Science News-Researchers Make Surprising Discovery About How Neurons Talk to Each Other

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Medical News Mount Sinai Researchers Identify Brain Mechanism for Resilience in People with High Risk of Bipolar Disorder Results suggest brain is able to adapt to biological risk of bipolar disorder – Mount Sinai Health System The American Journal of Psychiatry Embargo expired on 18-Aug-2017 at 00:00 ET What’s the Best Strategy to Increase Living Kidney Donation? • There are very few high quality studies on strategies to increase living kidney donation. • From the limited data available, educational interventions directed at potential recipients and their social networks are the most promising. – American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN) Embargo expired on 17-Aug-2017 at 17:00 ET Reduced Kidney Function Linked to an Increased Risk of Community-Acquired Infections • In a new study, individuals with poor kidney function had an increased risk of developing community-acquired infections. • The relative proportion of lower respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, and sepsis became increasingly ... – American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN) Embargo expired on 17-Aug-2017 at 17:00 ET Mind Flex New research from Harvard Medical School casts doubt on the prevailing model of memory formation, suggesting that the brain may be far more flexible and less rigid in the way it incorporates, stores and recalls information. – Harvard Medical School Cell Embargo expired on 17-Aug-2017 at 12:00 ET Embargoed AJPH Research on Trump Voters and Life Expectancy, Premature Death Among White Americans, Urban/Rural Firearm Suicide Disparities, Tobacco in Rural America In this month’s release, find new embargoed research on the life expectancy of Trump voters, premature death among white Americans, rural tobacco and firearm suicide prevalence – American Public Health Association (APHA) Embargo expired on 17-Aug-2017 at 16:00 ET Higher Rural Suicide Rates Driven by Use of Guns Suicide rates in rural areas of Maryland are 35-percent higher than in the state’s urban settings, a disparity that can be attributed to the significantly greater use of firearms in rural settings, according to new research from the Johns Hopkins B... – Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health American Journal of Public Health Embargo expired on 17-Aug-2017 at 16:00 ET Community Health Workers Lead to Better Health, Lower Costs for Medicaid Patients As politicians struggle to solve the nation’s healthcare problems, a new study finds a way to improve health and lower costs among Medicaid and uninsured patients. Researchers at Penn Medicine showed that patients who received support from communit... – Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania American Journal of Public Health Embargo expired on 17-Aug-2017 at 16:00 ET Early Rotator Cuff Surgery Yields Good Long-Term Outcomes Early surgery to repair tears of one of the shoulder rotator cuff muscles provides lasting improvement in strength, function, and other outcomes, reports a study in the August 16, 2017 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. The journal is publ... – Wolters Kluwer Health: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery Noninvasive Eye Scan Could Detect Key Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease Years Before Patients Show Symptoms Cedars-Sinai neuroscience investigators have found that Alzheimer’s disease affects the retina – the back of the eye – similarly to the way it affects the brain. The study also revealed that an investigational, noninvasive eye scan could detec... – Cedars-Sinai JCI Insight, 08-17-17 It’s All in the Hands: Researchers Find Correlation Between Athletic Ability and Finger Length Researchers at University of North Dakota and Sacred Heart School study the correlation between athletic ability and finger length – University of North Dakota Journal of Early Human Development The Laws of Attraction: Pheromones Don’t Lie, Research in Fruit Flies Shows For the first time, scientists have shown that a female fruit fly’s pheromone signals can actually tell males how much energy her body has invested in egg production versus in storing away energy for her own survival. And it’s a signal that she ... – Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan PLoS Genetics, August 17, 2017 Cholesterol Crystals Are Sure Sign a Heart Attack May Loom A new Michigan State University study on 240 emergency room patients shows just how much of a role a person’s cholesterol plays, when in a crystallized state, during a heart attack. – Michigan State University American Journal of Cardiology Researchers Create Molecular Movie of Virus Preparing to Infect Healthy Cells A research team has created for the first time a movie with nanoscale resolution of the three-dimensional changes a virus undergoes as it prepares to infect a healthy cell. The scientists analyzed thousands of individual snapshots from intense X-ray ... – SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Hosseinizadeh et al., Nature Methods, 14 August 2017 (10.1038/nmeth.4395) includes video Coaching the Pros Data from the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia showed that doctors there were ordering bone scans at three times the national rate for a certain group