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Mpox cases are far outpacing last year's numbers, CDC reports

By Nicoletta Lanese published 1 April 24

Health officials are encouraging people at risk of mpox to seek vaccination, as cases are on the rise.

Orcas aren't all the same species, study of North Pacific killer whales reveals

By Jennifer Nalewicki published 1 April 24

Scientists suggest that killer whales be divided into two distinct species.

See photos of NASA's suitcase-sized rovers that will soon map the moon's surface

By Samantha Mathewson published 1 April 24

NASA test drove the mini autonomous rovers that will soon fly to the moon and collectively map the lunar surface.

'You probably didn't inherit any DNA from Charlemagne': What it means when your DNA 'matches' a historic person's

By Harald Ringbauer, Shai Carmi published 1 April 24

A genetic match to an ancient person doesn't mean you're more related genealogically.

Why NASA is launching 3 rockets into the solar eclipse next week

By Sharmila Kuthunur published 1 April 24

Three rockets ferrying science instruments will be launched into the eclipse's shadow on April 8. Here's what scientists hope to learn.

Hidden chunk of Earth's crust that seeded birth of 'Scandinavia' discovered through ancient river crystals

By Patrick Pester published 1 April 24

Finland's river crystals hold clues about the formation of 'Scandinavia's' oldest bedrock 3.75 billion years ago.

April 8 solar eclipse: What time does totality start in every state?

By Stephanie Pappas published 1 April 24

Totality, when the moon completely covers the sun's face, is the climax of a total solar eclipse. Here's what time totality starts in all 13 states where the total solar eclipse will be visible on April 8.

Chemicals that make babies smell sweet and teens smell 'goat-like' revealed

By Kamal Nahas published 1 April 24

Aroma researchers worked out which chemicals in body odor differ between infants and teens who have hit puberty.

Colors will look different during the April 8 solar eclipse. Here's why.

By Riis Williams published 1 April 24

When the moon fully eclipses the sun, it's not just the sky that changes. Your eyes do, too.

Many kids are unsure if Alexa and Siri have feelings or think like people, study finds

By Joe Phelan published 1 April 24

A small study in Scotland suggests many kids overestimate the agency and intellect of AI assistants like Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant.

Ancient quarries in Israel reveal where Homo erectus hunted and butchered elephants

By Tom Metcalfe published 1 April 24

Researchers suggest ancient quarry sites in Israel were favored because they were close to elephant migration routes.

Space photo of the week: James Webb telescope reveals surprising starburst in ancient galaxy

By Jamie Carter published 31 March 24

New infrared observations from the James Webb Space Telescope unveil a galaxy far, far away that's creating new stars.

Uncover the past with our latest special edition magazine 'The Book of Archaeology'

By Orla Loughran Hayes published 31 March 24

Deal The latest special edition from All About History is a great way to learn more about archaeology and ancient civilizations, such as the Vikings and Ancient Greeks.

How much does Earth weigh?

By Katherine Irving published 31 March 24

Earth's mass took hundreds of years to estimate, and even now, experts don't agree on the exact number.

Skeleton panda sea squirt: The weird little creature that looks like baby panda dressed up for Halloween

By Melissa Hobson published 30 March 24

Scientists discovered this little panda skeleton that lives off the coast of a Japanese island was a new species after scuba divers posted photos of it online.

Where does the solar system end?

By Harry Baker published 30 March 24

The location of the solar system's outer boundary is a point of contention among astronomers. There are three possible candidates, which "all have merit." But which one is best?

Powerful X-class solar flare slams Earth, triggering radio blackout over the Pacific Ocean

By Jennifer Nalewicki published 29 March 24

On March 28, Earth was hit by an X-class solar flare that was strong enough to ionize part of the planet's atmosphere.

'Novel' swine flu virus sickens Pennsylvania child in 1st case of the year

By Nicoletta Lanese published 29 March 24

The CDC has reported the first human case of swine flu in the U.S. in 2024. There's no evidence of the infection spreading between people.

Tardigrade proteins could slow aging in humans, small cell study finds

In lab-dishes studies, proteins drawn from tiny tardigrades slowed human cell metabolism.

US has already had more measles cases in 2024 than all of 2023

CDC data shows that more than 60 measles cases have been reported so far in 2024, surpassing last year's total.

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• 2 9,000-year-old rock art discovered among dinosaur footprints in Brazil
• 3 Where does the solar system end?
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• 5 James Webb telescope confirms there is something seriously wrong with our understanding of the universe
• 2 How much does Earth weigh?
• 3 Tardigrade proteins could slow aging in humans, small cell study finds
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• 27 March 2024
• Correction 27 March 2024

Memories are made by breaking DNA — and fixing it

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Neurons (shown here in a coloured scanning electron micrograph) mend broken DNA during memory formation. Credit: Ted Kinsman/Science Photo Library

When a long-term memory forms, some brain cells experience a rush of electrical activity so strong that it snaps their DNA. Then, an inflammatory response kicks in, repairing this damage and helping to cement the memory, a study in mice shows.

The findings, published on 27 March in Nature 1 , are “extremely exciting”, says Li-Huei Tsai, a neurobiologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge who was not involved in the work. They contribute to the picture that forming memories is a “risky business”, she says. Normally, breaks in both strands of the double helix DNA molecule are associated with diseases including cancer. But in this case, the DNA damage-and-repair cycle offers one explanation for how memories might form and last.

It also suggests a tantalizing possibility: this cycle might be faulty in people with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, causing a build-up of errors in a neuron’s DNA, says study co-author Jelena Radulovic, a neuroscientist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.

Inflammatory response

This isn’t the first time that DNA damage has been associated with memory. In 2021, Tsai and her colleagues showed that double-stranded DNA breaks are widespread in the brain, and linked them with learning 2 .

To better understand the part these DNA breaks play in memory formation, Radulovic and her colleagues trained mice to associate a small electrical shock with a new environment, so that when the animals were once again put into that environment, they would ‘remember’ the experience and show signs of fear, such as freezing in place. Then the researchers examined gene activity in neurons in a brain area key to memory — the hippocampus. They found that some genes responsible for inflammation were active in a set of neurons four days after training. Three weeks after training, the same genes were much less active.

How to see a memory

The team pinpointed the cause of the inflammation: a protein called TLR9, which triggers an immune response to DNA fragments floating around the insides of cells. This inflammatory response is similar to one that immune cells use when they defend against genetic material from invading pathogens, Radulovic says. However, in this case, the nerve cells were responding not to invaders, but to their own DNA, the researchers found.

TLR9 was most active in a subset of hippocampal neurons in which DNA breaks resisted repair. In these cells, DNA repair machinery accumulated in an organelle called the centrosome, which is often associated with cell division and differentiation. However, mature neurons don’t divide, Radulovic says, so it is surprising to see centrosomes participating in DNA repair. She wonders whether memories form through a mechanism that is similar to how immune cells become attuned to foreign substances that they encounter. In other words, during damage-and-repair cycles, neurons might encode information about the memory-formation event that triggered the DNA breaks, she says.

