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< October 2024 >
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    1New AI model efficiently reaches clinical-expert-level
New AI model efficiently reaches clinical-expert-levelUCLA researchers have developed a deep-learning framework that teaches itself quickly to automatically analyze and diagnose MRIs and other 3D medical images—with accuracy matching that of medical specialists in a fraction of the time. An article describing the work and the system's capabilities is published in Nature Biomedical Engineering. UCLA
University of California at Los Angeles Photo Credit: MART PRODUCTION from Pexels Calling All Artists- Space Futures Forward
Calling All Artists- Space Futures ForwardContribute your art. Inspire curiosity. Shape futures. Are you inspired by the challenges and opportunities presented by space? We invite you to share your creations and bring your passion for space to a global audience. Deadline October 1, 2024 ASU Interplanetary Initiative
Arizona State University Illustration credit: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/96/f1/99/96f199998cbe67687d7abdb6c31f4f76.jpg 		2 3I spoke to a 60-year-old AI version of myself and it was….
I spoke to a 60-year-old AI version of myself and it was….MIT Media Lab says, ‘It's not a prophesy, but rather a possibility.’
It’s a Wednesday afternoon and I’ve just spent the past 15 minutes texting with a 60-year-old, AI-generated version of myself. My AI future self, which was trained on survey questions I filled out moments before, has just finished spamming me with a string of messages advising me to “stay true” to myself and follow my passions. My 60-year-old AI doppleganger described a fulfilled if slightly boring life. But things suddenly took a turn when I probed the AI about its biggest regrets. After a brief pause, the AI spits out another message explaining how my professional ambitions had led me to neglect my mother in favor of completing my first book. “She passed away unexpectedly before my book was even published and that was a wake up call for me,” my AI self wrote. MIT’s Media Lab
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Image Credit: Credit: MIT Media Lab Five-mile asteroid impact crater below Atlantic captured
Five-mile asteroid impact crater below Atlantic capturedNew images of an asteroid impact crater buried deep below the floor of the Atlantic Ocean have been published today by researchers at Heriot-Watt University. Atlantic Ocean Image Credit: Communications Earth & Environment (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-024-01700-4 		4Impulse Space wins $34.5 million contract
Impulse Space wins $34.5 million contractImpulse Space, a startup specializing in in-space transportation services, has secured a $34.5 million contract to support two U.S. military space missions set for 2026, the Defense Department announced Oct. 3. The deal, awarded under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 3 agreement, is funded by the U.S. Space Force and the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). Washington Illustration Saiph thruster during the 17-day qualification test campaign.-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impulse_Space Next-generation ULA Vulcan rocket launched on second test
Next-generation ULA Vulcan rocket launched on second testUnited Launch Alliance fired off a next-generation Vulcan rocket Friday in the second of two "certification" test flights needed before the new launcher can be used to carry high-priority national security payloads for the U.S. Space Force and the National Reconnaissance Office.
The rocket made it to orbit with its mass simulator, but one of the solid rocket boosters may have blown its nozzle clean off. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Photo credit and info: United Launch Alliance's second next-generation Vulcan rocket climbs away from pad 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, kicking off a second "certification" flight to clear the new rocket for use launching high-priority national security payloads.
ULA 		5Streaming and Screaming Hollywood Commentary
Streaming and Screaming Hollywood Commentary“You in the business?” He asked. “Yes,” I said, “I’m a writer.” Which wasn’t exactly true but was aspirationally accurate. He looked at me bitterly. “Let me tell you something. The business stinks,” he spat out. “I wrote 62 Mr. Ed’s,” he said. “Sixty-two! And I can’t get a meeting.” Taken from Commentary Magazine
The monthly magazine of opinion.
July/August 2024 Entertainment Los Angeles, California, USA Photo credit: see https://www.commentary.org/articles/rob-long/streaming-and-screaming/
6 7A Quiet Place: Day One Review
A Quiet Place: Day One ReviewMichael Sarnoski’s mid-apocalyptic prequel brings a new dawn, and an unusual heroine, to Krasinski’s sci-fi horror. Best of the series.
