Science

NASA Scientists Probe Dark Energy – Time To Rework Albert Einstein’s Theory of Gravity?

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Dark energy illustration. Credit: Visualization by Frank Summers, Space Telescope Science Institute. Simulation by Martin White, UC Berkeley and Lars Hernquist, Harvard University

Could one of the biggest puzzles in astrophysics be solved by reworking Albert Einstein’s theory of gravity? Not yet, according to a new study co-authored by

A new study marks the latest effort to determine whether this is all simply a misunderstanding: that expectations for how gravity works at the scale of the entire universe are flawed or incomplete. This potential misunderstanding might help researchers explain dark energy. However, the study – one of the most precise tests yet of Albert Einstein’s theory of gravity at cosmic scales – finds that the current understanding still appears to be correct. The study was from the international Dark Energy Survey, using the Victor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope in Chile.

The results, authored by a group of scientists that includes some from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (

This image – the first released from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope – shows the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723. Some of the galaxies appear smeared or stretched due to a phenomenon called gravitational lensing. This effect can help scientists map the presence of dark matter in the universe. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI

More than a century ago, Albert Einstein developed his Theory of General Relativity to describe gravity. Thus far it has accurately predicted everything from the orbit of Mercury to the existence of black holes. But some scientists have argued that if this theory can’t explain dark energy, then maybe they need to modify some of its equations or add new components.

To find out if that’s the case, members of the Dark Energy Survey looked for evidence that gravity’s strength has varied throughout the universe’s history or over cosmic distances. A positive finding would indicate that Einstein’s theory is incomplete, which might help explain the universe’s accelerating expansion. They also examined data from other telescopes in addition to Blanco, including the ESA (European Space Agency) Planck satellite, and reached the same conclusion.

Einstein’s theory still works, according to the study. So no there’s no explanation for dark energy yet. However, this research will feed into two upcoming missions: ESA’s Euclid mission, slated for launch no earlier than 2023, which has contributions from NASA; and NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, targeted for launch no later than May 2027. Both telescopes will search for changes in the strength of gravity over time or distance.

Blurred Vision

How do scientists know what happened in the universe’s past? By looking at distant objects. A light-year is a measure of the distance light can travel in a year (about 6 trillion miles, or about 9.5 trillion kilometers). That means an object one light-year away appears to us as it was one year ago, when the light first left the object. And galaxies billions of light-years away appear to us as they did billions of years ago. The new study looked at galaxies stretching back about 5 billion years in the past. Euclid will peer 8 billion years into the past, and Roman will look back 11 billion years.

The galaxies themselves don’t reveal the strength of gravity, but how they look when viewed from Earth does. Most matter in our universe is dark matter, which does not emit, reflect, or otherwise interact with light. While physicists don’t know what it’s made of, they know it’s there, because its gravity gives it away: Large reservoirs of dark matter in our universe warp space itself. As light travels through space, it encounters these portions of warped space, causing images of distant galaxies to appear curved or smeared. This was on display in one of first images released from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.


This video explains the phenomenon called gravitational lensing, which can cause images of galaxies to appear warped or smeared. This distortion is caused by gravity, and scientists can use the effect to detect dark matter, which does not emit or reflect light. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Dark Energy Survey scientists search galaxy images for more subtle distortions due to dark matter bending space, an effect called weak gravitational lensing. The strength of gravity determines the size and distribution of dark matter structures, and the size and distribution, in turn, determine how warped those galaxies appear to us. That’s how images can reveal the strength of gravity at different distances from Earth and distant times throughout the universe’s history. The group has now measured the shapes of over 100 million galaxies, and so far, the observations match what’s predicted by Einstein’s theory.

“There is still room to challenge Einstein’s theory of gravity, as measurements get more and more precise,” said study co-author Agnès Ferté, who conducted the research as a postdoctoral researcher at JPL. “But we still have so much to do before we’re ready for Euclid and Roman. So it’s essential we continue to collaborate with scientists around the world on this problem as we’ve done with the Dark Energy Survey.”

