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2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season Creates Chaos
Florida suffers catastrophic destruction from hurricane Ian and then Nicole
Lily Coish
The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season is one for the books, and it is not over yet. For months, there was a complete lack of hurricanes, contradicting the prior predictions of an above-average season. On September 1st, Tropical Storm Danielle reached hurricane status, making it the first hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic season. This happened after the 60 day hiatus from Tropical Storm Colin's demise on July 3rd. According to the National Hurricane Center’s monthly recap, “No tropical cyclones formed in the basin during August. This is quite unusual and is the first time that has occurred since 1997, and is only the third time that has happened since 1950.”
Before the 2022 hurricane season began on June 1st, experts predicted an above-average hurricane season, with more than the average of 14 named storms. They made this prediction due to the favorable conditions present for hurricane growth. The climate pattern, known as La Niña, happens when the Pacific cools enough to upset weather patterns above its surface. This causes less wind shear across the Atlantic, allowing tropical storms and hurricanes to grow. Also, the warm water temperatures recorded in the tropical Atlantic are only fueling storms. These two factors were expected to create an active Atlantic hurricane season, however it did not start out that way.
So, what caused this late start? The inactivity is credited to the dry air and wind shear. These conditions were accentuated by the Bermuda High, a high-pressure system that sits over the Atlantic. This year's Bermuda High is allowing the powerful jet stream to dip far to the south over the central Atlantic, thus preventing hurricanes from forming. It is also funneling dry air to the Atlantic, which quickly weakens storms.
Forecasters warned not to view the inactivity as a sign of a quiet hurricane season. Meteorologist Jeff Masters, hurricane expert for Yale Climate Connections and a co-founder of Weather Underground, stated in early September that, “It’s still early. It only takes one bad storm to make a hurricane season for the ages. So we still have to be vigilant.”
Masters, alongside other experts, were proven correct when Hurricane Ian devastated Cuba, Florida, and the Carolinas. After making landfall in Cuba, Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida as a powerful Category 4 storm. As the hurricane traveled through Florida, it brought catastrophic storm surge, flooding, high winds, power outages, and left island communities stranded from the mainland. After leaving the east coast of Florida, Ian downgraded to a tropical storm before strengthening back to a Category 1 hurricane. The storm then made its 3rd landfall in the Carolinas.
As of Tuesday, October 4th, at least 109 people in the U.S. have been reported killed by the hurricane. Florida and the Carolinas are in the process of cleanup and recovery in the aftermath of the storm. According to the Washington Post, “Hurricane Ian will be remembered as one of the most consequential in recent U.S. history, leaving scores of homes and businesses obliterated in addition to a still-rising number of deaths.” It was easy to be fooled by the inactive start to the hurricane season, however it only takes one, powerful storm to alter lives forever.
Synthetic Embryo Could Lead to Successful Infertility Treatments
By: Abigail Oduro
In a ground-breaking achievement, researchers produced the first “synthetic embryo” without sperm or eggs. Two research teams have made significant progress in creating the early stages of embryonic development.
Considerable advancements have been achieved to witness the early stages of embryonic development with the assistance of stem cells. Stem cells have the unique potential to be manipulated into any cell type in the body. Israeli researchers at the Weizmann Institute were able to use stem cells from mice to create tissue and organs within the embryo.
Last year, Dr. Jacob Hanna and his team built an artificial womb that allowed the embryo to grow outside of the uterus. Hanna said, “Remarkably, we show that embryonic stem cells generate whole synthetic embryos, meaning this includes the placenta and yolk sac surrounding the embryo.” They were able to grow for 7 days, almost half the gestational time for a mouse which is 20 days.
Hanna claims that, when placed into the wombs of female mice, artificial embryos cannot exist independently. Renewal Bio is a company he started with the intention of producing human synthetic embryos with the intention of providing tissues and cells for the treatment of diseases.
In August 2022, another research team from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom improved this research even further. Dr. Magdalena Żernicka-Goetz is the leader of the team. The researchers seek to create models of actual human pregnancies, many of which result in miscarriage, rather than utilizing mouse embryos. By studying the embryos in a lab rather than a uterus, which only allows for restricted observation, scientists are able to better understand the process to find out why some pregnancies fail and how to prevent them. “It reveals the fundamental requirements that have to be fulfilled to make the right structure of the embryo with its organs,” Zernicka-Goetz said. Zernicka-Goetz's team was able to extend the embryos’ development by 1.5 days.
Despite the fact that the majority of the stem cells failed to develop into artificial embryos, 0.5% of them formed tissue and organs that were almost 100% similar to normal embryos. According to the study, a fetus requires stem cells to allow it to develop body tissue, an embryonic sac, and a placenta. The three different types of embryonic stem cells were isolated and refined in a container that was slanted to encourage cell-to-cell communication. She suggested that they could observe the collection of cells evolving into a more intricate structure over time.
Setbacks With NASA’s Artemis 1 Delays Debut to November
Tara Stoeffler
The Artemis 1 Mission has been delayed after setbacks in two separate launch attempts. The first date was scheduled for August 29 and the second for September 3. It is now set to launch in mid-November of this year after rollback from the third date, September 27, and several concerns with Hurricane Ian’s devastating impacts.
Artemis 1 will be the opening test flight of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket, as well as the Orion crew capsule. It will act as a large step in getting astronauts back to the surface of the moon. The rocket is scheduled to take a 42-day mission in which it will orbit the moon and launch the Orion capsule. Though the capsule will be “uncrewed,” the following Artemis 2 mission is said to soon bring astronauts past the moon-- and possibly the farthest they’ve ever been out in space.