The days of Sam (Lupita Nyong’o) are numbered. As day by day, hour by hour, her cancer takes over in the quiet hospice where she is staying – and dying – she is invited by her nurse Reuben (Alex Wolff), at the beginning of A Quiet Place: Day One, on a day trip to the theatre in New York City, and wonders aloud if she will even live that long. All that this young one-time poet has left is her personal stereo, her gallows wit and her beloved service cat Frodo – but once she has secured a promise from Reuben to get some real New York pizza while there, she sticks a transdermal pad on her side for pain relief, and gets on the bus. Paramount + subscription, Apple TV fee, YouTube fee, Google Play Movies fee, Microsoft Store fee Photo credit: https://www.scifinow.co.uk/cinema/a-quiet-place-day-one-review-terrifyingly-tense-and-ultimately-affecting/ Watch Blue Origin debut 2nd human-rated New Shepard rocket
Watch Blue Origin debut 2nd human-rated New Shepard rocketBlue Origin will debut a new spacecraft on Monday (Oct. 7), and you can watch the action live. Jeff Bezos' aerospace company plans to launch its uncrewed NS-27 mission Monday morning, sending its New Shepard rocket-capsule combo on a brief trip to suborbital space. It will be the first mission for this particular vehicle, according to Blue Origin. West Texas
Blue Origin site (Image credit: Blue Origin) 		8 9Timestalker review: A hilarious time-leaping love story
Timestalker review: A hilarious time-leaping love storyAlice Lowe writes, directs and stars in.
“What time is it?” asks Agnes (Alice Lowe) near the beginning of Timestalker – and her question is immediately, if somewhat vaguely, answered by an intertitle that appears on screen, to the accompaniment of portentous music, stating that it is the year 1688. As its very title implies, writer/director Lowe’s feature is about time, following the same ensemble of actors, and – mutatis mutandis – the same constellation of characters, across different eras. Time and again, Agnes will fall hopelessly for Alex (Aneurin Barnard), and die violently in her head-over-heels amatory pursuit of the wrong ’un, always liberating him, if never herself – only to be reborn in a subsequent period (1793, 1847, 1940, 1980, 2117) to repeat the whole infernal cycle. Amazon Prime Video subscription, FuboTV subscription Photo credit: https://www.scifinow.co.uk/reviews/timestalker-a-hilarious-time-leaping-love-story-from-alice-lowe-sxsw-2024-review/ Published October 11, 2024 		10Secretive space plane X-37B to test maneuvers
Secretive space plane X-37B to test maneuversUS Space Command has been clamoring for new technology to enable "dynamic space operations," which include "sustained" maneuvering that doesn't eat up fuel to allow US military spacecraft and satellites to outrun suspect adversary satellites — or potentially be able to chase those suspect birds down both to assess any threats and possibly take action to neutralize them. In orbit around the Earth (Courtesy graphic by Boeing Space) Europa Clipper, a mission to Jupiter's icy moon
Europa Clipper, a mission to Jupiter's icy moonHighlights
Jupiter's moon Europa hosts a gigantic saltwater ocean underneath a thick shell of ice.
Europa may have everything needed to host life as we know it.
NASA's Europa Clipper mission will launch in 2024 and arrive at Jupiter in 2030 to determine whether Europa, and other worlds like it, could support life. Image credit: JUNO EUROPA FLYBY COMPOSITE This view of Europa is a composite image of 3 datasets collected by NASA's Juno spacecraft during its perijove 45 flyby.Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill Launch date October 10, 2024 (planned)[9]
Rocket Falcon Heavy[10]
Launch site Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A
Contractor SpaceX 		11'Stunning was the word': Astronauts snap amazing aurora
'Stunning was the word': Astronauts snap amazing aurora'We were not flying above the aurora; we were flying in the aurora. And it was blood red.' October 10th evening NASA astronauts Don Pettit and Matthew Dominick from the International Space Station (ISS) Image credit: NASA/Don Pettit Shijian-19 reusable satellite lands after 2 weeks in space
Shijian-19 reusable satellite lands after 2 weeks in spaceChina’s first retrievable and reusable satellite returned to Earth late Thursday following two weeks of experiments in low Earth orbit. 10:39 p.m. Eastern Oct. 10 (0239 UTC, Oct. 11) at the Dongfeng landing site near Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert Photo Credit: CNSA 		12
13SpaceX catches giant Starship booster during historic Flight
SpaceX catches giant Starship booster during historic FlightThe most powerful rocket ever built took to the skies again — but this time, it came back. Starbase site in South Texas Image credit: Sergio Flores/AFP via Getty Images 		14Vast Announces Haven-2
Vast Announces Haven-2During the 75th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Vast, the US-based space habitation technology company, unveiled Haven-2 — the proposed successor to the International Space Station (ISS) and the next step in the company’s vision to pioneer a path to long-term living and thriving in space. 75th International Astronautical Congress (IAC)
Milan, Italy 		15The Wild Robot review: An electrifyingly crafted animation
The Wild Robot review: An electrifyingly crafted animationThe Wild Robot features a stellar voice cast including Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal and Catherine O’Hara.
