120. Eye Test For Autism, Countdown to Artemis 1, Reversible Gene-Editing Technology

Summary: Show Notes: Eye tests can screen children for autism | Brighter Side News (01:11) According to a study from Washington State University researchers, measuring how the eyes’ pupils change in response to light could potentially be used to screen for autism in young children. Known as the pupillary light reflex  Adjustments via the muscles connected to the lens, ciliary bodies, and muscles that make up the iris are stimulated by several nerves. The study builds on earlier work to support the continued development of a portable technology that could provide a quick and easy way to screen children for autism. Hope to catch children earlier in their development when interventions are more likely to benefit them. First author on the study, Georgina Lynch, stated: “We know that when we intervene as early as ages 18 to 24 months it has a long-term impact on their outcomes … Intervening during that critical window could be the difference between a child acquiring verbal speech and staying nonverbal. Yet, after 20 years of trying we still have not changed the average age of diagnosis here in the U.S., which is four years old.” Process of the study: Tested 36 children aged 6 to 17 who had been previously diagnosed with autism Tested a group of 24 typically developing children who served as controls. Pupillary light reflexes were tested using a handheld monocular pupillometer device, which measures one eye at a time. Children with autism showed significant differences in the time it took for their pupils to constrict in response to light.  Pupils also took longer to return to their original size after light was removed. Supported by funding from the Washington Research Foundation, Georgina Lynch is now working to expand testing to a group of 300 or more 2- to 4-year-olds across a larger number of clinical sites. Preparing to file for FDA premarket approval for the screening device    SpaceX's 'Mechazilla' lifts 33-engine Super Heavy onto the launch pad for the first time | Interesting Engineering (05:51) SpaceX's Starship Super Heavy booster prototype, Booster 7, is back on the launch pad. 33 next-gen Raptor engines attached at the launch pad It's all part of SpaceX's pre-launch preparations as the private space firm gears up toward the orbital maiden flight of Starship. eventually lift astronauts to the moon and Mars Musk posted a photo of Booster 7 being held by Mechazilla's arms, with the caption "Mechazilla loads Starship on launchpad." SpaceX is preparing for static fire tests, with one of them set to fire up all 33 Raptor engines on Booster 7 at the same time. Last time only fired 20 SpaceX will be a step closer to performing its first-ever orbital flight of Starship — the massive milestone could take place as soon as next month. Several customers have also penned agreements with SpaceX for Starship flights, including NASA and Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa.  Last year, NASA awarded SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract to send astronauts back to the surface of the moon.   NASA's launch countdown for Artemis 1 moon mission begins today | Space.com (11:14) At 10:23 a.m. EDT (1423 GMT) Aug. 27th, the countdown clock began ticking down to the planned launch of NASA's Artemis 1 mission, an ambitious first flight to the moon by the agency's most powerful rocket ever The Space Launch System (SLS)  Orion spacecraft onboard Artemis 1 is the vanguard mission of NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon by 2025. The mission flight will send an uncrewed Orion capsule on a 42-day trip to orbit the moon and return to Earth to test if the spacecraft is ready to carry astronauts.  If this mission succeeds,  NASA will follow it up with Artemis 2, a crewed trip around the moon in 2024.  Lead to the Artemis 3 crewed lunar landing a year later (2025). The ultimate goal, NASA has said, is to fly yearly missions to the moon after Artemis 3, stage crewed