It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Thursday, November 04, 2021
Our nine male Japanese reporters turn into lovely young ladies with magic of A.I. photo editing
Recently, though, our reporter Mr. Sato wondered what he and his fellow male officemates would look like if they’d changed from the neck up, and so he put together another photo shoot. Let’s start with a look at A-chan.
Dressed in a sassy tank top, A-chan is hoping to take a trip to Hawaii once the pandemic completely settles down. As you might guess, though, A-chan is an alias, and that’s really one of our male reporters after receiving a digital makeover via photo editing app FaceApp. Using the apps “teen” and “feminize” functions, Mr. Sato was given a glimpse of what they’d look like as young ladies, so let’s have a look at the results, followed by a reveal of who’s who.
▼ B-chan, who’s looking forward to going to karaoke with friends when life finally gets back to the old normal
▼ C-chan, who’s been waking up early to do yoga every morning
▼ D-chan, who radiates a mysterious, worldly allure
▼ E-chan, who combines the height of a runway model with the looks of an idol singer
▼ F-chan, ready to head out for a casual lunch date in a cozy, oversized sweatshirt
▼ G-chan, making a heart gesture with crossed thumb and index finger
▼ H-chan, with freshly scrubbed face and smooth, neatly styled hair
▼ And last, I-chan, who’s really into watching mixed martial arts
▼ And here’s what all of them look like ordinarily.
So, what are the real identities of A through I-chan? Going once again in alphabetical order, A-chan is…
…P.K. Sanjun, and B-chan is none other than…
…Mr. Sato!
It’s worth noting that, true to its name, FaceApp is really only concerned with your face, and the digital effects we applied didn’t change anything about our reporters’ bodies. That’s not really an issue with the long-sleeve wearing C-chan, who is, in reality…
…Seiji Nakazawa. However, you might have noticed D-chan’s especially hirsute forearms, which are actually the forearms of…
…Japanese head editor Go Hatori.
Meanwhile, the statuesque E-chan is…
…Masanuki Sunakoma, whom FaceApp saw fit to give some major hair extensions to, a move it also deemed appropriate for F-chan…
…or SoraNews24 owner Yoshio.
We’re getting close to the end, and process of elimination might make it easy to guess that G-chan’s true identity is…
Which, finally, means that I-chan’s shy smile is that of…
…Yuichiro Wasai.
It’s honestly startling how far this kind of technology has come in recent years, especially since FaceApp is free. The lack of changes made from the chin down are a tipoff that all might not be as it seems, but it’s probably only a matter of time until free-to-use apps start adding those too.
Kaja Hannedatter Sontum. Credit: University of Oslo
If cultural heritage institutions want to be relevant to young people today, they must move away from old categories defining what and who is Norwegian, archaeologist Kaja Hannedatter Sontum argues in her new doctoral thesis.
Social inclusion and diversity is one of the goals within the field of cultural heritage. A new Ph.D. study now suggests that the sector should reconsider current attempts to achieve their goals.
Considering the question of what is cultural heritage, Oslo youths are already divided on the issues laid out in public policies and governing documents within the field.
"In these documents, and also in the public debate, cultural heritage often revolves around material memories from the past. It may consist of excavations, site specific objects and singular artifacts. The young people that I have spoken with often think of cultural heritage as something immaterial," says researcher Kaja Hannedatter Sontum.
She has recently completed a doctorate in archaeology at the University of Oslo, Norway. There, she interviewed young people who felt that cultural practices, such as language, food or music, could be considered just as much a part of cultural heritage as a headdress in a museum exhibition.
"Perhaps this has to do with the fact that it is easier to feel included by an intangible cultural heritage. The traditional understanding of cultural heritage is more bound to a place, static and limited. It has been common to talk about historical roots," says Sontum.
Categorical thinking
Kaja Hannedatter Sontum has investigated what cultural heritage institutions are doing to include and reflect diversity—and what those who are to be included evaluate their efforts.
On the one hand, she has studied the official policies and governing documents. On the other, she has carried out interviews and group conversations with students from a total of five different high schools in the capital Oslo, three from the affluent western side and two from the less privileged eastern side.
The young people she talked with came from various cultural backgrounds. Some had family from Norway only, and others had family with a history of migration. with a migratory background are particularly visible in Sontum's discussions.
"Their stories are set apart by an experience of mixing different cultures and practices, and thereby creating something new, something that is their own. This experience of having multiple and hybrid cultural connections is not found in the official documents. The documents, however, reflect a categorical way of thinking."
