European Space Agency agrees record budget to meet new challenges

Yahoo – AFP, November 28, 2019

European Space Agency members agreed a record five-year budget of 14.4 billion
euros to face up to growing challenges and ensure Europe has a fully active space
presence (AFP Photo/jody amiet)

Seville (Spain) (AFP) - European Space Agency (ESA) members agreed Thursday a record 14.4 billion euros budget, promising to maintain Europe's place at the top table as the United States and China press ahead and industry disruptors such as Elon Musk's Space X present new challenges.

The budget is split, with 12.5 billion euros ($14.1 billion) committed for three years and the full 14.4 billion euros over five, representing an increase of some four billion euros on the previous spending plan.

"Its a surprise, even more than I proposed... this is good," ESA head Jan Woerner told a nwes conference after ministers from the 22 member states met in Seville for two days.

Woerner said the funding pledges meant that ESA could run a full series of programmes plus additional scientific work, citing moves to increase earth observation as part of efforts, among other things, to monitor climate change.

"It is a giant step forward for Europe, fifty years after the moon landing," said Jean-Yves Le Gall, head of the French space agency.

"We have beaten all records in terms of financial contributions," Le Gall added.

Germany made the largest contribution to the budget, at some 3.3 billion euros, followed by France on 2.7 billion euros, Italy 2.3 billion euros and Britain with 1.7 billion euros.

The ESA is not a European Union body and so Britain's position as a member remains unchanged despite Brexit.

To reinforce that message, the UK Space Agency issued a statement recalling that Britain was one of ESA's founding members, and detailing its commitments to a series of programmes including earth observation, 5G telecoms and monitoring space debris.

Moon, Mars, science

Among the projects ESA highlighted were the first gravitational wave detector in space, LISA, and the black hole mission Athena, designed to "enable fundamental advances in our understanding of the basic physics of the Universe."

ESA reiterated its commitment to the International Space Station until 2030 and its participation in the Gateway project, the first space station planned to orbit the Moon.

"European astronauts will fly to the Moon for the first time," it said in a closing statement, and ESA will support a "ground-breaking Mars Sample Return mission in cooperation with NASA."

In telecommunications, ESA aims to help develop flexible satellite systems integrated with 5G networks, "as well as next-generation optical technology for a fibre-like 'network in the sky,', marking a transformation in the satellite communication industry."

Ministers also endorsed the transition to the next generation of launchers, the massive Ariane 6 and the smaller Vega-C, "and have given the green light to Space Rider, ESA’s new reusable spaceship."

Going into the meeting, ESA officials had said the agency was hoping to get increased funding to ensure Europe does not lag behind.

Europe has established itself as a major space player, with the Ariane 6 launcher the latest off the production line and the Galileo GPS system operational.

Critics say however that it has been slow to develop some key innovations -- notably reusable rockets pioneered by the likes of Musk.

This "New Space" evolution has seen Musk develop reusable launchers for dramatically smaller yet more powerful satellites, many designed to create and run the "connected world" of driverless cars and countless other aspects of everyday life on earth.

EU unveils supercomputer plan to rival China

Yahoo – AFP, January 11, 2018

China overtook the United States in numbers and performance for supercomputers in
a ranking last November, followed by Switzerland and Japan in third and fourth place

The EU unveiled plans Thursday to raise one billion euros to build superfast computers that catch up with China and others to boost Europe's economy, make medical advances and fight hacking.

China overtook the United States in numbers and performance for supercomputers in a ranking last November, followed by non-EU Switzerland and Japan in third and fourth place.

"It is a tough race and today the EU is lagging behind: we do not have any supercomputers in the world's top ten," said Andrus Ansip, the European Commisssion vice president for the digital single market.

The European Commission, the EU executive, said it would contribute around 486 million euros ($580 million) for a "High Performance Computing (EuroHPC) infrastructure", that would then be matched by EU nations.

"We want to give European researchers and companies world-leading supercomputer capacity by 2020," Ansip said in a statement.

