Rotors That Can Whir — With Stable Atmospheric/Dynamic Properties — On Mars, At Above Mach 1? That’s A Tough Materials Engineering Problem, For The 2030s.

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The next time we fly choppers, on Barsoom, it may be in the mid-2030s, and perhaps four or more will be encircling the Martian globe, at a time. . . that is the vision of the aptly named “Project Skyfall” at NASA | JPL.

Because the Martian atmosphere is only about 1% as dense as Earth’s (but her gravity is out of proportion, to the atmosphere — at about 1/6th of Earth’s — that’s… heavy lifting!), these rotors must spin much faster — much, much faster — to generate adequate lift, for flight operations — with real payloads aboard. And the lift dynamics must remain stable — even in Barsoomian dust devils, should these choppers fly through them.

This, in turn, means we’ll need rotor blades that won’t disintegrate, when spinning at more than the speed of sound. Yikes.

That is a materials engineering challenge of the first order. One the NASA team is now tackling. Here’s that story:

…The rotor blades that will carry NASA’s next-generation helicopters to new Martian heights broke the sound barrier during March tests at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Data from the tests, which took place in a special chamber that can simulate environmental conditions on the Red Planet, indicate that the fastest traveling part of the rotor blade, the tips, can be accelerated beyond Mach 1 without breaking apart. Data gathered from 137 test runs will enable engineers to design aircraft capable of carrying heavier payloads, including science instruments.

“NASA had a great run with the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, but we are asking these next-generation aircraft to do even more at the Red Planet,” said Al Chen, Mars Exploration Program manager at JPL. “That’s not an easy ask. While everything about Mars is hard, flying there is just about the hardest thing you can do. That’s because its atmosphere is so incredibly thin that it is hard to generate lift, and yet Mars has significant gravity….”

Yep — I love a challenge — where science is at the forefront.

These brilliant and fine people… will meet the moment. I know they will. Onward. [And yes, I went off, in search of some good news today… we sorely need it.]

नमस्ते

Ebola 2026: Another Eight Deaths Overnight, And WHO Now Includes Neighboring Uganda, In The Outbreak Alert…

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This is very troubling news, out of WHO — but it is what logically flows from gutting international public health aid, in these countries. We must all be certain that Elon Musk and Donald Trump are not able to shirk responsibility for these excess deaths. [And RFK, Jr., herre stateside, as well — with his nonsense about vaccines being dangerous.]

In any event, here is the story now including Uganda in the outbreak:

…The World Health Organization declared the Ebola disease outbreak caused by a rare virus in Congo and neighboring Uganda a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday, after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths.

WHO said that the outbreak doesn’t meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency like COVID-19, and advised against the closure of international borders….

WHO said on X that a laboratory-confirmed case has also been reported in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, which is about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the outbreak’s epicenter in the eastern province of Ituri, suggesting a possible wider spread.

It said the patient had visited Ituri and that other suspected cases have also been reported in North Kivu province, which is one of Congo’s most populous and borders Uganda….

There is no approved vaccine for this apparent variant of Ebola. This is not the Sudan version — it is called “Bundibugyo”. That in turn is is very tough news — in two countries short on the sorts of resources needed, for full arrest of the viral spread.

Onward, resolutely just the same.

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Supporting The “Super-Spreader” Theory, For This, The Andes-Virus H., A Man Has It — In Vancouver, BC — But His Wife Does Not. Both, Ex-Hondius.

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As CIDRAP’s Executive Director, Michael Osterholm, indicated just under two days ago, it is increasingly likely that this Andes-Virus H. was sent over the air, on the Hondius liner, by a so called “super-spreader”. That would explain a husband being positive (from the spreader) — but then he did not transmit to his wife (since the husband was not a super-spreader). So it may be less about the strain of Hantavirus, itself — and more about the host carrying it, onboard — a super-spreader.

Thus, it may well turn out to be something unique — about the biological makeup of the person who was the “index case” — onboard the liner… now over two weeks ago.

