Trump’s Treatment Was Tested Using Cells From an Abortion ; Liebermans Haunt Democrats in Key Senate Races ; and More Picks 10/12
Trump’s Antibody Treatment Was Tested Using Cells Originally Derived From an Abortion (Dana)
From MIT Technology Review: “President Donald Trump extolled the cutting-edge coronavirus treatments he received as ‘miracles coming down from God.’ If that’s true, then God employs cell lines derived from human fetal tissue. The emergency antibody that Trump received last week was developed with the use of a cell line originally derived from abortion tissue, according to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, the company that developed the experimental drug.”
Liebermans Haunt Democrats in Key Senate Races (Dan)
The author writes, “Joe Lieberman is still tormenting Democrats — and he’s brought his son with him. … In the wild race for a Georgia Senate seat, Joe’s son Matt Lieberman could play spoiler and allow two Republicans to advance to a runoff. Democrats are calling on Matt to drop out in favor of the party’s preferred candidate Rev. Raphael Warnock, but he is unbowed. About 1,000 miles north, Joe Lieberman has endorsed Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in a race that Democrats likely need to win to seize the majority.”
As Massachusetts Weighs Ranked-Choice Voting, Maine’s ‘Experiment’ Offers Evidence of Promises Kept, Still Unfulfilled (Reader Steve)
From the Boston Globe: “Two years after ranked-choice elections began [in Maine], the statewide system — the only one of its kind in the country — has lived a tangled existence, buffeted by legal challenges and partisan bickering that complicate the road map Maine could otherwise provide to Massachusetts voters.”
Trees Are Growing Fast and Dying Young Due to Climate Change (Peg)
The author writes, “A new international study found that trees are growing faster and dying off earlier, which sets back their capacity to store carbon emissions, according to a new study published last week in Nature Communications. A team … looked at tree longevity and growth by measuring more than 210,000 individual tree ring records for a total of 110 trees species across all continents, except Africa and Antarctica.”
NASA Reveals Secrets of Near-Earth Asteroid Bennu Ahead of Daring Heist (Dana)
From CNET: “The past 4.5 billion years have been an incredibly lonely period for the asteroid 101955 Bennu. A gigantic impact in the early days of the solar system smashed an ancient cosmic rock to pieces, ejecting dust and debris into the void. Gravity forced the rubble pile to clot together and, ever since, it’s been wandering alone as Bennu, the space rock shaped like a spinning top. … Until NASA’s Osiris-rex spacecraft greeted it in orbit on Dec. 3, 2018. … The spacecraft is part of an ambitious plan to return pieces of Bennu to Earth, the first time a NASA mission has attempted such a feat.”
