Archives for April 8, 2019

The ISS is crawling with nasty bacteria

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Cramped spaces are a breeding ground for germs, claim NASA scientists.

NASA scientists have found that the International Space Station (ISS), home to six astronauts, is infested with disease-inducing bacteria. Many of the organisms breeding on the craft’s surfaces are known to form both bacterial and fungal biofilms that promote resistance to antibiotics. The NASA team published their findings in a new study — the first comprehensive catalog of germs in closed space systems — in the journal Microbiome. The biofilms ability to cause microbial-induced corrosion on Earth could also play havoc with the ISS’ infrastructure by causing mechanical blockages, claim the researchers.

The microbes come from humans and are similar to the ones in gyms, offices, and hospitals on Earth. They include so-called opportunistic pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus (commonly found on the skin and in the nasal passage) and Enterobacter (associated with the human gastrointestinal tract). Though they can cause diseases back on Earth, it’s unclear what, if any, affect they’d have on the ISS’ inhabitants.

“Specific microbes in indoor spaces on Earth have been shown to impact human health,” Dr Kasthuri Venkateswaran, a senior research scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the study’s co-author, said. “This is even more important for astronauts during spaceflight, as they have altered immunity and do not have access to the sophisticated medical interventions available on Earth.”

As part of the study, the team used both traditional culture techniques and gene sequencing methods to analyse surface samples collected in eight locations on the ISS, including the viewing window, the toilet — which recently burst, spewing two gallons of water on the US crew — exercise platform, dining table and sleeping quarters, during three flights across 14 months.

“The ISS is a hermetically sealed closed system, subjected to microgravity, radiation, elevated carbon dioxide and the recirculation of air through HEPA filters, and is considered an ‘extreme environment,'” said Dr Venkateswaran — essentially the type of place where bacteria tend to thrive. Researchers claim the study can be used to improve safety measures for NASA astronauts, long-term space travel or living in space.

Reddit’s ‘Change My View’ community becomes a dedicated site

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KIEV, UKRAINE – 2018/08/14: Reddit social networking website seen displayed on a smart phone.

It even has the backing of Alphabet’s tech incubator.

Reddit is known for a handful of communities that have taken on a life of their own, and that includes communities taking their efforts off Reddit entirely. The creator of the popular r/changemyview subreddit, Kal Turnbull, has launched a Change My View site that expands his concept of civil discourse beyond what Reddit could offer. It uses the basic forum structure and rules, but relies on paid moderators, a log of moderation actions, and the Perspective comment ranking system from Alphabet’s tech incubator Jigsaw (which also provided a degree of funding) to automatically scrub some abusive behavior.

The stand-alone site makes it easier to award a “delta” (a vote for a persuasive comment) and mark comments as illuminating.

At the moment, Change A View is more of an extension of the subreddit than anything. It shows how even Reddit’s relatively flexible community format has its limits. However, Turnbull told Wired that he saw it becoming a platform for other conversations online, possibly replacing the sometimes toxic comment systems you see online. That, in turn, could lead to more nuanced and respectful discussions instead of the flame wars that are all too common today.

Amazon’s Fire Stick TV 4K supports Miracast screen mirroring

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Cast programs to any compatible smartphone, tablet or laptop.

With its latest update, Amazon has brought a blast from the past to its modestly-priced Fire TV Stick 4K. The $50 streaming stick now supports Miracast, letting you mirror programs to supported smartphones, tablets and PCs as if they were attached displays, according to AFTVnews. Amazon had dropped Miracast support with Fire OS 6 on the Fire TV 3, but has now re-introduced it with the Fire TV Stick 4K.

To use it, you can enable display mirroring from the shortcut or settings menus. Your device will need to support Miracast, which has largely fallen out of use and was actually dropped by Google with Android 9 Pie. That’s because there aren’t likely too many use case scenarios (such as a lack of internet connection on your device) that don’t let you use an app to watch programs. Miracast is still largely available on Windows devices, however.

Ecobee’s first home security camera might include Alexa

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It’s not just about thermostats and switches.

Ecobee’s smart home lineup still revolves almost exclusively around its thermostats. It might branch out in the near future, though. Zatz Not Funny has obtained an image of what appears to be Ecobee’s first home security camera. Details are incredibly scarce, but Amazon Alexa integration is likely given the company’s past and a set of multi-color notification lights that can turn a familiar shade of blue.

It’s uncertain what other party tricks the camera might have, although Zatz speculates that it could incorporate presence sensors (currently a separate purchase) to have your thermostat change the temperature when you get home. Release details are still up in the air. Given that there’s already a seemingly finished press image of the camera, though, you might not have to wait very long.

Morgan Stanley (MS) Is An Attractive Opportunity

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Wall Street analysts will be watching closely when Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) reports its quarterly earnings next, which is scheduled for Wed 17 Apr (In 10 Days). Looking at the latest analyst forecasts, the current earnings-per-share (EPS) consensus estimate is sitting at $1.28 per share. In the preceding quarter, the company reportedly generated EPS of $0.80 per share of its common stock. Looking at profitability indicators, this organization has an operating margin of 22.40%, a profit margin of 16.40%70.60%.

Speaking of Wall Street analysts, a number of market experts at top investment banks have recently posted their updated ratings on shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS). Most recently, on February 1st, 2019, Societe Generale Downgrade a Sell rating. Before that, on January 9th, 2019, Citigroup Upgrade to Buy. Barclays Reiterated a Equal Weight rating on January 2nd, 2019, Wells Fargo Upgrade an Outperform rating on October 24th, 2018, and HSBC Securities Downgrade a Hold rating on October 2nd, 2018.

