James' World 2

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The global information technology outageon July 19, 2024, that paralyzed organizations ranging from airlines to hospitals and even the delivery of uniforms for the Olympic Games represents a growing concern for cybersecurity professionals, businesses, and governments.

The outage is emblematic of the way organizational networks, cloud computing services, and the internet are interdependent, and the vulnerabilities this creates. In this case, a faulty automatic update to the widely used Falcon cybersecurity software from CrowdStrike caused PCs running Microsoft’s Windows operating system to crash. Unfortunately, many servers and PCs need to be fixed manually, and many of the affected organizations have thousands of them spread around the world.

For Microsoft, the problem was made worse because the company released an update to its Azure cloud computing platform at roughly the same time as the CrowdStrike update. Microsoft, CrowdStrike, and other companies like Amazon have issued technical work-arounds for customers willing to take matters into their own hands. But for the vast majority of global users, especially companies, this isn’t going to be a quick fix.

Modern technology incidents, whether cyberattacks or technical problems, continue to paralyze the world in new and interesting ways. Massive incidents like the CrowdStrike update fault not only create chaos in the business world but disrupt global society itself. The economic losses resulting from such incidents – lost productivity, recovery, disruption to business and individual activities – are likely to be extremely high.

As a former cybersecurity professional and current security researcher, I believe that the world may finally be realizing that modern information-based society is based on a very fragile foundation.

The bigger picture

Interestingly, on June 11, 2024, a post on CrowdStrike’s own blog seemed to predict this very situation– the global computing ecosystem compromised by one vendor’s faulty technology – though they probably didn’t expect that their product would be the cause.

Software supply chains have long been a serious cybersecurity concern and potential single point of failure. Companies like CrowdStrike, Microsoft, Apple, and others have direct, trusted access into organizations’ and individuals’ computers. As a result, people have to trust that the companies are not only secure themselves, but that the products and updates they push out are well-tested and robust before they’re applied to customers’ systems. The SolarWinds incident of 2019, which involved hacking the software supply chain, may well be considered a preview of today’s CrowdStrike incident.

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said “this is not a security incident or cyberattack” and that “the issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed.” While perhaps true from CrowdStrike’s perspective – they were not hacked – it doesn’t mean the effects of this incident won’t create security problems for customers. It’s quite possible that in the short term, organizations may disable some of their internet security devices to try and get ahead of the problem, but in doing so they may have opened themselves up to criminals penetrating their networks.

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The flat, pitch-black seabed of the Pacific Ocean’s Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) is littered with what looks like hunks of charcoal. These unassuming mineral deposits, called polymetallic nodules, host a unique deep-sea ecosystem, much of which scientists have yet to catalog. And the deposits are also a key target for companies that are looking to mine the deep sea because they contain metals, such as manganese and cobalt, that are used to make batteries.

Now researchers have discovered that these valuable nodules do something remarkable: they produce oxygen and do so without sunlight. “This is a totally new and unexpected finding,” says Lisa Levin, an emeritus professor of biological oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who was not involved in the research. The oxygen gas on planet Earth is typically understood to come from living organisms that convert sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and sugar. The idea that some of the gas may come from these inanimate minerals and be produced in total darkness “really strongly goes against what we traditionally think of as where oxygen is made and how it’s made,” says Jeffrey Marlow, a microbiologist at Boston University and a co-author of the study, which was published on Monday in Nature Geoscience.

The story of discovery goes back to 2013, when deep-sea ecologist Andrew Sweetman was facing a frustrating problem. He was part of a research team that had been trying to measure how much oxygen organisms on the CCZ seafloor consumed. The researchers sent landers down more than 13,000 feet to create enclosed chambers on the seabed that would track how oxygen levels in the water fell over time.

But oxygen levels did not fall. Instead they rose significantly. Thinking the sensors were broken, Sweetman sent the instruments back to the manufacturer to be recalibrated. “This happened four or five times” over the course of five years, says Sweetman, who studies seafloor ecology and biogeochemistry at the Scottish Association for Marine Science. “I literally told my students, ‘Throw the sensors in the bin. They just do not work.’”

Then, in 2021, he was able to go back to the CCZ on an environmental survey expedition sponsored by a deep-sea mining firm called the Metals Company. Again, his team used deep-sea landers to make enclosed chambers on the seafloor. The chambers enclosed encased sediment, nodules, living organisms and seawater and monitored oxygen levels. Sweetman and his team used a different technique to measure oxygen this time, but they observed the same strange results: oxygen levels increased dramatically.