of prostate cancer patients. It called for a coaching v... – Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania $2.2 Million Grant Will Extend Distracted Driving Research The findings from the NIH-funded study will have implications on targeted interventions and policy changes in distracted driving. – University of Alabama at Birmingham What Vaccinations Do Children Need Before Heading Back-To-School? Zachary Klase PhD summarizes the vaccine requirements for children heading to public schools and universities and explains why it is important and safe to be vaccinated. Expert Available – University of the Sciences includes video Is There Any Reason to Allow Cigarette Companies to Send Coupons (or Any Other Advertising) to Nonsmokers? Because cigarettes are inherently and inescapably harmful and deadly to smokers and to exposed nonusers there cannot be any public health justification for tobacco company efforts to encourage nonsmokers to begin smoking – or for FDA to continue al... – O'Neill Institute for National & Global Health Law Nicotine & Tobacco Research journal Barsness Receives Second PCORI Award to Develop Patient and Family Advisory Board to Help Improve Patient Experience Katherine Barsness, MD, MS, pediatric surgeon at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Associate Professor of Surgery and Medical Education, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has received a second funding award ... – Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Whitehead Member David Sabatini Awarded Dickson Prize in Medicine Whitehead Institute Member David Sabatini will be this year’s recipient of the Dickson Prize in Medicine. The annual award is the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s highest honor and recognizes “an American biomedical researcher who... – Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research Cancer Genetics Expert Katherine L. Nathanson, MD, Named Deputy Director of Abramson Cancer Center Katherine L. Nathanson, MD, an internationally recognized expert in the field of cancer genetics, has been named deputy director of the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania. – Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Dr. Seth Worley Joins MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute’s Cardiac Electrophysiology Program Dr. Seth Worley has joined MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute’s Cardiac Electrophysiology Program as a senior consultant. A renowned expert in cardiac resynchronization therapy, Dr. Worley has personally developed tools and techniques designed to f... – MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute and the Cleveland Clinic Heart and Vascular Institute Breast Cancer Specialist, Dr. Carlos L. Arteaga, to Head UT Southwestern’s Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center Dr. Carlos L. Arteaga, internationally recognized for his work in laboratory-based translational research and advancing the care of breast cancer patients, has been selected as Director of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UT South... – UT Southwestern Medical Center AARDA Seeks New York Autoimmune Warriors 6th Annual New York Autoimmune Walk to feature speaker/author/journalist Nika Beamon on coping and family-friendly activities to engage and inspire – American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) Science News Researchers Make Surprising Discovery About How Neurons Talk to Each Other New findings challenge existing dogma that neurons release fixed amounts of chemical signal at any one time and could have implications for brain disorders including Parkinson's and schizhophrenia. – Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh NEURON; GM007628, DA031241, DA022413, DA12408, DA007418, DA010154, MH086545, MH108186, NS075222, NS075572, AG08702, DA040443, MH076900; ES015747, ES016732 Embargo expired on 17-Aug-2017 at 12:00 ET Bacteria Stab Amoebae with Micro-Daggers Researchers from ETH Zurich and the University of Vienna have discovered a type of bacteria that uses tiny daggers to prevent itself from being eaten by amoebae. The scientists also resolved the three-dimensional structure of the mechanism that allow... – University of Vienna Science/doi: 10.1126/science.aan7904 Embargo expired on 17-Aug-2017 at 14:00 ET Researchers Discover New Chemical Process That Could Reduce Nitrogen Oxides From Diesel Exhaust Chemical engineers at the University of Notre Dame have discovered a catalytic process that could help curb emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from diesel-powered vehicles, a priority air pollutant that is a key ingredient in smog. – University of Notre Dame Female Mouse Embryos Actively Remove Male Reproductive Systems A protein called COUP-TFII determines whether a mouse embryo develops a male reproductive tract, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and their colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston. The discovery, which appeared ... – National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) ZIAES102965; P01DK059820; R01HL114539; R01DK045641 Wistar Scientists Develop Novel Immunotherapy Technology for Prostate Cancer A study led by Wistar scientists describes a novel immunotherapeutic strategy for the treatment of cancer based on the use of synthetic DNA to directly encode protective antibodies against a