When the researchers deleted the gene encoding the TLR9 protein from mice, the animals had trouble recalling long-term memories about their training: they froze much less often when placed into the environment where they had previously been shocked than did mice that had the gene intact. These findings suggest that “we are using our own DNA as a signalling system” to “retain information over a long time”, Radulovic says.

How the team’s findings fit with other discoveries about memory formation is still unclear. For instance, researchers have shown that a subset of hippocampal neurons known as an engram are key to memory formation 3 . These cells can be thought of as a physical trace of a single memory, and they express certain genes after a learning event. But the group of neurons in which Radulovic and her colleagues observed the memory-related inflammation are mostly different from the engram neurons, the authors say.

Flashes of light show how memories are made

Tomás Ryan, an engram neuroscientist at Trinity College Dublin, says the study provides “the best evidence so far that DNA repair is important for memory”. But he questions whether the neurons encode something distinct from the engram — instead, he says, the DNA damage and repair could be a consequence of engram creation. “Forming an engram is a high-impact event; you have to do a lot of housekeeping after,” he says.

Tsai hopes that future research will address how the double-stranded DNA breaks happen and whether they occur in other brain regions, too.

Clara Ortega de San Luis, a neuroscientist who works with Ryan at Trinity College Dublin, says that these results bring much-needed attention to mechanisms of memory formation and persistence inside cells. “We know a lot about connectivity” between neurons “and neural plasticity, but not nearly as much about what happens inside neurons”, she says.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-00930-y

Read the related News & Views: ‘ Innate immunity in neurons makes memories persist ’.

Updates & Corrections

Correction 27 March 2024 : An earlier version of this story indicated that broken DNA accumulated in the centrosome. It is DNA repair machinery that accumulates in that organelle.

Jovasevic, V. et al. Nature 628 , 145–153 (2024).

Article   Google Scholar  

Stott, R. T., Kritsky, O. & Tsai, L.-H. PLoS ONE 16 , e0249691 (2021).

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Josselyn, S. A. & Tonegawa, S. Science 367 , eaaw4325 (2020).

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What’s Next for the Coronavirus?

Scientists studying the virus’s continuing evolution, and the body’s immune responses, hope to head off a resurgence and to better understand long Covid.

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By Apoorva Mandavilli

Apoorva Mandavilli has been reporting on Covid since the start of the pandemic.

Rat droppings from New York City. Poop from dog parks in Wisconsin. Human waste from a Missouri hospital. These are some of the materials that are readying us for the next chapter of the coronavirus saga.

More than four years into the pandemic, the virus has loosened its hold on most people’s bodies and minds. But a new variant better able to dodge our immune defenses may yet appear, derailing a hard-won return to normalcy.

Scientists around the country are watching for the first signs.

“We’re not in the acute phases of a pandemic anymore, and I think it’s understandable and probably a good thing” that most people, including scientists, have returned to their prepandemic lives, said Jesse Bloom, an evolutionary biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle.

“That said, the virus is still evolving, it’s still infecting large numbers of people,” he added. “We need to keep tracking this.”

Dr. Bloom and other researchers are trying to understand how the coronavirus behaves and evolves as populations amass immunity. Other teams are probing the body’s response to the infection, including the complex syndrome called long Covid.

And some scientists have taken on an increasingly difficult task: estimating vaccine effectiveness in a crowded respiratory milieu.

“Intellectually, this virus, to me at least, is only becoming more interesting,” said Sarah Cobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Chicago.

“In some ways, SARS-CoV-2 has been a fabulous reminder of some of the deepest questions in the field, and also how far we have to go in answering a lot of them.”

Closely analyzing new variants appearing in wastewater may help predict what additional forms may surface, said Marc Johnson, a virologist at the University of Missouri, who has hunted for iterations of the coronavirus in stool samples from rodents and humans.

“They help inform the evolution of this virus and what’s likely to happen next, and possibly could even inform how to make a better vaccine,” Dr. Johnson said.

The ‘Black Swan Event’

Evolutionary biology was once an esoteric pursuit involving humdrum hours staring at a computer screen. The work’s implications for public health were often tenuous.

The pandemic changed that. Vaccines can now be made more easily and much faster than before, so “really understanding how viruses evolve has more and more practical utility,” Dr. Bloom said.

Many evolutionary biologists who now study the coronavirus, including Dr. Bloom, were experts in influenza, which evolves into a new variant every two to eight years from its most immediate predecessor.

The scientists expected the coronavirus to behave similarly. But Omicron arrived with dozens of new mutations — a shocking “black swan event,” Dr. Bloom said. Then came BA.2.86, another huge jump in evolution, signaling that the virus remained unpredictable.

The iterations of a virus that thrive throughout a population have some sort of advantage — an ability to sidestep the immune system, perhaps, or extreme contagiousness. In an individual, “there is no such evolutionary pressure,” said Katia Koelle, an evolutionary biologist at Emory University.

The result is that a chronic infection — usually in an immunocompromised person — offers the virus an opportunity to experiment with new formats, allowing it to hit the evolutionary equivalent of a fast-forward button. (Viral persistence in the body is also thought to play a role in long Covid.)

Chronic infections with the coronavirus are rare, even among immunocompromised people. But the Alpha variant of late 2020, the Omicron variant in late 2021 and BA.2.86, first detected last summer — all are now thought to have emerged from immunocompromised people.

Some mutations acquired as the virus evolves may offer no benefit at all, or may even hinder it, Dr. Koelle said. Not all of the virus versions pose a widespread threat to the population — BA.2.86 ultimately did not, for example.

But these genetic alterations may nevertheless foreshadow the future.

After BA.2.86 emerged, close analysis of its genome revealed one spot where the virus remained sensitive to the body’s immune defenses. Dr. Johnson guessed that the virus’s next move would be to acquire a mutation in that very spot.

“And sure enough, it just appeared,” he said, referring to JN.1 , the variant that now accounts for a vast majority of infections.

“The more we see these lineages like BA.2.86, which appear to be from chronic infections, the more we have an argument like, Hey, this really is something we should be paying attention to,” he added.

Analyzing more than 20,000 samples of wastewater from across the country, Dr. Johnson has found fewer than 60 viral genetic sequences that are likely to be from immunocompromised people.

Such sequences turn up only when a “super shedder” — an individual who sheds huge amounts of virus in their feces — happens to live in an area with wastewater surveillance. “I’m sure there are a ton more out there,” Dr. Johnson said. “I just don’t know how many more.”

Spotty Surveillance

Scientists looking for signs of renewed danger are constrained by the limited surveillance for coronavirus variants in the United States and elsewhere.

Many countries, including the United States, ramped up tracking efforts at the height of the pandemic. But they have since been cut back, leaving scientists to guess the scale of respiratory virus infections. Wastewater and hospitalizations can provide clues, but neither is a sensitive measure.

“We never have had especially systematic surveillance for respiratory pathogens in the United States, but it’s even less systematic now,” Dr. Cobey said. “Our understanding of the burden of these pathogens, much less their evolution, has been really compromised.”

Not tracking viruses closely has another consequence: With multiple respiratory viruses to combat each year, it is now extremely challenging to gauge how effective the vaccines are.