Brussels says it will help develop artificial intelligence and applications to improve health, security and engineering, plus help forecast hurricane routes and simulate earthquakes.

European scientists and industry risk yielding secrets or sensitive information as they increasingly process data outside the EU to perform tasks in the absence of the best supercomputers, the commission said.

Diesel cars break emission limits in real-world tests: TNO

DutchNews, September 27, 2015

A 2013 report by Dutch research institute TNO showed that diesel car systems in the Netherlands were adapted to appear as if the vehicles were less polluting than they actually were, current affairs programme Nieuwsuur said on Sunday. 

The report, which did not name the manufacturers involved, said the nitrogen oxide emissions from ‘a number’ of diesel cars which officially met Euro 6 emission standards were higher than would have been expected in practical situations. 

The reports said that systems had been installed so that ‘they operated during functional driving conditions in a test but in real-world situations were (partly) switches off for economic reasons’, Nieuwsuur reported. 

The TNO research was carried out on behalf the transport ministry. A ministry spokesman told Nieuwsuur that the ministry was not aware of the deliberate manipulation of the emissions data. In addition, the ministry had not read into the report the claim that the systems had been adapted or switched off, the spokesman said. 

Real world

In a 2015 English-language summary of four reports into diesel car emissions, TNO stated: ‘almost all Euro 6 vehicles that were measured emitted significantly more NOx in real-world conditions on the road than during a type-approval test in the laboratory.’ 

The report continued: ‘It is striking that in real-world conditions the NOx emissions are more than eight times higher than the type-approval value.’ TNO is campaigning to have real-world conditions incorporated into official emissions tests, which are currently lab based. 

Two German newspapers said on Sunday Volkswagen’s own staff and one of its suppliers warned years ago about software designed to thwart emissions tests. Last week, Volkswagen acknowledged installing software in diesel engines designed to hide their true emissions of toxic gasses.

US government has expanded its investigation of pollution-skirting devices in

 diesel vehicles to other manufacturers after Volkswagen admitted it used them

to thwart environmental standards (AFP Photo/Thomas Samson)

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Nobel's will goes on display for first time

Yahoo – AFP, Camille Bas-Wohlert, 28 March 2015

The last will and testament of Alfred Nobel is displayed at the Nobel Museum in 

the Old Town of Stockholm on March 17, 2015 (AFP Photo/Jonathan Nackstrand)

Stockholm (AFP) - Alfred Nobel's last will and testament, which played a pivotal role in Swedish history by creating the now-illustrious Nobel prizes, has gone on display for the first time in Stockholm.

Until now, only a handful of people had laid eyes on the original 1895 document that has been stashed away in a safe at the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm.

The Nobel Museum has changed all that, putting it on public display as part of its new exhibition "Legacy".

Inventor Alfred Nobel who founded the 

Nobel Prize (AFP Photo)

"The exhibition draws attention to how important it is to pass things on. The will is the centrepiece. It is a simple document, but it still today provides the basis of our work with the (Nobel) prizes," exhibition curator Karin Jonsson tells AFP.

"The aim is to show Alfred Nobel's legacy to the public. It makes him more understandable," her colleague Gustav Kaellstrand adds.

The Nobel prizes are "one of Sweden's biggest brands," notes a spokesman for the Swedish Institute, Sergio Guimaraes.

The will itself is written on four yellowed pages, with curlicued old-fashioned handwriting in black ink. It's smudged in places, and there are notes and additions running up and down the sides, tops and bottoms of the pages.

Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, details the creation of the Nobel prizes on 26 lines, or almost three-quarters of a page.

He stipulates that part of his fortune -- some 31.5 million kronor at the time, or the equivalent of more than 200 million euros ($220 million) today -- was to be placed in a fund, the interest on which was to be used to honour "those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind" in the fields of medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace.

He appoints four prize committees to hand out the awards: three in Stockholm and one in Oslo for the peace prize, since Norway was joined with Sweden in a union at the time.

The prize for economics was created in 1968 by Sweden's central bank, the Riksbank, to mark its tricentenary, and is also funded by the Riksbank.

