it would be very interesting if it lives up to the efficiency claims.

The company is planning to start production by 2021.

Why aren't we driving around in solar-powered cars already?

There are a few reasons why even the most advanced automobile companies haven't been able to develop fully solar-powered cars.

The first and foremost reason is the solar panel itself. The current commercially operated solar panels that we use have only 15 to 20% efficiency. Hence, to power to a solar car, we would need to pack the space of the car's body with solar cells. But doing so, it invokes two other problems - weight and cost.

Solar panels are not cheap, and they are not weightless either. Packing the car's body with solar panels means that you are adding a lot of weight and cost to the car. And when you factor in the weight of the battery, the idea of the solar-powered cars seems less and less feasible for the real world.

On a clear day, the earth's surface receives approximately 1 kW of solar energy per square meter.Given that a highly-efficient 4 square meter PV panels can generate roughly 8 kWh of energy per day, it will only drive your car for about 25 miles (40 km).

Poor weather conditions, improper positioning of the panels, and dirt would likely make your solar car struggle to reach this figure.

Additionally, solar-powered cars aren't "100%" ecofriendly. If you look at the way batteries and solar cells are made, especially how they are mined from the earth, it becomes clear that each vehicle comes with its share of carbon footprint.

But that doesn't mean that it is impossible. Research is being made to create low weight batteries and high-efficiency photovoltaic cells. Pure solar cars still seem to be an idea with a lot of limitations.

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All You Need to Know about Solar-Powered Cars

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With renewed interest in renewable and sustainable energy systems, solar-powered cars have come to the forefront. Many automobile companies are working towards making solar cars, and they are changing the automotive industry. Solar cars are electric cars that use solar energy. They use photovoltaic cells to convert energy from sunlight into electricity.

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Two hundred feet below the surface of the Straits of Mackinac-between Lakes Michigan and Huron, at the tip of the Michigan mitt-oil is moving through the Great Lakes. It is conducted by twin pipelines, 20 inches in diameter, which run parallel to each other across the bottom of the Straits, a thousand feet apart and supported by periodic joists. Together they represent four and a half miles of Enbridge Line 5. Built in 1953, Line 5 is 645 miles long. It runs from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario. Outside of its twin pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac (pronounced "mack-in-aw"), Line 5 is a single pipeline, thirty inches across and buried in the ground. Around twenty million gallons of crude oil and natural gas liquids move through Line 5 every day.

Line 5 is part of a larger network of pipelines known as the Lakehead System. The Lakehead System is 5,022 miles long and operated by Enbridge Energy Partners, a division of the Canadian company Enbridge Inc. Its first half consists of Lines 1 through 4, begins in Edmonton, Alberta, and ends at Superior, Wisconsin. Another line, from Hardesty, Alberta, to Superior, is number 67, also known as the Alberta Clipper. From Superior the system unfolds into Lines 5, 6A, 6B, 7, 10, 11, 61, 62, and 14/64. Collectively, the pipelines in the Lakehead System deliver about two-and-a-half million barrels of crude oil every day to refineries on and around the lakes, and constitute Enbridge's U.S. Mainline. It could be said at this point, thanks to a particularly sharp-edged homonym, that the Great Lakes region is mainlining oil.

Some of the oil in Line 5 originates thousands of miles to the northwest, in the oil sands of Alberta, Canada. Oil sands, or tar sands, are a combination of sand, clay, water, and bitumen-a heavy, viscous black oil. (Alberta's oil sands, culled from beneath ancient boreal forests, average five percent water, ten percent bitumen, and eighty-five percent solids.) Bitumen shows up most commonly in asphalt and roofing tiles, but Canadian oil sands are often converted to a synthetic crude and sent the way of refineries. Before entering Line 5, bitumen is upgraded-the technical term-to a light synthetic crude. This is in alignment with a decades-old agreement between its operators and the state of Michigan.

"In really, really simple terms, there is nowhere worse-on earth-to have an oil sands pipeline system than the Great Lakes region."

Some people think about the implications of this for a living. Dr. Rachel Havrelock is associate professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago and director of the UIC Freshwater Lab, where she oversees a collection of scholars and activists thinking about the future of the Great Lakes. She has written books and articles about the cultural and political dimensions of water and oil, especially in the Middle East, and is a member of the Petrocultures Research Group, based at the University of Alberta. In 2011, unrelated to pipelines, she wrote a hip-hop play, From Tel Aviv to Ramallah: A Beatbox Journey, which starred her husband, Yuri Lane, a professional beatboxer.

Dr. Havrelock's office is on the nineteenth floor of UIC's University Hall. Its windows face east. On a clear day, you can see Lake Michigan. On one wall of the office is a large map of Lakes Superior through Ontario. If you visit her office and start asking about the lakes, Dr. Havrelock will use this map as a reference. A couple of years ago, when I was a graduate student at UIC, I showed up with a question about a project I was working on and she went over to the wall and started pointing. Recently, I met up with her again and asked about the Lakehead System.

"In really, really simple terms, there is nowhere worse-on earth-to have an oil sands pipeline system than the Great Lakes region," Dr. Havrelock said. She is a tall woman in her early forties with shaped brown hair and an enthusiastic face. She speaks deliberately and with authority. "It is, everything else aside, the world's worst planning."

The Great Lakes, collectively, are the largest available source of surface freshwater on the planet. Technically, the polar ice caps have more. Concentrated along the U.S.-Canada border from Minnesota to New York state, the Great Lakes are sometimes referred to as the "inland seas." They contain twenty-one percent of the world's fresh water supply and eighty-four percent of the fresh water in North America. Thirty-five million people on both sides of the border drink them.

"On every register-social, economic, political, recreational, public health-that's what we have in this part of the world," Dr. Havrelock said. About the presence of the Lakehead System, she added: "There's no plan in which this looks good to anybody, except those who are running this out of convenience, and because they're allowed to, because the public doesn't know anything about it...It's going on in plain sight, but invisible to most people because so many of the operations are concealed."

***

Before 1859, there was no petroleum industry to speak of. There was crude oil in various places around the country-though nobody knew how much-and people used it in minor ways. Along Oil Creek near Titusville, in northwestern Pennsylvania, small amounts of crude would percolate. To collect it, people soaked blankets in pools of oily water, wrung them into a pan, and boiled the mixture down. Sometimes they could skim oil right off the surface of the water. In the 1840s, farmers along oil creek collected between two and twelve barrels a season, most of which was sold for medicinal purposes, to treat bruises, burns, and rheumatism.

Edwin Drake, a former train conductor whom some people called "Colonel," knew it would be useful for other things. A chemistry professor at Yale named Benjamin Silliman indicated as much in an 1855 report, titled Report on the Rock Oil, or Petroleum, from Venango Co., Pennsylvania: With Special Reference to Its Use for Illumination and Other Purposes. Even before that, Samuel Keir was extracting kerosene from crude in Pittsburgh (kerosene could replace whale oil in lamps). Colonel Drake and his financiers, the Seneca Oil Company, thought there was a lot of money to be made in petroleum. They had heard crude oil would leak into salt wells, and thought maybe it would also leak more heavily into other holes drilled in the right places.

Historian Christopher F. Jones tells the story of oil's beginning in Routes of Power: Energy and Modern America. In 1859, Drake tried for months to coax petroleum out of the ground. He used a steam engine to power his drill through bedrock, and supported the resulting holes with iron pipe to avoid a cave-in. He hired a saltwater driller named "Uncle" Billy Smith to run the machine. On August 28, a Sunday, Uncle Billy looked over the edge of a hole they had drilled and noticed oil. He lowered a can and scooped some out. Using a hand pump, Colonel Drake and Uncle Billy extracted gallons more and put it in a bathtub. They would need to get some barrels. Soon they would need about four hundred barrels every day.

Early on, pipeline companies had to post armed guards to protect their lines from sabotage.

Other people heard about Drake's strike and dug their own wells. Many of them were successful. There were almost never enough barrels. It was common for people to strike oil and watch it run away across the ground because there wasn't anywhere to put it. Some people dug wide holes around their wells to try to catch the crude, and were mostly unsuccessful. Oil soaked into soil, poured into rivers, caught fire and dismantled into the atmosphere. Even so, about eighty-five hundred barrels of oil were captured in 1859. Three years later that number topped three million.

Once they got the oil into barrels, producers would float it down Oil Creek to the Allegheny River and on to Pittsburgh, in the manner of lumber. Barges carried anywhere from twenty-five to a thousand barrels. Oil Creek was too shallow to support even the flat-bottomed boats, so people used pond freshets to move their product: they would put in a temporary dam to raise the water level, then pull it out and let the rush of water carry barges over shallower portions. Pond freshets might move a couple hundred barges at a time. There were a lot of wrecks. When people heard that a dam was going to be let go, they would crowd up on the riverbank to watch.

Transportation of oil in general was rough and unreliable. According to Jones, barrels were carted overland to Oil Creek, five or six at a time, by teamsters and their mules. Teamsters carried heavy "black snake" whips. Mules were run so hard they died after one or two years. Carts jostled fiercely on dirt roads and sometimes tumbled barrels off. About a third of the crude shipped down Oil Creek on barges leaked out or was dumped in a crash. In 1865, a lantern broke and started a fire that consumed eight thousand barrels of oil over one hundred barges. Some experts believe only fifteen or twenty percent of the oil extracted in the early Sixties ever reached the lamps of the country.

Soon enough, the railroads got involved. The Oil Creek Railroad, organized by oil producers, was first to connect Titusville to the grid. Eventually the major railroads showed up-the Pennsylvania, the Erie, and the New York Central. They carted oil in cars to refineries that had bubbled up in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New York City. One Cleveland refinery was owned by John D. Rockefeller and his company, Standard Oil.

Standard Oil would go on to unbelievable success, a nearly ninety percent market share, and a high-profile antitrust case. One of the keys to Standard Oil's dominance was cheap transportation. Railroads gave Rockefeller's company rebates in exchange for its massive business, and for outside investments by Rockefeller that lowered railroads' costs. Investigative journalist Ida Tarbell, in The History of the Standard Oil Company (1904), wrote that "It was the rebate which had made the Standard Oil trust, the rebate, amplified, systematized, glorified into a power never equaled before or since by any business of the country."

People were already working on an alternative to rivers, mules, and railroads. By 1865, the first "gathering pipeline" had been built near Titusville, connecting a series of oil wells to a central point-in this case a railroad depot. Gathering pipelines were short, usually fewer than five miles long, and around two inches in diameter. The first successful long-distance pipeline was the Tidewater, which ran 110 miles from the Bradford Oil Fields to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and was completed in 1879. It was constructed of wrought-iron pipes, six inches in diameter and sixteen to twenty feet long. Each section of pipe weighed three-hundred and forty pounds. It took eleven men to wrangle one into place. The lengths were fitted together using pipe tongs, which were a brand-new tool. No such pipeline had ever existed, so everything was custom designed.

Early on, pipeline companies had to post armed guards to protect their lines from sabotage. Railroads, worried about the appearance of the Tidewater, delayed and intentionally misplaced shipments of materials. The Northern Central and Buffalo, New York & Philadelphia Railroads pulled up pipes that ran under their tracks. Standard Oil published negative articles about the pipeline, purchased the refineries that were supposed to buy its oil, tried to buy a "north-south blocking line" of land to interrupt its path. The Tidewater went through anyway. Jones, the historian, wrote in Routes of Power that "oil entered the pipeline on May 28, moving at about the pace of a man walking." Pumping stations drove the oil. Six days later it emerged in Williamsport. In the middle, it traversed the Allegheny mountains. When the oil arrived in Williamsport, people celebrated enthusiastically.

After Tidewater, pipelines were the rule. Standard Oil built a long one to Cleveland, and one to the Atlantic seaboard, at New York harbor. Other pipelines carried oil to Buffalo, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. One took off toward Chicago. Throughout the twentieth century, pipelines snaked around the Great Lakes and across the country. There are now more than a hundred and sixty thousand miles of oil pipeline traversing the United States, more than fifty-six thousand of them transporting crude. You wouldn't know it from looking, because they run for the most part underground.

Since the 1950s, pipelines have usually been made from manufactured steel. Line 5, for example, is constructed of "seamless" pipe. Seamless pipe is extruded from steam billets to a desired length and joined with particular fittings on site. The walls of Line 5 and other underwater pipelines are coated on the outside with a layer of enamel, reinforced with fiber.

Some pipelines are still being built or expanded. In 2015, Enbridge completed an expansion of Line 67, the Alberta Clipper, which can now transport eight hundred thousand barrels of diluted tar sands oil per day. According to the Enbridge corporation, Line 5 does not carry, and has never carried, heavy crude oil of any kind. It carries eighty percent sweet or light crudes, some of them synthetic, and twenty percent natural gas liquids (NGLs). According to the Freshwater Lab, other pipelines and railroads in the Great Lakes basin are carrying diluted tar sands oil across rivers, lakes, and wetlands.

"There's a kind of truism now that pipelines are the safest form of transporting oil, because a train could turn over, a truck could turn over, and they could literally catch fire and kill people," Rachel Havrelock told me. "I certainly don't want trains to catch fire and cause any deaths, but the whole thing is that we forget about the risks that pipelines do pose to our drinking water, and then we also forget about the other element, which is that their unseen nature means they can be neglected and mishandled."

***

On June 25, 2010, Line 6B, a thirty-inch pipeline belonging to the Lakehead System, ruptured at a pumping station near Marshall, Michigan. Alarms sounded at the site. Diluted tar sands crude surged into Talmudge Creek, a tributary of the Kalamazoo River adjacent to the pumping station, and on into the Kalamazoo River itself. At a rate of one and a quarter miles per hour, it leached downstream in the direction of Lake Michigan, some 115 river miles away. Seventeen hours later, Enbridge responded by shutting off the flow of crude and notifying the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In a torrent of misfortune, rain deluged the streams, pushing oil into flood plains and thirty-five miles downstream. The EPA took over and restrained the spill before it reached any further. An estimated eight hundred and forty thousand gallons of diluted bitumen had escaped the pipeline. It was-and still is-the worst inland oil spill in U.S. history.