Before Covid, scientists estimated the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine by comparing the vaccination status of those who tested positive for flu with those who did not.

But now, with vaccines for Covid and respiratory syncytial virus in the mix, the calculations are no longer simple. Patients turn up at clinics and hospitals with similar symptoms, and each vaccine prevents those symptoms to a different degree.

“It becomes this much more complex network of prevention that’s happening,” said Emily Martin, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan. “It does funny things to the numbers.”

An accurate estimate of effectiveness will be crucial for designing each season’s vaccine, and for preparing doctors and patients to face a rough respiratory season.

In 2021, for example, the University of Michigan experienced an outbreak of influenza. When the researchers worked out that the season’s vaccine didn’t protect against that strain, they were able to warn other college campuses to prepare for clusters in their dorms, and hospitals to stock up on antiviral drugs.

Solving the problem may itself pose complications, because different divisions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention work on influenza, Covid and other respiratory diseases.

“It requires problem-solving across these sort of artificial lines of different departments,” Dr. Martin said.

Immunity and Long Covid

As coronavirus variant after variant materialized, it became clear that while the vaccines provided a powerful bulwark against severe illness and death, they were much less effective at stopping viral spread.

For a vaccine to prevent infections, it must induce antibodies not just in the blood, but at sites where the virus invades the body.

“Ideally, you’d want them across mucosal sites — so, in your nose, in your lungs,” said Marion Pepper, an immunologist at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Scientists discovered about 15 years ago that a large part of the body’s defenses comes not just from the cells and organs of the immune system, but from these other tissues.

“One of the things that we’ve been really focused on is trying to understand immune responses in the tissues better than we did before,” Dr. Pepper said.

In a small set of people, the virus itself may also persist in various parts of the body, and may be one of the causes of long Covid. Vaccination and antiviral drugs alleviate some of the symptoms, lending credence to this idea.

At Yale University, Akiko Iwasaki and her colleagues are testing whether a 15-day course of the antiviral drug Paxlovid can eliminate a slowly replicating reservoir of virus in the body.

“We’re hoping to get to the root cause if that’s what’s causing people’s illness,” Dr. Iwasaki said.

She and her colleagues began studying immune responses to the coronavirus almost as soon as the virus appeared. As the pandemic progressed, the collaborations grew larger and more international.

And it became obvious that in many people, the coronavirus leaves a lasting legacy of immune-related problems.

Two years ago, Dr. Iwasaki proposed a new center to study the myriad questions that have arisen. Infections with many other viruses, bacteria and parasites also set off long-term complications , including autoimmunity.

The new virtual institute, started last summer, is dedicated to studying post-infection syndromes and strategies to prevent and treat them.

Before the pandemic, Dr. Iwasaki was already busy studying viral infections with a big lab and multiple projects. But it doesn’t begin to compare with her life now, she said.

“Scientists tend to be obsessed about things that they work on, but not with this level of urgency,” she said. “I’m pretty much working every waking hour.”

A photo caption in an earlier version of this article referred incorrectly to a center at the University of Missouri. It is the Bond Life Sciences Center, not the Lab Science Center.

How we handle corrections

Apoorva Mandavilli is a reporter focused on science and global health. She was a part of the team that won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for coverage of the pandemic. More about Apoorva Mandavilli

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Biden-harris administration announces preliminary terms with intel to support investment in u.s. semiconductor technology leadership and create tens of thousands of jobs, office of public affairs.

U.S. Department of Commerce Proposes up to $8.5 Billion in Potential Direct Funding for Intel Under President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to Support Multiple Projects in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, and Oregon

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce and Intel Corporation have reached a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) to provide up to $8.5 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act to strengthen the U.S. supply chain and re-establish American leadership in semiconductor manufacturing. Leading-edge logic chips are essential to the world’s most advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, and this proposed funding would help ensure more of those chips are developed and made domestically. As President Biden highlighted in his State of the Union, the CHIPS and Science Act is charting a new course to manufacture critical technologies in America, lead the world in innovation, and create good jobs here in the United States. This is the Department of Commerce’s fourth PMT announcement under the CHIPS and Science Act.

Over the course of the next five years, Intel expects its investments in the United States to exceed $100 billion, as it expands capacity and capabilities in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, and Oregon, estimated to directly create over 10,000 manufacturing jobs and nearly 20,000 construction jobs. The Biden Administration’s proposed CHIPS investment, coupled with Intel’s investment, would mark one of the largest investments ever announced in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. The PMT also includes approximately $50 million in dedicated funding to develop the company’s semiconductor and construction workforce. This builds upon Intel’s own workforce investments, totaling over $250 million in the past five years, as well as its strong partnerships with local communities, community colleges, universities, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and apprenticeship programs.

“There is no one who cares more about revitalizing American manufacturing than President Biden, and today’s announcement is a massive step towards ensuring America’s leadership in manufacturing for the 21st century. With this agreement, we are helping to incentivize over $100 billion in investments from Intel – marking one of the largest investments ever in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, which will create over 30,000 good-paying jobs and ignite the next generation of innovation,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo . “This announcement is the culmination of years of work by President Biden and bipartisan efforts in Congress to ensure that the leading-edge chips we need to secure our economic and national security are made in the U.S.”

Leading-edge chips power the most sophisticated technology on the planet, including developing AI and building critical military capabilities. Intel’s process technologies such as Intel 18A and advanced packaging technologies, combined with its foundry services, would better enable U.S. companies to lead the AI industry by ensuring we have a domestic supply of these advanced chips.

“The CHIPS for America program will bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the U.S. and create a vital R&D ecosystem to keep it here,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Laurie E. Locascio . “The innovation sparked by this proposed investment would strengthen America’s technological and research leadership and significantly help enhance our nation’s manufacturing capacity while strengthening communities and creating good-paying jobs.”

“Today is a defining moment for the U.S. and Intel as we work to power the next great chapter of American semiconductor manufacturing innovation,” said Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger . “AI is supercharging the digital revolution and everything digital needs semiconductors. CHIPS Act support will help to ensure that Intel and the U.S. stay at the forefront of the AI era as we build a resilient and sustainable semiconductor supply chain to power our nation’s future.”

