VOA – CONNECT
EPISODE # 297
AIR DATE: 09 22 2023
FULL SHOW TRANSCRIPT
OPEN
((VO/NAT/SOT))
((Topic Banner))
Senior Move Manager
((SOT))
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
When people call me, usually it's because they're feeling overwhelmed. They just don't know where to start. They typically need to eliminate 80% of their belongings.
((Animation Transition))
((Topic Banner))
Bionic Limbs
((SOT))
((Annika Berlin
Bionic Hand User))
I'm contracting like the end of my muscle, the end of my arm on this side of my arm to close it, and then I'm contracting the muscle out here to open the hand.
((Animation Transition))
((Topic Banner))
Peeking In
((SOT))
((Sally Davies
Photographer))
I think people enjoy looking in other people's homes. I do. And in New York, people tend to be not quite so open about their homes.
((Open Animation))
BLOCK A
((PKG)) SENIOR MOVE MANAGER
((TRT: 11:18))
((Topic Banner: Helping Seniors Downsize))
((Reporter/Camera/Editor: June Soh))
((Map: Alexandria, Virginia))
((Main characters: 1 female; 1 male))
((Sub characters: 0 female; 0 male))
((Blurb: Moving is stressful at any age and it can be overwhelming, especially for seniors who have belongings that accumulated over decades. Meet Anna Novak, a downsizing specialist and learn how she helps a senior make transition to a lighter life.))
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
Hi, come on in.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
Do you want to go over the plan?
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
Yeah.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
Okay.
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
It would be good.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
I brought you your own copy.
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
Yeah.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
You can look at it while we're talking.
Starting today, we have less than three weeks to go. So, today is Wednesday and we're going to look at the kitchen kind of briefly.
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
Okay.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
We're going to take a peek into your storage room downstairs. And then we're also going to go around the house and look at all the furniture that you're taking with you to your apartment. And we're going to put a piece of green tape. So, we're going to start that process and…
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
It’s just to identify the pieces that the movers will take.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
Right, and we have a floor plan that we're working from, but we're going to compare the floor plan with the furniture you have. And we're going to agree that we agree with the floor plan.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
Ready?
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
Yeah.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
All right.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
My name is Anna Novak. I'm a senior move manager and I specialize in helping seniors and older people downsize.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
It's just going to be too big.
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
It’s too big.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
Yeah, it's going to be too big for your space. And we'll have to just allocate space for the things that you choose off of here.
So, we'll sort through this, and we'll take what you want from it. But this is not going to go to the apartment, but this is going to go to the apartment.
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
And the four chairs.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
And the four chairs. Okay, so I'm going to put tape on the table and all four chairs. And then what about the rug?
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
Yes.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
Okay.
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
I'm a retired government scientist. I am living at the present time in a four-bedroom house in Alexandria, Virginia. My wife recently died six months ago, and I have to downsize.
When I realized how much stuff I had accumulated over 35 years and that I was moving to a two-bedroom apartment, I panicked. I really realized this is a near impossible task without some help. And it was great relief that I was able to find someone who was an expert in downsizing.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
I started in real estate and found that the part that I really liked about real estate was helping the people get out of their house. They really needed that additional help, arranging the movers, sorting their belongings, just dealing with the complex process of moving. I got super excited about that and I started writing about it. I started blogging about ‘how to’ tips, checklists, how to get this done. And my blog got really popular.
And I started hearing from people saying, we need extra help. And so, I turned my attention towards being a senior move manager instead of real estate.
((NATS))
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
So, about 40 [inches].
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
Uh huh.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
And another 40 [inches]. I'm going to. You're the scientist. And another 28 [inches]. I'm going to.
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
Another 30 [inches]. So, it's 110 [inches].
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
Yeah. I think you are going to fit. And this isn't, you know, you could always squeeze it in a little more tightly.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
When people call me, usually it's because they're feeling overwhelmed. They just don't know where to start. And it's because there's so many decisions that have to be made, especially if they're moving to a much smaller space, which a lot of them are. They typically need to eliminate 80% of their belongings. So, that creates a real stressful situation for them because they have a lot of kind of high stakes decisions that they need to make.
((NATS))
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
During the process of downsizing, we keep the focus on what's going with them. So, the process is evaluating what they have, comparing it to their future life, and being very selective on what they're taking with them. And it is hard a lot of times. But if they have a big collection, for instance, we'll coach them to take only a few pieces of that collection. We really want people to take what they care the most about.
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
This is actually my father's toolbox. And when he died, I took his toolbox. This one.
