#ITS A SMALL SAMPLE SIZE BUT ITS A PRELIMINARY STUDY

[exopelagic]

ALSO TRANSGENIC TRIALS ARE JUST LIKE THAT SOMETIMES MAN PLEASE SHUT UP

[medprime]

The Revolution of the Smartphone Microscope

The smartphone microscope is transforming the way we explore and understand the microscopic world, blending the power of modern technology with the intricate wonders of the unseen. This innovative device is not just an upgrade in the realm of microscopy but a gateway for students, scientists, and enthusiasts to delve into the intricacies of life in unprecedented detail. Join us as we uncover the fascinating capabilities of smartphone microscopes, their applications across various fields, and how they are democratizing access to high-quality microscopy for everyone.

In the age of rapid technological advancement, the convergence of powerful smartphones and high-precision microscopy has given birth to an incredible innovation: the smartphone microscope. This compact, versatile device is changing the landscape of microscopic exploration, making it more accessible and user-friendly than ever before. Whether you’re a budding scientist, a curious student, or a professional researcher, the smartphone microscope offers a unique blend of convenience and capability that is revolutionizing the field.

A New Era of Accessibility

Traditional microscopes, while indispensable in many fields, come with limitations. They are often bulky, expensive, and confined to laboratory settings. The smartphone microscope, however, breaks these barriers, offering portability, affordability, and ease of use. With just a clip-on lens or a small attachment, your smartphone transforms into a powerful microscope, capable of magnifying objects up to 1000 times their original size. This means that anyone, anywhere, can explore the microscopic world, making science more inclusive and engaging.

Unleashing the Power of Smartphones

Modern smartphones are equipped with high-resolution cameras, sophisticated software, and powerful processors. When combined with a microscope attachment, these devices can capture stunningly detailed images and videos of microscopic specimens. Apps specifically designed for microscopy enhance this experience, providing features such as image enhancement, measurement tools, and even the ability to share findings in real-time with peers across the globe. This synergy between smartphone technology and microscopy opens up endless possibilities for discovery and collaboration.

Educational Transformation

In educational settings, the smartphone microscope is proving to be a game-changer. Traditional classroom microscopes are often limited in number, restricting hands-on experience for students. With smartphone microscopes, each student can have their own portable lab, making the learning process more interactive and engaging. Teachers can integrate digital microscopy into their lessons, allowing students to document and analyze their findings with ease. This not only enhances understanding but also ignites curiosity and passion for science at an early age.

Applications Across Various Fields

The applications of smartphone microscopes extend far beyond the classroom. In the field of biology, they enable researchers to conduct field studies with unprecedented convenience, capturing live specimens and analyzing them on the spot. Environmental scientists can monitor ecosystems, inspecting soil, water samples, and plant life in real-time. Medical professionals can use smartphone microscopes for preliminary diagnostics, offering a cost-effective solution in remote or underserved areas. The ability to instantly share findings with colleagues around the world also facilitates faster collaboration and innovation.

Citizen Science and Beyond

One of the most exciting aspects of the smartphone microscope is its potential to empower citizen scientists. Amateur researchers and enthusiasts can participate in scientific studies, contribute to data collection, and make valuable discoveries. Platforms dedicated to citizen science projects are integrating smartphone microscopy, allowing users to upload their observations and collaborate with professional scientists. This democratization of science fosters a sense of community and shared purpose, bringing together people from all walks of life to explore and protect our world.

Future Prospects

As technology continues to evolve, the capabilities of smartphone microscopes are expected to expand even further. Advances in lens technology, software development, and artificial intelligence will enhance image quality, provide more sophisticated analytical tools, and enable automated identification of specimens. The integration of augmented reality (AR) could offer immersive educational experiences, allowing users to interact with and learn about microscopic worlds in new and exciting ways.

Conclusion

The smartphone microscope is not just a technological novelty; it is a powerful tool that is transforming the way we interact with the microscopic world. By making high-quality microscopy accessible to a broader audience, it is fostering a new generation of curious minds and facilitating advancements in various scientific fields. Whether you are an educator, a researcher, or simply someone with a passion for discovery, the smartphone microscope opens up a universe of possibilities, inviting you to explore, learn, and contribute to the ever-expanding realm of science.

[helthcareheven]

Benchmarking Quality: The Significance of Medical Device Certification

Regulatory requirements and standards ensure that medical devices undergo extensive testing and certification before reaching patients. From conception to market approval, medical technologies must navigate a rigorous process to validate performance and confirm safety. This article discusses the key aspects of medical device testing and certification market.

Pre-Clinical Testing

The development of a new medical device begins in the lab, where designers conduct extensive pre-clinical testing to evaluate safety and effectiveness. Device prototypes are subjected to a variety of tests to simulate real-world use over extended periods. Bench tests examine components for durability, biocompatibility testing explores interaction with living tissue, and animal studies provide early safety data. This stage aims to identify and address any design flaws or safety issues before moving to clinical trials. The goal is to have a device ready for human use with all major bugs and risks addressed.

Clinical Evaluations

Once pre-clinical testing is complete, developers can begin clinical evaluations to collect data on human subjects. Institutional review boards closely oversee clinical investigations to protect participants. Initial feasibility and pilot studies use small sample sizes to generate preliminary performance and safety results. Pivotal clinical trials employ randomized, controlled testing on larger patient populations to gather definitive data. Rigorous documentation and oversight ensure risks are minimized and participants provide informed consent. Clinical evaluations aim to demonstrate a device's treatment benefits outweigh any potential harms.

Regulatory Review and Approval

With clinical data in hand, developers submit applications to regulatory agencies like the FDA in the US or EU MDR in Europe seeking marketing authorization. Regulators conduct a thorough review of all pre-clinical and clinical data along with the manufacturer's quality systems and labeling. Their role is to independently validate whether a device is sufficiently safe and effective to be marketed for its intended use. The submission is evaluated against applicable standards and regulations. If approved, the device receives market clearance along with any performance limitations or post-market conditions.

Conformity Assessment

For many devices, regulatory approval is just the beginning. Many jurisdictions also require third-party evaluation and certification of quality management systems and technical documentation. Notified bodies conduct audits and inspections to verify compliance with essential requirements. Product testing examines all attributes like biocompatibility, software validation, electromagnetic compatibility and more. Conformity assessment provides objective confirmation a device and its manufacturer adhere to prescribed standards. This offers assurance to health providers and patients regarding safety, reliability and performance claims.

Post-Market Monitoring

Even after market release, testing and evaluation continue. Manufacturers must monitor real-world performance through post-market surveillance programs. Any issues or adverse incidents are reported to regulators who may require corrective or preventative actions. Long-term studies may also be mandated. If problems emerge indicating the risk-benefit profile has changed, a device can be recalled or restricted for certain uses. Post-market monitoring plays a key role in safeguarding patients as technologies are used more widely outside of clinical settings.

Strict regulations, standards, guidelines and independent oversight ensure medical technologies undergo extensive testing and validation at every stage - from concept to ongoing performance monitoring. While a rigorous process, this framework provides confidence that approved devices are sufficiently safe and effective for their intended medical purpose. Patients can have faith innovative therapies meet high criteria before entering routine clinical care. North America currently dominates the Medical Device Testing and certification market attributed to strong presence of device manufacturers and frequent new product launches in the region. 

[jhstickynotes]

Article Summary: Social Competence Intervention Program (SCIP): A pilot study of a creative drama program for youth with social difficulties

Written by Kevin Bandel

Note: For this article, only part of it was available for free, so there will be some specifics that are not included in this summary

Using drama to enhance an intervention to improve social skills and communication, the Social Competence Intervention Program (SCIP) included children with autism spectrum disorder, nonverbal learning disability, and ADHD. A group of eighteen participants were compared with a clinical control group of sixteen. The qualities measured in the participants were social perception, social competence, and naturalistic observed behavior (examining a subject’s behavior in their typical environment without external influence).

Interviews were conducted from both the participants and their parents about how they were performing in the measured areas post-treatment. The treatment group showed significant progress in the measured social skills and behaviors compared to the clinical control group. This change was noted both in the participants and their parents.

The study deemed these findings to be preliminary steps to support the effects of creative drama programs for people with social perception and competence struggles. They are only preliminary steps because of the small sample size, especially when considering the eighteen neurodivergent participants represented three different conditions. The benefits of creative drama may impact various neurotypes in different ways, so a larger sample size would be needed to have more data.

While it requires more experimentation and results to verify its accuracy, the concept of using drama to learn the implicit aspects of social communication could be valuable to autistic people. When talking to others, trying to learn these skills in addition to having thoughtful conversing with others could be overwhelming to those on the autism spectrum. Drama allows participants to study the subtleties of facial expressions and tone of voice in isolation, giving more focus to them without overloading someone with information. In addition to the general development of social communication drama can provide, acting and singing are often overlapping fields. Given the number of singers that are either enrolled in or plan to enroll in JHFA, the benefits of drama should be worth our consideration for certain participants.

[reportstore]

Surfing-inspired nebuliser developed to treat cystic fibrosis with saltwater exposure

Drug organization Parion Sciences and item improvement firm Cambridge Experts have jointly fostered another surfing-inspired spray conveyance framework that can assist with peopling suffering with cystic fibrosis to seek the advantages of saltwater treatment in their homes.

Drug organization Parion Sciences and item improvement firm Cambridge Specialists have jointly fostered another surfing-inspired spray conveyance framework that can assist with peopling suffering with cystic fibrosis to seek the advantages of saltwater treatment in their homes.

Subsequent to observing surfers with cystic fibrosis (CF) market, researchers found that the inhaled fog of seawater restoratively affects the lung issues related with the disease.

After evaluation in a clinical preliminary, the trans-nasal pneumonic spray conveyance gadget is professed to have surpassed its anticipated execution, and presently extra devices have been called for in request to help more clinical preliminaries.

