Onward, To... Europa -- And A 2030 Sail, Around Lord Jupiter.

At right is the "writ in water" multi-languages sound of the word for water tile, affixed to the body of the Clipper. Smile.

What a long, and commanded journey this will be: out to Mars, for a slingshot gravity assist, then back in a very close pass -- to whip around Earth -- for another gravity assist. . . then on to Europa, circa 2030. Here's the NASA update, on it all:

. . .The largest spacecraft NASA ever built for a mission headed to another planet, Europa Clipper also is the first NASA mission dedicated to studying an ocean world beyond Earth. The spacecraft will travel 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) on a trajectory that will leverage the power of gravity assists, first to Mars in four months and then back to Earth for another gravity assist flyby in 2026. After it begins orbiting Jupiter in April 2030, the spacecraft will fly past Europa 49 times.

“Congratulations to our Europa Clipper team for beginning the first journey to an ocean world beyond Earth,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “NASA leads the world in exploration and discovery, and the Europa Clipper mission is no different. By exploring the unknown, Europa Clipper will help us better understand whether there is the potential for life not just within our solar system, but among the billions of moons and planets beyond our Sun.”

Approximately five minutes after liftoff, the rocket’s second stage fired up and the payload fairing, or the rocket’s nose cone, opened to reveal Europa Clipper. About an hour after launch, the spacecraft separated from the rocket. Ground controllers received a signal soon after, and two-way communication was established at 1:13 p.m. with NASA’s Deep Space Network facility in Canberra, Australia. Mission teams celebrated as initial telemetry reports showed Europa Clipper is in good health and operating as expected. . . .

Now you know -- and onward, as we have dusty snowflakes here, and some small hailstones (windchills of 35 degrees, already!) as I head over to get some taco-truck deliciousness. Heh. Nuthin' gets in the way of that gravity-assisted. . . slingshot!

नमस्ते

[U] Take A Look -- After [More Than] Ten Years... Still A Train-Wreck; All The Same Tired Old Schemes.

We will be are now back, to explain, but see this 2013 backgrounder.

We were put in mind of this, because a long time reader was checking up on our older (2012-2014) predictions, as to specific stock bets, long and short, in the life sciences vertical.

This one in particular was pretty obvious to anyone who is versed in. . . the math of finance. Add to it, that the successive crews of management, and board seats. . . were mostly known for over-levering assets, in order to pay out what amounted to wasting dividends to private equity investors, and then often filing a chapter if all the rosy predictions didn't turn out as planned. [And that is almost exactly what happened to Valeant -- as it became Bausch Health.]

Here in 2024, nearly a full decade later, a renewed team is going to split the biz into a revamped B+L brand, and leave the lower margin businesses (in a remain-co, called "Health"). . . to likely whither and die. You could look at the symbol "BHC" and read all the 2024 coverage on it. Or. . . you could just re-read anything I ever wrote here, about Brent Saunders and / or Fast Fred Hassan.

Same old; same old. Here's the chart, for the record -- now, more than a decade's worth of "paths, diverging in the wood":

. . .[T]he [Bausch Health company has endured a] shocking decline over three years. Indeed, the share price is down a whopping 72% in the last three years. So we're relieved for long term holders to see a bit of uplift. The thing to think about is whether the business has really turned around.

Since Bausch Health Companies has shed US $136m from its value in the past 7 days, let's see if the longer term decline has been driven by the business' economics. . . .

[Confidential Hint Dept.: it hasn't (as to the first) and it has been, as to the second. Cheers!] Onward.

नमस्ते

It Remains Immaterial To Rahway, But A Nice Validation For Exelixis's Zanzalintinib Candidate -- In Head and Neck, and Renal Cell Carcinomas...

We had previously-mentioned Merck's December 2023 FDA approval for Welireg^®, in renal cell carcinoma patients.

Now, Welireg will be tried in combination with Exelixis's Zanzalintinib candidate (in what amounts to a "supply agreement on steroids", for Merck). The same sort of enhanced supply arrangement will obtain with Merck's Keytruda^® -- which will be studied by Exelixis, in head and neck cancers with Zanzalintinib -- for added progression free survival / efficacy. Here's all of that good news, this afternoon:

. . .Exelixis and Merck announced that the companies have entered into a clinical development collaboration to evaluate the combination of Exelixis’ investigational tyrosine kinase inhibitor, or TKI, zanzalintinib with Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy Keytruda in a phase 3 pivotal trial for the treatment of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, or HNSCC, and zanzalintinib with Welireg, Merck’s oral hypoxia-inducible factor-2 alpha inhibitor, in a phase 1/2 trial and two phase 3 pivotal trials for the treatment of patients with renal cell carcinoma, or RCC.

