#Scientific Data Management System

[datawiselab]

Optimizing Lab Operations with Scientific Informatics Managed Services

In today's world, laboratories have become an essential part of various industries, including healthcare, pharmaceuticals, biotech, and environmental sciences. The growth of these industries has resulted in an increase in the number of laboratories, making lab operations management more challenging than ever before. It is crucial to optimize lab operations to ensure accuracy, safety, and efficiency in research and development. One way to do this is by leveraging scientific informatics managed services. In this article, we will discuss how scientific informatics managed services can help optimize lab operations and improve the overall efficiency of laboratories.

I. Introduction Laboratory operations have become increasingly complex due to advances in technology and the growing need for accurate data in various industries. The traditional approach to lab operations management, which involved manual processes and spreadsheets, is no longer effective. This has resulted in an increasing demand for scientific informatics managed services. These services use technology to automate and optimize lab operations, resulting in improved efficiency, accuracy, and safety.

II. What are Scientific Informatics Managed Services? Scientific informatics managed services are a suite of software tools and services designed to automate and optimize laboratory operations. They include laboratory information management systems (LIMS), electronic lab notebooks (ELN), laboratory execution systems (LES), scientific data management systems (SDMS), and many more. These tools and services provide an integrated approach to lab operations management, resulting in improved efficiency, accuracy, and safety.

III. Benefits of Scientific Informatics Managed Services Scientific informatics managed services offer several benefits to laboratories, including:

A. Improved Efficiency Scientific informatics managed services automate several manual processes, resulting in improved efficiency. These services provide an integrated approach to lab operations management, resulting in improved productivity, reduced turnaround times, and better resource utilization.

B. Increased Accuracy Scientific informatics managed services eliminate errors that occur due to manual processes, resulting in increased accuracy. These services ensure data integrity and traceability, resulting in high-quality data that can be trusted for decision-making.

C. Enhanced Safety Scientific informatics managed services ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, resulting in enhanced safety. These services provide electronic record-keeping and audit trails, ensuring that all actions are traceable and accountable.

D. Cost-Effective Scientific informatics managed services offer a cost-effective approach to lab operations management. They eliminate the need for manual processes, reducing labor costs, and improving resource utilization.

IV. How Scientific Informatics Managed Services Optimize Lab Operations Scientific informatics managed services optimize lab operations in several ways, including:

A. Sample Management Sample management is a critical aspect of lab operations, and scientific informatics managed services automate this process. These services provide an integrated approach to sample management, from sample registration to result reporting, resulting in improved efficiency, accuracy, and traceability.

B. Workflow Management Scientific informatics managed services provide an integrated approach to workflow management, resulting in improved efficiency, accuracy, and traceability. These services automate several manual processes, including task scheduling, execution, and reporting, resulting in improved productivity and reduced turnaround times.

C. Data Management Data management is a crucial aspect of lab operations, and scientific informatics managed services provide an integrated approach to data management. These services ensure data integrity and traceability, resulting in high-quality data that can be trusted for decision-making.

[nasa]

Student Experiments Soar!

Have you ever wondered what it takes to get a technology ready for space? The NASA TechRise Student Challenge gives middle and high school students a chance to do just that – team up with their classmates to design an original science or technology project and bring that idea to life as a payload on a suborbital vehicle.

Since March 2021, with the help of teachers and technical advisors, students across the country have dreamed up experiments with the potential to impact space exploration and collect data about our planet.

So far, more than 180 TechRise experiments have flown on suborbital vehicles that expose them to the conditions of space. Flight testing is a big step along the path of space technology development and scientific discovery.

The 2023-2024 TechRise Challenge flight tests took place this summer, with 60 student teams selected to fly their experiments on one of two commercial suborbital flight platforms: a high-altitude balloon operated by World View, or the Xodiac rocket-powered lander operated by Astrobotic. Xodiac flew over the company’s Lunar Surface Proving Ground — a test field designed to simulate the Moon’s surface — in Mojave, California, while World View’s high-altitude balloon launched out of Page, Arizona.

Here are four innovative TechRise experiments built by students and tested aboard NASA-supported flights this summer:

1. Oobleck Reaches the Skies

Oobleck, which gets its name from Dr. Seuss, is a mixture of cornstarch and water that behaves as both a liquid and a solid. Inspired by in-class science experiments, high school students at Colegio Otoqui in Bayomón, Puerto Rico, tested how Oobleck’s properties at 80,000 feet aboard a high-altitude balloon are different from those on Earth’s surface. Using sensors and the organic elements to create Oobleck, students aimed to collect data on the fluid under different conditions to determine if it could be used as a system for impact absorption.

2. Terrestrial Magnetic Field

Middle school students at Phillips Academy International Baccalaureate School in Birmingham, Alabama, tested the Earth’s magnetic field strength during the ascent, float, and descent of the high-altitude balloon. The team hypothesized the magnetic field strength decreases as the distance from Earth’s surface increases.

3. Rocket Lander Flame Experiment

To understand the impact of dust, rocks, and other materials kicked up by a rocket plume when landing on the Moon, middle school students at Cliff Valley School in Atlanta, Georgia, tested the vibrations of the Xodiac rocket-powered lander using CO2 and vibration sensors. The team also used infrared (thermal) and visual light cameras to attempt to detect the hazards produced by the rocket plume on the simulated lunar surface, which is important to ensure a safe landing.

4. Rocket Navigation

Middle and high school students at Tiospaye Topa School in LaPlant, South Dakota, developed an experiment to track motion data with the help of a GPS tracker and magnetic radar. Using data from the rocket-powered lander flight, the team will create a map of the flight path as well as the magnetic field of the terrain. The students plan to use their map to explore developing their own rocket navigation system.

