By Carey Wedler

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has suffered from a shoddy reputation for quite some time, particularly after its failed response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. As the Gulf coast recovers from Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma approaches Florida, FEMA faces further failure as its funds near depletion.

Bloomberg reported Tuesday that the agency is nearly broke and is expected to run out of money on Friday, according to a Senate aide. According to the outlet:

The Trump administration has already asked Congress for nearly $8 billion in additional funds, though Reuters noted that request may be delayed unless Congress raises the debt limit, as Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin has asked it to do.

“Without raising the debt limit, I am not comfortable that we will get money to Texas this month to rebuild,” Mnuchin told Fox News.

Even the $8 billion sum is only a drop in the bucket compared to the estimated damage Harvey incurred. Texas Governor Greg Abbott expects recovery and rebuilding will cost between $150 to $180 billion.

Unsurprisingly, Brock Long, head of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, told CBS News that state and local governments need to step up their efforts.

“People cannot depend solely on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to, you know, be responsible for a majority,” he said, CBS reported Sunday. He said Texas is already serving as a good model for non-federal preparedness.

Regardless, as Hurricane Irma — deemed one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes ever to hit the Atlantic — strikes Puerto Rico and other islands as it approaches Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, FEMA’s prospects are not looking good. According to Elizabeth Zimmerman, who served as FEMA’s associate administrator for the office of response and recovery until January, “If it’s down to $1 billion or less, then I would say there’s a great concern.”

The crisis at the federal level should be unsurprising but can nevertheless serve as motivation for communities to come together absent government action. As the Red Cross also draws criticism for their handling of funds, those seeking to help might want to consider contributing to smaller, local organizations and directly volunteering in relief efforts.

Creative Commons / Anti-Media

(activistpost.com)

By Aaron Kesel

Human beings may need to be genetically modified for space travel. Humans could be prevented from going to Mars due to our immune systems, according to scientists who wrote a study for Nature Scientific Reports.

A team of researchers from Russia and Canada analyzed the effect of microgravity on protein in blood samples of 18 Russian astronauts who previously lived on the International Space Station for six months and found changes to their immune systems.

“The results showed that in weightlessness, the immune system acts like it does when the body is infected because the human body doesn’t know what to do and tries to turn on all possible defense systems,” Professor Evgeny Nikolaev, of Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology said.

The scientists found that the blood proteins change as the immune system alters the blood. The study retained blood from cosmonauts 30 days before they traveled to take their space mission to the ISS and then again on their immediate return to Earth. They were also tested seven days after being in orbit as a control to the experiment. The individual blood proteins were then counted using a mass spectrometer.

“When we examined the cosmonauts after their being in space for half a year, their immune system was weakened,” said Dr Irina Larina, the first author of the paper, a member of Laboratory of Ion and Molecular Physics of Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.

They were not protected from the simplest viruses. We need new measures of disorder prevention during a long flight.

We must understand the mechanism that causes disorders. If we find the pathways that are affected by the weightlessness, we will be able to find the target for the remedy and we’ll be able to offer new pharmaceutical products that will prevent these negative processes.

The effects on the human body have been well documented; it’s widely known that microgravity influences metabolism, heat regulation, heart rhythm, muscle tone, bone density, blood vessels, the body’s respiration system, natural Circadian rhythms and even vision.

During long spaceflights on the ISS, research has found 37 crew members experienced a decrease in isokinetic strength of between 8% and 17%. Because of these profound implications it may present problems for humans embarking on even longer journeys, such as to Mars. Further data suggests that around 30% of muscle strength is lost after spending 110 to 237 days in microgravity.

Another study published in 2014 corroborated Nikolaev’s data suggesting that living in space for prolonged periods of time can depress astronauts’ immune systems.

“Things like radiation, microbes, stress, microgravity, altered sleep cycles and isolation could all have an effect on crew member immune systems,” Brian Crucian, NASA biological studies and immunology expert, who led the study, said in a statement. “If this situation persisted for longer deep space missions, it could possibly increase risk of infection, hypersensitivity, or autoimmune issues for exploration astronauts.”

That means that astronauts planning to spend a year in space may be more likely to get sick, possibly catching old, dormant viruses like chicken pox or even catch a new disease in space and bring it back to Earth, although no symptoms have shown up in astronauts living in space so far.

Last year NASA had its warp drive technology leaked, and the Chinese tested the electromagnetic (EM-drive) patent and manufactured the device, so the technology is indeed operational and NASA has confirmed that it works. An astrophysicist claimed that we would have it within 100 years, while another scientist in Britain, Roger Shawyer, claimed he figured out the secret and we could reach the moon in four hours.

Russia has made a similar claim, but with a nuclear-fission engine, claiming that the engine can provide a fast way to get to Mars in 6 weeks. So the potential to get there is well documented, but if space flight affects the entire human body it might kill us.

Scientists have discussed creating genetically modified human beings to overcome the challenges. One researcher, Christopher Mason, a member of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine, has proposed what he called the “500-year plan” to get humans exploring the cosmos. In his plan, genetic modification of the human genome plays a big role.

“I think we have to consider it for people that we send to other planets,” he says. “We don’t know if it’s a slight nudge to existing gene expression, or a whole new chromosome, or finally a complete rewriting of the genetic code.”

A recent report by Technology Review expands further:

“Some scientists have already prepared a catalogue of genes that might help. A Boston company called Veritas Genetics is offering to sequence anyone’s genome for $999. And one of the things that Veritas will give you is a report on your ‘space genes.’

“Do you have the specific variant of EPAS1, common to Tibetans, that lets you get by with less oxygen? How about the natural mutation that results in huge, extra-lean muscles, which might counter atrophy? Another DNA variant is associated with good problem-solving skills and low anxiety,” Antonio Regalado wrote.

Aaron Kesel writes for Activist Post and is Director of Content for Coinivore. Follow Aaron at Twitter and Steemit.

This article is Creative Commons and can be republished in full with attribution. Like Activist Post on Facebook, subscribe on YouTube, follow on Twitter and at Steemit.

(activistpost.com)