'Who he really was'

Those 26 lines would change Nobel's reputation forever, and shine the spotlight on Sweden for years to come.

Gone is Nobel's image as a dynamite-producing friend of war -- now he is seen as a pacific philanthropist around the world.

"With these prizes, he wanted to show who he really was," explains Jean-Francois Battail, a professor emeritus in Scandinavian languages and literature at Paris' Sorbonne University.

"Albert Einstein, who won the Nobel Physics Prize in 1921, thought Nobel created the Peace Prize because he had a guilty conscience," Battail says.

The will was written in Paris where he kept a home and dated November 27, 1895, and then placed in a safety deposit box at Stockholm's Enskilda Bank.

Nobel died in December 1896 in Italy. When his will was opened early the next year, his family was shocked -- he had told no one of his plans.

"He had no direct heirs, but he left the people closest to him pretty generous sums. They were pretty fatty crumbs. But there were lawsuits, and they tried to have the will annulled -- it didn't transpire peacefully," Battail explains.

"The existence of the prizes is in large part thanks to the will's executors, especially Ragnar Sohlman," he adds.

A former assistant of Nobel's, Sohlman rounded up the fortune that was spread around the world and honoured Nobel's last wishes, going so far as to convince the King of Sweden, who was disgruntled the prizes could be awarded to non-Scandinavians.

The last will and testament of Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel is displayed 

on March 12, 2015 prior to the opening of the exhibition "Legacy" at the Nobel

Museum in Stockholm, Sweden (AFP Photo/Jessica Gow)

Put Sweden on the map

In 1900, Sohlman helped create the Nobel Foundation, which to this day manages Nobel's inheritance and oversees the work of the prize-awarding committees.

The first Nobel prizes were awarded in 1901.

"In Sweden and abroad, a lot of people understood that the will provided Sweden an opportunity on the world stage," Kaellstrand says.

Yet some were already able to predict the headaches that would come with the daunting task of selecting the laureates.

"The New York Times wrote for example in 1897: 'A number of eminent men of Norway and Sweden have a task before them which will inevitably bring to them more trouble than glory'," Kaellstrand muses.

The Nobel prizes have indeed been the centre of controversy over the years.

French writer Jean-Paul Sartre refused to accept the 1964 Nobel Literature Prize, and, more recently, a storm simmered when US President Barack Obama won the Peace Prize in 2009 after less than nine months in office while the US was waging simultaneous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But on the whole, the prize has conferred a positive image of Sweden.

Nobel's last will and testament is on display until at least the end of May.

Britain authorises 'three-parent' babies

Yahoo – AFP, Dario Thuburn, 3 Feb 2015

As well as receiving DNA from its mother and father, an embryo would also
include a small amount of healthy so-called mDNA from a woman donor

Lawmakers at the House Commons voted by 382 to 128 in favour of allowing the creation of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) babies with DNA from three people, a move aimed at preventing serious inherited diseases being passed on from mother to child.

Under the change to the laws on IVF, as well as receiving the usual "nuclear" DNA from its mother and father, the embryo would also include a small amount of healthy so-called mDNA from a woman donor.

Lawmakers at the House Commons voted
by 382 to 128 in favour of allowing the
creation of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF)
babies with DNA from three people

"Families who know what it is like to care for a child with a devastating disease are best placed to decide whether mitochondrial donation is the right option for them," said Jeremy Farrar, director of health charity Wellcome Trust.

"We welcome this vote to give them that choice."

The bill is expected to be rubber-stamped by the House of Lords, the upper chamber of parliament, later this month, paving way for the procedure to begin next year.

The change could apply to up to 2,500 women of reproductive age in Britain with hereditary mitochondrial diseases but opponents say it opens the way to the possibility of "designer babies" in future.

Mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) is passed through the mother and mitochondrial diseases cause symptoms ranging from poor vision to diabetes and muscle wasting.

Mitochondria are structures in cells which generate the energy that allows the human body to function.

Health officials estimate around 125 babies are born with the mutations in Britain every year.