cancer specific protein. – Wistar Institute Viruses and Aphids That Help Crops? Scientists Think It May Be Possible Iowa State University scientists are contributing to a multi-institutional effort to help corn stand up to stress brought on by drought and disease by using viruses and aphids to activate desirable traits. It’s speculative research that could yield... – Iowa State University Engineering Team Images Tiny Quasicrystals as They Form The lab of Uli Wiesner at Cornell University, has joined scientists pursuing the structure, and atom arrangement of quasicrystals. – Cornell University New Study Validates East Antarctic Ice Sheet Should Remain Stable Even if Western Ice Sheet Melts A new study from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis validates that the central core of the East Antarctic ice sheet should remain stable even if the West Antarctic ice sheet melts. – Indiana University AI Implications: Engineer’s Model Lays Groundwork for Machine-Learning Device An engineer at Washington University in St. Louis has taken steps toward using nanocrystal networks for artificial intelligence applications. – Washington University in St. Louis The Journal of Physical Chemistry C Injured Bobcat Back Home in the Wild After Treatment at Cornel In April, a bobcat was hit by a car in Lansing, N.Y. and received treatment at the Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Health Center to repair a severe front leg fracture and dislocated hip. After spending ten weeks recovering with a local licensed wildlife re... – Cornell University includes video Global Corporations and Cleantech Startups Begin Testing Innovations at Washington’s Open-Access Clean Energy Facility Global corporations, U.S. solar companies, and Washington startups have signed up to test their cleantech at the Washington Clean Energy Testbeds, created by the University of Washington (UW) Clean Energy Institute (CEI), during the facility’s firs... – University of Washington SPOILER ALERT: Computer Simulations Provide Preview of Next Week's Solar Eclipse On August 21, 2017, a total eclipse of the Sun will be visible across the U.S. Using massive supercomputers, researchers from Predictive Science Inc. (PSI) in San Diego completed a series highly-detailed solar simulations timed to the moment of the s... – University of California San Diego SLU Biologist Receives $480,000 to Study Singing Insects’ Serenades Saint Louis University scientist Kasey Fowler-Finn, Ph.D., and her research team will study treehoppers to learn how changing temperatures affect singing insects' ability to recognize the songs of potential mates. – Saint Louis University Medical Center Under the Redwoods, UC Santa Cruz Treehouse Initiative Fights Kids’ Cancer Using Computers The City of Santa Cruz Economic Development Office recently sat down with Treehouse Childhood Cancer Initiative Founder Olena Morozova and UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute Scientific Director David Haussler to learn more about how UC Santa Cruz is wo... – University of California, Santa Cruz UC Santa Cruz Genomics Undergrad Awarded Prestigious NIH Research Scholarship UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute scholar Stefanie Brizuela has been selected by the Scientific Review Committee of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Undergraduate Scholarship Program (UGSP) as a UGSP Scholar. As a UGSP Scholar, Brizuela will re... – University of California, Santa Cruz Lifestyle & Social Sciences Backpacks Can Mean Backaches for Back-to-Schoolers With back-to-school quickly approaching, parents have already begun securing basic necessities like backpacks. – New York-Presbyterian Hospital Embargo expired on 17-Aug-2017 at 10:00 ET Should I Stay or Should I Leave? A new study offers insights into what people are deliberating about and what makes decisions about staying in or leaving a romantic relationship so difficult, which could help therapists working with couples and stimulate further research into the de... – University of Utah Social Psychology and Personality Science CEOs Close to Trump Deciding When to Advise and When to Leave Dean Bob Bruner of the University of Virginia Darden School of Business discusses the departure of many CEOs from President Trump's business advisory groups. – University of Virginia Darden School of Business Professor of Anthropology Julia King Awarded $240,000 Grant for Native American Study St. Mary’s College of Maryland Professor of Anthropology Julia King, in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR), Chesapeake Conservancy, and the state-recognized Rappahannock Tribe of Virginia, have been awarded a $24... – St. Mary's College of Maryland Arizona State University and Amazon Bring First-of-Its-Kind Voice Technology Program to University Classrooms and Campus Students at Arizona State University this year are taking part in a first-of-its-kind voice technology program on a university campus, with support from the Amazon Alexa team. – Arizona State University (ASU) A Practical Guide on How to Confront Hate UAB Institute for Human Rights Director Tina Kempin Reuter provides practical tips for confronting hate and violence. – University of Alabama at Birmingham UIC’s CHANCE Program Honored UIC's CHANCE program to help recruit and retain students from underrepresented communities honored. – University of Illinois at Chicago