There are moments in The Wild Robot, the sumptuously imagined and mischievous animation from Dreamworks about AI and nature living together in harmony, that roar with joy and feel like a giant hug. Adapted from the books by Peter Brown, from the very start the film soars with humour and heart. Apple TV fee, YouTube fee, Google Play Movies fee, Microsoft Store fee. The Wild Robot will eventually be released on Peacock, followed by Netflix. Photo credit: https://www.scifinow.co.uk/cinema/the-wild-robot-review/ 		16NASA Artemis III mission to moon unveils new spacesuit
NASA Artemis III mission to moon unveils new spacesuitA new spacesuit for NASA's Artemis III mission to the moon in September 2026 was unveiled Wednesday in Milan, Italy, featuring a "next-generation design" by Axiom Space and luxury fashion house Prada. International Astronautical Congress
Milan, Italy Image Courtesy of Axiom Space NASA Confirms Solar Maximum
NASA Confirms Solar MaximumBrace for Massive Flares and Epic Geomagnetic Storms. NASA and NOAA have declared the Sun’s solar maximum, noting increased sunspot activity and heightened solar events that influence Earth’s space weather. Our Sun Photo Credit: NASA/SDO 		17“My favourite Lucy is Season Three Lucy.” The Devil’s Hour
“My favourite Lucy is Season Three Lucy.” The Devil’s HourThe Devil’s Hour stars Jessica Raine and Peter Capaldi talk about Season Two of the sci-fi mystery series and even give us some insights into Season Three.
Lucy (Jessica Raine) and Gideon (Peter Capaldi) are back for The Devil’s Hour Season Two this week, which sees the two forming an uneasy alliance in order to prevent a recurring tragedy and hunt down an elusive monster. Lucy’s double life sees her torn between family and duty as she finds herself in the crosshairs of her past-life husband, DI Ravi Dhillon (Nikesh Patel). Assisting Dhillon in his investigation is DS Sam Boyd (Saffron Hocking) who was mentored by DI Lucy Chambers in a previous life. Meanwhile, Isaac (Benjamin Chivers) is discovering new emotions every day and struggling to keep his balance in a reality that rejects his existence. Fresh mysteries unfold as our stories converge on one explosive moment that will change the fate of our characters for the rest of their ever-recurring lives. Amazon Prime Video subscription Photo credit: https://www.scifinow.co.uk/tv/my-favourite-lucy-is-season-three-lucy-the-devils-hour-stars-on-season-two-and-three/ 		18SpaceX prevails over ULA, wins military launch
SpaceX prevails over ULA, wins military launchSpaceX and ULA were eligible to compete for nine launches, and SpaceX won them all.
The US Space Force's Space Systems Command announced Friday it has ordered nine launches from SpaceX in the first batch of dozens of missions the military will buy in a new phase of competition for lucrative national security launch contracts. Space Systems Command
Los Angeles Air Force Base, California Photo Credit: SpaceX Eerie Discovery on Mars Looks Exactly Like a Human Face
Eerie Discovery on Mars Looks Exactly Like a Human FaceMars pareidolia strikes again. An image captured by the Perseverance rover in the course of its duties is one of the grisliest yet: it looks, for all the world, like a desiccated, decaying human head, severed from any body, just withering away under the harsh light of the Sun. Mars Image Credit: (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU) 		19“Just do the books.” Mike Flanagan on adapting Stephen King’
“Just do the books.” Mike Flanagan on adapting Stephen King’Mike Flanagan talks about his upcoming adaptation of The Dark Tower and why he believes other adaptations haven’t worked.
