Largest US port complex passes plan to reach zero emissions

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The largest port complex in the nation has set goals to drastically reduce air pollution over the next several decades.

The plan approved Thursday at a meeting of the governing boards of the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach outlines strategies for improving equipment and efficiency to eventually move cargo with zero emissions.

The ports estimate that the cost of the efforts ranges from $7 billion to $14 billion, but the plan does not make clear who will pick up the tab. And detailed plans for implementing each program will require approval by each port's harbor commission.

"Collaboration will be critical to our success," Long Beach Harbor Commission President Lou Anne Bynum said in a statement. "Moving the needle to zero requires all of us — the ports, industry, regulatory agencies, environmental groups and our communities — to pool our energy, expertise and resources."

The plan has raised concerns that the enormous cost of the clean air goals could make the two ports less attractive in the face of competition from ports on the East and Gulf coasts.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Pacific Merchant Shipping Association President John McLaurin told commissioners he fears the cost "and its potential negative impacts on port competitiveness and the one in nine jobs in the Southern California region that are reliant on the ports."

The neighboring ports 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles are the single largest fixed source of air pollution in Southern California, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Main points of the plan include clean-engine milestones for trucks, creating incentives to speed up fleet turnover to near-zero and zero-emission trucks, and efficiency programs for truck reservations and staging yards. The timeline for achieving a zero-emission truck fleet is 2035.

Other elements include requiring terminal operators to use zero-emission equipment by 2020, if possible, or the cleanest available equipment.

The plan also pursues electrification of terminal equipment and expands on-dock rail, with a goal of moving 50 percent of all cargo out of the ports by train.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach sprawl over more than 23 square miles (60 square kilometers) of land and water. They handle about 40 percent of U.S. container import traffic, about 25 percent of total exports, and together rank as the ninth-largest port complex in the world, according to the ports.

New York hospital delivers 4 sets of twins in single day

MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — A Long Island hospital has welcomed a rare four sets of twins in a six-hour period.

The series of births at NYU Winthrop in Mineola started at 8:44 a.m. Wednesday when Brenda Alvarenga gave birth to Ava and Elena.

Shannon and Anthony Rogone then welcomed twins Sarah and Elise around 10 a.m. The births of Alexa and McKenzie followed an hour later to parents Darlene and Joe Sica.

Finally, Catherine and Joseph Monez welcomed twins Luke and Benjamin at 2:26 p.m.

The hospital's chief of maternal-fetal medicine tells Newsday two sets of twins born at NYU Winthrop on the same day is rare, and four is unheard of.

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Information from: Newsday, http://www.newsday.com

Google-bred Waymo aims to shift robotic cars into next gear

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer

ATWATER, Calif. (AP) — Google's self-driving car spin-off is accelerating efforts to convince the public that its technology is almost ready to safely transport people without any human assistance at all.

Waymo, hatched from a Google project started eight years ago, showed off its progress Monday during a rare peek at a closely guarded testing facility located 120 miles (193 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco. That's where its robots complete their equivalent of driver's education.

The tour included giving more than three dozen reporters rides in Chrysler Pacifica minivans traveling through faux neighborhoods and expressways that Waymo has built on a former Air Force base located in the Californian Central Valley city of Atwater.

The minivans smoothly cruised the roads — driver's seat empty and passengers in the back — at speeds of up to 35 mph (56 kph). By contrast, the Waymo-powered minivans that have been driving volunteer riders in the Phoenix area still use safety drivers to take over control if something goes wrong.

But Waymo's real goal is to get to the point where people in cars are nothing but passengers.

Waymo CEO John Krafcik told reporters that the company will be making some cars and freight trucks totally driverless fairly soon, though he didn't provide a specific timetable. "We are really close," he said. "We are going to do it when we feel like we are ready."

Since Google began working on self-driving cars in 2009, dozens of established automakers such as General Motors and Ford Motors have entered the race, along with other big technology companies, including Apple and ride-hailing service Uber. The competition is so fierce and the stakes so high that Waymo is currently suing Uber, alleging that one of its former managers stole its trade secrets and took them with him when he joined Uber in 2016 as part of an elaborate scheme. The trial in that high-profile case is scheduled to begin in early December.