At its current price point, combined with the fact that this company has 1.71B shares outstanding, the current market capitalization sits at 76.78B. In the last trading day, 8,576,053 shares of Morgan Stanley were traded, which compares to its usual volume of about 12.87M shares per day of trading.

If we compare this company’s current price to its recent pricing activity, we can see that the price has changed by $2.70 in the past five trading days, resulting in a percentage change of +6.40% and a moving average of 44.29. In the past 20 days, its price changed by $3.54 (which is +8.56%) and the stock’s moving average was 42.91. Looking back a full 50 days, shares of MS changed by $2.85 (which is +6.78%) and demonstrated a moving average of 42.32.

Staying in the same analytical area, this company’s stock has demonstrated a 9-day Stochastic %K score of 91.38%, a 14-day Stochastic %K score of 89.76% and a 20-day Stochastic %K score of 90.50%. Using a similar metric, Morgan Stanley (MS) shares showed a Stochastic %D of 91.42% over the past 9 days, a Stochastic %D score of 82.50% over the last 14 days, and a 20-day Stochastic %D of 84.34%. Meanwhile, this stock’s MACD Oscillator was 1.53 over the past 9 days, 1.74 over the past two weeks, and 1.82 in the last 20 days.

As recent trading data suggests, this company’s shares have been hovering close to the $44.90 level. Over the past 12 months, this stock has experienced a high price of $55.64 and a low of $36.74. Top market experts pay heightened attention to a stock as it is getting closer to a notable historic high price or low price.

SSgA Funds Management Inc sold more shares of this company during the last fiscal quarter, as we can observe in the latest corresponding filing from Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This specific major shareholder, at the end of the quarter, held 130,640,173 shares of the company’s stock following the subtraction of -1,403,997 to this investor’s holdings during the three-month period. This share count represents that SSgA Funds Management Inc now held 7.65% stake in Morgan Stanley (MS)’s shares.

Just in the most recent trading day, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) experienced a high price of $45.38 and low point of $44.73. At the end of the last trading session, this stock was at 44.90 per share, following a loss of -$44.93, or -0.07% during the full day.

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (HOG) Growth: It’s Not All About Earnings

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Wall Street analysts will be watching closely when Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) reports its quarterly earnings next, which is scheduled for Tue 23 Apr (In 16 Days). Looking at the latest analyst forecasts, the current earnings-per-share (EPS) consensus estimate is sitting at $1.35 per share. In the preceding quarter, the company reportedly generated EPS of $0.11 per share of its common stock. Looking at profitability indicators, this organization has an operating margin of 12.50%, a profit margin of 9.30%38.00%.

Speaking of Wall Street analysts, a number of market experts at top investment banks have recently posted their updated ratings on shares of Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG). Most recently, on October 19th, 2018, BMO Capital Markets Downgrade a Market Perform rating. Before that, on October 19th, 2018, BMO Capital Markets Downgrade to Market Perform. Wedbush Reiterated a Neutral rating on October 4th, 2018, Wolfe Research Initiated an Peer Perform rating on October 2nd, 2018, and Stifel Reiterated a Hold rating on July 25th, 2018.

At its current price point, combined with the fact that this company has 162.03M shares outstanding, the current market capitalization sits at 6.53B. In the last trading day, 3,788,082 shares of Harley-Davidson, Inc. were traded, which compares to its usual volume of about 2.34M shares per day of trading.

If we compare this company’s current price to its recent pricing activity, we can see that the price has changed by $4.65 in the past five trading days, resulting in a percentage change of +13.04% and a moving average of 38.41. In the past 20 days, its price changed by $2.65 (which is +7.04%) and the stock’s moving average was 36.39. Looking back a full 50 days, shares of HOG changed by $3.81 (which is +10.44%) and demonstrated a moving average of 36.68.

Staying in the same analytical area, this company’s stock has demonstrated a 9-day Stochastic %K score of 92.29%, a 14-day Stochastic %K score of 92.46% and a 20-day Stochastic %K score of 92.11%. Using a similar metric, Harley-Davidson, Inc. (HOG) shares showed a Stochastic %D of 95.05% over the past 9 days, a Stochastic %D score of 95.11% over the last 14 days, and a 20-day Stochastic %D of 84.86%. Meanwhile, this stock’s MACD Oscillator was 2.03 over the past 9 days, 2.82 over the past two weeks, and 2.72 in the last 20 days.

As recent trading data suggests, this company’s shares have been hovering close to the $40.31 level. Over the past 12 months, this stock has experienced a high price of $46.79 and a low of $31.36. Top market experts pay heightened attention to a stock as it is getting closer to a notable historic high price or low price.

The Vanguard Group Inc purchased more shares of this company during the last fiscal quarter, as we can observe in the latest corresponding filing from Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This specific major shareholder, at the end of the quarter, held 17,429,076 shares of the company’s stock following the addition of 41,335 to this investor’s holdings during the three-month period. This share count represents that The Vanguard Group Inc now held 10.92% stake in Harley-Davidson, Inc. (HOG)’s shares.

Just in the most recent trading day, Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) experienced a high price of $40.74 and low point of $38.78. At the end of the last trading session, this stock was at 40.31 per share, following a loss of -$39.06, or 3.20% during the full day.