Boeing’s Starliner continues to raise concerns. The test mission to demonstrate the safety of this crew capsule began on June 5 and should have lasted about a week. "Should" is the operating word here. On June 9, NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams found out that they were staying until June 18 to have more time to check out Starliner’s systems.The extended stay was then extended again for a couple of times and now the two veteran astronauts won’t be back on Earth at least before June 26. A press conference detailed the main reason it was postponed and some of the troubles the spacecraft has faced.“We want to give our teams a little bit more time to look at the data, do some analysis and make sure they’re really ready to come home,” Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said during the press briefing.Delays seem to be a theme for this vehicle. The original plan saw the first crewed test in 2017 but it was postponed time and time again. Eventually the launch was moved to August 2023, and then to May 2024. This was necessary to resolve issues with the parachute system and wiring harnesses among other less significant issues. But it did not launch in May.On May 6 launch was scrubbed two hours before liftoff. It continued to be delayed due to a helium leak in the service module. Another attempt was planned for Saturday, June 1. The scrubbing took place just 3 minutes and 50 seconds before launch after a faulty power supply caused a computer to register a loss of redundancy. The helium leaks have continued even in space. There is still ten times as much helium as needed for the return journey, but they are certainly an area of concern.“This is a test flight and we’re going to learn some things,” Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of the Commercial Crew Program at Boeing, said during the press briefing. “So here we are, we’ve learned that our helium system is not performing as designed, albeit manageable, it’s still not working like we had designed it, so we got to go figure that out.”There was also a problem with the aft thrusters when the spacecraft docked, with five of them malfunctioning. Four of those have now been recovered. The more complex docking leads to a bit of extra heating on the whole system.The data collected continued to be analyzed and tests continued to be performed. All going well, Wilmore and Williams will undock on June 25, to come back to Earth the day after.

Researchers say this find calls into question everything we know about life on Earth and what it needs. The history of the Earth goes back more than 4.5 billion years. Life began to develop the ability to absorb oxygen , that is, to breathe, more than 1.45 billion years ago: a larger archaeon absorbed a smaller bacterium, and somehow this union turned out to be beneficial for both, writes Science Alert. This symbiotic relationship subsequently led to the two organisms evolving together. Eventually, the bacteria that settled inside became organelles known as mitochondria. In fact, every cell in our body, with the exception of red blood cells, contains a large number of mitochondria, which we need for respiration. It is the mitochondria that break down oxygen to produce the molecule adenosine triphosphate, which multicellular organisms use to power cellular processes. Henneguya salminicola. Credit: Stephen Douglas Atkinson It is known that some organisms have evolved to adapt to living in conditions of low oxygen or hypoxia. Scientists have discovered that some single-celled organisms have evolved organelles associated with mitochondria for anaerobic metabolism; but the possibility of the existence of exclusively anaerobic multicellular organisms has been the subject of some scientific debate. That was until a team led by Dayana Yahalomi of Tel Aviv University took a look at a common salmon parasite, Henneguya salminicola. It is known to belong to the same phylum as corals, jellyfish and anemones. The cysts that the parasite forms in fish meat are unsightly, but throughout their life cycle these parasites pose no threat. The results show that by hiding inside its host, the tiny cnidarian can survive hypoxic conditions. But until this moment, scientists did not understand how he succeeded. During the study, the team examined the DNA of the parasite. The scientists used sequencing and fluorescence microscopy, which allowed them to closely study the parasite. The team discovered that the cnidarian had actually lost its mitochondrial genome. He also lacked the ability for aerobic respiration and almost all nuclear genes involved in mitochondrial transcription and replication. Like single-celled organisms, the parasite developed organelles associated with mitochondria, but they were not ordinary ones – their inner membrane has folds that are usually not visible. Note that for comparison, the team used the same sequencing techniques and microscopy in the closely related cnidarian parasite Myxobolusquamalis was used as a control and clearly showed a mitochondrial genome. Thus, scientists confirmed that there really is an organism on the planet that does not need oxygen at all to survive. Scientists still don’t know exactly how this happened, but they plan to shed light on the mystery of how the parasites managed to move away from their free-living jellyfish ancestors and turn into a much simpler parasite. It is known that the organism has lost most of the original jellyfish genome, but, oddly enough, has retained a complex structure reminiscent of the stinging cells of a jellyfish. It is known that the parasite uses them not to sting, but to cling to the host. The authors of the study believe that their results will further allow them to develop strategies that will help protect fish from parasites. The post First Organism Found That Doesn’t Need Oxygen to Survive appeared first on Anomalien.com.