Under the terms of the collaboration, Merck will supply Keytruda for the ongoing, Exelixis-sponsored phase 3 STELLAR-305 pivotal trial in previously untreated PD-L1 positive recurrent or metastatic HNSCC. In addition, Merck will sponsor a phase 1/2 trial and two phase 3 pivotal trials in RCC.

Merck will fund one of these phase 3 studies, and Exelixis will co-fund the phase 1/2 trial and the other phase 3 study, as well as supply zanzalintinib and cabozantinib. Exelixis maintains all global commercial and marketing rights to zanzalintinib. . . .

Now you know -- be excellent to one another. Onward. Ever, onward. . . toward Europa by the decade's end. Smile.

नमस्ते

Tangerine-Fed Insanity: Over The Weekend, FEMA Workers In Rural North Carolina Received Threats From Armed "Militiamen". Damn.

There can be no doubt: this chaos is by design -- it is exactly what Tangerine intends, by making completely false threats against hard working federal employees. He (insanely) believes that the more (he pretends) that the world is burning. . . the greater the chance he can slip in, as a purported. . . strong man.

This is. . . simply disgusting. We must vote him down, in a landslide -- in a little over three weeks now.

Here's the latest:

. . .On Saturday, FEMA workers had to halt their work in Rutherford County due to reports National Guard troops saw “armed militia” threatening the workers, CNN affiliate WBTV confirmed after reviewing messages sent to employees of a FEMA contractor. The threats were first reported by the Washington Post. . . .

Some FEMA operations were also paused Sunday in Ashe County, near the borders of Tennessee and Virginia, out of an abundance of caution, Sheriff B. Phil Howell said on Facebook. This included in-person applications for aid in at least two locations “due to threats occurring in some counties,” according to the county’s emergency management office. Those locations reopened Monday, the sheriff and emergency management office announced.

Howell urged residents to “stay calm and steady during our recovery, help folks and please don’t stir the pot. . . .”

Good advice, indeed -- will the Tangerine dotard heed it? Don't hold your breath. Out.

नमस्ते

[U] "The IV Supplier To The World" Expects To Fully Recover From Helene By Year End 2024...

And in the mean time, competitor B.Braun in Florida has reported that Milton didn't do as serious damage as was feared, so it reopened IV manufacturing as of this past Friday.

Even so, it will be months yet that US clinics and hospitals are on "supply / order limits" -- to stave off stock-outs. And source plants in the EU, Canada and even China will fly in pallets of bags to shortage-hit areas, under emergency FDA authorizations. Here's that story from last week, mostly -- at NPR:

. . .Flooding from Hurricane Helene in late September shut down the largest suppliers of IV fluids in the U.S, a factory in Marion, N.C., about 35 miles outside of Asheville. Owned by Baxter International, the plant made products like saline, sterile water for injection and other fluids that are crucial to the health care system.

Now, the company and government officials are trying to make sure existing shortages aren’t worsened by the natural disasters. . . .

[T]he Food and Drug Administration announced it has authorized 19 IV products for temporary importation from Canada, China, Ireland and the U.K.

Baxter is limiting how much of its IV fluids customers like hospitals can buy to prevent hoarding and to try to ensure equitable access to the supply that is available. It’s also trying to increase manufacturing at its other facilities to bridge the gap. . . .

Now you know -- and last week, some elective surgeries were being postponed in Dallas for-profit hospitals, due to short supply -- of IV sets. And, the Europa Clipper mission has safely achieved a stable orbit. More prosaically, the Buffs travel to face a tough Arizona team this weekend. . . onward!

नमस्ते

Tangerine's 2020 Campaign Settlement Counsel Will have To Appear -- On November 20 -- To Discuss Damages To Be Paid To Eddy Grant In Manhattan.

Since summary judgment has already been granted -- to the owners of the rights to "Electric Avenue" (which Tangerine stole in his 2020 campaign ads), the discussion will center on how much he must pay for that theft of intellectual property.