Parion prime supporter and director Dr Richard Boucher said they have seen proof that routine openness to saltwater decreases the quantity of lung infections in CF patients and prompts less medical clinic confirmations, however the test was to foster an ideal conveyance framework.

"We enrolled Cambridge Advisors to plan the framework, given its history of creating world firsts in drug conveyance gadget improvement - and the outcomes have surpassed our assumptions," Boucher added.

For more cystic fibrosis market insights on this report, download a free report sample

The new nebuliser permits individuals suffering with CF to partake in the advantages of saltwater treatment in their homes for the time being while they rest.

In excess of 70,000 grown-ups and kids across the world are suffering with this chronic disease, which adversely influences the lungs and stomach related framework.

A few examinations have indicated that inhaling the hypertonic saltwater arrangement lightens the condition in CF patients as it rehydrates the layer of bodily fluid film that lines the lungs.

Other than conducting human-factor studies, Cambridge Specialists likewise applied its skill in liquid elements to foster a framework that could continuously convey a spray fog through the nose for eight hours.

Cambridge Advisors program chief Matthew Allen said that they perceived the capability of the undertaking to help CF patients.

"The test was to construct a spray nebuliser framework that could be easily utilized by patients short-term - with the saline fog traveling down a long cannula to the sleeping patient without forming the enormous drops that frequently happen in a standard nebuliser framework.

"The size of the saline drops is essential to the progress of the treatment as the need might arise to be sufficiently little to infiltrate profound into the lungs," Allen added.

The point of the gadget is to offer a powerful treatment framework for CF patients including small kids.

[tastydregs]

A Cancer-Fighting Version of Herpes Shows Promise in Early Human Trial

A illustration of a herpes simplex virus.

Illustration: Shutterstock (Shutterstock)

Scientists may be able to turn a long-time germ foe into a cancer-fighting ally, new research this week suggests. In preliminary data from a Phase I trial, a genetically modified version of the herpes virus has shown promise in treating difficult-to-eradicate tumors, with one patient having experienced a complete remission for 15 months so far. Much more research will be needed to confirm the treatment’s early success, however.

The viral treatment is known as RP2 and is a genetically engineered strain of herpes simplex 1, the virus responsible for most cases of oral herpes in humans, as well as some cases of genital herpes. Developed by the company Replimune, RP2 is designed to work on two fronts. Injected directly into the tumor, the virus is supposed to selectively infect and kill certain cancer cells. But it also blocks the expression of a protein known as CTLA-4 produced by these cells, and it hijacks their machinery to produce another molecule called GM-CSF. The net result of these cellular changes is to weaken the cancer’s ability to hide from and fend off the immune system.

In a Phase I trial conducted by scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in the UK, RP2 was given as the only treatment to nine patients with advanced cancers that failed to respond to other therapies; it was also given in combination with another immunotherapy drug to 30 patients. Three patients on RP2 alone appeared to respond to the treatment, meaning their cancers shrank or stopped growing, and seven patients on the combination therapy responded as well. One patient in particular, with a form of carcinoma along his salivary gland, has shown no signs of cancer for at least 15 months after treatment with RP2 alone. There were no life-threatening adverse events reported in the trial, with the most common symptoms post-treatment being fever, chills, and other flu-like illness.

The findings, presented this week at the 2022 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress (ESMO), are preliminary, since they’ve yet to be vetted through the formal peer review process. They’re also based on a very small sample size, meaning that any results should be taken with caution. But Phase I trials aren’t intended to show that a treatment is effective, only that it’s safe enough for humans to take. So the fact that some people with seemingly incurable cancers already appear to be responding to RP2, the team argues, is a very good sign that it can live up to its potential.

“Our study shows that a genetically engineered, cancer-killing virus can deliver a one-two punch against tumors—directly destroying cancer cells from within while also calling in the immune system against them,” said lead author Kevin Harrington, professor of Biological Cancer Therapies at The Institute of Cancer Research, in a statement from the organization.

G/O Media may get a commission

Alexa? Has an 8" HD touchscreen which can let you watch shows, stream things, or even make video calls thanks to the 13 MP camera, you can also use it to control other smart devices in your home with ease, and even display photos if you want to as a digital photo frame.

Scientists have been hopeful about cancer-fighting viruses for a long time. But it’s only recently that this hope has finally been starting to pay off. In 2015, the first viral therapy was approved in the U.S. for certain advanced cases of melanoma. This May, scientists in California launched a Phase I clinical trial of their anticancer virus, called Vaxinia. Other companies are developing their own candidates, either alone or in combination with other treatments. And Replimune is developing two other candidates based on their modified herpes virus.

While many experimental therapies ultimately fail to cross the finish line and reach the public, it’s possible at least some of these viruses could one day become a new standard cancer treatment.

[weaponvault]

Sa 81 KRÁSA Experimental Submachine Gun

In the spring of 1976, the Ministry of Defence commissioned the Research and Development Institute of General Engineering Plants (VVÚ ZVS) in Brno with a request to prepare a study on the application of the introduced cartridge vz. 43 (7.62 x 39 mm) for the construction of a submachine gun intended for commanders of combat units and specialists (gunners, tank commanders and paratroopers, etc.). In a relatively short period from the end of March to 31 May, a study was produced evaluating the realistic possibilities of using a relatively powerful cartridge for the construction of a short, light automatic weapon. The initial requirement did not foresee the construction of special ammunition, which would impose a production and economic burden in the event of the introduction of weapons into the arsenal. Preliminary tactical technical conditions specified a maximum length of the weapon without shoulder rest of 270 mm, a maximum weight with shoulder rest without magazine of 1,6 kg, a magazine capacity of 20-30 rounds, an effective firing range of 200 with a core dispersion of 20 cm when firing single shots and 75 cm when firing bursts.

The role of the main task solver fell to Jiří Čermák (15 February 1926 - 9 September 2006), a designer in the Czechoslovak Army. 58 assault rifle and a number of other Czechoslovak weapons. Due to the size of the cartridge, the limitation of the barrel length by the external specified dimensions, it was necessary to design the weapon, especially its breech mechanism, in a completely different way. In order to shorten the length of the breech housing as much as possible, Jiří Čermák chose an unconventional solution for the transport of cartridges from the magazine. The upper cartridge was not ejected forward, but was pulled backwards by means of flexible extractor arms while the breech was being extended. The ejected cartridge was guided by lateral guides in front of the chamber mouth and lifted upwards by the radial surface of the tensioned hammer. Only then, as the bolt moved forward, was it caught by the bolt face and transported into the chamber. The wedge bolt of relatively small dimensions (with an overall length of less than the length of the cartridge) was locked in the last phase of the bolt movement by resting on four locking surfaces. The function of the weapon was based on the principle of a locked bolt with gas pressure extraction on the piston due to the power of the cartridge. The hammer percussion mechanism allowed firing with the breech in the forward, locked position, which ensured a presumption of higher accuracy. Because of the short barrel and thus high muzzle pressure and muzzle blast, it was necessary to provide the muzzle with an effective flame arrestor to eliminate glare to the shooter when firing in difficult lighting conditions.

The weapon was designated Sa 80 KRÁSA (KRÁtký SAmopal) and the first working sample was produced at VVÚ ZVS in autumn 1980. In the following two years, work on the weapon continued as part of a set of research tasks under the collective designation SRÁZ, and a second prototype was produced, numbered 6955 and designated Sa 81. The effort to solve the weapon in the new Soviet, but then unavailable to our designers, 5.45 x 39 mm cartridge, led the development group under the leadership of Jiri Cermak to the prototype with the designation Sa 83. At the end of 1983, however, the development work was stopped due to the priority of the LADA small arms set. The design of the KRÁSA did not fit into the future concept of the weapon kit system, so it was abandoned.

The sample of the Sa 81 submachine gun was acquired by the Military Historical Institute in 1994 by transfer from Prototypy, a. s. Brno.

Calibre: 7,62 x 39 mm

Overall length with folded shoulder rest: 315 mm

Total length with shoulder rest folded out: 562 mm

Height: 189 mm

Width: 60 mm

Intentional length: 148

Barrel length with flame arrestor: 190 mm

Barrel length: 138 mm

Weight of weapon without magazine: 2100 g

Weight of weapon with empty magazine: 2260 g

Magazine capacity: 20 rounds

Theoretical cadence: 975 rounds/min.

[sciencespies]

Spiders weave catapult-like mechanisms into their webs to hoist unwieldy prey

https://sciencespies.com/nature/spiders-weave-catapult-like-mechanisms-into-their-webs-to-hoist-unwieldy-prey/

Spiders weave catapult-like mechanisms into their webs to hoist unwieldy prey

Tangle-web spiders are little creatures with big appetites. New research has found some species of this family can tweak their silk traps to lift extremely large prey – sometimes up to 50 times heavier than themselves – suspending their meal many centimetres off the ground.

Considering the size of these hunters, many of which are smaller than a thumbnail and weigh little more than a tiny fraction of a gram, that’s quite a powerful system and shows a unique ability for spiders to adapt and think on their eight feet.

When an unsuspecting bug, rodent, or lizard accidentally sticks to the spider’s dangling ‘trigger’ thread, these clever hunters jump into action, spinning out an extra line of silk at just the right tension to catapult their heavy prey higher into their nest than their muscles might manage alone.

During filming, in fact, the smallest spider, which weighed a mere 0.01 grams, slung up the heaviest prey of the lot: a 0.5 gram cockroach (Blaptica dubia). This particular species is known as Steatoda triangulosa or the Triangulate cobweb spider, but it’s not the only one that can do this.

Tangle-web spiders, or Theridiid spiders, are renowned for their remarkable booby traps, and many species have been found creating similar slingshots to the one described above, especially when prey is too big to carry using muscles alone.