Waymo is hoping to infuse its technology into ride-hailing services such as its current partner, Lyft, and big-rig trucking companies. It also intends to license its automated system to automakers such as Fiat Chrysler Automobile, which is already using it in 100 Pacifica minivans.

Earth's ozone hole shrivels to smallest since 1988

By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The ozone hole over Antarctica shrank to its smallest peak since 1988, NASA said Thursday.

The huge hole in Earth's protective ozone layer reached its maximum this year in September, and this year NASA said it was 7.6 million square miles wide (19.6 million square kilometers). The hole size shrinks after mid-September.

This year's maximum hole is more than twice as big as the United States, but it's 1.3 million square miles less than last year and 3.3 million square miles smaller than 2015.

Paul Newman, chief Earth scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said stormy conditions in the upper atmosphere warmed the air and kept chemicals chlorine and bromine from eating ozone. He said scientists haven't quite figured out why some years are stormier — and have smaller ozone holes — than others.

"It's really small this year. That's a good thing," Newman said.

Newman said this year's drop is mostly natural but is on top of a trend of smaller steady improvements likely from the banning of ozone-eating chemicals in a 1987 international treaty. The ozone hole hit its highest in 2000 at 11.5 million square miles (29.86 million square kilometers).

Ozone is a colorless combination of three oxygen atoms. High in the atmosphere, about 7 to 25 miles (11 to 40 kilometers) above the Earth, ozone shields Earth from ultraviolet rays that cause skin cancer, crop damage and other problems.

Scientists at the United Nation a few years ago determined that without the 1987 treaty by 2030 there would have been an extra 2 million skin cancer cases. They said overall the ozone layer is beginning to recover because of the phase-out of chemicals used in refrigerants and aerosol cans.

Frizzy-haired, smaller-headed orangutan may be new great ape

By STEPHEN WRIGHT and ANDI JATMIKO, Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A remote population of frizzy-haired orangutans on the Indonesian island of Sumatra seems to be a new species of primate, scientists say.

But the purportedly newest member of the family tree of advanced animals that include humans may not be around much longer. Their numbers are so small, and their habitat so fragmented, that they are in danger of going extinct, say the scientists who studied them.

A study published Thursday in the journal Current Biology said there are no more than 800 of the primates, which researchers named Pongo tapanuliensis, making it the most endangered great ape species.

The researchers say the population is highly vulnerable and its habitat is facing further pressure from development.

"If steps are not taken quickly to reduce current and future threats to conserve every last remaining bit of forest we may see the discovery and extinction of a great ape species within our lifetime," they said.

It's the first great ape species to be described by scientists in nearly 90 years.

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Previously, science has recognized six great ape species: Sumatran and Bornean orangutans, eastern and western gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos. Some scientists also classify humans as great apes but others argue for a separate categorization.

The research is based on analysis of the skeleton of an adult male killed in a conflict with villagers, a genetic study indicating the population's evolutionary split from other orangutans occurred about 3.4 million years ago, and analysis since 2006 of behavioral and habitat differences.

The primates are confined to a range of about 1,100 square kilometers (425 square miles) in the Batang Toru forest in the Tapanuli districts of Northern Sumatra. Historically, the population had low levels of interbreeding with Sumatran orangutans further north but that completely ceased 10,000 to 20,000 years ago, according to the genetic study.

Aside from genetic evidence and the physical differences that include frizzier hair and a smaller head, other unique characteristics include diet, restriction of habitat to upland areas and the male's long call.

There is no standardized international system for recognition of new species, but to be taken seriously a discovery requires at least publication in a credible peer-reviewed scientific journal.

Primatologist Russell Mittermeier, head of the primate specialist group at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, called the finding a "remarkable discovery" that puts the onus on the Indonesian government to ensure the species survives.

Mittermeier, who was not one of the 37 authors of the study, said he was "very excited" by the research.

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Last year, the IUCN classified Bornean orangutans as critically endangered due to a precipitous population decline caused by destruction of their forest habitat for palm oil and pulp wood plantations. Sumatran orangutans have been classified as critically endangered since 2008.

Matthew Nowak, one of the study's authors, said the Tapanuli orangutans live in three pockets of forest that are separated by non-protected areas.

"For the species to be viable into the future, those three fragments need to be reconnected via forest corridors," he said.