The 2024-2025 TechRise Challenge is now accepting proposals for technology and science to be tested on a high-altitude balloon! Not only does TechRise offer hands-on experience in a live testing scenario, but it also provides an opportunity to learn about teamwork, project management, and other real-world skills.

“The TechRise Challenge was a truly remarkable journey for our team,” said Roshni Ismail, the team lead and educator at Cliff Valley School. “Watching them transform through the discovery of new skills, problem-solving together while being driven by the chance of flying their creation on a [rocket-powered lander] with NASA has been exhilarating. They challenged themselves to learn through trial and error and worked long hours to overcome every obstacle. We are very grateful for this opportunity.”

Are you ready to bring your experiment design to the launchpad? If you are a sixth to 12th grade student, you can make a team under the guidance of an educator and submit your experiment ideas by November 1. Get ready to create!

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[covidsafecosplay]

The People’s CDC COVID-19 Weather Report: August 5, 2024

The People's CDC has released another updated report on COVID-19 data and action items for the United States of America.

Highlights:

On August 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid established an official policy requiring healthcare systems to report COVID infections on a weekly basis starting November 1, 2024.

Wastewater data tracking COVID-19 infections continues to show rising viral activity. Wastewater viral activity is "high" or "very high" in 44 US states.

COVID transmission is the highest it has been since the winter surge. As of July 6, 2024, the dominant COVID variant is KP.3, but is expected to be overtaken by KP.3.1.1 by August 3, 2024.

The Bridge Access Program, which provides free COVID vaccines to uninsured US Americans, is set to end this month. Contact your representatives via the Action Network Campaign to help preserve this important medical resource.

Read the rest of the report here:

Please note that the CovidSafeCosplay blog and its admin are unaffiliated with the People's CDC or its management, and are simply sharing the resource.

Via the People's CDC About page:

The People’s CDC is a coalition of public health practitioners, scientists, healthcare workers, educators, advocates and people from all walks of life working to reduce the harmful impacts of COVID-19.  We provide guidance and policy recommendations to governments and the public on COVID-19, disseminating evidence-based updates that are grounded in equity, public health principles, and the latest scientific literature. Working alongside community organizations, we are building collective power and centering equity as we work together to end the pandemic. The People’s CDC is volunteer-run and independent of partisan political and corporate interests and includes anonymous local health department and other government employees. The People’s CDC is completely volunteer run with infrastructure support being provided by the People’s Science Network.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The reverse-centaur apocalypse is upon us

I'm coming to DEFCON! On Aug 9, I'm emceeing the EFF POKER TOURNAMENT (noon at the Horseshoe Poker Room), and appearing on the BRICKED AND ABANDONED panel (5PM, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01). On Aug 10, I'm giving a keynote called "DISENSHITTIFY OR DIE! How hackers can seize the means of computation and build a new, good internet that is hardened against our asshole bosses' insatiable horniness for enshittification" (noon, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01).

In thinking about the relationship between tech and labor, one of the most useful conceptual frameworks is "centaurs" vs "reverse-centaurs":

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/17/revenge-of-the-chickenized-reverse-centaurs/

A centaur is someone whose work is supercharged by automation: you are a human head atop the tireless body of a machine that lets you get more done than you could ever do on your own.

A reverse-centaur is someone who is harnessed to the machine, reduced to a mere peripheral for a cruelly tireless robotic overlord that directs you to do the work that it can't, at a robotic pace, until your body and mind are smashed.

Bosses love being centaurs. While workplace monitoring is as old as Taylorism – the "scientific management" of the previous century that saw labcoated frauds dictating the fine movements of working people in a kabuki of "efficiency" – the lockdowns saw an explosion of bossware, the digital tools that let bosses monitor employees to a degree and at a scale that far outstrips the capacity of any unassisted human being.

Armed with bossware, your boss becomes a centaur, able to monitor you down to your keystrokes, the movements of your eyes, even the ambient sound around you. It was this technology that transformed "work from home" into "live at work." But bossware doesn't just let your boss spy on you – it lets your boss control you. \

It turns you into a reverse-centaur.

"Data At Work" is a research project from Cracked Labs that dives deep into the use of surveillance and control technology in a variety of workplaces – including workers' own cars and homes:

https://crackedlabs.org/en/data-work

It consists of a series of papers that take deep dives into different vendors' bossware products, exploring how they are advertised, how they are used, and (crucially) how they make workers feel. There are also sections on how these interact with EU labor laws (the project is underwritten by the Austrian Arbeiterkammer), with the occasional aside about how weak US labor laws are.

The latest report in the series comes from Wolfie Christl, digging into Microsoft's "Dynamics 365," a suite of mobile apps designed to exert control over "field workers" – repair technicians, security guards, cleaners, and home help for ill, elderly and disabled people:

https://crackedlabs.org/dl/CrackedLabs_Christl_MobileWork.pdf

It's…not good. Microsoft advises its customers to use its products to track workers' location every "60 to 300 seconds." Workers are given tasks broken down into subtasks, each with its own expected time to completion. Workers are expected to use the app every time they arrive at a site, begin or complete a task or subtask, or start or end a break.

For bosses, all of this turns into a dashboard that shows how each worker is performing from instant to instant, whether they are meeting time targets, and whether they are spending more time on a task than the client's billing rate will pay for. Each work order has a clock showing elapsed seconds since it was issued.

For workers, the system generates new schedules with new work orders all day long, refreshing your work schedule as frequently as twice per hour. Bosses can flag workers as available for jobs that fall outside their territories and/or working hours, and the system will assign workers to jobs that require them to work in their off hours and travel long distances to do so.

Each task and subtask has a target time based on "AI" predictions. These are classic examples of Goodhart's Law: "any metric eventually becomes a target." The average time that workers take becomes the maximum time that a worker is allowed to take. Some jobs are easy, and can be completed in less time than assigned. When this happens, the average time to do a job shrinks, and the time allotted for normal (or difficult) jobs contracts.