((NATS))
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
One of these, I'll take. I'm not going to take three of them.
Every man has to have a toolbox, right?
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
Absolutely.
((NATS))
This is a box that I acquired when I traveled to Japan. I am taking this with me along with a number of these other boxes and memorabilia from my travels because I do have an emotional attachment to them. They remind me of very pleasant times and friends that I made.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
Okay. They're done.
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
Uh, yes, they are. Thank goodness.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
All right, come on.
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
It's been an adventure.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
So, the movers came today, and they took everything that Leonard is taking to his new apartment. Therefore, everything that's left behind will need to go to donation or auction, including this bedroom suit and all of these clothing.
((NAT))
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
Who was Virginia E. Johnson?
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
She was my mother.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
And this was her silverware?
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
Yes.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
Sterling silver, it has value by weight. And we usually will sell this to a metal dealer and get market price for it.
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
These are some hand-carved wooden animals. They were carved in Oaxaca, Mexico. My wife, who is now deceased, collected these animals. She had a particular passion for these.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
When there's something special like this that has special meaning to the family, especially if it's fragile like these, we will hand carry these to your apartment instead of sending them with the movers.
((NATS))
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
Don't worry. We're going to make it perfect. At the end of the job, we make it all perfect for you.
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
Well, the right side needs to come down a bit.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
Make it look exactly like you want it to look. It's the final details that really make a big difference.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
One of the things I love to do is make the new place feel as much as possible as like the old place. This little tree had a very prominent position in Leonard's living room before, and we were happy to be able to bring it back and give it new life here.
((NATS))
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
Okay, Leonard, how is this new configuration in your drawer working out?
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
It looks fine. I think it's going to work. I haven't used it much, but I will for sure.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
Great.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
I love seeing the relief in my client's face when they see all of their favorite belongings and a new, clean, tidy space. It really makes it all worth it, because when we began, it's very overwhelming. It's very messy at times. It's emotionally challenging. But when we bring everything into the new space, we set it up for them, it feels like home to them. And you can just see the relief of not only having the process behind them, but also having a new life that's lighter, you know, with only the things that really matter to them.
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
I guess one of the main feelings I have is, I feel a lot freer in a sense. Because I realized that over 35 years, I collected just a lot of stuff, and it's good to get rid of that stuff that you don’t use. And you feel lighter and more nimble.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
The number of people requiring these services is really growing because a lot of people are coming into this age of, you know, over 60, over 70, and a lot of them want to downsize or they need to downsize for health reasons or economic reasons. And they need help, you know, and that's why they would call somebody like me. It's because they don't have the energy that they used to have to do this kind of work. It's a ton of work. It's a big job and it's stressful. It's a lot of decision making. And they really need the support that we provide. And it's very rewarding to be able to give them the support that they need to make the transition and start a new life where they can move on and enjoy life a lot more.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
Well, I guess we are done.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
We are done.
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
It’s been fantastic. I couldn’t have done without you. Thank you so much.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
It’s been really good for me too. Thanks a lot.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
Bye, Leonard. Let me know if you need anything.
((Leonard Johnson
Client))
Okay. Bye.
((Anna Novak
Senior Move Manager))
Bye.
((NATS/MUSIC))
TEASE
((VO/NAT/SOT))
Coming up…
((Topic Banner))
Bionic Limbs
((SOT))
((Aadeel Akhtar
CEO and Founder of PSYONIC))
I've wanted to do this my entire life, ever since I was seven years old, to build bionic limbs. My parents are from Pakistan, and I was visiting when I was seven. And that's the first time I met someone missing a limb.
BREAK ONE
USAGM SHARE
((LogOn Voice Diagnosis Tech (TV/R)
HEADLINE: LogOn: Could Your Voice Help Diagnose Your Next Illness?
TEASER: Technology analyzing thousands of voices may play a role in the future of medicine
BYLINE: Julie Taboh
DATELINE: Washington
PRODUCER: Julie Taboh, Adam Greenbaum
SCRIPT EDITORS: Michelle Quinn, Amy R
TRT: 1:54 & 2:00
[[Voice experts have long known that a person's voice can provide important information about their emotional, physical and mental health. Now a U.S. government-funded project is collecting and analyzing thousands of voices and using artificial intelligence to diagnose illnesses. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more.]]
((Courtesy: Allison Long/USF Health))
((NATS – patient’s voice being tested))
((NARRATOR))
Dr. Yael Bensoussan examines the vocal cords of a patient.