'Invaluable choice'

The law will allow Britain's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to authorise the procedure and a pioneering research centre in Newcastle is expected to be the first where it would take place.

Genetic disease charities celebrated the historic vote.

"We have finally reached a milestone in giving women an invaluable choice, the choice to become a mother without fear of passing on a lifetime under the shadow of mitochondrial disease to their child," said Robert Meadowcroft, Chief Executive of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign.

John Tooke, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, said he was "delighted" by the vote.

"These treatments could reduce the number of children born with rare mitochondrial diseases, and help dozens of families to lead happy and healthy lives.

"Today's vote is the culmination of many years of scientific and public debate."

'Destructive manipulation'

But many Britons are still against the proposed change despite years of consultation by health authorities with the public and the scientific community.

A poll by the ComRes market research agency in the run-up to the vote showed only 20 percent of respondents in favour of the change and 41 percent against, while 39 percent said they had no view either way or did not know.

Britain on Tuesday became the first
country in the world to allow the creation
 of babies with DNA from three people
 after MPs voted for the controversial
procedure.

Opponents include scientists and religious leaders.

David King, director of the watchdog group Human Genetics Alert, said: "If we want to avoid the nightmare designer baby future we must draw the line here."

Josephine Quintavalle from the pro-life organisation Comment on Reproductive Ethics said there should be more focus on finding cures "which do not rely on destructive manipulation of early human life".

The Roman Catholic Church is firmly opposed to the move, pointing out that it would involve the destruction of human embryos as part of the process.

The Church of England has also said that ethical concerns "have not been sufficiently explored".

There is also concern on purely scientific grounds.

Justin St John from the Centre for Genetic Diseases at Monash University in Australia said the new IVF techniques required "further validation".

"It is essential to analyse offspring to determine that no abnormalities appear at least during early life," he said in a statement last week.

Related Articles:

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"DNA REVEALED" - Mar 13, 2010 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

“…  Biology and Intent

Let's talk more about biology because now it gets a little more complex. There is an intermingling of the 3D and the quantum that we wish to describe to you now. It's something that is new, for the vibration of this planet and of humanity, especially of those who are working with the light, is creating a new tool set. You're going to start to see it and it's going to be visible through examination of the 3D chemistry of DNA, even at the 3D level.

Science is now looking at what they call markers in the protein-encoded DNA, which creates the Human genes. These markers, as they are described by science, are those that are the pieces and parts that would indicate predispositions - attributes that might weaken certain cells so that later in life they would allow disease, such as cancer. They're starting to see these markers, perhaps in certain families where mothers and daughters and their daughters and their daughters all had the same kind of disease. They're starting to see the genetic markers that create predisposed weakness.

Let's talk about the markers, for this is the first time we have disclosed this. First the premise: For years we have told you that your intent to talk to your cellular structure has power. This intent is your communication to the DNA field to alter something within the 3D cellular structure. You might say it's your own interdimensional "voice" giving instructions to the quantum part of your DNA, which then results in the actual chemical changes that are occurring in the codes within your 3D genome. But now the results are going to be seen, and you can begin by removing the markers, and when you do, they stay removed. This means that something quantum you do today can change the chemistry of your gene-producing DNA so greatly that it will NOT be passed to your children. You can break the chain.

Blessed are the Human Beings who realize that as they purify their lives with the light of the Creator, it will affect the biology of the protein-encoded parts. You can erase the markers. It's one of the first times that the 3D has intermingled with the quantum so that science can someday look at the same Human Being over time, knowing that DNA never changes... yet it did! It's yours and it's unique and you changed it. There will be no answer for them, but the 3D facts will show it, that you eliminated the marker.

The joy of this and the beauty of this is that the lineage of the young women who do this will be shown, for their daughters will not have the disease, nor will the daughters of their daughters. It's a new gift and reflects the power of the times. Can you really change those who are your children-to-be? Indeed!