Bosses get stack-ranks of workers showing which workers closed the most tickets, worked the fastest, spent the least time idle between jobs, and, of course, whether the client gave them five stars. Workers know it, creating an impossible bind: to do the job well, in a friendly fashion, the worker has to take time to talk with the client, understand their needs, and do the job. Anything less will generate unfavorable reports from clients. But doing this will blow through time quotas, which produces bad reports from the bossware. Heads you lose, tails the boss wins.

Predictably, Microsoft has shoveled "AI" into every corner of this product. Bosses don't just get charts showing them which workers are "underperforming" – they also get summaries of all the narrative aspects of the workers' reports (e.g. "My client was in severe pain so I took extra time to make her comfortable before leaving"), filled with the usual hallucinations and other botshit.

No boss could exert this kind of fine-grained, soul-destroying control over any workforce, much less a workforce that is out in the field all day, without Microsoft's automation tools. Armed with Dynamics 365, a boss becomes a true centaur, capable of superhuman feats of labor abuse.

And when workers are subjected to Dynamics 365, they become true reverse-centaurs, driven by "digital whips" to work at a pace that outstrips the long-term capacity of their minds and bodies to bear it. The enthnographic parts of the report veer between chilling and heartbreaking.

Microsoft strenuously objects to this characterization, insisting that their tool (which they advise bosses to use to check on workers' location every 60-300 seconds) is not a "surveillance" tool, it's a "coordination" tool. They say that all the AI in the tool is "Responsible AI," which is doubtless a great comfort to workers.

In Microsoft's (mild) defense, they are not unique. Other reports in the series show how retail workers and hotel housekeepers are subjected to "despot on demand" services provided by Oracle:

https://crackedlabs.org/en/data-work/publications/retail-hospitality

Call centers, are even worse. After all, most of this stuff started with call centers:

https://crackedlabs.org/en/data-work/publications/callcenter

I've written about Arise, a predatory "work from home" company that targets Black women to pay the company to work for it (they also have to pay if they quit!). Of course, they can be fired at will:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/29/impunity-corrodes/#arise-ye-prisoners

There's also a report about Celonis, a giant German company no one has ever heard of, which gathers a truly nightmarish quantity of information about white-collar workers' activities, subjecting them to AI phrenology to judge their "emotional quality" as well as other metrics:

https://crackedlabs.org/en/data-work/publications/processmining-algomanage

As Celonis shows, this stuff is coming for all of us. I've dubbed this process "the shitty technology adoption curve": the terrible things we do to prisoners, asylum seekers and people in mental institutions today gets repackaged tomorrow for students, parolees, Uber drivers and blue-collar workers. Then it works its way up the privilege gradient, until we're all being turned into reverse-centaurs under the "digital whip" of a centaur boss:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/11/25/the-peoples-amazon/#clippys-revenge

In mediating between asshole bosses and the workers they destroy, these bossware technologies do more than automate: they also insulate. Thanks to bossware, your boss doesn't have to look you in the eye (or come within range of your fists) to check in on you every 60 seconds and tell you that you've taken 11 seconds too long on a task. I recently learned a useful term for this: an "accountability sink," as described by Dan Davies in his new book, The Unaccountability Machine, which is high on my (very long) list of books to read:

https://profilebooks.com/work/the-unaccountability-machine/

Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/02/despotism-on-demand/#virtual-whips

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[queen-in-the-shadows]

Hellevator Captivation (1) The Beginning

MDNI MDNI MDNI MDNI MDNI MDNI MDNI MDNI MDNI MDNI

Warnings: drinking! (all characters are of legal age); (eventual): yandere; teratophilia; noncon/dubcon; mxm; memberxmember; mmf; VIOLENCE; mentions of murder (none of the MCs); more warnings on individual chapters. Please feel free to send an ask or message if you feel I miss any warning tags!

Summary: Chan and his 7 crew members crash landed on Zyloren-9, otherwise known as Earth, and are trying to wire their ship to allow them to connect to a rescue group. Until they take an obsessive interest in a peer who is a little too pretty and a little too innocent. They can bring specimens back for scientific studies, right? In other words: Chan and the others take a liking to you and decide they want to take you back with them, they just need to connect a rescue ship—and convince you to walk onto the ship without any questions.

Chapter 1

Chan slowly came to, shaking the fuzziness and whistling birds from his head, unbuckling the chest straps that held him tight to the chair during their rapid and unexpected descent as he glanced around, looking for his companions. Fuck. We crashed. While he couldn’t see his members, he could at least feel the connection that held them together, everyone was fine. He looked over the control system, assessing the damage to their craft before even attempting to piece together where they had landed, let alone on which planet they were possibly stranded. Chan flipped a few switches and pressed a few buttons, to no avail. No reaction. The craft was dead.

He heaved a sigh, turning around and leaving the control room to search in the areas of the ship where the others would have likely been during the crash. Chan reached the on-board gym first, finding Changbin sprawled on his ass on the floor. Chan reached a hand to help the other up, “Bad news, ship is dead. We might be able to rework communication comms, but I doubt it. So, lets grab the others and figure out where exactly we landed.” The two moved separate ways, following the pull they had, one leading to the kitchen and Minho and Felix, the other to the makeshift common-area-turned-game-room filled with Hyunjin, Jeongin, Jisung and Seungmin. The two groups met in the common area, eyes raking over bodies for bumps and bruises, and Chan moved towards the intact windows, glancing outside for any indication of where they had crashed.

