The Daily Populous

Saturday September 30th, 2017 evening edition

image for USNS Comfort floating hospital ship headed to Puerto Rico

Today, the USNS Comfort has embarked on a path straight for Puerto Rico to provide aid to the U.S. territory recently devastated by Hurricane Maria, the most powerful storm to land a direct hit on the island in nearly a century.

The damage caused by Hurricane Maria left the island without electricity while also subjecting residents to flash floods and mudslides.

As for the USNS Comfort, the 894′ long ship has a maximum speed of approximately 20 miles per hour (17.5 knots) and is expected to reach Puerto Rico by Tuesday.

Also on board, the floating hospital boasts a dental suite, one CAT scan unit, four X-ray machines, a physical therapy center and even a pharmacy.

The ship was originally named SS Rose City before being converted into a hospital ship and joining the Navy fleet.

Per the Geneva Conventions, the USNS Comfort does not carry any offensive weapons, including the crew. »

Hubble Spots Farthest-Ever Incoming Active Comet

Authored by space.com

The Hubble Space Telescope captured a view of Comet C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS), called K2 for short, as it came in from out beyond Saturn's orbit, 1.5 billion miles from the sun.

A newfound distant comet — 1.5 billion miles from the sun — boasts the earliest signs of activity ever seen on a comet entering the solar system.

"We think the comet has been continuously active for at least four years," Jewitt said. »

Costco Kicks Out Coke And Replaces It With Pepsi In Food Courts

Authored by businessinsider.com

Costco has confirmed that all of its foodservice locations will be switching from Coke to Pepsi products, Jeffrey Klineman at BevNET reported.

It will start gradually changing things out at its 400 U.S. stores in April as the vending contracts expire.

Costco dishes out more than 100 million hot dogs at its food courts, which is more than four times what Major League Baseball sold at its ballparks in 2011, according to the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council. »

Sonochemical Synthesis: Did Life Originate Inside Collapsing Bubbles?

Authored by acsh.org
image for

It is generally agreed that organic molecules were created when gases in the early Earth's atmosphere reacted.

At the microscopic level, conditions inside collapsing bubbles can exhibit extreme temperatures and pressures of the sort necessary to trigger chemical reactions.

Using this knowledge of what is called sonochemical synthesis, the authors created a computer model to determine what types of organic molecules could be synthesized inside collapsing bubbles. »