Monday, August 31, 2020

Car crashes into car dealership causing heavy damage

A car dealership in Ocala, Florida is heavily damaged after police say a 30-year-old-man drove a car through it recently. Police say he lost control of the car, drove over a concrete pole, and crashed through the dealership. They say the driver was the only person in the car and was not wearing a seat belt. He suffered minor injuries. Police suspect he was under the influence of drugs, however, the OPD are still investigation the crash. He has not been arrested but has been given a ticket for careless driving. (WCJB)

Man serving life sentence for murder, rape released from prison after being cleared by DNA evidence

A man who has spent 37 years in a Florida prison may be released soon after new DNA evidence cleared him of the murder and attempted rape of a woman in 1983. Hillsborough State Attorney announced that his conviction review unit has determined that Robert DuBoise is not guilty of the murder of the 19-year-old woman when she was brutally murdered behind a dental practice in 1983. Authorities determined that she had been beaten with a wood beam while walking home from her job at a nearby restaurant in a Tampa, Florida mall. ‘Today is an important day for justice – justice for the family of a victim and a man convicted of killing her,’ he said during a press conference. According to authorities, DNA evidence that was taken from the scene was believed to have been destroyed in 1990, but that evidence was found during an 11 month review of of the falsely accused man’s case by the Innocence Project. An analysis found that he was not a match for forensic evidence collected from the murder investigation. The Innocence Project is representing the man and is trying to get him released from prison as soon as possible. Authorities said during the examination of the evidence, researchers found two samples belonging to men. One of the men has been identified and is currently a person of interest in the case, but was unable to release any other information about the person of interest. (WFLA)

Troopers say doctor was watching a movie when his Tesla crashed into 2 patrol cars

A North Carolina doctor has been cited after authorities said he was driving his Tesla on “autopilot mode” and was watching a movie when he crashed into two patrol cars recently. The man in the Tesla was watching a movie while his car drove itself along U.S. Highway 64. The Tesla collided with a Nash County deputy’s car first, which then was pushed into the North Carolina State Highway Patrol car from the impact, officials said. The two law enforcement officers were responding to a crash at around midnight which is why they were parked on the side of the highway. No one was hurt in the crash, officials said. The doctor, who works at Halifax Regional Medical Center, was charged with a move over violation and viewing a TV device while driving. (WXII)

Walmart is joining Microsoft in the pursuit of TikTok

Walmart is partnering with Microsoft in an attempt to buy TikTok, as the popular yet embattled short-form video app seeks a US buyer amid intense political scrutiny. The retail giant said it is participating in the negotiations with Microsoft over a potential deal. Walmart said its interest in TikTok stems from the way the app has “integrated e-commerce and advertising capabilities in other markets” and could bolster its access to consumers. (CNN)

Artificial pancreas helps children as young as 6 with type 1 diabetes better control blood sugar levels, study finds

An artificial pancreas system that can automatically monitor and regulate blood glucose levels in Type 1 diabetic children as young as 6 was found to be safe and effective. The artificial pancreas, which the researchers also refer to as “closed-loop control,” is described as an “all-in-one” management system for diabetes. The system relies on a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to track blood glucose levels and provides insulin as needed through a pump automatically, the news release said. This means the diabetic child does not have to rely on fingerstick tests, injections or a patient- or caregiver-controlled pump, the release stated. The clinical trial involved four pediatric facilities, including one at Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center. The research teams studied 101 children between 6 and 13 years old every other week over a course of four months. The participants were assigned to a group that used the artificial pancreas system or a control group that used the standard CGM with a separate insulin pump. All participants were told to go about their daily routines throughout the study duration, the release stated. The researchers found the children in the artificial pancreas group had a 7% improvement in maintaining blood sugar levels during the day and 26% improvement at night compared to those who did not use the system. The control of blood glucose levels at night is significant, the release indicated, as unchecked hypoglycemic levels, when severe, can lead to seizures, coma and possibly death. Additionally, the study showed that the artificial pancreas group spent 2.6 more hours per day in their recommended blood glucose range. (New England Journal of Medicine)

166M-year-old stegosaur fossil found in Scotland

A researcher at the National Museums Scotland has made a remarkable discovery, stumbling across a 166 million-year-old dinosaur fossil while running on a beach in Scotland. A woman was running on the Isle of Eigg, Inner Hebrides, when she spotted the fossilized bones. The bone, which is just over 3 feet in length, was found in a boulder on the shore. It had been beaten up by the waves and wind, but there was plenty enough to study and extract. It’s believed the fossil “most likely represents a stegosaur fibula,” according to the study. The discovery, which has been classified as a “hugely significant find,” is important given where it was found and how old it is. Dinosaur body fossil material is rare in Scotland, previously known almost exclusively from the Great Estuarine Group on the Isle of Skye. Researchers say the fossils from the Middle Jurassic period are “globally very rare,” placing added importance on the find. The Jurassic Period is divided into three parts: Early Jurassic (between 201.3 million and 174.1 million years ago), Middle Jurassic (between 174.1 million and 163.5 million years ago) and Late Jurassic (between 163.5 million to 145 million years ago). The bone now resides at the National Museums Scotland. (Earth And Environmental Transactions Of The Royal Society Of Edinburgh )

Animals most at risk for coronavirus include reindeer and dolphins, according to study