NASA’s launch will take place from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Due to the severity of hurricane Ian, the megarocket was transported into a contained area, the Vehicle Assembly Building in the Cape Canaveral spaceport, in order to prevent any damage from the impact. NASA was in close communication with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Space Force, and National Hurricane Center, to determine whether to “rollback,” or transport the spacecraft back off the launch pad into safety.
Upon collective discussion and NASA’s constant monitoring of weather patterns, these teams decided to roll back, and the rocket and capsule were successfully sheltered. Still, there were water intrusions to buildings throughout the facility.
According to NASA, “focusing the efforts on the November launch period allows time for employees at Kennedy to address the needs of their families and homes after the storm and for teams to identify additional checkout needed before returning to the pad for launch.” Though the devastating effects of Ian were not a direct hit to Artemis 1, they were to some of the members of NASA’s space team. This choice delayed Artemis 1’s debut past its September 27 launch date, but it will also provide time for Florida to recover from the catastrophic storm.
Monkeypox Outbreak Causes Panic and Concern
It subsides for now but will it return?
By Shen Wan
You wake up with a fever, and your body is aching as you try to climb out of bed. Suddenly, a wave of fatigue washes over you, followed by a pounding headache. What is happening to you? Your initial thought is that it could be the flu. After all, you have a sore throat and labored breathing. Flat red spots soon appear all around your neck and hands. What could this be? Looking it up, you notice the word “Monkeypox.” Could it be? How could you have gotten this disease?
Monkeypox is an infectious disease caused by the Monkeypox virus. Symptoms are similar to the flu, but the most telling symptom is the ‘pox’ marks that appear on your skin. A series of five stages begins with an excruciating two to four week process of infection. Stage one is the macule stage. This lasts for one to two days and the rash appears as flat red spots on your skin. The second stage moves onto the papule stage where the spots become hard and raised bumps. This stage also lasts for one to two days. Stage three is the vesicle stage. Here, the bumps get larger and look like blisters filled with clear fluid. Stage four begins a week-long process where the blisters begin to fill with pus. This stage is called the pustule stage. After the pustule stage, comes a week to two-week long period of scabbing. The spots, that were once filled with pus, begin to crust over and become scabs, eventually falling off within a week.
Monkeypox is an extremely contagious disease. Close contact with a contaminated individual, touching a contaminated object/surface, or engaging in direct skin-to-skin contact with the contaminated individual can spread the disease.
Until recently, Monkeypox was a relatively non-life threatening disease. However, there has been one reported confirmed case of an individual living in the Los Angeles county area that has died from Monkeypox. There has been another reported case of a death in the US due to monkeypox, but it has yet to be confirmed.
NPR, National Public Radio, spoke with the person charged with slowing the Monkeypox outbreak: Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, the White House Monkeypox response deputy coordinator. When asked about where he saw the outbreak heading, Dr. Daskalakis replied, “I think that's going to dissipate so it's no longer an outbreak, but more episodic.” Due to the US’s strategy of vaccinating high-risk populations, the outbreak has begun to slow in its spread. However, this does not mean that the cases of Monkeypox are over. “It is not impossible that we could see cases increase if behaviors regress. We definitely see that the messaging – from CDC and the U.S. government as well as interpretations by others – has really moved the needle, in terms of some of the behaviors associated with Monkeypox exposure,” Daskalakis continued, “We're in this phase where getting the supply and maintaining the demand [for vaccines] is so important. It's reasonable to think people will change behavior for a while, but not reasonable to think that they're going to change it forever. And we're not asking for forever, we're asking for now.” The most important thing to focus on in response to the Monkeypox outbreak is to continue to ask high-risk groups to get vaccinated now, rather than later. At press time, the health issue appeared to be under control with fewer cases being reported so doctors are hopeful the public has seen the worst.
Raging Droughts Wreak Havoc Across America with Irreversible Environmental Impacts
Scientists encourage immediate action as time runs out: if not now, when? if not us, who?
Zeynep Coskun
As a result of human-induced global warming, drought levels have reached the impossible every new year. During this summer, nearly half of the lower 48 states experienced moderate-to-extreme drought. The Southwest has remained stuck in a 20+ year megadrought. Some of the effects of this include a decrease in water supplies, as well as a low electric production in hydroelectric plants, and wildfires.
These droughts have affected many aspects of American lives. This summer, around 94 million people lived in ‘severe drought’ conditions, which can cause health issues such as inflammatory diseases. However, the bigger concern comes from issues with water levels, demonstrated by the current state of the Mississippi river.
It has been reported in The Washington Post this month that The Mississippi River is flowing at its lowest level in at least a decade. The low water levels are causing ships to get stuck in mud, leading to large-scale ship wrecks. Not only that, but the drying river can cause billions of dollars of loss for transportation companies as it is much more costly to transport goods on land. This can reflect on prices of many goods such as iron, coffee and grains.
Another area of the economy impacted by the droughts is agriculture. The U.S Department of Agriculture stated that over 40% of what U.S. farmers planted in the spring would be abandoned because of drought. Cotton and wheat farmers are taking some of the biggest hits from these conditions. Texas cotton farmers are likely to abandon nearly 70% of their spring planting, which would lead to the worst harvest since 2009, according to the Texas Farm Bureau.
To improve this state of our land, the best thing we can do is preserve water. Utilizing rainwater and growing drought-resistant plants can reduce your water usage significantly. We cannot control the climate but we can control our actions-- doing so will ensure a better future for our planet.
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