3 dead in stabbing attacks in Finland, Germany

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Ambulances gather at the site of a stabbing attack at markets in Turku, Finland, on Friday. At least two died. Photo by Matti Ruuska/Turun Sanomat/EPA

Aug. 18 (UPI) -- At least three people died Friday and several others were hurt in separate stabbing attacks in Finland and Germany, authorities said.

In Finland, police confirmed two deaths and six people injured at two marketplaces near each other in the city center -- the Central Market and Puutori-Market Squares -- on Friday afternoon.

Police shot the suspected assailant in the leg and arrested him, state broadcaster YLE reported.

South-West Finland police said via Twitter: "Several people stabbed in central Turku. People are requested to avoid the city centre."

Eyewitnesses reported one or more gunshots, and saw one person was lying on the ground.

"It was really horrible. We were sitting on a terrace just next to the square and this woman just screamed like hell and this guy was standing in front of her with a huge knife just stabbing people," Kent Svensson, 44, from Sweden, told CNN. "There was blood everywhere."

Authorities said they're seeking additional suspects.

Turku is around 85 miles west of the capital, Helsinki.

Two hours later in Dusseldorf, Germany, a 31-year-old man was killed and a 25-year-old man was seriously wounded in a stabbing attack at a store, police said.

Police are searching for one or more suspects.

Authorities did not immediately identify a motive in either attack.

ENERGY NEWS-Soft start for crude oil, but a ceiling appears in sight

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Soft start for crude oil, but a ceiling appears in sight

Crude oil prices drifted around neutrality early Friday in a sign that balance was more about offsetting factors than a drain a global inventory levels.

Greenpeace activists arrested after Barents Sea protest

Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Activists from the environmental group Greenpeace said they were able to disrupt operations at a Statoil rig drilling for oil in the Barents Sea.

Sanchez Energy takes cash for Eagle Ford acreage

Aug. 18 (UPI) -- The sale of assets in the Eagle Ford shale increases liquidity and the value of shareholders, the head of Sanchez Energy said.

Efforts mount to expand U.S. offshore drilling

Aug. 18 (UPI) -- After a rebound in the value of high bids for oil and gas acreage in the Gulf of Mexico, industry supporters said it was time to push for greater access.

Minnesota starts new phase for Enbridge pipeline review

Aug. 18 (UPI) -- A final review of a pipeline carrying heavy Canadian crude oil through Minnesota will help regulators reach a decision on Enbridge plans, a state agency said.

Permian basin production could accelerate

Aug. 18 (UPI) -- The expansion of a Texas oil pipeline is likely to support more production from the prolific Permian shale basin, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said.

Mixed bag for July production from Norway

Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Total production of oil and natural gas from Norway in July was about 5 percent higher the previous month, but lower than the government said it expected.