Between 2010 and 2014, more than 1.2 million gallons of oil were recovered from the waterways of western Michigan, and land nearby. The EPA has said there could still be around eighty thousand gallons mixed up in sediment.

Traditional methods of cleanup assume that the oil from a spill will float on water, and have developed accordingly. Booms are an example of this. There are two main kinds of oil booms: containment and absorbent. Both float near the surface of a body. Containment booms are usually plastic or metal, and create a barrier that corrals the slick as in a pen. Most of the containment booms I've seen are yellow, orange, or black. Absorbent booms are usually white at first, or sometimes blue, and are made of polypropylene wrapped in mesh. They are tubular in shape, and can link together like sausages. Absorbent booms soak up oil (or other hydrocarbons) and become brown. They are replaced periodically. For spills of more generous range, dispersants-chemical agents-can be deployed to scatter a spill. They form oil into droplets that can be pushed underwater, protecting surface species from grease and theoretically increasing the chance of oil breaking down naturally. Another technique is called "in situ burning," or ISB, and proceeds as it sounds: crews build a barrier of inflammable booms and light the slick on fire.

Unlike most light or medium crudes, tar sands bitumen is more dense than water. After diluted bitumen spills into a river or other body, the diluting agent, which is usually extremely light, can vaporize, leaving the remaining bitumen to sink or suspend. At that point, booms, dispersants, and ISB are moot. When it gets to the bottom of a river or lake, bitumen mixes with sediment and has to be dredged. This is the best tactic anybody has found, though others have been tried. After the Line 6B spill, people stuck long poles into the sediment and stirred it up. They were hoping the crude would float to the surface. It didn't, so they had to dredge the streams anyway. The whole process is described in detail in a long report released in 2016 by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The report, Spills of Diluted Bitumen from Pipelines, was commissioned by Congress, and surveyed a cluster of research that sprung up in response to the Enbridge spill in Marshall, Michigan.

Between 2010 and 2014, more than 1.2 million gallons of oil were recovered from the waterways of western Michigan, and land nearby. The EPA has said there could still be around eighty thousand gallons mixed up in sediment. Enbridge paid $177 million in fines, and an estimated one billion dollars in cleanup costs. The U.S. government alleged that during the seventeen hours oil was pouring into Talmudge Creek, "Enbridge had restarted Line 6B on two separate occasions on July 26, 2010, pumping additional oil into the ruptured pipeline causing additional discharges of oil into the environment," and that "the rupture and discharges were caused by stress corrosion cracking on the pipeline, control room misinterpretations and pervasive organization failures at Enbridge." Later, Enbridge replaced the aging Line 6B with another, larger pipeline, also called Line 6B.

Many people are unaware of the Kalamazoo spill. It didn't get as much national attention as you might expect. This is due partly to incredible timing in the news cycle: three months earlier, on April 20, the oil rig Deepwater Horizon had exploded, and the BP-operated Macondo wellhead had poured 3.19 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

***

On May 10 and 11, 2017, the Freshwater Lab held a summit in Chicago titled "Untrouble the Waters." I went. The summit was free. Its title recalls the refrain from "Wade in the Water," an old African-American spiritual, part of which goes like this:
Wade in the water
Wade in the water, children
Wade in the water
God's a-gonna trouble the water
On the morning of the first day, Dr. Johari Jabir of UIC led an a-cappella group sing of a remixed "Wade in the Water." Yuri Lane beatboxed. Every fourth line, instead of singing "God's a-gonna trouble the water," Dr. Jabir riffed on the themes of the conference-"we need to clean up the water," etc. Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians, a watchdog group, gave the opening keynote lecture. She said, "The Great Lakes are a public trust." She said, "The waters of the Great Lakes belong to those who live on, around, and in them."

The summit was organized into panels and working groups on water access, lead in city pipes, "watershed politics," oil pipelines, human rights, environmental justice; one panel included five mayors and one former mayor from towns in the Great Lakes region. At the panel on pipelines, Chairman Robert Blanchard of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa; two Michigan policy wonks, Liz Kirkwood and Jennifer McKay; Thomas Frank, an activist in East Chicago, Indiana; and Olga Bautista of Chicago's Southeast Side Coalition to Ban Petcoke, talked about the complicated mixing of oil and water. I scribbled furiously on a yellow legal pad as they spoke, yanking sentences out of the air and pinning them to the page:

"What we're seeing is a re-industrialization of the region."

"Tar sands oil is the dirtiest of dirty fuels."

"In our community, water is our life force."

"Enbridge doesn't have the capacity to deal with a major oil spill."

"We're talking seven hundred miles of coastline-the Coast Guard won't be able to clean up a spill of that size."

"The question is not if, but when pipelines will fail."

"What we need is a comprehensive plan for decommissioning Line 5, and we need to organize around that."

Enbridge, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other agencies have recently assured media they are prepared for managing a hypothetical spill from Line 5.

Everybody on the panel talked about Line 5. As Great Lakes pipelines go, Line 5 is the most notorious. Recently, activists and organizations have alleged that Line 5 is dangerously corroded, inadequately supported, operating over capacity, missing its protective coating, and generally in a state of neglect. In 2013, the National Wildlife Federation sent divers into the Straits of Mackinac to record images of Line 5. The video shows a pipeline coated in mussels and debris; long, unsupported sections of pipe; and broken supports. An October 2016 report, based on 2003 data, described "A number of areas where scouring effects from water currents caused sections of the pipelines to span freely above the bottom," some of which were "in excess of the 75 foot limit" established in the initial easement. The longest unsupported section, on the easternmost of the two pipelines, reached 268 feet. Enbridge recently asked the state of Michigan for permission to install twenty-two new supports along the pipe.

Line 5 has never spilled oil into the Straits of Mackinac. But it has suffered twenty-nine spills elsewhere since 1953, totaling more than 1.1 million gallons. Enbridge has been responsible for more than eight hundred oil spills in the United States since 2000, including the 2010 Kalamazoo event and a second spill of two hundred and fifty thousand gallons that same year, just southwest of Chicago. And with a record like that-well, people talk.

I was curious about a number I'd heard tossed around at the pipeline panel: "700 miles of coastline." It comes from a 2016 report out of the University of Michigan, which found that "more than 700 miles of shoreline in Lakes Michigan and Huron and on their islands are potentially vulnerable to an oil spill in the Straits." Researchers ran simulations for oil spills at different locations and times of year, using a hydrodynamic model. "More than 700 miles of shoreline" includes a variety of hypothetical spills, and is a worst-case number. A single case could affect a hundred and fifty miles or so. The report also suggested that fifteen percent of Lake Michigan and sixty percent of Lake Huron were at risk in a Line 5 rupture.

Enbridge, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other agencies have recently assured media they are prepared for managing a hypothetical spill from Line 5. Enbridge, for its part, has further said that it monitors the pipeline vigorously, with pressure gauges and fly-overs and other advanced techniques. The company is also developing an autonomous vehicle, in partnership with Michigan Technological University, which would be able to inspect the four and a half miles of Line 5 that live underwater. But many people are not convinced that the ecological future of a region ought to be entrusted to an energy delivery company and its sixty-four-year-old pipeline. One of them is Dr. Rachel Havrelock. Five others were on the Freshwater Lab's pipeline panel in May.

Some of them, evidently, also rank highly in the government of Michigan. In 2015, the state published a report in response to events including the 2010 Kalamazoo spill. The Petroleum Pipeline Task Force Report, presented by Michigan's Department of Natural Resources, Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Transportation, and Attorney General, among others, addressed pipelines in general and Line 5 in specific. It recommended that no "heavy crude" oil be transported through the Straits of Mackinac, and that an independent analysis of alternatives to Line 5 be carried out.

Two years later, in June 2017, a draft of the independent analysis was released for public comment. The most promising alternatives, from the perspective of the report, included the construction of a new pipeline, either slid through a trench or buried entirely underground. Costs of such a replacement were estimated in the area of $180 million. Railroads and the use of existing infrastructure were ruled out entirely. A few weeks later, five members of the Michigan Pipeline Safety Advisory Board published a dissent, claiming there was missing data, and that the document failed to, among other things, "accurately assess spill risk" and "properly evaluate impacts of a spill." Decommissioning of Line 5- the preferred route for many activists -was included in the analysis at a cost of $200 million.

***

If you hang around pipeline conversations, one word you will hear over and over is "risk." The classic definition of risk is the potential for an unwanted outcome. To calculate risk, scientists use the formula Risk = Probability x Loss (or consequence). Usually in the case of oil pipelines this is couched in terms of 'Probability of Failure' and 'Potential Damage.' For the most part, the pipeline industry emphasizes the former: oil pipelines are less likely to spill than rail cars and semi trucks. And some stretches of pipe-like the four and a half miles of Line 5 under the Straits of Mackinac-have never ruptured. Pipeline objectors focus on the other side of the equation: what would happen if they did. It's only a matter of time, they say, until the next Line 6B.

"This system is the most extraordinary freshwater system that exists on earth...There is nothing more precious than fresh water, by anyone's measuring stick."

Of course, there will never be another incident exactly like the one on Line 6B in 2010. Catastrophe never repeats itself. The conditions of the world are such that each occurrence unfolds in singular fashion, directed by the precise circumstances of its appearance. What will happen-and where-is anyone's guess, and perhaps none of us are right. Some people hazard qualified predictions using the best information and technology available, but at any moment, a heavy rain could come along and sweep all these projections downstream. This is one reason researchers often publish a range of possible outcomes-there is always another variable to be considered. One of the greatest threats to the stability of Line 5, according to recent reports, is-of all things-a stray anchor, dragged across the bottom of the Straits by an unwitting vessel.

"This system is the most extraordinary freshwater system that exists on earth," Rachel Havrelock said of the Great Lakes when I spoke with her in May. "Whether you care about human health and longevity, or whether you care about resources of value and their economic potential, or whether you care about the viability of ecosystems, it all matters here. There is nothing more precious than fresh water, by anyone's measuring stick."

A lot of what we have to think about, as people, can't be adequately expressed with numbers. Oil spills are like that. How to quantify the cost of a rupture in the Great Lakes? Or, for that matter, outside of them? At what number of barrels-what precise number-do we cross from "OK" to "disaster"? Yet the computation of risk requires that we furnish an answer. As long as fossil fuels remain the power source for civilization, pipelines will be pumping them around the earth and its water. And we will be left assessing the consequences of a spill-calculating the incalculable.
*Correction: an earlier version of this story misstated the year in which Line 5 was constructed as 1853. The pipeline was constructed in 1953.
_____

Cover image courtesy the UIC Freshwater Lab.

Ryan Schnurr is a writer from northeast Indiana. His first book, In the Watershed: A Journey Down the Maumee River, is forthcoming from Belt Publishing in October 2017.

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The Oil Pipelines Putting the Great Lakes at Risk

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By Ryan Schnurr wo hundred feet below the surface of the Straits of Mackinac-between Lakes Michigan and Huron, at the tip of the Michigan mitt-oil is moving through the Great Lakes.

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Slavery today in all its forms - Anti-Slavery International

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Slavery today takes many different forms, including human trafficking, forced labour, debt bondage, forced marriage and others. Learn about them all here.

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Sport for athletes with an impairment has existed for more than 100 years, and the first sport clubs for the deaf were already in existence in 1888 in Berlin.

It was not until after World War II however, that it was widely introduced. The purpose of it at that time was to assist the large number of war veterans and civilians who had been injured during wartime.

In 1944, at the request of the British Government, Dr. Ludwig Guttmann opened a spinal injuries centre at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Great Britain, and in time, rehabilitation sport evolved to recreational sport and then to competitive sport.

STOKE MANDEVILLE GAMES

On 29 July 1948, the day of the Opening Ceremony of the London 1948 Olympic Games, Dr. Guttmann organised the first competition for wheelchair athletes which he named the Stoke Mandeville Games, a milestone in Paralympic history. They involved 16 injured servicemen and women who took part in archery.

In 1952, Dutch ex-servicemen joined the Movement and the International Stoke Mandeville Games were founded.

FIRST PARALYMPIC GAMES

The Stoke Mandeville Games later became the Paralympic Games which first took place in Rome, Italy, in 1960 featuring 400 athletes from 23 countries. Since then they have taken place every four years.

In 1976 the first Winter Games in Paralympics history were held in Sweden, and as with the Summer Games, have taken place every four years, and include a Paralympics Opening Ceremony and Paralympics Closing Ceremony.

Since the Summer Games of Seoul, Korea in 1988 and the Winter Games in Albertville, France in 1992 the Games have also taken part in the same cities and venues as the Olympics due to an agreement between the IPC and IOC.

GROWTH OF THE PARALYMPIC FAMILY

Also in 1960, under the aegis of the World Federation of ex-servicemen, an International Working Group on Sport for the Disabled was set up to study the problems of sport for persons with an impairment. It resulted in the creation, in 1964, of the International Sport Organisation for the Disabled (ISOD) who offered opportunities for those athletes who could not affiliate to the International Stoke Mandeville Games: vision impaired, amputees, persons with cerebral palsy and paraplegics.

At the start, 16 countries were affiliated to ISOD and the organisation pushed very hard to include blind and amputee athletes into the Toronto 1976 Paralympics and athletes with cerebral palsy in 1980 in Arnhem. Its aim was to embrace all impairments in the future and to act as a Co-coordinating Committee. Nevertheless, other disability-orientated international organisations such as the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA) and International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) were founded in 1978 and 1980.

The four international organisations experienced the need of co-ordinating the Games so they created the "International Co-coordinating Committee Sports for the Disabled in the World" (ICC) in 1982.

The ICC was originally composed of the four presidents of CPISRA, IBSA, ISMGF and ISOD, the general secretaries and one additional member (in the beginning it was the Vice-President, and later on the Technical Officer).

The International Committee of Sport for the Deaf (CISS) and International Sports Federations for Persons with an Intellectual Disability (INAS-FID) joined in 1986, but the deaf still maintained their own organisation. However, the member nations demanded more national and regional representation in the organisation.

INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE IS BORN

Finally, on 22 September 1989, the International Paralympic Committee was founded as an international non-profit organisation in Dusseldorf, Germany, to act as the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement.

The word "Paralympic" derives from the Greek preposition "para" (beside or alongside) and the word "Olympic".

