2019

The Fortress in Orion by Mike Resnick

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The novel “The Fortress in Orion” by Mike Resnick was published for the first time in 2014. It’s the first novel in the Dead Enders series.

Colonel Nathan Pretorius is entrusted with the most difficult secret missions behind enemy lines and at the end of the last one he died for a few minutes before the doctors managed to bring him back to life. For this reason, he no longer wants to be involved in more missions on behalf of the Democracy but General Cooper finds a way to convince him to lead a very important mission for the fate of the war against the Transkei Coalition.

The Democracy has managed to grow a clone of Michkag, a key General in the Transkei Coalition: being able to replace the real one would mean allowing him to influence their enemies to positions more oriented towards a peace treaty. Michkag is constantly under protection and Nathan Pretorius chooses a group of unlikely heroes to infiltrate the fortress on Orion to proceed with the replacement.

Unmodified plants (left) grow beside modified plants (right) (Photo courtesy Claire Benjamin/RIPE Project)

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An article published in the journal “Science” reports the experimentation of the use of a genetic technique to increase the efficiency of plant photosynthesis. A team of researchers led by the molecular biologist Paul South of the US Agricultural Research Service carried out this experimentation within the Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) project, which has exactly this purpose to improve the sustainability of agricultural crops and increase land productivity. Modified plants increased their growth by 40%.

Sergio Leone on the set of Once Upon a Time in America

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Sergio Leone was born on January 3, 1929 in Rome, Italy. His first experiences related to cinema were also as an extra actor but already in the 1940s he started working as an assistant director or director of the second unit, often without being credited, somtimes in major productions such as “Bicycle Thieves”, “Quo Vadis” and “Ben-Hur”, and as a screenwriter.

Sergio Leone died on April 30, 1989 of a heart attack. With a few movies he changed western cinema going far beyond the stereotypes of the genre adding a remarkable realism, up to adding in his last movies also social and political elements that generated some controversy. His legacy is important and remains alive.

Klobiodon rochei fossil (Photo MOS1985)

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An article published in the journal “Acta Palaeontologica Polonica” reports the discovery of a new species of pterosaur. Named Klobiodon rochei by paleontologists Michael O’Sullivan and David Martill of the British University of Portsmouth, it was one of the largest known pterosaurs in the Middle Jurassic with a wingspan estimated at around two meters. Despite this, the specimen studied was mistaken for another species and put aside in the 19th century until its examination led to the new classification.