News of the week selected by Impactscool – February 10th
10 February 2020 | Written by La redazione
A look under the dying glacier
The Thwaites glacier in Antarctica is not doing well. High temperatures are melting it at an ever increasing rate. To understand what is going on is robotic submarine, called Icefin, was sent to explore the submerged cave that was created with the melting of underwater ice. A key point is where the glacier rests on the seabed, the further it moves back the faster the glacier above it will melt. What they have discovered so far is that the temperature of the water at the base of the glacier is 2 degrees above average.
In Finland, it is taught to deal with disinformation since elementary school
Addressing the information disorder, the set of problems related to the world of media and information that goes far beyond the simple concept of fake news, is no small problem. The best approach is to train people from a young age, providing media literacy and that’s also what Finland is doing. The Finnish school, always in step with the challenges of modernity and the future, included these themes in the national plan in 2016, an excellent example of how to act to fight against the spread of false news without resorting to controversial “anti fake news” laws. “Children are taught how to lie using statistics, how propaganda works and how public opinion can be manipulated using different rhetorical techniques.”
Crispr ally in the fight against cancer
New update on therapy that uses genetically modified immune cells with Crispr to fight cancer: the results of the latest tests offer encouraging data. As reported in the journal Science, the Nyce T-cells – as they are called – are not only safe, survive, increase in number but continue to function even after many months of infusion in patients.It is important to specify that the treatment is not ready for large-scale application, but encouraging results represent an important step forward.
Luca Parmitano has returned to Earth
At 10.13 on Thursday Luca Parmitano returned to Earth after 200 days as a commander on board the International Space Station. Her mission, called Beyond, has seen the Italian astronaut involved in many activities outside the station, leading Parmitano to become the European astronaut to have spent more time outside the ISS. In total more than 33 hours. He is now in Cologne where he is undergoing a period of rehabilitation on earth gravity.