Its meaning is that Paralympics are the parallel Games to the Olympics and illustrates how the two movements exist side-by-side.

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Paralympics History - Evolution of the Paralympic Movement

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The first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960 featured 400 athletes from 23 countries. The Games are now the 2nd biggest sporting event in the world.

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International Space Station Research & Technology

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NASA.gov brings you the latest images, videos and news from America's space agency. Get the latest updates on NASA missions, watch NASA TV live, and learn about our quest to reveal the unknown and benefit all humankind.

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Protests continue across the US and elsewhere around the world over police treatment of black people.

The protests, some peaceful and some violent, began after a black man named George Floyd died after a police officer held him down in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US on Monday, May 25.

On Tuesday, June 1, people marched through Sydney and Perth and protests are planned for other Australian cities.

Kids News explains how the protests began and why so many people are protesting around the world.

If you find this article upsetting, talk about what is upsetting you with an adult you trust or visit or call KidsHelpline at kidshelpline.com.au or 1800 55 1800 at any time for any reason.

GEORGE FLOYD
George Floyd, an unarmed* 46-year-old black man, was arrested after shopping at a store in Minneapolis. The shopkeeper had called police because he suspected the $20 note Mr Floyd used to pay with was fake.

According to witness accounts, video and official statements, police arrested Mr Floyd and then there was a struggle. Mr Floyd died after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee on Mr Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes. There were three other police officers nearby.

All four of the police officers involved were fired the next day but it wasn't until Friday, four days after the event, that Mr Chauvin was arrested for killing Mr Floyd.

THE PROTESTS
Many people saw video taken by several bystanders of the minutes after Mr Floyd's arrest after these were posted on the internet.

People in Minneapolis began protesting the day after Mr Floyd died about unfair and violent police treatment of people who aren't white. Soon protests began in other US cities.

Most protests started peacefully, with people marching, holding banners and chanting George Floyd's name or other things such as "No justice, no peace" and "Defund* the police".

At times the protests have been violent. Buildings and cars have been burned, windows smashed and historical monuments commemorating* white people have been vandalised. Some people have been looting - stealing - from shops during the protests.

Hundreds of people have been arrested while taking part in the protests in the US.

In many places, police have been using sprays called tear gas and pepper spray (both of which cause pain) and firing rubber bullets to try to control the crowds or end the protests. Sometimes police officers have been filmed using more force than necessary. Many protesters and police officers have been injured. News reporters have been injured by police and arrested.

Several states have called in the National Guard - reserve teams of US Army soldiers - to help control the crowds. Some cities have also set night curfews*, which ban people from going outside while the curfew is in place.

There have been several reports of police officers and National Guard members on duty at the protests kneeling down with protesters to show solidarity*, which means they agree with the protesters and also want change.

There are still many active cases of COVID-19 in the US and there are concerns that so many people crowding together will cause an increase in infection.

RACIAL INJUSTICE
The US, like many countries, has a history of treating people who aren't white unfairly.

Under US law, everyone has equal rights. In real life, people often have different experiences based on the colour of their skin.

Police are more likely to question or arrest a person of colour, especially black men. In recent times, there have been many other cases of police violence towards black people for little or no reason, sometimes leading to protests.

PROTESTS IN AUSTRALIA
Tuesday's protests in Sydney and Perth were peaceful marches. Protesters carried banners with messages such as "Black Lives Matter" and Aboriginal flags. They were showing solidarity with protesters in the US, but also protesting about similar treatment of Aboriginal people in Australia.

At the Perth protest, Aboriginal elders told the crowd they, too, knew of deaths under police watch. The names of indigenous people who have died in custody* were read out during the protest.
KidsHelpline is at kidshelpline.com.au or call 1800 55 1800 GLOSSARY

unarmed: not carrying any kind of weapon

defund: stop paying for

commemorating: remembering and celebrating achievement

curfews: bans on going out, usually at night

solidarity: standing together with someone to show you agree with them and support them

custody: imprisonment

EXTRA READING
Student's anthem protest
Olympians top honour for black power stance One girl starts global environment protest Footballers say no to racism QUICK QUIZ

1. Which US state is the city of Minneapolis in?

2. Why did the protests start?

3. Why are some police kneeling at protests?

4. Why are some people wearing face masks in the photos?

5. What flag did people carry at Australian protests? Why?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Your opinion
Write a paragraph or more expressing your opinion about what has happened and is happening. Give clear reasons for your opinions. Here are some questions that could help guide you:

What does the death of George Floyd under these circumstances make you think or feel?

Have you experienced or witnessed racism? How did it affect you or others?

Do you think that the protests are justified?

Do you think that burning cars and houses, vandalising property and looting are justified or helpful?

What ideas do you have to help solve the problem of unfair treatment of non-white people by the police and in general?

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Ethical Understanding

2. Extension
Peaceful protests are a useful way for the community to voice their opinions. Design a banner that you could carry if you were to attend a protest about this or another cause that is important to you. Your banner may contain words and/or an image but the message should be simple and clear.

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; HASS (Civics and Citizenship)

VCOP ACTIVITY
Connective Collection
After reading the article, with a partner, highlight as many connectives as you can find in pink. Discuss if these are being used as conjunctions, or to join ideas and create flow.

HAVE YOUR SAY: Describe your thoughts and feelings about the protests.
No one-word answers. Use full sentences to explain your thinking. No comments will be published until approved by editors.

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Why are there big protests around the world?

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Protests continue across the US and elsewhere around the world over police treatment of black people. The protests, some peaceful and some violent, began after a black man named George Floyd died after a police officer held him down in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US on Monday, May 25.

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Immunization is a global health and development success story, saving millions of lives every year. Vaccines reduce risks of getting a disease by working with your body's natural defences to build protection. When you get a vaccine, your immune system responds.

We now have vaccines to prevent more than 20 life-threatening diseases, helping people of all ages live longer, healthier lives. Immunization currently prevents 3.5-5 million deaths every year from diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza and measles.

Immunization is a key component of primary health care and an indisputable human right. It's also one of the best health investments money can buy. Vaccines are also critical to the prevention and control of infectious disease outbreaks. They underpin global health security and will be a vital tool in the battle against antimicrobial resistance.

The Covid-19 pandemic, associated disruptions, and Covid-19 vaccination efforts strained health systems in 2020 and 2021, resulting in dramatic setbacks. However, from a global perspective recovery is on the horizon - in 2022 diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DTP) immunization coverage, albeit unevenly between countries, has almost recovered to 2019 levels.

Measles, because of its high transmissibility, acts as a "canary in the coalmine", quickly exposing any immunity gaps in the population. Still, 22 million children missed their routine first dose of measles vaccine in 2022, compared to 19 million in 2019.

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Vaccination is a simple, safe, and effective way of protecting people against harmful diseases, before they come into contact with them. It uses your body's natural defences to build resistance to specific infections and makes your immune system stronger.

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Human occupation of Grosse Île began many years before the quarantine station was opened in 1832. The first written traces of the occupation of the island date to the 17th century: on September 4, 1662, Governor Pierre du Bois d'Avaugour granted Noël Jérémie de la Montagne land on the island for farming purposes.

Subsequently, the island changed owners several times. On July 30, 1831, it was leased a final time to Pierre Duplain by Louis Bernier. At that time, a house and large shed, a stable and various outbuildings occupied the eastern sector. Both the owner and tenant were expropriated the following year so as to make room for the quarantine station.

Once Napoleon imposed the Continental Blockade on the British Isles beginning in November 1806, Québec became a pivotal port in the export of timber to England as well as the headquarters of the British military forces stationed in North America.

A cholera pandemic originating in India began to spread as of 1826. Then, beginning in 1831, it struck the British Isles, leaving numerous victims. Fearing that the disease would cross the Atlantic, the authorities looked for ways of protecting the colonies. Ultimately, following the enactment of a bill by Lower Canada's Assembly, a quarantine station was opened on Grosse Île under the auspices of the British army in 1832.

Québec numbered some 27,000 inhabitants in 1831. A quarantine station would enable the city to protect itself from the arrival of diseases by temporarily isolating inbound passengers and by keeping immigrants who were sick or suspected of being sick at some remove from the local population. Accordingly, Grosse Île's western sector was opened in order to receive these immigrants.

Unfortunately, however, these efforts ended in failure. In 1832 alone, close to 4000 people died of cholera in Québec. At more than 50,000 new arrivals, compared to an average of 20,000 in the preceding years, 1832 proved to be a year of massive immigration.

From the turn of the 19th century until 1845, Ireland experienced an unprecedented demographic boom, its population doubling from four million to eight million during this period. Such phenomenal growth affected the agrarian structure: as land holdings became increasingly smaller, a sizeable portion of the population had to maximize its potato production in order to secure their sustenance. The lowering of farm tariffs in 1815 intensified the financial precariousness of Irish households. In addition, from the late 1830s, Ireland was hit with a series of poor crops that further fuelled its food supply problems.

Beginning in 1845, Europe - and Ireland in particular - was ravaged by late blight (also known as potato blight), a mould that infected potatoes and tomatoes alike. During the next several years, the blight devastated Ireland's potato crop, which in turn created a terrible famine, considering that the diet of a sizeable proportion of the population was based on this staple.

These events triggered a huge wave of emigration to North America and spawned an Irish diaspora. Close to 100,000 immigrants, 95% of whom hailed from Ireland, arrived at the port of Québec seeking to escape the Great Famine and to secure a better future for themselves.

In an attempt to meet the urgent need to offer lodging to the swelling numbers of immigrants, the quarantine station authorities sped up the construction of shelters and the installation of hundreds of tents on Grosse Île. The western sector, opened in 1832, was quickly overrun by people. To compensate for the lack of space, the station authorities thus decided to use the eastern sector to accommodate the steady stream of new arrivals.

In spite of the efforts and exceptional dedication of the staff, the station was witness to the greatest tragedy in its short history. No fewer than 5,424 people were buried on Grosse Île in 1847, with typhus and diphtheria being the primary causes of this unusually high mortality rate. That year, many island employees also fell victim to disease in their efforts to aid the new arrivals.

What is more, of the 100,000 immigrants who left Europe for Canada that year, 20% died before reaching their final destination - i.e., at sea, on Grosse Île, or at points further west. Many children lost their parents in that fateful year; most of that number were adopted by Québécois families in the area. These orphans nevertheless kept their Irish family name.

All in all, during the quarantine station's 105-year-long existence, 7,553 immigrants were buried in one of the three cemeteries located on Grosse Île. Thus the deaths recorded for 1847 represent 72% of Grosse Île's total mortality.

Beginning in 1848, the eastern sector was turned into the hospital sector while the western sector was reserved for people under observation. As a result of this division, sick people could be kept separated from health people and the risk of contagion could be reduced. In addition, by confining sick people to the eastern sector, the idea was to allow the prevailing westerly winds to blow "miasmas " out over the river and not over healthy people. According to the beliefs of the time, miasmas - putrid, invisible, free-floating particles - attacked bad Christians and people of loose morals. At the time when the quarantine station first went into operation, few doctors practiced what today would be considered a scientific type of medicine - i.e., based on "contagionist" principles; the majority tended instead to hold to a dogmatic type of medicine. Modern medicine really came into its own in the 1870s, thanks to the discoveries of Louis Pasteur andRobert Koch and to improvements in the microscope.

In 1869, Dr. Frédérick Montizambert took over as the station's third superintendent. During the subsequent 30 years, he would travel around the world, tour various quarantine stations, and implement the best techniques in Canada. Montizambert modified the quarantine process and made the Grosse Île station a leading-edge facility for its time.

The 1880s were particularly decisive for the future of the station. Work was begun constructing a brick hospital in 1881. As of 1886, incoming ships were systematically disinfected and fumigated . Year 1893 saw the completion of the disinfection building, designed to handle both immigrants and their baggage. Finally, in response to the growing requirements of maritime transport companies, a hotel for cabin passengers was built in 1893.

With the arrival in 1899 of Georges-Élie Martineau, Montizambert's successor and the last quarantine station superintendent, modernization of the island continued, particularly through the advent of electricity in 1902. Under Martineau's supervision, the station was equipped with a vaccination and medical inspection office along with a bacteriological laboratory, a first-class hotel and a third-class hotel.

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Human occupation of Grosse Île began many years before the quarantine station was opened in 1832. The first written traces of the occupation of the island date to the 17th century: on September 4, 1662, Governor Pierre du Bois d'Avaugour granted Noël Jérémie de la Montagne land on the island for farming purposes.

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Species | Protecting Wildlife | World Wildlife Fund

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World Wildlife Fund is committed to endangered species protection. See how we are ensuring that the world our children inherit will be home to the same species we enjoy today.

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Australia's government is offering new help to people who have lost their homes and others affected by bushfires that have burned millions of acres of land. At least 25 people have died in the fires, which have brought historic levels of destruction.

While conditions improved slightly over the weekend, forecasters warn that dangerously hot and windy conditions will likely return later this week.

At least 19 deaths have been reported in New South Wales, with several other fatalities in both Victoria and South Australia. Fire officials in New South Wales said Monday morning that 69 fires remained uncontained, with a total of 136 fires in the state.

The fires will continue to burn for months to come, officials say. But the bushfires have exacted a staggering environmental toll.

"The number of cattle and sheep killed is still being tallied, but the losses are expected to be enormous," NPR's Jason Beaubien reports. "And the death toll among wild animals is even worse. An ecologist at Sydney University estimates that nearly half a billion animals perished in the state of New South Wales alone."

Beaubien is reporting from Kangaroo Valley, a forested area south of Sydney that has long been a camping and kayaking destination - but which now stands covered in gray ash, with charred tree trunks the only sign of vegetation.

In a broad swath of Australia's southeast, smoke has tinted the air a yellowish orange. The smoke has also reached New Zealand.

People who live in Melbourne - more than 100 miles away from the nearest fires, and much farther away from the worst blazes - saw their city blanketed in smoke Monday, with a fog-like haze that only worsened as the day went on.

A new $1.4 billion bushfire recovery fund has been created to help residents, businesses and farmers rebound from their devastating losses, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Monday. That's in addition to other aid sources - and the enormous cost of fighting the fires.