I know what you are thinking. The crowd who sits here says, "Well, it's a little late, Kryon. I've had my children. So why do you sit here and tell me these things?" Are you not understanding where this message is going? Are you not understanding the profundity of what happens when old souls allow us to give this information to Earth? Do you not understand your energy has generated the allotment of allowance for us to come in today and give you this, so that young women and young men who are Lightworkers each will hear it and know what it means to them? Do you understand you're your own ancestors? Has this occurred to you? I see you as actual history, sitting in the chair, from all over the world! That's what I wanted to tell you today.

You don't each have one name to me. I don't even see the gender that you are. I see you in a quantum state and that's why it's so profound that you would let us come in and visit you in this fashion. The woman sits in the chair in front of me. She has no idea the warrior she's been, or how big she was when she was a man. Yet she carries around with her the feeling of the warrior and she knows she's strong. I look at the big, burly man and I see the mother toiling with all those children and the man knows it. He can feel it. He's sensitive and can actually feel the love of a mother. Who is it he used to be? And how has it affected him today?

Old soul, it's affected you today because every single lifetime gives you layer upon layer of wisdom. It has brought you to the chair today or reading this today. For this is the lifetime where you have awakened and realized there is more, a lot more. It brings you as a seeker to a place where you can say, "What can I do for myself and the earth?"

I'll tell you what you can do. You can become compassionate on this planet. You can walk around and show your light on this planet. You can change the markers in your own DNA! Think of who's listening to this message and what it might mean to their children and their children's children. These are the tools we spoke of so long ago, and the proof will come down the line of the reality of this message.

All of this that I have told you today is correct and real, and will be seen naturally in its own way. But I wanted you to know the sacredness that is here within a structure you thought was only chemical based. DNA is far larger and more sacred than anyone has ever imagined.

So what are you going to do with this information? Why don't you walk out of this place different than you came in, feeling a little more enabled? Perhaps you will feel a little better about the possibilities before you? Perhaps you might even know that what happened today is real.

And so it is.

KRYON

EU stem cell ruling paves the way for pioneering medical research

The European Court of Justice has ruled that egg cells incapable of developing into human beings cannot be considered human embryos. Allowing patents on the use of such organisms will push forward controversial research.

Deutsche Welle, 18 Dec 2014

Research involving a human egg used to produce embryonic stem cells but unable to develop into an embryo can be patented, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled Thursday.

The decision is of huge interest for biotechnology companies investing in stem cell research. Work on stem cell therapies is still experimental, but researchers believe they could be used to treat a range of diseases from Parkinson's to blindness. Until now, however, strict restrictions on obtaining patents have slowed research.

The case was brought in Britain by US company International Stem Cell Corporation against the UK Intellectual Property Office for refusing to grant it two patents covering the use of human egg cells.

The British authorities had argued that since the eggs involved were active and developing organisms, even though they were not fertilized by male sperm, previous EU law prevented the company from securing a patent on them. In 2011, the ECJ had ruled that stem cell research involving human embryos could not be patented.

International Stem Cell Corporation argued that the eggs, activated by a chemical process known as parthenogenesis, could not develop into human beings as they lacked the full parental DNA required.

Thursday's ruling stated that such organisms do not constitute human embryos, and that their uses in scientific research could therefore be patented.

"In order to be classified as a 'human embryo,' a non-fertilized human ovum must necessarily have the inherent capacity of developing into a human being," a statement from the ECJ said.

The statement also made clear that if an egg is able to develop into an embryo, "it should be treated in the same way as a fertilized human ovum, at all stages of its development." In that case, EU member states would still have the right under existing law to deny patents on ethical and moral grounds.

Stem cell research has long been controversial, with critics arguing against the use of embryos left over from fertility treatment. However, scientists contend that the research is justified as the stem cells they used are derived from surplus eggs. Embryonic stem cells are more flexible than adult stem cells, and therefore more widely used in research.

lvw/mg (AFP, Reuters, dpa)

Related Articles:

Human DNA not patentable: US Supreme Court

Kryon Q&A

Question: Dearest Kryon: I've read the question and answer on people with diseases of the mind - for example, Alzheimers and dementia. But I have more questions. You say that people have chosen this path and that the lessons are for us. As I work with these people, I'm wondering if there is any stage where there could be a reversal of the condition, and if so, with what methods? The people in the hostel are so drugged up, and there's a mind-set with the authorities that no "alternate" therapies work - although they're using colored lights. (Sadly, the diversional therapist told me she doesn't know what color therapy is.)

