https://www.democraticunderground.org/11983804
Thursday, March 12, 2020
The universe may have been filled with supermassive black holes at the dawn of time
By Rafi Letzter - Staff Writer 14 hours ago
It existed just 900 million years after the Big Bang.
This radio image shows two jets shooting out of the center of Cygnus A, a galaxy not too far from our own. A new paper reports discovering a similar object in a much more distant, ancient galaxy. That galaxy has a bright, relatavistic jet emanating from its central supermassive black hole pointed at Earth, making it a blazar.
(Image: © NRAO)
Nine hundred million years after the Big Bang, in the epoch of our universe's earliest galaxies, there was already a black hole 1 billion times the size of our sun. That black hole sucked in huge quantities of ionized gas, forming a galactic engine — known as a blazar — that blasted a superhot jet of bright matter into space. On Earth, we can still detect the light from that explosion more than 12 billion years later.
Astronomers had previously discovered evidence of primeval supermassive black holes in slightly younger "radio-loud active galactic nuclei," or RL AGNs. RL AGNs are galaxies with cores that look extra-bright to radio telescopes, which is considered evidence that they contain supermassive black holes. Blazars are a unique type of RL AGN that spit out two narrow jets of "relativistic" (near-light-speed) matter in opposite directions. Those jets emit narrow beams of light at many different wavelengths and have to be pointed right at Earth for us to detect them across such vast distances. This new blazar discovery moves the date of the oldest confirmed supermassive black hole to within the first billion years of the universe's history and suggests there were other, similar black holes in that era that we haven't detected.
"Thanks to our discovery, we are able to say that in the first billion years of life of the universe, there existed a large number of very massive black holes emitting powerful relativistic jets," Silvia Belladitta, a doctoral student at the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) in Milan and co-author of a new paper on the blazar, said in a statement.
More:
https://www.livescience.com/early-universe-black-hole-blazar-galaxy-discovey.html
By Rafi Letzter - Staff Writer 14 hours ago
It existed just 900 million years after the Big Bang.
This radio image shows two jets shooting out of the center of Cygnus A, a galaxy not too far from our own. A new paper reports discovering a similar object in a much more distant, ancient galaxy. That galaxy has a bright, relatavistic jet emanating from its central supermassive black hole pointed at Earth, making it a blazar.
(Image: © NRAO)
Nine hundred million years after the Big Bang, in the epoch of our universe's earliest galaxies, there was already a black hole 1 billion times the size of our sun. That black hole sucked in huge quantities of ionized gas, forming a galactic engine — known as a blazar — that blasted a superhot jet of bright matter into space. On Earth, we can still detect the light from that explosion more than 12 billion years later.
Astronomers had previously discovered evidence of primeval supermassive black holes in slightly younger "radio-loud active galactic nuclei," or RL AGNs. RL AGNs are galaxies with cores that look extra-bright to radio telescopes, which is considered evidence that they contain supermassive black holes. Blazars are a unique type of RL AGN that spit out two narrow jets of "relativistic" (near-light-speed) matter in opposite directions. Those jets emit narrow beams of light at many different wavelengths and have to be pointed right at Earth for us to detect them across such vast distances. This new blazar discovery moves the date of the oldest confirmed supermassive black hole to within the first billion years of the universe's history and suggests there were other, similar black holes in that era that we haven't detected.
"Thanks to our discovery, we are able to say that in the first billion years of life of the universe, there existed a large number of very massive black holes emitting powerful relativistic jets," Silvia Belladitta, a doctoral student at the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) in Milan and co-author of a new paper on the blazar, said in a statement.
More:
https://www.livescience.com/early-universe-black-hole-blazar-galaxy-discovey.html
Student discovers 5,000-year-old sword hidden in Venetian monastery
By Tom Metcalfe - Live Science Contributor a day ago
It's one of the oldest swords ever found.
The sword was mistakenly thought to be medieval. It is now thought to come from eastern Anatolia and to be about 5000 years-old – one of the oldest swords ever found.
(Image: © Ca' Foscari University of Venice/Andrea Avezzù)
A keen-eyed archaeology student made the find of a lifetime when she spotted one of the oldest swords on record, mistakenly grouped with medieval artifacts in a secluded Italian museum.
