Latest news with #Ricketts
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Mysterious ‘ship goo' contains new life forms
It came from the deep: a viscous black gunk oozing from the rudder shaft of a ship. At the end of August 2024, the crew of the Great Lakes research vessel R/V Blue Heron, first spotted the substance when the boat was brought to a Cleveland shipyard for propeller repairs. From the outset, no one was sure what to make of it, according to Doug Ricketts, Marine Superintendent at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Large Lakes Observatory. The muck looked like thick grease or oil, Ricketts tells Popular Science, but the rudder shaft wasn't supposed to be lubricated by anything more than lake water. Instead of a strong petroleum odor, the goop had a metallic smell. It also didn't leave a sheen on water, nor burn up in a blowtorch flame, during informal tests conducted by Blue Heron Captain Rual Lee. So, what was it? On the quest for answers, Ricketts brought a paper coffee cup half-filled with the mystery goop (labeled 'ship goo' in haphazard marker strokes) to university scientists. Laboratory analysis has prompted more questions than clarity, but the initial assessment of the 'ship goo' yielded at least one startling discovery. The mysterious tar-like material contained previously unidentified forms of life. 'I really didn't think we'd get anything, to be honest,' Cody Sheik, a microbial ecologist at the University of Minnesota Duluth tells Popular Science. 'Usually, when you're given a cup of tar,' you don't expect much, he adds. Under that assumption, he 'handed it off to a graduate student and said 'good luck'.' The graduate student successfully extracted DNA from the goo, defying Sheik's initial expectations– but still, he thought it might be routine sample contamination. It was only after the lab sent the extracted DNA off for preliminary, single-gene sequencing that Sheik realized he was in uncharted territory. When the results came back, he was shocked. 'A lot of the sequences came out really novel. I was like, 'oh, oh no, okay– this is a whole different story',' he says. [ Related: Pollution-eating microbes are thriving in infamous NYC canal. ] For a deeper look into the goo's microbial makeup, Sheik and his colleagues sent the sample for a second round of sequencing. This time, they examined the whole genomes inside of the goo, instead of just a single key gene region. The analysis confirmed that, though the goop microbes weren't especially diverse, they were unique. They reconstructed the genomes of more than 20 microbes, and compared them to comprehensive databases of previously identified organisms. According to Sheik, they found several novel archaea– members of a domain of single-celled, prokaryotic life that are distinguished from bacteria by their cell membrane composition. One of the microbes they found represents, not just a new species, but an entirely new order of archaea. For now, the scientists are officially referring to it as ShipGoo01. Another promising, oddball microbe could be a whole new bacterial phylum, Sheik says. If confirmed, that would probably be christened ShipGoo002. Others, too, might prove new to science. 'There's several of them that may be new genus, may be new families, for sure,' he notes. ShipGoo01 seems to be anaerobic, meaning it prefers an oxygen-free environment. Other microbes in the goo seem to gobble oxygen up and Sheik suggests that it's possible these exist in a mutually beneficial balance. Of the more familiar microbes and genetic markers, database comparison indicates that the bulk of the teeny tiny organisms are similar to those associated with oil wells, tar pits, and other hydrocarbon systems. Several seem to be related to microorganisms with international origins– from places like Germany. 'That's been kind of fun– trying to figure out where [it's from] and why it's in the rudder system here. It's becoming quite baffling,' Sheik says. In part, again, because the Blue Heron's rudder isn't regularly greased with oil, and because it sails on the Great Lakes in the Midwest. The ship hasn't always been in University of Minnesota custody. It was purchased pre-owned in 1997, Ricketts says, so it's entirely possible that the prior owners of the vessel did apply some sort of petroleum-based lubricant to the rudder shaft. But generally microbes need a steady food supply. Without any additional influx of grease in over 25 years, it's hard to know what the oil-associated microbes might be eating after all this time. Perhaps they're subsisting off of the metal itself, though Ricketts notes that the rudder shaft didn't look particularly damaged. Maybe organic matter from the lake water feeds the micro-beasts. Or maybe some secret third thing is going on. 'The more we start getting into this, the more I'm kind of clueless here,' Sheik says. 'We're doing a lot of sleuthing to try to figure this thing out.' He's hoping to get better answers on what the microbes are floating around in, and all of the microbial metabolic pathways present in the goop. Sheik also imagines using chemical isotope analysis down the line to establish where the atoms in the system are coming from. The carbon and nitrogen in algae, for instance, have a very different profile from the equivalent molecules in motor lube. 