Youth are not included
For example, this is a statement from the Parliamentary Report "Living with our Cultural Heritage" from 2004–2005:
"In addition to preserving Norwegian cultural heritage, cultural heritage administration in a multicultural Norway is about documenting, disseminating and preserving cultural heritage with ties to the Sami as indigenous peoples, the five national minorities—the Jewish people, the Kvens, Roma, the Romani people and the Forest Finns—and the more recent minority groups—the immigrants of the past 35 years."
In the Parliamentary Report "Future with a foothold—Cultural Heritage Policy" from 2012–2013, the wording "in addition to the Norwegian cultural heritage" is no longer used, but the inclusion model is still based on the same principle, Sontum believes.
At the administrative level, however, there has been a tendency to add new categories within an existing idea of what cultural heritage is, she points out.
"The cultural heritage of different groups of immigrants is often presented as an addition to, and at the same time, separate from, the place-bound national and local history. The perspective that it is possible to have multiple connections, or that one may experience falling outside of or moving between the existing categories of identity, is lacking."
The younger generation, in particular, seems to be skeptical about being represented in this way, as Sontum herself has seen in her work.
'The planning documents do not help'
Through informal conversations with people working within the field of cultural heritage, for example museum staff, it is Sontum's impression that many people are now looking for new ways to think about diversity and inclusion.
"The official planning documents and legislations do not seem to be helping," Sontum says.
Through the interviews, the archaeologist has discovered that many young people make considerate choices when they identify themselves with different cultural practices.
"They establish connections between themselves and others in ways that do not correspond to representations of a Norwegian core culture and homogeneous minority cultures. But their stories also indicate that they feel unsure about their own sense of belonging, especially in the context of how they are defined by others around them," says Sontum and adds:
"They express their own cultural heritage as something they choose, as something they do and as something that can be blended and mixed. In different social settings, something new may arise. The experience of being placed between different categories seems to contribute to reflections on definitions, for example: what does it mean to be ethnically Norwegian."
'The mindset must change'
Sontum points out that the administration of cultural heritage and cultural monuments must benefit the people. Thus, she believes, the work must be rooted in the experiences of those we are trying to include.
"New strategies should aim to stimulate critical reflection and dialog about how inequality is constantly produced within society. Cultural inequality is not something that is just there, it is created continuously through various social and political processes."
According to Sontum, we simply need to reverse the whole mindset of how we cultivate inclusion within the cultural heritage sector.
"Instead of undermining people's lived experiences, the sector must involve and acknowledge different voices within society, perhaps even conflicting voices. The actors within the field of cultural heritage have a unique and beneficial position to take part in this conversation. They can also offer tools and spaces where ideas about identity and belonging can be discussed."
A good starting point
Sontum believes that an insight into the migrations, cultural encounters and transformations of the past can provide a foundation for discussing current issues. She suggests that we could use museum exhibitions, collections, cultural heritage sites and historical artifacts as a starting point for inviting difficult but important conversations.
"Knowledge of the past provides the basis for being able to talk about ideas on belonging in today's society. Cultural heritage agents are not supposed to come with pre-prepared answers, but they can take part in the conversation in a critical way," she says and adds:
"We who are archaeologists, or work within cultural heritage administration and dissemination, cannot deny that what we concern ourselves with, is political. Rather, we must acknowledge the position of power we are in when it relates to what culture and cultural heritage is, and we must ask ourselves what role this plays in today's society. We simply have to take part in the conversation."
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope rolls to its final stop before launch from Arianespace's ELA-3 launch complex at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America. Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
Now that NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has safely arrived at its launch site in French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America, technical teams have begun making progress on the final checklist of preparations before liftoff later this year.
These preparations are expected to last 55 days from the observatory's arrival by ship to the day of launch.
After Webb arrived at the Arianespace clean room facilities in French Guiana, contamination control technicians ensured the observatory is clean and contaminant free following its 5,800 mile journey. Then engineers ran a final set of electrical and functional tests and checked the stowed mechanical configuration to ensure delivery went smoothly. A trained crew in special hazmat suits will soon begin the two-week process of loading the spacecraft with the hydrazine fuel and nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer it will need to power its rocket thrusters to maintain its orbit. Next, Webb will move to the nearby vehicle integration building to be lifted and mounted on top of the Ariane 5 rocket "stack." The final few remove-before-flight "red-tag" items are taken off, and a few remaining add-before-flight "green tag" items are installed. Then the rocket fairing is lifted and lowered over top and locked into place, signifying the conclusion of a long journey. At this point, Webb will be very nearly ready to launch from Europe's Spaceport, also known as the Guiana Space Center (CSG).