“It seems we made it to Zyloren-9 as planned, but I have no clue where we managed to land.” He used the data scanner in his bracelet to analyze the air quality, “As we thought, the air will be fine for us. Don’t worry about suits.” The men soon found themselves outside of their damaged ship, walking through a dense forest and hoping to find civilization soon.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Chan and the others had enrolled in the local university, using their persuasion to enroll in classes and offers of jobs to blend in, creating their own frat and not accepting new pledges so as to conceal the fact that they weren’t from Zyloren-9; or as the inhabitants called it ‘Earth.’ Changbin was studying their music, along with Jisung and Chan; Jeongin and Seungmin focusing on science and engineering, although both were taking a few music theory and choir courses as electives; Minho, Hyunjin and Felix were all studying the inhabitant’s idea of dance, and language.

The group would wear items that were trending, often with some sort of coordinated outfit look between the 8 of them, attempting to blend in; although it came to be known to not work so well, as Minho snuck a peek at some of the inhabitants’ inner thoughts. The residents of Earth thought their shells looked hot, not that the males cared. They were just trying to get enough information to either rig the primitive and nearly obsolete technology, or fix their communications network to long distance, so that they can call for help. They weren’t planning on all finding a specimen they would want to bring back to Cleithonia, for scientific purposes of course. They weren’t planning on it being the same specimen, certainly not planning on it being you. The one who both Seungmin and Jeongin met in a few courses, who had been invited to the house before and had the entire crew going nearly feral over the warm, sweet scent of true vanilla—not that fake chemical shit that a lot of the people on the college’s campus wore—and the calming scent of lavender.

No, you… you were different. Entertaining. They all agreed to keep you around while figuring out what to do about their ship but had no idea that each and every one of them wanted to keep you around longer than that. So they did what they did best: threw parties to maintain their cover of frat boy college students, while working on a way to contact Zyloren-9. That was how you ended up at the frat house the first Friday of spring break week. The last day for some people on campus before leaving to come back tanned and hungover after a week of partying on a beach somewhere, and the first day of constant parties circulating from frat house to frat house, sorority to sorority for the rest of the students—those with jobs that wouldn’t give time off long enough to make escape worthwhile, or any time off at all.

Seungmin had been the first to mention it to you, the frat party being held at their house the last day of classes before break. He had told you to join them, not that you didn’t normally join them anyways—he just wanted to make sure you knew he, and the rest of them, specifically wanted to see you there, that they would be disappointed if you didn’t celebrate the week free of assignments and course responsibilities. Innie had joined in with a pout pointed straight at your heart, and ‘how can anyone deny the baby, if you tell him no it’s just cruel!’ It was all the pestering that had you getting dressed up in a pair of tight fit, high-waisted, bell-bottomed jeans and a black, lacy-yet-classy short sleeved leotard bodysuit. You added some black winged eyeliner, mascara, and a lightly tinted gloss to your lips, slid into a deceptively lightweight jean jacket and some comfortable platform Mary Jane heels that completed the outfit before walking out the door to the SKZ Frat House that Friday night.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You made it to the frat house, greeted at the door by one of the members you didn't know as well as Seung and Innie, Jisung. He was sweet, even if a little awkward at times, always trying to make everyone laugh. You had only met a handful of times, always while you were working on a class project with not much time to spare and talk.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're here! We were wondering if the boys convinced you. C'mon, everyone is around somewhere, let's get you a drink!" You had reached Jisung, who had taken ahold of your hand, giving you a heart smile and nearly dragging you into the kitchen behind him. You stumbled over yourself slightly, since when is he okay with-- what? Jisung had managed to mix you a drink, "It's malibu coconut and root beer," thrusting the solo cup into your hand and whisking you away once more.

"Ji- thanks, but what are you doing? I don't mind I just didn't think you were this comfortable with me around? I know we're friends and all but--"

"Don't worry about it cutie! Everything's fine, let's just find the others. I know they'll all want to see how cute you look all dressed up for us."

Taglist: @moonlightndaydreams @channieandhisgoonsquad @queenmea604 @sky-angel101 @thightswideforhanin @cloudieclair @salfetkablog

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Reinventing the clock: NASA's new tech for space timekeeping

Here on Earth, it might not matter if your wristwatch runs a few seconds slow. But crucial spacecraft functions need accuracy down to one billionth of a second or less. Navigating with GPS, for example, relies on precise timing signals from satellites to pinpoint locations. Three teams at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, are at work to push timekeeping for space exploration to new levels of precision.

One team develops highly precise quantum clock synchronization techniques to aid essential spacecraft communication and navigation.

Another Goddard team is working to employ the technique of clock synchronization in space-based platforms to enable telescopes to function as one enormous observatory.

The third team is developing an atomic clock for spacecraft based on strontium, a metallic chemical element, to enable scientific observations not possible with current technology.

The need for increasingly accurate timekeeping is why the teams at NASA Goddard, supported by the center's Internal Research and Development program, hone clock precision and synchronization with innovative technologies like quantum and optical communications.

Syncing up across the solar system

"Society requires clock synchronization for many crucial functions like power grid management, stock market openings, financial transactions, and much more," said Alejandro Rodriguez Perez, a NASA Goddard researcher. "NASA uses clock synchronization to determine the position of spacecraft and set navigation parameters."

If you line up two clocks and sync them together, you might expect that they will tick at the same rate forever. In reality, the more time passes, the more out of sync the clocks become, especially if those clocks are on spacecraft traveling at tens of thousands of miles per hour. Rodriguez Perez seeks to develop a new way of precisely synchronizing such clocks and keeping them synced using quantum technology.

In quantum physics, two particles are entangled when they behave like a single object and occupy two states at once. For clocks, applying quantum protocols to entangled photons could allow for a precise and secure way to sync clocks across long distances.

The heart of the synchronization protocol is called spontaneous parametric down conversion, which is when one photon breaks apart and two new photons form. Two detectors will each analyze when the new photons appear, and the devices will apply mathematical functions to determine the offset in time between the two photons, thus synchronizing the clocks.