Reference: “Dark Energy Survey Year 3 Results: Constraints on extensions to ΛCDM with weak lensing and galaxy clustering” by DES Collaboration: T. M. C. Abbott, M. Aguena, A. Alarcon, O. Alves, A. Amon, J. Annis, S. Avila, D. Bacon, E. Baxter, K. Bechtol, M. R. Becker, G. M. Bernstein, S. Birrer, J. Blazek, S. Bocquet, A. Brandao-Souza, S. L. Bridle, D. Brooks, D. L. Burke, H. Camacho, A. Campos, A. Carnero Rosell, M. Carrasco Kind, J. Carretero, F. J. Castander, R. Cawthon, C. Chang, A. Chen, R. Chen, A. Choi, C. Conselice, J. Cordero, M. Costanzi, M. Crocce, L. N. da Costa, M. E. S. Pereira, C. Davis, T. M. Davis, J. DeRose, S. Desai, E. Di Valentino, H. T. Diehl, S. Dodelson, P. Doel, C. Doux, A. Drlica-Wagner, K. Eckert, T. F. Eifler, F. Elsner, J. Elvin-Poole, S. Everett, X. Fang, A. Farahi, I. Ferrero, A. Ferté, B. Flaugher, P. Fosalba, D. Friedel, O. Friedrich, J. Frieman, J. García-Bellido, M. Gatti, L. Giani, T. Giannantonio, G. Giannini, D. Gruen, R. A. Gruendl, J. Gschwend, G. Gutierrez, N. Hamaus, I. Harrison, W. G. Hartley, K. Herner, S. R. Hinton, D. L. Hollowood, K. Honscheid, H. Huang, E. M. Huff, D. Huterer, B. Jain, D. J. James, M. Jarvis, N. Jeffrey, T. Jeltema, A. Kovacs, E. Krause, K. Kuehn, N. Kuropatkin, O. Lahav, S. Lee, P.-F. Leget, P. Lemos, C. D. Leonard, A. R. Liddle, M. Lima, H. Lin, N. MacCrann, J. L. Marshall, J. McCullough , J. Mena-Fernández, F. Menanteau, R. Miquel, V. Miranda, J. J. Mohr, J. Muir, J. Myles, S. Nadathur, A. Navarro-Alsina, R. C. Nichol, R. L. C. Ogando, Y. Omori, A. Palmese, S. Pandey, Y. Park, M. Paterno, F. Paz-Chinchón, W. J. Percival, A. Pieres, A. A. Plazas Malagón, A. Porredon, J. Prat, M. Raveri, M. Rodriguez-Monroy, P. Rogozenski, R. P. Rollins, A. K. Romer, A. Roodman, R. Rosenfeld, A. J. Ross, E. S. Rykoff, S. Samuroff, C. Sánchez, E. Sanchez, J. Sanchez, D. Sanchez Cid, V. Scarpine, D. Scolnic, L. F. Secco, I. Sevilla-Noarbe, E. Sheldon, T. Shin, M. Smith, M. Soares-Santos, E. Suchyta, M. Tabbutt, G. Tarle, D. Thomas, C. To, A. Troja, M. A. Troxel, I. Tutusaus, T. N. Varga, M. Vincenzi, A. R. Walker, N. Weaverdyck, R. H. Wechsler, J. Weller, B. Yanny, B. Yin, Y. Zhang and J. Zuntz, 12 July 2022, Astrophysics > Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics.
arXiv:2207.05766



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Entertainment

‘Batgirl’ Directors Tried to Pirate Movie Before HBO Max Locked Them Out of Servers

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The creators behind HBO Max’s Batgirl say they were so stunned by the streamer’s decision to scrap the movie that they tried to log onto the server and record their work on a cellphone before their access was quickly revoked.

Directing duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah recounted how they learned the “shocking” and “painful” news in a video posted to their individual Instagram accounts Wednesday afternoon.

The movie was one of two upcoming feature-length projects that were sacrificed as the newly merged Warner Bros. Discovery undergoes a vast corporate restructuring. By canceling and shelving the film, the conglomerate is able to write it off as a loss and lower its tax burden while it focuses on its sky-high debt.

In an interview for the YouTube channel SKRIPT posted on Monday, the directors said Warner execs assured them “it was not a talent problem from our part or the actress, or even the quality of the movie.”

The abrupt cancellation disappointed fans who were eagerly awaiting another entry in the DC Extended Universe. Shot entirely in Glasgow, to the chagrin of some local businesses, the film was also expected to serve as a star vehicle for singer Leslie Grace, who appeared in the pandemic-delayed musical In the Heights to positive reviews.

“I didn’t even realize that was a possibility,” El Arbi says of HBO Max’s decision. “It was as if we were [making] movie history right there.”

As previously reported, the directors—who were born in Belgium—were in Morocco for El Arbi’s wedding at the time. In Wednesday’s video, Fallah stops to acknowledge the terrible timing: “Congratulations, bro,” he tells his creative partner.

“I didn’t even realize that was a possibility. It was as if we were [making] movie history right there.”

When they got the call, Fallah was in Tetouan visiting his grandparents’ grave, while Fallah was an hour away in Tangier, enjoying his on-site honeymoon with his wife.

“Thank God that my beautiful superhero wife was there with me to support me through this time,” El Arbi says.

The duo were still putting the finishing touches on the superhero flick, they revealed, adding that they were missing all the visual effects and hadn’t yet completed the necessary re-shoots. With both of them out of the country for what was supposed to be a celebration, they tried to get ahold of all their footage before the studio locked them out of the remote server that held their movie.