The ancient sword was thought to be medieval in origin and maybe a few hundred years old at most — but studies have shown that it dates back about 5,000 years, to what is now eastern Turkey, where swords are thought to have been invented, in the early Bronze Age.
The weapon was spotted in November 2017 by Vittoria Dall'Armellina, who was then a doctoral student in archaeology at Ca' Foscari University of Venice. She had made a day trip to the monastery on San Lazzaro degli Armeni, a tiny island on the edge of the Venetian lagoon.
https://www.livescience.com/ancient-anatolian-sword-in-venetian-monastery.html?utm_source=notification
By Tom Metcalfe - Live Science Contributor a day ago
It's one of the oldest swords ever found.
The sword was mistakenly thought to be medieval. It is now thought to come from eastern Anatolia and to be about 5000 years-old – one of the oldest swords ever found.
(Image: © Ca' Foscari University of Venice/Andrea Avezzù)
A keen-eyed archaeology student made the find of a lifetime when she spotted one of the oldest swords on record, mistakenly grouped with medieval artifacts in a secluded Italian museum.
The ancient sword was thought to be medieval in origin and maybe a few hundred years old at most — but studies have shown that it dates back about 5,000 years, to what is now eastern Turkey, where swords are thought to have been invented, in the early Bronze Age.
The weapon was spotted in November 2017 by Vittoria Dall'Armellina, who was then a doctoral student in archaeology at Ca' Foscari University of Venice. She had made a day trip to the monastery on San Lazzaro degli Armeni, a tiny island on the edge of the Venetian lagoon.
https://www.livescience.com/ancient-anatolian-sword-in-venetian-monastery.html?utm_source=notification
Airbus: End of Washington state tax break of Boeing just 'initial step'
Source: Reuters
BUSINESS NEWS MARCH 12, 2020 / 4:10 PM / UPDATED 4 MINUTES AGO
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Europe’s Airbus (AIR.PA) on Thursday welcomed a move by Washington state to remove what it called “illegal subsidies” to Boeing (BA.N), but said the U.S. planemaker had received billions of dollars in other subsidies and tax breaks.
The Washington state Senate voted on Thursday to remove an aerospace tax break for Boeing that had been contested by the European Union, sending the measure to Washington state Governor Jay Inslee for a potential signature.
Boeing said the move would bring the United States into compliance with World Trade Organization rules, but Airbus said it marked only “initial steps” and it remained to be seen how other aid provided to Boeing by the state of Kansas and some U.S. federal agencies would be addressed
Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Sandra Maler
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-usa-aircraft-airbus/airbus-end-of-washington-state-tax-break-of-boeing-just-initial-step-idUSKBN20Z3FK?il=0
-snip-
Washington state repeals pro-Boeing tax break; U.S. hopes to avoid EU tariffs
BUSINESS NEWS MARCH 12, 2020 / 2:39 PM / UPDATED 36 MINUTES AGO
WASHINGTON/SEATTLE (Reuters) - Washington state on Thursday moved to formally repeal an aerospace tax break that benefited U.S. planemaker Boeing (BA.N) and avert looming European Union tariffs on U.S. goods.
Boeing said the move would bring the United States into compliance with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, but Europe’s Airbus said it marked only “initial steps” toward resolving a longstanding transatlantic dispute over aircraft subsidies.
The Geneva-based WTO has found that Boeing and Airbus (AIR.PA), the world’s two largest planemakers, received billions of dollars of unfair subsidies in cases dating back to 2004. It has faulted both sides for failing to comply fully with previous rulings, opening the door to a tariff war.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-usa-aircraft-boeing/washington-state-repeals-pro-boeing-tax-break-u-s-hopes-to-avoid-eu-tariffs-idUSKBN20Z39A?il=0
GOP uses emergency bill for coronavirus testing to fight about abortion
OF COURSE THEY DO
Source: American Independent
By Emily Singer -March 12, 2020
The White House is trying to kill legislation to fund coronavirus testing by adding anti-abortion language to it.
