Funny that the author is worried about China using DNA data to identify any American they get a DNA sample from. I'd be much more concerned that the US government would use such data as part of an existing system that spys on our phone calls, emails, tracks our phones and cars, etc, etc. As we move toward fascism in this country, DNA is just one more tool to control people.

Elon Musk and SpaceX have built an efficient methane-oxygen engine, the Raptor. It is the first FFSC (full flow, staged combustion) engine to ever fly. The SpaceX Starship is under construction now and will eventually be able to make a round trip to Mars. Talk of fusion engines in space is just another excuse by people who don't care about going to Mars but care very much about building fusion reactors.

Numerous Linux commentators have discussed the take-over of the Linux Foundation by large non-open corporations. It's good to keep in mind when you read pronouncements by the LF that Microsoft and others are involved. Open source means nothing if it does not refer to the General Public License (GPL) or similar GPL compatible license.

It's not SpaceX that is closing roads and requiring evacuations. It's Cameron County and specifically the Judge in Cameron County who is in charge of this. If the voters of Cameron County don't like it, they can change the local government. But guess what. Cameron County is VERY happy to have the jobs and property taxes (and prestige) that SpaceX brings. Cameron County and the State of Texas will be the center of the next major push into deep space and the colonization of other worlds in our solar system. I don't think they will let that slip away to please a handful of beach dwellers who can afford to turn down triple compensation..

Eminent domain is restricted in Texas to public uses. Fine. Cameron County can take the property for an expansion of the Boca Chica State Park which will then be open to the public as the Mars Colonization Park, operated by the State of Texas. SpaceX does not need the land those folks live on. But they don't want people to be injured by their operations. So they are giving people an easy out. Take the 3X deal.

I don't think there is much reason to go to the moon. But if that's what we want to do, then just do it. The reason for the Gateway is to create a large payload to lunar orbit that then gives a reason to build the SLS, which is also a boondoggle. Forget all that and build a colony on Mars.

Measuring temperatures on land surfaces and sea surfaces gives a misleading sense of the heating of the planet. Almost certainly 2018 is the warmest year in recent times if you consider the total heat content of the seas. Deep ocean temperatures are rising but there is not yet systematic measurement of the deep seas. But as long as CO2 keeps rising, it's very likely that total heating of the Earth does too. Every year is the hottest year on record and the capacity of the deep ocean to moderate surface temperatures via mixing with surface water and cooling the air is being diminished.

So these lawmakers are concerned about bots stealing toys from children at Christmas. But exactly the same principle applies to trading algorithms used to buy and sell stocks. The trading bots arbitrage the market faster than any human can react and skim their profits off the buy/sell cycle. It's an easy fix. Just randomize the execution time from a trade anywhere within a one minute block of time. That would level the playing field for humans and let them buy lots of toys for their kids.

The explanation that there is a lack of correlation between glucose in tears and blood makes no sense. This is the first thing researchers would look at. If there was not a good correlation, the lens project would never have begun. There may be a problem with a correlation with *lens measured* glucose and blood glucose, but that just means that the lens measurement is wrong.

Justice Roberts and Kavenaugh recused themselves. That's the only reason that there were not enough votes (4 required) to hear the appeal from the DC Circuit. No guarantee they will recuse themselves again in the future.

He will still be running the company and he may yet take it private. This is a victory for Musk. The SEC backed down from insisting on removing his as CEO.

I'd like to know what you mean by "stretched". Physically larger? I'm glad to hear that the Raptor is working well. Of course the importance of the Raptor is that it's a methane-fueled rocket engine and methane can be produced pretty easily on the surface of Mars. That means you don't have to take the return fuel to Mars with you. That's what you must have to establish a colony.

NASA has forgotten how to do manned space flight. It is afraid to take risks and is a bureaucratic echo of its former self. The Alabama Mafia (Sen. Shelby, Rep. Brooks) drives the NASA budget to Huntsville and the Marshall Space Flight Center operations there. But it's all about money and jobs, not about going to Mars (or even the dumb Moon idea). JPL and some other NASA labs are still doing good work in deep space probes and Earth observing satellites. But the big rockets are now the province of SpaceX and maybe a couple of other private companies.

We should be thrilled (I know I am) that a new generation of explorers and engineers is developing re-usable and cost effective space travel. NASA should stick to the science.

I think they are clearly employees, but if they are independent contractors, they then have the right to set their own prices for work. If Uber is making all its "contractors" charge the same fee, that's called price fixing and it's illegal.

"A device could then try to sense movement while listening for whispers or silence, and even program a smart speaker to "provide a verbal warning."

Or it could listen for political heresy and provide a warning, like "Shut up and support Big Brother."

Hmmm. Could it be that high taxes correlate to good quality of life? Maybe if Texas taxed rich people and corporations like California does, it could afford to build a more livable society for its citizens. And then maybe SpaceX engineers would want to live there.