“I called, right away, Martin Walsh, the editor, and said, ‘Yo, you gotta pack up that shit, you know, backup—copy the movie,” El Arbi says.

Bilal adds: “Then Adil called me and said, ‘Yo, yo, shoot it on your phone!’ So I went on the server and everything was blocked.”

El Arbi quickly apologized for his unsuccessful attempt at “piracy.”

“That was not the right thing to do, but I was panicking, you know,” he says.

When the axing first became public, a source close to the directors told The Daily Beast that it was all due to money. The film was conceived as a direct-to-streaming movie, meaning that the production was far less flashy, though not that much less expensive, than that of a theatrical film. It’s a strategy that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav finds very little justification for, considering that putting movies online draws significantly less revenue than putting them on the big screen. That’s a problem, because Zaslav is charged with lowering Warner’s $50 billion debt, a priority that has led to massive layoffs at HBO Max and the outright removal of many shows from the platform as it pursues more tax write-downs and the slashing of residuals.

“It’s the final fuck you to Jason Kilar. This is not about art, it’s about financial engineering,” a source told The Daily Beast earlier this month. “It’s not a $90 million movie, it’s $60 to $70 million,” he added, disputing the reports about the movie’s total cost. “It was built as a small movie for the streamer. To do it theatrically, they’d have to spend another $40 million in special effects and making it bigger, and even more money in marketing and distribution.”

Grace, for her part, addressed the cancellation in an Instagram post on Aug. 3.

“On the heels of the recent news about our movie ‘Batgirl,’ I am proud of the love, hard work and intention all of our incredible cast and tireless crew put into this film over 7 months in Scotland,” she wrote. “To every Batgirl fan – THANK YOU for the love and belief, allowing me to take on the cape and become, as Babs said best, ‘my own damn hero!’”

A few industry insiders will be lucky enough to get a sneak peek of the Batgirl cut at secret “funeral screenings” on the Warner Bros. lot this week, according to The Hollywood Reporter.



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Sports

Report: Tyron Smith could miss multiple months with torn hamstring

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Getty Images

The Cowboys may have lost one of their best players for a significant period of time.

Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith suffered a torn left hamstring in Wednesday’s practice and could miss multiple months of the 2022 season, according to ESPN.

Smith went down during practice with what first appeared to be a knee injury, and when tests showed no damage to Smith’s ACL, it seemed to be good news.

But additional testing found that Smith’s hamstring is torn, and now he’s set for more testing on Thursday to determine the severity of the hamstring tear.

Without Smith, the Cowboys are missing a big part of their offensive line. Rookie first-round draft pick Tyler Smith played left tackle in college and might be called upon to do it now for the Cowboys, but prior to Tyron Smith’s injury, the Cowboys wanted Tyler Smith to play guard as a rookie. Josh Ball, a 2021 fourth-round pick who didn’t play at all as a rookie, and Matt Waletzko, a 2022 fifth-round pick, would be other options to replace Smith at left tackle.

The Cowboys selected Tyron Smith in the first round of the 2011 draft, and he’s been in Dallas longer than any other player on the roster. When healthy he has been among the best offensive linemen in the NFL.

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Technology

Sony raises price of PlayStation 5 console due to soaring inflation

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In this photo illustration a PlayStation 5 logo seen displayed on a smartphone.

Mateusz Slodkowski | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty Images

Sony on Thursday raised the recommended retail price of its PlayStation 5 games console in several international markets citing the global economic environment, including high inflation.

The Japanese gaming giant said that the price hikes are effective immediately except in Japan where they will begin on Sep. 15.

Sony is not raising the price of the PS5 in the U.S.

“The global economic environment is a challenge that many of you around the world are no doubt experiencing,” Sony said in a blog post. “We’re seeing high global inflation rates, as well as adverse currency trends, impacting consumers and creating pressure on many industries.”

The company said that “based on these challenging economic conditions,” it has decided to raise the price of its flagship console.

These are the hikes and new prices for the PS5:

  • Europe: 50 euro ($50) increase to 549.99 euros for the disc version and 449.99 euros for the digital version
  • UK: £30 increase to £479.99 for the disc version and £399.99 for the digital model
  • Japan: 5000 yen increase to 54,980 yen for the disc version and 44,980 yen for the digital model
  • China: 400 yuan increase to 4,299 yuan for the disc version and 3,499 yuan for the digital model
  • Australia: 50 Australian dollar increase to 799.95 Australian dollars for the disc version and 649.95 Australian dollars for the digital model
  • Mexico: 1,000 Mexican pesos increased to 14,999 Mexican pesos for the disc version and 12,499 Mexican pesos for the digital model
  • Canada: 20 Canadian dollars increase to 649.99 Canadian dollars for the disc version and 519.99 Canadian dollars for the digital model

Sony’s price hike comes amid a slump for gaming companies including Nintendo and Microsoft, which saw their sales slide in the second quarter as the pandemic-induced boom begins to wear off.