When dwarfed by their appetites, some Theridiid spiders have been caught spinning a variety of silk into a simple ‘machine’ to make things easier for themselves.

Spider silk is an incredible elastic structure capable of absorbing or releasing energy when it loosens or contracts, and arachnids have come up with a whole bunch of innovative ways to use this unique material.

If a finely-tuned spider thread is relaxed, for instance, the silk releases its stored energy and becomes more mobile, creating a lifting motion like an external muscle.

It’s the perfect tool for suspending small prey in just one motion, without much work from the spider.

Yet not all prey are the right size. Historically, there have been several records of big prey getting trapped in these jib-like structures, including a mouse, winched by its tail, and a snake, suspended by its rear end – its jaws clamped firmly closed with more silk. 

Even lizards have been found hanging face down from the trap of a Triangulate cobweb spider.

Tangle-web spider hoisting a lizard up to its web. (Emanuele Olivetti )

These animals are not too large to get stuck to the spider’s trigger thread, but they are too heavy for the spider to carry on its own. The hunter must therefore weave extra, pre-stretched strings from the web to its prey, scrambling back and forth as it slowly hoists its meal up.

Filming two species of tangle-web spider in action, researchers have helped unravel this entire complex process using live bait for the first time.

The study relies on five individual spiders in total, one species of Steatoda paykulliana, and four species of the Triangulate cobweb spider.

Gluing silk samples onto a paper frame with a small window for a spider den, the team watched and filmed as all five arachnids weaved a trigger thread near the bottom of the web and sat back waiting for prey.

A live Dubia roach (Blaptica dubia) was then introduced to the scene. If the roach walking by was small enough, one sticky thread was all that was needed for the spider to snap up its meal. The hunter simply watched from above.

Larger bugs, on the other hand, required more finesse. In this case, the elastic energy from the capture thread is only what started the process of lifting, the authors found.

Watching nearby, the spider then scrambles to reach its prey, wrapping it in aciniform silk and using venom to stop its struggles. The hunter then attaches new pre-tensioned silk threads to the creature from the web, applying “a sum of tension that overcomes the prey’s weight“.

But only very gradually. These finely tuned elastic threads only lift the large prey a tiny amount at a time. The spider must then attach more threads and start the process all over again, lifting at a pace no faster than 0.01 centimetres (0.04 inches) per second.

Even when the prey was finally hoisted up to the main frame, the spider’s job was not done. Once there, the hunters were forced to remove several threads in the way to make room for their visitor.

“This ended when the prey was close to the main frame of the tangle web, where the den of the spider lies but the dense network of silk fibres obstructs the movements of the [prey],” the authors write. 

In total, the spiders used five different forms of silk to capture these big prey, including one for trapping, two for support, a cement-like joiner and a fifth silk to wrap up their meal.

Spider silk under the microscope. (Royal Society Interface)

“Thus,” the authors conclude, “it seems that Theridiid spiders are able to use the web and their silk as an external tool to hunt, which can be tuned by the arachnid. “ 

The insights are still preliminary – based on a small number of individuals from only a couple species – but just like that first trigger thread, they’ve helped raise our understanding of spider silk and its role in spider life and evolution.

If these tiny predators were given a larger cobweb to start with, the authors think it’s possible they could have captured prey even larger.

The study was published in the Royal Society Interface.

#Nature

[orangeoctopi7]

Return

All the excitement and time in the sun yesterday meant Ford slept soundly through the night. He had no visits from Bill, nor any dreams. The rising sun woke him as it shone through his window. 

Ford got up and dressed in a rush. He may have had a good time with Stan at the lake yesterday, but that didn't mean he wasn't annoyed with his brother for prohibiting study of that mysterious tooth. The researcher hoped it was still there this morning, but he also knew the supernatural had a tendency to disappear after its first sighting, even here in Gravity Falls. But even if it was gone, he needed to get back to that beach and check for any traces of weirdness.

However, waiting for him at the front door was Stan. Ford was shocked. Stan never got up this early! And yet here he was, already dressed and looking like he'd been up for a few hours.

"You were going to go check out that tooth without even having breakfast first, weren't you?" Stan asked with a raised eyebrow, blocking the front door.

"So what if I was?" Ford asked indignantly. "I'm an adult, I can skip breakfast if I so choose!"

Stan rolled his eyes and shoved a donut into his brother's hand. "Here, at least eat something on the way."

"Where did you even get this?"

"I stopped on the way back from running an errand this morning." Stan smiled smugly. "There's a pretty good bakery on main street. I know you haven't been there, because nobody said 'Hey, you're that mysterious loner scientist who lives out in the woods' while I was there."

Ford's face flushed as he scowled and pushed past his brother to the door. Stan followed him out, jangling his keys.

"You need a ride?"

"Or, you could give me your keys and let me drive myself."

"Not happening."

Ford grunted with frustration and squeezed between the wall and the passenger side of the car. "Why did you park so close!?"

"Because I'm not lettin' some tree monster get the Stanlymobile! Just wait in the driveway, I'll pull up to you."

Ford's irritation with his brother grew as they sped off to the lake. Stan's inexplicably smug attitude this morning didn't help.

Stan hadn't even put the car into park before Stanford was out of the door and dashing down the lakefront.

"H-hey, wait up a sec!" Stan called after him.

"Well then you should Keep up!" Ford shouted back, smiling at the irony. He stopped short when he rounded the hill and found the tooth. It was still there! And it was covered in webbing. The researcher's jaw dropped as he took a closer look. It looked just like the fibers produced by his web shooters.

"Stanley, did you--?"

"Hah, you should see the look on your face right now!" Stan chortled in reply. "That is so worth waking up at five in the morning for! Well, that and the twenty dollars you owe me."

"What? I wasn't being serious!"

"Hey, I warned you! I said you should know better than to bet against me."

Ford groaned, but he couldn't help but smile. He just couldn't stay mad when his brother had gone through the trouble to secure a paranormal specimen for him.

The researcher began sketching the tooth in his journal right away, as Stan began pulling off the strands of webbing so his brother could see the thing better. After the preliminary sketch was done, Ford brought out his instruments and began taking measurements. First of the tooth's dimensions, then of the residual radiation, spectroscopy, and other weirdness indicators. He used a chisel and some dental floss to pry off samples for later study. Ford's initial theory of this giant tooth being a result of the size-altering crystals proved to be wrong; the spectroscope readings were all wrong. He'd need to do more investigating to find another feasible theory.

The hours flew by as Ford investigated the tooth, the beach, and the lake, looking for more clues to where the thing could have come from. Something was different from yesterday, but he had a hard time putting his finger on what exactly that something was. He walked back toward the beach where they’d been playing yesterday, trying to jog his memory. That’s when it dawned on him. Yesterday, this part of the beach had opened up into the open water of the lake, with plenty of room for swimming and swinging. Now, there was a small island just off the shore, close enough that Ford was sure they would’ve been able to swing to it on their longest jump yesterday.

The researcher immediately pulled out his Journal and began sketching again, a new hypothesis forming in his brain. Was it possible that the giant tooth came from a living island?

He was so caught up in his studies that he didn’t even notice that Stan had left and come back at some point. But then his brother plopped a taco into his lap while he was trying to take water samples closer to the moving island, so Stan must have left to get lunch somewhere.

“Don’t forget to eat, genius.” He grumbled.

“Thanks.” Ford took a bite as he checked the electrolyte levels of the water. He watched a few bits of tortilla shells fall in, which were quickly snapped up by little fish. An idea burst into his head, and he chucked the remainder of his taco toward the island.

“Hey!” Stan cried.

“I need bait!”

“You need dinner!”

“...Don’t you mean lunch?”

“You skipped lunch, poindexter.”

Ford’s eyes widened. “What time is it?”

Stan glanced down at his watch. “A little past six.”

The researcher smacked his forehead. “Fiddleford could be back any minute!”

“Oh yeah.” Stan nodded. “I forgot he was coming back tonight.”

Ford gave one last glance back to  the lake where he’d thrown the taco just a moment before. All he could see were a few bubbles popping up. He turned away and ran back towards Stan’s car.

“Uh, you want me to web this back up? Maybe try and bring it back to the cabin?” Stan asked.

“No time! I’ve learned all I can from it, I’ll come back and investigate the island further at a later date. Right now, we need to get back home and before Fiddleford does.”

“Why is it so important you get home before him?” 

Ford gave a frustrated huff and he pulled his seatbelt on. “To get things cleaned back up! I don’t want any more comments about my bachelor pad from him.”

* * *

They got home with just enough time to clean up the kitchen and the living room when McGucket returned. The young inventor certainly seemed happier and more relaxed after his short vacation. However, something was bothering him. He had some important information to share with Stanford. 

“I know you’ve been eager to get back to work on the portal project, so I was doin’ some calculations while I was away.” He explained as he unpacked a stack of notebooks, his knee bouncing up and down rapidly, as it often did when he was agitated. “We got a problem! In order to create a polydimensional metavortex big enough to actually send somethin’ through it, we’re gonna need some sorta temporal displacement generator. That kinda technology doesn’t exist anywhere on Earth! Even if all the greatest scientific minds of humanity got together and put all their resources together to try an’ develop one, it’d likely take thousands of years!”

Ford smiled coyly. “The technology doesn’t exist anywhere on Earth, eh?”

“I don’t see what you’re smilin’ about, this isn’t the kind of setback we can just find a workaround for. We may have to abandon this entire concept!”

“We won’t have to abandon anything. I know where we can find a hyperdrive that should do the trick.”

Fiddleford just stared at his friend blankly for a few seconds. “...Is this some sort of prank yer brother put you up to or something?” He finally asked.