In any event, here is the latest word, out of the UK’s Guardian, tonight:

…Canadian officials said on Saturday that a test for one of the four Canadians currently quarantining in British Columbia after being exposed to the hantavirus while on board the cruise ship where the outbreak occurred indicated a positive result.

Speaking at a news conference, Dr Bonnie Henry, British Columbia’s provincial health officer, said the individual developed mild symptoms, including fever and headache, two days ago, and that the individual and their partner, who had also been on board the cruise ship where they had been isolating together, were transferred to a hospital in Victoria for assessment and testing.

Henry said that on late Friday evening the test results for the individual who had been experiencing mild symptoms came back positive, but she stressed that the results were currently “what we call a presumptive positive” and that the samples have been sent to the national microbiology lab in Winnipeg for confirmatory testing. Results from those tests were expected to be confirmed over the course of the weekend, Henry said….

Onward — and I did cash a $53.50 ticket — on a $6 exacta box bet, with Napolean Solo winning the Preakness, and Iron Honor coming in second. I also had Great White, the Japanese horse who threw his mount before the start of the Derby (I was figuring he would be very ready to run, but alas — he finished out of the money). So it goes — babygrrl is in the air now, to Heathrow.

नमस्ते

In One Elapsed Day, Fatalities Leapt By 23% From Ebola In The Ituri Provincial Capital City, Bunia — In The DRC…

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This Ituri Ebola outbreak, in the remote eastern wilds of DRC… is plainly a runaway. Nearly 300 are sick now, and 15 more people have died, overnight. The total now stands at 80 deaths, but it certain to rise, in the coming days and nights.

This is from PBS | NPR reporting:

…At least 80 deaths have been reported in Congo’s new Ebola disease outbreak in the eastern Ituri province, authorities said, as health workers raced Saturday to intensify screening and contact tracing to contain the disease. Officials first announced the outbreak on Friday, with 65 deaths and 246 suspected cases.

Meanwhile, Associated Press journalists in Ituri’s capital, Bunia, interviewed locals who recounted their fears and constant burials.

“Every day, people are dying… and this has been going on for about a week. In a single day, we bury two, three, or even more people,” said Jean Marc Asimwe, a resident of Bunia. “At this point, we don’t really know what kind of disease it is,” said Asimwe….

This is what happens when the US turns its back on real preventative public health funding — thanks to Musk and Trump. I wish I had more upbeat, happier news today — but I. Do. Not.

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It Is Clear: Two Nights In A Row — Hinderaker Likes When His MAGA Candidates Spew Obvious Lies; And Invent Racially-Tinged “Footage” Of Opponents

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I suppose this is just John’s natural decline into both bitter, doddering old age — and the ripening of his long standing and obvious hatred of high-acheiving people of color… all boiling down, to a sticky tar.

But once again (as with last night) tonight, he lauds a “Lego” AI ad that features only lies about the sitting Mayor of Los Angeles — a Black woman.

To top it off, we are treated to this Pratt fellow as some form of caped super-hero (also in Lego form) conducting wholly invented acts — of ersatz bravery and compassion.

This is NOT just the “post truth” campaigning Hinderaker loves — no, this is… a disgusting debasement — of political discourse. [Far more Wm. Jennings Bryant, than Honest Abe.] Pratt churlishly tars an honorable opponent, one who will not stoop to this sort of deplorable lying, on TV, or on the web.

I think John should probably view the extremely tart — but not inaccurate — AI Lego videos of Tangerine 2.0’s debacles in the Middle East, now being streamed by pro-Iranian forces (likely the Republican Guard’s psy-ops division).

It is something he should think about, as the mid-terms approach: these ads will increasingly feature Vance / Hegseth and the GOP candidates for seats in the Senate and the US House.

Turn about is fair play, old man.

And your boys cannot handle this heat. [To be clear, I do not condone the Iranian agit-prop, but Pratt is all-but inviting these forces to air ads that treat him as a pedophile, as well.]

These MAGA clowns never think beyond the next move on the checkers board — and Chess is well-beyond their ken.

Just like Hinderaker, I suppose.