Flawless -- and a high ranking officer from the 2020 Campaign (or if dissolved, as he has claimed -- his current one). . . must attend. Here is a bit from the three page order entered at the end of last week:

. . .No later than five (5) business days before the conference, counsel for each party must send the party’s Ex Parte Settlement Letter, marked “Confidential Material for Use Only at Settlement Conference” to [redacted] @nysd.uscourts.gov. This letter should not be sent to the other parties.

The letter should include, at a minimum, the information described in paragraph 3 of the Procedures. The parties should exchange their initial settlement demands and responses in advance of their Ex Parte Settlement Letter submissions.

The parties -- not just the attorneys -- must attend the settlement conference. Corporate parties, labor unions, and insurance companies (or any other party that is not a natural person) must send to the conference the person ultimately responsible for giving settlement authority. The parties have represented that party representatives with full settlement authority to participate. . . .

Now you know -- and Eddy certainly deserves this payday. He absolutely earned it. Onward.

नमस्ते

Update: Mpox Cases Have Now Appeared In Zimbabwe, As Well...

Add another local African nation to the list of Mpox outbreak geographies here in Fall 2024. Zimbabwe now joins Zambia, DRC, Ghana, Central African Republic, and Nigeria -- as nations inside Africa with more than one case.

And so, Zimbabwe faces a public health calamity -- with one case in Harare, the capital -- and one in the southern corner of the country, in Mberengwa. Here's that news, via Reuters:

. . .Zimbabwe has confirmed its first two cases of mpox, the health ministry said on Sunday, without specifying which variant had been recorded.

The first case was detected in an 11-year-old boy who developed symptoms last month after travelling to South Africa, the statement said. The second case was in a 24-year-old man who fell ill after travelling to Tanzania, it said.

Both patients are recovering and contact tracing is underway, the statement said. The cases were in capital Harare and the southern town of Mberengwa. . . .

Now you know. . . and it seems that a man with several fake passports and a few weapons was picked up this afternoon near a Tangerine rally (he's a registered Republican and a podcaster about corruption -- and his vehicle sports a homemade sovereign citizens movement-type plate). Whatever he was doing there. . . this is not the answer, folks. Out.

नमस्ते

Kamala Harris Shows A Strong (And Strengthening!) Trend Line -- As (Excepting Only In FL) Tangerine Is... Fading.

To be sure, the election is very close -- especially as to electoral college votes. But now we are only 22 days away -- and prior experience tells us that it will be unlikely that any major shift will occur in these last hours.

And so, on the popular vote, Kamala is likely to win by a margin of over 10 million votes.

Of course, Tangerine will (as a malign would-be despot) litigate all results in swing states. So we may not have a final (court ordered) winner until late December 2024.

But the outcome is pretty clear: Trump will lose. Here's 538.com's latest:

. . .The difference boils down to one thing: trends, not levels. If you compare Harris’s margin over Trump in polls released Oct. 10 to the results of previous polls by the same pollsters in the same places, Harris’s margin has increased by an average of 0.4 percentage points.

And according to our election model, which looks at differences in results among all pollsters to identify whether a firm leans to the left or the right, the polls from Emerson in particular have tended to underestimate Harris compared to polls with the same methodology (a mix of robocalls and online interviews) in the same geographies.

This means our starting point when looking at these new polls is that Harris is doing better than they indicate, by about a point on vote margin, and that she is either holding steady or gaining ground. . . .

That sure sounds right. . . to me.

So you may safely ignore all of the frothy hard right's belchings.

Out.

नमस्ते

Noon Eastern -- On Monday -- Is Europa Clipper Targeted Launch, Now...

It may run a bit later, but could also very well go off right on time.

Weather is not expected to be a factor; and it seems the idea is to get the launch in ahead of the next tropical depression now forming and headed toward the Florida Atlantic coast. In any event, here's the latest, from Kennedy Launch Center:

. . .NASA will provide live coverage of prelaunch and launch activities for Europa Clipper, the agency’s mission to explore Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. NASA now is targeting launch no earlier than 12:06 p.m. EDT, Monday, Oct. 14, on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Beyond Earth, Jupiter’s moon Europa is considered one of the solar system’s most promising potentially habitable environments. After an approximately 1.8-billion-mile journey, Europa Clipper will enter orbit around Jupiter in April 2030, where the spacecraft will conduct a detailed survey of Europa to determine whether the icy world could have conditions suitable for life. Europa Clipper is the largest spacecraft NASA has ever developed for a planetary mission.

It carries a suite of nine instruments along with a gravity experiment that will investigate an ocean beneath Europa’s surface, which scientists believe contains twice as much liquid water as Earth’s oceans. . . .