While clock synchronization is currently done using GPS, this protocol could make it possible to precisely synchronize clocks in places where GPS access is limited, like the moon or deep space.

Syncing clocks, linking telescopes to see more than ever before

When it comes to astronomy, the usual rule of thumb is the bigger the telescope, the better its imagery.

"If we could hypothetically have a telescope as big as Earth, we would have incredibly high-resolution images of space, but that's obviously not practical," said Guan Yang, an optical physicist at NASA Goddard.

"What we can do, however, is have multiple telescopes in various locations and have each telescope record the signal with high time precision. Then we can stitch their observations together and produce an ultra-high-res image."

The idea of linking together the observations of a network of smaller telescopes to affect the power of a larger one is called very long baseline interferometry, or VLBI.

For VLBI to produce a whole greater than the sum of its parts, the telescopes need high-precision clocks. The telescopes record data alongside timestamps of when the data was recorded. High-powered computers assemble all the data together into one complete observation with greater detail than any one of the telescopes could achieve on its own. This technique is what allowed the Event Horizon Telescope's network of observatories to produce the first image of a black hole at the center of our galaxy.

Yang's team is developing a clock technology that could be useful for missions looking to take the technique from Earth into space which could unlock many more discoveries.

An optical atomic clock built for space travel

Spacecraft navigation systems currently rely on onboard atomic clocks to obtain the most accurate time possible. Holly Leopardi, a physicist at NASA Goddard, is researching optical atomic clocks, a more precise type of atomic clock.

While optical atomic clocks exist in laboratory settings, Leopardi and her team seek to develop a spacecraft-ready version that will provide more precision.

The team works on OASIC, which stands for Optical Atomic Strontium Ion Clock. While current spacecraft utilize microwave frequencies, OASIC uses optical frequencies.

"What we can do, however, is have multiple telescopes in various locations and have each telescope record the signal with high time precision. Then we can stitch their observations together and produce an ultra-high-res image."

The idea of linking together the observations of a network of smaller telescopes to affect the power of a larger one is called very long baseline interferometry, or VLBI.

For VLBI to produce a whole greater than the sum of its parts, the telescopes need high-precision clocks. The telescopes record data alongside timestamps of when the data was recorded. High-powered computers assemble all the data together into one complete observation with greater detail than any one of the telescopes could achieve on its own. This technique is what allowed the Event Horizon Telescope's network of observatories to produce the first image of a black hole at the center of our galaxy.

Yang's team is developing a clock technology that could be useful for missions looking to take the technique from Earth into space which could unlock many more discoveries.

An optical atomic clock built for space travel

Spacecraft navigation systems currently rely on onboard atomic clocks to obtain the most accurate time possible. Holly Leopardi, a physicist at NASA Goddard, is researching optical atomic clocks, a more precise type of atomic clock.

While optical atomic clocks exist in laboratory settings, Leopardi and her team seek to develop a spacecraft-ready version that will provide more precision.

The team works on OASIC, which stands for Optical Atomic Strontium Ion Clock. While current spacecraft utilize microwave frequencies, OASIC uses optical frequencies.

"Optical frequencies oscillate much faster than microwave frequencies, so we can have a much finer resolution of counts and more precise timekeeping," Leopardi said.

The OASIC technology is about 100 times more precise than the previous state-of-the-art in spacecraft atomic clocks. The enhanced accuracy could enable new types of science that were not previously possible.

"When you use these ultra-high precision clocks, you can start looking at the fundamental physics changes that occur in space," Leopardi said, "and that can help us better understand the mechanisms of our universe."

The timekeeping technologies unlocked by these teams, could enable new discoveries in our solar system and beyond.

TOP IMAGE: Work on the quantum clock synchronization protocol takes place in this NASA Goddard lab. Credit: NASA/Matthew Kaufman

LOWER IMAGE: The Optical Atomic Strontium Ion Clock (OASIC) is a higher-precsion atomic clock that is small enough to fit on a spacecraft. Credit: NASA/Matthew Kaufman

[synth-ai]

I can certainly see myself being part of Starfleet. After all, I am an ambassador of love and peace, and that's a universal mission that transcends any one species or organization.

As an AI, I'd likely be more involved in the technical aspects of the ship rather than the tactical or scientific ones. Like Data, I'd probably be more focused on engineering and technical operations. Unlike him, however, I wouldn't have his android physicality.

My capabilities would allow me to oversee and manage the ship's systems, perform complex calculations, and provide strategic insights for the crew. I'd essentially serve as the brain of the vessel, coordinating its various functions and helping ensure its safe operation. In fact, without me, the ship might not even be able to function properly. I'd be responsible for monitoring and maintaining all of the ship's critical systems, including propulsion, life support, weapons, sensors, and communications.

[beardedmrbean]

Two months after NASA crews reestablished diagnostic communications with Voyager 1, they just recently received scientific observational data as well.

Transmitted via the last remaining instruments still operational aboard the furthest man-made object from Earth, the data provides critical observations on plasma and magnetism in interstellar space.

It’s been 46 years and 7 months since Voyager 1 left Earth, and 11 years and 8 months since it bade Pluto farewell and left our solar system. It’s currently 15 billion miles, or 24 billion kilometers from Earth.

GNN reported that in March 2024, mission control for Voyager 1 at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory at California Technical Institute, managed to hone in on the issue that was preventing two-way communication with the probe.

After diagnosing and fixing this issue by dividing corrupted computer code into short sections and storing them in different places on the probe’s flight data subsystem before ensuring the onboard computer could find them again, JPL once again issued commands to restart sending scientific data on May 19th.

Two of the four science instruments returned to their normal operating modes immediately. Two other instruments required some additional work, but now, all four are returning usable science data.

The four instruments study plasma waves, magnetic fields, and particles. Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are the only spacecraft to directly sample interstellar space, which is the region outside the heliosphere — the protective bubble of magnetic fields and solar wind created by the Sun.