"Whatever it takes, and whatever it costs, we will ensure Australians get the support they need to rebuild and recover from these bushfires," Morrison said.

Morrison has been sharply criticized for his handling of the fires, from accusations that he hasn't done enough to help state officials to anger over his recent vacation trip to Hawaii.

The fires are raging as Australia readies for its turn in the world's athletic spotlight, as the Australian Open is set to begin in Melbourne on Jan. 20. In the run-up to that Grand Slam event, other high-profile tournaments are taking place in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide - cities whose areas have been touched by wildfires.

Because of the fires, one international tourney has already been moved from Canberra to Bendigo, Tennis Australia says. Athletes and Tennis Australia have pledged to donate money for fire relief efforts.

With its fire season triggering a national crisis, Australia has called on its military to move resources into place and carry people out of harm's way. On Sunday, an air force C-27 cargo plane helped to evacuate more than 170 people from Mallacoota, a town on the southeast coast, Australia's Department of Defense says.

About 170 miles north of Mallacoota, artists in the town of Mogo tell Australia's ABC that their home was among at least 60 properties destroyed over the weekend, robbing them of years' worth of work. The fires were so intense that unfinished pottery that was in the house won't need to go into a kiln.

"The fire actually finished off my work - and me," Peter Williams tells ABC.

On Monday, residents of Canberra and the Australian Capital Territory were under a state of alert, told to avoid spending extended time outdoors because of heavy smoke from blazes in nearby New South Wales and Victoria. The territory is offering free respirator masks to vulnerable Canberrans, including pregnant women and people older than 65.

To show their appreciation for the thousands of firefighters who are trying to save property and lives, many residents have been displaying red ribbons on their fences. While fire and rescue officials say they appreciate that gesture, they're also urging people to put a special sign on their mailbox if they have a large supply of water on the premises such as a pool, so it can be used to douse flames nearby.

While a large portion of southeast Australia has been under threat of fires in recent weeks, people on its northwest coast are facing a new peril that could further strain national emergency authorities: Cyclone Blake, the first cyclone of Australia's tropical storm season, is expected to make landfall late Tuesday or early Wednesday local time.

A Category 1 storm as of Monday, Blake could intensify into a Category 2 cyclone as it moves to the south-southwest along the coast, national forecasters say.

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Australia Wildfires Have Claimed 25 Lives And Will Burn For Months, Officials Say

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Australia's government is offering new help to people who have lost their homes and others affected by bushfires that have burned millions of acres of land. At least 25 people have died in the fires, which have brought historic levels of destruction.

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Microrobots Can Deliver Medication to Human Body

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Microrobots Can Deliver Medication to Human Body

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Tiny robots modeled after bacteria could be used to deliver drugs to hard to reach areas of the human body. Scientists at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) have developed what they call elastic microbots that can change shape depending on their environment.

When a patient needs medication, traditionally it is given orally or intravenously and the body's systems will carry the medicine to the part of the body where it is needed. But recent developments in the field of targeted drug delivery have helped to ensure that medication is delivered to the specific area where it is required, with a higher concentration of the medication in some places. The development of elastic robots could potentially revolutionize targeted drug delivery by making it possible to deliver medication to any area of the body, even those that are difficult to access.

The microbots are highly flexible and are able to swim through fluids and change their shape in response to their environment, meaning they can squeeze through narrow blood vessels without slowing down or being difficult to maneuver. The bots are made of minute hydrogel nanocomposites which contain magnetic nanoparticles, so they can be controlled through the use of an electromagnetic field.

After creating the robots, the challenge was to find a way to "program" their shapes so that they could pass through all the different environments of a human body. Scientists found a way to use embodied intelligence, in which the bot's physical being is adaptive to surroundings, rather than the traditional computation that most electronic systems use. The bots are constructed with an origami-based folding method which allows them to deform to the most efficient shape for any given environment, and deformations can be set in advance to make performance smoother. Once inside a body, the robots can either be controlled by an electromagnetic field or they can be left to make their own way by using the fluid flow inside the body.

"Our robots have a special composition and structure that allow them to adapt to the characteristics of the fluid they are moving through," said Selman Sakar, Assistant Professor, Institute of Mechanical Engineering, EPFL, in a statement. "For instance, if they encounter a change in viscosity or osmotic concentration, they modify their shape to maintain their speed and maneuverability without losing control of the direction of motion."

The findings are published in Science Advances.

Editors' Recommendations

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Tiny Microbots Fold like Origami to Travel Through the Human Body | Digital Trends

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Tiny robots modeled after bacteria could be used to deliver drugs to hard to reach areas of the human body. Scientists at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology have developed elastic microbots that can change shape depending on their environment.

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Newsela | Loudspeakers make dead coral reefs sound healthy and fish swim to them

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A recent study found that broadcasting the sounds of healthy coral reefs attracted fish and made them stay longer.

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Hectares of forests cut down or burned - globally, this year

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Earth's forests are being cut down. And they are being cut down fast. This causes desertification, loss of species, and contribute to global warming. Get the facts on deforestation here.

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Measles has spread to 28 states and infected more than 1,022 people since the start of 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The number of cases rose by 41 in the last week alone, and they're centered in several localized zones. The largest number of cases have occurred in New Jersey and New York; in fact, minors without the MMR vaccine were banned from public places in Rockland County, New York, for about two weeks this spring. Washington had also declared a state of emergency over the outbreak.

So far, 2019 has experienced the largest measles outbreak since 1992. And the CDC worries that summer camps and travel plans will further spread measles - which is why everyone should check their vaccination status before traveling.

A highly contagious virus, measles was technically eliminated in America 20 years ago, but the recent uptick has two major causes: international travelers bringing measles into the U.S., and unvaccinated children coming into contact with it. For example, the virus has been hitting New York City's Orthodox Jewish communities, where travelers returning from countries like Israel have infected unvaccinated community members. Since news reports only tell part of the story, here's what concerned parents need to know about the measles outbreak.

Measles is hard to diagnose early.

Just like a cold, early symptoms of measles include fever, fatigue, and loss of appetite. This is soon followed by a cough and red, watery eyes. Only after about three days does the classic rash appear on the head and progress down the body.

Measles is highly contagious.

Infectious measles droplets survive up to two hours after the infected person has left an area. And since the contagious period is long-from four days before a rash appears until four days after-a single infected person can come in contact with hundreds of people.

Measles can cause serious complications.

Measles can lead to pneumonia or ear infections. Most kids recover easily, but in approximately every 1,000 cases, one person will suffer encephalitis (brain inflammation) that causes permanent brain damage. Two to three people per 1,000 cases will die.

The measles vaccine is safe.

A study the February 2015 issue of the journal Pediatrics showed that the measles vaccine is safe. This goes for both forms of the vaccine available in the U.S.: measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) and measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV). Researchers tracked more than 600,000 1-year-olds over 12 years to confirm the vaccine's safety.

The measles vaccine really works.

The measles vaccine requires one dose at age 12-15 months, and another dose at age 4-6 years, according to the CDC. But given the recent measles outbreak, the New York State Department of Health recommends a vaccination at six months in affected areas. Ninety-five percent of kids will develop immunity when they get their first vaccination. The second dose before kindergarten gives 99 percent immunity. By contrast, 90 percent of exposed, unvaccinated people will get sick with measles. Immunity can disappear over time and 5 in 100 will lose their immunity by their late teens or adulthood.

The vaccine works even if your child gets it after being exposed to measles.

If your child is exposed and unvaccinated, or hasn't gotten a booster shot, the vaccine protects when given within 72 hours of exposure.

Very young babies are already protected from measles.

Until 6 months, babies are still protected by the antibodies received in Mom's womb. But the antibodies will break down, and by 9 months, your baby becomes vulnerable to measles.

Babies should now be vaccinated before international travel.

Because of increased risk, the AAP and CDC now recommend vaccinating 6- to 12-month-olds if they're traveling internationally. However, the regular two-shot series after 12 months is still necessary to ensure long-lasting immunity. If an adult isn't vaccinated, the CDC says they should get two doses of the vaccine before traveling, as long as the doses are separated by a minimum of 28 days. Learn more about the measles vaccine for travelers here.

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The Measles Outbreak: 8 Facts You Need to Know

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Measles has spread to 28 states and infected more than 1,022 people since the start of 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The number of cases rose by 41 in the last week alone, and they're centered in several localized zones.

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Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks. These cyberattacks are usually aimed at accessing, changing, or destroying sensitive information; extorting money from users via ransomware; or interrupting normal business processes.

Implementing effective cybersecurity measures is particularly challenging today because there are more devices than people, and attackers are becoming more innovative.

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Cybersecurity is the convergence of people, processes and technology that come together to protect organizations, individuals or networks from digital attacks.

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World War I, an international conflict that in 1914-18 embroiled most of the nations of Europe along with Russia, the United States, the Middle East, and other regions. The war pitted the Central Powers-mainly Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey-against the Allies-mainly France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and, from 1917, the United States. It ended with the defeat of the Central Powers. The war was virtually unprecedented in the slaughter, carnage, and destruction it caused.

World War I was one of the great watersheds of 20th-century geopolitical history. It led to the fall of four great imperial dynasties (in Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey), resulted in the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, and, in its destabilization of European society, laid the groundwork for World War II.

The last surviving veterans of World War I were American serviceman Frank Buckles (died in February 2011), British-born Australian serviceman Claude Choules (died in May 2011), and British servicewoman Florence Green (died in February 2012), the last surviving veteran of the war.

The outbreak of war

With Serbia already much aggrandized by the two Balkan Wars (1912-13, 1913), Serbian nationalists turned their attention back to the idea of "liberating" the South Slavs of Austria-Hungary. Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijević, head of Serbia's military intelligence, was also, under the alias "Apis," head of the secret society Union or Death, pledged to the pursuit of this pan-Serbian ambition. Believing that the Serbs' cause would be served by the death of the Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph, and learning that the Archduke was about to visit Bosnia on a tour of military inspection, Apis plotted his assassination. Nikola Pašić, the Serbian prime minister and an enemy of Apis, heard of the plot and warned the Austrian government of it, but his message was too cautiously worded to be understood.

At 11:15 am on June 28, 1914, in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, Franz Ferdinand and his morganatic wife, Sophie, duchess of Hohenberg, were shot dead by a Bosnian Serb, Gavrilo Princip. The chief of the Austro-Hungarian general staff, Franz, Graf (count) Conrad von Hötzendorf, and the foreign minister, Leopold, Graf von Berchtold, saw the crime as the occasion for measures to humiliate Serbia and so to enhance Austria-Hungary's prestige in the Balkans. Conrad had already (October 1913) been assured by William II of Germany's support if Austria-Hungary should start a preventive war against Serbia. This assurance was confirmed in the week following the assassination, before William, on July 6, set off upon his annual cruise to the North Cape, off Norway.

The Austrians decided to present an unacceptable ultimatum to Serbia and then to declare war, relying on Germany to deter Russia from intervention. Though the terms of the ultimatum were finally approved on July 19, its delivery was postponed to the evening of July 23, since by that time the French president, Raymond Poincaré, and his premier, René Viviani, who had set off on a state visit to Russia on July 15, would be on their way home and therefore unable to concert an immediate reaction with their Russian allies. When the delivery was announced, on July 24, Russia declared that Austria-Hungary must not be allowed to crush Serbia.

Serbia replied to the ultimatum on July 25, accepting most of its demands but protesting against two of them-namely, that Serbian officials (unnamed) should be dismissed at Austria-Hungary's behest and that Austro-Hungarian officials should take part, on Serbian soil, in proceedings against organizations hostile to Austria-Hungary. Though Serbia offered to submit the issue to international arbitration, Austria-Hungary promptly severed diplomatic relations and ordered partial mobilization.

Home from his cruise on July 27, William learned on July 28 how Serbia had replied to the ultimatum. At once he instructed the German Foreign Office to tell Austria-Hungary that there was no longer any justification for war and that it should content itself with a temporary occupation of Belgrade. But, meanwhile, the German Foreign Office had been giving such encouragement to Berchtold that already on July 27 he had persuaded Franz Joseph to authorize war against Serbia. War was in fact declared on July 28, and Austro-Hungarian artillery began to bombard Belgrade the next day. Russia then ordered partial mobilization against Austria-Hungary, and on July 30, when Austria-Hungary was riposting conventionally with an order of mobilization on its Russian frontier, Russia ordered general mobilization. Germany, which since July 28 had still been hoping, in disregard of earlier warning hints from Great Britain, that Austria-Hungary's war against Serbia could be "localized" to the Balkans, was now disillusioned insofar as eastern Europe was concerned. On July 31 Germany sent a 24-hour ultimatum requiring Russia to halt its mobilization and an 18-hour ultimatum requiring France to promise neutrality in the event of war between Russia and Germany.

Both Russia and France predictably ignored these demands. On August 1 Germany ordered general mobilization and declared war against Russia, and France likewise ordered general mobilization. The next day Germany sent troops into Luxembourg and demanded from Belgium free passage for German troops across its neutral territory. On August 3 Germany declared war against France.

In the night of August 3-4 German forces invaded Belgium. Thereupon, Great Britain, which had no concern with Serbia and no express obligation to fight either for Russia or for France but was expressly committed to defend Belgium, on August 4 declared war against Germany.

Austria-Hungary declared war against Russia on August 5; Serbia against Germany on August 6; Montenegro against Austria-Hungary on August 7 and against Germany on August 12; France and Great Britain against Austria-Hungary on August 10 and on August 12, respectively; Japan against Germany on August 23; Austria-Hungary against Japan on August 25 and against Belgium on August 28.

Romania had renewed its secret anti-Russian alliance of 1883 with the Central Powers on February 26, 1914, but now chose to remain neutral. Italy had confirmed the Triple Alliance on December 7, 1912, but could now propound formal arguments for disregarding it: first, Italy was not obliged to support its allies in a war of aggression; second, the original treaty of 1882 had stated expressly that the alliance was not against England.

On September 5, 1914, Russia, France, and Great Britain concluded the Treaty of London, each promising not to make a separate peace with the Central Powers. Thenceforth, they could be called the Allied, or Entente, powers, or simply the Allies.