This proposed investment would deliver on the Administration's commitment to developing a robust domestic semiconductor ecosystem by reinforcing Intel's decades-long history in the United States. The investment will also enable the company to support industry-leading, U.S.-based fabless semiconductor companies with U.S.-based leading-edge production. The proposed CHIPS funding would strengthen all major technical processes for leading-edge chips to occur in the United States, including proposed investments in:

• Chandler, Arizona: Construction of two new leading-edge logic fabs and modernization of one existing fab, significantly increasing leading-edge logic capacity, including high volume domestic production of Intel 18A – the company’s most advanced chip design that enables higher performing, leading-edge chips through RibbonFET gate-all-around transistors and PowerVia backside power delivery. The company will produce the first Intel 18A product, called Clearwater Forest, at its Arizona facilities. In 2022, Intel partnered with Maricopa County Community Colleges to launch a first-of-its-kind program with Intel employee-instructors to provide students an entry point into semiconductor technician careers. This investment will support 3,000 manufacturing jobs and 6,000 construction jobs.
• Rio Rancho, New Mexico: Modernization of two fabs into advanced packaging facilities to close an important gap in the domestic semiconductor supply chain. When in full production, this facility will be the largest advanced packaging facility in the United States. To support engineering students in New Mexico, Intel established endowment scholarships at five colleges and universities and has supported STEAM education through investments, annual grants, and hands-on learning kits benefitting students living on indigenous lands. This investment will support 700 manufacturing jobs and 1,000 construction jobs.
• New Albany, Ohio: Creation of a new regional chipmaking ecosystem, anchored by the construction of two leading-edge logic fabs, expanded leading-edge foundry capacity, and supply chain diversification. Intel has devoted significant resources to develop a pipeline of skilled workers in Ohio, funding over 80 institutions of higher education across the state, including community colleges, HBCUs, and universities. As part of this investment in Ohio, Intel’s design and build partner Bechtel signed a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with the North America Building Trades Unions for the construction of the two facilities. This investment will support 3,000 manufacturing jobs and 7,000 construction jobs.
• Hillsboro, Oregon: Investment in the premier hub of leading-edge development in the United States through the expansion and modernization of technology development facilities that will utilize the world’s first High NA EUV lithography equipment. The Gordon Moore Park campus at Ronler Acres in Hillsboro, Oregon, is the heart of Intel’s innovation hub for leading-edge semiconductor research and technology development in the United States. These investments will further the company’s technological leadership and enable the continued development of new innovations. In 2022, Intel spent more than $4 billion with more than 500 suppliers across Oregon. This investment will support several thousand manufacturing and construction jobs.

Intel currently uses 100% renewable electricity in U.S. fabs and has achieved net-positive water status in its U.S. operations through efficient water management, water reuse, and, in collaboration with local communities, investment in water restoration in local watersheds. In addition, as part of its broader workforce investment program, Intel has committed to providing affordable, accessible, high-quality child care for its workers across its facilities. For U.S. employees, Intel will be increasing the reimbursement amount and duration for its back-up care program and adding additional access to discounted primary child care providers, as well as access to a vetted network of child care providers. In addition, Intel will pilot a primary child care reimbursement program for non-exempt employees.

In addition to the proposed direct funding of up to $8.5 billion, the CHIPS Program Office would make up to $11 billion in loans – which is part of the $75 billion in loan authority provided by the CHIPS and Science Act – available to Intel under the PMT. The company has indicated that it is planning to claim the Department of the Treasury’s Investment Tax Credit, which is expected to be up to 25% of qualified capital expenditures.

As explained in its first Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) , the Department may offer applicants a PMT on a non-binding basis after satisfactory completion of the merit review of a full application. The PMT outlines key terms for a CHIPS incentives award, including the amount and form of the award. The award amounts are subject to due diligence and negotiation of a long-form term sheet and award documents and are conditional on the achievement of certain milestones and remain subject to availability of funds. After the PMT is signed, the Department begins a comprehensive due diligence process on the proposed projects and continues negotiating or refining certain terms with the applicant. The terms contained in the long-form term sheet and the final award documents may differ from the terms of the PMT being announced today.

About CHIPS for America

The Department has received more than 620 statements of interest, more than 170 pre-applications and full applications for NOFO 1, and more than 160 small supplier concept plans for NOFO 2. The Department is continuing to conduct rigorous evaluation of applications to determine which projects will advance U.S. national and economic security, attract more private capital, and deliver other economic benefits to the country. The announcement with Intel is the fourth PMT announcement the Department of Commerce has made under the CHIPS and Science Act, with additional PMT announcements expected to follow throughout 2024.

CHIPS for America is part of President Biden’s economic plan to invest in America, stimulate private sector investment, create good-paying jobs, make more in the United States, and revitalize communities left behind. CHIPS for America includes the CHIPS Program Office, responsible for manufacturing incentives, and the CHIPS Research and Development Office, responsible for R&D programs, that both sit within the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at the Department of Commerce. NIST promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life. NIST is uniquely positioned to successfully administer the CHIPS for America program because of the bureau’s strong relationships with U.S. industries, its deep understanding of the semiconductor ecosystem, and its reputation as fair and trusted. Visit https://www.chips.gov to learn more.

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Science News

These are the most popular  science news  stories of 2022.

Previously excavated bodies of two ritually sacrificed Inca children, including this girl still wearing a ceremonial headdress, have yielded chemical clues to a beverage that may have been used to calm them in the days or weeks before being killed. The discovery ranked among Science News ' most-read stories of 2022.

Johan Reinhard

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By Science News Staff

December 22, 2022 at 7:00 am

Science News drew over 13 million visitors to our website this year. Here’s a recap of the most-read news stories and long reads of 2022.

Top news stories

1. a special brew may have calmed inca children headed for sacrifice.

The mummified remains of two Inca children ritually sacrificed more than 500 years ago contain chemical clues to their final days and weeks. On the journey to the Peruvian mountain where they were sacrificed, the children may have chewed coca leaves and drunk a beverage with antidepressant-like ingredients to soothe their nerves ( SN: 6/4/22, p. 10 ).

2. A ‘mystery monkey’ in Borneo may be a rare hybrid. That has scientists worried

An unusual monkey first spotted six years ago appears to be a cross between a female silvered leaf monkey ( Trachypithecus cristatus ) and a male proboscis monkey ( Nasalis larvatus ). The possible cross-genera pairing has scientists worried because such matings are usually a sign that species are facing ecological pressures ( SN: 6/18/22, p. 11 ).

3. What experts told me to do after my positive COVID-19 at-home test

After Science News intern Anna Gibbs came down with COVID-19, she turned to health experts to figure out how to report her case to public health officials and how long she needed to isolate ( SN Online: 4/22/22 ).

4. All of the bases in DNA and RNA have now been found in meteorites

Here’s more evidence that life’s precursors could have come from space. All five of the nucleobases that store information in DNA and RNA have been discovered in meteorites. This year, scientists reported detecting cytosine and thymine in fallen space rocks , completing the list ( SN: 6/4/22, p. 7 ).

5. Humans may not be able to handle as much heat as scientists thought

For years, it was thought the human body can tolerate heat up to a “wet bulb” temperature — a measure combining humidity and air temperature — of 35° Celsius (95° Fahrenheit). But experiments hint that the threshold may be several degrees lower ( SN: 8/27/22, p. 6 ).

Science News joins TikTok

TikTok became one more way we tell stories, as we premiered our first TikTok video — a tribute to the “bambootula” tarantula. Find out what makes this spider so peculiar and discover other amazing science tidbits @sciencenewsofficial .

@sciencenewsofficial This is the only known tarantula to call bamboo home. #spiders #tarantula #science #biology #sciencetok ♬ original sound – sciencenewsofficial

Top feature stories

1. tardigrades could teach us how to handle the rigors of space travel.

Tardigrades can withstand punishing levels of radiation, the freezing cold and the vacuum of outer space. Researchers are learning the death-defying tricks of these hardy microscopic animals to better prepare astronauts for long-term voyages ( SN: 7/16/22 & 7/30/22, p. 30 ).

