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Comment Re:Or... (Score 1) 150

by jd (#65702758) Attached to: Autism Should Not Be Seen As Single Condition With One Cause, Say Scientists

There are 1500 genes involved. As effects are likely not merely down to specific genes, but gene interactions, you're going to need a model that can handle 2^1500 different permutations. That's simply not something that is classifiable.

As far as gene therapies are concerned, since autism seems to involve combining elements of Neanderthal neurology with homo sapiens neurology, the obvious fix would be to add further Neanderthal genes where combinations are known to produce adverse effects.

Submission + - SpaceX Wants to Fly Its Gigantic Starship Directly Over Florida (gizmodo.com) 1

Submitted by joshuark
joshuark writes: SpaceX is inching closer to sending its Starship rocket into low Earth orbit. A newly proposed flight path for the upper stage would see it fly across Florida skies—an unusual route that would seriously disrupt air traffic and raise the risk of debris falling onto populated areas below. On the plus side it will make orange juice ready for space and decrease the drain on Social Security.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is reviewing SpaceX’s request for new launch and reentry flight paths, but awaits a donation from Elon Musk to grease the administrative costs and provide timely rebates for the agency. In its recent report, however, the FAA concluded that there would be “no significant impact” from Starship’s new launch trajectories.

A number of Starship’s test flights have ended with the rocket breaking apart and raining debris on parts of the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Elon Musk intimated about breaking eggs to make an omlet.

Comment On the other hand... (Score 3, Interesting) 61

by jd (#65691124) Attached to: Daylight Savings Time Is So Bad, It's Messing With Our View of the Cosmos

If human activity was on a fixed time, that point in time could never be visible to astronomers, at least not unless LIGO was rebuilt on the moon. This doesn't necessarily offer benefits, but it would be sensible if this was a possibility that was considered.

True, it means we can't use gravitational triangulation, but the detector is nothing like close enough to being sensitive enough to be useful there.

Either way, between radio astronomy, optical astronony, and gravitational astronomy now being largely defunct on Earth due to humans messing things up, we really need detectors on the moon or on Mars before we can do anything significantly beyond what we've already done. Space telescopes are just too small and although you could precisely measure 3D positions with sufficient precision to do interferometry, it would not be easy.

Basically, each space telescope would need to measure acceleration with incredible sensitivity and time with incredible precision, record over a very long time, then have a means of collecting the data on physical media and bring it back to Earth for combining with the other recordings. Real-time interferometry wouldn't be possible.

You're much much better off building your telescopes on the surface of a solid planetary mass like the moon or Mars.

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