Sales at Sony’s gaming unit declined 2% year-on-year in the June quarter while operating profit plunged nearly 37%. The Japanese giant also cut its full-year profit forecast for its gaming division.

Sony is also contending with continued supply chain issues that make it difficult to make enough PS5 consoles to meet demand. There has been a notable shortage of PS5s globally.

Rival Xbox, which is made by Microsoft, has not yet announced any price hikes.

Given the fact “that the PS5 has been severely supply constrained since launch, with many consumers unable to buy Sony’s latest console, and the fact that Microsoft has shown no indication yet of increasing its Xbox Series pricing, there is no doubt that this price increase will have been a hard decision to make,” Piers Harding-Rolls, research director at Ampere Analysis, wrote in a note on Thursday.

“However, with inflation and price increases being felt through the component supply chain, much of that priced in US dollars, alongside continued high costs in distribution, Sony has now had to pass on some of those cost increases to try and maintain its hardware profitability targets.”

Ampere Analysis estimates that Sony had sold 21 million PS5s worldwide compared to Microsoft’s Xbox Series consoles at 13.8 million.

Harding-Rolls said that he does not expect this to put off gamers wanting to buy a PlayStation 5 given demand remains high.

“While we believe there will be disappointment for some consumers that have been trying to buy a PS5 without success, or that were saving to buy the console just in time for the price to increase, the high pent up demand for Sony’s device means that this price increase of around 10% across most markets will have minimal impact on sales of the console,” he said.

“We expect Sony’s sales forecast for the PS5 to remain unchanged.”

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Health

Statins should be taken for LIFE, study suggests

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Statins should be doled out for life, a study suggests.

Patients who suddenly stop taking the cholesterol-busting drugs face losing most of the protection they give to the heart.

This is because the main benefits of the cheap pills aren’t seen until later in life, scientists say.

Around 8million Britons and 32million Americans take statins every day, in order to cut their risk of heart complications due to high blood pressure.

But up to half of patients are thought to stop taking the drug due to suspected side effects, which can include muscle pain, digestive problems and headaches.

Dr Runguo Wu, lead author from Queen Mary University of London, said: ‘Stopping treatment, unless advised by a doctor, does not appear to be a wise choice.’

Around 8million Britons and 32 Americans take the cholesterol-busting pills every day, in order to cut their risk of heart attacks and strokes. But up to half of patients are thought to stop taking the drug due to suspected side effects, which can include muscle pain, digestive problems and headaches. Now, researchers have found that ditching the drugs could reduce the lifetime protection they offer against cardiovascular problems because the drugs give most benefit in later life 

WHAT ARE STATINS? 

Statins are a group of medicines that can help lower levels of ‘bad cholesterol’ in the blood.

Having too much of this type of cholesterol — called low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol — can lead to the thickening of the arteries and cardiovascular disease.

Statins work by stopping the liver from producing as much LDL.

Previous studies have found that the drug will prevent one heart attack or stroke for every 50 people taking it over five years.

The drug comes as a tablet that is taken once a day.

Most people have to take them for life, as stopping will cause their cholesterol to return to a high level within weeks.

Some people experience side effects from the medication, including diarrhoea, a headache or nausea.

People are usually told to make lifestyle changes in a bid to lower their cholesterol — such as improving diet and exercise habits, limiting alcohol consumption and stopping smoking — before being prescribed statins.

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Statins are a group of drugs that stop the liver producing ‘bad’ cholesterol, known as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.

Over time, its build-up can lead to hardened and narrowed arteries and heart disease — one of the world’s leading causes of death.

People are currently prescribed statins if they have been diagnosed with the disease, or have a family history of it.

The tablets, which cost just 20p a pill and proven to be life-savers, are taken once a day.

Patients who stop taking them can see their cholesterol shoot back up within weeks.

However, lots of people stop taking them, or use them irregularly because of worries about side effects. 

The researchers examined how their effectiveness dropped when patients came off the drugs.

They used data on 118,000 participants included in international statin trials and half a million included in the UK Biobank — a database of medical and genetic records.

They created a mathematical model which calculated the annual risk of heart attack and strokes for each participant.

Experts attempted to calculate what would happen if participants stopped taking a daily dose at 80, compared to those who took them for life.

At the same time, they compared delaying the use of statins by five years.

The benefits were measured in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) — the extra years of life lived in perfect health. 

The findings, set to be presented at European Society of Cardiology Congress in Barcelona on Saturday, show that most of the QALYs due to statins accrued in later life.

Patients who stopped taking the drug when they hit their 80s ‘erased a large share of the potential benefit’.

People in their fifties with low cardiovascular risk who stop taking the drug at 80 lose three-quarters of the QALYs they would have had if they kept taking the drug.