Now you know -- with a tough night in Boulder now in the books, and Travis Hunter (with what may be a shoulder separation injury) now perhaps not likely to play for a few weeks. There was also an injury to WR/Returner Jimmy Horn, the fastest player on the team. No report on return dates yet for either. Ugh.

नमस्ते

UPDATE: No One In Close Contact (With Any Marburg Patient) May Leave Rwanda, Now -- For 21 Days Minimum...

This is, in my estimation, a sensible and moderate curtailment of personal liberties -- to keep both Rwandans -- and the wider world. . . safe. If a putative traveler wishes to board a plane or train, s/he must fill out a questionnaire, to determine if they've been in close proximity of a known Marburg case -- and to then be tested. They must be symptom free for 21 days, before travel will be authorized by the Rwandan government authorities.

Of course, people will likely still slip across local interior borders unnoticed, on foot, or by car or scooter, but getting out into the wider world generally (and off-continent, certainly) requires a plane ride -- or a very long train trek -- so health ministers have now imposed a partial travel ban, forbidding anyone who has been exposed to the virus from leaving the country. [At least until they pass a 21 day "no symptoms" waiting period.]

This measured, prudent move seeks to stop the outbreak from spreading beyond its borders. And here is the latest on it all, from the UK's Sun newspaper:

. . .An outbreak of Marburg virus, which is a close cousin to Ebola, was first confirmed in Rwanda at the end of last month.

The country has now imposed a partial travel ban, forbidding anyone who has been exposed to the virus from leaving the country.

The move seeks to stop the outbreak spreading beyond its borders.

People wanting to travel abroad from Rwanda will have complete a questionnaire within 24 hours of their departure to report suspicious symptoms, the Rwandan Ministry of Health said. . . .

Do recall that last week, the US CDC began screening arriving Rwandan passengers for Marburg's. Now you know. . . and separately, in at least five US states, the drug resistant mpox virus has been recorded, in small clusters.

In any event, onward, on a glorious fall weekend morning -- and evening, with Buffs in action at home. Smile.

नमस्ते

Well -- Not Surprising. But Now, Martin Shkreli Will Be Required To Appear And Testify Under Oath, In Brooklyn's Federal Court (Re Wu- Theft) -- On November 5, 2024. Oops!

So -- just as we said, Martin is now in very hot water.

He will be live on the stand, with contempt for perjury, clearly on the table. The able USDC Judge Chen will not tolerate any more shenanigans. And jailing is also a common outcome, in a contempt hearing like this one.

Here's her order, just entered, in full text -- on the docket:

. . .SCHEDULING ORDER:

The Court is in receipt of [38] Defendant's supplemental affidavit and [39] Plaintiff's letter in response. In order to resolve the deficiencies in Defendant Shkreli's affidavits, the Court will hold a hearing on November 5, 2024, at 11:00AM in Courtroom 4F North at which Defendant Shkreli will be called upon to testify under oath regarding the copying and distribution of the Album's tracks. Both parties will be permitted to question Defendant Shkreli on these issues.

Ordered by Judge Pamela K. Chen on 10/11/2024. . . .

Hilarious. The cross-examination is going to be devastating (for Martin's chances of remaining a free man). Maybe he shouldn't have. . . lied -- in sworn statements, in the Wu- matter. Just a thought.

नमस्ते

Now At Least One Mpox Case, In Zambia -- Lukasa. Tough News.

This sort of country to country spread is to be expected, where as here there has been a delay -- in the vaccinations program. Even so, it is discouraging nonetheless -- that we now must now face an outbreak in a new geography.

Here is the latest, from Reuters -- while we await word on the Clade -- II or 1b. . . on this first case. The latter would be the more concerning:

. . .Zambia's health ministry on Thursday reported the country's first case of mpox, without disclosing which variant had been recorded. . . . [Mpox was] detected in a 32-year-old Tanzanian national who arrived in Zambia in early September, before travelling around the southern African country and developing symptoms including muscle aches, fatigue and a sore throat on Oct. 2.

"Given the patient's extensive travel history and interactions at multiple points in Zambia, there is heightened risk of local transmission and potential cross-border spread," the health ministry said in a statement, adding that contact tracing was underway.

The World Health Organization in August declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, as a new variant of the viral infection spread from Democratic Republic of Congo to neighbouring African countries.