As a fully integrated launch vehicle with Webb as the payload, the Ariane rocket will roll out to the launch pad a few days before launch. Engineers monitor the rocket via electrical connections running from the payload control room to the pad through an umbilical attachment to the vehicle that separates at liftoff. A few hours before liftoff, the rocket is loaded with liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer. About a half hour before launch, engineers in the payload control room switch the spacecraft from external electrical power to the spacecraft's on-board battery.
Webb's launch will be a pivotal moment for NASA and its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), but it is only the beginning. The following 29 days will be an exciting but harrowing time. Thousands of parts must work correctly, in sequence, to unfold Webb and put it in its final configuration, all while it flies through the expanse of space alone, to a destination nearly one million miles away.
A more detailed breakdown of what lies ahead for Webb:
Webb's 29 days on the edge begin upon liftoff. After 206 seconds of flight, at an altitude of about 75 miles above the atmosphere, the two halves of the rocket fairing that shields the observatory during ascent are separated by a pyrotechnic system with springs that expose the observatory to space. Ground teams expect to receive communication from Webb shortly after separation. Webb will then separate from the launch vehicle nearly 28 minutes after launch, and from this point on the ground team at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore will be in full control, to begin the most complex sequence of deployments ever attempted in a single space mission.
Webb's first deployment, the extension of its solar array, will occur between 31 to 33 minutes after liftoff, stopping the drain on the observatory's internal battery by supplying nearly 2 kilowatts of power to drive the spacecraft's electrical systems and avionics. To enable the highest data rate communication to the ground through NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN), the onboard medium and high-gain antenna platform is deployed at two hours.
Upon its arrival at the launch site in Kourou, French Guiana, engineers quickly set about unpacking, cleaning, and preparing the James Webb Space Telescope in its remaining days on Earth. Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
At 12 and a half hours after launch, Webb will fire its thrusters, performing the first of several critical course corrections that send the observatory towards its final destination in orbit. The observatory will pass the Moon nearly two and a half days after launch, faster than the time it took Apollo astronauts to reach lunar orbit.
Webb's first large deployment, the extension of its sunshield frame known as a unitized pallet structure, folds down nearly three days after launch, opening the observatory up to continue expanding. This represents the start of all major deployments and is scheduled to take approximately five hours for both front and back pallets to fold down completely.
Four days after launch, a deployable tower will extend to separate the telescope mirrors and instruments from the spacecraft bus. This separation effectively isolates the telescope from vibrations and conducted heat coming from the spacecraft bus. Additionally, this extension allows for the rest of Webb's larger deployable components, like its sunshield and primary mirror, to have enough room to make their own sequence of complex movements afterwards.
Sunshield membrane deployments formally begin approximately five days after launch, as special covers that protect the sunshield during ascent will roll out of the way. Next, a critical juncture in the mission will occur when all of the 107 sunshield release mechanisms, or special pins that keep the five sunshield layers locked into place, need to fire on cue and pull themselves out to free the membranes. After all sunshield pins have been successfully removed, two wings, known as mid-booms, extend to pull each of the sunshield layers out into their characteristic diamond formation nearly a day later. Following full deployment, each of the five layers are tensioned and separated using special pulleys and motor systems. Sunshield deployments and tensioning are expected to conclude between eight to nine days after liftoff but can be slowed down to circumvent any unforeseen issues if they arise.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope seen being prepared for transport to French Guiana for launch later this year. Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
Following the conclusion of sunshield tensioning, a special radiator behind the primary mirror is deployed to help cool down the scientific instruments.
Next, Webb's optics, and NASA's new eye on the cosmos, open up. Telescope deployment begins by unfolding and latching into place the tripod holding the secondary mirror, and it is expected to conclude two hours into the 10th day after liftoff. The secondary mirror is one of the most important pieces of equipment on the telescope, essential to the success of the mission. This smaller circular mirror plays an important role in collecting light from Webb's 18 primary mirrors into a focused beam. Primary mirror deployment is set to begin on the 12th day, with the mirror's side panels, each holding three primary mirror segments, taking nearly three hours to extend out and latch into place. At 13 days in, Webb's large-scale deployments are expected to conclude with the locking in of its primary mirror wings, revealing the telescope in all its glory.
