The internet-satellite megaconstellation is called Starlink and was first heard about back in 2015. Proposed plans for the network include 12,000 total satellites.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk has said only 400 would be needed for minor coverage and 800 would provide moderate coverage.

The second launch, set for May 2019, would send 60 satellites into orbit. These satellites would be a test and would lack the ability to communicate with each other.  The first two test satellites were put into orbit in February.

Based on the results from the May launch there could be anywhere from 2-6 more launches in 2019. The company plans to have Starlink operational in some capacity by 2020.

Twins Lulu and Nana were born in October 2018 and a third baby is set to be born in 2019. All three have been edited to lower their suscepibility to HIV.

The gene in question, CCR5, has also been found to make mice smarter and helps the human brain recover after a stroke.

The Chinese scientist who carried out the experiments, He Jiankui, used CRISPR to modify the embryos which were then fertilized in vitro before being implanted into the mothers. He has been on unpaid leave since February. 

CRISPR is a gene editing tool which uses a protein, Cas9, to cut DNA at the desired location. 

In April, US scientists used CRISPR to edit T-cells to attack cancer, the first time the technology the technology was used in this way. Both patients relapsed after undergoing standard treatment.

In response to the controversy surrounding He’s experiments, Chinese lawmakers have proposed the introduction of gene-editing regulations into their civil code. 

A third of China’s pigs is about 200 million animals. China’s pork industry is so large that this is almost the amount of pigs in the US and Europe combined.

The estimate about the number of pigs to be lost comes from a Dutch bank which specializes in the agricultural sector.

African Swine Fever is harmless to humans. It was first reported in China last August and has now spread to Cambodia, Mongolia, and Vietnam.

One farmer lost his entire stock of pigs, 20 thousand animals. At one point he was losing up to 800 pigs a day.

The government has taken swift action, culling thousands of animals if one of the herd tests positive for the fever. There are plans to cull more than a million animals.

China is the world largest consumer of pork and it will be interesting to see how imports are affected with the 62% tariff imposed on pork exports by the US government. Will Europes pork industry be able to produce enough to overcome the shortfall?

One fringe industry who could benefit: tattoo artists. Pig skin is used for tattoo practice, and with so many dead pigs, aspiring artists should have no problem finding fresh canvases.

The powerlifting meet took place in Virginia at the end of April.

Powerlifting consists of three lifts: back squat, bench press, and deadlift. At a meet the athlete has three chances to lift the most weight in each of the three lifts.

At the meet, Mary Gregory made all her lift (called going 9 for 9) and broke four world records: Masters world squat, open world bench, Masters world deadlift, and master world total.

Immediately after her wins, former olympians took to twitter to voice their opinions about the unfairness of the competition.

Within weeks of the competition the governing body overseeing the meet, Raw Powerlifting Federation, stripped Gregory of her titles. 

USA Powerlifting, another governing body in the sport of powerlifting, has a policy in which transitioning athletes aren’t allowed to compete against atheletes who’s gender matches their biological sex.

From USA Powerlifting: “Men naturally have a larger bone structure, higher bone density, stronger connective tissue and higher muscle density than women… These traits, even with reduced levels of testosterone do not go away. While MTF (male to female) may be weaker and less muscle than they once were, the biological benefits given them at birth still remain over than of a female.”

The White-Throated Rail is believed to be the last flightless bird in the Indian Ocean.

At two distinct times, separated by thousands of years, ancestors of this species found it’s way to the island of Aldabra. Without any natural predators on the island, the species evolved to become flightless… twice!

The reason the flightless bird went extinct in the first place was because the island was submerged under rising seas. Since the birds couldn’t fly they were all wiped out.

Thousands of years later the sea levels lowered and exposed the island. Rails flew to the island and AGAIN evolved to become flightless.

This process of evolving twice from the same ancestor at different times is called iterative evolution.

This is a monumental discovery, believed to be the only time iterative evolution has been discovered in birds. Part of the problem stems from the lack of fossil evidence… there may be many instances of the phenomenon throughout history but no way to find them. 

When archaeologists discovered a ritual bundle, a pouch made from three fox snouts, in the highland Andes in Bolivia, they were curious as to what they would find in the residue. Carbon-dating showed the bundle was approximately 1,000 years old. 

Chemical analysis revealed the presence of DMT, cocaine, and components of ayahuasca. Their presence is significant because these compounds come from sources both far away and from different climates, suggesting the plants were part of a trade network which spanned across the region.

It is assumed the bundle belonged to a shaman.

The announcement comes at a time when a vote is proposed in Denver to decriminalize psylocybine, the psychoactive component of shrooms. This may seem like a revolutionary step forward for a major American city but the roots of hallucinogen use goes back to a time before the continent had even been settled. 

The Australian Box Jellyfish has enough venom to kill 60 humans, earning it the title of most venomous creature on earth. The largest of the two types can grow up to three meters long. 

To develop the antidote, researchers at the University of Sydney took a new approach using genes. They used CRISPR genome editing techniques to select and turn off a different gene in millions of human cells and found which cells survived after exposure to the venom. Researchers found the venom targets cholesterol in the cell membrane. 

There are already drugs available for use on humans which target cholesterol. They tried one which blocks the cholesterol regulation pathway used by the venom and it worked!

The research was performed on a sample of human cells and the results carried over when tested on live mice. 

The antidote has to be used within 15 minute so it will be useful for first responders. “In our study, we injected it. But the plan would be a spray or a topical cream,” says researchers about the future applications of the antidote.

A piece of jawbone was found by a Tibetan monk in 1980 at an elevation believed to be populated by humans about 40k years ago. The bone has been found to be 160k years old.

The jawbone has been determined to belong to a Denisovan, an ancient human species. Before the discovery the only evidence of the existence of this species came from bones found in the Denisova Cave in Siberia.

There is hope that other bones, previously unearthed and waiting to be analyzed, could also belong to Denisovans. There are currently only a handful of bone fragments which describe this species.

This discovery helps unravel a mystery about Tibetans ability to live in extreme elevations. Due to the presence of a gene called EPAS1 these people are able to transport oxygen more effectively. This gene has also been found in Denisovans, suggesting it was passed on from this ancient human species to modern day Tibetans. The mystery about why the Denisovans possessed this gene in the first place has been solved with the discovery of the jawbone.

The belief is that ancient Denisovans, possessing the EPAS1 gene, interbred with modern humans and passed that genetic variation along. Before, the belief was that modern humans, who’s ancestors had bred with Denisovans, possessed the EPAS1 gene and therefore thrived at higher altitudes. This belief came from the fact that no evidence was present to suggest ancient humans ever lived at the altitudes of the Tibetan plateau. 

EPAS1 has been called the “super athlete gene” because of the benefits the adaptation confers in some sports.

Previously only about 15k ocean viruses were known to exist. 

The samples containing the viruses were collected by the vessel Tara between 2009 and 2013 and analyzed for everything from organisms as small as viruses to as large as fish eggs.

Analysis showed the viruses were organized into five ecological zones. To the researchers surprise the Arctic Ocean was a hotbed of biodiversity.

“Having a more complete picture of marine viral distribution and abundance will help us to determine which viruses we should be focusing on for further studies.”