At the University of South Florida Health Voice Center, she treats patients with a range of voice disorders, such as upper airway, voice and swallowing disorders.
And lately, she’s been helping to lead a new project to build a database of 30,000 human voice recordings and train computers to detect diseases through changes in the human voice.
((Radio track: She spoke with VOA via Skype.))
((Dr. Yael Bensoussan, Voice Specialist)) ((SKYPE))
Not only to build that data, but also to develop the guidelines on how to share that data, how to collect that data, and also how to use that data for future AI [artificial intelligence] research. ((Courtesy: Weill Cornell Medicine))
((NARRATOR))
She works with a team of 45 investigators across 12 different universities in North America as well as a startup in Europe. ((NATS - Parkinson’s voice demo, Text on graphic: "Parkinson's disease"))
They study voice samples to help them detect illnesses like Parkinson’s disease…
((NATS - Glottic cancer voice demo, Text on graphic: "Glottic cancer"))
((NARRATOR))
cancer…
((NATS - Vocal fold paralysis demo, Text on graphic: "Vocal Fold Paralysis"))
((NARRATOR))
And voice disorders such as vocal fold paralysis…
The team also studies mood disorders such as depression and anxiety.
((Dr. Yael Bensoussan, Voice Specialist)) ((SKYPE))
So when somebody is depressed, sad, has anxiety, of course their speech changes.
((NARRATOR))
((Courtesy: NIH))
The study is one of four data-generation projects funded by the National Institutes of Health's Bridge to Artificial Intelligence program, designed to use AI to tackle complex biomedical challenges.
((Dr. Yael Bensoussan, Voice Specialist)) ((SKYPE))
They realized that there was such a big gap between the technology that we had available, and the clinical knowledge, and what we use in clinical care in our hospitals.
((NARRATOR))
And doing it while maintaining participants’ privacy.
[[Radio track: Grace Peng is one of the coordinators of the National Institutes of Health’s Bridge2AI program. She spoke with VOA via Zoom.]]
((Grace Peng, National Institutes of Health)) ((Zoom))
We want to think about the ethics associated with collecting people's voices. And how do we keep it private? ((NARRATOR))
((Courtesy: NIH))
The study will start enrolling participants in the coming year. ((Julie Taboh, VOA News, Washington))
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK B
((PKG)) BIONIC HAND
((TRT: 04:21))
((Topic Banner: Bionic Hand))
((Reporter/Camera/Editor/Producer: Genia Dulot))
((Map: San Diego, California))
((Main characters: 0 female; 1 male))
((Sub characters: 2 female; 0 male))
((Blurb: World’s First Touch-Sensing Bionic Hand, from Superhero Movies to the Reality))
((NATS))
((Kate Ketelhohn
Disabled Cosplayer))
There is many heroes out there that do you have bionic limbs or disabilities. Typically, they are villains because of the stereotype of disabled character being villains, or there are high-tech characters like Nebula who I’m cosplaying right now that have high-tech limbs or are cyborgs.
((Kate Ketelhohn
Disabled Cosplayer))
I lost my hand to sepsis when I was an infant. Growing up, I never really saw characters like me. I really like taking parts of what makes me me, and adding it to the characters I love. It makes me feel very strong and I feel like it’s always a statement piece.
((NATS))
((Aadeel Akhtar
CEO and Founder of PSYONIC))
I’ve wanted to do this my entire life, ever since I was seven years old, to build bionic limbs. My parents are from Pakistan and I was visiting when I was seven. And that’s the first time I met someone missing a limb. And she was my age, missing her light leg, and using a tree branch as a crutch, living in the streets. That’s what inspired me to go into this field.
((Aadeel Akhtar
CEO and Founder of PSYONIC))
It works off of the muscles that are still left in your arm, right?. So, if you’re missing your arm over here, you still have muscles in your forearm that control a hand. We can tap into those muscles and then use those to actually control the different movements on the hand itself.
((NATS))
((Annika Berlin
Bionic Hand User))
The electrodes, which looks something like this, are what is pressed up against my skin, embedded in a socket on each side, and those are what reads muscle contractions.
I’m contracting like the end of my muscle, the end of my arm on this side of my arm to close it, and then I’m contracting the muscle out here to open the hand.
((Aadeel Akhtar
CEO and Founder of PSYONIC))
The muscle sensing technology had been around for a while, but it wasn’t just very accessible, and it hadn’t been applied to 3-D printed prosthetics before. We were combining all those technologies together and building our own devices that can use those technologies.