Floating solar power: new frontier for green-leaning water utilities

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Solar panel installations have primarily been installed on land. Now two California water utilities are building floating solar-power projects at reservoirs.

ENERGY NEWS --Balance apparent, but supply issues leave oil prices bruised

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Balance apparent, but supply issues leave oil prices bruised

Crude oil prices were moving slightly lower early Thursday as sentiment about a balanced market competed against rising U.S. and OPEC oil production.

U.S. gasoline exports overshadow strong production

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- The production of gasoline in the United States is near a record high, though supply levels are under pressure from exports, a federal report said.

Gazprom's gas exports inch higher

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Russia natural gas company Gazprom said it's scaling up its deliveries to consumers that would be fed eventually by a pipeline through Turkey.

Clouds developing over U.S. LNG export potential

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- A U.S. industrial trade group said Washington's domestic focus should prioritize the retention of natural gas, rather than target it for the export market.

Statoil to drill more in the North Sea

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- The Norwegian government said it signed off on plans from energy company Statoil to start new drilling operations in the North Sea.

Asian Development Bank finds new climate finance stream

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- The Asian Development Bank said it can tap into a new capital stream from a multilateral climate fund to help green up the economies of the Asia-Pacific.

Mixed results for Trump's first oil and gas auction for Gulf

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- The largest lease sale in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, and the first under President Trump's administration, generated mixed results for high bids and coverage.

Oil prices move up on good data, but ceiling may be approaching

Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices were relatively steady early Wednesday as reports of a decline in U.S. crude oil inventories balanced against sentiment of an emerging ceilin

