SomeGuy writes:In the early morning hours of June 24, 2021, half of the 12-story Surfside Florida luxury condominium, Champlain Towers South, came crashing to the ground, killing 98 occupants.In a recent public update, the NIST detailed the lengthy work needed to uncover the causes of this collapse.This includes building design, construction, modification, and deterioration analysis, evidence preservation, remote sensing analysis using data collected with tools such as LIDAR during recovery, material tests on recovered evidence, a geotechnical analysis of the surrounding soil and geologic conditions, as well as detailed structural and failure analysis using computer modeling.Additionally, they will interview people with historic knowledge of construction in south Florida, and continue to accept information from the public that could shed additional light on this tragedy.Although answers from NIST's investigation will not be forthcoming for a number of years, many individuals unrelated to the NIST have combed through publicly available information to find possible causes.While precise triggers leading to the collapse may never be known, most public evidence, as this video demonstrates, points to two key factors: Badly neglected and deteriorated pool deck concrete slab that lead to a pool deck collapse, and resulting damage to three key building support columns that lead to the building collapse minutes later.A timeline based on public witness accounts, details the dramatic events of that morning.In an interesting twist, this USA Today article digs deep in to possible drug related money laundering and corruption surrounding the building's construction.AP News reports a lawsuit that was just filed alleges previous construction next door contributed to the collapse.Most of the media has focused on the lack of "answers" from the NIST and other organizations. Youtuber Jeff Ostroff has compiled an informative explanation of who NIST is, why the NIST is investigating, and why this takes so long.Original SubmissionRead more of this story at SoylentNews.
New iodine-based plasma thruster tested in orbitFreeman and AnonTechie write:https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/11/new-iodine-based-plasma-thruster-tested-in-orbit/
An Anonymous Coward writes:I think this was posted before, but worth repeating since it will come about this Friday.https://www.npr.org/2021/11/17/1056205732/lunar-eclipse-moon-friday-morning-how-to-see
acid andy writes:The Guardian newspaper reports that Doctors are seeing young adults developing tics and seizures that usually start in childhood, with some people linking it to social media use.
hubie writes:It is fairly common these days when visiting a doctor's office or entering a port of entry to have one's forehead scanned by a Non-Contact Infrared Thermometer (NCIT) to check for fever (temperature greater than 38 °C). The measurements are typically very quick and easy to make. NCITs are not as accurate as contact thermometers, so it is important to know whether convenience is being traded for accuracy.NCITs measure forehead temperature by detecting infrared radiant energy. Since the temperature of the forehead skin is lower than the core body temperature, the device manufacturers use propriety algorithms to correct for this. Depending upon the device, it might also factor in the ambient measurement conditions such as the room temperature and skin emissivity. These devices may give erroneous results from not only issues with the hardware or algorithms, but also in how they are used (pointed too far away or at the wrong angle), or the local conditions of the forehead skin (local heating or cooling from sweat or moisture). FDA approved devices conform to voluntary standards that specify they should be within ± 0.3 °C of a laboratory source.FDA researchers measured oral temperatures from more than 1000 subjects using a clinical-grade reference thermometer and compared that to measurements made at the center of the forehead using six different models of NCITs. Although it is expected that the variability in a clinical setting would be larger than in the lab, they saw that the error can range from − 3 to + 2 °C in extreme cases, with the majority of the errors ranging from − 2 to + 1 °C.
upstart writes:PFAS exposure, high-fat diet drive prostate cells' metabolism into pro-cancer state: Dietary fat synergizes with PFAS to trigger cancer in benign cells, accelerate tumor growth in malignant cells:
canopic jug writes:Two Finnish news sites, YLE and Helsinki Times, are reporting that Jamie Hyneman of Mythbusters fame has begun a five year stint as professor of "practice" at the Lappeenranta University of Technology in Finland. He was previously awarded an honorary doctorate by the same institution and there is a prototyping lab named after him where students can design, build, and test prototypes. He is said to be on site at the moment but the first lecture is scheduled to take place via proprietary videoconferencing software.
Top500: No Exascale, Fugaku Still Reigns, Polaris Debuts at #12MrPlow writes:Submitted via IRC for BytramSource: https://www.hpcwire.com/2021/11/15/top500-no-exascale-fugaku-still-reigns-polaris-debuts-at-12/
Just days after voting to water down restrictions on fossil fuel use at COP26, India finds itself struggling to deal with the consequences of fossil fuel use.New Delhi Braces for Emergency Measures as Toxic Smog Worsensupstart writes:New Delhi braces for emergency measures as toxic smog worsens:
sgleysti writes:I'd like to know Soylentils' takes on the following Sci-Fi thought experiment:In the near future, scientists create a safe, non-invasive, and irreversible procedure that causes a person to perceive reality without any human biases. It is offered to the general public at no cost and takes 15 minutes with no convalescence time or physical restrictions. The effects take hold gradually over the course of 24 hours and are thereafter permanent.Would you do it?Original SubmissionRead more of this story at SoylentNews.