From a spiritual point of view, what is the best way to work with these people - talk to them as though they were normal, or go along with their imaginings? I've been told that they need to be kept quiet, especially toward evening. However, I've found that with one woman who mostly paces saying very little, the more childlike I am (dancing and singing makes her happy), the more she talks. I could go on and on - could you please enlighten me further?

Answer: I will answer the second part first. Love those who are in this condition. Find out what makes them smile... and then make them smile. The best you can do in a facilitation of this condition is to somehow create joy. Even in their confusion they can laugh at situations and be creative. They'll also remember you better as the one who creates this emotion. Each is very different, but in general, try to find their "happy" button and push it as often as you can. They will remember that.

Right now you're perched upon some important discoveries that will be able to reverse these conditions to a large degree. But just as the paraplegic who regains their nerve connections must than relearn how to walk, suffering much pain, there will be this attribute with a regeneration of the mind. Even if new cells are created, they won't necessarily have the old memories, but they can be trained to be healthy and be ready for new memories.

So someday these will have the ability to halt the progress of the degeneration of cells that are being taken, and instead grow new pathways around them. Some will be able to "reconnect" to certain kinds of memories (like recognition) but will have to relearn what the association of recognition actually means. So history and events might have to be studied and relearned... sometimes even things like reading, also. The pain will be that the individual will regain mental health and will realize exactly what has happened.

Your stem-cell research is very important, and you're reaching a point where you'll be able to use birth cells that aren't embryonic, but every bit as potent for research... thereby sidestepping all moral issues. Look for this in the next few years. 

Images show Philae's historic comet bounce

Yahoo – AFP, November 17, 2014

Images show Philae s historic comet bounce

Paris (AFP) - The European Space Agency (ESA)on Sunday unveiled images of the probe Philae after it bounced while making its historic landing on a comet last Wednesday.

The discovery came thanks to painstaking follow-up analysis of a series of pictures ESA had released on Friday, the agency said.

The photos appeared to show only a trail of dust kicked up by Philae when it touched down and rebounded after a pair of harpoons, designed to anchor it to the comet's surface, failed to work.

But closer scrutiny of the images has shown a bright dot that is Philae, as well as a dark dot made by its shadow as it zooms upwards in the rebound.

"It appears as a couple of brighter pixels closely accompanied by its shadow in the form of a couple of darker ones just below, both to the right of the diffuse dust cloud shadow," ESA's Rosetta mission said in a blog post.

The discovery came from hours of patient work by flight dynamics specialist Gabriele Bellei, the posting said (http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2014/11/16/philae_spotted_after_first_landing/).

A science lab laden with 10 instruments, Philae was sent down to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko by its mother ship Rosetta, after a 10-year trek that covered 6.5 billion kilometres (four billion miles) around the inner Solar System.

After its first bounce, it is believed Philae landed and bounced once more before settling around a kilometre from its target site.

The lander found itself at an angle and in the shadow of a cliff, which meant its solar panels were unable to capture the sunlight it needed to recharge its batteries.

But ESA says Philae successfully carried out its scheduled research programme thanks to a battery that had enough charge for 60 hours' work.

Philae has now gone into standby mode for lack of power. Mission managers still have some hope it will revive as the comet races closer to the Sun, bringing greater illumination.

Approved in 1993 and launched in 2004, the Rosetta mission aims to uncover the chemical and physical secrets of comets -- primordial clusters of ice and dust that may explain the origins of the Solar System and, say some, of life on Earth.

Rosetta probe Philae declared 'stable'

Scientists are awaiting news from the Rosetta comet mission, its Philae module landed on the surface of comet 67P. Early data suggested the probe may have hit a snag, although the situation has been declared stable.

