UFO Whistleblowers Would Get Immunity Under New Amendment
Howard Altman writes via The Drive: In an effort to protect those with information about unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) and increase the influx of reports about them, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc) has introduced (PDF) an amendment to the Fiscal Y.....»»
Minnesota engineering board faces First Amendment lawsuit over the use of the word "engineer"
Correction (5/25/21): A spokesperson informed TechSpot that the Minnesota Board of Licensure has not issued an official statement on whether or not Marohn can use the term "professional engineer" now that his license is renewed. Instead, the Board is.....»»
Minnesota engineering board faces First Amendment lawsuit over the use of the word engineer
Charles Marohn is the founder of the engineering reform group Strong Towns. While he has not practiced his profession since 2012, he remains licensed in Minnesota. His focus these days is to reform the industry's outdated practices and "dogma." He ha.....»»
Bernie Sanders wants to stop NASA funding for Blue Origin
The Endless Frontier Act? More like the Endless Amendment Act. Enlarge / Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VA) speaks outside the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama, on Friday, March 26, 2021. (credit: Andi Ri.....»»
Florida’s ban on bans will test First Amendment rights of social media companies
Florida governor Ron DeSantis has signed into law a restriction on social media companies’ ability to ban candidates for state offices and news outlets, and in doing so offered a direct challenge to those companies’ perceived free speech.....»»
CRISPR-Cas components work together to enhance protection from viruses
Researchers from Skoltech and their colleagues from Russia and the U.S. have shown that the two components of the bacterial CRISPR-Cas immunity system, one that destroys foreign genetic elements such as viruses and another that creates "memories" of.....»»
Study reveals potential new treatment target in the fight against COVID-19
The swift development of vaccines has provided a vital tool to combat the spread of the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus, but challenges to reaching herd immunity posed by the rise of new mutations and the inability of immunosuppressed people to develop an ef.....»»
New screening method could lead to microbe-based replacements for chemical pesticides
Plants have evolved unique immunity mechanisms that they can activate upon detecting the presence of a pathogen. Interestingly, the presence of some nonpathogenic microorganisms can also prompt a plant to activate its systemic immunity mechanisms, an.....»»
Jab-free dengue immunity could be just a click away
A dengue virus vaccine candidate has passed an important milestone, with promising results in animal model testing providing hope to the 390 million people infected every year......»»
Lawmakers back $8 billion for electric U.S. postal vehicles
The amendment adopted Thursday would ensure that 75 percent of purchased vehicles would be electric or zero-emission vehicles......»»
Baltimore chief prosecutor asks FCC to stop negative news coverage about her
First Amendment prevents FCC from punishing news station for its "tone." Enlarge / Baltimore chief prosecutor Marilyn Mosby being interviewed by NBC News in August 2016, in the neighborhood where Freddie Gray was arrested shortly before his deat.....»»
New Studies Show Covid-19 Vaccines" Effectiveness Against Variants
CNN recently reported on "a batch" of new studies published Wednesday — with one quantifying how much immunity improves after the second dose, and others showing how well coronavirus vaccines work against new variants of the virus: The first n.....»»
Reaching "Herd Immunity" Is Unlikely in the US, Experts Now Believe
Widely circulating coronavirus variants and persistent hesitancy about vaccines will keep the goal out of reach. The virus is here to stay, but vaccinating the most vulnerable may be enough to restore normalcy. From a report: Early in the pandemic, w.....»»
Natural immunity to malaria provides clues to potential therapies
Researchers have identified how natural human antibodies can block malaria parasites from entering red blood cells, potentially indicating how new protective therapies could be developed against this globally significant disease. The research provide.....»»
Brazilian coronavirus variant likely to be more transmissible and able to evade immunity, study finds
A new study indicates that the coronavirus variant called P.1, which originated in Brazil, could pose a bigger threat than previously assumed. The researchers conclude that it is likely that P.1 is more transmissible than other strains of SARS-Cov2 a.....»»
Rapid evolution and host immunity drive the rise and fall of antibiotic resistance during acute infection
Antibiotic resistance poses a serious threat to human health. Resistant infections now cause more than 750,000 deaths per year and are predicted to increase to 10 million deaths per year by 2050. It is known that treating patients with antibiotics is.....»»
Study reports novel role of enzyme in plant immunity and defense gene expression
A recently published article in the Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions journal provides new evidence that pathogens are hijacking the plant immune system to cause disease while providing insights into a newly discovered mechanism......»»
Citizen science data tracks battle of birds vs bacteria
House finches are locked in a deadly cycle of immunity and new strains of bacterial infection in battling an eye disease that halved their population when it first emerged 25 years ago, according to new research from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology......»»
Two U.S. senators make new push to advance self-driving cars
Sens. Gary Peters and John Thune have circulated a draft amendment seen by Reuters that would grant NHTSA the power to initially exempt 15,000 self-driving vehicles per manufacturer from safety standards written with human drivers in mind......»»
New privacy bill would end law enforcement practice of buying data from brokers
A new bill known as the Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act would seal up a loophole that intelligence and law enforcement agencies use to obtain troves of sensitive and identifying information to which they wouldn’t otherwise have legal acces.....»»
"Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act" Would Ban Clearview and Warrantless Location Data Purchases
A sweeping proposed piece of legislation with support from both Democrats and Republicans will ban law enforcement agencies from buying data from controversial firm Clearview AI, as well as force agencies to obtain a warrant before sourcing location.....»»