Upside Up Life

Japan To Add 17 Gigawatts of Solar Power by 2020

According to Fitch Solutions Macro Research, 17 GW of new solar power will be connected to the grid in Japan between 2018 and 2020, after which they predicted a slowdown in solar growth due to reductions in feed-in-tariffs. (Link)

Image Credit: Ellen Garrity

Neurons Directly Connect Your Gut to Your Brain

A researcher from Duke University in Durham, NC discovered that some cells in the gut have synapse-like connections similar to brain cell neurons and that these gut cells can “talk” directly to the brain with electrical signaling through the vagus nerve. (Link)

German Court Halts Hambach Forest Clearance

A German court ordered a halt to clearing the Hambach forest. The forest has shrunk to 10% of its original size due to coal mining operations. Environmentalists argue that the ancient forest should be preserved and that it contains protected species. (Link)

New York City Goes a Weekend Without A Shooting

For the first time in 25 years, New York City went a weekend without any shootings taking place. (Link)

Canada Legalizes Cannabis for Recreational Use

On Wednesday, the Cannabis Act (Bill C-45) went into effect which legalized cannabis for recreational use in Canada. Medicinal use has been legal since 2001. After Uruguay, Canada is the 2nd country to legalize recreational use of the plant. To read more, click here: Link

News for the Week is posted every Friday. Click here to read last week’s news.

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Model 3 Becomes One of the Best Selling Cars

The all-electric Tesla Model 3 is now one of America’s best selling cars. (Link) Electric vehicles in general now make up 3% of the market share. (Link)

Tiger Population in Nepal Has Nearly Doubled Since 2009

Conservation efforts and government initiatives in Nepal have led to the near doubling of the tiger population, from 121 in 2009 to 235 today. Leaders of countries with tiger populations met in 2010 and set a goal to double their the tiger populations by 2022. To read more, click here: (Link)

Malaysia Halts Expansion of Palm Oil Plantations; Aims to Maintain Forests

Primary Industries Minister, Teresa Kok, said “We are committed to maintain at least 50 percent of the land as forest cover, so we won’t allow any expansion of these oil palm plantations.” When asked about future revenues, she mentioned the current glut in palm oil supply due to over production in Malaysia and Indonesia – the largest producers. Click here to read more: Link

Substance Found in Fruit and Vegetables Shown to Extend Lifespan

Researchers from the University of Minnesota have found that a compound in fruits and vegetables, fisetin, extends lifespan in rodent studies. Click here to read more: Link

US Supreme Court Adds New Justice

Brett Kavanaugh was voted into the Supreme Court last Saturday as an Associate Justice. Gallup polling indicated a relatively high opposition (42%) to Brett’s confirmation. Click here to read his Wikipedia article: Link

Elon Musk Donates to Flint Community School for Water Filtration Systems

Elon Musk donated $480,000 to the Flint Community School System so they can add water filtration systems to all of their drinking fountains in order for the students to have safe drinking water. Click here to read more: Link

News for the Week is posted every Friday. Click here to read last week’s news.

Hoover Dam Plan Would Allow for Renewable Energy Storage

A $3 billion dollar project has been proposed to add pumps to the Hoover Dam to lift water up into the reservoir using solar and wind energy. This allows the dam to function like a giant battery, storing renewable energy for times when demand exceeds supply.

Click here to read more: Link

North Korea and South Korea Begin Clearing Mines from the DMZ

The two Koreas will work together to remove land mines and explosives from their shared border: the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). Click this link to learn more: Link

Nobel Prize Awarded for New Cancer Therapy

The 2018 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo for establishing an entirely new principle for cancer therapy. A certain protein acts as a brake on the immune system and that by releasing this brake, one can make the immune system more efficient at battling cancer. Click here to read more: Link

Americans Have More Faith in Legislatures When Male/Female Ratios More Equal

Research from Vanderbilt University looked at the role of women in legislative bodies. The lead author stated, “Including women in political decision-making improves the public perception that political decisions are legitimate and that political institutions are working fairly.”

To read more, click here: Link

News for the Week is posted every Friday. Click here to read last week’s news.

Without having ever heard one in real life, I know that the octobass is already one of my favorite musical instruments. It is the largest member of the stringed instrument family that includes violas, violins, cellos, basses, and double basses. The octobass is 11 ft tall, has three strings, and must be played by pedals and levers due to its large size. The lowest note it can play is around 16 Hz. This is below the range of human hearing so the note is only felt, not heard. You can, however, hear the overtones of this note. There is only one orchestra that currently uses the instrument: The Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Click here to learn more.

To see a video by a curator click here: Link

Note: It will sound funny through small computer or phone speakers because you would need to use a music system with very powerful subwoofers to truly hear (and feel) the octobass. However, even with small speakers this recording of a tuba and an octobass playing together sounds pretty good: Link

Netherlands Group Sets Out to Clean Up the Pacific

The organization “The Ocean Cleanup,” has launched one of its ocean cleaning machines into the Pacific to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. System 001, they call it, is the world’s first ocean cleanup system. Follow this link to learn more and watch a live stream: Link

Japanese Scientists Produce an Incredibly Strong Magnetic Field in a Lab

Researchers at the University of Tokyo created a magnetic field stronger than they were hoping for and blew the doors off their laboratory. They generated the strongest controlled magnetic field in a lab of 1,200 Tesla, damaging their lab in the process. For reference, a medical MRI machine produces a magnetic field of about 2 Tesla. To see a video of the lab “exploding”, click here.

Link to the journal article: Link

Common Pesticide is Found to Hurt Bees

The most-used pesticide ever, glyphosate, also known as RoundUp, has been found to harm honey bees by destroying good bacteria in their guts. This is the same mechanism by which glyphosate harms humans. (Click here for a link)

Large Drug Policy Change Coming to North America

Canada voted to legalize cannabis. The law goes into effect on 17 October, 2018. This marks the second country to legalize cannabis across the world. Uruguay was the first. Even though 9 US states and D.C. have legalized it, federal law still forbids it.

Two Rovers Explore an Asteroid for the First Time Ever

Japan sent two rovers to explore the asteroid, Ryugu, marking the first time any nation has put a rover on an asteroid. These rovers hop around the surface, instead of driving, because the terrain is so rocky and the gravity so low. They can reach heights of 50 ft off the surface and stay afloat for 15 minutes. (Click here for a link)

News For the Week is posted every Friday. Click here to read last week’s news.