And those who are at high cardiovascular risk and stop their daily statins tablet at 80 lose a third of their extra healthy years that the drug provides.

Those who had low cardiovascular risk and delayed taking statins by five years lost just two per cent of the drug’s benefit.

But those at high risk who put off starting them lost seven per cent of the benefit. 

Dr Wu said: ‘This is because people at higher cardiovascular risk start to accrue benefit early on and have more to lose by delaying statin therapy than those at low risk.’

He called for people in their 40s with a high likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease and people of all ages with existing heart disease to consider taking statins immediately.

Many doctors say the potential side effects of statins are overblown and supporters, including health watchdog NICE, say the pills should be prescribed more widely to prevent thousands of early deaths. 

However, others worry about the potential long-term harms.

The drugs have been linked to diabetes and memory loss.

And scores are uneasy with what they describe as the ‘overmedicalisation’ of the middle-aged, which sees statins doled out ‘just in case’ patients have heart problems in later life.

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World

Taiwan aims for big rise in defence spending amid escalating China tension

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TAIPEI, Aug 25 (Reuters) – Taiwan proposed on Thursday $19 billion in defence spending for next year, a double-digit increase on 2022 that includes funds for new fighter jets, weeks after China staged large-scale military exercises around the island it views as its territory.

China carried out its largest-ever war games around the democratically governed island after a visit this month by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The trip infuriated Beijing, which saw it as a U.S. attempt to interfere in China’s internal affairs.

The overall defence budget proposed by President Tsai Ing-wen’s Cabinet sets a 13.9% year-on-year increase to a record T$586.3 billion ($19.41 billion).

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That includes an additional T$108.3 billion for fighter jets and other equipment, as well as “special funds” for the defence ministry. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics did not provide a specific break-down of where money would go.

The planned defence spending, which is a record high and must be approved by parliament, marks the island’s sixth consecutive year of growth in defence spending since 2017.

The double-digit rise on 2022 marks a sharp increase compared with the island’s defence spending growth in recent years; yearly growth has been below 4% since 2017.

Statistics department minister Chu Tzer-ming said the increase would mainly go to operational costs.

“We always give safety and national security the top priority … that’s why (the budget for) operational costs rises greatly,” Chu said, pointing to costs such as fuel and maintenance for aircraft and ships dispatched to counter Chinese military activity near Taiwan.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said in a statement that the budget gave full consideration to the “enemy threat” and was equivalent to 2.4% of Taiwan’s projected GDP for next year.

“In the face of the Chinese communists’ continuous expansion of targeted military activities in recent years and the normalised use of warships and military aircraft to raid and disturb Taiwan’s surrounding seas and airspace, the military adheres to the principle of preparing for war without seeking war and defending national security with strength,” it said.

CHINESE DRILLS

Excluding the extra budget for military equipment and funds, the proposed defence spending represents a 12.9% year-on-year increase, compared with a 20.8% increase in the overall government budget proposed for next year.

The proposed spending accounts for 14.6% of the government’s total spending for next year and is the fourth-largest spending segment, after social welfare and combined spending on education, science and culture, and economic development.

The island last year announced an extra defence budget of $8.69 billion by 2026, which came on top of its yearly military spending, mostly on naval weapons, including missiles and warships.

In March, China said it would spend 7.1% more on defence this year, setting the spending figure at 1.45 trillion yuan ($211.62 billion), though many experts suspect that is not the true figure, an assertion the government disputes. read more

China has been continuing its military activities near Taiwan, though on a reduced scale.

Live-fire drills will take place in a coastal part of China’s Fujian province on Friday and Saturday, just north of the tiny Taiwan-controlled Wuchiu islands in the Taiwan Strait, Fujian authorities said on Wednesday, announcing a no-sail zone.

Tsai has made modernising the armed forces – well-armed but dwarfed by China’s – a priority.

China is spending on advanced equipment, including stealthy fighters and aircraft carriers, which Taiwan is trying to counter by putting more effort into weapons such as missiles that can strike far into its giant neighbour’s territory.

China has not ruled out using force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying that the People’s Republic of China has never ruled the island and that only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.

Meeting visiting Japanese academics at her office on Thursday, Tsai reiterated that the determination to protect their sovereignty, freedom and democracy would not change “due to pressure or threats”.

“At the same time, as a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will not provoke incidents nor escalate conflicts,” Tsai said.

($1 = 30.2080 Taiwan dollars)

($1 = 6.8519 Chinese yuan )

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Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Gerry Doyle

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Business

U.S. stock futures rise after Dow, S&P 500 break three-day slide

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U.S. stock futures were higher Thursday morning after all three major averages ended higher during the daily trading session.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 220 points, or 0.67%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.88% and 0.97%, respectively. Shares of Nvidia slid more than 2% on the heels of a quarterly report that missed Wall Street’s expectations. Salesforce fell more than 4% after the company provided a disappointing forecast for fiscal 2023. Snowflake jumped 16% after posting a beat on revenue.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 59.64 points, or 0.18%, and the S&P 500 rose 0.29% Wednesday. For both averages, the gains snapped three-day long losing streaks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also ticked up 0.41%.