The outbreak of war in August 1914 was generally greeted with confidence and jubilation by the peoples of Europe, among whom it inspired a wave of patriotic feeling and celebration. Few people imagined how long or how disastrous a war between the great nations of Europe could be, and most believed that their country's side would be victorious within a matter of months. The war was welcomed either patriotically, as a defensive one imposed by national necessity, or idealistically, as one for upholding right against might, the sanctity of treaties, and international morality.

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World War I | History, Summary, Causes, Combatants, Casualties, Map, & Facts

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World War I, international conflict that in 1914-18 embroiled most of the nations of Europe along with Russia, the U.S., the Middle East, and other regions. It led to the fall of four great imperial dynasties and, in its destabilization of European society, laid the groundwork for World War II.

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Newsela | Popular puppy will keep his extra tail

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A puppy found wandering around Kansas City, Missouri, was born with what looks like an extra tail between his eyes.

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Rock Climbing

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As he scaled world's 14 highest peaks, Nepalese climber shocked by climate change effects | CNN

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A former special forces soldier has taken the notion that "records are meant to be broken" to a whole new level.

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Meet the 11-year-old girl raising awareness for great apes...

Eleven-year-old Addy is helping to save gorillas - and she needs your help!
After reading a book about endangered mountain gorillas, Addy began launching fundraising events and internet campaigns to raise money and spread the word about the threats facing gorillas.

Addy's latest project - #GorillaHi5 - encourages gorilla lovers from around the world to share a selfie giving an 'air high-five', showing support for these awesome apes!

So far she's collected nearly 30 selfies from 15 different countries - amazing!

Gorillas in trouble!

It's thought that there are only 1,000 mountain gorillas left in the wild, due to habitat loss, poaching, and diseases passed on by humans.

We share a whopping 98% of our DNA with the majestic mountain gorilla, which means that many of the diseases that humans carry can easily pass on to gorillas - who haven't built up the necessary immunity to protect themselves from these illnesses.

"I want to get other kids as excited about gorillas and conservation as I am," said Addy.

"It's been really cool to connect with other conservationists. I've met other young people trying to make a difference in climate change and animal conservation and it makes me even more confident in what I'm doing."

Fabulous fundraising

Addy has made posters and t-shirts, sold lemonade and donated all of the funds to gorilla conservation groups. She's even created her own blog, Gorilla Heroes.

Addy also started the '#GorillaPie Challenge' for World Gorilla Day - the idea being that you get nominated, get "pied," make a donation, then nominate others!

She's even hosted a Gorilla Gala with gorilla-themed games, crafts, a raffle, and a gorilla relay race - raising over £700!
Keep up the good work, Addy!
Have you done any fundraising for wildlife? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

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Addy's mission to save gorillas! | National Geographic Kids

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Meet the 11-year-old girl raising awareness for great apes... Eleven-year-old Addy is helping to save gorillas - and she needs your help! After reading a book about endangered mountain gorillas, Addy began launching fundraising events and internet campaigns to raise money and spread the word about the threats facing gorillas.

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What happens after you toss it into the bin?

Editor's note: This article has been significantly revised post-publication to correct for factual errors in the original version.*
Most of us do not think much about recycling. We might clean bottles and jars, crush cartons and break down boxes. We might sort these items into their designated bins or bags, but once we lose sight of the recyclables, the rest of the process is an abstraction. Recycling makes us feel good, but few of us know what actually happens to a plastic bottle after we drop it into a bin.

What happens is the bottle enters an elaborate global system within which its plastic is sold, shipped, melted, resold, and shipped again-sometimes zigzagging the globe before becoming a carpet, clothing, or repeating life as a bottle. This process is possible because plastic is a stubborn substance, which resists decomposition. With a presumed life span of over 500 years, it's safe to say that every plastic bottle you have used exists somewhere on this planet, in some form or another.

In New York City, household recyclables are picked up curbside, once a week by the Department of Sanitation (DSNY). After being tossed in the back of the diesel-fueled truck, each load makes its way to New York City's Material Recovery Facility, or MRF (pronounced "murf"), which is operated by Sims Municipal Recycling, a company owned by Sims Metal Management.**

Although this type of facility is commonly referred to as a recycling plant, it only handles part of the recycling process. Instead, it sorts, recovers, and discards. A MRF sifts through recyclables to recover items that can be resold in the post-consumer (the recycling industry's term for items thrown away by consumers) commodities markets. In this case, the materials sifted include glass, metal, cartons and some plastics. It discards the rest.

"Typically, 50% of what you put in your recycling bin is never recycled. It's sorted and thrown out," said Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle, a recycling company. This is partly due to user error, a common problem which occurs when people place unrecyclable materials into recycling bins.***

At the MRF, recyclables change hands from the city to the waste world-most often to private-sector companies. While states and cities mandate and market recycling with green symbols and variations of catchy 'reuse-reduce-recycle' tag lines, it is not uncommon for them to pay outside companies to handle the actual process. New York City, for instance, pays Sims approximately $70 to $75 per ton to take the recyclables. Sims, in turn, pays the city a percentage of sales based on monthly national rates.

In December of 2013, Sims unveiled a chic new Selldorf Architect-designed, $110-million Sunset Park, Brooklyn facility. New York City contributed $60 million to the new digs, which are large enough to accommodate the annual flow of household recyclables from all five boroughs-more than 250,000 tons.

"This is where recycled items begin their journey," said Sims's education coordinator, Eadaoin Quinn during a tour of the plant. "Recycling can be a fairly long process. It's not like you put it in your bin and suddenly it's a new thing."

The first stop on the tour, called the "tipping floor," is where the DSNY trucks drop off their loads in a football field-sized room filled with about a thousand tons of recyclables.

A giant crane, dwarfed by the mountains of discarded material in the enormous room, picks up the waste, tossing it onto a conveyer belt. "Bags of recyclables come in on trucks and barges and are loaded onto the conveyer belt, then are torn open by a machine that slices each bag open," Quinn said. "Unfortunately the bags themselves can't be recycled-they are too dirty, so they will end up in a landfill." Even recyclable plastic items are difficult to process if they haven't been cleaned properly-hence, the leaflets calling for us to "rinse our recyclables." The cleaner a plastic bottle is, the easier it is to reincarnate it as something new.****

From the vast floor, recycling hopefuls move along an intricate automated assembly line of conveyers, tumblers, metal detectors, and even a few human sorters, in order to be categorized by commodity. The conveyor-belt system sorts glass first, within two minutes. Metals are then extracted by magnets or other means. Thick and unruly plastics (#2) such as high-density polyethylene HDPE-a fancy name for your laundry-detergent containers-get compacted into bulky wads of color, then restrained in bales by rope. And finally, used plastic beverage bottles (#1) are aggregated into a stream. From start to finish, a plastic bottle spends fewer than 30 minutes on a Sims conveyer belt. A bottle binned yesterday, quite possibly already here, will be through the recovery system in a day.
Not enough used plastic bottles in the U.S. are making it into the recycling system.
Single-use plastic bottles, made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), are loved by MRFs because they are easy to resell. Bottles compress easily into 1,000-pound bales of mostly clear, some green plastic, caps poking out and labels mashed. Valued solely for their molecular characteristics, these items are sold as commodities based on monthly national rates and then loaded onto trucks, barges or trains to continue to the next stop-a recycling facility.

In the United States, there are few facilities that recycle used plastic bottles. Just a few years ago, a used plastic bottle was almost always guaranteed a free trip to China. In 2011, the United States sold 2 million tons of discarded plastic, worth a billion dollars, to China alone. Now those bottles are likely to end up in Riverside, California, at CarbonLite. Intended to create a closed-loop, bottle-to-bottle system here in the U.S., CarbonLite is one of the country's largest facilities. Opened in 2012, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Governor Jerry Brown, the 220,000-square-foot space recycles more than 2 billion bottles a year.

"There is plastic in everything-in your car, in your home, in every part of your life," says CarbonLite's CEO, Leon Farahnik. "Globally, 100 billion pounds of PET are used in a year: 70 billion pounds goes to carpet and clothing; 30 billion pounds goes into packaging." That's a lot of plastic. The good news is that PET plastic can be used again and again, which means that the resources that go into them-mainly crude oil and natural gas-need only be recovered once (if it's recycled). And yet, despite the fact that manufacturing bottles from recycled PET (rPET) uses less energy and less water, it is often more expensive than virgin material, especially when oil prices are low.

"Right now our material is higher priced," Farahnik said. However companies are increasingly trying to incorporate those recycled materials into their products. Walmart, for example, set a goal in 2014 to increase post-consumer plastics in the products they carry by 3 billion pounds by 2020. When asked why companies currently use post-consumer material in their products considering it's more expensive, Farahnik said, "They are under a lot of pressure with the environment. Tremendous pressure. All you hear about is these oceans and everybody gets blamed for it." Over 8 million tons of plastic waste finds it way into the oceans each year, resulting in at least five plastic garbage gyres around the world, and considerable damage to marine life.

Farahnik believes that the success of recycling hinges on government-mandated bottle deposits-or bottle bills as they are sometimes called-the bane of big beverage companies, who lobby hard against this type of legislation in the United States. "Recycling won't be fully successful unless it is mandated by federal law that every state should have a deposit system," says Farahnik. In states with financial incentives-there are 10, including California, Maine, and New York, and each state law is different- the consumer is charged an additional price on each recyclable glass or plastic bottle which can be recovered only after the bottle is returned to a designated recycling station. For bottles discarded in regular trash, "scavengers" or "canners" (the people you see picking through trash cans for bottles to redeem for cash) do the recovery work. The incentive of deposits has been shown to work. California has a legislated deposit system and a 65 to 70 percent recycling rate. A state like Texas, with no bottle deposit, recycles less than 5 percent.

Farahnik's 22-year-old son Jason works as a project manager at CarbonLite and offered a tour of the recycling facility. We started just outside the facility, where bales of bottles are forklifted off trucks, broken up, and dropped onto the conveyer belts inside. The loosened bottles are prewashed to be separated from any trash and debris. Then bottles are sent through laser sorting machines where beams of light detect the difference between clear plastic and green plastic. The machine then zaps the bottles to the correct color conveyer system. Bottles are washed in a hot, soapy gooey mess that heats them just enough so that their labels and caps fall away.

"The bottles are then ground into cornflake-sized pieces, washed again and dried, and heated again to eliminate any contaminants," Jason says. Recycled plastic bottle flakes (rPET) will be shipped to manufacturers in the U.S., China and beyond, where it will be used to make carpets or polyester fabric-even teddy-bear stuffing.

Making a new bottle, however, is slightly more complicated. The plastic flakes must be sterilized and tested to meet food-grade standards. This means plastic flakes are melted, extruded as ribbons of liquid plastic, and shaped into smooth rice-grain-sized pieces. These tiny pellets will be sold to a manufacturer as raw materials for take-away food containers and, of course, plastic bottles.

Plastic pellets travel from CarbonLite to beverage companies where they're melted again, and injected into preformed molds, before being stretched and blown into plastic beverage bottles, which are often filled on-site. From here the filled bottles are shipped out to stores-ready to be purchased, again. Only a handful of companies have fully adopted recycled plastic. One of CarbonLite's customers, Nestlé, started using 100 percent rPET for its Resource-brand natural spring water this year. Another is Naked Juice, a subsidiary of PepsiCo.

PepsiCo purchases almost half of all bottle grade rPET sold in the United States. Its average beverage bottle, including Aquafina-brand water, uses at least 10 percent of rPET.***** Interestingly, Pepsi doesn't promote any use of post-consumer content on its labels. One reason is they can't guarantee the exact amount they include in each batch of bottles; the other is consumer indifference. "Consumers don't seem to really care that much," said Tim Carey, the senior director of sustainability at PepsiCo. "It will probably never affect their purchasing decision." Still, the company wants to use more recycled material in each bottle, but is limited by supply. "There isn't enough rPET available. If there was more on the market we could put more in," Carey said.

In other words-not enough used plastic bottles in the U.S. are making it into the recycling system.

Carey says, "There is no doubt that the collection rates in beverage containers in bottle-bill states are higher than in a non-bottle-bill states." Yet for PepsiCo, the current bottle bills aren't economically feasible to scale across the U.S. because of its large population.
"Future populations are going to look at landfills like they are goldmines, full of resources, and wonder what we were all thinking."
Other countries have gone even further, levying an extended producer responsibility (EPR) on manufacturers of single-use products, in order to share their responsibility. The best example of it is the Green Dot, or Der Grüne Punkt, out of Germany, which is now law in 50 countries around the world. The law requires packaging companies to pay for the environmental cost of their packaging.

EPR's have not been popular with big beverage companies in the U.S., where well over 240 billion beverage bottles are used each year- 110 million are made of PET and 50 billion of which are water bottles. The U.S. recycles only 31 percent of its plastic beverage bottles-the rest ends up in a landfill, or as litter on the ground, or at sea.

Given that plastic survives more than five centuries, it's possible that the people of the future might conclude that our culture loved this versatile material that we carried everywhere, and made many of the items in our homes out of. They might be astonished that we buried so much of it amidst our trash. "Future populations are going to look at landfills like they are goldmines, full of resources, and wonder what we were all thinking," Jason said.
* This article has been updated to clarify several facts about the means and outcomes of recycling processes in New York City and elsewhere. We regret the errors. ** This article originally stated that New York City's MRF was owned by Sims Metal Management. *** This article originally stated that over 50 percent of what is placed in New York City's recycling ends up in a landfill. We have attributed this claim to its source and added context to clarify that this is often due to user error. **** This article originally suggested that dirty bottles are not recycled. ***** This article originally stated that PepsiCo's average bottle contains 10 percent rPET or less.

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The Violent Afterlife of a Recycled Plastic Bottle

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What happens after you toss it into the bin?

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(Image: © C.E. Meyer, U.S. Geological Survey)

1. Earth has been more seismologically active in the past 15 years or so, says Stephen S. Gao, a geophysicist at Missouri University of Science & Technology. Not all seismologist agree, however.

2. San Francisco is moving toward Los Angeles at the rate of about 2 inches per year - the same pace as the growth of your fingernails - as the two sides of the San Andreas fault slip past one another. The cities will meet in several million years. However, this north-south movement also means that despite fears, California won't fall into the sea.