“Definitely not.” Stan answered as he entered the room. “My pranks are way better.”

“Stanley, were you eavesdropping on us?” Ford complained.

“Kinda hard not to when I’ve got super-hearing.” Stan shrugged. “Although I think it might be giving out on me. Did you just say you know where to find a hyperdrive? Like from Space Adventure?”

Ford looked around suspiciously, before beckoning his brother and McGucket to the hidden entrance to the secret lab. The entire ride down the elevator, the researcher did his best to maintain an air of mysterious silence. Stan and Fiddleford gave him odd looks the entire time. Finally, in the secluded privacy of Ford’s secret study, satisfied that there could be no more eavesdroppers, he sat his brother and his friend down on the couch.

“What I’m about to tell you will change your entire lives.” He said solemnly.

Fiddleford was waiting on bated breath, but Stan looked thoroughly unimpressed.

“Just over two years ago, I began mapping magnetic anomalies here in the Gravity Falls.” The researcher continued. “They all converged on a hilltop just south of the center of the valley. I hiked up there, my compass spinning, to try and find what caused the magnetic disturbances. What I found was…” He paused for dramatic effect, “a crashed extraterrestrial ship! Lake sediments and aluvium have buried most of it far underground, but the very top of the central dome forms this hill, where only a thin covering of topsoil and plant life hide it from view. I studied it for months before, well, I hit a bit of a roadblock in my studies. Luckily, I found a little help from a friend, and I was able to move forward with my research, but I haven’t had the time to return since.”

Fiddleford’s eyes were wide, and his fingers were curled through his hair. Stan’s expression was hard to read, but Ford got the distinct impression of concern from it. 

“Now, I’m sure both of you can understand why it is imperative that this information not be leaked to the general public or even worse, the government.” The researcher continued. “Outside the confines of this lab, you are to refer to this information as Crash Site Omega, whether in writing, speaking, or otherwise.”

His companions stared back at him blankly for a moment, just letting what Stanford had just dumped on them sink in.

“Sooooo…” Stan finally broke the silence. “There’s seriously a UFO buried under Gravity Falls?”

“Gah!” Fiddleford cried out as he stood suddenly, pulling out a couple of handfuls of hair in the process.

“Whoa, easy there, buddy!” Stan reached out to lay a comforting hand on his shoulder, but McGucket turned away and began frantically pacing laps around the lab.

“I should have known this would set off his anxiety.” Ford said, torn between being amused and worried by his friend’s reaction.

“This explains… I knew he wasn’t crazy! ...And the fault gouge along the floating cliffs… the valley resembles an impact crater… no outlets… my whole life I wondered… and if any of the technology could be salvaged…!” The inventor muttered to himself as he continued to pace, occasionally tugging at his hair. 

“Ford, I can’t believe you’ve been sittin’ on this for two years!” Stan exclaimed. “If you went public with this, you’d be world famous!”

“Yes, and then the government would cordon this entire valley off and I’d never be able to visit the site again. Either that or I’d suddenly have to compete with thousands of other scientists coming to study it themselves. I’m not going public with this information until I’ve learned everything I can myself. And I ask you to respect that decision, and not try to use this top-secret, world-changing discovery for some get-rich-quick scheme!”

“Hey, no danger of that here!” Stan threw up his hands defensively. “I get it! You think I want some government spooks showin’ up and findin’ out about my powers? Dragging me off to some super-secret lab and runnin’ experiments on me?” He chuckled, remembering where he was now. “I mean, I doubt they’d be as considerate as you guys have been.”

“Honey fogelin', saltlickin' skullduggery Stanford!” McGucket shouted, signaling the end of his pacing. “I cannot believe you have actual proof of not just extraterrestrial life, but that they’ve been here! I never told you about this when we were in college, ‘cuz I figured you’d think I’m nuts, but when I was little my grandma disappeared. Now, the only person there that night with her was my cousin Thistlebert, an’ he always said she was ‘taken by them saucer people!’ The police thought he was just crazy, but I always thought there had to be somethin’ to his claims. Thistlebert might not’ve been the sharpest tool in the McGucket family shed, but he wasn’t crazy, and he definitely wasn’t a liar.

“I can’t believe I never figured it out myself!” the inventor continued to ramble. “The shape of the floatin’ cliffs, the ellipse of the valley, the placement of the waterfall, the fact that there’s only one pass in or out of the basin… all the geography points to it!” He turned to Ford, an excited grin on his face. “I have so many questions!”

“You’ll be able to answer them yourself soon!” Ford assured him. “We can leave tomorrow. It’s a two day hike out to the only entrance up on that hill. We’ll need to pack plenty of camping supplies, as well as radiation equipment and gear to navigate the ship’s interior. That’s where you come in, Stanley. Your powers and the web shooters should help us explore more easily.”

“Wait, two day hike?” Stan asked incredulously. “You said it’s just a hill in the middle of the valley, why don’t we just drive? It only takes three hours to drive here from Portland, it can’t take more than one hour to drive to some place you can see from town.”

“It’s in the middle of a large cow pasture on a local farm’s property, there aren’t any roads up there.”

“Yeah, but there’s gotta at least be a road to the farm, right? Then we’ll only have to hike for a couple of hours, and not spend the night in monster infested woods.”

“Well, what better way to explore and find new anomalies to study!” Ford protested. “Every monster we find in those woods is another step closer to understanding why Gravity Falls is such a hot spot for weirdness!”

“I-I’m with Stanley on this one.” Fiddleford admitted. “I know the whole reason you came out here was to study them monsters, but I’m just here to assist in buildin’ yer portal project. I’d prefer to stay outta the monster huntin’.”

Ford deflated. He loved spending time out in the woods of Gravity Falls, finding new creatures and hidden places that no human eyes had seen for hundreds of years. He’d really be looking forward to sharing them with his friend and his brother… and honestly, he’d been looking forward to just camping with them.

“Well, it seems I’m outvoted.” he grumbled in defeat. “Especially considering I’m the only one among the three of us who doesn’t have a functioning vehicle. We’ll still need to pack the necessary equipment. In addition to the radiation gear and web shooters, we’ll need the magnet guns I developed from technology I found at the crash site. They’ll be necessary to scramble the ship’s security systems, but they’ll also be helpful for getting around. Just be careful not to aim them at the sky. I, uh, accidentally crashed one of the Northwest’s helicopters once. Luckily no one was hurt, and they could never prove I had anything to do with it, but I’d rather not have a repeat of that incident.”

USG’N NBIVR, ZFEUWR, C’CY DEDY JHII RIL TLCL AVG KS AUMR PSNL DBEWMYI ULRM.

[abbi-normals-brain]

A Credible Threat

An interview between a human from Australia, and a highly credulous alien tasked with cataloging and rating potential threats and hazards throughout the galaxy. Derived loosely from a recent writing prompt I saw lurking Reddit. I don't post there, so here it is.

"We had a war with them, you know."

The human puts the "cigarette" to his mouth again. The smoke activates the extractors, which are calibrated to remove all toxins from the atmousphere almost as soon as they appear.  You scroll through your notes with one tentacle, looking for a mention of whom he's referring to.

"A war? With the...the large criminal faction typically referred to as 'The English', I presume? I understand your people were exiled from--"

The human interupts you with a harsh laugh, like the sounds made by the dogs you'd unsuccessfully tried to interview earlier in this experiment. You make a note to re-open the issue of whether these sounds may  constitute a spoken language after all.

"A 'criminal faction'! Ha, that's a good one! But Nah, mate. I didn't mean England. I mean the damn emus."

"...emus?"

"Emus." Ash falls from the glowing tip, and you nervously check your notes. Who let him have that thing? It must constitute some kind of hazard rating. The preliminary analysis from the lab decribes the item as 'a thin tube of bleached fibrous material containing dried plant matter of the Earth genus Nicotiana which has typically been impregnated with preservatives and other compounds. Nicotiana is very toxic in large enough doses, and alters neurochemical makeup with consistant exposure, but it is vanishingly difficult to expose oneself to these conditions unintentionally, particularly in a well-ventilated space. One end is hot when in use, but the items were judged largely harmless and placed in the lowest threat category.' Hm. Fine. Doesn't seem right, but the lab technicians generally know what they're doing.

"Expand on this, please."

"They're bloody emus! What else is there to say?! You mean to tell me you guys went cruising around in your little UFO grabbing up randos from all over Australia--"

"We  actually took samples from an evenly distributes pattern of points across the surface of your world."

"And NONE of them told you about emus?!"

"No."

The human snorted and shakes his head. You enter a few notes, waiting for him to continue, and when he doesn't, you do.

"You are the first subject to mention them. Frankly, the first to mention war with an non-human animal at all, and I can't say I'm not suspicious of your claims."

"Suspicious? Mate, it's just how the place is. First thing people think of when they think of Australia."

"The Galactic Travel Guide is familiar with many of Earth's most dangerous predators outside of yourselves. We've heard about the lions. We've heard about the hippos, and how they're actually much more dangerous than the lions. We've heard quite a lot about the moose. We've even heard of your screaming, spitting black and white geese. We've even heard of the small population of flightless dragons with necrotic saliva.  But the idea of creatures such as these attempting to make war on the dominant sapients of the planet--"

"It was a little more than an attempt, mate," the human muttered.

"You don't mean to suggest--"

"Yeah. Yeah, they won."

"..."

"Twice."

"Is it something about your treatment aboard ship that makes you so obstructionist in these interviews? You know that if you simply answer our questions about the hazards your species navigate on your planet, we will return you to your home. Most of our other samples have completed this task, been mindwiped of the experience, and returned to their normal lives."

"Nah, the food's great. The room's comfortable. I'm not 'obstructionist'. I'm just tellin' you what's out there."

"And what else is there?"

"Kangaroos."

"Go on."

