The RECC’E - DAY 66 | 03.07.22 | SPACE GUNS

Day 66 / 365

1701YEARS ago today Roman Emperor Constantine I decreed that the dies Solis Invicti (sun-day) would become the day of rest across the Roman Empire.

RECC’E OF THE DAY

12thDAY of conflict in Ukraine has begun and the UN has confirmed 364 civilian deaths and 759 injured - both figures with a clause to state the real numbers are likely to be “considerably higher”. Ukrainian officials state 11k Russian troops have now been killed. 

1.5mREFUGEES have now fled Ukraine according to the UN with 1m of those crossing over into Poland. The head of the UN refugee agency called the exodus “the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since the second world war”.

68MILES southwest of Odesa the village of Tuzla was struck by missile strikes from the sea. It is believed Russian forces are creating a pathway to Odesa as capturing it would cut off Ukraine from the vast majority of its imports and exports by sea. 

105MINUTE conversation between Putin and French President Macron appeared to centre around the topic of nuclear power. Putin blamed Ukrainian forces for provocation around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant which was subsequently seized. Putin has agreed to talks with the international Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

2CEASEFIRE pledges by Russia to allow humanitarian corridors in Ukrainian cities by ‘holding fire’ have not been honoured and today is the 3rd attempt. Corridors to evacuate citizens from Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkiv and Sumy will open at 10am today. This 3rd attempt comes at the request of French president Macron. 

100kUKRAINIANS have volunteered to fight since Russia began it’s invasion according to the national guard of Ukraine. Furthermore, in a highly unusual move the pope has now also dispatched 2 cardinals to the region.

600MISSILES have been launched at Ukraine by Russian forces since the start of the invasion 12 days ago; with more than 500 striking land or infrastructure. 

95%OF RUSSIA’S pre-staged combat power has now been committed to Ukraine. President Zelensky has warned Russia that instead of forgiveness there will come a day of Judgement; he added that it seems “as if Western leaders have dissolved”.

4366PEOPLE have been detained in Russia-wide protests against Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The ongoing protests stretch across 56 cities with thousands chanting “no to war” and “shame on you”.

$10bnIN AID for Ukraine is set to be enacted by U.S congress this week as it considers a ban of Russian oil imports. Putin has now signed a law allowing him to seize funds from his own officials’ bank accounts if their deposits exceed declared incomes. 

10%SURGE in the cost of a key oil benchmark saw the cost of a barrel rise beyond $130 - the highest level since the crash of 2008. This benchmark has risen 70% over the course of 2022 to date and analysts are warning $150 a barrel isn’t out of the question.  The record high is $147.50 set in July 2008.

2POP CULTURE services - Netflix and TikTok - have now parted ways with Russia; the latter sighting the safety of users over Russia’s new ‘fake news’ law. This comes as the German embassy uses twitter to call out Russia and dispute their claims of “fighting nazism” in Ukraine, saying “sadly we’re kinda experts on Nazism”. 

NEED-TO-KNOW

1SINGLE DNA test can now screen for more than 50 genetic diseases. The new test developed in Australia has proven to be accurate and works by focusing on unusually-long repetitive DNA sequences in a person’s genes. About 30% of all postnatal infant mortality in developed countries is due to genetic disease; 30% of paediatric and 10% of adult hospital admissions can be traced to a predominantly genetic cause. Once accredited in 2-5 years the test will revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of genetic diseases.

3kBLOOD PROTEINS have been screened by researchers looking at correlations between a person’s blood type and their risk of serious illness from Covid-19. They found 14 of these proteins had some form of causal connection to the risk of severe COVID-19 and notably type A blood seemed to be at a much higher risk of hospitalization and death compared to those with type O blood.

SHOULD-KNOW

$8bnGLOBAL MARKET - this is what Li-Fi (light fidelity) is set to be worth by 2030 - it was $70m in 2019. Now the tech - which uses light waves to carry data - is close to mass dissemination as companies have begun producing light bulbs which can broadcast their own network. Li-fi is designed to cover gaps in and enhance conventional Wi-Fi not replace it as the light cannot go through walls. 

4852ACTIVE satellites orbit the earth and the cost of building and launching new ones - around $500m. So NASA has hatched a plan to fix and refuel current options by sending robots into orbit. It’s been 11 years since fuel depletion caused NASA’s revolutionary imaging satellite Landsat 7’s orbit to degrade however by 2025 the agency hopes for it to become the first satellite ever refueled in space.

73YEARS since mathematician Claude Shannon proved that perfect secrecy was possible; cryptographers have done it. Applying Quantum coin theory and Quantum entanglement to the age old problem of “encryption and key”, for the first time cryptographers have been able to demonstrate the possibility of sharing secrets with perfect privacy — even when the devices used to share them cannot be trusted.

GOOD-TO-KNOW

28kNEAR EARTH asteroids have been identified by NASA, 10k of which are bigger than 140 metres across. Now NASA is investigating a proposal for a defense system - dubbed Pi - that could break apart a hazardous space rock just days or even hours before a potential Earth strike. The problem with the deflection method of self-defense is that it relies on a long lead time we may not always have.

2BEERS a day damages the human brain as much as 10 years of ageing according to new research. A large study of more than 36,000 high-quality MRI brain scans has found that drinking four units of alcohol a day – two beers, or two glasses of wine – causes structural damage and brain volume loss equivalent to a decade of aging.

65ftMEGALODON - an extinct and iconic shark - reached the size they did due to cooler waters according to new research. This means the same species living closer to the equator would have been noticeably smaller. For reference the biggest great white shark’s today reach up to 20ft.

SIGN-OFF STAT

$2.53mTOYOTA 2000GT becomes the most expensive car in Japanese history; only 351 were ever produced between 1967 and 1970 - it was 15% more expensive than the Jaguar E-Type or the Porsche 911 at the time. The most expensive ever? A Tour de France-winning 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO sold in 2018 for $70m.

  

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