The White House is objecting to a Democratic bill that would fund coronavirus testing kits for all Americans by demanding that unrelated anti-abortion language be added to the legislation.
House Democrats introduced the "Families First" bill on Thursday, which, along with providing funding for coronavirus test kits, would also call for mandatory paid sick leave for all workers, and ensure that poor Americans hurt by the economic impact of the virus would have access to food security.
But the White House is opposed to the bill, with Donald Trump saying that the bill is filled with "goodies" Democrats have wanted to pass for years.
And in an apparent effort to build opposition to the bill, Republicans, including first son Donald Trump Jr., are claiming the $1 billion in funding the Democratic bill would make available for coronavirus testing would actually be an "abortion slush fund."
Read more: https://americanindependent.com/gop-coronavirus-bill-abortion-hyde-amendment-donald-trump-republicans-congress/
Republicans Are Opposing Paid Sick Leave & Holding Up Free Coronavirus Testing-- Over Abortion
By Laura Clawson For Daily Kos Labor, March 12, 2020.
OF COURSE THEY DO
Source: American Independent
By Emily Singer -March 12, 2020
The White House is trying to kill legislation to fund coronavirus testing by adding anti-abortion language to it.
The White House is objecting to a Democratic bill that would fund coronavirus testing kits for all Americans by demanding that unrelated anti-abortion language be added to the legislation.
House Democrats introduced the "Families First" bill on Thursday, which, along with providing funding for coronavirus test kits, would also call for mandatory paid sick leave for all workers, and ensure that poor Americans hurt by the economic impact of the virus would have access to food security.
But the White House is opposed to the bill, with Donald Trump saying that the bill is filled with "goodies" Democrats have wanted to pass for years.
And in an apparent effort to build opposition to the bill, Republicans, including first son Donald Trump Jr., are claiming the $1 billion in funding the Democratic bill would make available for coronavirus testing would actually be an "abortion slush fund."
Read more: https://americanindependent.com/gop-coronavirus-bill-abortion-hyde-amendment-donald-trump-republicans-congress/
Republicans Are Opposing Paid Sick Leave & Holding Up Free Coronavirus Testing-- Over Abortion
'Republicans are opposing paid sick leave and holding up free coronavirus testing over abortion.'
By Laura Clawson For Daily Kos Labor, March 12, 2020.
Senate Republicans have backed down on the threat to wait until after a week-long recess to consider the House coronavirus response bill, and have canceled recess. But that doesn’t mean they’re gearing up to be reasonable about protecting families from the economic impact of the pandemic. “Per multiple sources, there are 2 issues emerging as sticking points in negotiations between the White House and Speaker Pelosi on the Coronavirus aid bill: paid sick leave and abortion,” NBC's Alex Moe tweeted. It’s a close call which of these is more shocking (without being all that surprising)—that Republicans are balking at paid sick leave during a pandemic or that Republicans are somehow turning pandemic response into an abortion fight.
The issue at play, abortion-wise, is that Republicans want to add anti-abortion language to the bill. That scans—as something ruthlessly partisan politicians with no regard for health or safety would do. It also comes in the context of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell having warned about the House Democrats’ bill—the one with the sick leave and coronavirus testing—being “an ideological wish list that was not tailored closely to the circumstances.”
According to the Daily Caller (no, I’m not linking), the issue was “a mandate for up to $1 billion to reimburse laboratory claims, which White House officials say would set a precedent of health spending without protections outlined in the Hyde Amendment.” So Democrats called for funding to cover laboratory costs of testing for coronavirus, and Republicans said no, because it would set a precedent that the federal government could spend money on health care without explicitly excluding abortion? IT’S CORONAVIRUS TESTING. But oh noes, it would set a precedent.
According to Politico Playbook, “The two sides resolved issues over federal funding of abortion in a separate bill that will also hit the floor.” Then there’s paid sick leave. Which is at least a relevant issue here. In fact, it’s one of the absolute central issues: People who may miss weeks of work because they’re sick, caring for a sick loved one, or caring for a child whose school is closed should not face hunger and eviction or foreclosure for it. We should not want these people going about their daily lives infecting other people, even if we lack the basic humanity to say they shouldn’t have to suffer through working while sick.