The market action occurs as investors await the start of the Jackson Hole economic symposium, which begins Thursday with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell scheduled to speak the following morning. Traders will be listening for more information about how the central bank will combat high inflation and if policymakers may cut rates when the current hiking cycle is over.

“It’s steady as it goes, it’s way too early for the Fed to consider a pivot,” said Jim Bianco, president of Bianco Research, on CNBC’s “Fast Money.”

Investors are also waiting for key economic reports scheduled to come out later in the week, including jobless claims Thursday and the personal consumption expenditures Friday. The PCE report is one of the Fed’s favorite inflation measures, and it could influence its actions going forward.

Peloton reports quarterly earnings Thursday before the bell, along with Gap, Dollar Tree and Dollar General. Ulta Beauty, Workday and Affirm Holdings will release their own results after markets close Thursday.

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Health

How Does Monkeypox Spread? Current Scientific Facts

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Houston, USA: The WHO has declared the current Monkeypox outbreak as a public health emergency. As of August 9, 2022, nearly 32,000 cases have been reported worldwide, including India and the USA. Various health agencies around the world are responding to contain the spread and prevent infections.

Monkeypox is caused by a virus that is much harder to contract from person to person. Monkeypox is a member of the Orthopoxvirus genus, which includes the virus that causes smallpox. Although the risk of acquiring monkeypox is low, this infection is a public health issue whose burden can be reduced through proper practices.

Q1. How is Monkeypox spread? The monkeypox virus typically spreads through direct contact with respiratory secretions, such as mucus or saliva, or skin lesions (e.g., sexual contact). Some superspreading events include air travel, large gatherings, and multiple-partner sex.

Q2. Who is at risk of getting Monkeypox? Anyone who has prolonged, close contact with an infected person is at risk. The virus can spread through close skin-to-skin contact. Although monkeypox can be transmitted during sexual activity (in young men and adults), it is not considered a sexually transmitted infection (STI) since it can be acquired from other sources. Common modes of transmission include close contact with infected people or contaminated items used in offices, restaurants, and parties.

Q3. What are Monkeypox symptoms? Monkeypox symptoms are similar to smallpox symptoms, but milder. The monkeypox incubation period is about 7 days and symptoms develop in 17 days. Most patients show “flu-like” mild symptoms with fever, malaise, headache, and fatigue, often with swollen lymph nodes. Skin lesions appear after infection as a rash with small firm or “rubbery” pimples on the face, mouth, eyes, hands or genitalia. In addition to pain in anorectal and sexual regions, sore throat and tonsilitis have also been reported.

Q4. How to prevent the spread of infection? With proper personal hygiene, the risk of transmission of monkeypox is low. Patients with suspected or confirmed monkeypox infection should be masked immediately, have lesions covered with a sheet, and be placed in isolation. They should avoid close contact with others until the skin lesions are completely healed, which can take several weeks.

Q5. Is there testing for Monkeypox? Testing for monkeypox is limited; thus, individual diagnosis, containment, and prevention is challenging. Any unusual “skin lesion” on face, mouth, hands, and genitalia, particularly in the anogenital area, should be investigated. Like with smallpox, people with monkeypox infection should remain in isolation for the duration of illness, which typically lasts 2 to 4 weeks.

Q6. What is the current treatment for Monkeypox? For most patients, monkeypox is not life-threatening. Mortality is rare. Treatment is symptomatic, including pain medications. Currently, there are no antivirals approved for monkeypox. Tecovirimat, a smallpox drug, is being explored for severe disease or cases with co-morbid risk factors. This medicine is available under an FDA’s expanded access or “compassionate use” program.

Currently, 2 vaccines can be used to prevent monkeypox: the JYNNEOS vaccine (FDA approved for smallpox and monkeypox), and ACAM2000 (approved only for smallpox but granted an expanded-access for use against monkeypox). Both vaccines can be administered as postexposure prophylaxis up to 4 days after exposure.

The virus is not spread by casual contact. Research is ongoing into the potential airborne and respiratory droplet spread of monkeypox. Overall, good hygiene and healthy lifestyle practices (such as those learned from COVID-19) can protect people from the viral illness.

Dr. Samba Reddy (USA)



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Science

EXPLAINER: NASA tests new moon rocket, 50 years after Apollo

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Years late and billions over budget, NASA’s new moon rocket makes its debut next week in a high-stakes test flight before astronauts get on top.

The 322-foot (98-meter) rocket will attempt to send an empty crew capsule into a far-flung lunar orbit, 50 years after NASA’s famed Apollo moonshots.