3. March is not earthquake month, despite what some people believe.True, on March 28, 1964, Prince William Sound, Alaska, experienced a 9.2 magnitude event - one of the biggest ever. It killed 125 people and caused $311 million in property damages. And on March 9, 1957, the Andreanof Islands, Alaska, felt a 9.1 temblor. But the next three biggest U.S. earthquakes occurred in February, November, and December. The devastating major earthquake in Chile of 2010 struck on Feb. 27. And the huge 9.3 temblor that spawned the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 occurred on Dec. 26.

4. There are about 500,000 earthquakes a year around the world, as detected by sensitive instruments. About 100,000 of those can be felt, and 100 or so cause damage each year. Each year the southern California area alone experiences about 10,000 earthquakes, most of them not felt by people.

5. The sun and moon cause tremors. It's long been known that they create tides in the planet's crust, very minor versions of ocean tides. Now researchers say the tug of the sun and moon on the San Andreas Fault stimulates tremors deep underground.

6. A city in Chile moved 10 feet in the massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake Feb. 27, 2010. The rip in Earth's crust shifted the city of Concepción that much to the west. The quake is also thought to have changed the planet's rotation slightly and shortened Earth's day.

7. There's no such thing as "earthquake weather." Statistically, there is an equal distribution of earthquakes in cold weather, hot weather, rainy weather, and so on, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Scientists say there is no physical way that weather could affect the forces several miles beneath the surface of the earth where quakes originate. The changes in barometric pressure in the atmosphere are very small compared to the forces in the crust, and the effect of the barometric pressure does not reach beneath the soil.

8. Earth's bulge was trimmed a little by the 2004 Indonesian earthquake, the 9.0+ temblor that generated the deadly tsunami on Dec. 26 that year. Earth's midsection bulges in relation to the measurement from pole-to-pole, and the catastrophic land displacement caused a small reduction in the bulge, making the planet more round.

9. The Pacific Ring of Fire is the most geologically active region of Earth. It circles the Pacific Ocean, touching the coasts North and South America, Japan, China and Russia. It's where the majority of Earth's major quakes occur as major plate boundaries collide.

10. Oil extraction can cause minor earthquakes. These are not the quakes you read about. Rather, because oil generally is found in soft and squishy sediment, when oil is removed other rock moves in to fill the void, creating "mini-seismic events" that are not noticeable to humans.

11. The largest earthquake ever recorded was a magnitude 9.5 in Chile on May 22, 1960.

12. Quakes on one side of Earth can shake the other side. Seismologists studying the massive 2004 earthquake that triggered killer tsunamis throughout the Indian Ocean found that the quake had weakened at least a portion of California's famed San Andreas Fault. The Chilean quake of 1960 shook the entire Earth for many days, a phenomenon called oscillation that was measured by seismic stations around the planet.

13. The deadliest earthquake ever struck January 23, 1556 in Shansi, China. Some 830,000 are estimated to have died.

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(Image: © C.E. Meyer, U.S. Geological Survey) 1. Earth has been more seismologically active in the past 15 years or so, says Stephen S. Gao, a geophysicist at Missouri University of Science & Technology. Not all seismologist agree, however. 2.

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Scientists hooked the animals up with sensors that monitor how heat moves through deep ocean currents

smithsonianmag.com

Elephant seals in funny-looking hats are helping NASA study climate science.

Outfitted with specialized sensors that resemble lumpy metal yarmulkes with antennae, these pinnipeds are collecting data that's helping researchers track how heat moves through ocean currents. In a paper published this week in Nature Geosciences, a team of climate scientists led by Caltech oceanographer Lia Siegelman used this clever technique to track changes in temperature as the seal swam the icy waters of the Antarctic.

With the help of one particularly intrepid female seal, the researchers discovered that heat stored at the ocean's depths can sometimes get swirled back up to the surface thanks to some deeply penetrating currents. While researchers have known that these currents can ferry heat downward into the ocean's interior, the new findings suggest the reverse is true as well-driving a process that can warm the sea's topmost layers as well.

That might sound inconsequential, but Siegelman thinks it's important to incorporate this new information into existing climate models. Oceans serve as a sink for the atmosphere's heat, which means the cooler their surfaces are, the more energy they can absorb. But with heat rising up from below, the world's waters might be less equipped to offset rising temperatures than scientists once thought, explains Siegelman in a statement.

What this means in the long term is unclear. As Sarah Zielinski reported for Smithsonian.com in 2014, climate change is reshuffling how ocean waters in the Antarctic move and mix. And what happens in the Antarctic doesn't stay in the Antarctic: Shifts in the water cycle at our planet's south pole have reverberating effects on climate and weather throughout the rest of the globe.

Before seals entered the picture, scientists had a pretty limited view of what went on beneath the surface of the Southern Ocean. Here, temperatures can plunge below 30 degrees Fahrenheit, and thick sheets of sea ice block instruments from collecting data. All in all, it's a pretty unappealing locale for underwater field work.

But none of that troubles southern elephant seals, which spend nine to ten months of each year at sea, swimming thousands of miles and diving up to half a mile beneath the ocean surface-usually about 80 times a day. "Even when they sleep, they dive," Siegelman said in a separate statement earlier this year. "They float down like a leaf," Siegelman said."

To capitalize on the seals' wanderlust, Siegelman and her colleagues tagged a female elephant seal on the Kerguelen Islands, gluing a sensor to her head. (Don't be alarmed: The researchers remove the tags on the seals' next visit ashore. Barring that, they're sloughed off with dead skin during molting season.) With the high-tech hat atop her head, the seal embarked on her post-breeding swim in October of 2014. For the next three months, the researchers followed her 3,000-mile journey, during which she dived 6,333 times, reports Meghan Bartels for Space.com.

Combined with satellite images, the wealth of data the seal recovered gave Siegelman and her team a clearer picture than they'd ever been afforded before. It's probably safe to say that the significance of this was lost on the seal.

But from the human perspective, it's clear seals are filling in some massive gaps in knowledge, Guy Williams, a polar oceanographer at the University of Tasmania who's conducting his own temperature studies with pinnipeds, told Genelle Weule at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2016. "The [seals] have gone to areas where we've never had an observation before."

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About Katherine J. Wu

Katherine J. Wu is a Boston-based science journalist and Story Collider senior producer. She holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunobiology from Harvard University. Previously, she served as a Digital Editor at NOVA Next and was Smithsonian magazine's 2018 AAAS Mass Media Fellow.

Read more from this author | Follow @katherinejwu

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Seals With High-Tech Hats Are Collecting Climate Data in the Antarctic

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smithsonianmag.com Elephant seals in funny-looking hats are helping NASA study climate science. Outfitted with specialized sensors that resemble lumpy metal yarmulkes with antennae, these pinnipeds are collecting data that's helping researchers track how heat moves through ocean currents.

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Newsela | Researchers measure a wild blue whale's heart rate for the first time

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The team found the world's largest mammal pushes its heart to its limits.

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Newsela | Touching moments in prosthetics: New bionic limbs that can "feel"

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The LUKE Arm is a prosthetic limb that feels real to the person who uses it.

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New Zealand White Island

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When tourists entered White Island, they walked into a crater that could erupt at any time. Here is a 360-degree look at the volatile volcano.

This is Whakaari, or White Island, located 48 kilometres off the coast of New Zealand's North Island.

It is the summit of a large volcano around 16 km wide and 18 km long.

Most of the volcano is below water, and only a 2-kilometre-wide section of the cone is visible.

The Maori name for the island is "Te Puia o Whakaari", which means "The Dramatic Volcano". On Monday, it was transformed from tourist destination to disaster zone as the volcanic activity that draws thousands of tourists annually escalated with deadly consequences.

Professor Raymond Cas, a volcanologist at Victoria's Monash University, has visited White Island twice.

"When you actually get onto the island, you walk straight into this amphitheatre-like volcanic crater.

"The floor is littered with many gas-emitting vents and also several volcanic crater lakes which are emitting steam at near-boiling temperatures.

"You know straight away that you're right in the crater of a big, very active volcano, which has what we call very active geothermal systems consisting of superheated water, which at depth is also going to be under a lot of pressure and therefore prone to sporadic explosions."

The largest and longest series of eruptions ever recorded on White Island happened between 1976 and 1982. Molten rock rose up near the surface and ejected lava bombs and blocks of rock, and huge clouds of ash.

It's this crater that the tourists walk on and a photo captured by a mounted camera just before the explosion showed how vulnerable they were.
Directly below their feet is a mix of magma and superheated gas.

According to New Zealand's official earthquake monitoring body, GeoNet, explosive eruptions can happen with little or no warning. They eject cannonball-like hot rocks, ash clouds and surges of boiling gases and rock projectiles into the air.

"People were actually inside the crater, right adjacent to the vents of the volcano," Professor Cas said.

"And I think that's the issue - you're in this very confined space and when the event occurs there's actually nowhere to go."

This is what happened on Monday. For the 47 tourists on the island, the impact was immediate and devastating.

Michael Schade was almost one of those tourists. He took this photo aboard the boat he had just returned to from the island.

Just 30 minutes before, he had been on the ground looking over the edge of the crater.

But, now he was watching the disaster unfold in horror.

Footage captured from his mobile phone shows the ferocity of the damage caused by the eruption - a helicopter used to transport tourists is a twisted mess.

It also shows desperate efforts by tour guides to rescue and treat those left on the island.

New Zealand Police have confirmed the number of deaths has risen to eight, including six Australians.

Others are in various hospitals across New Zealand being treated for injuries on up to 90 per cent of their bodies.

New Zealanders Hayden Marshall-Inman and Tipene Maangi have also been confirmed among the dead.

On Thursday morning, Knox Grammar School in Sydney's north released a statement confirming the loss of two of its students - brothers Matthew Hollander (year 8) and Berend Hollander (year 10) - who died in hospital as a result of injuries sustained in the eruption.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed five injured Australians had been returned to Australia and were being treated in hospital, and another seven would be flown home in the next 24 hours.

GeoNet upgraded White Island's alert level from a level 1 to a level 2 on November 18, advising of increased volcanic unrest on the island.

Level 2 is the highest alert level before an eruption takes place and indicates "moderate to heightened volcanic unrest" with the "potential for eruption hazards".

Professor Cas said he believed GeoNet had set the right alert level and the tragic events that unfolded were a case of "unfortunate timing".

"From what I understand, based on the levels of seismicity and gas release, the alert warning at 2 seemed to be correct," Professor Cas said.

"That's normally a level at which people are alerted to be aware that there is an enhanced risk, but not necessarily indicating that there's going to be an imminent explosive volcanic eruption."

But, he says the nature of the volcano means it's a disaster waiting to happen.

"This is one of the most dangerous aspects of that volcano - it's extremely volatile.

"The problem is, with a crater system like that you're basically enclosed within the crater, it's got noxious gases escaping from the gas vents, it's got this superheated crater lake which has periodically overspilled, releasing boiling-temperature water, it's undergone explosive eruptions, the crater walls have experienced landslides and the rims of these crater lakes have also periodically collapsed."

In 1914, a "hot avalanche" destroyed a sulphur-mining village and killed 10 workers on the crater floor.

Early this morning, elite military teams airlifted six of the eight bodies off the island in a daring operation to bring the dead home to their loved ones.

They faced a deadly environment, with severe dust and dangerous chemicals such as sulphur dioxide, which caused inhalation burns to many of the victims.

While these conditions make a grim task all the more difficult, it is the risk of eruption that made the recovery operation fraught.

A GeoNet chart shows increased volcanic activity since the eruption, meaning the recovery team faced the same risks that caused the disaster in the first place.

Credits

Tim Leslie: Producer

Joshua Byrd: Developer

Catherine Hanrahan: Producer

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Here's what tourists would have seen when they arrived at White Island

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When tourists entered White Island, they walked into a crater that could erupt at any time. Here's a 360-degree look at the volatile volcano.

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We develop and scale technologies to rid the oceans of plastic

Our cleaning technologies are deployed around the world as we conduct the largest cleanup in history. For over ten years, The Ocean Cleanup has been researching, extracting, and monitoring plastic pollution in oceans and rivers globally - with millions of kilograms removed to date.

A planet-sized problem

Trillions of pieces of plastic pollute our oceans today, and the problem is worsening. This plastic has a devastating impact on marine wildlife and ecosystems. Plastics can persist for many decades, continuously degrading into microplastics. These can be ingested by wildlife and later enter the human food chain. Plastic pollution is a global crisis requiring urgent action.

We aim to clean up 90% of floating ocean plastic pollution

The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization developing and scaling technologies to rid the oceans of plastic. To achieve this objective, we use a dual strategy: intercepting plastic in rivers to cut the inflow of pollution, and cleaning up what has already accumulated in the ocean and won't go away by itself. When the oceans are clean, we can put ourselves out of business.

The Ocean Cleanup is cleaning up floating plastics caught swirling in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a plastic accumulation zone with over 100,000,000 kilograms of plastic.

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To clean the oceans, we also need to stop new trash from flowing into them. By tackling 1000 rivers around the world, we can halt 80% of riverine pollution reaching our oceans.

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The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization developing advanced technologies to rid the oceans of plastic. We aim to remove 90% of the floating plastic with the help of ocean cleanup systems and river interception technologies.

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If your kiddo is curious about her body, she's probably asked you more than one semi-awkward question about anatomy. Today is National DNA Day, so it's the perfect excuse to take the scientific discussion a little deeper by using hands-on building and fun ideas for teaching about the genetic code that makes your kiddo who she is Read on for our attempt you can totally (but not quite) copy.

photo: James Gentry via flickr

Who's the Boss: Explaining DNA

DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid and is one of the two types of nucleic acid in cells. We're made up of many, many cells that we can't see and each cell has a job. Some cluster of cells make up our muscles, some make up our bones-and all together they make our bodies! But how does each cell know what to do? That's where DNA comes in. It tells the cells what to do.

DNA is like the boss of the company. It gives cells instructions that it passes down in the form of "codons," which is a three-block code. These codes are made from a string of four different letters which have best friends they favor and prefer to hold hands with. A likes T and G likes C and when put together they become instructions for the cells.

