Unifying Away from the Reformation; Disappearing Pastors; Adopting Russia; Superbug Spread; Growing Neurons; The Date Your Heart will Fail; Robot Street; Smiling Venus; Galileo's Time; and 10,000 Quadrillion Asteroid

False Unity

'Unity' call on Reformation anniversary bbc

A statement from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York has said the split caused "lasting damage" to the unity of the Church - something that contradicted the teaching of Jesus and left a "legacy of mistrust and competition".

Christianity

Rights groups concerned by disappearances of Myanmar pastors washingtonpost

Langjaw Gam Seng, 35, and Dumdaw Nawng Lat, 65, were summoned to an army base in northern Shan state in northeastern Myanmar on Dec. 24. Heavy fighting has been occurring in the area between the government and a coalition of Kachin and three other ethnic guerrilla groups. Myanmar’s army has often been accused of human rights abuses in its decades-long battles with ethnic rebels seeking greater autonomy.

Human Rights Watch and Fortify Rights fortifyrights.org said the two men appeared to have been forcibly disappeared and that Myanmar authorities “should urgently provide information on (their) whereabouts and well-being.

Russia

Official: Russia could end ban on US adoptions washingtonpost

The ban was imposed in 2012, prompted by a U.S. law sanctioning some Russians identified as human-rights violators.

“We are ready for dialogue,” upper house speaker Valentina Matvienko said Wednesday, saying the ban could end if the U.S. guarantees the welfare of Russian adoptees.

Pestilence

Drug-resistant superbug may be more widespread than previously known cnn

In fact, transmission of these bacteria person-to-person may be occurring without symptoms, say the researchers, from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health harvard.edu and the Broad Institute broadinstitute.org.

Research

First Cell Culture of Live Adult Human neurons Shows Potential of Brain Cell Types neurosciencenews t

“We were surprised that we could grow these neurons at all,” Eberwine said. “The oldest tissue came from a donor who was in their mid-sixties. This is even more surprising because neurons don’t divide, so they need to last a lifetime. We are finally able to characterize adult aged cells from the most enigmatic organ of the body – the seat of learning and memory, as well as consciousness.”

AI

Artificial intelligence predicts when heart will fail bbc

The software was given MRI scans of 256 patients' hearts, and blood test results. It measured the movement of 30,000 different points in the organ's structure during each a heartbeat. When this data was combined with eight years of patient health records, the artificial intelligence learned which abnormalities predicted when patients would die. The software could look about five years into the future. It correctly predicted those who would still be alive after one year about 80% of the time. The figure for doctors is 60%.

Robots

Robot deliveries are about to hit U.S. streets money.cnn

Customers placing orders during daylight may receive an order from the robots, which autonomously navigate sidewalks. The robots hold deliveries in their hulls, which flip open with the push of a button. For now, Starship Technologies starship.xyz, which makes the robots, will have an employee walking behind the robot to keep it out of trouble and answer any questions from curious pedestrians.

Space

Venus Smiled, With a Mysterious Wave Across Its Atmosphere nytimes

When Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft pulled into orbit around Venus in December 2015 and turned on its instruments, it almost immediately discovered a bow-shape feature in the atmosphere stretching 6,000 miles, almost pole to pole — a sideways smile.

Galileo satellites experiencing multiple clock failures bbc

Across the 18 satellites now in orbit, nine clocks have stopped operating. Three are traditional rubidium devices; six are the more precise hydrogen maser instruments that were designed to give Galileo superior performance to the American GPS network.

NASA planning mission to an asteroid worth $10,000 quadrillion usatoday w!

This is an opportunity to explore a new type of world — not one of rock or ice, but of metal," Lindy Elkins-Tanton, Psyche's principal investigator said in a statement. "16 Psyche is the only known object of its kind in the solar system, and this is the only way humans will ever visit a core. We learn about inner space by visiting outer space."

Others...

After 146 years, the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey circus is to close theguardian

Popcorn Looks Even More Delicious in Super Slow Motion sploid.gizmodo v