Additionally, the authors are recommending that development plans for the region including a hydropower plant be stopped by the government.

"It is imperative that all remaining forest be protected and that a local management body works to ensure the protection of the Batang Toru ecosystem," Novak said.

Wiratno, the director general of conservation of natural resources and ecosystems at Indonesia's Forestry and Environment Ministry, told a news conference in Jakarta that most of Batang Toru forest was designated as protected in December 2015.

He said its management will be a priority and is a "great challenge."

"We are deeply committed to maintaining the survival of this species," said Wiratno, who uses one name.

The Batang Toru orangutan population was found during a field survey by researcher Erik Meijaard in 1997 and a research station was established in the area in 2006.

It was not until 2013, when the adult male skeleton became available, that scientists realized how unique the population was, which sparked the largest genomic study of wild orangutans ever carried out to provide further evidence of a third orangutan species.

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Wright reported from Bangkok.

10 commercial satellites launched from California

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — Ten commercial Earth-imaging satellites have been launched into space from California.

An Orbital ATK Minotaur C rocket blasted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 2:37 p.m. Tuesday.

The deployment was to occur about 12 minutes later during a communications blackout period. Confirmation of deployment was expected about an hour and a half after launch, according to the Orbital ATK webcast.

The six SkySat satellites and four miniature Dove satellites — each about the size of a loaf of bread — were bound for orbits 310 miles (500 kilometers) above the Earth to join dozens of other satellites that provide streams of data to San Francisco-based Planet Labs Inc.

The satellites are designed to gather medium- and high-resolution multispectral images of Earth for businesses, governments, and non-governmental organizations.

FDA to Remove Claim that Soy is Good for Your Heart

By MATTHEW PERRONE, AP Health Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators want to remove a health claim about the heart benefits of soy from cartons of soy milk, tofu and other foods, saying the latest scientific evidence no longer shows a clear connection.

Monday's announcement by the Food and Drug Administration marks the first time the agency has moved to revoke a health food claim since it began approving such statements in 1990. The claim that soy protein can reduce heart disease appears on about 200 to 300 products in the U.S., according to industry figures, including popular brands like Silk soy milk.

Calls to WhiteWave Foods Company, which markets Silk brand soy products, were not immediately returned Monday.

The FDA first approved the language about the benefits in 1999 based on studies suggesting soy protein lowered a type of heart-damaging cholesterol in the bloodstream. But some later studies have failed to show a clear link.

One 2005 study by the U.S. government's Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found that soy products had little effect on bad cholesterol. The FDA began reevaluating the food claim in 2007 and said Monday "the totality of the evidence is inconsistent and not conclusive."

The agency will take comments on its proposal for 75 days before moving ahead.  If the language is removed, companies may still be able to use a less definitive statement about soy's benefits by including a disclaimer or description of the mixed evidence.

Consumer advocates backed the proposal, arguing that earlier research misinterpreted soy's effect on cholesterol.

Bonnie Liebman, a nutrition scientist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, explained that a person might benefit by replacing red meat with soy, but the benefit would be from the reduction in red meat, not because of anything special in the soy protein.

The FDA estimates it will cost companies between $370,000 and $860,000 in upfront costs to re-label their products, according to a federal filing posted online.

An industry group for soy manufacturers disputed the FDA's decision and pointed to 12 other countries, including Canada, that have approved health labeling claims making the link between soy protein and heart benefits. The group, Soyfoods Association of North America, said it would make its case to the FDA during the comment period.

Astronomers Measure Milky Way with Radio Waves

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A collection of radio telescopes that spans thousands of miles and is remotely operated from central New Mexico has measured a span of 66,000 light-years (one light-year is equal to 6 trillion miles) from Earth across the Milky Way's center to a star-forming area near the edge of the other side of the galaxy.

Astronomers say they hope to measure additional points around the galaxy to produce a map — the first of its kind — over the next decade.

Alberto Sanna of Germany's Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy said in a news release that using the Very Long Baseline Array, which is remotely operated near Socorro, allows astronomers to "accurately map the whole extent of our galaxy," the Albuquerque Journal reported.

Mark Reid, a senior radio astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who worked on the project, said they hope to create the map by measuring additional points around the galaxy. So far, they have measured around 200.