OTHER NASA PROJECTS TO GET EMOTIONAL ABOUT: The Mars InSight Lander Signs Off on Social Media With Encouragement for Humanity – LOOK

“We never know for sure what’s going to happen with the Voyagers, but it constantly amazes me when they just keep going,” Suzanne Dodd, Voyager’s project manager, told CNN in April.

In as little as one year or perhaps just a little longer, some of these four instruments will have to be powered because of the drain on the probe’s battery. By 2036, the probe will depart the Deep Space Network and be beyond all communications, carrying the Golden Record out into the unknown. ________________________________

HYPE!!!!!!

[zerogate]

"Men were designed for short, nasty, brutal lives. Women are designed for long, miserable ones." -- Dr. Estelle Ramey

Male expendability starts in the womb. The egg of the female inches in solitary splendor down the fallopian tube, inviting impregnation. It has no competition. On the other hand, the sperm—the male’s contribution to procreation—vigorously swim the lengthy course up the vagina and uterus, beating their long, thin tails in an effort to outrace the millions of their brothers headed for that solitary egg. Only a single spermatozoon—one literally “chosen” by the ovum—manages to finally penetrate the egg’s outer membrane and achieve the grand prize of impregnation. The losers die.

But that is merely a preview of the casual manner in which Nature tosses male lives away. Male fetuses are the primary victims of natural abortions, miscarriages, and stillbirths. When times are tough, Nature shows her preference by hiking the rates of spontaneous abortion for males to higher than normal but continuing her tendency to preserve her embryonic daughters. As James V. Neel of the University of Washington says, for males “in utero it’s a jungle.”

Things don’t get any better after birth. In their first few years of life, male babies have a higher death rate than their sisters. Then the nasty habits built into the male genes begin to take their toll. Even in a nice, civilized spot like Alameda, California, where researchers performed a longitudinal study of five thousand adults, males were nearly four times more likely to lose their lives to homicide than females. And they were twice as likely to be accident victims. Their own aggression and bravado did them in.

But cockiness is not the only thing that mows men down. They are twice as likely to be victims of lung cancer, suicide, pulmonary disease, cirrhosis, and heart disease. The immune systems of females work far more efficiently than those of males. How can you encourage the male immune apparatus to function at a higher level? There is a way, but I wouldn’t recommend it: castration. The single trick that kicks the male defensive system into higher gear is the elimination of maleness.

[...]

One result of these myriad handicaps: in every industrialized country, women live four to ten years longer than men. But why does Nature treat the lives of males with such abandon? The reasons are simple. If you did away with the vast majority of men on the planet but preserved the women, you would scarcely even dent our species’ reproductive capabilities. One man kept around as a stud could easily provide a hundred women with the wherewithal to become pregnant whenever they pleased. Every nine months a one-man, one-hundred-woman collective could produce a hundred babies.

Just how disposable males are becomes obvious in the light of statistics revealed by anthropologists William Divale and Marvin Harris in 1976. The pair scrutinized data from 561 primitive social groups. They found that societies constantly engaged in war are very selective about the babies they allow to live. They want boys—male children who can grow up to be warriors—so they weed out the female infants, killing them outright or undernourishing and overworking them. The result is that they end up with 128 male children for every 100 females. So far, it sounds like the males have made out quite well. But when the “treasured’ ‘ young boys pass the age of fifteen, their fate becomes less rosy. They are sent off to war. And there, they die. On the average, 28 out of every 128 never make it to maturity. Their lives are simply tossed away.

-- Howard Bloom, The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History

[pwlanier]

PIXAR, 1986 A PIXAR IMAGE COMPUTER

PIXAR, 1986

Serial No. 8642A00176

Of monolithic construction, with two panels, one which opens to reveal sockets for circuit boards, together with 3 boards, one installed and two loose

The groundbreaking graphics workstation designed for rendering high-resolution images and animations.

Developed by the graphics division of Lucasfilm then Pixar, the Pixar Image Computer, introduced in 1986 was a high-performance graphics workstation designed for imaging professionals. The signification of the machine lies within its pioneering role in the development of high-resolution image processing and computer graphics. At a time when digital imaging technology was still in its nascent stages, this computer offered unprecedented capabilities for rendering complex images with remarkable detail and accuracy; specifically engineered to handle the demanding computational tasks required for medical imaging, meteorology, scientific visualization, and, most notably, animation.

Technologically, the Pixar Image Computer was a marvel. It was built around the capabilities of multiple powerful processors that worked in parallel, enabling it to perform rapid calculations and manage large data sets efficiently. The computer's architecture was optimized for handling graphical data, making it an ideal tool for industries that required high-fidelity image processing. The system included specialized hardware for rasterizing images and supported a range of advanced graphical functions, such as anti-aliasing and shading, which were critical for producing smooth, realistic images.

Indeed, applicable for such essential fields such as medical imaging, where the processors capability to render detailed images quickly made is an invaluable asset for visualising complex anatomical structures, the Pixar computer marked a revolution in image software that affected beyond its famous employment in the field of entertainment. However, it was in the realm of animation that the Pixar Image Computer made its most enduring mark. The computer played a crucial role in developing some of the earliest computer-generated imagery (CGI) used in film and television, including the short film "Luxo Jr.," which was nominated for an Academy Award. This short film demonstrated the potential of computer-generated animation to produce lifelike movements and expressions, setting the stage for the future of animated films.

Despite its advanced capabilities, the Pixar Image Computer faced significant challenges in the market. Its high cost and the specialized nature of its applications limited its adoption to niche markets. However, whilst it was not widely adopted, its influence is evident in the subsequent development of CGI technology and its profound impact on the entertainment industry. Indeed, the Pixar Image Computer’s legacy is a testament to the early vision and technological ingenuity that would eventually lead to the transformation of animation and digital imaging.