A 10-day, multi-step process to move all 18 primary mirror segments out of their launch configuration will begin after the mirror wings are latched in and conclude on day 25. To begin fine-tuning the mirrors, 126 extremely precise actuators on the backside of the mirrors will position and subtly bend or flex each mirror into a specific prescription, a process that will take months.
On the 29th day, Webb will fire its thrusters once again to insert itself into its prescribed orbit at the second Lagrange point, or L2, nearly one million miles away from Earth, formally concluding the most difficult and complex deployment sequence ever attempted in space.
Credit: NASA, ESA, V. Ksoll and D. Gouliermis (Universität Heidelberg), et al.; Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
N44 is a complex nebula filled with glowing hydrogen gas, dark lanes of dust, massive stars, and many populations of stars of different ages. One of its most distinctive features, however, is the dark, starry gap called a "superbubble," visible in this Hubble Space Telescope image in the upper central region.
The hole is about 250 light-years wide and its presence is still something of a mystery. Stellar winds expelled by massive stars in the bubble's interior may have driven away the gas, but this is inconsistent with measured wind velocities in the bubble. Another possibility, since the nebula is filled with massive stars that would expire in titanic explosions, is that the expanding shells of old supernovae sculpted the cosmic cavern.
Astronomers have found one supernova remnant in the vicinity of the superbubble and identified an approximately 5 million year difference in age between stars within and at the rim of the superbubble, indicating multiple, chain-reaction star-forming events. The deep blue area at about 5 o'clock around the superbubble is one of the hottest regions of the nebula and the area of the most intense star formation.
N44 is an emission nebula, which means its gas has been energized, or ionized, by the radiation of nearby stars. As the ionized gas begins to cool from its higher-energy state to a lower-energy state, it emits energy in the form of light, causing the nebula to glow. Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, N44 spans about 1,000 light-years and is about 170,000 light-years away from Earth.
Mysterious comet has been having multiple large outbursts
Credit: Faulkes Telescope Project, Las Cumbres Observatory telescope network, McDonald node. Authors:Julio Vannini (NIC), Daniel Jose Mendicini (ARG)
Amateur and professional astronomers have found that the comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann has been experiencing an unusually large outburst recently. Normally, it has little outbursts spread throughout the year.
Comet 29P was discovered in 1927 and shortly thereafter was found to be orbiting the sun on a planet-like path in the space between Jupiter and Saturn. It was also found to be very large—approximately 60 kilometers across. Later, astronomers found that it behaved differently than other comets. Instead of shedding material as its outer layers melted during close fly-bys to the sun, it exhibited a kind of explosive behavior on occasion. Something was being ejected from the comet's interior, making the comet shine extremely brightly. The ejecta then fell back to the comet, adding a coating. Further study showed that periodically, a much larger outburst would occur and the comet would shine even more brightly. Such a huge outburst has been happening again, this time it started at the end of September.
Their research has shown that both the small outbursts and the large outbursts are unpredictable. In this latest outburst, there have been multiple eruptions and the comet grew in brightness to approximately 250 times that of its normal luminosity.
Notably, nobody knows why the comet erupts, though it does appear that the large outbursts work in ways similar to some volcanos. The ejecta from the small eruptions cover the exterior of the comet, creating a sort of shell. This, researchers suggest, leads to a build-up of pressure. Eventually, the pressure is strong enough to break through the icy crust, leading to a very large eruption.
In a novel twist, most of the research conducted regarding comet 29P has been done by amateurs with backyard telescopes. Time on the big telescopes has grown so competitive that most of the pros tend to focus on larger more important projects. The amateur astronomy community was hoping to learn more about the comet during this large outburst, however, as several professional teams requested and were granted time on the Hubble Space Telescope to peer at the comet. Sadly, these hopes were dashed as Hubble experienced technical problems that prevented it from pointing at the comet in time to catch its massive outburst in action.The biggest comet ever seen will get as close as Saturn in 2031
Ash from erupting volcano forces Spanish islanders indoors
by Emilio Morenatti
Police officers and emergency personnel look as lava flows from a volcano as it continues to erupt on the Canary island of La Palma, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. A volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma that has been erupting for six weeks has spewed more ash from its main mouth a day after producing its strongest earthquake to date.