LEGO My Ego

Understanding DNA is kind of like understanding LEGOs. Imagine you have 80 LEGO bricks and only four colors to make a tower-the pattern you create will vary even though you only have four colors. Consider yourself the DNA and build, keeping two colors together at all times. You can create a short but wide tower or tall and thin one-all with the same blocks but just different combinations! The rules for those combinations come from mom and dad and the tower that comes out, the baby.

Need more tips on explaining DNA to kids? We love the way Owlcation explains it in this article.

photo: ElisaRiva via pixabay
Watch Me DNA-Nay

Kids love to build, so building a model of DNA is not only a fun activity to do together, it helps children understand the concept. Using a simple illustration like the one above, find your materials and get building. Ideas include:

LEGO bricks
K'NEX
Candy (check out this cute how-to from Weird Science Kids)
Grapes and toothpicks
Marshmallows and toothpicks
Pipe cleaners
Clay (and sticks or toothpicks)
Beads

photo: Hiroshi Yoshida via flickr

Observable Traits

Now that you've got a grasp on what DNA is, you can show the kiddos how these codes translate in real life by talking about a few common observable traits.

A Family Affair: Height Totes an observable trait: If two parents are tall, odds are their kids will be tall. And if both parents are short, they'll be short. So you can blame (or thank) your parents for your stature.

Grab a tape measure and compare stats. If grandparents are around, measure them too, or call them up and have the kids ask their height. Get aunts and uncles in on the fun too. Of course kids won't know their full height until they are all grown-up, but it's still a great exercise in comparing the family's DNA results.

Simply Irresistible: Dimples If both your parents have dimples odds are you will too, although it's not a guarantee. Many people are born with dimples that fade over time.

Pull out the photo albums and take a peek at baby pictures of mom, dad, grandparents and other family members. See any dimples? How about mom and dad at school age?

Tongue Rolling
Can you curl your tongue up into a tube? If so, you can thank your genes for that. However, nature loves to break the rules and this one can actually be influenced by your environment: that means you can learn to roll your tongue regardless of if you have the gene. (Unless, of course, you don't want to).

Practice some tongue rolling skills, and take stock on who can do it and who cannot. Ask friends, teachers and family members and make a tally.
Have you talked about DNA with your kids? How do you make it relatable?

-Amber Guetebier with Christal Yuen

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Make Mine a Double (Helix): DNA Fun with Kids

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If your kiddo is curious about her body, she's probably asked you more than one semi-awkward question about anatomy. Today is National DNA Day, so it's the perfect excuse to take the scientific discussion a little deeper by using hands-on building and fun ideas for teaching about the genetic code that makes your kiddo who she is Read on for our attempt you can totally (but not quite) copy.

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Gitanjali Rao, 11, wins science prize for her portable device that can test for lead in water

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Cure for Cancer

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Newsela | She's 14, loves Harry Potter, wants to find a compassionate cure for cancer

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The Middle East is starting the decade under the shadow of a major new conflict, as Iran vows to take revenge for the US drone strike that killed its most powerful general, Qassem Suleimani.

The Pentagon ordered 3,000 reinforcements to the region, diplomats were reportedly told to pack their bags in case of sudden evacuation, and the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, called his counterparts around the world to try to persuade them the US was "committed to de-escalation".

However, there were signs overnight that the US was continuing operations against Iranian allies in Iraq, with air strikes reported against the Shia Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) in a motorcade in north Baghdad in the early hours of Saturday. According to Reuters, six people were killed and three were critically wounded.

In Syria and Iraq, there was some rejoicing at Suleimani's death. The ruthless commander was implicated in tens of thousands of civilian deaths, but the general reaction in world capitals was apprehension.

"This is a moment in which leaders must exercise maximum restraint," the UN secretary general, António Guterres, said. "The world cannot afford another war in the Gulf."

The Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, ordered three days of mourning and declared that the US would face "severe revenge" for the killing of Suleimani, who ran Tehran's military operations in Iraq and Syria.

The incoming commander of the Quds Force, Esmail Ghaani, was quoted on al-Jazeera as saying: "We tell everyone, be patient and see the dead bodies of Americans all over the Middle East."

Qassem Suleimani, who was killed in the strike. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

In a brief address from his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago on Friday afternoon, Donald Trump described Suleimani as "the number one terrorist anywhere in the world", and claimed the 62-year-old general was planning "imminent and sinister" attacks on US diplomats and personnel.

But the US president said that he was not seeking regime change in Iran, saying: "We did not take action to start a war."

An initial Pentagon statement about the Suleimani killing said only that it was aimed at "deterring future Iranian attack plans", but Pompeo later suggested that an actual attack plan by Iran had been in motion and had been foiled by the assassination.

"He was actively plotting in the region to take actions - a big action, as he described it - that would have put dozens if not hundreds of American lives at risk," the US secretary of state told CNN.

Briefing reporters, a senior US official said the imminent attacks that Suleimani is alleged to have been preparing would have been in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

"These were attacks targeting American diplomats, American military personnel, and facilities that house Americans," the official said.

Suleimani died in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, when his car was targeted by a drone as local allies from the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) were driving him from the airport. The de facto leader of the PMF, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a close Suleimani associate, was also killed in the attack.

US officials said that the US became aware that Suleimani was touring the region, contacting local allies and planning attacks with them.

"He's not there on vacation. He is there for the specific purpose to plan multiple attacks against Americans and facilities, and that's why he's hanging out with Muhandis [the PMF militia deputy commander]," said a senior state department official. The former US general David Petraeus, who fought a battle of wits with Suleimani when he was US force commander in Iraq, said he was "in my view, the second most important person in Iran and the most important Iranian regionally".

"The question that looms now, of course, is how do Iranian forces and their proxies throughout the region and beyond respond to this attack?" Petraeus told the Guardian.

Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, said on Twitter that as a legal justification for the attack in which 10 people were killed, the Pentagon's claims were "very vague".

"Future is not the same as imminent, which is the time-based test required under international law," she said.

Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, said Suleimani's "martyrdom" would make the country more determined to resist America. "With no doubt, Iran and other freedom-seeking countries in the region will take his revenge," he said.

Tehran's Lebanon-based ally Hezbollah also promised to avenge the killing. In Iraq, Hadi al-Ameri, an Iran ally and head of the paramilitary Badr Organisation, called on all Iraqi factions to expel foreign troops.

Timeline
The buildup to Qassem Suleimani's death

A rocket attack on an Iraqi military base near Kirkuk kills an American contractor and injures US and Iraqi soldiers. The US blames Shia militia group, Kata'ib Hizbullah (KH)

Protesters storm the US embassy in Baghdad, trapping diplomats inside while chanting "Death to America" and slogans in support of pro-Iranian militias. At one point they breached the main gate and smashed their way into several reception rooms. The rampage was carried out with the apparent connivance of local Iraqi security forces who allowed protesters inside the highly protected Green Zone

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In parts of a nervous region, where Suelimani's reach had stretched as far as Gaza and Yemen, there were calls for vengeance. Street protests raged in Beirut's southern suburb of Dahiyeh, a stronghold of Hezbollah. In northern Syria, however, where Iran's role in crushing the anti-Assad opposition had been led by Suleimani, there was a celebratory mood, and sweets were handed out in some towns.

"This general was the devil himself," said Sobhih Mustafa, in the town of Maarat Numan. "He was worse than [Ariel] Sharon. His legacy will be written in blood."

Suleimani was commander of the Quds force, the elite, external wing of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, which the Trump administration designated a terrorist organisation in April last year. A Pentagon statement accused the Quds force of being responsible for the deaths of hundreds of US service members and the wounding of thousands more.

Many considered Suleimani to be the second most powerful person in Iran, behind Khamenei, and arguably ahead of Rouhani. Through a mix of security operations and diplomatic coercion, he has been more responsible than anyone else for projecting Iran's influence in the region. This has been led in Iraq, but also by establishing a seemingly permanent military foothold in war-torn Syria, linking Iran to the Mediterranean and a land border with Israel.

A senior US official said Suleimani would be hard for Iran to replace and so killing him had helped to stop attacks.

"I'm just saying that Suleimani was in many ways the indispensable man, and with Suleimani dead, it will be very difficult for these proxies to be organized on the scale, lethality, and effectiveness that they had under Suleimani," the official said.

Another official said: "There were things he could do that nobody else could do. He was not a decentralized manager; he was a hands-on, down-to-the-details manager. And we are not safe in the region as long as Iran is pursuing this general strategy, but we are safer without him than we are with him."

A third official added Suleiman's death would reduce the pace of attacks on Americans.

"It slows it down. It makes it less likely," the official said, adding: "Jesus, do we have to explain why we do these things?"

Profile
Who was Qassem Suleimani?
Show

Qassem Suleimani, killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad, had become well known among Iranians and was sometimes discussed as a future president. Many considered Suleimani to have been the second most powerful person in Iran, behind supreme leader of Iran Ali Khamenei, but arguably ahead of President Hassan Rouhani. He was commander of the Quds Force, the elite, external wing of the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the Trump administration designated as a terror organisation in April last year.

He was born in Rabor, a city in eastern Iran, and forced to travel to a neighbouring city at age 13 and work to pay his father's debts to the government of the Shah. By the time the monarch fell in 1979, Suleimani was committed to the clerical rule of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and joined the Revolutionary Guards, the paramilitary force established to prevent a coup against the newly declared Islamic Republic.

Within two years, he was sent to the front to fight in the war against the invading Iraqi army. He quickly distinguished himself, especially for daring reconnaissance missions behind Iraqi lines, and the war also gave him his first contact with foreign militias of the kind he would wield to devastating effect in the decades to come.

By the the time the Iraq government fell in 2003, Suleimani was the head of the Quds force and blamed for sponsoring the Shia militias who killed thousands of civilian Iraqis and coalition troops. As fighting raged on Iraq's streets, Suleimani fought a shadow war with the US for leverage over the new Iraqi leadership.

Once described by American commander David Petraeus as 'a truly evil figure', Suleimani was instrumental in crushing street protests in Iran in 2009. In recent months outbreaks of popular dissent in Lebanon, Iraq and Iran were again putting pressure on the crescent of influence he had spent the past two decades building. Violent crackdowns on the protests in Baghdad were blamed on militias under his influence.

Eighteen months before his death, Suleimani had issued Donald Trump a public warning, wagging his finger and dressed in olive fatigues. "You will start the war but we will end it."
Michael Safi

Photograph: Mehdi Ghasemi/AFP

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The drone strike came at a time when Iraq was already on the brink of an all-out proxy war, and hours after a two-day siege of the US embassy in Baghdad by a mob of PMF militants and their supporters. The Pentagon accused Suleimani of having masterminded the mob attack.

That siege followed US airstrikes on camps run by a PMF-affiliated militia particularly closely aligned with Tehran, which in turn was a reprisal for that militia's killing of a US contractor in an attack on an Iraqi army base on Friday.

Trump authorised the strike at a time when the US Congress was in recess, and the White House framed the action as an act of self-defence in the context of counter-terrorism operations. But Democrats and perhaps some Republicans in Congress will see it as an usurpation of the legislature's authority to decide matters of war and peace.

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Fears of new conflict in Middle East as Tehran vows to avenge killing

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The Middle East is starting the decade under the shadow of a major new conflict, as Iran vows to take revenge for the US drone strike that killed its most powerful general, Qassem Suleimani.

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Every animal you can think of -- mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians -- has a brain. But the human brain is unique. Although it's not the largest, it gives us the power to speak, imagine and problem solve. It is truly an amazing organ.

The brain performs an incredible number of tasks including the following:

It controls body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and breathing.

It accepts a flood of information about the world around you from your various senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching).

It handles your physical movement when walking, talking, standing or sitting.

It lets you think, dream, reason and experience emotions.

All of these tasks are coordinated, controlled and regulated by an organ that is about the size of a small head of cauliflower.

Your brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves make up a complex, integrated information-processing and control system known as your central nervous system. In tandem, they regulate all the conscious and unconscious facets of your life. The scientific study of the brain and nervous system is called neuroscience or neurobiology. Because the field of neuroscience is so vast -- and the brain and nervous system are so complex -- this article will start with the basics and give you an overview of this complicated organ.

We'll examine the structures of the brain and how each section controls our daily functions, including motor control, visual processing, auditory processing, sensation, learning, memory and emotions.

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Every animal you can think of -- mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians -- has a brain. But the human brain is unique. Although it's not the largest, it gives us the power to speak, imagine and problem solve. It is truly an amazing organ.

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Love in Action during COVID- 19: Building power for a more just recovery

Our systems are failing workers. We need swift and deliberate action to demand solidarity across race and class in order to create the future we all n...

Greenpeace talks with Denis Hayes: 50 years of Earth Day, and where we go from here

Once you've seen the country fundamentally restructure itself through grassroots efforts, you simply have to believe that that sort of thing can be do...

Protect Indigenous sovereignty-demand profiteers defund the Coastal GasLink pipeline

I stood up to Wall Street billionaires once before, and I'll do it again to stop them from ruining our Mother Earth and the sovereignty of my Indigeno...

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Love in Action during COVID- 19: Building power for a more just recovery Our systems are failing workers. We need swift and deliberate action to demand solidarity across race and class in order to create the future we all n...

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galapagos islands oil spill: ecuador emergency teams respond after accident - cnn

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600 gallons of oil spilled in waters off Galapagos Islands

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Emergency teams in the Galapagos Islands are working to contain a 600-gallon oil spill after a cargo vessel overturned while being loaded with containers early Sunday, local officials said on Twitter.

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Found after missing 100 years

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(CNN) - A species of giant tortoise believed to have been extinct for more than 100 years has been discovered on the Galapagos island of Fernandina, according to Ecuador's government.

The last known time a Fernandina Giant Tortoise was seen alive was 1906.

An adult female believed to be more than a century old was seen alive on Sunday during an expedition by the Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative (GTRI), according to a government statement.

Washington Tapia, GTRI director and expedition leader, said that genetic studies will be carried out to "reconfirm" that the tortoise found belongs to the Fernandina Island species.

Experts believe she is not alone. The tracks and scent of other tortoises, believed to be of the same species, were also observed by the team.