“Suddenly I realized that … I’d been ignoring this hugely significant process, and I just kicked myself,” Sweetman says. “My mindset completely changed [to] focus on what is causing this.”

“My first thought was microbiology, and that’s because I’m a microbiologist,” Marlow says. It wasn’t a far-fetched idea: scientists had recently uncovered some ways that microbes such as bacteria and archaea could generate “dark oxygen” in the absence of sunlight. In lab tests that reproduced conditions on the seafloor in the new study, the researchers poisoned the seawater with mercury chloride to kill off microbes. Yet the oxygen levels still increased.

If this dark oxygen didn’t come from a biological process, then it must have come from a geological one, the researchers reasoned. They tested and ruled out a few possible hypotheses—such as that radioactivity in the nodules was separating oxygen out of the seawater or that some other environmental factor was separating oxygen gas out of the manganese oxide in the nodules.

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Throughout Joe Biden’s presidency, he leaned on the outspoken former prosecutor and senator he selected as his vice president, Kamala Harris, to be the White House’s voice of unflinching support for reproductive health rights.

Now, as Democrats rebuild their presidential ticket just a few months before Election Day, Harris would widely be expected to take an aggressive stance in support of abortion access if she became the party’s new presumptive nominee — hitting former President Donald Trump on an issue that could undermine his chances of victory. Biden endorsed Harris on Sunday when he announced his decision to leave the race.

While Biden sought to keep abortion center stage in his reelection bid, abortion advocates had harbored doubts that the president — a practicing Catholic who has said he is not “big on abortion” — could be an effective standard-bearer as Republican efforts erode access to abortion and other women’s health care around the country.

Harris, on the other hand, became the first vice president to visit a clinic run by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. She undertook a nationwide tour focused on reproductive rights. And when Sen. JD Vance of Ohio was named Trump’s running mate, Harris used her next campaign appearance to criticize him for blocking protections for in vitro fertilization.

“Most significantly, Harris would be the face of the drive to protect abortion rights,” Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News, said in an interview before Biden stepped aside. “Abortion access would likely be front and center in her campaign.”

A strong stance on abortion is not the only major contrast to the GOP that Harris offers: She is well versed in health policy. As a child, Harris often accompanied her mother to work on the weekends, visiting the lab where she was studying breast cancer.

While running for president in 2019, she backed “Medicare for All,” a single-payer insurance proposal that established her bona fides as a more progressive voice on health policy. And as California’s attorney general, she fought against consolidation in the health industry over concerns it would drive up prices.

She stumped for a Biden administration rule setting minimum staffing levels at federally funded nursing homes in April.

“She deserves credit, she’s talked about them on the campaign trail. I don’t see any change there in the priorities on what Democrats want to do on health care if she becomes the nominee,” said Debbie Curtis, vice president at McDermott + Consulting.

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Vice President Kamala Harris speaks about Florida’s new 6-week abortion ban during an even the Prime Osborn Convention Center on May 1, 2024, in Jacksonville, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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Janet Wangari-Olivero: We estimate that over a third of people around the world have curly hair, and this number will reach 40% by 2030. Along with that recognition is a growing body of research looking at what makes curly hair unique, all the way down to the individual. Our scientific endeavors are part of an effort to redefine what, historically, has been a one-size-fits-all approach to hair health.

Our research not only broadens our understanding of the different hair types, but reflects our commitment to inclusivity. The haircare industry can no longer assume what works for someone with straight hair also works for a person with textured, wavy or curly hair. Our research involves better understanding the diversity within the curly hair spectrum. How people live, how people see and want to see their hair, and their preferred styling routines.

Researchers originally classified hair into a few broad geographic categories. But in an effort to diversify these categories, at L’Oréal, we studied the hair types of almost 2,500 people in 22 countries. We measured the diameter of curls, the curvature, the number of waves, and the tendrils. The result of this research was a classification system we call the curl scale.

We identified eight categories of curls across ethnicities. On one end of the scale, the hair has nearly no curvature to it. And on the other end, the curls are tightly coiled. Along with the incredible diversity of curly hair types are vastly different biological processes. We’ve learned that sebum, the oil that is naturally produced in our scalp, is extremely important for hydrating hair with curly texture. By looking at the rate at which sebum travels down each of these eight curl types, our research has found that it moves more slowly to the end of a curled strand, the more coiled the hair is.