Onward, resolutely.

On Tuesday May 19, The French Guiana Spaceport Will Host A Launch Of A Joint EU / Chinese Mission Called… “SMILE”…

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This will be around 11:50 pm Eastern US time.

But it will be on the 18th, our time (our night before) — while it is almost dawn, in Central Europe. Do tune in, assuming there is no weather event that might push the launch out of limits — near the Eastern Equator off South America:

…Smile (the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) is a joint mission between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It will give humankind its first complete look at how Earth reacts to streams of particles and bursts of radiation from the Sun….

ESA will be broadcasting live as the European-Chinese Smile mission launches at 04:52 BST/05:52 CEST on 19 May 2026. Smile will launch on a European Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Dates/times subject to change at short notice [due to weather and overhead traffic, among other matters]….

Tune into ESA Web TV directly or via the ESA YouTube livestream to follow the launch live.

The launch programme will run from 05:30–07:09 CEST [11:50 pm, to 1:10 am Eastern US time on May 19]….

Now you know. Multinational cooperation is the rule… in space science. Politics? Not. So. Much. Onward, just the same.

नमस्ते

65 Are Already Dead, From “The Fire, This Time” — Ebola Has Reappeared, In The Remote Eastern Ituri Province, Of DRC…

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Well, this is highly discouraging. But not remotely. . . surprising. Thanks, Musk and Tangerine 2.0. And the numbers are already well out of hand, with over 246 suspected cases, and 65 dead, as of this morning — there will undoubtedly be many, many more, this time.

You’ll recall that two times ago, with USAID working in concert with WHO, the deaths ended at four — and there were only ever 12 who fell ill. In this outbreak — we are already well behind the control curve. Damn. Here’s that, from the UK Guardian:

…An outbreak of Ebola has killed 65 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to African health officials.

There have been 246 suspected cases of the deadly haemorrhagic fever reported so far in Ituri province, which shares borders with Uganda and South Sudan.

Officials at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said they were concerned about the risk of further spread. The area is home to mining towns where people are constantly coming and going, making infectious disease control challenging.

The DRC has had 16 outbreaks of Ebola since the virus was identified there in 1976.

Dr Michael Head, senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton in the UK, said: “The Democratic Republic of the Congo often sees fatalities from Ebola. There is likely a perfect storm of factors that cause these regular outbreaks. Close human contact with animal reservoirs, most likely bats but possibly also primates, is one factor. Other concerns include the movement of people between rural and urban environments, the tropical climate, and the high rainforest coverage….”

During the 2014-16 outbreak in west Africa there were an estimated 28,000 cases and 11,000 deaths….

People, this is the real, on the ground, human cost of Trump/Musk’s gutting of USAID, last year. Damn.

नमस्ते

CIDRAP: Many — Even Those With Public Health Credentials — Are “Missing The Point”, Re The Andes-Virus H. Outbreak… “Super Spreaders”

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This is an excellent interview piece. Do go read it all.

The estimable CIDRAP is trying to help the leadership of our feckless federal response effort… learn a few things — about viral epidemic vectors. Here’s that, without any additional ado:

…Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), which publishes CIDRAP News, said the media and even some public health officials are missing key elements of the hantavirus outbreak on a Dutch cruise ship.

During a Q&A with CIDRAP News, he explained how and why superspreaders are key to understanding the Andes strain of hantavirus, why close proximity is only part of the consideration, and why he doesn’t think this outbreak is the next “big one.”

Per the World Health Organization, the outbreak that began on the MV Hondius cruise ship traveling from Argentina to Europe has resulted in 11 cases. Three patients have died since April 11.

Today, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that no Americans have been sickened so far in this outbreak. The agency said it is monitoring 41 people for the virus, at least 18 of whom are being quarantined in biocontainment units….

Michael Osterholm: There have been over 100 cases of hantavirus in Argentina this past year and no reports of person-to-person transmission. It’s a rare phenomenon, but it happens. Transmission likely involves superspreaders, individuals — for reasons not clear — who transmit at high rates via the respiratory route to other humans.