Conservationists have taken the tortoise to a breeding center on the nearby island of Santa Cruz.

The Fernandina Giant Tortoise is one of 14 giant tortoise species native to the Galapagos Islands, most of which are endangered. The tortoises have been killed over the past two centuries, both for food and for their oil, according to the Galapagos Conservancy, which jointly forms GTRI with the Galapagos National Park.

"This encourages us to strengthen our search plans to find other (tortoises), which will allow us to start a breeding program in captivity to recover this species," said Danny Rueda, director of the Galapagos National Park.

The Galapagos archipelago includes 19 islands in the Pacific Ocean roughly 621 miles (1,000km) from the Ecuadorian coast. Fernandina, the third largest and youngest of the islands, remains the most volcanically active.

This story has been updated.

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'extinct' galapagos tortoise reemerges after 100 years - cnn

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'Extinct' Galapagos tortoise found after 100 years

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(CNN) - A species of giant tortoise believed to have been extinct for more than 100 years has been discovered on the Galapagos island of Fernandina, according to Ecuador's government. The last known time a Fernandina Giant Tortoise was seen alive was 1906.

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NASA's Mars 2020 rover will look for ancient life in a former river delta | Science News

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NASA's Mars 2020 rover is going to Jezero crater, the site of an ancient river delta that may harbor signs of life.

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Over 371 million people are affected by diabetes worldwide. Diabetes is a chronic disease which is caused due to improper functioning of the pancreas which is responsible for the production of insulin hormone.
SEE ALSO: THREE CUPS OF COFFEE A DAY COULD KEEP TYPE 2 DIABETES AWAY
Insulin allows glucose in our blood to enter the cells in our body to be used for energy. Diabetes occurs when our body produces less or no insulin. There are two main types of diabetes - Type 1 and Type 2.

Type 1 diabetes is when the body does not produce insulin, whereas, in Type 2, the body does not respond well to the insulin.

Blood sugar level is considered high when the glucose level in diabetic patients is higher than 130 mg/dL before having a meal and higher than 180 mg/dL two hours after the meal. The symptoms of high glucose level (Hyperglycemia) are visible when the glucose level in blood crosses 250mg/dL.

Hyperglycemia can be acute or chronic. Acute hyperglycemia will only last for some time, and it can result due to a meal with high carbohydrate content, stress, or any other illness.

However, chronic hyperglycemia is long-term and is often caused as a result of undiagnosed diabetes. It is very dangerous as long-term elevated blood glucose generates a toxic effect on the body's tissues.

Other harmful effects include cellular damage, nerve damage, cardiovascular diseases, and more.

Type 2 Diabetes has affected over Americans and is considered as the seventh leading cause of death. However, Type 2 Diabetes can be reversed by taking appropriate measures.

In 2015, researchers from Newcastle University have that a low-calorie diet can reduce the fat levels in pancreas and liver, which in turn leads to normal insulin production.

Further research is already underway to find out if this reversal is permanent or can be made permanent.

With the improvement in technology, there are subsequent improvements in the methods and techniques in the medical field as well. There are countless studies being carried out today to find out new methods to manage diabetes with the changing technology.

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) provides general treatment goals and guidelines to measure the quality of care for diabetes. This standard of care treatment is annually updated by the members of the ADA committee to ensure better treatment.

Earlier in diabetes, the blood glucose concentration was monitored using disposable biosensors. This was done by a blood test which required only a drop of blood - placing it on a glucose test strip which was then used to find the results.

Later on, many alternative methods were developed for continuous glucose monitoring. These include devices which are skin wearable, having a small needle with a sensor to check glucose in interstitial fluid, etc.

Recently, the technology expanded to hybrid devices which can monitor glucose and deliver insulin accordingly. The idea of automated "closed loop" systems for pairing CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitoring) devices and insulin pumps are considered for diabetes management as a next level.

Companies have come forth with various technology and plans for diabetes management to launch in 2019 including CGM and applications.

Here are some of the promising technologies we may see this year to diagnose and manage diabetes better:

1. Smart Insulin Pumps

Unlike traditional insulin pumps, smart insulin pumps take the guesswork out of the equation and make all the necessary calculations to assist with insulin dosing. The degree of smartness is increasing rapidly with advancements in technology.

Today, there are insulin pumps that collect data on multiple levels to avoid insulin overdose.

The X2 insulin pump is one such device. This product is developed by Tandem Diabetes Care Inc. and is intended to infuse drugs into the patient.

The U.S. FDA classified this product into a new category called as Alternate Controller Enabled Infusion Pumps (ACE pumps).

It has an automated drug dosing system that enables the drug delivery commands to receive, execute and confirm. It can be used alone as well as with other medical devices for drug delivery.

The company is in the process of releasing a mobile app which will connect to the slim X2 insulin pump through Bluetooth and monitor the status of the pumps on a smartphone.

2. New Glucagon Formulations

Source: HLMS

Glucagon is a treatment for severe hypoglycemia or very low blood sugar. Two new versions of this treatment have been found out to help diabetes patients.

One version is the "puff-up-your-nose" which was created by a researcher named Eli Lilly for quick boosting of blood sugar. It is dry nasal powder glucagon which was found effective and reviewed in both Europe and the US.

The other version is a glucagon emergency pen developed by Xeris Pharmaceuticals. This pen is a room temperature stable liquid glucagon placed in an auto-injector which does not require any preparation or mixing.

3. Tubeless Insulin Pumps

There is a significant development taking place in replacing the traditional insulin delivery systems and Omnipod is one of them. is a waterproof insulin pump which was approved in mid-2018.

The device is Bluetooth enabled and has a touchscreen with a personal diabetes manager (PDM), similar to an Android phone.

This small device can be positioned in areas where insulin shots are usually taken and can be worn up for up to 72 hours. What makes Omnipod different from traditional insulin delivery systems is it requires no tubing and can be connected wirelessly to the PDM.

It's the first device with a heightened security protocol system.

4. Advanced Diabetes Management Systems

Diabetes management systems play a vital role in managing this chronic disease. With technologies like IoT, these devices are now getting even better in terms of accuracy and precision.

Medtronic, the world's largest medical device company is putting significant efforts in this direction. In 2019, the company is expected to show improvements in the Minimed 670G hybrid closed loop.

Medtronic has decided to stop the manufacturing of older pumps and to develop newer and better devices. The Guardian Connect CGM System is an attempt in this direction.

This new system comprises of a wearable sensor and two mobile apps that altogether provide complete diabetes management for people on insulin injections.

5. Smart Insulin Pens

While the first insulin pen was made available back in 1985, the newer, smart insulin pen is another technological advancement that helps in recording insulin doses automatically. Preloaded with insulin, these smart insulin pens logs the time, amount and kind of insulin you've injected and reminds you to take the right dose at the right time.

InPen from Companion Medical is one such device that comes with a companion smartphone app and a bolus advisor that works through Bluetooth technology and is now available to the US users. There are other similar devices such as Esysta and Gocap that would be released soon to the market this year.

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5 Technologies for Treating Diabetes We're Likely To See In 2019

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Over 371 million people are affected by diabetes worldwide. Diabetes is a chronic disease which is caused due to improper functioning of the pancreas which is responsible for the production of insulin hormone. SEE ALSO: THREE CUPS OF COFFEE A DAY COULD KEEP TYPE 2 DIABETES AWAY Insulin allows glucose in our blood to enter the cells in our body to be used for energy.

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Millions of animals, many found on no other continent, may have perished, and Australians are taking care of survivors.

Susan Pulis feeding kangaroos in a bedroom transformed into a temporary shelter on Raymond Island in Australia on Monday. Credit... Christina Simons for The New York Times

WATERHOLES, Australia - The convoy of vehicles fleeing a raging inferno in the forest of southeastern Australia ferried a copious cargo: 11 koalas, 15 kangaroos, five chickens, two possums, two dogs and a lorikeet.

Susan Pulis, who runs a wildlife shelter, had rallied her friends to pack the animals in blankets and baskets and take them to safety on the coast. One friend gutted her downstairs bedroom to house five of the kangaroos. Ms. Pulis has kept the youngest joeys in quilt pouches in another's living room.

"Since the fires, they are very different," she said of the animals, "very on edge."

As wildfires have killed at least 24 people, destroyed more than 1,400 homes and ravaged 15 million acres, they have also inflicted a grievous toll on Australia's renowned wildlife. Hundreds of millions of animals, many found on no other continent, may have perished, according to some estimates, devastating the country's unique ecosystems.

"We will have taken many species that weren't threatened close to extinction, if not to extinction,"said Kingsley Dixon, an ecologist and botanist at Curtin University, in Perth.

Even the animals that survived, scampering away or hunkering down, may die from dehydration or starvation, Professor Dixon added. "It's a biological Armageddon rarely seen," he said.

Wildlife in Australia was already under threat before these fires, as humans have changed the landscape. Agribusiness is among the top contributors to deforestation, which decimates wildlife populations, scientists say.

The astronomical estimates of animal losses and the heart-rending images of singed koalas during this disastrous fire season have spread the concern worldwide. Quilters in the Netherlands have made mittens for koalas with burned paws. New Zealanders are stitching joey pouches and bat wraps.

Some experts have been dubious of the high numbers that have spread widely on social media, which are based on estimates of population densities of mammals, birds and reptiles from previously published studies. The death toll is arrived at by multiplying the number of animals expected to inhabit a given area by the total acreage burned.

But it is impossible to know how many animals managed to flee, for instance. Limited access to the burned lands, as well as the difficulty of documenting individual animal deaths, complicate efforts to assess the scale of the damage.

Whatever the numbers, it is clear that the devastation is immense, scientists say.

"It's dangerous to put a number to them," said Corey Bradshaw, a fellow in ecology at Flinders University in Adelaide, in the south. But, he added, "there's no question there has been deaths."

At least a quarter of the koala population may have been lost in New South Wales, according to various estimates. Significant numbers of the southern brown bandicoot and the long-footed potoroo, a kind of wallaby whose entire habitat has been ravaged by fire, have also most likely been lost.

On Kangaroo Island, off the coast of South Australia, experts said thousands of kangaroos and koalas had been killed in the fire that has now ravaged a third of the island. There are also grave fears for the fate of a subspecies of glossy black cockatoos, of which there were only about 300 to 370 remaining before the fires.

It is not only wildlife that has been ravaged. In Batlow, 285 miles southwest of Sydney, a video taken by a reporter showed the scorched corpses of sheep and cows strewn along a highway. Carcasses like these have raised biological fears around the country.

Buchan, a farming region in the southern state of Victoria, has also been badly affected, with farmers having to put down burned livestock at a time when drought had already made earning a living nearly impossible. Farmers in the nearby town of Bairnsdale said that a cattle sale was planned Thursdayto unload their remaining livestock, some of which may be injured.

Tina Moon, a farmer in Sarsfield, a town in Victoria's southeast, said many burned cattle in the region had to be euthanized. She said she had saved her house, but had no idea how she would make an income in the coming months.

To protect Australia's wildlife, rescuers like Ms. Pulis, who fled the forest for the coast late last month, are battling immense changes to the country's landscape on a tiny scale. They cannot save Australia's wildlife on their own, but their work is reinforcing scientists' judgment that intervention will be increasingly necessary to protect animals on a hotter, more fiery planet.

Around the country, people have banded together to help feed, find and rehabilitate survivors.

In the fire-ravaged town of Mallacoota, one man says he has rescued nine koalas, for which the community is working to build a shelter. Others have left out seed, water and grasses for dehydrated and hungry fauna.

"I know it doesn't bring back properties, but for some it can give a sense of not giving up the fight," said Katharine Catelotti, of Sydney, whose family lost a small shack in Wollomombi, more than 300 miles north of the city, and has been putting feed out for wildlife as well as keeping a small number in her home.

The task for others has been more grim. One woman told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that she was checking the pouches of dead kangaroos for joeys and marking the ones without them so that other searchers would not have to repeat her efforts.

For Ms. Pulis, evacuating her few animals - which had already been rescued, some of them more than once, from starvation, dog attacks and car accidents - was simply part of life.

In 2013, she founded a wildlife shelter on Raymond Island, a town just off the coast, with the intention of rehabilitating injured and abandoned creatures. In August, she relocated to Waterholes, 30 miles inland, because of the clearing of the island's trees, which had made it impossible for her to release the koalas into an environment where they could find sufficient food.

Somehow, her property in Waterholes, threatened twice by fires this season, remains standing, a lush oasis at the end of a blackened road in the eastern Victoria region of East Gippsland, where smoldering and fallen trees, charred earth and melted road signs stretch for hundreds of miles.

"It's a holocaust," Ms. Pulis said as she drove toward her home on Monday for the first time since blistering heat brought through a ferocious fire front.

Cool weather and rain have since brought a reprieve. But smoke still hung in the air. As she reached the track leading to her property, Ms. Pulis began to cry.

"This was my koala feed," she said of the scorched eucalyptus trees, which used to provide leaves for her animals. "It was absolutely alive."

At her property, Ms. Pulis tended to the stressed and dehydrated kangaroos she had been forced to leave behind. She gave each an injection to relieve their pain - they had most likely hopped so frantically away from the burning forest that they had injured themselves - and refreshed their water, which was contaminated by ash.

On Saturday, as yards-high flames threatened her property for a second time, Ms. Pulis's friend Jason Nicholson defended it with a hose and hundreds of gallons of water.

Neither could believe that it remained intact - the garden surrounding it still green, with cockatoos calling from the trees. They said they expected that wildlife, pushed out by the fires, would congregate in what was now a garden of Eden among miles of decimated forest.

"The difference is here, you hear the birds," Mr. Nicholson said. "Out there, it's quiet. Deadly quiet."

Isabella Kwai contributed reporting from Nowra, Australia, and Damien Cave from Sydney.

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Koala Mittens and Baby Bottles: Saving Australia's Wildlife After Fires

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Millions of animals, many found on no other continent, may have perished, and Australians are taking care of survivors. WATERHOLES, Australia - The convoy of vehicles fleeing a raging inferno in the forest of southeastern Australia ferried a copious cargo: 11 koalas, 15 kangaroos, five chickens, two possums, two dogs and a lorikeet.