As a result, we have a better understanding of the importance of hydration practices, like scalp cleansing, for people with curly hair. Many women on the curlier end of the spectrum may not wash their hair as often, leading to dandruff and itchy scalp. These symptoms are caused by a type of fungi, Malassezia, and our research has shown that weekly hair washing can help reduce it.

And finally, there’s been robust field research on the impact that environmental factors like humidity, UV light, and pollution can have on hair. A recent study found that hair exposed to extreme climate conditions in urban environments underwent the same type of cell damage associated with aging — the same process that causes hair to go gray and brittle.

All of this research is just a start. We recently partnered with Verily to launch the largest skin and hair health study, tracking women aged 18 to 70 across socio-economic and cultural backgrounds over several years. The goal is to learn even more about how environment, lifestyle, haircare routines, and age affects hair health.

Our commitment to understanding and celebrating the diversity of hair worldwide isn’t just about the science of curls or the impact of environmental factors. It’s also about ensuring that our research reflects communities globally, especially those historically overlooked in dermatology.

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Curls

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Welcome to Summerween season! You know: that magical time of year when homes are decorated with jack-o-melons (carved watermelons, obviously), and everyone dresses in scary costumes. This ominous-sounding fake holiday was inspired by the Disney Channel cartoon Gravity Falls, in which the titular town celebrates Halloween twice a year. 

Sadly, unlike other TV-show inspired observances like Galentine’s Day, Summerween hasn’t fully caught on with the masses. So far. You might not be able to go trick-or-treating, but you can still throw a party to celebrate. Before you send out your invites, here are a few items you should pick up to take your party to the next level.

Watermelon knife

You need the right tool to sculpt your jack-o-melons, and this easy-to-control, non-stick stainless steel knife will help you slice the scariest-looking specimens on your street. It comes with a protective guard to prevent your guests from finding your fingers in the fruit dish.

Halloween gummies

If you want your guests to get creeped out, put these fruit-flavored gummies in your candy bowl. Guests can indulge in their cannibalistic tendencies and nibble on fingers, eyeballs, bones, and—for your zombie friends—brains. 

Inflatable coffin cooler

Drinks liven up any party, and this durable drink cooler keeps with the macabre Summerween theme. Should your party head over to the pool, this coffin doubles as a flotation device.

Black tea lights

These tea lights may be black as night, giving your Summerween party a gothic atmosphere, but the 24 flickering LED lights inside glow so bright that you won’t miss any of the subtle details hidden in your guests’ costumes. They also have excellent battery life—important for when your party goes late into the evening. 

Black witch hats and bats

These themed decorations will put a spell on your coven of friends. Some reviewers say they’re sturdy, too, so you can use them again for your October party. 

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Credit: Gravity Falls/YouTube

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In the ongoing effort to establish a permanent lunar base where humans can live and work on the moon, scientists have discovered a possible game changer: a large underground cave.

For decades, scientists have suspected the moon may harbor caves below its surface. Now, a new paper from a team of Italian researchers offers the most convincing evidence yet.

“Lunar caves have remained a mystery for over 50 years. So it was exciting to be able to finally prove the existence,” authors Leonardo Carrer and Lorenzo Bruzzone of the University of Trento told The Associated Press.

The team speculates that, given how they think this cave formed, there could be hundreds more hidden under the lunar surface. Instead of building homes on the moon, we could inhabit the existing caverns beneath it.

Judging from the data, the researchers estimate the cave is approximately 150 feet wide and up to 260 feet long, which is slightly smaller than an American football field with the end zones cut off.

The cave sits deep within a pit, called the Mare Tranquillitatis pit, which likely formed when a lava tube collapsed. The moon has no active volcanoes today, but billions of years ago, its surface was covered with lava that flowed down and through valleys, carving tubes across the lunar surface.

Over millennia, some of those tubes became unstable and collapsed, creating pits, like the one the research team studied from radar images taken by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. We don’t have a clear picture of what the caves look like inside, but lava tubes, like those in Hawaii, can offer some idea.

NASA’s LRO has identified over 200 of these pits on the moon, suggesting there could be hundreds of underground caves, too. These caves could offer future astronauts protection against the extreme conditions on the moon’s surface, the researchers reported in the paper published Monday in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Astronomy.