2. Muons spill secrets about Earth’s hidden structures

Just like doctors use X-rays to see inside the human body, scientists are using muons , a type of subatomic particle, to peer inside Egyptian pyramids, volcanoes and other hard to penetrate structures ( SN: 4/23/22, p. 22 ). 

3. Multiple sclerosis has a common viral culprit, opening doors to new approaches

Evidence is mounting that Epstein-Barr virus somehow instigates multiple sclerosis. Understanding the link between the virus and MS may lead to better treatments for the neurological disorder. Vaccines against the virus may even prevent MS altogether ( SN: 8/13/22, p. 14 ).

4. The discovery of the Kuiper Belt revamped our view of the solar system

In 1992, two astronomers discovered a doughnut-shaped region far beyond Neptune, dubbed the Kuiper Belt, that’s home to a swarm of frozen objects left over from the solar system’s formation. By studying these far-off objects over the last 30 years, scientists have gained new insights into how planets form ( SN: 8/27/22, p. 22 ).

5. Clovis hunters’ reputation as mammoth killers takes a hit

Ancient Americans may have been big-game scavengers rather than big-game hunters. Some recent analyses suggest that Clovis stone points were more likely tools for butchering large carcasses than weapons for taking down mammoths and other large animals ( SN: 1/15/22, p. 22 ).

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Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse: Two victims recovered; NTSB recovers ship’s voyage recorder data

What we know.

• The remains of two people who were killed after Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed when it was struck by the containership yesterday have been recovered. Four others are presumed dead.
• The victims were construction workers who were on the bridge filling potholes when the span was struck. Two people were rescued from the water, one of whom was treated at a local trauma center.
• The ship lost power, and a distress call prompted authorities to close the bridge to traffic. Video of the ship, emergency radio transmissions and analysis by maritime veterans paint a picture of a disastrous scenario — one that could have been much worse.
• National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy told NBC News today that the agency has recovered the Dali's voyage recorder data.
• Customers from the East Coast to the Midwest could feel a costly impact from the collapse of the bridge, which was named for the man who wrote the poem that became "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Watch: Drone video shows aftermath of Baltimore bridge collapse

The NTSB captured the aftermath of the bridge collapse in Baltimore as investigators were surveying the extent of damage on board the cargo ship Dali.

More than 1,100 Army Corps of Engineers personnel assisting

Rebecca Cohen

More than 1,100 engineering, construction, contracting and operations specialists from the Baltimore District of the Army Corps of Engineers are providing support to local, state and federal agencies after the collapse, the corps said in a statement.

The Army Corps is helping to clear the channel where the bridge collapsed, according to the statement, as a part of the recovery effort to remove the debris from the water.

Biden: 'We’ll be with the people of Baltimore for as long as it takes'

"Earlier today, I sat down with Secretary of Transportation Buttigieg and Vice Admiral Gautier to discuss the coordinated response to the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge," Biden said on X.

He added: "We’ll be with the people of Baltimore for as long as it takes."

Baltimore City Council president looks toward a return to normalcy

Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby said his priority is to help bring normalcy back to his community.

“As we move on from search and rescue to now salvage, how do we turn some normalcy back to something that’s really important to our local economy, meaning the port?” Mosby asked on NBC News Now’s “Top Story with Tom Llamas.”

Rebuilding the bridge should remain the focus, he said.

“This is the ninth-largest port in the country. When we talk about the importance of the port being the most westward eastbound port, that’s why it’s the No. 1 importer of farming equipment that goes to the Midwest," he said.

NTSB chair expects investigation to take 1 to 2 years

Homendy said tonight she has "no doubt that we will be be able to pull this [the investigation] together in hopefully 12 to 24 months."

"With that said," she continued, "we will not hesitate again to issue urgent safety recommendations before that time if we need to."

She called the investigation into the crash a "massive undertaking" but noted that such an investigation is not new for the NTSB.

Right now, Homendy said, the focus is reuniting families with their loved ones.

"Everything else can wait," she said.

56 containers of hazardous materials were on containership

There were 56 containers of hazardous materials on board the Dali when it crashed, said Homendy, the NTSB chair.

The containers, holding 760 tons of hazardous materials, according to Homendy, mostly contained corrosives, flammables and "miscellaneous" materials, including lithium-ion batteries.

Some containers have been breached, Homendy said, adding that a sheen can be seen on the waterway.

Homendy said that some of the breached containers are in the water and some are on the vessel and that she does not know the total number of breached containers or the timeline for getting them out, as that does not fall on the NTSB.

She added that it is a "pretty dangerous situation" that is preventing officials from getting to the hazardous materials to assess what remains.

23 crew members still on board the Dali

Homendy said 23 people, including 21 crew members and two pilots, were on board the Dali when it crashed into the bridge.

The crew remains on board the ship, which the NTSB investigation team boarded earlier today as a part of its investigation.

The people on the vessel have power, Homendy said, but the ship cannot move.

2 more bridge collapse victims identified

Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, who was from Mexico and lived in Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, who was from Guatemala and lived in Dundalk, Maryland, were identified as the men who recovered from the water this morning.

Both of their families have been notified, said Col. Roland L. Butler Jr. with the Maryland State Police.

All six of the people presumed dead after the bridge collapse are believed to be from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

2 victims recovered; recovery efforts now a salvage operation

Searchers in the Port of Baltimore found two victims shortly before 10 a.m. today, Col. Roland L. Butler Jr. with the Maryland State Police said in an update this afternoon.

The victims were in a red pickup that was trapped in 25 feet of water near what once was the middle of the bridge, he said.

Officials are moving from a recovery mission to a salvage operation at the scene, Butler said, because it is no longer safe for divers to navigate or operate around the debris and concrete in the port.

Scans from sonar vehicles have led officials to believe the vehicles still trapped underwater are encased in concrete and the structures that crashed down early yesterday.

Butler said that responding officers have "exhausted all search efforts" to recover the victims and that divers stopped searching the water at around 4 p.m. today.

Brother of Baltimore bridge worker shares frustration over recovery mission

The brother of Maynor Suazo, one of the six workers who vanished following the collapse of the Maryland bridge, shared his frustration and heartbreak while he and his family wait for updates.

Ten vessels stuck in the Port of Baltimore

Following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, 10 vessels are stuck in the Port of Baltimore, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, including 3 bulk carriers, 1 vehicle carrier, 2 general cargo ships, 1 oil/chemical tanker and 3 logistics naval vessels.

The ship that took the bridge down is still in the Port of Baltimore, as well, according to the BTS.

An additional 12 vessels are in the Port, but are not stuck behind the bridge, BTS said. One vehicle carrier is in the port but outside of the bridge, and 9 bulk carriers, 1 vehicle carrier and 2 general cargo vessels are anchored beyond the collapsed bridge.

NTSB to hold news conference at 8 p.m. ET

Marlene Lenthang

Homendy will hold a news conference on the cargo vessel Dali's crash and the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse at 8 p.m. ET. 

Mexico supporting families of 3 Mexican construction workers impacted in bridge collapse

Nicole Duarte

Mexico is supporting the families of the three Mexican nationals affected by the Baltimore bridge collapse. 