"Long tail. They can stand on it a little. Hops along on its back feet as fast as a car, but can't move backwards. Massive, vicious sharp claws too. Tall as a man, almost, and punches like a freight train. And they breed pretty fast, enough they're pests in some parts."

"Pests as in, an animal populous enough to cause damage to human settlements?"

"Yeah, they put up special fences in some places to keep them out."

"Fortifications?! Just for these creatures?!"

"We also got'em for crocodiles."

"We've heard of them before, from a subject in..." you check your notes, "Egypt."

"Ours are bigger. And meaner. World famous for it, really."

"So you say."

"And I bet that guy didn't tell you the kicker about crocodiles. If you're looking for a threat rating, well... See, they just...keep growing. Most of them come in at an average size, but sometimes there's one....as long as they have enough food to support themselves, they literally never stop growing, AND they don't age like you and m--well, like me. So they could hypothetically get to be older than dirt and bigger than a bus if you fed 'em enough."

"Right. Moving on. Setting aside macrofauna, how would you describe the toxicology profile of your land? Insects, plant and fungal life, etc?"

"Extensive! World famous for that too!"

"Of course you are."

"It's not all bad. Some of our animals carry their babies inside--"

"Yes, we're aware of the ordeal that is mammallian reproduction and would thank you not to bring it up."

"No no, the marsupials. Like the kangaroos. The babies are born as just this tiny fetus that crawls by itself into its mother's pocket until its got hair and stuff."

"So now you're saying the kangaroos wear clothes?"

"No, the pocket is in the skin."

"For Glob's sake, if you think I'm such a fool that I'd enter this in the GTG databases--which 100's of bargillions of S'zezdars rely on for their very lives as they attempt to avoid the many deadly threats in the galaxy--"

"Can't be that deadly out there, if you're this scared of kangaroos."

The thick mane of barbed spines down your back rattled against each other as they rose up straight--"like a porcupine" a different human subject had said. You were starting to lose patience.

"Human." you said with a measured firmness that made the human pause and look warily at you, shifting eye contact between your various ocular organs as they bulged, pulsing with pale yellow light. "What the GTG does may seem silly to you, or pedantic, or useless. To be quite frank, this is because you as a species live on a tiny ball of spittle and haven't even been to the bottoms of your own oceans yet. Out here, in the vastness of all space, where the species like us who have earned the privilege, this is a literal matter of life and death. Living, thinking, sapient being in numbers that your species literally can't comprehend depend on accurate up to date information on the unimaginable array of threats that await them off-world."

"Mate, I'm sorry, I'm really not here to condescend. I'm actually trying to help you."

With a conscious effort, you pull your spines back down into a relaxed position. They make a single simultaneous clacking sound, like an old mechanical lockbox.

"Then please give my work the gravity it deserves."

The human put the "cigarette" in his mouth again, and exhaled thoughtfully., giving you a curious look.

"...so, uh. I take that means you don't wanna hear about the platypus?" You're about done with this subject. He's been holding up the experimental process for days. His claims get more and more outlandish and obtuse with each interview. Clearly you're not going to get accurate information about this subject's natural environment from the subject himself. An away mission will be necessary to verify details first hand.

Your tentacles flex and curl nervously. But what if what he said was true, or at least had a grain of truth to it? You consider it for a moment and discard the idea. If the location were really that dangerous, they would be downplaying it to exaggerate their own power over such a hostile environment. Clearly they're doing the opposite, trying to exaggerate the danger. Or more likely, fabricate dangers completely. He must know the land has no natural defenses and doesn't want to be overrun by hostile Galactic faction. Or maybe they just want adventure tourist dollars--this is for a travel guide after all. You decide in an instant that you're calling his bluff here and now. 

Either way, this subject is being ejected from the study post-haste. You release the thin panel of a screen you'd been taking notes on, and grasp the microphone of the voice COM in your desk firmly among your suckers.

"Guard." you say flatly. A heavily armed and armoured S'zezdar slithers into the room immediately. "Take this one for mindwiping and send him home. We're going to have to check out the local flora and fauna on the surface ourselves." You distantly worried about the tongues-lashing your supervisor would give you about it, and about how you handled this subject in general, but getting out on an away mission again would be worth it.

The guard looked surprised.

"Without even a preliminary threat rating for the area?"

"Don't worry. I'm expecting no problems at all."

The guard grabbed the human by one of his upper appendages. The other appendage crushed the synthetic foam filter of his "cigarette" device into the table. The human didn't resist as the guard pulled him up out of the chair. Instead, the human stretched out its mouth. Sideways. You almost feel like it could reach his ears if he tried. You've seen no record of this facial expression in humans. You don't like it. It shows too many teeth.

"A'right, bye then, mate. Good talkin' to ya..." The human... (you cast about for the word for a moment) laughs. As the guard drags him to the medical bay, he calls back once more over his shoulder.

"Good luck with the emus!"

[spaceexp]

NASA’s Newly Arrived OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Already Discovers Water on Asteroid

NASA - OSIRIS-REx Mission patch. Dec. 10, 2018

Image above: This mosaic image of asteroid Bennu is composed of 12 PolyCam images collected on Dec. 2 by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a range of 15 miles (24km). Image Credits: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona. Recently analyzed data from NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission has revealed water locked inside the clays that make up its scientific target, the asteroid Bennu. During the mission’s approach phase, between mid-August and early December, the spacecraft traveled 1.4 million miles (2.2 million km) on its journey from Earth to arrive at a location 12 miles (19 km) from Bennu on Dec. 3. During this time, the science team on Earth aimed three of the spacecraft’s instruments towards Bennu and began making the mission’s first scientific observations of the asteroid. OSIRIS-REx is NASA’s first asteroid sample return mission. Data obtained from the spacecraft’s two spectrometers, the OSIRIS-REx Visible and Infrared Spectrometer (OVIRS) and the OSIRIS-REx Thermal Emission Spectrometer (OTES), reveal the presence of molecules that contain oxygen and hydrogen atoms bonded together, known as “hydroxyls.” The team suspects that these hydroxyl groups exist globally across the asteroid in water-bearing clay minerals, meaning that at some point, Bennu’s rocky material interacted with water. While Bennu itself is too small to have ever hosted liquid water, the finding does indicate that liquid water was present at some time on Bennu’s parent body, a much larger asteroid.

OSIRIS-REx arrival at Bennu. Animation Credit: NASA

“The presence of hydrated minerals across the asteroid confirms that Bennu, a remnant from early in the formation of the solar system, is an excellent specimen for the OSIRIS-REx mission to study the composition of primitive volatiles and organics,” said Amy Simon, OVIRS deputy instrument scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “When samples of this material are returned by the mission to Earth in 2023, scientists will receive a treasure trove of new information about the history and evolution of our solar system.” Additionally, data obtained from the OSIRIS-REx Camera Suite (OCAMS) corroborate ground-based telescopic observations of Bennu and confirm the original model developed in 2013 by OSIRIS-REx Science Team Chief Michael Nolan and collaborators. That model closely predicted the asteroid’s actual shape, with Bennu’s diameter, rotation rate, inclination, and overall shape presented almost exactly as projected. One outlier from the predicted shape model is the size of the large boulder near Bennu’s south pole. The ground-based shape model calculated this boulder to be at least 33 feet (10 meters) in height. Preliminary calculations from OCAMS observations show that the boulder is closer to 164 feet (50 meters) in height, with a width of approximately 180 feet (55 meters). Bennu’s surface material is a mix of very rocky, boulder-filled regions and a few relatively smooth regions that lack boulders. However, the quantity of boulders on the surface is higher than expected. The team will make further observations at closer ranges to more accurately assess where a sample can be taken on Bennu to later be returned to Earth.

3D Shape Model of Asteroid Bennu

Video above: This preliminary shape model of asteroid Bennu was created from a compilation of images taken by OSIRIS-REx’s PolyCam camera during the spacecraft’s approach toward Bennu during the month of November. This 3D shape model shows features on Bennu as small as six meters. Video Credits: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona. “Our initial data show that the team picked the right asteroid as the target of the OSIRIS-REx mission. We have not discovered any insurmountable issues at Bennu so far,” said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of Arizona, Tucson. “The spacecraft is healthy and the science instruments are working better than required. It is time now for our adventure to begin.” The mission currently is performing a preliminary survey of the asteroid, flying the spacecraft in passes over Bennu’s north pole, equator, and south pole at ranges as close as 4.4 miles (7 km) to better determine the asteroid’s mass. The mission’s scientists and engineers must know the mass of the asteroid in order to design the spacecraft’s insertion into orbit because mass affects the asteroid’s gravitational pull on the spacecraft. Knowing Bennu’s mass will also help the science team understand the asteroid’s structure and composition. This survey also provides the first opportunity for the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter (OLA), an instrument contributed by the Canadian Space Agency, to make observations, now that the spacecraft is in proximity to Bennu. The spacecraft’s first orbital insertion is scheduled for Dec. 31, and OSIRIS-REx will remain in orbit until mid-February 2019, when it exits to initiate another series of flybys for the next survey phase. During the first orbital phase, the spacecraft will orbit the asteroid at a range of 0.9 miles (1.4 km) to 1.24 miles (2.0 km) from the center of Bennu — setting new records for the smallest body ever orbited by a spacecraft and the closest orbit of a planetary body by any spacecraft. Goddard provides overall mission management, systems engineering and the safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is the principal investigator, and the University of Arizona also leads the science team and the mission’s science observation planning and data processing. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver built the spacecraft and is providing flight operations. Goddard and KinetX Aerospace are responsible for navigating the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the agency’s New Frontiers Program for the Science Mission Directorate in Washington. For more information about OSIRIS-REx, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex Image (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Video (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Dwayne Brown/JoAnna Wendel/Katherine Brown/GSFC/Nancy Jones/University of Arizona/Erin Morton. Greetings, Orbiter.ch Full article

[sofreakinmanyfandoms]

November 8 - Always a Child

I’m gonna turn this into a series some day, I swear. There’s just only so much I can fit into a one-shot if I have to write it in one day.