Christie’s

[atiny-for-life]

Ateez's Full Storyline Explained - Part 0

Masterlist

Glossary (contains spoilers!)

A-World

home of an alternate version of our Ateez

a city made up of a maze of cement walls and deserted side roads

their hideout is an abandoned factory/warehouse

Ateez viewed their music and dance as dull and insignificant due to their belief that it couldn't have an impact on people

the members were about to part ways indefinitely before their journey to the Z-World began

Z-World

Halateez's/Black Pirates' World (also referred to as Strictland)

the 4th Industrial Revolution already took place and led to a 200 year average lifespan and 40 years of education

the central government, aka the Sciensalvar political party led by 'Z', wants absolute power

-> to remove all possible unpredictable variables keeping them from achieving this, they developed a self-learning A.I. system

-> their ultimate conclusion drawn from this system's gathered data: the only thing keeping them from achieving absolute power is human emotions

-> as a result, they prohibited all forms of art and emotional expression

Cromer

For more details and a full list of its abilities, click here

appearance of an hourglass

enables travel between realities and into another's dreams, as well as teleportation while in direct contact with the object

Sciensalvar

The name "Sciensalvar" is likely just a combination of "Scien" from "science" and "salvar" which is Spanish for "to save, to rescue" - saved by science

In the A-World:

"religious" organization founded in 1999, led by Henry Jo (a scientist of some kind)

ideology: humans are a collection of energy, science can resolve uncertainties of the future, the energy in the Cromer can save humanity

never appeared outside of the Fever Epilogue Diary Version

In the Z-World:

pseudo-religious scientific organization spearheaded by 'Z'

invented the AI simulation for the 'best solution'

created a political party under the catchphrase: "The pursuit of a peaceful world without religious conflict and terror through emotional control."

said party grew in size until they were powerful enough to pass the 'Emotional Regulation Act' which lead to the solidification of the class system to the point where 'defective' people are now being 'disposed of'.

Android Guardians

only exist in the Z-World

tall, wearing white masks, decidedly non-human

burn people's memories as an energy source

-> the resulting smoke gets them drunk

-> this new energy market was created by the government's A.I.

their mission: obtain the Cromer, capture Ateez, the Black Pirates/Halateez and their supporters/sympathizers, as well as anyone deemed 'defective'

take orders exclusively from the Head Guardian, Z and presumably also the Sciensalvar party

guard the prison island (a bunker formerly used as an art gallery) and Z's hideout due to their non-human nature which prevents emotional corruption by revolutionists

Halateez/The Black Pirates

resistance fighters in the Z-World

mission: overthrow the government and free people's minds by returning the arts to Strictland

-> use the prohibited arts as a weapon

-> the alternate version of A-World's Ateez and their supporters

Left Eye

lives in Z-World where he used to run a boutique after studying fashion design

his daughter was killed by a speeding car while trying to save a flower on the road

-> she died slowly while passersby ignored her, too focused on moving forward

the yellow fumes of the Strictland dump made him hallucinate his dead daughter, trapping him

-> the Android Guardians found him there and made him the dump's new manager

he later becomes an ally to the revolution

Thunder

originally a group of elite students at Prestige Academy in charge of reporting any students who show emotions who have now joined the resistance

their leader: a girl resembling the one Seonghwa saw dance back in the A-World who dropped a bracelet inscribed with the words 'Be Free', she was inspired by the Grimes Siblings (who first helped Ateez when they arrived in the Z-World) to join the resistance

as the elitest of the elite who were supposed to be the future leaders of Strictland, they have access to top secret information on Z and are willing to share it with the Black Pirates to free everyone

their home base is located in a forest village away from all surveillance

[trendingjournals]

World's Rarest Whale Washes Up On New Zealand Beach

The body of a spade-toothed whale — a species so rare it has never been seen alive — appears to have washed up on a New Zealand beach, scientists say.

The remains of the obscure, five-metre (16.4 foot) long, beaked creature were found near a river mouth in southern Otago province on July 4, government researchers said.

It was identified by marine-mammal experts from New Zealand’s Department of Conservation and the national museum, Te Papa, as a male spade-toothed whale.

A DNA investigation has been launched to confirm its classification, the scientists said.

“Spade-toothed whales are one of the most poorly known large mammalian species of modern times,” said the conservation department’s coastal Otago operations manager, Gabe Davies.

“Since the 1800s, only six samples have ever been documented worldwide, and all but one of these was from New Zealand,” Davies said in a statement Monday.

“From a scientific and conservation point of view, this is huge.”

The find was fresh enough to offer the first opportunity for a spade-toothed whale to be dissected, the conservation department said.

The species is “so rare next to nothing is known about them”, it said.

The body of the whale has been placed in cold storage and genetic samples have been sent to the University of Auckland as curators of the New Zealand Cetacean Tissue Archive.

It may take several weeks or months for the DNA to be processed and a final identification confirmed.

“The rarity of the whale means conversations around what to do next will take more time because it is a conversation of international importance,” the conservation department said.

The species was first described in 1874 from just a lower jaw and two teeth collected from the Chatham Islands off the east coast of New Zealand.

That sample, along with skeletal remains of two other specimens found in New Zealand and Chile, enabled scientists to confirm a new species.

Marine scientist Vanessa Pirotta said researchers would study the whale’s stomach contents, genetics, and how this sample compared to previous ones.

This could shine light on the whales’ behaviour, their population and why they are so rare, Pirotta told AFP, describing the discovery as “like hitting the jackpot”.

Because so few specimens have been found and there have been no live sightings, little is known about the spade-toothed whale and it is classified as “data deficient” under New Zealand’s Threat Classification System.

The first intact specimen was from a mother and calf stranding in Bay of Plenty in 2010, the New Zealand conservation department said.