Three of the eight construction workers who were working on the bridge when it collapsed are of Mexican nationality, the nation’s secretary of foreign affairs said in a statement today.

One, from Michoacán, was rescued and is recovering from his injuries. The other two, who hailed from Veracruz and Michoacán, remain missing. 

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said in a news conference this morning that the government is in communication with their families, supporting them and offering assistance from the diplomatic corps in Baltimore and Washington. 

“The head of the Consular Section, Rafael Laveaga Rendón, traveled to the city of Baltimore to provide support to the families of the workers, who have requested respect for their privacy at this difficult time,” the statement said. 

Buttigieg says he can't estimate yet when Baltimore's port will reopen

Rebecca Shabad is in Washington, D.C.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that he can't estimate yet when the Port of Baltimore will be reopened.

During a White House briefing today, he was asked by reporters several times if it would take days, weeks or months to resume operations at the port and he declined to answer. He noted that $100 million to $200 million of value comes through the port daily and officials are most concerned about the impact on workers' wages, which he said is about $2 million daily.

Vice Adm. Peter Gautier, deputy commandant for operations for the Coast Guard, who joined the briefing, said that the main challenge now is to remove the large trusses and steel, from the bridge, from the bow of the ship.

Buttigieg said he also couldn't estimate how much rebuilding the bridge might cost, but said it's "likely" that the administration will turn to Congress to ask lawmakers to replenish an emergency relief account from the infrastructure law.

Buttigieg said he doesn't "have dollar estimates yet," but said there are "provisions that allow us to begin releasing funding even while that is being determined." He said he expects Maryland's Transportation Department to submit a request this afternoon for emergency funding.

"We will be processing that immediately to start getting them what they need," he said.  

Dali ship pilot didn’t notice anything off before engines failed

The cargo ship Dali that hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge had suffered a “blackout” and engine failure before it crashed, Clay Diamond, executive director of the American Pilots' Association, said today. 

The Dali had departed from the Baltimore harbor pier at 12:30 a.m. and suffered a “complete blackout” at 1:25 a.m. — "lost engine power, all electricity, they were a dead ship essentially," Diamond said.

Shortly after, the emergency generator kicked on-emergency lighting, steering, and navigation equipment, which is when the lights on the ship flickered back on. However, the ship’s engines never came back on, Diamond said.

The pilot shifted the rudder port, meaning left, and ordered the port anchor be dropped to slow the vessel and keep it from drifting right, and the pilot radioed to have the bridge closed.

Diamond noted this was the first time the pilot, who has more than 10 years of experience in the role, was in charge of a dead ship, but it is a situation pilots train for. 

The pilot had an apprentice on board, who was essentially new having started in the role Feb. 1. Diamond said the apprentice was observing, not navigating, and it would be incorrect to say there were two pilots on board, which officials have previously described.

The pilot didn’t notice anything strange when he left the pier inside the port of Baltimore, Diamond noted.

“[The pilot's] doing as well as you can expect, this is a horrifying thing to go through,” Diamond said. The pilot has spoken with the Coast Guard, Maryland state officials and NTSB investigators.

Insurance will cover some of bridge rebuilding cost: Treasury secretary

Insurance payments will partially cover the cost of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. 

“My expectation would be that ultimately, insurance, there’ll be insurance payments, in part to cover this, but we don’t want to allow worrying about where the financing is coming to hold up reconstruction,” she said on MSNBC today. 

“We have the supply chain task force that actually will be meeting this afternoon to review what they know about the likely impact, but we’re monitoring this very closely and prepared to take any steps that can be helpful,” Yellen added. 

She echoed President Joe Biden’s vow to get the bridge back up and running as soon as possible, saying: “President Biden has indicated that we will do everything as quickly as we possibly can to reopen the port which is, as you said, one of the most important in the United States.”

Construction worker remembers missing peers as 'great husbands, fathers, sons'

Didi Martinez

Moises Diaz, a worker for Brawner Builders, the company that employed the six missing construction workers in the Baltimore bridge collapse, remembered his fallen peers as “great husbands, fathers, sons.”

“We are very worried because they were great co-workers,” he said in a statement shared with NBC News, recalling them as “respectful, responsible with their work, their families and friendships.”

Diaz said that the last time he saw his co-worker Miguel Luna was Friday and that he had last spoken to Maynor Suazo on Monday afternoon. 

He said that he formerly held the shift the workers died in, but recently changed shifts because of his church schedule. 

Sister of Maryland bridge worker: He ‘was everything to us’

Daniella Silva

The sister of Maynor Suazo, one of the six workers who vanished following the collapse of the Maryland bridge, said her brother was “the driving force of my family” and “an exemplary father.”

Maynor Suazo, a father of two, was originally from Honduras.

Norma Suazo told Telemundo through tears today that her brother was “everything to us” and the sibling she was always the most attached to.

“He gave us strength for everything,” she said in Spanish, in between tears. 

“He fought day after day for our family to get ahead,” Suazo said. “He was a good brother, a good son, an exemplary father.”

Maynor Suazo’s brother-in-law, who was also present, said the man “leaves a very great legacy” and “has been a great example for many people.”

Two friends recall 'disturbing' moment bridge fell, just 30 minutes after they drove over it

Christian Miller and Toby Gutermuth had driven over the Francis Scott Key Bridge just 30 minutes before it fell early yesterday, and captured the terrifying collapse on video. 

The friends were at Fort Armistead Park listening to music and getting ready to fish when they noticed something odd. 

“I see what I thought was cargo falling off of the front of the ship into the water causing some water to splash, so I started recording that, not knowing that it was actually the cargo ship hitting one of the columns on the bridge, and sure enough I got the whole thing on video. The whole bridge coming down. It was scary,” Gutermuth said on NBC News Now. 

“My stomach just kind of sank. It was a pretty disturbing sight,” Miller said recalling how they heard debris fall, metal scraping and saw the lights go out on the bridge. 

Gutermuth said the catastrophe was “something you only think you’d ever see in a movie.”

The pair extended prayers to the families impacted, with Miller adding, “Hopefully, we recover from this as a community.”

Divers haven't entered the water under bridge yet

BALTIMORE — No divers from any agency have entered the water at the scene of the wreckage of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge yet, officials said. 

The FBI is supporting the recovery effort with its diver team and ROV’s — remotely operated vehicles — to find targets in the water, such as the shadow of cars or human remains. 

“The debris field is pretty sizable and I know that’s why they’re hesitant to send divers down because some of the debris is still shifting, the heavy weight of the rocks,” Supervisory Special Agent Brian Hudson, the program manager for the FBI’s Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team, told NBC News today. “It’s dark, so we’re not getting great camera footage from our ROV footage, but the sonar still shows up very well.”

So far, he said they’ve marked some “interesting targets,” but it’s not clear when divers will enter the water to scope those out. Conditions for diving are also a challenge with visibility essentially black, strong currents, cold temperatures and the expansive size of the debris field.

Hudson said “it’s possible” to recovery the bodies of the missing and the water search could last a week.