The new clade 1b strain has caused global concern as it seems to spread more easily though routine close contact. . . .

Onward, and now you know -- he is likely being treated in a rural clinic, and that's presumably to keep him away from the densely populated capital of Lukasa, and its overcrowded hospitals.

नमस्ते

[U: Launch On Monday?] Clipper Mission Is Safe -- But No New Launch Date Yet, Post The Departure Of Hurricane Milton...

UPDATED -- Late on Friday, NASA posted this: ". . .NASA. . . [is] now targeting no earlier than Monday, Oct. 14, for the launch of Europa Clipper. Following Hurricane Milton, teams are continuing to do checkouts to ensure flight readiness. . . ."

End, updated portion.

As we mentioned, the Thursday launch was scrubbed -- due to Milton.

Next launch opportunity is likely mid-next week, but certainly no earlier than this Sunday. See here, for the full NASA update:

. . .Once the winds subsided to a safe level, the center’s Ride Out Team and engineering teams began initial checkouts to ensure bridges are safe and useable. Later, a larger assessment team will thoroughly check the entire center.

The agency’s Europa Clipper launch team will schedule an official launch date when teams from NASA and SpaceX are able to perform their assessments, and confirm it’s safe to launch. Teams are working to protect launch opportunities no earlier than Sunday, Oct. 13. Clipper has launch opportunities through Wednesday, Nov. 6.

NASA will provide more information on Clipper launch opportunities as it becomes available. . . .

Now you know. C'mon, you Buff fans -- show out, tomorrow night! And. . . baby girls here -- rest of the day, Friday. Park time! Woot!

नमस्ते

Noerr-Pennington Doctrine Remains Controlling Law In Merck's Third Circuit US Court of Appeals: Mumps Vaccine Suits, Dismissed.

In general -- under controlling US law and regulations -- there are very few avenues to sue makers of life saving vaccines.

That was a considered Congressional policy decision, over a half century ago -- to encourage the provision of what are very low margin, but vital, vaccines to school children nationwide. [Rahway withdrew this vaccine in 2022 -- but we've been following various versions of this vaccine litigation since early 2010.]

Here is the latest on that piece of ongoing litigation. We will wait to see if the plaintiffs appeal to the Supremes, in the next 90 days.

. . .[Merck has won an appeal, that it is] immune from an antitrust lawsuit accusing it of misleading regulators about the effectiveness of its mumps vaccine in order to ward off competition, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday.

A 2-1 panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that Merck is protected by a legal doctrine known as Noerr-Pennington immunity, which states that parties cannot face antitrust claims for petitioning the government even if they are advocating for government action that would reduce competition. . . .

The plaintiffs said that Merck deliberately misled the FDA in order to prevent competition from GSK, violating the federal Sherman Act and state consumer protection laws. U.S. District Judge Chad Kenney in Philadelphia last year granted Merck summary judgment on the state law claims but let the Sherman Act claim go forward, and Merck appealed.

But the majority of the 3rd Circuit panel, reversing Kenney's ruling, found in Monday's non-precedential opinion that Noerr-Pennington immunity held even if Merck's actions were "unethical." "The record contains troubling evidence that Merck sought to extend its apparent monopoly by misrepresenting facts about its mumps vaccines on the FDA-approved drug labeling," Circuit Judge Tamika Montgomery-Reeves wrote for the panel.

"But those allegedly false claims were the result of Merck's genuine and successful petitioning of the FDA. . . ."

Now you know. Do "enjoy" the likely spotty cell coverage today -- but also marvel at the citizen-generated Northern Lights pics. . . rolling in at local weather stations, and web-sites -- all day! [See the new masthead, from my baby sister, high in the Rockies overnight!]

नमस्ते

Right On Cue -- ANOTHER "Solar Max" Flare / Wave, Coursing Past Earth, Tonight And Into Later Tomorrow...

Earlier this week, we mentioned a press briefing -- coming on the 15^th -- as to this current solar max cycle (about half-done) -- and what to expect, from here on. Not to put too fine a point on it. . . but, expect more. . . of this.

And for beleaguered Floridians, this could not come at a worse time. The cell disruptions are expected to be mostly a parallel or so north of Florida, but people in Tennessee, and perhaps even Oxford, Mississippi may see the aurora tonight, if the skies are clear.