Word count: 2738

Warnings: None

Pairing: Tony Stark X Reader

Picture is not mine, but it is of RDJ when he was five, so thank you, Google.

“Stop acting like a child, Tony. I’m busy.”

“But Y/N,” your boyfriend whined, tipping over and letting his head crash into your shoulder, “I’m so bored. JARVIS won’t let me into my lab.”

“If I may remind you, Sir,” the AI cut in, “the artifact you left in there is still letting off a strange smoke-like substance and the ventilation system in place for similar emergencies has not been able to remove all of it because it is out in the open. Allowing you to access your lab would go against every safety protocol you programmed for me.”

“My mistake,” Tony grumbled, rubbing his face into your neck in a manner not entirely unlike a cat.

You let your eyes flicker to him before looking back to your laptop. “Thank you, JARVIS, for keeping this idiot safe.”

“It’s my pleasure, Ms. Y/N.”

Tony let out a rather undignified whine. “I’m still bored here. Pay attention to me.”

You pulled your eyes away from your work and let them meet his as best they could for how close his face was to yours.

“You’re a grown man, Tony. Find something to do on your own. It’s your own fault I have to work anyway, pulling that stunt at the party last night. I swear, accepting the job of being your publicist is the worst decision I’ve ever made.”

“It got you a boyfriend,” he muttered into your shoulder. “That’s not so bad.”

“It is at the moment!” You let your full exasperation bleed into your voice. “Seriously, Tony, this isn’t something I can put off, and you’re just making it take longer! Come back in an hour, but until then find something to keep yourself occupied like the adult you’re supposed to be.”

With a huff, Tony pushed himself off the couch and sulked off towards his lab.

“JARVIS, if I wear a gas mask and safety suit can I go into my lab?”

“Once you are fully suited up, if there is no way the substance could reach you, then yes, I would let you back in.”

“Cool. Where’s that stuff stored?”

“At the present, Sir, you keep all of your safety gear in your lab.”

Tony groaned. “Not the smartest move on my part. Okay, what if I wore my suit? I’ve got a few models that aren’t in the lab, and one of them has a full air filtration system included.”

“That would be an acceptable substitute.”

“Awesome. Send it here, please.” Tony stepped into the suit once it arrived and slipped into the lab.

“Okay,” he said, more to himself than to JARVIS, “let’s get this thing contained.” It took a few minutes, but he got it enclosed in a box with a tube pumping the smoke directly into the ventilation system, allowing him to take the suit off and step into his lab.

“JARVIS, what’s the composition of the smoke?”

“According to preliminary analysis, it appears to be an alien compound of unknown elements in smoke form. Would you like to take a sample for further analysis?”

“Yes, I’ll get to that in a moment. What about the box itself?”

“It appears to be just that, Sir: a box. Enough of the compound has come out of it that it either produces it internally or, as seems more likely based on the fact it didn’t release anything until it was here, it is reacting to something in its surroundings. Perhaps a chemical response to something in the lab?”

“If that’s what’s causing it, it should stop soon now that it’s contained.”

“That would be a logical assumption, Sir.”

“All right.” Tony rubbed his hands together and headed for the safety gear he was not going to only keep in the lab from now on. “I’ll get suited up and take a sample. You’ve got all of that stuff in a containment tank?”

“Yes, Sir. I won’t dispose of it unless it is absolutely proven safe.”

Tony slipped into a biohazard suit and grabbed a couple of vials with stoppers before heading into the side room where the containment tank with the alien compound was located. He filled both vials from the tank, flipping on the ventilation when some of the smoke escaped into the room.

“Damn it,” he muttered as one of the vials slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor. He reached to pick up the stopper from the mess – no point in wasting that just because he needed a new vial – when a piece of glass caught the suit and ripped it open.

“JARVIS,” he said, realizing something was wrong, “I don’t feel so good…”

The last thing he registered before blacking out was the armor scooping him up and getting him out of that room.

----------

You shut your laptop with a sigh, glad to finally have your work done. You were about to get up to check on Tony when JARVIS requested your attention.

“Excuse me, Ms. Y/N, I hate to alarm you but something has happened to Sir. I’ve already contacted the Avengers. It will take them a few hours to get here from New York, but they are on their way.”

If the Avengers had already been contacted, this was not a “miss-stepped on the stairs” type happened. At least JARVIS hadn’t said he’d called an ambulance.

“What happened, JARVIS?” you asked, standing.

“Sir was in his lab when his biohazard suit was breached. The alien compound seems to have reverted him to a much younger age.”

You froze mid-step. “How much younger?”

“Sir appears to be around five years old.”

----------

You peeked through the windowed wall of the lab to see a tiny, naked, squirming brunet sitting on one of Tony’s workbenches. He was pressing an oxygen mask to his face and being guarded by one of the suits.

“Tony?” you called softly, entering the room.

He put down the mask and cocked his head at you. “That’s me. Who are you?”

“My name’s Y/N,” you told him, coming over and standing in front of him.

This was awkward. Your boyfriend is a small child. What were you supposed to do in this situation?

“You’re pretty,” Tony announced. “Can I marry you when I grow up?” Before you could even process his question, he continued, “The voice in the ceiling told me I passed out and someone would be coming to take care of me. Is that you?”

That question was more manageable.

“Yes, for now. There’s a group of people who are coming to figure out why you passed out” (I mean, really, how were you supposed to explain this to a five-year-old, even if he can build a circuit board?) “and they’ll be here in a few hours. I’m going to take care of you until then.”

“Cool,” little Tony said, standing on the table and launching himself into your arms. “I’m hungry. Can I have spaghetti?”

“Sure sweetie,” you managed. “Let’s go upstairs and I’ll make you some spaghetti.”

----------

Five-year-old Tony loved spaghetti. He also was significantly messier than adult Tony when eating. Good thing he didn’t have any clothes to get dirty. You ran him a bath as soon as lunch was over and let him play with your StarkPad in the tub – good thing Tony’d made it waterproof – while you figured some stuff out, namely what he was going to wear when he got out. Fortunately JARVIS was already on it; clothing in Tony’s current size was delivered while you were pouring through your closet for something that would stay on his child-sized body.

Turns out, JARVIS had a good sense of what child Tony would like, not just what would fit him. Tony dug through the bags excitedly, choosing a t-rex shirt, jeans, and underwear with tiny beakers on them. You tried to get him to wear socks, but he preferred to run around barefoot and he was just as stubborn when fun-sized as when full-sized.

Keeping him occupied after getting dressed was significantly easier. You took him back to the lab and after making sure all his current projects were put away let him go ham, building whatever he wanted. DUM-E was his new best friend in just a few minutes, bringing him whatever tool he asked for. Tony couldn’t stop giggling at the bot’s antics, and by the time the team showed up there was a smaller remote-controlled version of DUM-E following both Tony and the larger bot around.

You stood outside the lab with Steve, Bruce, and Natasha, watching your juniorized boyfriend playing with his robotic friends.

“So… that’s what happened, as far as I can gather from what JARVIS told me.”

“I can confirm Ms. Y/N is correct. That is what happened to Sir.”

“Okay,” Bruce rubbed a hand over his face. “So, I’m gonna need to study some of this compound to see if I can reverse its effects.”

“We can’t send you in for a sample,” Steve said with a frown. “If you get miniaturized too, we won’t have anyone left to work on this.”

Nat smirked. “Send Clint. He’ll be the most harmless as a kid out of any of us if anything happens to him.”

“If I may interrupt your brainstorming,” JARVIS cut in, “there was an extra tube filled with a sample in the containment room. I sent one of the suits to retrieve it and it is waiting for Doctor Banner in his lab.”

“Right, I’ll get on that, and I’ll call Helen Cho for backup.” Bruce made his escape to the bio lab Tony had built for him when rebuilding his Malibu residence.

“So, until Doctor Banner has the cure…” Steve trailed off, eyes returning to the child playing fetch with DUM-E

“Yeah, I know,” you said softly. “He’s still Tony. He still has so much curiosity and energy. But he’s more innocent, too, like the world hasn’t broken him yet.”

“In his mind it hasn’t,” Natasha added, then asked, “He seems okay. If he’s stuck as a kid for a little while it’ll be hard for the rest of us, but he’ll be alright.”

You nodded. “It’s more than we could have hoped for, I suppose.”

Your small conference was interrupted by a smaller head poking out of the lab.

“Y/N, Y/N, come see what I taught DUM-E to do!”

“I’m coming, Tony. Just give me a minute, sweetie,” you smiled at the boy. Glancing at Steve and Nat, you started toward the lab. “If you guys think of anything that would make this easier, I’d appreciate it. I’m not sure I’ll be able to handle babysitting duties this whole time.”

“I’m sure Clint won’t mind taking a turn later.”

Steve gave Natasha a skeptical look. “You’re really good at volunteering Clint for stuff he doesn’t know about.”

She shrugged and tossed her head. “What can I say? It’s one of my special talents.”

---------

“The end.” You closed the book and set it aside before reaching to run your fingers through Tony’s hair. “Now it’s time for you to sleep.”

“Aw, just one more, please?” the boy pled with you. “I’ll go to sleep after that!”

You couldn’t help but laugh at how hopeful he looked. “You said that before I read this one. Nope, mister, it’s time for you to get some sleep. You’ve got a big day tomorrow. You’ll be hanging out with Clint and Steve while I’m at work.”

The little Tony snuggled up against you in your big bed that seemed even larger than usual with a child instead of another adult pressed against you. “Do you really have to go to work?”