'It's like a 1,000 piece puzzle that we're trying to put together,' without any picture on the box to go off of, Sheik says. Once more of the image becomes clear, his lab plans to publish their findings in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. [Related: Can microbes that devour plastic waste be transformed into food for humans?] But there's one big challenge the scientists might not be able to overcome. The cup of goo (comprising about 100 milliliters of gunk) was the only sample taken, and getting more could be difficult–nigh impossible. The ship would have to be put in dry dock, with the rudder, once again, disassembled. And 'unfortunately, they did a really good job cleaning it last time before they put it back,' Sheik says. The rest of the ship goo 'may be lost forever.' Or maybe not. 'I don't think this ship is unique. I really strongly suspect that if you took the rudder post of any ship anywhere, there's a possibility of finding some organism–maybe a new organism–in that space,' Ricketts says. Before this, it would've been easy for him to imagine strange microorganisms popping up in a ship galley or on a fuel filter. But of all the places for something like this to be found, the mechanical rudder shaft at the far end of a ship is among the weirdest, Ricketts says. It just goes to prove, 'microbes are everywhere.' To better understand more of those undiscovered lifeforms, hiding in plain sight, Sheik says his lab would need secure funding and resources. Like many university science labs that rely, in large part, on taxpayer dollars, the future of his work is up in the air. 'Right now we're in this weird spot where we're just trying to struggle to keep our labs open,' he says. He worries that, moving forward, we'll miss out on ShipGoo3– but also on all the would-be advances that might come from it. Many prior microbe discoveries have proved useful in fields as varied as waste management and pollution remediation to life-saving drug development. 'As these dollars go away, our ability to do this primary research that can drive innovation goes away and could be lost for a very long time.'
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ricketts joins the ranks of well-heeled businessmen buying land in Nebraska
U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, at left, then Nebraska's governor, celebrates his hunt near Chadron in 2022 with State Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams. Ricketts has now bought land in the area. (Courtesy of Nebraska Governor's Office) CHADRON, Nebraska — U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts has joined the likes of Ted Turner and Bill Gates as a well-heeled businessman buying large plots of land in Nebraska. Like those purchases, there's concern it might result in higher property taxes for neighbors, though a Dawes County commissioner calls those concerns unfounded. Ricketts, whose net worth is estimated at $182 million by the investment research website Quiver Qualitative, bought nearly 3,459 acres in the scenic Pine Ridge area of northwest Nebraska in December for $7.45 million. The purchase, which averaged $2,154 per acre, involved two groups of land once owned by a Wahoo businessman, Dan Kreitman, whom Ricketts had appointed to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission in 2016. One parcel is just east of Chadron State Park. The second is just west of East Ash Road. Both parcels are in the scenic Pine Ridge area of Nebraska, south and southwest of Chadron in Dawes County. It is rugged canyon land known for strong populations of deer and turkey, and even some elk and mountain lions. Part of the land the senator purchased was burned during wildfires over the past 20 years, leaving behind lots of blackened trees and newly restored grassland. Ricketts, who enjoys turkey and deer hunting, purchased the land for recreational purposes, according to a realtor with knowledge of the sale. His father, Joe, raises bison on land he owns. There was no indication that Pete will be raising livestock on the new land. Messages sent to Ricketts' senate office seeking comment did not result in a response by Friday. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX While past purchases of Nebraska ranch land by Turner, the founder of CNN, and acquisition of farmland by Gates, the Microsoft billionaire, raised the ire of some nearby landowners, a former Chadron radio news director said feelings might be different with Ricketts' purchase because he's from Nebraska and is a former governor. 'He's not an outsider,' said John Axtell, a longtime Chadron-area radio news and sports reporter who is now retired. Dawes County Commissioner Jake Stewart, who owns Pine Ridge ranch property not far from the Ricketts land, said the purchase is considered a 'private sale' — one not used to set property values for nearby land — that should not impact property valuations and property taxes for neighbors. The price paid by Ricketts, $2,154 per acre, is higher than the average price for all property in northwest Nebraska of $965 an acre, according to a report this year by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Center for Agriculture Profitability. The average price paid for non-tillable grazing land, which is most of what Ricketts bought, was $630 an acre. But the price for so-called 'recreational land' that provides a private hunting preserve can go much higher. Current listings for such property in the Pine Ridge can leap above $4,000 — to as high as $12,000 an acre. Ricketts, when governor, proclaimed that Nebraska was the 'best destination in the United States' for turkey hunting. Besides that, he posted photographs of deer hunts, and the Pine Ridge is known for its ample populations of mule deer and wild turkeys. 'Land in the Pine Ridge is prized by big-game hunters, regardless of whether they're rich or poor,' said a veteran western Nebraska realtor, who asked not to be named to avoid upsetting clients. 