Here's the latest, from NPR, NCAR and NOAA:

. . .A severe solar storm is headed to Earth that could stress power grids even more as the U.S. deals with major back-to-back hurricanes, space weather forecasters said Wednesday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a severe geomagnetic storm watch for Thursday into Friday after an outburst from the sun was detected earlier this week. Such a storm could temporarily disrupt power and radio signals.

NOAA has notified operators of power plants and orbiting spacecraft to take precautions. It also alerted the Federal Emergency Management Agency about possible power disruptions, as the organization copes with the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Helene and gears up for Hurricane Milton barreling across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida. . . .

Now you know. And, onward. . . go Buffs [also a home to NOAA and NCAR], let's beat those Cats, from K-State in two nights -- in Boulder!

Between now and then -- and always -- let's be excellent to one another -- even as Tangerine floods the tee-vee advertising spaces with odious lies about our fellow Americans, many of whom have lawfully now migrated here.

He's to be. . . summarily. . . ignored.

नमस्ते

[U] The Next Step, In Our Learnings -- About "Whacking" Asteroids Off-Course -- To Potentially Protect Earth... Is Now Under-Sail, From ESA and JAXA...

Due to other commitments, we are slightly delayed in getting this ESA good news out. We covered the DART mission closely, and now the European Space Agency has successfully launched a follow on analysis mission. Excellent! [Update: see the ESA video below the pull-quote for mission flight specs and timelines.]

The follow on Hera journey into deep space is being overseen from ESA's facilities in Darmstadt, Germany. "Hera is finally on its way to Didymos; today we are writing a new page of space history,” said Hera mission manager Ian Carnelli. “This deep space mission took shape from contract signing to launch in only four years, a testimony to the hard work and dedication of the Hera team across ESA, European industry, science, and the Japanese space agency JAXA”. Here's the full press packet, on it all:

. . .ESA’s first planetary defence spacecraft has departed planet Earth. The Hera mission is headed to a unique target among the more than 1.3 million known asteroids in our Solar System – the only body to have had its orbit shifted by human action – to solve lingering mysteries associated with its deflection.

By sharpening scientific understanding of the ‘kinetic impact’ technique of asteroid deflection, Hera aims to make Earth safer. The mission is part of a broader ambition to turn terrestrial asteroid impacts into a fully avoidable class of natural disaster.

Developed as part of ESA’s Space Safety programme and sharing technological heritage with the Agency’s Rosetta comet hunter, Hera lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA, on 7 October at 10:52 local time (16:52 CEST, 14:52 UTC) with its solar arrays deploying about one hour later.

The automobile-sized Hera will carry out the first detailed survey of a ‘binary’ -- or double-body -- asteroid, 65803 Didymos, which is orbited by a smaller body, Dimorphos. Hera’s main focus will be on the smaller of the two, whose orbit around the larger asteroid was changed by NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, demonstrating asteroid deflection by kinetic impact, in 2022. . . .

This is truly an amazing time to be alive, and following all the life-sciences. And space-science.

That said, do keep Florida (post Hurricane Milton) in your morning meditations, and if you are in a position to donate to relief efforts there, the American Red Cross is a good vehicle for that.



Onward.

नमस्ते

Found -- By An Amateur "Rock-Hound" -- On Hart's Range, In The Northern Territory Of Australia's Outback... Amazing 4 Lbs. Of Elestial Quartz & Amethyst!

Do go see the movies and stills, from a guy posting under the handle "crystals of australia". . . on Instagram.

His boyish joy -- at every new find. . . is simply infectious.

[Do see at right! That's an amethyst crystal fused to the top of a very large piece of ancient mostly clear quartz. . . weighing in at over four pounds! It was under about a foot of reddish overburden... likely just resting there, on what was the bottom of a silty, muddy water basin, since long before. . . the time of the dinosaurs (that is, it is likely about 850 million years old!).]

And I must say, he's struck my imagination -- reigniting the geologist -- and the miner, in me -- all these decades later.

This is what's best. . . about the wild, untamed internet, and the Aussie outback, too!

And we will (expansively) declare this as on topic -- under the Earth Sciences Dept. of this property.

Grinning. . . .

नमस्ते

Upcoming NASA / NCAR / NOAA Briefing, On The 2024 "Solar Max" Cycle -- And Its Effects, So Far...

As we mentioned back in November and December of 2023 -- the peak solar activity cycle, called "Solar Max" -- was likely to arrive early and be more intense this time around. That transpired almost precisely as expected -- we've been in the max portion of the 11 year cycle since mid January of this year. And it has been one for the record books.