: A Final Look at the Total Solar Eclipse

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David Dickinson द्वारा Totality! The view during the November 2012 total solar eclipse. Image credit and copyright: Sharin Ahmad (@Shahgazer) It's hard to believe: we're now just one short weekend away from the big ticket astronomical event for 2017, as a total solar eclipse is set to cross over the contiguous United States on Monday, August 21st. Celestial mechanics is a sure thing in this Universe, a certainty along with death and taxes that you can bet on. But there are still a few key question marks leading up to eclipse day, things that we can now finally make intelligent assumptions about a few days out. Although totality slices through the U.S., partial phases of the eclipse touch on every continent except Antarctica and Australia. Credit: Michael Zeiler/The Great American Eclipse. First up is solar activity. If you're like us, you'll be showing off the Sun in both visible and hydrogen alpha as the Moon begins making its slow hour long creep across the disk of Sol. First, the good news: sunspot active region AR 2671 made its Earthward debut on Tuesday August 15th, and will most likely stick around until eclipse day. The bad news is, it most likely won't have lots of friends, as solar cycle #24 begins its long slow ebb towards the solar minimum in 2019-2020. Likewise, I wouldn't expect to see any magnificent sprouting red prominences in the solar chromosphere in the seconds bracketing totality, though we could always be pleasantly surprised. The Earthward face of Sol as of August 17, four days before totality. Sunspot AR 2671 is robust and growing in complexity. Credit: NASA/SDO/HMI How will the white hot corona appear during totality? This is the signature climax of any total solar eclipse: veteran umbraphiles can actually glance at a photo of totality and tell you which eclipse it was from, just on the shape of the corona. The National Solar Observatory released a model of what that Sun's magnetosphere was doing one Carrington rotation (27 days) prior to the eclipse on July 25th, a pretty good predictor of the corona might look like during those fleeting moments of totality: The shape of the field lines of the solar corona, one rotation prior to the August 21st total solar eclipse. Credit: The National Solar Observatory. NASA will be chasing the umbra of the Moon with two converted W-57 aircraft during the eclipse, hoping to unlock the "coronal heating paradox," image Mercury in the infrared, and hunt for elusive Vulcanoid asteroids near the eclipsed Sun. The view of the corona during totality? This computational model was derived from NASA SDO data during the last solar rotation. Credit: Predictive Science Inc. The corona is about twice as bright as a Full Moon, and its interface with the solar wind extends out past the Earth. The very onset of totality is like the footstep of a giant passing over the landscape, as the door of reality is suddenly ripped open, revealing the span of the glittering solar system at midday. Keep your eyes peeled for Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and twinkling Regulus tangled up in the corona, just a degree from the Sun-Moon pair: The line up of the planets, bright stars and the eclipsed Sun during totality at 2:37 PM EDT as seen from Franklin, North Carolina. Credit: Stellarium. Also, be sure to scan the local horizon for a strange 360 degree sunset as you stand in the umbra of the Moon. An “eclipse wind” may kick up, as temperatures plummet and nature is fooled by the false dawn, causing chickens to come home to roost and nocturnal animals to awaken. I dare you to blink. Totality can affect the human heart as well, causing tears to cries of surprise. Here's an interesting, though remote, possibility. Could a sungrazing "eclipse comet" photo bomb the show? Karl Battams (@SungrazerComets) raises this question on a recent Planetary Society blog post. Battams works with the Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), which has discovered an amazing 3,358 comets crossing the field of view of its LASCO imagers since 1995. Comets have been discovered during eclipses before, most notably in 1882 and 1948. To be sure, it's a remote possibility this late in the game, but Battams promises to give us one last quick look via SOHO the morning of the eclipse on his Twitter feed to see if any cometary interlopers are afoot. The possible search area for Kreutz group sungrazers during the August 21st eclipse. Credit: Karl Battams. Now, on to the biggest question mark going into this eclipse weekend: what's the weather going to be like during the eclipse? This is the ever-dominating factor on everyone's mind leading up to eclipse day. Keep in mind, the partial phases are long; even a partly cloudy sky will afford occasional glimpses of the Sun during the partial phases of an eclipse. Totality, however, is fleeting – 2 minutes and 40 seconds near Hopkinsville, Kentucky and less for most – meaning even a solitary cumulus cloud drifting across the Sun at the wrong moment can spoil the view. No weather model can predict the view of the sky to that refined a level. And while best bets are still out west, lingering forest fires in Oregon are a concern, along early morning fog on the western side of the Cascade Mountains. Michael Zeiler over at The Great American Eclipse has been providing ESRI models of the cloud cover over the eclipse path for Monday... here's the outlook as of Thursday, August 17th: A look at cloud cover prospects over the eclipse path as of August 17. Credit: Michael Zeiler/Great American Eclipse/ESRI. Computer models should begin to come into agreement this weekend, a good sign that we know what the weather is going to do Monday. Needless to say, a deviation from the standard climate models could send lots of folks scrambling down the path at the last minute... I've heard of folks with up to 5 (!) separate reservations along the path of totality, no lie... The NOAA also has a fine site dedicated to weather and cloud coverage across the path come eclipse day, and Skippy Sky is another great resource aimed at sky viewing and cloud cover. Clouded out? The good folks at the Virtual Telescope have got you covered, with a webcast for the total solar eclipse starting at 17:00 UT/1:00 PM EDT: Credit: The Virtual Telescope Project. Of course, you'll need to use proper solar viewing methods during all partial phases of the eclipse. This means either using a telescope with a filter specifically designed to look at the Sun, a pin hole projector, or certified ISO 12312-2 eclipse glasses. If you've got an extra pair, why not convert them into a safe filter for those binoculars or a small telescope as well: Also be wary of heatstroke, standing out showing folks the partially eclipsed Sun for an hour or more. It is August, and heat exhaustion can come on in a hurry. Be sure you have access to shade and stay cool and hydrated in the summer Sun. Finally, eyes from space will be watching the eclipse from the International Space Station as well. Looking out at Monday, the ISS will pass through the penumbra of the Moon and see partial phases of the eclipse three times centered on 16:32, 18:20, and 20:00 Universal Time. The center time is particularly intriguing, as astros have a chance to see the dark umbral shadow of the Moon crossing the central U.S. This also means that eclipse viewers on planet Earth around southern Illinois might want to glance northward briefly, to spy the ISS during totality. Also, viewers along a line along southern central Canada will have a chance to catch an ISS transit across the face of the partially eclipsed Sun around the same time. Check CALSky for details. Three passes of the International Space Station versus the path of of totality. The inset shows the view of the partially eclipsed Sun as seen from the ISS. Credit: NASA/JSC. We'll be at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute in southwestern North Carolina, for a glorious 104 seconds of totality. We expect to be out of wifi range come eclipse day, but we'll tweet out key eclipse milestones as @Astroguyz. We also plan on writing up the eclipse experience with state-by-state testimonials post eclipse. Perhaps, the August 21st total solar eclipse will bring us all together for one brief moment, to witness the grandest of astronomical spectacles. We're lucky to share a small patch of time and space where total solar eclipses are possible.  Good luck, clear skies, and see you on the other side early next week! Read more about the August 21st total solar eclipse and the true tale of Edison's chickens and the 1878 eclipse in our free e-book: 101 Astronomical Events for 2017. The oldest video featuring totality? Read the mystery of the August 21st, 1914 over war torn Europe and this amazing video over Sweden. Eclipse... sci-fi? Read our original eclipse-fueled tales Exeligmos, Shadowfall, Peak Season and more. Read our CNN Op-Ed, Why We Chase Eclipses.