((NATS))
((Aadeel Akhtar
CEO and Founder of PSYONIC))
Mark 4 is also the first one that we were incorporating touch feedback. So we put pressure sensors into the finger. This allows our users to actually feel what they’re manipulating, what they’re grabbing.
((Annika Berlin
Bionic Hand User))
Now saying that I have feeling again would be misleading, it’s not like that at all. If anything, I like to describe it like it’s added reassurance. Grabbing my coffee in the morning, heavy glass of coffee, you know. It’s hot whatever…I get that feedback that I am holding it. And I’ve noticed that I’ve stopped like staring at my hand when I’m going to pick up a cup of coffee. I get that little vibration that I’m holding it, and I’m not staring at my hand to make sure, which is something that I’ve always used to do.
((Aadeel Akhtar
CEO and Founder of PSYONIC))
We’re working on integrating this hand directly to your bones and your nerves. So with the nerve implant technology, this is what you’d be able to do, right? So I can control each hand independently and very fluidly, right? So, the idea here is that instead of using the camera, you’d use nerve implants. And with that we’re hoping that within a couple of years, we might get our first patients to play piano or type on the keyboard again.
((NATS))
((Annika Berlin
Bionic Hand User))
Individual finger control would be awesome, and that soon we’ll know if somebody like me, somebody who is congenital, if it would be useful for me, if it would be possible.
((NATS))
((Aadeel Akhtar
CEO and Founder of PSYONIC))
So, in addition to humans using our hand, so if you’re building a robot to do the same thing that humans are, then you can use our hand for robots as well. And so, NASA is building a humanoid astronaut that they eventually want to send into space, and they were looking for a hand that they could use. So they contacted us, and to see if we can actually fit our hand on their robot.
And in this picture, you can actually see their humanoid astronaut robot, Valkyrie, using our hand. And Annie is actually fist-bumping using the exactly same hand the robot is using.
((NATS))
TEASE
((VO/NAT/SOT))
Coming up…
((Topic Banner))
Smile!
((SOT))
((Sally Davies
Photographer))
I discovered that you can never tell, ever, what is inside from what is outside.
BREAK TWO
USAGM
((LogOn Underwater Drones (TV, R)
HEADLINE: LogOn: Underwater Drones Take Off Like Those in the Air
TEASER: The discovery of the Endurance shipwreck in Antarctic waters this year has encouraged hobbyists to take up underwater drones
BYLINE: Genia Dulot
VIDEOGRAPHER: Genia Dulot
PRODUCER: Genia Dulot
SCRIPT EDITORS: Michelle Quinn
TRT: 2:01
[[As they overcome the challenges of operating in water, underwater drones are becoming more available for hobbyists, researchers and public agencies. Genia Dulot reports.)) ((NARRATION))
Jesuit Robotics, a high school robotics team from Sacramento, California, has been designing remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs, for more than a decade.
[[For Radio: Charlie Diaz, a member of the Jesuit Robotics team]]
((Charlie Diaz, Jesuit Robotics))
We developed the grippers ourselves, the cameras, our modularly adjustable buoyancy systems.
((BROLL: Shots of Jesuit Robotics team))
((NARRATION))
Jesuit Robotics recently exhibited its underwater drone at a competition in Long Beach, California. Called the Manatee, this underwater drone can map shipwrecks or work on environmental projects.
((Charlie Diaz, Jesuit Robotics))
We have our custom AI detection software. … Our bottom gripper helps us to restore seagrass beds.
((NARRATION))
((Courtesy: FALKLANDS MARITIME HERITAGE TRUST, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC / AFP))
Entrancing many, the recent discovery by ROV of the Endurance, which sank in Antarctic waters in 1915. That effort cost an estimated $10 million.
ROVs have been slow to take off among hobbyists, however. Several startup companies are making design changes and adding technology to make drones work better underwater and reduce costs.
Blue Robotics, a Los Angeles firm, works on waterproofing underwater drone parts such as the thruster, which propels the ROV in the right direction, and has added various sensors measuring temperature, pressure and depth.
[[For Radio: Rustom Jehangir is founder and CEO of Blue Robotics]]
((Rustom Jehangir, CEO Blue Robotics))
Instead of trying to protect the motor from the water, why don’t we make a waterproof motor? That’s really the innovation here.
((Courtesy: Blue Robotics))
((NARRATION))
These new underwater drones cannot go to the deep sea, but they are being used in conditions unsafe for human divers, and by hobbyists, says Fritz Stahr, an ocean technology expert.