The helio-science crews at at least three agencies will now hold a press conference to describe learnings, and offer predictions, for the remainder of the max year or so to come. That will be a briefing worth hearing, since back in December, we saw likely the most intense coronal mass ejection, or CME -- aimed directly at Earth, ever recorded (see lower left graphic).

[That particular CME burst largely meant the "end of days", for the aging NEOWISE craft. It safely burned in on de-orbit shortly thereafter.]

Here's the latest, from NASA | NCAR (in Boulder):

. . .NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will discuss the Sun’s activity and the progression of Solar Cycle 25 during a media teleconference at 2 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, Oct. 15. Tracking the solar cycle is a key part of better understanding the Sun and mitigating its impacts on technology and infrastructure as humanity explores farther into space.

The Sun goes through regular cycles of activity lasting approximately 11 years. During the most active part of the cycle, known as solar maximum, the Sun can unleash immense explosions of light, energy, and solar radiation, all of which create conditions known as space weather. Space weather can affect satellites and astronauts in space, as well as communications systems such as radio and GPS — and power grids on Earth. When the Sun is most active, space weather events become more frequent. Solar activity, such as the storm in May 2024, has sparked displays of aurora and led to impacts on satellites and infrastructure in recent months. . . .

During the teleconference, experts from NASA, NOAA, and the international Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel, which is co-sponsored by both agencies, will discuss recent solar cycle progress and the forecast for the rest of this cycle. . . .

We will listen in, and likely offer a new post, outlining those learnings. Be excellent to one another -- and check on your relatives in Florida -- Milton is going to be a. . . monster, even if it weakens slightly during the afternoon today, into the night.

[Out, to a black tie charity dinner tonight ('tis that time of year, again), so will be no updates here, until near midnight.] Namaste, one and all. . . .

नमस्ते

Three Years Of Prison, For Violations -- By US Citizens -- Of 18 USC § 953... Hey Tangerine... This YOU?!

It is now confirmed by Vladmir Putin -- that he had private phone conversations (on at least seven occasions), with the Tangerine, while he was running for preznit, this cycle (2024).

I read somewhere. . . somewhere. . . Oh. Right. . . .

It is in. . . 18 USC § 953, that private US citizens (on US soil) are to report person to person contacts with sanctioned country leaders through, and to, the US State Department. And unless the State Department authorized the contact-back, there must be no additional conversations. But there were. . . at least seven of them. All clandestine.

Report to State?! This, I am 100% certain, Tangerine did not do. That is a three year prison stint, under 18 USC § 953. [You could look it up -- I did.] Heh.

What did Trump promise Putin in those calls -- and how much oligarch money, through dark pools and Super-Pacs. . . has been dumped into Tangerine's coffers, in return?

We will likely never know.

But imagine the world learning that "Saint" Ronnie Raygun in 1980 (or decades earlier, Dwight Eisenhower, or JFK)... was chatting up Soviet dictators, on the sneak (prior to being elected to office, but still running for it)?!

The world would have dumped him out on his ear, to a person. [And we real patriots will, to a person, dump Tangerine, in favor of the first Black woman President, at left!]

D A M N A T I O N.

This jamoke is a real and present danger -- to all nations espousing ordered liberty, across the globe.

Out.

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Merck Signs An Up To $1.9 Billion Deal, Involving "Bio-Bucks" -- With Mestag Therapeutics, In Britain...

This is certainly good news for the newer, smaller British biotech, and is of course immaterial to the behemoth at Rahway.

The company's science program is quite well thought of though, with J&J's Janssen unit also signing a biobucks deal a few years ago with the entity. Here is that bit of news from FierceBiotech, this morning:

. . .Details remain vague, with Mestag providing Merck with options to acquire licenses to develop and commercialize therapies against a “prespecified number of potential targets.” The exact upfront payment the British biotech will receive hasn’t been disclosed, either, but the company did say that combined with access fees, option fees and “downstream payments,” the total value of the deal could reach $1.9 billion.

Fibroblasts are a type of connective tissue cell that have long been studied in the areas of wound healing and fibrosis, or scarring, but were traditionally considered bit players when it came to tumors and inflammation. More recently, researchers have started to understand that fibroblasts play not just a supporting role but a central one in inflammation. . . .

Merck also posted some nice head and neck cancer results for Keytruda today -- but those are also immaterial, since so many oncologists are already using it in these and other cancers. Now you know. Onward!

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