On today's Morning Joe, there wasn't much of interest in any of the panel's jabber about next week's presidential debate, until . . . Jonathan Lemire said this: "Some Democrats have said privately, that if Biden has a very bad night, there'll be real worries about whether he can continue forward with his campaign. " Whoa! Democrats and their journalistic helpers usually suppress all their pessimism in public about how Biden or the party is going to perform in November. (They specialize in cheap-fake optimism.) This is why the stakes of this debate seem huge. This debate could be....one and Done.  Translation: Biden launches into 10 seconds of unintelligible gibberish, freezes, stares into the camera, hands hanging limply at his sides, and it's . . .  And now, let's welcome to our Democratic National Convention, the next President of the United States, our candidate [fill in the blank! ]   As a certified member of MSM's Team Biden, when Lemire says Democrats are making this warning "privately," it's a good bet that more than one has voiced the concern directly to him. This will be the real focus of the debate. Seriously political people will care about the policy issues and zingers, but they will worry that "low-information voters" will focus on less substantive matters (like the fly on Mike Pence's head).  Everyone's first interest will be whether Biden can keep it together for 90 minutes. Lemire mangled the facts a little by suggesting the incumbent president's usually considered to be at a disadvantage because he "did not go through the primary process" and "didn't have to debate opponents in his own party." Lemire and everyone else in the pro-Biden media never even slightly protested Biden facing no primary debates, or having "opponents," since they mostly ignored Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson.  Lemire then said Trump could be at a disadvantge because he "sat out all the Republican debates this time around," so he could be rusty. He said "the Biden team is betting that when Americans hear him again, they will be reminded of the chaos of his four years, but also recognize he's even gotten worse," mentally. Lemire claimed that Biden passed his yelling State of the Union test with "flying colors." But he was the only speaker. How will he do without a teleprompter, and with Trump flinging barbs his way? Will he snap at questions from CNN that he doesn't like, and insult the questioner? (Like he called Peter Doocy a "stupid SOB." That would be spicy.)  So, no pressure, Joe! Not only will Republicans be hoping for you to fail, there will be lean and hungry looks on the faces of your potential replacements!  Et tu, Hillary? Here's the transcript. MSNBC Morning Joe 6/21/24 6:24 am EDT KATTY KAY: Jonny, what are you going to be watching for? JONATHAN LEMIRE: Yeah, I think there are a number of things. We should remember, there have been other tests of Joe Biden's vitality, and ability to do the office, State of the Union most notably. And he passed that with flying colors and put those questions to rest, for a time. I do think, some Democrats have said privately, that if Biden has a very bad night, there'll be real worries about whether he continue forward with his campaign.  But his team feels confident. They think he'll do well. And we should note. Usually in these debates, the incumbent president is at a disadvantage, right? That incumbent president not usually challenged in the Oval Office. Did not go through the primary process so, therefore, didn't have to debate opponents in his own party. And that's true. Biden hasn't done a debate in a long time. But neither has Trump, because he sat out all the Republican debates this time around. There's a chance he'll be equally as rusty. And the Biden team is betting that when Americans hear him again, they will be reminded of the chaos of his four years, but also recognize he's even gotten worse.