If all goes well, astronauts could strap in as soon as 2024 for a lap around the moon, with NASA aiming to land two people on the lunar surface by the end of 2025.

Liftoff is set for Monday morning from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

The six-week test flight is risky and could be cut short if something fails, NASA officials warn.

“We’re going to stress it and test it. We’re going make it do things that we would never do with a crew on it in order to try to make it as safe as possible,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The retired founder of George Washington University’s space policy institute said a lot is riding on this trial run. Spiraling costs and long gaps between missions will make for a tough comeback if things go south, he noted.

“It is supposed to be the first step in a sustained program of human exploration of the moon, Mars, and beyond,” said John Logsdon. “Will the United States have the will to push forward in the face of a major malfunction?”

The price tag for this single mission: more than $4 billion. Add everything up since the program’s inception a decade ago until a 2025 lunar landing, and there’s even more sticker shock: $93 billion.

Here’s a rundown of the first flight of the Artemis program, named after Apollo’s mythological twin sister.

ROCKET POWER

The new rocket is shorter and slimmer than the Saturn V rockets that hurled 24 Apollo astronauts to the moon a half-century ago. But it’s mightier, packing 8.8 million pounds (4 million kilograms) of thrust. It’s called the Space Launch System rocket, SLS for short, but a less clunky name is under discussion, according to Nelson. Unlike the streamlined Saturn V, the new rocket has a pair of strap-on boosters refashioned from NASA’s space shuttles. The boosters will peel away after two minutes, just like the shuttle boosters did, but won’t be fished from the Atlantic for reuse. The core stage will keep firing before separating and crashing into the Pacific in pieces. Two hours after liftoff, an upper stage will send the capsule, Orion, racing toward the moon.

MOONSHIP

NASA’s high-tech, automated Orion capsule is named after the constellation, among the night sky’s brightest. At 11 feet (3 meters) tall, it’s roomier than Apollo’s capsule, seating four astronauts instead of three. For this test flight, a full-size dummy in an orange flight suit will occupy the commander’s seat, rigged with vibration and acceleration sensors. Two other mannequins made of material simulating human tissue — heads and female torsos, but no limbs — will measure cosmic radiation, one of the biggest risks of spaceflight. One torso is testing a protective vest from Israel. Unlike the rocket, Orion has launched before, making two laps around Earth in 2014. This time, the European Space Agency’s service module will be attached for propulsion and solar power via four wings.

FLIGHT PLAN

Orion’s flight is supposed to last six weeks from its Florida liftoff to Pacific splashdown, twice as long as astronaut trips in order to tax the systems. It will take nearly a week to reach the moon, 240,000 miles (386,000 kilometers) away. After whipping closely around the moon, the capsule will enter a distant orbit with a far point of 38,000 miles (61,000 kilometers). That will put Orion 280,000 miles (450,000 kilometers) from Earth, farther than Apollo. The big test comes at mission’s end, as Orion hits the atmosphere at 25,000 mph (40,000 kph) on its way to a splashdown in the Pacific. The heat shield uses the same material as the Apollo capsules to withstand reentry temperatures of 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,750 degrees Celsius). But the advanced design anticipates the faster, hotter returns by future Mars crews.

HITCHHIKERS

Besides three test dummies, the flight has a slew of stowaways for deep space research. Ten shoebox-size satellites will pop off once Orion is hurtling toward the moon. The problem is these so-called CubeSats were installed in the rocket a year ago, and the batteries for half of them couldn’t be recharged as the launch kept getting delayed. NASA expects some to fail, given the low-cost, high-risk nature of these mini satellites. The radiation-measuring CubeSats should be OK. Also in the clear: a solar sail demo targeting an asteroid. In a back-to-the-future salute, Orion will carry a few slivers of moon rocks collected by Apollo 11′s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969, and a bolt from one of their rocket engines, salvaged from the sea a decade ago. Aldrin isn’t attending the launch, according to NASA, but three of his former colleagues will be there: Apollo 7′s Walter Cunningham, Apollo 10′s Tom Stafford and Apollo 17′s Harrison Schmitt, the next-to-last man to walk on the moon.

APOLLO VS. ARTEMIS

More than 50 years later, Apollo still stands as NASA’s greatest achievement. Using 1960s technology, NASA took just eight years to go from launching its first astronaut, Alan Shepard, and landing Armstrong and Aldrin on the moon. By contrast, Artemis already has dragged on for more than a decade, despite building on the short-lived moon exploration program Constellation. Twelve Apollo astronauts walked on the moon from 1969 through 1972, staying no longer than three days at a time. For Artemis, NASA will be drawing from a diverse astronaut pool currently numbering 42 and is extending the time crews will spend on the moon to at least a week. The goal is to create a long-term lunar presence that will grease the skids for sending people to Mars. NASA’s Nelson, promises to announce the first Artemis moon crews once Orion is back on Earth.