“Yes,” you told him. “That’s what being an adult is like.”

“But Clint and Steve won’t have to go to work.”

“Clint and Steve have a different job than I do,” you said, snuggling under the covers and wrapping your arms around him. “I won’t be all day, though. I’ll only be gone a few hours, and then I’ll do the rest of my work on my laptop while hanging out with you.”

Tony sighed as his eyes started drooping. “Okay. Y/N?”

“Yes, Tony?”

“Thanks for letting me have a sleepover with you. I’ve never gotten to have a sleepover before.”

“It’s my pleasure, Tony,” you smiled at the little boy. “My room is your room.”

----------

It was two weeks before Bruce and Helen found a cure, and by the time they found it little Tony had all the Avengers wrapped around his little finger. He would laugh and ask questions and get into trouble but get right back out of it with his big grin and puppy eyes.

“Are you sure we have to turn him back?” Clint asked, protesting when Natasha elbowed him.

“Yes, Clint,” Steve gave him the patented look of disappointment, “we have to turn him back. We’re not leaving Tony as a child forever.”

“He’s more fun when he’s a kid though,” the archer complained. “He actually thinks I’m cool.”

Bruce passed you a small canister with a breathing mask on the end. “Since he inhaled the original compound, we made the cure something he has to inhale as well. Just fit the mask over his mouth and depress the button for one second. Make sure he’s sitting down when he breathes it in, though; he’ll probably black out for a moment like he did the first time.”

You nodded and took the canister into the lab, where Tony was engaging in his favorite activity – playing with DUM-E. The rest of the team watched from the other side of the glass.

“Hey, Tony,” you called, motioning the boy over. “I need you to sit next to me on the couch, okay? Bruce figured out why you passed out a couple weeks ago, and this will make you better. You just have to breathe it in.”

“Okay,” he piped cheerfully, launching himself onto seat next to you. “But first you have to answer the question I asked you when we first met. Can I marry you when I grow up?”

Your heart melted a little and you hoped one day you and he would have a little boy just like this. “If you still want to marry me when you grow up, then yes, you may.”

“Cool.” He flashed you a cheeky grin, and then he was reaching for the canister. When you got the mask over his mouth, you pressed the button, and in just over the time it took to blink, you had an unconscious yet fully-grown Tony next to you again.

----------

“You’re telling me I lost two weeks of my life?” Tony asked as Bruce gave him a thorough physical.

“Not lost it, per say,” Steve explained, “you were just…different.”

Tony narrowed his eyes at the soldier. “Different how?”

“Smaller,” Clint piped up, “and much cuter. You were five.”

Your boyfriend’s eyes shot to yours and you nodded. “I can confirm the whole thing, except for the cuter part. You’re still cute.”

Clint pantomimed gagging as Natasha dragged him and Steve out of the room. Bruce followed them as soon as he finished his examination.

“You’re back to normal now,” he told Tony on his way out the door. “But stay away from that smoke.”

“Speaking of,” you said.

“I have sealed all smoke in a solid drum it cannot escape,” JARVIS informed you both, “and the box is sealed up as well.”

Tony leaned back on the couch and you let him pull you into his arms.

“So…I guess having a tiny Tony running around probably put you off kids forever.”

“I don’t know,” you said, snuggling into his chest, “it was kind of nice. Not as nice as this, but I think I’d enjoy getting to have both. Only if you wanted to, though.”

“If I wanted to?” Tony asked, pulling back and looking at you in amazement. “You’d be willing to commit to that with me? I’d be a terrible father.”

“No,” you told him firmly, “you had a terrible father. That doesn’t mean you’ll be one. If anything, it means you already know what not to do.”

Tony pulled you back in, resting his chin on your head and running his hands up and down your arm.

“I guess I wouldn’t mind giving parenthood a shot if you were the one who did it with me.”

“Is that an invitation?” you asked slyly, running your hand along his thigh. “It was a long two weeks, you know.”

His eyes blew wide and he scooped you all the way into his arms, standing and heading for the stairs.

“Well, it certainly is now.”

[sotascience]

OPTIMIZATION OF ENERGY ACCORDING TO TREE TYPE & LOCATION IN THE GARDEN

Detailed numerical calculations of building energy modeling can be made using the Radiance and EnergyPlus which are open-source softwares developed by respectively Lawrance Berkeley National Laboratory and Department of Energy (DOE). It is possible to evaluate heating & cooling loads, HVAC sizing, surface temperatures, shading effect, luminance, illuminance with using these solvers.

All these calculations are solved by iterative ways by defining the structural material information (thicknesses, thermal conductivity values, surface irradiation quantities, etc.), location information and annual climate data (for 8760 hours).

The balance between the comfort level of the building and the energy consumption is improved by performing these analyzes while still in the design phase. Considering that approximately 40% of the energy consumed in the world is caused by buildings, methods such as Computational Fluid Dynamics and Building Energy Simulation are gaining importance due to increase the energy and comfort performance of the design. By combining these two different methods, the design will reach a much better level in terms of energy savings with comfort. In early design step, small details of passive and active systems can provide significant gains.

This study focuses on how environmental factors can influence the energy consumption of building heating and cooling loads. First, it is aimed to analyze the location and type of a tree to be planted in the garden of the sample project house by the building energy simulation method. Coupling of two question with coalesencing genomes;

Where is the best location of tree in your garden to reduce energy consumption?

Which type of tree is the best schedule of drop leaves season to reduce energy consumption?

Cross-over optimization of two different analyzes will be possible with the answers to these two questions.

Secondly, in the case of the presence and absence of the tree on energy-efficient results, the wind distribution over a single tree was analyzed by CFD analysis.

The location of the sample house is located in Iznik district of Bursa. The annual climate data is taken from the nearest station to the working area and the correct input to the analysis as input is very important for the consistency of the results. Long-term climate data from Bursa Yenişehir Airport is 26 km beeline away from house.

The orbit of the sun in the year shows differences in each latitude. Therefore, the shadowing of the environmental factors on the sample house will be different at each latitude. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the different location optimizations separately. In the following image, it is possible to see how the sun’s path changes in different latitude / longitude.

In order to understand the proportional difference between presence and absence of the tree, the first analysis was realized without a tree. As a result, annual consumption of 83540 kWh was observed. This value is taken into consideration in the optimization analyzes.

As a result of the first analysis in which 828 different options were tried, the 6 best positions were selected close to each other. 1st-3rd-5th locations are the southwest of the garden, 2nd-4th locations are the southeast of the garden and the 6th location is the south of the garden.

The decrease in energy consumption is between 2.44% and 2.73% for these locations. In the first analysis, it was assumed that the tree did not shed its leaf for 8760 hours. Another aim of the preliminary analysis is to reduce the duration of the secondary analysis. If two analyzes were carried out together, 7452 different analyzes would be required for 9 different trees.

In this study, 9 tree species can be grown in Bursa season. As the sun follows different paths in each latitude, the deciduous seasons of the trees also vary in each climate. These trees can reach a certain volume of plane, willow, elm, hornbeam, mulberry, lime, poplar, pine and cypress. The average volume of an adult tree was accepted as 73.5 m3 (3.5m x 3.5m x 6m) and this volume was based on the analyzes. Before passing to the second analysis, the transparency ratios of the leaf-shedding algorithm for these tree types were made ready for hourly analysis in the form of code of 8760 lines.

After the prepared leaf-shedding algoritm according to the permeability values of the trees, the second analysis was started for 54 different options (6 best positions x 9 different trees). As a result of the analysis, the decrease in energy consumption is between 2.50% and 2.63% for wood types. After the sum of the gains in energy consumption provided by both analyzes, the value can reach 5.30%.

The optimization studies at the design stage will be an important tool in determining the performance of energy efficient buildings. After the construction, under favour of monitoring of building with different sensors can allow to continue optimization and machine learning can be enlight further designs. In spite of increasing urbanization, increasing the quality of human life and reducing the carbon footprint will be possible with this and similar data processing methods.

[scifigeneration]

Water found on asteroid, confirming Bennu as excellent mission target

From August through early December, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft aimed three of its science instruments toward Bennu and began making the mission's first observations of the asteroid. During this period, the spacecraft traveled the last 1.4 million miles (2.2 million km) of its outbound journey to arrive at a spot 12 miles (19 km) from Bennu on Dec. 3. The science obtained from these initial observations confirmed many of the mission team's ground-based observations of Bennu and revealed several new surprises.

Team members of the mission, which is led by the University of Arizona, presented the results at the Annual Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union, or AGU, in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 10.

In a key finding for the mission's science investigation, data obtained from the spacecraft's two spectrometers, the OSIRIS-REx Visible and Infrared Spectrometer (OVIRS) and the OSIRIS-REx Thermal Emissions Spectrometer (OTES), reveal the presence of molecules that contain oxygen and hydrogen atoms bonded together, known as "hydroxyls." The team suspects that these hydroxyl groups exist globally across the asteroid in water-bearing clay minerals, meaning that at some point, the rocky material interacted with water. While Bennu itself is too small to have ever hosted liquid water, the finding does indicate that liquid water was present at some time on Bennu's parent body, a much larger asteroid.

"This finding may provide an important link between what we think happened in space with asteroids like Bennu and what we see in the meteorites that scientists study in the lab," said Ellen Howell, senior research scientist at the UA's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) and a member of the mission's spectral analysis group. "It is very exciting to see these hydrated minerals distributed across Bennu's surface, because it suggests they are an intrinsic part of Bennu's composition, not just sprinkled on its surface by an impactor."