“We’re going to use the sensory imaging of the sonars to find targets that look like vehicles, look like remains. Once those images are found, we’ll tag them with GPS. Usually we’ll send an ROV down to visually confirm if possible with the video camera. Once we got a visual confirmation, we can use the manipulator claws of the ROV to latch onto something, and that gives the divers a through line into the water and they can go down and work," he explained.

Maryland flag lowered to half-staff

Julia Jester

The Maryland flag has been lowered to half-staff, Moore announced just before 11 a.m.

"We have spoken to the families, prayed with them, and assured them that our state will mobilize every resource to bring them closure," the governor wrote , echoing Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott's earlier commitment to the victims' loved ones.

Nearby marina and restaurant offer support to first responders

Daniel Arkin

Anchor Bay East Marina and the Hard Yacht Cafe, two local destinations just a short drive away from what was once the Francis Scott Key Bridge, plan to offer a range of services to first responders.

Bathrooms and showers will be available for all first responders. All first responders will receive a 50% discount on food purchases, according to a post from the marina and the restaurant on Facebook. The fuel dock will be open around the clock.

"There is very little to say at the moment, but we are focused to do what we can as a group to support everyone involved," the marina and the cafe said in a joint statement. "We pray for the individuals, families and first responders affected by this disaster."

Baltimore mayor promises to give families ‘closure they deserve'

Scott posted on X that he will spend today continuing to help coordinate response efforts, including the work to recover all six victims.

"They are working around the clock to do everything in our power to provide these families with the closure they deserve and this city will stand with them through this, every step of the way," he wrote.

Maryland lawmakers to propose emergency aid for port workers

“We are drafting an emergency bill to provide for income replacement for workers impacted by this travesty,” Maryland state Senate President Bill Ferguson  posted on social media  this morning.

The Port of Baltimore provides jobs for roughly 15,000 workers in the region and processes more than $80 billion in goods each year. Ferguson said the economic stability and loss cannot be understated.

"Yesterday I spent hours talking to labor leaders, dock workers, small business owners, and large port industry leaders who all had the exact same message: 'We must unlock the channel to the Port of Baltimore," he wrote. "They’re right. And until we do, there is enormous cost to families.”

Recovery mission resumes in difficult conditions

Patrick Smith

Underwater drones and helicopter pilots went back to the task of finding the bodies of six construction workers still missing after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge yesterday.

A large search operation paused around 7:30 p.m. yesterday as darkness made already tough conditions near-impossible for specialist teams.

Maryland State Police spokesperson Elena Russo confirmed to The Associated Press before 7:30 a.m. today that “recovery efforts are underway.”

And the mission will be made that much harder by heavy rain, patchy fog and temperatures in the 40s.

Maryland governor praises first responders for saving 'countless lives'

In an interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” today, Moore hailed the quick actions of the cargo ship’s crew, particularly the last-minute mayday call that likely helped prevent even more casualties.

“The fact that they were able to stop cars from coming on to the bridge, that saved countless lives because had ... more cars been on that bridge when it collapsed, this would have turned a catastrophic incident into an even more catastrophic incident,” the Democratic governor said. “So, the debt of gratitude that we all have towards these first responders, it’s incalculable.”

NTSB chief and investigators to go aboard the Dali cargo ship today

Tom Costello

BALTIMORE — The chair of the National Transport Safety Board and a team of investigators plan to be on board the stricken Dali cargo ship later today to interview crew members and gather evidence.

Jennifer L. Homendy told NBC News this morning that her team would be looking at a range of issues, including what protections, if any, the bridge support structures had and whether they should have been more robust.

Homendy said the data recorder that has been recovered was a modern device that could reveal a wide range of facts to investigators, including the ship's positioning and speed, and what might have happened to its power.

"It’s quite a bit of information, throttle position, you, you name it. And that will help us enable us to begin to put together a timeline of events that occurred prior to the striking of the bridge," she said.

Homendy also said her team would look at how the Key Bridge was destroyed by the loss of a single support pylon and how similar disasters could be prevented elsewhere in the country.

"That is exactly what we’re going to be looking at is that type of infrastructure to prevent this type of collapse ... from occurring," she said.

An NTSB team boarded the ship in a preliminary visit last night, but the agency hopes to get much of its work done today.

She also said the NTSB would look into the suggestion that contaminated fuel may have played a role in the tragedy, as reported by The Wall Street Journal last night.

There will be no quick conclusion, however: She said the investigation could take up to two years to complete.

'They they were fathers, they were sons, they were husbands': Maryland governor on meeting families of the missing workers

Moore said he has met and prayed with the families of the six construction workers who are missing and feared dead following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge yesterday.

Speaking on NBC's "TODAY" show this morning, he said these were "people who simply just went to work yesterday to work on potholes."

"They had no idea that them going to work was gonna turn to a deadly occurrence," he said.

He continued: "They they were fathers, they were sons, they were husbands, They were people who their families relied on."

Moore said he told the families he would put every available resource into the search and rescue mission, which has since been called off.

"But now that we’ve transitioned to a recovery mission, I’m going to make sure that we’re going to put every possible resource to bring a sense of closure to these families," he said.

Moore echoed the words of Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott who yesterday called the law enforcement officers who stopped traffic on both sides of the bridge "heroes."

"This was true heroism," Moore said, adding that countless lives were saved. "You know, when we say that that we are, we are Maryland tough and we are Baltimore strong."

Moore added that a warning was sent to the workers on the bridge. It remains unclear how or why they were still on the bridge at the time of the collision.

"It unfolded in seconds, minutes, as we well know," he added.

Moore would not speculate on how long it might take for a new bridge to be built, but declared: "We are going to get this done."

NTSB has recovered ship's voyage recorder data

BALTIMORE — National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy tells NBC News that the agency has recovered the Dali cargo ship's voyage recorder data.

The recorder preserves 12 hours of information covering the ship’s movements and operations, along with conversations that took place on the vessel.

Mexico confirms some missing construction workers are Mexican

Mexico has confirmed that some of the six missing construction workers are Mexican.

In a post on X late yesterday, the Mexican Embassy in Washington said: "There are six workers missing, including Mexican, Guatemalan and Salvadoran people. The authorities will resume search work tomorrow."

Yesterday, the Mexican ambassador to the U.S, Esteban Moctezuma Barragán, said that his country expressed "our solidarity with all those affected by this devastating accident."

Guatemala has also confirmed that two of the missing are Guatemalan.

Maryland DOT warns motorists to expect longer journey times after bridge collapse

The Maryland Department of Transportation has confirmed what locals knew within seconds of seeing the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse: it will mean longer driving times in the area.

"Drivers are encouraged to prepare for extra commuting time until further notice," the agency said in a statement last night.

The agency's travel advice is that:

• The outer loop I-695 closure has shifted to exit 1/Quarantine Road (past the Curtis Creek Drawbridge) to allow for enhanced local traffic access. 
• The inner loop of I-695 remains closed at Maryland state Route 157 (Peninsula Expressway). Additionally, the ramp from state Route 157 to the inner loop of I-695 will be closed. 
• Drivers should use I-95 (Fort McHenry Tunnel) or I-895 (Baltimore Harbor Tunnel) for north/south routes. Commercial vehicles carrying materials that are prohibited in the tunnel crossings, including recreation vehicles carrying propane, should plan on using I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) between Essex and Glen Burnie. This will add significant driving time.  