We have a model for that with SARS [severe acute respiratory syndrome] and MERS [Middle East respiratory syndrome], a handful of cases who really drove the activity in a given outbreak….

“From an HVAC [heating, ventilation, and air condition] standpoint, a cold-water cruise ship is all about keeping the ship warm. It’s not a cruise ship in the Caribbean, where people are drinking martinis on the deck; this ship poses different issues.

Many of these ships have lots of air that gets moved around inside the actual ship. This is why we can have cases who were not exposed in close proximity, or close physical contact. It’s all about who is swapping air, and we are not talking about that. Investigators need to think about who swapped air with whom….” [said Osterholm.]

Do go read it all. It is excellent — top to bottom. Onward, now — with my babygrrl flying back to Heathrow tomorrow night, and then… on to Morocco for a month, in a week’s time. Woot!

नमस्ते

I Know Hinderaker Loves The “Post Factual” US Political Era… But Geez!

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John Hinderaker has long praised the most base of political ads.

And almost without exception, nothing in these GOP/MAGA ads offers any indicia of truthfulness.

Time and again, we’ve seen John praise racism as a political strategy.

Time and again, we’ve seen him praise open lying — often with a racial tinge.

So it is not terribly surprising to see him now praising AI slop ads with fabricated footage and false quotes, purporting to offer a Black Democrat speaking on her record — in local LA elections.

The caricatures are offensive, and the assertions preposterous.

One could be forgiven for rightly assuming that John now hopes for return to Jim Crow era caricatures of people of color.

He certainly is praising those sorts of AI ads on the regular, now.

[Do recall that he felt the extremely racist old “Aunt Jemima” caricature did not need any updating — even as late as 2020. He felt Quaker was treating… a cartoon unfairly, by retiring its brand. Damn.]

The thing literally speaks for itself.

Out.

The Oracle Gambit, To Eclipse EPIC… In US Health Care Data Control… Is Not Coming As Easily As Mr. Ellison Hoped, Back In 2022.

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As a rule, I think control of US health care data will not lead to any Armageddon — unless AI ends up making actual point of care decisions, without doctor input at the local provider level. That said, I do worry a fair bit about “data leakage”… to insurers, who then jack up premiums [in a back door form of “pre-existing condition” exclusions, person by person] — even though doing so is theoretically unlawful after the ACA of 2010 passed (or Obamacare, if one prefers).

And — as will likely be seen in future posts, I am deeply, abidingly skeptical of the ethics of the Ellison controlled company. I worry that he would sell out, in a heartbeat — to Trump or others — for enough money… even where he’s signed binding firewall contracts.

And thus, I do view with some suspicion the addition of two CEO level health care provider company executives to his Oracle board. Will this make the providers more… pliable, vis a vis Oracle’s world building ideas in big data / AI in health care delivery? We will keep a weather eye on all of it — but here is the latest, from HealthCareDive:

…Dr. Tomislav Mihaljevic’s appointment comes months after Oracle named another healthcare leader, former Quest Diagnostics CEO Stephen Rusckowski, to the board….

Mihaljevic has worked at Cleveland Clinic for more than 20 years, joining the health system’s department of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery in 2004. He previously served as CEO of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, and held a director position on health technology firm GE Healthcare’s board, according to the press release.

“Tom’s perspective will be invaluable as Oracle continues to help healthcare organizations use technology to improve outcomes for patients and providers,” Oracle CEO Clay Magouyrk said in a statement.

Mihaljevic’s election, which brings the size of Oracle’s board to 13, comes as Oracle has expanded its focus on healthcare.

The technology giant acquired electronic health record vendor Cerner for more than $28 billion in 2022. And last year, Oracle released a new artificial intelligence-backed EHR. The records system allows providers to use voice commands to navigate the EHR, which Oracle argues should lessen the amount of time clinicians spend digging through patients’ health data….

Do stay tuned. Ellison and Musk have long struck me as similarly flawed human beings — on ethical / moral development dimensions. We shall see. Onward.

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