Abstracts: Philea Found, Internet in Alaska, Climate Change Flooding, and More
• The European Space Agency has finally spotted the Philea Lander, which was previously lost on the surface of a comet it was sent to study. The find came just in time, as the ESA’s mission on the comet is set to end in just a few weeks. (LA Times)
• A fiber optic cable through the Northwest Passage will finally bring high-speed internet to rural Alaskan towns. (Alaska Dispatch News)
• Sections of the U.S. Atlantic Coast are experiencing flooding from rising seas, caused by climate change. (New York Times)
• According to a Miami Appeals Court, Florida’s Agency for Persons with Disabilities Agency cherry-picked diagnostic tests to avoid caring for one intellectually disabled man. Altogether, the APD is expected to spend $427,3334 this year in order to defend itself against similar claims made by other disabled people who were denied services. (Miami Herald)
• Some Colorado farmers are adopting a new technique to save water: planting crops not to harvest, but to let them breakdown and replenish the soil. (High Country News)
• Artificial neural networks are becoming so complex that many people can’t even understand how a network gets its results. The concern: When it’s impossible to understand the process of a computer, it becomes impossible to find any errors as well — and that can cost lives. (Nautilus)
• Proponents of GMOs have said that by modifying genes to defend against pests, farmers might use less pesticide. According to new research, that is not what has happened so far — and in fact, it’s just the opposite. (Pacific Standard)
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has banned 19 ingredients found in antibacterial soap. Researchers can’t yet say if these ingredients pose a danger to human health, but studies have shown that the chemicals do not kill bacteria any better than regular soap and water. (Scientific American)
• And finally, as of last Wednesday Singapore has confirmed 115 cases of Zika. Now experts at the World Health Organization are worried that the virus may sweep through Asia and Africa, just as it did Central America. (STAT)