Paid sick leave is, for the record, extremely popular with the public...
More, https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/3/12/1926856/-Republicans-are-opposing-paid-sick-leave-and-holding-up-free-coronavirus-testing-over-abortion
Coronavirus: many infections spread by people yet to show symptoms - scientists
Source: The Guardian
Coronavirus: many infections spread by people yet to show symptoms (est: 45% to 85%)
An analysis of infections in Singapore and Tianjin in China revealed that two-thirds and three-quarters of people respectively appear to have caught it from others who were incubating the virus but still symptom-free.
Researchers in Belgium and the Netherlands drew on data from outbreaks in Singapore and Tianjin to work out the "generation interval" for Covid-19. The generation interval is the time between one person getting infected and them infecting another. The figure is valuable for estimating the speed at which an outbreak will unfold.
The mean generation interval was 5.2 days in the Singapore cluster and 3.95 days in the China cluster, according to the analysis which is under review at an infectious disease journal. The scientists went on to calculate what proportion of infections were likely spread from people who were still incubating the virus and had yet to develop symptoms.
There are uncertainties in the figures because the scientists did not have precise information on who infected whom in the two clusters of disease. But even the lowest estimates show there was substantial transmission of coronavirus from people who had yet to fall ill.
In the Singapore cluster, between 45% and 84% of infections appeared to come from people incubating the virus. In China, the figures ranged from 65% to as much as 87%.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/mar/12/coronavirus-most-infections-spread-by-people-yet-to-show-symptoms-scientists
Rep. Katie Porter gets CDC chief to agree to pay for coronavirus testing
Source: cnn
Thu March 12, 2020
Lawmaker gets CDC chief to promise free coronavirus tests
(CNN)Democratic Rep. Katie Porter successfully pressed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief during a congressional hearing on Thursday to agree that the agency will pay for testing for the novel coronavirus.
The exchange came after President Donald Trump, while addressing the nation on Wednesday night, incorrectly implied that coronavirus patients could access free treatment. Many insurers have said they will pick up the cost of coronavirus testing for some policyholders, but not the treatment -- and a test or treatment that is covered is not necessarily free.
"Dr. Kadlec, for someone without insurance, do you know the out-of-pocket cost of a complete blood count test?" Porter, a California Democrat, asked Robert Kadlec, the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Department of Health and Human Services, who said that he did not.
Porter, who is known for her incisive questioning of witnesses, then asked Kadlec whether he knew the prices of several medical services that could be associated with a coronavirus test, writing down her own figures for each service on a whiteboard she had brought to the House Oversight Committee hearing. All of his guesses were slightly to significantly above the amounts that Porter cited.
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Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/politics/katie-porter-cdc-coronavirus-testing-white-board/index.html?utm_source=twCNN&utm_content=2020-03-12T23%3A07%3A09&utm_medium=social&utm_term=link
Source: cnn
Thu March 12, 2020
Lawmaker gets CDC chief to promise free coronavirus tests
(CNN)Democratic Rep. Katie Porter successfully pressed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief during a congressional hearing on Thursday to agree that the agency will pay for testing for the novel coronavirus.
The exchange came after President Donald Trump, while addressing the nation on Wednesday night, incorrectly implied that coronavirus patients could access free treatment. Many insurers have said they will pick up the cost of coronavirus testing for some policyholders, but not the treatment -- and a test or treatment that is covered is not necessarily free.
"Dr. Kadlec, for someone without insurance, do you know the out-of-pocket cost of a complete blood count test?" Porter, a California Democrat, asked Robert Kadlec, the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Department of Health and Human Services, who said that he did not.
Porter, who is known for her incisive questioning of witnesses, then asked Kadlec whether he knew the prices of several medical services that could be associated with a coronavirus test, writing down her own figures for each service on a whiteboard she had brought to the House Oversight Committee hearing. All of his guesses were slightly to significantly above the amounts that Porter cited.
....................................
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/politics/katie-porter-cdc-coronavirus-testing-white-board/index.html?utm_source=twCNN&utm_content=2020-03-12T23%3A07%3A09&utm_medium=social&utm_term=link
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