Deutsche Welle, 13 Nov 2014

With communications severed as the "mothership" Rosetta spent a period of its orbit on the far side of the comet from Earth, information was limited about the degree of success of Philae's landing.

Mission chiefs based in the German city of Darmstadt said the European Space Agency (ESA) lander, Philae, failed to anchor to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, after landing on Wednesday. However, the probe still managed to send back some scientific information and was declared to be in a "stable" situation on Thursday.

The 100-kilogram (22 lb) module appears to have landed on a soft surface, but it is feared that it is not anchored. The harpoons that Philae had been due to fire to secure itself did not deploy successfully.

I’m on the surface but my harpoons did not fire. My team is hard at work now trying to determine why. #CometLanding
— Philae Lander (@Philae2014) November 12, 2014

It is believed that the probe touched down largely as planned, except that it may have bounced once off the surface before coming to rest. "Hopefully, we are sitting there on the surface at a position different to the original landing and can continue our science," landing manager Stefan Ulamec said after Philae's descent.

Rosetta, which carried Philae on a journey of some 6.5 billion kilometers (4 billion miles) was launched into space on 2004 and took over a decade to reach its target - comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko - "Chury" or "67P" for short. It arrived in August, having been propelled to its destination by using the gravitational pull of both the Earth and Mars as a slingshot.

The probe is equipped with 10 instruments that will examine the chemistry and structure of the 67P, drilling into the comet's surface. It is hoped that the information gleaned might provide scientists with a greater understanding of the origins of the solar system.

Comets are thought to be clusters of ice and carbon dust left over from the formation of the solar system.

One theory is that comets may have seeded the Earth with water and the necessary carbon molecules for life to evolve some 4.6 billion years ago.

rc/ksb (AFP, AP, Reuters)

Related Article:

Europe's comet-chasing Rosetta probe reaches target

Cheers in France as economist Tirole wins Nobel

Yahoo – AFP, Hugues Honore, 13 Oct 2014

French economist Jean Tirole, seen here in June 2008, was awarded the Nobel

 Economics Prize "for his analysis of market power and regulation", according to the

Royal Academy of Sciences (AFP Photo/Eric Cabanis)

Stockholm (AFP) - Jean Tirole won the Nobel Economics Prize on Monday for research on reining in corporate giants, a second French award this season hailed as a slap in the face for "France bashers".

"One of the most influential economists of our time," the jury called Tirole, whose fellow countryman Patrick Modiano took the prize for literature last week.

"Most of all he has clarified how to understand and regulate industries with a few powerful firms," it said of the 61-year-old professor at Toulouse 1 Capitole University.

Taming huge corporations, and ensuring they don't reap huge profits at the expense of ordinary consumers, has emerged as a growing concern in recent years.

The global financial crisis -- triggered by a small number of giant players in the banking sector -- has further pushed the complex issue up the agenda for global policymakers.

"Banking is a very hard thing to regulate, and we economists have to do more work on this," Tirole told the Nobel Committee after learning he had won the prize, worth eight million Swedish kronor ($1.1 million, 878,000 euros).

Thumbing noses at 'French-bashing'

News of his win triggered delight in Paris -- as well as a note of vindication from the French prime minister, irked by a string of articles decrying the morose state of the nation.

"After Patrick Modiano, yet another Frenchman has come to the fore: Congratulations to Jean Tirole!" Manuel Valls tweeted after the announcement. "Talk about thumbing your nose at 'French-bashing'."

Modiano's win last week was already hailed as a boost for a country in the doldrums with a stagnating economy and deeply unpopular government.

President Francois Hollande said the prize puts the spotlight on "the quality of the research carried out in our nation."

Tirole's work, the Nobel jury said, has provided a framework for designing policies for a range of industries from banking to telecommunications.

His citation comes amid growing controversy over the market power of such companies as Amazon and Google.

"Drawing on these new insights, governments can better encourage powerful firms to become more productive and, at the same time, prevent them from harming competitors and customers," the jury said.