“The thing about The Dark Tower, that’s so incredible is Stephen King builds an astonishing universe, and it’s huge,” Flanagan continued at this year’s NYCC. “It’s populated with such a richness of characters and scale and scope eventually, but he starts that story with one person following another person in a barren desert. It has one of the greatest opening lines of any novel of all time. That’s how you do it. And you start with two people in a simple story. One is trying to catch the other. That’s it, and everything else is gradually added to it. Apple TV fee, YouTube fee, Google Play Movies fee, Microsoft Store fee, AMC+ subscription, FuboTV subscription Phot credit: https://www.scifinow.co.uk/news/just-do-the-books-mike-flanagan-on-adapting-stephen-kings-the-dark-tower/ Further delays and hurdles for EU Space Law
Further delays and hurdles for EU Space LawIt’s not yet clear what form the European Union’s “Space Law” will take. The widely anticipated proposal could include regulations or directives, or it could be “just a set of policy principles that would apply to space activities in the EU internal market,” Maria Elena De Maestri, University of Genova international law professor, said Oct. 18 at the International Astronautical Congress here. International Astronautical Congress
Milan, Italy Photo Credit: European Commission Dati Bendo
20 21Solar power from space? Actually, it might happen
Solar power from space? Actually, it might happenLike nuclear fusion, the idea of space-based solar power has always seemed like a futuristic technology with an actual deployment into communities ever remaining a couple of decades away. Aetherflux (new space solar startup)
USA Image Credit: Aetherflux 		22David Schwimmer stars in TV series Goosebumps: The Vanishing
David Schwimmer stars in TV series Goosebumps: The VanishingDavid Schwimmer plays a dad who has a secret in his basement…
The series begins with fraternal twins Devin and Cece adjusting to life with their recently divorced dad, Anthony. When the duo discovers a threat stirring, they quickly realize that dark secrets are among them, triggering a chain of events that unravel a profound mystery. As they delve into the unknown, Devin, Cece and their friends — Alex, CJ and Frankie — find themselves entangled in the chilling tale of four teenagers who mysteriously vanished in 1994. Disney+ Photo credit: https://www.scifinow.co.uk/tv/david-schwimmer-stars-in-tv-series-goosebumps-the-vanishing/ After nozzle failure, Space Force is “assessing”
After nozzle failure, Space Force is “assessing”United Launch Alliance has started assembling its next Vulcan rocket—the first destined to launch a US military payload—as the Space Force prepares to certify it to loft the Pentagon's most precious national security satellites.
Space Force officials expect to approve ULA's Vulcan rocket for military missions without requiring another test flight, despite an unusual problem on the rocket's second demonstration flight earlier this month. Cape Canaveral, Florida On Monday, United Launch Alliance positioned the first stage booster for the next Vulcan rocket on its launch platform in Florida. Photo Credit: United Launch Alliance 		23 24Venom The Last Dance: Disposable but entertaining
Venom The Last Dance: Disposable but entertainingConjoined human-and-alien team Eddie Brock and Venom – both played by Tom Hardy – return for a trilogy capper. This odd, barely coherent adjunct to the Marvel filmography has eccentricity and touches of sentiment going for it. October 21, 2024 (New York City)
October 25, 2024 (United States) Poster Image provided by: https://www.scifinow.co.uk/reviews/venom-the-last-dance-disposable-but-entertaining/ How a slice of cheese almost derailed Europe's rocket test
How a slice of cheese almost derailed Europe's rocket test“Yes, it was indeed Gruyère cheese, and it almost caused a disaster!” acknowledged GSP president Jérémy Marciacq.
Strapping the cheese to the rocket “was purely for fun, but in the end, it allowed us to discover some limits to our design – notably for roll control,” Marciacq said.
The student-led group beat the European Space Agency and Europe’s private space sector to the punch, albeit with a relatively small design. Europe’s ArianeGroup, for example, is still working toward the first hop test for its Themis reusable rocket program. The first of these tests was recently delayed to 2025. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne in Switzerland, co-founded the Gruyère Space Program (GSP) Photo credit: Gruyère Space Program / YouTube 		25 26Chile and Cyprus sign the Artemis Accords
Chile and Cyprus sign the Artemis AccordsChile and Cyprus are the latest nations to sign the Artemis Accords for sustainable space exploration, part of surge of new signatories this month. NASA Headquarters
Washington, DC, United States Photo Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber
27 28Astronauts on the ISS are braced for an urgent evacuation
Astronauts on the ISS are braced for an urgent evacuationas NASA uncovers 50 'areas of concern' including leaks and cracks on the 25-year-old space station.
NASA is now calling the cracks in a Russian service module a 'top safety risk' - escalating the threat rating to five out of five. Astronauts have been warned to stay in the American section when the module is open so they can be close to their spacecraft in case of an emergency evacuation. Although officials have been aware of the issue since 2019, the exact source of the leak is still unknown. International Space Station (ISS) Photo Credit: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/36/47/00/364700723abfc54ee552c6f21d839997.jpg 		29 30 31