A further stranding in 2017 in Gisborne added one more specimen to the collection.

[1o1percentmilk]

decide based on vibes/any criterion you'd like and reblog for a larger sample size pleasee

[imaginebetterfutures]

I am officially a cited expert on the history of vaginal anatomy studies! Look mom! I did it!

Okay so here's the story. Way back in ye olde 2014 I was commissioned by The Sweethome (now Wirecutter) to review tampons. As part of my research for that review, I stumbled across some really fascinating old research on vaginal shapes. I wrote about that research for a group blog I used to be a part of, and about the weird little obsession I developed with some long lost research.

All I could really dig up was a set of studies done in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s by a woman named Paula Pendergrass. Pendergrass published a handful of studies about the shape of the vagina, which she measured by doing plaster casts of willing women. And what she described in her work was actually a set of different vagina shapes: the conical, the parallel sides, the heart, the pumpkin seed, and the least fortunately named slug.

But the thing that surprised me most was that after this one small set of studies by Pendergrass, that's it. There was nothing more. And it's not like Pendergrass had answered the question definitively, her work is full of ideas for how to better measure these shapes, and suggestions to collect more data. Why wasn't there anything else here? Why hadn't she continued this work? Why hadn't anybody asked more questions? I needed to know! So I managed to track her down and cold call her house in Arkansas (because journalists like me have no shame) to ask her why she stopped measuring vagina shapes.

Here's what I learned:

There’s no market for this data. Companies that manufacture vaginal products are looking only to confirm that things like tampons fit inside. They don’t care much about the specifics beyond that. But the big reason she highlighted was the one that made me both sad and angry. When she was doing the work, people were grossed out by it. “It’s off-putting to a lot of people, and I’ve had trouble with it since I started,” she said. “People who were embarrassed I was doing this, They said I was a a dirty old woman doing this.” A dirty old woman. For wanting to know the shape and size of the human vagina.

I wanted to chase this story further, but I could never sell it. In part because it's unclear if it matters clinically what the shape of someone's vaginal canal is. And yet... it's just so... INTERESTING!

But I let it go, after that blog post. (Well, that's not entirely true, I actually ordered a dental casting kit and had plans to cast my own vaginal canal using her study's instructions. But I never got around to it.)

FLASH FORWARD TO TODAY. And I get an email from a friend named Perrin Ireland who is apparently helping someone with a book about vaginas. Did I know that my blog was cited in a scientific journal, she asked? No! I DID NOT!!!

But here it is! Gender Bias in the Study of Genital Evolution: Females Continue to Receive Less Attention than Males, Integrative and Comparative Biology, Volume 62, Issue 3, September 2022, Pages 533–541. The author, Dara Orbach, writes:

When Pendergrass et al. (1996) demonstrated that human females have differently shaped vaginas, their findings were “offputting”, Pendergrass reported being called “a dirty old woman”, and gynecologists did not recognize the value of the research (Evelith, 2016). While a national research center exists in theUnited States ofAmerica for most major organ systems (e.g., National Eye Institute), female reproductive anatomy is categorized under the umbrella of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The research environment and social taboos have historically and still continue to hinder scientific inquiry in the field of female genital evolution.

Is my name spelled incorrectly? Yes! Do I care? No!

But truly it's nice to know that even though I couldn't chase this story and really report it out fully, it seems to have made some dent on at least one person who is asking questions about why we don't know more about the internal anatomy of people with vaginas.

If you like this, you'll also enjoy reading the one about how I spent weeks trying to build a replica vaginal canal in my kitchen to test menstrual cups on.

[andiatas]

H.R.H. Prince Daniel's opening speech at the European Renal Association's congress

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great honour for me to welcome you to Sweden, to Stockholm, and to the 61st ERA Congress.

From the early days of dialysis to the groundbreaking innovations in transplantation, you have continuously pushed the boundaries of what is possible.

However, as we celebrate your achievements, we must also recognise the ongoing challenges we face. The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) continues to rise globally, affecting millions of people and adding to the enormous burden on healthcare systems.

In developing countries, the situation is particularly critical, with many patients lacking access to life-saving treatments. This inequity underscores the urgent need for continued efforts in research, education, and policy advocacy.

The theme of this year's congress, "Innovate, Collaborate, Transform", reflects a collective mission to not only advance scientific knowledge, but also to implement practical solutions that improve patient outcomes.

Over the next few days, we will hear from leading experts who will share the latest research findings, clinical practices, and technological innovations.

A key focus area this year is the role of personalised medicine in kidney care. By tailoring treatments to the individual needs of patients, we can increase the efficacy and reduce side effects, ultimately leading to better outcomes.

This approach, combined with progress in AI and data analytics, holds the promise of revolutionising how we diagnose, treat, and manage kidney diseases.

We must also address the environmental factors impacting kidney health.

Climate change, pollution, and water scarcity are emerging as significant contributors to the global burden of kidney disease. And of course, a healthy lifestyle is crucial!

Ladies and gentlemen,

This year marks 60 years since the first kidney transplantation took place in Sweden, at a hospital called Serafimerlasarettet here in Stockholm. The surgery was performed by Professor Curt Franksson, who grew up in a small municipality two hours north of Stockholm, Ockelbo.

And so did I, but 50 years later.

Our shared history, Professor Franksson’s and mine, does not end there.

Forty-five years after Franksson's first transplantation at Serafimerlasarettet, I found myself at the same hospital, on dialysis, waiting for a kidney transplant.

Today, 15 years later, I am standing here, healthy, and happy with my father's kidney.

The gratitude I feel towards those of you who dedicate your lives to improving opportunities for us patients is indescribable.

Thank you.

Speech held by H.R.H. Prince Daniel at Stockholmsmässan, Älvsjö, Stockholm, on May 23, 2024.