[[For Radio: Fritz Stahr, a judge at the competition, and chief technology officer at Open Ocean Robotics, a marine technology firm.]]
((Fritz Stahr, Ocean Tech Expert))
The ability for everybody or more people to be that explorer, to be that person who understands what’s going on in their local environment, is really important.
((NARRATION))
Unlike aerial drones, technology has yet to solve the problem of underwater communications. For now, these drones are controlled by a tether.
((Genia Dulot for VOA News, Los Angeles))
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK C
((PKG)) APARTMENT PHOTOGRAPHER
((TRT: 5:26))
((Previously aired August 2021))
((Topic Banner: Capturing Homes))
((VOA Russian))
((Reporter: Anna Nelson))
((Camera: Maxim Avloshenko))
((Editor: Natalia Latukhina))
((Adapted by: Zdenko Novacki))
((Map: New York City, New York))
((Main characters: 1 female; 0 male))
((Sub characters: 0 male; 0 female))
((NATS))
((Sally Davies
Photographer))
I had very recently placed
((Courtesy: Sally Davies))
a big amount of photos
((Courtesy ends))
at the Museum of the City of New York on my outside, ((Courtesy: Sally Davies))
my street photography. I thought that was it.
((Courtesy ends))
I'm good now. And then one night, I woke up at four o’clock in the morning.
Oh my God! In a hundred years, people will go to the museum and they will see all those photos of “Whoa, look what New York used to look like”, and
((Courtesy: Sally Davies))
no idea who lived inside those buildings. And I thought, “That's my next project.
((Courtesy ends))
I'm going to go back. I'm going to go into people's homes and I'm going to take their pictures with all their stuff.” And I started in
((Courtesy: Sally Davies))
about three days.
((Courtesy ends))
I think people enjoy looking in other people's homes. I do. And in New York, people tend to be not quite so open about their homes. You know, you can't go by and look in people's windows.
((Sally Davies
Photographer))
You think you're nutty? You can look in there and see somebody who's nuttier. You think you have a lot of stuff? You can look in there, see somebody who has more stuff than you do.
So, I tried with a few friends first. And I thought, “I'll go on social media. I'll put a call out anybody who wants to, you know, to do this.” But I never had to. Everybody had another friend, had another friend. And before you know it, people were sending me an email with a picture of their house, saying, “Could you please put me in the book?” you know.
((Sally Davies
Photographer))
I got my thing, my bag, and I would go to people's house, and they would open the door and I'd be like, “Hi, let me look.” And I would walk in their house and just quickly. Some places, I was only for five minutes or 10 minutes.
((Courtesy: Sally Davies))
There's a woman in
((Courtesy ends))
the book named Marina.
((Courtesy: Sally Davies))
And she answered the door in this 50s Dior, vintage, beautiful gown. And we walked into the living room, she had painted the whole living room pink to match the gown. That's why we have that beautiful photo of her.
((Courtesy ends))
((Sally Davies
Photographer))
Also, the woman, Suzanne Mallouk,
((Courtesy: Sally Davies))
in the book. She's the woman that was Jean-Michel Basquiat's girlfriend many years ago. She answered the door like that with the turban and this beautiful thing and it made the book very varied, right? I mean, some people were like that
((Courtesy ends))
and other people were just like me. Nothing. This is how I am.
((Courtesy: Sally Davies))
I shot about 125 people.
((Courtesy ends))
((Sally Davies
Photographer))
Bun came with me to every photograph and that was good. Maybe at the beginning, I was afraid, a little nervous. And I had my friends were going, “Are you out of your mind? You're going by yourself to this.”, you know. But after a few, I just wasn't nervous anymore. I thought, “This is not going to go bad.”
When I moved here in [19]83, this neighborhood was all tenements.
((Courtesy: Sally Davies))
((Sally Davies
Photographer))
The first apartment I ever had, had a bathtub in the kitchen. And when you tell people that, they're like, “What?” You’re like, “Yeah, that was a thing.” And they were all exactly the same. It was the tenement buildings, right?
((Courtesy ends))
((Sally Davies
Photographer))
I discovered that you can never tell, ever, what is inside from what is outside. I would, you know, meet periodically famous people or people that were very wealthy. And, you know, you'd go to their place and the outside of the building would always, not always, but often be a complete dump.
((Courtesy: Sally Davies))
Then, you'd walk into these, like fantastic apartments.
They don't want their building to look nice, especially in those days. You’d be robbed. You’d have people breaking in, you know. So, that was just fine.