CBS News reported on Wednesday that Americans should expect "surprises" from President Joe Biden at next week's presidential debate.Before heading to CNN's headquarters in Atlanta for the June 27 debate, Biden will spend the next week at Camp David with his closest and most-trusted political advisers, who are planning a "robust preparation," according to CBS News senior correspondent Weijia Jiang.'I assume he's going to be somebody that will be a worthy debater. I don't want to underestimate him.'"They are going to be mapping out everything they want to get across as they face Donald Trump," Jiang reported.Sources who spoke to Jiang said Americans shouldn't be surprised about Biden's "messaging" at the debate. Those sources said Biden plans to boast about his "reproductive rights" agenda, his positions on "issues of democracy," and he will try to claim that he has the upper hand on the economy."But I'm also told that we should expect some surprises because this is such a critical performance for President Biden, not only on the content, but on his physical performance," Jiang added.It's not clear what those "surprises" might be, especially in regard to Biden's "physical performance." Unfortunately, Jiang did not say more. — (@) One perplexing detail about the upcoming debate is what happened when Biden's campaign won a pre-debate coin flip.Instead of choosing to receive the final word in the debate, Biden's campaign elected to chose on which side of the stage Biden will stand. The campaign, for some reason, wants Biden to appear on the right side of the TV screen. The campaign did not explain its decision.But it's a confusing one, nonetheless. Giving Trump the final word allows him to make a decisive and lasting impression on voters.The debate, which CNN is hosting and moderating, will feature new rules not typical of past presidential debates. There will be no live audience, each candidate's microphone will be manually muted and unmuted, there will be commercial breaks, and neither candidate will be allowed to use pre-written notes. Those rules likely benefit Biden.Meanwhile, Trump is not underestimating his opponent."I assume he's going to be somebody that will be a worthy debater. I don't want to underestimate him," the former president said this week.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Boston Celtics Coach Joe Mazzulla said that he has a religious artifact made from parts of the iconic Boston Garden that used to host the team.Mazzulla was fresh off a 2024 NBA Finals victory over the Dallas Mavericks when he spoke to Zach Lowe on his ESPN podcast.Lowe said that he saw Mazzulla walking around before the game, and he took something out of his pocket. The reporter remembered that Mazzulla showed it to him and thought it was a cool story, then asked if the coach could share it with the audience."My assistant Cara also works for the team, she knows what's important to me in my faith," Mazzulla recalled.The coach has not been shy about expressing his religion, wearing a shirt during the NBA Finals celebration that said, "But first ... let me thank God."He also famously said in a documentary that if his team won, he would be "flying to Jerusalem," adding that he would walk "from Jericho to Jerusalem."'I carry those with me everywhere I go and then I bring them out for home games.'Mazzulla told host Lowe that his assistant managed to get some of the old parquet flooring from the historic Boston Garden, which hosted the Celtics from 1928-1997, including teams that featured the legendary Larry Bird. The flooring was then turned into religious beads."She got the old parquet from the Garden and made rosary beads out of it. So every day I get to the Garden, I do my prayer circle, and I use those rosary [beads]," the coach said on "The Lowe Post."It has been widely reported that one of Mazzulla's pregame rituals has been to walk around the empty arena (now the TD Garden) with his rosary beads in hand."Obviously, there's a religious component there, but it's made from the wood and just having that with you, knowing what the people have gone through before as coaches, players, front office, everybody involved ... it was just a sense of connectivity to the Celtic history and a sense of connection with my faith," Mazzulla continued."I carry those with me everywhere I go and then I bring them out for home games, so I'm really grateful for that gift."Mazzulla's track record has included him rejecting popular political narratives that are often pushed into pro sports through the media.This was apparent when Vincent Goodwill, a senior reporter for Yahoo Sports, asked a racially loaded question before Game 2 of the NBA Finals:"For the first time since 1975, this is the NBA Finals where you have two black coaches. Given the plight, sometimes, of black head coaches in the NBA, do you think this is a significant moment, do you take pride in this, how do you view this, or do you not see this at all?"Mazzulla responded by asking, "I wonder how many of those have been Christian coaches?"The reporter took issue with Mazzulla declining his premise and followed up his question with a lengthy article on the subject.The article was titled, "Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla's unwillingness to discuss race a complicated issue." In it, he stated that "race is one of the defining issues in this country, and it's not easy to talk about, but when one avoids it, it adds fuel to an already complicated fire."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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