Bringing Tom home

Eric Poppleton and Tom stood  at the base camp of Mount Everest together, laying their eyes on nature’s intensity. When a porter showed up at base camp, Eric asked if he could hike out with him. Eric made his way back to Kathmandu. Within the first few minutes of being at the airport, the earth began heaving. A little while later, Eric received the terrible news that his friend Tom was dead.
Eric, Tom, and John Woodruff arrived in Nepal with the hopes to make a documentary that would define Everest culture. Eric set off with Tom and Woody to make the six-day climb with more than 600 pounds of gear. Eric's job was to catch dramatic landscape and a time-lapse video. 
That’s where he was on April 25 when the glaciers began vibrating, Eric and Woody had already moved down the mountain.
After a few minutes, the earth stopped moving, but the rumble of an avalanche grew louder and louder. It was about noon and Tom was inside his tent. Three or four others at the camp took shelter behind a boulder. A massive storm of snow and ice simmered toward them, and they yelled for Tom to seek shelter with them. As he emerged from his tent, fierce gusts of hurricane-force winds threw Tom high into the air and carried his body more than 600 feet. 
Eric woke up early Monday with the determination to finish the job. As the helicopter landed at base camp, the guys from our camp were bringing Tom up. It brought comfort to Eric, knowing Tom died doing what he loved from “The Roof of the World,” their nickname for base camp, having documented what he believed was the most spectacular place he’d ever traveled.

"Bringing Tom Home." CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 6 May 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2015/05/world/everest-friendship/>

Another study finds no link between MMR vaccine and autism

According to a new study of more than 95,000 children, the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella does not bring an increased risk of autism.  Researchers paid attention specifically to children who had older siblings with autism, or ASD, which puts them at a higher genetic risk of developing autism. They studied the risk of developing autism in children who received the MMR vaccine compared with those who didn't. It was found that there wasn't any harmful association between the MMR vaccine and the expansion of an autism spectrum. Recently, dozens of measles cases have been popping up in the United States, resulting in fears about a link between vaccines and autism. There is a lot of research indicating that there is no link between the MMR vaccine and autism spectrum disorder, but those beliefs continue to carry on. The study found that children who had an older sibling with autism were less likely to be vaccinated. "We're not sure as a scientific community what causes autism, but vaccines do not," said CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta. 

 "New Study Finds No Link between MMR Vaccine and Autism - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/22/health/mmr-vaccine-autism-study/index.html>  

South Carolina policeman charged with murder

Michael Slager, a South Carolina police officer has been charged with murder after a video appeared to show him shooting an unarmed man who was running away. If found guilty of murder, Slager could face up to life in prison or death.

                A black man broke away from the white officer and the officer fires eight shots at the man running away. The unarmed man drops to the ground. The victim was identified to be 50 year old, Walter Scott, who was about to be married. The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the South Carolina U.S. Attorney's Office will work with the FBI in the investigation. North Charleston Police Chief, Eddie Driggers said the incident began when the officer pulled Scott over for driving with a brake light being out. "I always look for the good in folks, and so I would hope that nobody would ever do something like that." Driggers said.

 "South Carolina Police Officer Charged with Murder - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 9 Apr. 2015 <http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/07/us/south-carolina-officer-charged-murder/index.html>  

Police praise pregnant woman in Craigslist attack

In Longmont, Colorado, a police officer received a call from a pregnant woman who was stabbed and had her fetus ripped out. Michelle Wilkins was hesitant and in shock when police arrived, but was able to announce that she had responded to a Craigslist ad and had been attacked. At the moment, she didn't know that she had lost her child but was to able to communicate the events which happened to save her own life. The horrifying cutting of the fetus from Michelle Wilkins began when she replied to a Craigslist ad about baby clothes for sale. Police officers at the scene had to take a moment to collect themselves because it was almost too much to bear.  Dynel Lane, 34, is being held on $2 million bail while prosecutors consider charges against her, including murder. She is accused of stabbing Wilkins and removing a female fetus. The murder charge would reportedly rely on whether the fetus was old enough to have lived outside of her mother's body. The fetus of 26 year old Michelle Wilkins died, but the survived and is the one who "saved her own life." She is reported to be in critical but secure condition.

"Police Praise Pregnant Woman in Craigslist Attack - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.

A scientific tale of two dresses

There is a scientific explanation to why people are seeing two different colors of the now- famous dress. The tiny cones in the back of our eyeballs allow us to recognize colors in a different way depending upon our genes.  Our retinas, the fine layer of nerve tissue that lines the back of our eyes, notice the blue, green, and red in an image. Our brain and the cones mix those colors to make other colors. The top section of the dress is gold to some people, but black to others. A doctor states that the most common color confusions we see are blue and yellow. One theory has to do with evolutionary biology. It is often essential to factor out colors in the light around an object that may give it a different and confusing complexion. Some doctors think that this dress could possibly help advance medical science and hopefully help people with vision problems. 

"A Scientific Tale of Two Dresses - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 1 Mar. 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/27/health/science-of-gold-blue-dress/index.html>.

Finalists chosen for chance to die on Mars

A group called Mars One, is planning on sending humans on a one-way trip to Mars. Out of 200,000 applicants, 100 final candidates were selected and will go on further testing continuing throughout the year where they expect to hold team-building exercises, following with isolation. Ultimately, 24 will be elected to make up six crews of four, who will be launched to the Red Planet by Mars One, every two years from 2024, with the goal of starting a colony there. The Dutch non-profit intends to use current technology to carry out the mission. However, the planet has always been a tough aim for investigation, consisting of only half of all unmanned missions accomplishing. The journey itself is expected to take around seven months. A recent study stated that the first explorers who succeed in landing, using existing technology would likely survive just 68 days.


Cruddas, Sarah. "Mars One: We're all going to die, but it's important what you do before you die." CNN News. CNN. 17 February 2015. Web. 17 February 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/17/tech/mars-one-final-100/index.html>