Credit: AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti
Authorities on the Spanish island of La Palma are telling people who live near an erupting volcano to stay indoors because of a heavy fall of ash that has forced the cancellation of flights and school classes.
The Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma, which is part of Spain's Canary Islands off northwest Africa, has been spewing lava, ash and gases for more than six weeks. The eruption has alternately surged and ebbed since Sept. 19.
Local air quality is "extremely unfavorable" because of high levels of small particles in the air, emergency services belonging to the Canary Islands government said in a statement late Tuesday.
All flights to and from the island have been canceled because of the falling ash, according to Spain's national airport authority.
With flights canceled, some tourists who came on a sightseeing trip to witness the eruption had to wait in long lines for ferries to leave the island Wednesday.
Madrid resident Patricia Privado, 30, described the erupting volcano as "a spectacle of nature."
"It is worth it," she said of her trip. "To hear it roar, to see how the lava falls. You have to experience it".
León Peña, 65, said he came from the nearby island of Fuerteventura to see what he called "something unique".
Lava from a volcano advances destroying a house as it continues to erupt on the Canary island of La Palma, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. A volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma that has been erupting for six weeks has spewed more ash from its main mouth a day after producing its strongest earthquake to date.
Credit: AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti
Passengers line up as they try to leave boarding a ferry at the port in the Canary island of La Palma, Spain, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. Authorities on the Spanish island of La Palma are telling people who live near an erupting volcano to stay indoors due to a heavy fall of ash that has forced the cancellation of flights and school classes.
Credit: AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti
Passengers line up as they try to leave boarding a ferry at the port in the Canary island of La Palma, Spain, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. Authorities on the Spanish island of La Palma are telling people who live near an erupting volcano to stay indoors due to a heavy fall of ash that has forced the cancellation of flights and school classes.
Credit: AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti
Lava from a volcano advances destroying a banana plantation on the Canary island of La Palma, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021. The volcano that has been roaring on Spain's La Palma for over six weeks has destroyed the livelihoods of thousands of farmers and workers who grow and sell the Canary Islands banana. So far, lava flows have covered over 390 acres of land dedicated to the cultivation of the sweet yellow fruit that feeds 30% of the economic motor of the Atlantic island.
Credit: AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti
Passengers line up as they try to leave boarding a ferry at the port in the Canary island of La Palma, Spain, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. Authorities on the Spanish island of La Palma are telling people who live near an erupting volcano to stay indoors due to a heavy fall of ash that has forced the cancellation of flights and school classes.
Credit: AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti
Both said they knew flight cancellations were a possibility, but they didn't let that deter them from traveling to La Palma. They also saw their trips as a way of supporting the local economy by spending money on the island.
Scientists have said the eruption could last up to three months.
Around 85,000 people live on La Palma. Most of the island is unaffected by the eruption.
More than 7.000 people have been evacuated from their homes due to the threat from the rivers of lava.
The molten rock has covered more than 997 hectares (2,463 acres) and crushed or damaged more than 2.200 buildings.
The volcano's constant roar and numerous earthquakes have also kept locals on edge. A magnitude 5 quake was felt in the island Wednesday morning according to the National Geographical Institute.
Fireworks can be a spectacular addition to many of our annual celebrations. But sadly they can cause serious distress to our pets.
Many animals show an instinctive fear response to sudden and unexpected loud noises. The bangs, crackling and whistling sounds made by fireworks can be particularly terrifying, especially when displays last for more than a few minutes.
Some pets will adapt and become used to them, but others can develop more deep-seated distress responses. One of my own dogs reacts badly, and this has become progressively worse as she has got older.
With several festive celebrations potentially involving fireworks on the horizon, now is a good time to consider how best to help our pets remain as calm and happy as possible.
Here are some ways to help your pets cope with the noisiest night of the year.
1. Use reassurance to help them feel safe
The advice is often to ignore your scared pet because you might be "rewarding" the fear. But fear is an emotion and cannot be reinforced in the same way that behavior can be.
Animals will often show fight, flight or freeze responses when fearful. We can help our pets cope by providing safety and security when they are afraid.
If your pet seeks comfort from you, be kind, supportive and reassuring through vocal communication and physical touch. But be sure to remain relaxed and upbeat. If you are worried and anxious, you might transfer that to your pet as they are often adept at picking up on our emotions.
Snuggling up with the TV or radio on to drown out the noise from outside often works for many dogs and cats. Some cats might prefer a quiet, den-like space.