Reid said 100 or so observations must be done from the Earth's southern hemisphere, so he will be traveling to Australia in the future to use telescopes there.

Although the data for the 66,000 light-year measurement was collected in 2014 and 2015, the team has spent the time since then analyzing it, Reid said. "It's not like you get a Hubble (Space Telescope) space image," he said.

While there are artistic renderings of what the Milky Way probably looks like, this effort will yield a highly accurate image, Reid said.

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Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com

$1.3M Auction Bid Buys Albert Einstein's Theory of Happiness

By IAN DEITCH, Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — While Albert Einstein's theory of happiness may be relative, it fetched $1.3 million at a Jerusalem auction on Tuesday.

The Nobel-winning scientist's musings, handwritten on a note, may not be as famous as his groundbreaking theory of relativity, but they still shed light on one of the great modern minds.

Winner's Auctions and Exhibitions said Einstein was traveling in Japan in 1922 when he was told he would be awarded the Nobel Prize in physics. In Tokyo, Einstein scribbled the note in German to a bellboy after he did not have cash to give him a tip.

"A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness," it reads.

Gal Wiener, CEO of the auction house, said Einstein told the bellboy that because of his fame, the handwritten note "will probably be worth more than a regular tip."

Wiener said bidding began at $2,000 and quickly escalated, with the bidding war lasting around 25 minutes.

Another note Einstein gave the bellboy, which read "Where there's a will there's a way," was sold for over $200,000, Wiener said.

He would not identify the buyer or seller of either note.

Einstein was a founder of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and left it his literary estate and personal papers. He declined an invitation to serve as Israel's first president. Einstein died in 1955.

Scientists Developing Reversible Gene Editing Technology

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists are altering a powerful gene-editing technology in hopes of one day fighting diseases without making permanent changes to people's DNA.

The trick: Edit RNA instead, the messenger that carries a gene's instructions.

"If you edit RNA, you can have a reversible therapy," important in case of side effects, said Feng Zhang of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, a gene-editing pioneer whose team reported the new twist Wednesday in the journal Science.

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A genome editing technique called CRISPR has revolutionized scientific research. It's a biological cut-and-paste tool that lets researchers spot a gene defect inside living cells and use molecular "scissors" to snip that spot, either deleting, repairing or replacing the affected gene.

Researchers are using CRISPR to try to improve crops, develop malaria-resistant mosquitoes, grow transplantable organs inside animals, and develop treatments that one day may help genetic diseases such as sickle cell or muscular dystrophy.

There are challenges for medical use. Because a change to DNA is permanent, accidentally cutting the wrong spot could lead to lasting side effects.

And DNA repair is harder to achieve in certain cells, such as brain and muscle cells, than in others, such as blood cells — so targeting RNA may offer an important alternative, said University of California, San Diego, professor Gene Yeo, who wasn't involved in Wednesday's study. His team is creating its own RNA-targeting version of CRISPR.

Disease can occur when a genetic defect leaves cells making too little or too much of a particular protein, or not making it at all.

RNA, a cousin of DNA, carries the gene's instructions to start the protein-making process. Editing RNA's instructions should result in temporary fixes to abnormal protein production, Zhang explained. Because RNA degrades over time, the changes theoretically would last only as long as the therapy was used.

Feng Zhang of the Broad Institute of MIT participates in a panel discussion at the National Academy of Sciences international summit on the safety and ethics of human gene editing, in Washington. Scientists are altering a powerful gene-editing technology in hopes of one day fighting diseases without making permanent changes to people's DNA. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

To starting figuring out how, researchers returned to nature.

CRISPR was adapted for use in mammalian cells from a system that evolved in bacteria, and uses as its molecular scissors an enzyme named Cas9. Zhang's team examined relatives in the Cas protein family and found one, Cas13, that could target RNA instead. The researchers engineered a Cas13 variety so it sticks to RNA instead of cutting it. They then fused on another protein to edit that spot and tested it in lab dishes.

The research is in its earliest stages, requiring more work before it even could be tested in animals.

But San Diego's Yeo, who is using a different Cas approach to target RNA, praised the competing work.

"It really tells us that many Cas proteins can truly bind RNA," he said. "The smart thing to do is to test a lot of them."

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This Associated Press series was produced in partnership with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.