"The presence of hydrated minerals across the asteroid confirms that Bennu, a remnant from early in the formation of the solar system, is an excellent specimen for the OSIRIS-REx mission to study the composition of primitive volatiles and organics," said Amy Simon, OVIRS Deputy Instrument Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Additionally, data obtained from the OSIRIS-REx Camera Suite (OCAMS) corroborate ground-based radar observations of Bennu and confirm that the original model -- developed in 2013 by OSIRIS-REx Science Team Chief Michael Nolan, now based at LPL, and collaborators -- closely predicted the asteroid's actual shape. Bennu's diameter, rotation rate, inclination and overall shape presented almost exactly as projected.

Soon after the asteroid later named Bennu was discovered in 1999, Nolan's group used the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico to gather clues about its size, shape and rotation by bouncing radar waves off of it during one of its close approaches to Earth, about five times the distance between Earth and the moon.

"Radar observations don't give us any information about colors or brightness of the object, so it is really interesting to see the asteroid up close through the eyes of OSIRIS-REx," Nolan said. "As we are getting more details, we are figuring out where the craters and boulders are, and we were very pleasantly surprised that virtually every little bump we saw in our radar image back then is actually really there."

The mission team used this ground-based Bennu model when designing the OSIRIS-REx mission. The accuracy of the model means that the mission, spacecraft, and planned observations were appropriately designed for the tasks ahead at Bennu.

One outlier from the predicted shape model is the size of the large boulder near Bennu's south pole. The ground-based shape model calculated this boulder to be at least 33 feet (10 meters) in height. Preliminary calculations from OCAMS observations show that the boulder is closer to 164 feet (50 meters) in height, with a width of approximately 180 feet (55 meters).

As expected, the initial assessment of Bennu's regolith indicates that the surface of Bennu is a mix of very rocky, boulder-filled regions and a few relatively smooth regions that lack boulders. However, the quantity of boulders on the surface is higher than was expected. The team will make further observations at closer ranges to more accurately assess where a sample can be taken on Bennu for later return to Earth.

"Our initial data show that the team picked the right asteroid as the target of the OSIRIS-REx mission. We have not discovered any insurmountable issues at Bennu so far," said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator and professor of planetary science and cosmochemistry at LPL. "The spacecraft is healthy and the science instruments are working better than required. It is time now for our adventure to begin."

"What used to be science fiction is now a reality," said UA President Robert C. Robbins. "Our work at Bennu brings us a step closer to the possibility of asteroids providing astronauts on future missions into the solar system with resources like fuel and water."

The mission is currently performing a preliminary survey of the asteroid, flying the spacecraft in passes over Bennu's north pole, equator and south pole at ranges as close as 4.4 miles (7 km) to better determine the asteroid's mass. This survey also provides the first opportunity for the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter (OLA), an instrument contributed by the Canadian Space Agency, to make observations now that the spacecraft is in proximity to Bennu. The spacecraft's first orbital insertion is scheduled for Dec. 31, and OSIRIS-REx will remain in orbit until mid-February 2019, when the mission transitions into the next survey phase. During this first orbital phase, the spacecraft will orbit the asteroid at a range of 0.9 miles (1.4 km) to 1.24 miles (2 km) from the center of Bennu -- setting two new records for the smallest body ever orbited by a spacecraft and the closest orbit of a planetary body by any spacecraft.

[roboticsappreciationsociety]

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has finally arrived at its destination: a lumpy, diamond-shaped space rock orbiting the Sun between Earth and Mars.

"We've been trying to catch up with the asteroid for two years," said Heather Enos, the mission's deputy investigator from the University of Arizona.

Launched in 2016, the bus-sized spacecraft has travelled more than 2 billion kilometres to reach the asteroid known as 101955 Bennu.

It's taken the long way around to save energy, using a flyby past Earth to slingshot it into the asteroid's orbit.

On its way, the spacecraft sent back its first images in August, and since then, the asteroid's shape and surface have started to become clearer.

Now it's arrived, the spacecraft will start work mapping the asteroid's surface.

Over the next three weeks, hovering about 7 km above the surface, the craft will take high-resolution images and get preliminary data about the asteroid's mass, spin rate and shape.

Then, for the next 18 months, it will explore every nook and cranny of Bennu, searching for an ideal spot between the rocks to collect a sample of space dust to bring back to Earth in 2023.

What's so special about Bennu?

Bennu was chosen by NASA from more than 500,000 known asteroids.

To start off with, it had to be close enough to get to.

Bennu is one of 7,000 near-Earth objects. Not only is it close to us, it has an orbit that is similar to ours, which makes it easier for a spacecraft to go into orbit.

Around 500 metres in diameter, it is just one of 26 asteroids with the perfect size.

Asteroids less than 200 metres in diameter rotate so quickly that it would be difficult for the spacecraft to keep up.

"We will get up close and personal with Bennu and match its rotation state, so it's important that it's not rotating too quickly," Ms Enos said.

There would also be less chance of scooping up material from the surface of a smaller asteroid, she added.

"[Bennu] should maintain much of its material because it's not spinning so quickly," she said.

"So size is a big deal."

And its dark colour indicates it's one of just five asteroids that may contain a lot of organic compounds.

"Bennu is like a time capsule of the elements and composition of things that were preserved in the early solar system," Ms Enos said.

That not only makes it a record of our early solar system, but an interesting target for mining in the future.

"It could be an opportunity for agencies such as NASA or private industries to be able to determine whether or not they could go to such an asteroid and extract the resources necessary to create fuel, for example," she explained.

Studying Bennu could also give us information about the threat posed by near-Earth asteroids.

Ms Enos said Bennu is classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid.

It's too small to wipe out life, according to calculations by the team, but it would cause a major natural disaster with damage for hundreds of kilometres around the impact site.

The OSIRIS-Rex mission will measure how solar wind affects the asteroid's trajectory, a phenomenon known as the Yarkovsky effect.

Ms Enos said direct observation of this effect will help scientists update the probability of Bennu, as well as any other potential asteroids, hitting the Earth.

How will the spacecraft collect space dust?

OSIRIS-REx is short for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer.

On board the spacecraft are a suite of cameras and an altimeter to provide detailed images of the asteroid's surface, and tools that map chemical composition and temperature.

For the next month, OSIRIS-REx will do three flybys over Bennu's poles and equator, measuring the asteroid's mass, spin rate and shape down to a resolution of 75 centimetres.

Once NASA has this information pinned down, they will put the spacecraft in a series of orbits that match the rotation of the asteroid.

The spacecraft will inch closer and closer to the surface of the asteroid over time, as it zeros in on a target spot.

"We have to get a site that has the right tilt and has the right sample and grain size," Ms Enos explained.

They will also need to find a spot that is no more than 75 degrees Celsius to ensure the chemical compounds in the sample are preserved in pristine condition.

In mid-2020, the craft will descend slowly towards the surface and stretch out a "touch and go" robotic arm that contains a camera and dust collector.

"OSIRIS-REx will very slowly descend to the surface about 10 centimetres per second, touch the asteroid for less than five seconds," Ms Enos explained.

"As we are descending and doing our touch we'll use a burst of compressed nitrogen gas to mobilise the asteroid surface."

They'll use the camera on the arm to decide whether the dust collector has sucked in enough space dirt.

Ideally, they'd like to get enough dirt in one go, she said, but they have enough nitrogen to try three times.

After the spacecraft collects the sample, it will need to wait another six months before beginning its two-year journey home.

So far, so good...

Already the team are happy with what they've seen.

"Bennu is not as rocky as Ryugu," Ms Enos said.

Ryugu is another near-Earth asteroid, which is being orbited by the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa 2.

Earlier this year the Japanese mission placed three robots on Ryugu, but plans for the spacecraft itself to touchdown on the asteroid's rocky surface and collect a soil sample have been delayed.

[jhstickynotes]

Research Article on Alexithymia, Autism, and Empathy

Alexithymia and Autistic Traits as Contributing Factors to Empathy Difficulties in Preadolescent Children

 Alexithymia and Autistic Traits as Contributing Factors to Empathy Difficulties in Preadolescent Children - PMC (nih.gov)

Written By: Kevin Bandel

Summary:

Empathy difficulties are often thought to be connected with autism, but more recent studies question if they are a core part of the condition. This growing field of research presents empathy as a more multifaceted model than past studies and considers the possibility of underlying factors that may contribute to struggles with empathy. Alexithymia is one such potential lurking variable.

Alexithymia is a trait characterized by a difficulty in identifying emotions and understanding of what causes them. Those with alexithymia have trouble describing emotions, imagining them, and reacting to them. Around 10% of the population is estimated to have alexithymia, but around 50% in autistic people. Because of the significant overlap between alexithymia and autism, this study sought to test if empathy struggles are better predicted by alexithymia than autism. This theory is called the “alexithymia hypothesis.”

To assess the “alexithymia hypothesis,” the study used multiple assessment tools to children with alexithymia and/or autism, which were a self-assessment, a parent-assessment, and a behavioral task. Since the hypothesis was supported among experiments with adults, this study wished to test it among a younger demographic. The study’s conclusion was that alexithymia predicts empathy significantly better than autism does.

The study has some limitations, however. The sample size was only fifty-nine children, which is a small sample size that may have skewed results. Furthermore, not all empathetic processes were tested, such as theory of mind (entering and adopting another person’s thought process), empathetic concern, and identifying emotions from facial and vocal stimuli. The study stated that these results are merely preliminary and that more experiments with a larger sample size and a greater number of empathy assessments would be needed to verify its accuracy.

Nevertheless, the implications of this study are worth considering for JHFA. It would behoove us to understand alexithymia more fully, as many of our clients would have that condition in addition to autism. It also means that we cannot assume that autistic people necessarily struggle with communicating and expressing emotions and/or empathy. However, it does not mean that we should dismiss that autism may still contribute to difficulties with certain kinds of empathy even without alexithymia. This knowledge can help us be understanding and work with the characteristics students are striving to improve.