Guatemala confirms two of the missing workers are Guatemalan, has spoken to their families

Guatemala has confirmed that two of its citizens were among the six construction workers who were working on the bridge at the time of its collapse and are now missing.

Neither have been identified, but in a statement , the Guatemalan Foreign Affairs Ministry said they were a 26-year-old, originally from San Luis, Petén, in Guatemala and a 35-year-old originally from Camotán, Chiquimula. The ministry has spoken to the brothers of both missing workers.

“Among the six workers who are still missing, it is believed that there are people of Mexican origin, from Honduras, El Salvador and the two Guatemalans,” the statement said.

The Guatemalan Consulate General in Maryland said it had been told in a report that the boat sent a signal to stop traffic at both ends of the bridge.

Baltimore community shaken after bridge collapse leaves 6 missing

BALTIMORE — Six construction workers, who were plunged into the murky waters, are presumed dead after the cargo ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. NBC’s Tom Llamas spoke with residents and workers who were stunned by the disaster.

The Key Bridge collapse is the latest in a long line of tragic bridge incidents

The Associated Press

The bridge collapse is not the first major incident involving ships or barges hitting bridges in the United States.

From 1960 to 2015, there were 35 major bridge collapses worldwide due to ship or barge collision, with a total of 342 people killed,  according to a 2018 report  from the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure. Eighteen of those collapses happened in the U.S.

These include when barges being pushed by a towboat in dense fog hit and displaced the Big Bayou Canot railroad bridge near Mobile, Alabama, on Sept. 22, 1993. Minutes later, an Amtrak train with 220 people aboard hit the displaced bridge and derailed, killing 47 people and injuring 103.

In 1980, the 609-foot freighter Summit Venture lost its radar in the Tampa Bay before it sheared off a support of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, dropping a 1,400-foot section of concrete roadway during the morning rush hour. Seven vehicles, including a bus with 26 aboard, fell 150 feet into the water, killing 35 people.

In 2002, a barge hit the Interstate 40 bridge over the Arkansas River, causing a 500-foot section to collapse and sending vehicles into the water, killing 14 people and injuring 11.

Construction firm with six workers missing says bridge collapse was 'completely unforeseen'

A senior executive at the company that employed the six missing construction workers said that the firm takes safety seriously and that the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was totally unexpected.

"This was so completely unforeseen," Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president at Brawner Builders, told The Associated Press.

"We don’t know what else to say. We take such great pride in safety, and we have cones and signs and lights and barriers and flaggers."

Prayer vigil held for victims of Baltimore bridge collapse

A prayer vigil was held for the victims of the Francis Scott Key bridge collapse in Baltimore yesterday. Community leaders and members gathered at Mount Olive Baptist Church of Turner Station to also honor the first responders at the scene of the disaster.

Catch up with NBC News' coverage of the Francis Scott key Bridge collapse

A rare mayday preceded Baltimore bridge collapse: ‘I couldn’t think of a worse situation’

Video of the ship, emergency radio transmissions and analysis by maritime veterans paint a picture of a disastrous scenario — one that could have been much worse.

Why the Baltimore bridge stood little chance against a fully loaded cargo ship

Although bridges are designed to withstand impacts from ships, experts said, some events go beyond what a structure can handle

Unfounded conspiracy theories spread online after Baltimore bridge collapse

Major news events — like the pandemic, natural disasters and mass shootings — now consistently serve as fodder for fringe figures.

Construction workers at Baltimore bridge are still unaccounted for, drawing concern from co-workers

“It’s a blessing I wasn’t on there, but it comes at the cost of somebody else,” said a construction foreman who last worked on the bridge two weeks ago.

Customers from the East Coast to the Midwest could see costly impact from Baltimore bridge collapse

“The Key Bridge and Port of Baltimore are critical components of our nation’s infrastructure and supply chain,” the American Trucking Association said.

The twisted wreckage in Baltimore stands as a memorial as people gather to grieve

Many woke this morning to the frightening news that the Francis Scott Key Bridge had been struck by an immense cargo ship and collapsed.

Biden says he wants federal government to pay for rebuilding of Baltimore bridge after cargo ship crash

The president, is headed to North Carolina on Tuesday, said he also plans to visit Baltimore as “quickly” as he can.

Baltimore community shaken after 6 presumed dead

BALTIMORE — Six construction workers, who were plunged into a murky river, are presumed dead after a cargo ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Residents and workers were stunned by the disaster.

Maryland governor pledges every effort to recover victims

Phil Helsel

Moore vowed that he would keep a promise, now more grim, to family members to use every resource available to find the six people presumed dead in today’s bridge collapse.

He had expressed hope earlier yesterday that an extensive search by boat and air could find and rescue the six people missing after the Francis Scott Key Bridge was struck by a container ship and collapsed into the Patapsco River.

“We promised them when we met with them — that we were putting every possible asset and tool at our disposal to help find their family members,” Moore said after the search was suspended.

“And, so, this evening, we wanted to let them know that even though we’ve transitioned from a search and rescue to now a recovery mission, we will use every asset to make sure they find a sense of closure,” he said. “And that’s a commitment that we will keep for these families.”

The active search and rescue was suspended at 7:30 p.m. yesterday, the Coast Guard said, and the effort moved to a recovery phase.

Officers were about to alert the construction crew when bridge collapsed

Radio traffic obtained from the  Broadcastify.com  archive indicates officers were just about to alert a construction crew when a major bridge in Baltimore collapsed after being hit by a container ship that had lost power.

The Maryland Transportation Authority first responder radio traffic includes a dispatcher putting out a call saying a ship had lost its steering ability and asking officers to stop all traffic. It took officers less than two minutes to stop traffic on the bridge.

One officer who had stopped traffic radioed that he was going to drive onto the bridge to notify the construction crew once a second officer arrived. But seconds later, a frantic officer radioed that the bridge had collapsed.

The six people who are now presumed dead were part of the construction crew, which was filling potholes on the bridge.

Container ship passed foreign inspections last year

Josh Cradduck

Dennis Romero

The container ship passed two foreign port inspections in 2023, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.

The inspections took place in June and September, but the locations were not divulged by the port where the ship, the Dali, is flagged.

“In the June 2023 inspection, a faulty monitor gauge for fuel pressure was rectified before the vessel departed the port,” the port authority said in a statement today.

In June, the vessel was scheduled for an administrative assessment that considers how it’s been regulated under a third-party “classification society” empowered by Singapore to keep an eye on it, the port said.

Its classification society is the Japan-based Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, known as ClassNK. It oversees more than 9,000 ships.

The 980-foot ship was built by Hyundai in 2014 and has a March 5, 2015, “date of build,” ClassNK information shows.

It was given a number of certificates allowing it to carry various items and goods March 4, according to the organization. The information also shows that in the last few years, it has undergone multiple “surveys” of its systems, apparently to determine if they’re working properly.

Brickbat: Science Doesn't Lie, but Scientists Do

Charles Oliver | 3.29.2024 4:00 AM

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