WHAT’S NEXT

There’s a lot more to be done before astronauts step on the moon again. A second test flight will send four astronauts around the moon and back, perhaps as early as 2024. A year or so later, NASA aims to send another four up, with two of them touching down at the lunar south pole. Orion doesn’t come with its own lunar lander like the Apollo spacecraft did, so NASA has hired Elon Musk’s SpaceX to provide its Starship spacecraft for the first Artemis moon landing. Two other private companies are developing moonwalking suits. The sci-fi-looking Starship would link up with Orion at the moon and take a pair of astronauts to the surface and back to the capsule for the ride home. So far, Starship has only soared six miles (10 kilometers). Musk wants to launch Starship around Earth on SpaceX’s Super Heavy Booster before attempting a moon landing without a crew. One hitch: Starship will need a fill-up at an Earth-orbiting fuel depot, before heading to the moon.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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Sports

Kobe Bryant crash photos trial: Jury finds LA County must pay Vanessa Bryant $16 million and Chris Chester $15 million

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LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A federal jury Wednesday ordered Los Angeles County to pay $31 million in damages over the actions of deputies and firefighters who took and shared gruesome photos from the scene of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people.

The damages were awarded to Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, and co-plaintiff Chris Chester, whose wife Sarah and 13-year-old daughter Payton also died in the Jan. 26, 2020, crash in Calabasas.

Vanessa Bryant was awarded $16 million and Chris Chester was awarded $15 million.

The jury deliberated for 4 1/2 hours before reaching the verdict. Vanessa Bryant cried quietly as it was read.

RELATED: Vanessa Bryant gives emotional testimony in Kobe crash photos trial

Chester and Bryant sued the county in federal court for negligence and invasion of privacy over photos of human remains taken at the scene and shared by first responders.

Bryant and Chester alleged mental anguish over the thought that one day in the future, those photos will turn up in public.

Bryant’s attorneys did not give jurors a dollar amount they thought their client deserved, but Chester’s attorney gave them suggested guidelines that would have meant tens of millions for each plaintiff.

Kobe Bryant photos trial: OC man who lost wife, daughter in crash describes day of accident

After the verdicts were read, Bryant and Chester hugged in the courtroom. She also hugged her attorney.

Bryant did not speak after leaving court.

She later posted on Instagram a picture of herself, Kobe and Gianna with a caption that read: “All for you! I love you! JUSTICE for Kobe and Gigi! #Betonyourself #MambaDay 8-24-22 #MambaMentality.”

Along with Chester and Bryant’s loved ones, the crash killed Alyssa Altobelli, 14; Keri Altobelli, 46; John Altobelli, 56; Christina Mauser, 38; and pilot Ara Zobayan, 50.

Two other families separately settled with the county over the photos for $1.25 million each. All of the victims’ families reached a settlement with the helicopter company over the crash, but those terms remain confidential.

For 10 days jurors heard testimony from L.A. County firefighters and sheriff’s personnel — some accused of taking the photos, others of receiving them.

The county’s lead lawyer argued during her summation that the photos have not surfaced in public in the 2 1/2 years since the tragedy, which proves they have been permanently deleted.

Kobe Bryant photos trial: Former LA County fire captain testifies, walks off witness stand 3 times

“This is a photo case, but there are no photos,” the attorney told jurors in Los Angeles federal court. “There’s a simple truth that cannot be ignored — there’s been no public dissemination.”

Vanessa Bryant’s lawyer Luis Li told jurors that the close-up photos had no official or investigative purpose, and were mere “visual gossip” shared out of a gruesome curiosity.

County attorney J. Mira Hashmall argued during the trial that the photos were a necessary tool for assessing the situation.

She acknowledged that they should not have been shared with everyone who saw them. But she emphasized that the photos had never appeared publicly, and had never even been seen by the plaintiffs. She said that meant that Sheriff Alex Villanueva and other officials had taken decisive and effective action when they ordered those who had the photos to delete them.

RELATED: Vanessa Bryant’s attorney argues photos of Kobe Bryant’s remains shared ‘for a laugh’

L.A. County provided the following statement from Hashmall, its lead outside counsel in the case:

“We are grateful for the jury’s hard work in this case. While we disagree with the jury’s findings as to the County’s liability, we believe the monetary award shows that jurors didn’t believe the evidence supported the Plaintiffs’ request of $75 million for emotional distress. We will be discussing next steps with our client. Meanwhile, we hope the Bryant and Chester families continue to heal from their tragic loss.”

The jury returned its verdict on Kobe Bryant Day, which is celebrated on Aug. 24 because it uses both of his jersey numbers — 8 and 24 — and is the day after his birthday. Tuesday would have been Kobe’s 44th birthday.

City News Service and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.



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