For outdoor pets such as rabbits, consider bringing them indoors or finding other ways to limit their firework exposure.
2. Use food, toys and games to distract and calm
Providing food, treats or toys can be a great way to distract your worried pet. You might even build positive associations with fireworks by doing this. Training or other fun activities can also be useful.
Dogs can benefit from the use of scented toys and sniffing games. There is research to suggest that using their noses can even make them more optimistic. Many cats love toys filled with catnip, which can have a significant calming effect.
Puzzle or activity feeding toys might be useful in prolonging the delivery of treats as well as giving your pet something else to think about—these are available for cats, dogs, rabbits and other pets.
3. Keep your pets indoors after dark
Every year, pets go missing when scared by fireworks. On bonfire night, the number of dogs that go missing doubles.
Simple measures, including checking garden and fencing security, can play a large part in reducing the risk of a scared animal escaping. Ensure that your pet's microchip details are up to date so that if the worst does happen, they have a much better chance of being returned to their home.
Collars with identity tags are a simple but effective measure, and, in the UK, are also a legal requirement for dogs in public places. It is worth ensuring that your dogs are exercised in daylight, before the fireworks start. If you do need to go out when it's dark, keeping them on lead will reduce the risk of them bolting if suddenly scared. But it's best to avoid going out during fireworks displays if at all possible.
Cats should always be kept indoors on bonfire night, so call them in well before dusk—and lock their cat flap if they have one so they cannot sneak out.
4. Consider medication, alongside behavioral support
If your pet shows severe fear responses, then seeking veterinary and qualified behavioral advice is essential.
Your vet is the best person to advise you and might be able to prescribe a tranquilizer to support your pet.
Medications are often best used alongside a behavior modification plan, so working with an experienced trainer who uses positive reinforcement or an animal behaviorist is a good longer-term strategy.
Animals in pain might also show increased noise reactivity so it is important to seek veterinary advice to help pets who suffer from other conditions, especially with older animals.
5. Train your pet to get used to loud noises
Exposing young animals to a range of sights and sounds is a simple way to minimize potential noise-reactivity problems. The use of CDs or podcasts with frightening noises, paired with food, treats or other fun things can be a useful and effective longer-term approach to managing firework-fear through gradual counter-conditioning and desensitization.
This can also work for older animals as part of a managed training and support plan, often with the help of a suitably qualified behaviorist.
Fireworks can be frightening for our pets. But with a few practical steps, you can help to make it a little less stressful, both now and in years to come.
Vector-borne diseases are those passed on to humans via an intermediary, a common example being mosquitoes passing on malaria.
A new international study published in Global Change Biology and led by Monash University researchers has found that models of disease vectors, such as mosquitoes, are likely to overestimate the effects of future climate.
"Climate change, invasions and vector control strategies all alter the distribution and abundance of mosquitoes," said lead study author Dr. Louise S. Nørgaard, from the Monash University School of Biological Sciences, and the Centre for Geometric Biology.
"When disease vectors undergo range shift, so do disease burdens," she said.
"Predicting such shifts is a priority to adequately prepare for disease control."
Models of population responses to climate change incorporate a range of measures including body size and reproductive output but both are particularly difficult to measure directly in mosquito populations. Instead researchers traditionally rely on the relationship between wing length, which is easier to measure, and reproductive output.
Underlying most models of mosquito distributions is the assumption that there is a directly proportional relationship between wing length and reproductive output, or in other words, wing length and reproductive output increase at the same rate.
But the work by the Monash team challenges those assumptions—after analyzing a large amount of existing data, they found that it wasn't true for most mosquito species.
The study found that larger female mosquitoes contributed disproportionately more to the replenishment of the population, so it is not a linear relationship.
When the scientists factored in this non-linear relationship, they also found that smaller females were contributing more to population replenishment than was assumed in current models.
"This is important because increasing temperatures result in smaller females," said Dr. Nørgaard.
"So, temperatures where populations have been considered unviable, will, in fact, persist" she said.
In the fight against Dengue fever, mosquitoes that carry a bacteria called Wolbachia are bred in the lab and released into the wild to reduce the transmission of the dengue virus.
Females released from the lab are bigger than their wild counterparts and will contribute disproportionately more to the population when they breed.
"For this aspect of disease control it is likely we are underestimating the impact of releasing Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes in the fight against disease," said Dr. Nørgaard.