What to Do When Your PC Starts With a Blank Screen

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What to Do When Your PC Starts With a Blank Screen It may sound like it started up, but is it really even on? READ NOW   READ THESE NEXT The Right Way to Format a Hard Drive Look Under the Hood: How to Open Command Prompt The Simple Fix for Windows’ Most Annoying Error Why Smart TVs Are Worth the Price Advertisement

Resettling Congolese Refugees in Angola, a New Shot at a Normal Life

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Families who fled militia attacks in Kasai Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo arrive at the newly established Lóvua settlement in northern Angola. Credit: UNHCR/Rui Padilha

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 17 2017 (IPS) - The UN’s refugee agency is relocating more than 33,000 Congolese refugees from overcrowded temporary shelters in northern Angola to a more permanent establishment in Lóvua.

From April this year, Angola witnessed an influx of refugees—who were fleeing violence in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo—to its Lunda Norte province. The government rushed to manage the situation by setting up temporary centers in Cacanda and Mussunge.

From the very beginning, authorities in Angola deliberated on questions of a more permanent settlement to ensure stability within the country.

“The centers quickly became overcrowded and the situation became very difficult. The government began working on setting up Lóvua two months ago,” Margarida Loureiro, who works as an external relations officer at the UN Field Office in Dundo, the provincial capital of Lunda Norte, told IPS.

Not all refugees who have biometrically registered—and all 33,142 have—chose to live in the temporary centers. Many lived with other host communities across Lunda Norte. Unintentionally, this allowed the government to relocate, for instance, roughly 400 families from Mussunge, and close the shelter quickly.

Now, the UN refugee agency and government authorities, through town hall meetings, have brought attention to a more cohesive space for all Congolese refugees in Lóvua.

Lóvua, which is located 100 kms (or 62 miles) from the DRC border, has been bracketed into nine zones. Every zone is divided by nine villages and every village is divided by 72 plots of land. Each village can host a maximum of 360 people. When families first arrive at the shelter, they are assisted with food and blankets. After a 24-hour period of assistance, they are sent to their plot of land where they work to build their own homes.

Still, funding the project, in spite of an interagency appeal by the UN in June for 65.5 million dollars, has had dismal results—only 32 percent of the money has come through.

Agencies are predicting that an estimated 50,000 Congolese refugees will need help by the end of the year.

“Although the number of refugee arrivals have swindled at this time of the year, the government has kept its borders open. To ensure Lóvua’s sustainability, we still need greater funding,” said Margarida.

Angola is a signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and has historically received refugees from the DRC. Before the influx in April, Angola hosted as many as 13,400 refugees from DRC.