The concentration of corporate power has been a key concern for policymakers since the 1980s, when advanced countries moved progressively to allowing markets a freer role.

The trend has been strengthened across industries by technological advances and globalisation, which produced unprecedented wealth but also exacerbated inequality.

Dominate thy neighbour

Laureate of the 2014 Nobel Prize in

Economics, French economist Jean Tirole and

his wife Nathalie are seen at the Toulouse

School of Economics (TSE) on October 13, 

2014 in Toulouse (AFP Photo/Remy Gabalda)

A lot of Tirole's research has focused on motivation and salary, with regard to large companies and the rise in pay among the top tiers of leadership -- like Wall Street chief executives.

But his Nobel Prize came for his work on oligopoly and game theory -- or the study of how strategic interactions affect an outcome.

An oligopoly is a state of limited competition, a popular example being the cellular companies Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, which together control around 90 percent of the market. A monopoly, on the other hand, is the dominance of one seller in the market.

Tirole's research has also shown how some companies -- for example producers of widely-used but patented software -- are able to dominate not just their own industry, but also related ones further down the production chain.

One of his chief contributions is the notion that market dominance works differently in different industries, according to the Nobel jury.

His research suggests, for example, that it can sometimes make sense to allow firms to undercut each other by setting prices below production costs -- something traditionally disciplined under competition, or anti-trust, law.

"The best regulation or competition policy should therefore be carefully adapted to every industry's specific conditions."

American near-monopoly

The prize will be awarded at a ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of the death in 1896 of the prizes' creator, Swedish scientist and philanthropist Alfred Nobel.

Appropriately for an economist who has dedicated much of his career to the study of monopolies, Tirole's award reduces an American near-monopoly over the Nobel economics prize in recent years.

Over the past decade, 18 out 20 economics prize laureates have been from the United States, including one Israeli-American.

Last year, US scholars Eugene Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert Shiller won for their work on spotting trends in the asset markets.

The economics prize winds up this year's Nobel season, marked by the award Friday of the peace prize to 17-year-old Pakistani Malala Yousafzai and India's Kailash Satyarthi.

Related Article:

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“… 5 - Integrity That May Surprise…

Number five: There will be those who think it impossible to have a search for integrity and fairness in all things. In other words, Human Beings will not simply go with what they are told is the status quo. They will look at it and they will say, "Well, I think it could be better. I'm going to look around for something that has more integrity and fairness." Yes, there will be those who tell you, "Look, the institutions hold all the cards and you have to do it their way. If you want health insurance or you want loans from the banks for your home, you better do it their way." I have news for you. Even this is going to change.

"What are you going to do?" the Human asks. "They hold all the power!" In the past, there was nothing you could do. Now I'll tell you what the potentials are. You're going to pull out the puzzle and look past the walls of the maze. You're going to say, "Well, then I'll start my own institution." And some will. The new institutions, based on integrity, will sweep right past an old energy. In other words, there will be those who are young today who are going to start a new way of banking, a new way of health care, and a new way of insurance. And when you see these plans, you'll say, "Why didn't we think of that?"

Have you seen innovation and invention in the past decade that required thinking out of the box of an old reality? Indeed, you have. I can't tell you what's coming, because you haven't thought of it yet! But the potentials of it are looming large. Let me give you an example, Let us say that 20 years ago, you predicted that there would be something called the Internet on a device you don't really have yet using technology that you can't imagine. You will have full libraries, buildings filled with books, in your hand - a worldwide encyclopedia of everything knowable, with the ability to look it up instantly! Not only that, but that look-up service isn't going to cost a penny! You can call friends and see them on a video screen, and it won't cost a penny! No matter how long you use this service and to what depth you use it, the service itself will be free.

Now, anyone listening to you back then would perhaps have said, "Even if we can believe the technological part, which we think is impossible, everything costs something. There has to be a charge for it! Otherwise, how would they stay in business?" The answer is this: With new invention comes new paradigms of business. You don't know what you don't know, so don't decide in advance what you think is coming based on an old energy world. …”