The authors concluded that to predict the response of disease vectors like mosquitoes to global change we need to better represent the relationship between size and reproductive output.
More information:Louise S. Nørgaard et al, Predicting the response of disease vectors to global change: The importance of allometric scaling,Global Change Biology(2021).DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15950
The Great Lakes hold one-fifth the standing freshwater on the Earth's surface and more than 34 million people live in the basin, supporting an economy worth US$5 trillion—if it were a country, it would be one of the largest economies in the world. And yet shoreline communities are faltering under the weight of billions of dollars in damages—and are worried that climate change will continue to make things even worse.
With the UN climate conference in Glasgow (COP26) underway, world leaders are discussing what must be done to address the climate crisis and making pledges to take specific actions. Adaptation features heavily in the COP26 agenda, including the Glasgow Adaptation Imperative to assess action taken and action needed to meet the Paris Agreement goal on adaptation and promote a more climate resilient future for all, particularly the most vulnerable communities and ecosystems.
Climate change impacts
In the Great Lakes, climate change is considered a threat multiplier, meaning it exacerbates other threats to the ecosystem.
The Great Lakes have lost more than 70 percent of their total winter ice cover over the past 50 years. That means more open water during winter, thinner ice and less of the ice fishing that is so popular with basin denizens. Less ice cover will, however, lengthen the commercial shipping season.
Overall, warming of the lakes will alter the seasonal patterns of warm and cold water layers and the dynamics of the lakes' food webs, and it will lead to greater shoreline damage from strong winter storms.
In some areas within the Great Lakes basin, water levels have risen by two meters, eroding shorelines, washing away houses, destroying roads, threatening infrastructure such as water treatment plants and disrupting age-old traditions of Indigenous Peoples.
Climate change is one of the leading threats to birds in the Great Lakes and North America. The 2019 Audubon Report "Survival by Degrees" found that 64 percent of bird species (389 of 604) across breeding and non-breeding seasons were moderately or highly vulnerable to climate change. As indicator species, birds are telling us the time to act is now.
In addition, climate change will likely alter the range and distribution of certain fish species, increase the frequency and severity of harmful algal blooms, exacerbate wetland loss, create new threats from invasive species, diminish beach health and, in some cases, displace or extirpate native species.
A small home along Lake Michigan’s shoreline toppled down a bluff in January 2020.
Urban impacts of climate change
The effects of climate change are heightened in urban areas and impose a high financial burden to municipalities. Detroit is a good example.
Detroit is an old city with combined storm and sanitary sewers that overflow stormwater and raw sewage during heavy rainfall events. It also has plenty of impervious surfaces that promote runoff.
Extreme rainfall events have flooded highways, streets and neighborhoods. High water levels have frequently flooded Detroit's Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood. In response, the city spent US$2 million in 2020 on "tiger dams," large, temporary, water-filled berms, to keep the water from flooding houses.
On the 398-hectare Belle Isle State Park, high water levels closed roads, flooded picnic areas and postponed 60 weddings at the popular Boat House, a more than 100-year-old rowing facility, in 2019. They have also delayed a US$5-million habitat restoration project on Blue Heron Lagoon and forced the redesign of the one-hectare, US$4.2-million Oudolf Garden, designed by Piet Oudolf, an internationally renowned Dutch garden designer.
Detroit is also projected to experience a significant increase in the number of very hot days by the end of the century, reaching as many as 65 days above 32.2 C. The burden of heat and poor air quality accompanying the climate threat will disproportionately affect the city's most vulnerable residents.
Adapting to climate change
Many municipalities, provinces and states around the Great Lakes have been developing adaptation plans to address local impacts of climate change at a high cost. This decentralized approach comes with its own problems, like unintended cross-border effects of local adaptation or duplication of efforts. The United Nations has shown that flood risk reduction strategies in one part of a basin may increase flood risks in another portion of the basin that is located in another country.
The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement calls for strengthened measures to anticipate and prevent ecological harm, by following the precautionary principle—when human activities may lead to unacceptable harm that is scientifically plausible but uncertain, actions shall be taken to avoid or diminish that harm.
There is enough scientific evidence that climate change poses a threat to the entire Great Lakes region—and the 38 million people who live there. As is being discussed and pledged at COP26, all must work together to limit global warming to 1.5 C, including the Great Lakes region, and all must immediately advance climate adaptation and resilience.Lakes are changing worldwide
SoraNews2411 hours ago