The novel coronavirus is believed to originate in bats, according to experts, leading the authors of a recent study to look at what other members of the animal kingdom may be at risk for getting infected by SARS-CoV-2 and potentially spreading the virus. The report said a team of researchers studied over 400 primates, looking at the ACE2 protein, which multiple studies have identified as the entry point for the SARS-CoV-2 virus to enter the body. The team from the University of California, Davis analyzed and predicted the ability of the novel coronavirus to bind to the animals’ ACE2 receptors in the 410 vertebrate species including 252 mammals, 72 birds, 65 fish, four amphibians and 17 reptiles, according to the study. Some of the animals found to be in the high-risk group included reindeer, white-tailed deer, Pacific white dolphins, beluga whales, chimpanzees, Western lowland gorillas and Rhesus macaques. Cats, goats, sheep and cattle, meanwhile, were found to be the medium-risk group that included 57 species, while dogs, horses and pigs were among the 40 species considered to be in the low-risk category, according to the study. The researchers stated the novel coronavirus poses another potential threat to some already threatened populations of species. (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America)

Oklahoma students get a lesson only a dog can teach

As students at Chisholm Elementary in Enid, Oklahoma start a new school year in the middle of pandemic, they are also meeting a new friend to help make them smile. Wally, a new therapy dog, will meet with children and staff who need a pick me up. “He will be helping everyone, teachers, staff, students. If students come in and just need a little pick me up, he will be helping them, or if they need to visit with him,” said the Counselor and Special Education Director at Chisholm Elementary. (KFOR)

US Marshals find 39 missing children in Georgia in ‘Operation Not Forgotten’

A two-week mission to rescue endangered and missing children in Georgia led to the recovery of 39 juveniles and the arrests of nine suspects, the U.S. Marshals Service announced. “Operation Not Forgotten” led to the rescue of 26 missing children and the safe location of 13 more, according to authorities. The nine suspects face a total of 26 charges, including sex offender violations. The Marshals assisted state and local authorities in a number of separate cases during the operation. The federal authorities periodically assist police with federal resources to help clear separate missing persons cases in a single operation. Authorities said the missing children were at high risk of child sex trafficking, exploitation and abuse, and some suffered from medical and mental health conditions. “The message to missing children and their families is that we will never stop looking for you,” the director of the Marshals Service said in a statement. (United States Marshall’s Service)

Roughly 12 million Americans have lost health insurance during the pandemic

Roughly 27 million Americans are claiming some form of unemployment according to the Department of Labor as of late August, and that means millions are without employer-provided health insurance benefits. An estimated 12 million people in this country have lost their health insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic, based on research from the Economic Policy Institute. The group looked at net employment levels between February and August 2020, and job churn levels to estimate losses of health insurance coverage. They say roughly 6.2 million workers right now have lost health insurance that they previously got through their employer. The number was closer to 9 million initially in March and April, but estimates show roughly 2.9 million workers have gotten jobs between April and July. he study also looked at opportunities to get coverage. They found Medicaid in certain states has been increasing enrollment, with five million additional people signing up between February and June 2020. (United States Department of Labor)

Researchers announce patient likely reinfected with COVID-19 in Reno

Scientists at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, led by its Nevada State Public Health Laboratoryare studying a likely case of COVID-19 reinfection. Forty-eight days after testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 in April 2020 and after testing negative consecutively twice, a Washoe County, Nevada patient tested positive again, in June. The patient had tested negative on two separate occasions in the interim. The genomes of the patient’s virus samples were sequenced in April and June, displaying significant genetic discordance between the two cases, implying the patient was infected twice. According to researchers, reinfection cases are a potential warning sign that it is possible to catch COVID-19 more than once, and with unpredictable severity. Herd immunity depends on the theory that after natural infection, our immune systems will collectively protect us as a community from reinfection and further spread. There are currently many more unknowns than what we do know about immune responses to COVID-19, according to the research team.  (University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine)

SpaceX satellites’ effect on night sky can’t be eliminated, astronomers say

Broadband satellites being launched by SpaceX and other companies will inevitably have a negative impact on astronomers’ ability to observe the night sky, according to a new report by astronomers. There are no mitigation strategies that can completely eliminate the satellites’ impact on astronomical observations other than not launching satellites at all. The report includes recommendations for how satellite operators can minimize disruption and how observatories can adjust to the changes. The report resulted from the recent Satellite Constellations 1 (SATCON1) workshop, which was organized jointly by the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab and the American Astronomical Society (AAS), SpaceX, along with the Lowell and Steward observatories in Arizona, the Rubin Observatory in Chile, the University of Michigan, UC-Davis, Smith College, and the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy. SpaceX has so far launched over 600 satellites and OneWeb has launched 74. Both companies plan to eventually launch tens of thousands of satellites into low-Earth orbits and provide broadband to areas that lack fast wired service. Amazon is also planning to launch thousands of satellites. Because of their low-Earth orbits (LEO), the satellites will provide lower latency than traditional satellite networks. (American Astronomical Society)

Hand sanitizers packaged in food, drink containers could cause serious injury, death

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a warning on Thursday over alcohol-based hand sanitizers packaged in food and drink containers, and the potential for “serious injury or death if ingested.” Some hand sanitizers are being packaged in beer cans, children’s food pouches, water bottles, juice bottles and vodka bottles, according to the agency. Additionally, the FDA has found hand sanitizers that contain food flavors, such as chocolate or raspberry. In the agency’s statement, the FDA commissioner said he is “increasingly concerned” over the issue because confused consumers may ingest a potentially lethal product. He said kids could smell the hand sanitizer and mistakenly believe it’s food, eat it and get alcohol poisoning. Ingesting hand sanitizer could affect the heart and central nervous system, with people possibly winding up in the hospital, or even losing their life, per the FDA. (United States Food and Drug Administration)

Monday Gets Rushed By:

• Diatomaceous Earth Day
• International Overdose Awareness Day
• Love Litigating Lawyers Day
• Matchmaker Day
• South Carolina Day
• Trail Mix Day