((Courtesy ends))
((Sally Davies
Photographer))
One lady in the book, she had tiny, little room. Like her and her husband got this little
((Courtesy: Sally Davies))
apartment, Upper West Side, years ago, when they first were starting up. And over the years, they had some children and they needed more space. They looked around. They couldn't get a bigger apartment. So, apartment came up for rent in their building. They took it and they raised their family in two apartments. So, the kids spent their whole life in their pajamas going up and down. Like, they slept up and then living room was downstairs. How funny is that?
((Sally Davies
Photographer))
This has all happened so quickly that we haven't really caught up. And I haven't, mentally, with the fact that we're already doing another printing and the first printing just came out three days ago and it sold out. I don't even know what to think about that.
((Sally Davies
Photographer))
So, the timing was really like God arranged this, I think. It would not have been made. Because people will not, would never let me back in their house now. Not the way things still are. I don't know the word coincidence. It might appear to be a coincidence of the timing of all of this. I don't believe in coincidences. I don't know that things will ever be what they were before this. The project is sort of a love letter to what now is a time gone past.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((PKG)) NATURE KICKER: FISHING FOR SALMON
((TRT: 2:03))
((Topic Banner: Fishing for Salmon))
((Camera/Editor/Producer: Gabrielle Weiss))
((Location: China Poot Bay, Alaska))
((Description: People snagging and dip-netting for Alaskan sockeye salmon in remote China Poot Bay, Alaska.))
CLOSING BUMPER
((ANIM))
voanews.com/connect
BREAK THREE
USAGM SHARE
((LogOn: Space Camera (TV, R)
HEADLINE: LogOn: Giant Camera Focuses on the Invisible
TEASER: Camera will document the universe for 10 years, gathering data for dark energy and dark matter research
BYLINE: Matt Dibble
VIDEOGRAPHER: Matt Dibble
PRODUCER: Matt Dibble
SCRIPT EDITORS: Michelle Quinn, Reifenrath
TRT: 1:55
[[In California, a camera the size of a car is being prepared for its mission: documenting unseen phenomena in the universe. Matt Dibble has the story.]]
((Courtesy: SLAC))
((NARRATOR))
At the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, California
((Courtesy: SLAC))
((NARRATOR))
engineers are building the world’s largest digital camera. The LSST camera, as it’s called,
((Courtesy: Rubin Observatory/NSF/AURA))
((NARRATOR))
will be installed at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in southern Chile to record images of the night sky over a ten-year period.
((Courtesy: Rubin Observatory/NSF/AURA))
((NARRATOR))
By observing a wide swath of the universe over time, researchers expect to gain insight into some of science’s biggest questions.
[[For Radio: PhD student Theo Schutt is running final tests on the camera.]]
((Theo Schutt, Stanford University Ph.D Student))
How old is the universe, how fast is it expanding, why is it expanding?
So we're really like going for the 95% of the universe that we basically don't understand at all.
((Courtesy: NASA))
((NARRATOR))
Scientists theorize that 95% of the universe is made up of dark energy and dark matter, which can’t be seen directly.
((Courtesy: SLAC))
((NARRATOR))
However, the effect that dark energy has on its surroundings can potentially be detected if observed over time.
[[For Radio: ...says astrophysicist Aaron Roodman, who leads the camera project.]]
((Aaron Roodman, Rubin Observatory Deputy Director))
We can study it by looking at galaxies, ((Courtesy: NASA))
studying how the light from distant galaxies has been bent by all the matter between us and the distant galaxy.
((Courtesy: Rubin Observatory/NSF/AURA/ Todd Mason Productions))
((NARRATOR))
The camera will record on most nights, essentially compiling a time-lapse movie.
((NARRATOR))
Each image will be made up of about 3 billion pixels, ((Courtesy: Rubin Observatory/NSF/AURA)) about 300 times the size of a smartphone image. ((end courtesy))
((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory CG: SLAC))
Funded by the US government, the project will share images ((Courtesy: Rubin Observatory/NSF/AURA))
with international researchers, directing attention to short-lived phenomena as they happen.
((Aaron Roodman, Rubin Observatory Deputy Director))
Within two minutes, we will compare ((Courtesy: NASA))
the objects we see in it — the stars, galaxies, asteroids ((end courtesy)) — with how they previously appeared in prior images. And we will flag any differences.
((NARRATOR))
Researchers are eagerly expecting the unexpected.
((Matt Dibble for VOA News, Menlo Park, California))
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
SHOW ENDS