The pros and cons of living in moon caves

“The thick cave ceiling of rock is ideal to protect people and infrastructure from the wildly varying day-night lunar surface temperature variations and to block high energy radiation which bathes the lunar surface,” Katherine Joy, a professor in earth sciences at the University of Manchester who wasn’t involved with the study, told The Guardian.

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Nitrous oxide might make root canals bearable, but the world-warming gas is no laughing matter for the planet. 

It is commonly called laughing gas for its ability to create a state of euphoria when inhaled. Experts at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences also know it as the “forgotten greenhouse gas,” because it warms the planet around 300 times more effectively than carbon dioxide, according to a lab summary — an estimate supported by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, for a 100-year time span. 

Per the lab report, it represents 4.8% of Norway’s heat-trapping pollution and also damages the ozone layer. That’s why the researchers are growing bacteria that can consume the fume at its leading source: fertilizer. 

Our growing population and food demand is a large reason why nitrous oxide has spiked in abundance during the last 200 years. Although it is not as abundant in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide or methane, nitrous oxide is potent and can linger.

“We have a major challenge because we need to maintain global food production while reducing N2O emissions,” doctoral student Elisabeth Gautefall Hiis, who is working on the project, said. 

While bacteria are plentiful in soil, they often create nitrous oxide when they consume nitrogen, a component of fertilizer that on its own can cause big problems in our waterways when it is washed off fields and into rivers and streams. The runoff can cause large fish kills and other disasters, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes. 

Hiis and other researchers had to scour through soil samples that contain billions of bacteria per teaspoon to find the kind that are hungry for laughing gas (and converting it into a harmless nitrogen gas), according to the lab summary. They eventually found one that fascinatingly “eats” it, reducing nitrogren pollution from soil by between 40% and 95%. 

“Some of the bacteria we initially looked at can both eat and produce nitrous oxide. That made it complicated. One bacterium, for example, would eat nitrous oxide in the laboratory, but once it was in the soil, it had little effect,” Hiis said. 

A type of cloacibacterium, dubbed the “one-armed bandit” by the team, was found to be the nearly perfect fit for the task. 

“It simply does not have the gene to produce nitrous oxide, it can only eat it,” she said in the summary. 

Experts at labs elsewhere are working on technology to help farmers better manage fertilizer use. The University of Texas at Austin is developing a hydrogel that can catch excess nitrate from fields before it pollutes the surrounding environment. There are around 895 million acres of farmland in the U.S. alone, per the Department of Agriculture. 

Growing your own food at home in gardens or raised beds is an excellent way to learn about sustainable agriculture while reducing waste and pollution. A $70 investment can produce $600 worth of food each season. Composting food scraps prevents the would-be garbage from filling gassy landfills. The process also creates great soil for future gardens, limiting fertilizer use. 

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Project 2025, the sweeping right-wing blueprint for a new kind of U.S. presidency, would sabotage science-based policies that address climate change, the environment, abortion, health care access, technology, and education. It would impose religious and conservative ideology on the federal civil service to such an extent that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has, dubiously, tried to distance himself from the plan. But in 2022 Trump said the Heritage Foundation—the think tank that authored Project 2025—would “lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do.” The project’s main document, a lengthy policy agenda, was published the following year.

Although Trump is not among its 34 authors, more than half are appointees and staff from his time as president; the words “Trump” and “Trump Administration” appear 300 times in its pages. At least 140 former Trump officials are involved in Project 2025, according to a CNN tally. It’s reasonable to expect that a second Trump presidency would follow many of the project’s recommendations.

Project 2025 presents a long-standing conservative vision of a smaller government and describes specific, detailed steps to achieve this goal. It would shrink some federal departments and agencies while eliminating others—dividing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into two weaker entities, for instance, and abolishing the Department of Education (ED) entirely.

What is even more unusual, and also mapped out in detail, is a plan to exert more presidential control over traditionally nonpartisan governmental workers—those Trump might describe as members of the “deep state,” or regulatory bureaucracy. For example, Project 2025 claims that the the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other scientific institutions are “vulnerable to obstructionism” unless appointees at these agencies are “wholly in sync” with presidential policy. To that end, it would reclassify tens of thousands of civil service jobs as political positions that answer to the president.

“The independence of science is being attacked across the board in this document,” says Rachel Cleetus, policy director of the Climate and Energy program at the nonpartisan Union of Concerned Scientists. “The importance of this science is that’s how we can ensure people’s health and the environment are being safeguarded.” (Cleetus notes that her comments address the policy agenda’s contents, not the upcoming presidential election.)

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Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images

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