World Weekly: April 14 – 20

NASA to test effects of long-term space flight on humans by conducting an unprecedented twin experiment: One brother remains behind as control while the other twin spends one year in orbit.

NASA is making plans to conduct an experiment involving identical twins to observe the effects of long-term space flight. In March 2015, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly will undergo a one-year mission on the International Space Station where he will orbit Earth. His twin brother Mark Kelly is also a NASA astronaut, albeit retired, who will remain behind as a control.

The experiment will involve taking samples and measurements of the twins before, during and after the one-year mission. Researchers will look for changes in the immune system, aging (claims have been made that cosmic rays accelerate the maturing of cells), and even vision. It has been proven that space has a variety of strange effects on the human body. This is the first time such an experiment has been possible due to the involvement of two biologically identical twins. The results may pave the way for long-term space travel to farther distances in the future.

Source and more information can be found here.

 

Artificial red blood cells fit for transfusion into humans produced by stem cell research, opening the possibility of  mass blood production.

The production of blood on an industrial scale could soon be a reality due to recent advancements in human stem cell research. Marc Turner, the head of a stem cell research program funded by Wellcome Trust, recently announced to media that his team has artificially produced red blood cells fit for clinical transfusion. Turner accomplished this using a technique that cultures red blood cells from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which are human cells ‘rewound’ into stem cells. iPS cells can be chemically engineered to mature into the universal blood type O-, compatible with all blood types.

Trials to test the artificially produced blood in humans are planned for late 2016. The behaviour of the manufactured blood will then be closely monitored in the patient. While blood banks in developed countries are sufficiently supplied for the most part, many parts of the world, especially Africa, still have difficulty with transfusing blood. The large-scale manufacture of artificial blood may solve that problem by providing a disease-free, universally compatible supply. While scaling up the process to meet future demand may prove to be a challenge, the mass production could substantially reduce costs for medical transfusions.

Source and more information can be found here.

 

Android app “Brightest Flashlight” sold privacy information of users, including real-time location to advertising companies, yet receives no fine from the government.

The free Android app “Brightest Flashlight”, downloaded and installed by over 50 million users, transmitted users’ real-time locations to third parties including ad agencies without directly notifying users.  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) exposed the app’s misdoings and also announced a proposed settlement with GoldenShores Technologies, the developers of the app. GoldenShore, a one-man operation based in Idaho, was able to utilize legal loopholes and grey areas in their user agreement and privacy policy to obscure the true nature of the app.

The FTC confirmed on Wednesday that GoldenShores would no longer be permitted to collect geolocation data without clear warning to the user. The company was also given 10 days to completely delete all data collected. Critics have spoken out on the trivialness of this punishment for such an extensive privacy breach. They are dissatisfied that even though GoldenShores operated unethically and compromised the privacy of tens of millions of people, the company will not be fined. The lack of a fine was attributed to the fact that the app was offered for free, despite profits the company made from selling off private user information.

Source and more information can be found here.

 

Canadians across the country snagged a chance to witness a total lunar eclipse this Tuesday, showcasing a phenomenon nicknamed a “blood moon.”

Millions of people across the Western hemisphere witnessed the full phases of a total lunar eclipse which began at around 1:58 am Tuesday morning.  The peak of the eclipse resulted in a blood-red moon glowing in the night sky, a phenomenon aptly name a “blood moon.” In ancient times, blood moons have been interpreted religiously as harbingers of disaster or great change. In the astronomy, runs of red moons are known formally as tetrads. Blood moons occur when the Sun, Earth and Moon all come into perfect alignment, and the Moon slips into the Earth’s shadow. The moon doesn’t darken completely as light still reaches it through the Earth’s atmosphere, but it casts a red hue instead. The intensity of the redness is related to the clarity of the atmosphere, including the presence of particles or dust. A blood moon will return over Earth three times in the next 19 months, with Britain in line to witness the spectacle next on 15 September.

Source and more information can be found here.

 

Britain has received an official letter of complaint from the government of North Korea over a British barbershop advertisement that implied Kim Kong-Un has a bad hairstyle.

A London hair salon recently ran an ad featuring a large picture of North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un sporting his distinctive short-back-and-sides hairstyle, with the slogan, “Bad hair day? 15 percent off all gents haircuts through the month of April.”

This was apparently not very well received by the North Korean government. North Korean embassy officials paid a visit to the salon and told the owner of the establishment to remove the “disrespectful” poster from display. British police were forced to intervene as well. The embassy also wrote a formal letter of complaint to Britain’s Foreign Office. The British government is currently considering its response.

Source and more information can be found here.