'It's one of the last wild places in the United States.' There also are likely some mountain lions on Ricketts' land. In 2020, the Lincoln Journal Star wrote a story about Kreitman shooting a deer on his Pine Ridge ranch land, but when he located the animal, a mountain lion had already begun feeding on it. Gates, according to a Flatwater Free Press story in 2024, owns 20,000 acres of farmland across 19 counties in Nebraska. But most of Gates' holdings are tillable farmland in eastern Nebraska, not rocky outcroppings in the Pine Ridge. In 2018, the Omaha World-Herald reported that Turner owned approximately 500,000 acres of ranch land, mostly in the Sand Hills region of the state, where he raises bison. John Malone, who made billions in running telecom companies including Liberty Media, also is a major owner of Nebraska property, according to the realtor interviewed by the Examiner. So, said Axtell, the former radio reporter, Ricketts' purchase in the Pine Ridge area pales by comparison. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dan Osborn launches independent Senate bid against Ricketts in Nebraska
Dan Osborn, an industrial mechanic who lost a Senate bid against Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) by single digits last year, is launching another bid for the upper chamber — this time for Sen. Pete Ricketts's (R-Neb.) seat. In his launch video, Osborn contrasts his working-class background as an industrial mechanic and military veteran with Ricketts's family wealth, being the eldest son of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts. 'There's a lot of rich guys in Washington like Pete Ricketts, but not a lot with hands like these,' Osborn says in the ad. 'We fix their cars, grow their food, fight their wars.' 'Politicians like Sen. Pete Ricketts are the problem,' he continued. 'His dad worked for a living, but Petey? He got his money the fast way: his billionaire family.' Osborn's ad also nods to the steamfitter's background, where he led a major strike against Kellogg's in Omaha in 2021, saying, 'I didn't buy my way into politics.' 'I'm running for Senate because Congress shouldn't just be a playground for the rich. We gotta make things more affordable, secure the border and take on corruption in Washington,' he says in the ad. In an interview with The Hill ahead of his announcement, Osborn said he was making another run for Senate to advocate for the working class. He surprised many last year when his long-shot Senate bid against Fischer came strikingly close; he lost to the cattle rancher by close to 7 points, while President Trump handily won the state by more than 20 points. He noted some of the dynamics of next year's race would be different compared to his run against Fischer, including the fact that he's a better-known candidate this time around and he's running against a wealthy incumbent. Osborn said he wanted to show Americans and Nebraskans specifically that 'there's another way forward and create a level playing field for workers to be able to get ahead in this country and stop racing towards the bottom and wealth funneling to the top.' Ricketts campaign spokesperson Will Coup knocked Osborn in a statement following his announcement, suggesting he was a Democrat in sheep's clothing — criticism he also faced last cycle. 'Senator Ricketts has consistently worked for and voted to secure the border and cut taxes for Nebraska workers, families, and seniors,' Coup said. 'Dan Osborn is bought and paid for by his liberal, out-of-state, coastal donors. Dan Osborn will side with Chuck Schumer over Nebraska families and vote with Democrats to open the border, hike taxes, and stop the America First agenda.' While Osborn made last year's race surprisingly competitive, the election underscored the increasingly difficult political terrain for independent candidates in an ever-partisan environment. Beating Ricketts, who was appointed to the Senate in 2023 after former Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) retired early from his seat, will also be no easy feat. The former Nebraska governor will have a clear financial edge over Osborn. Even before Osborn made his announcement, Trump came out with a strong endorsement of Ricketts on his Truth Social platform in April while deriding the steamfitter as 'a Radical Left Open Border Extremist, who will put our Country, and Safety, LAST.' Osborn could benefit from the midterm environment, however, when the president's party typically faces electoral headwinds. Despite Nebraska's reliably Republican leanings, Osborn thinks there's still an appetite for a middle-of-the-road candidate. 'If you look at the end zones being the two parties, the loudest certainly sit in the end zones. And if you sit around and you either watch Fox News or MSNBC all day long, you know, you would think we're all fighting in the streets with each other, and we hate each other,' Osborn said. 'My world's a different world,' he said. 'I walk around and talk to people all day long, and I think most people operate within the 40-yard lines, somewhere down the middle, either left or right, but certainly, there's a lot of things that we all agree upon no matter what side you fall on.' Osborn said that if he's elected, he wouldn't caucus with either party — something he also pledged the last time he ran. He quipped that he's a 'free agent.' a potentially enviable position in a narrowly divided Senate. 'If I have to bring a lawn chair and then pop it between the two aisles, that's where I sit. I'll eat lunch by myself,' he said. 'I want to challenge the system and show people that you could be an effective senator as an independent.' Updated at 10:32 a.m. EDT Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nebraska Senate race shifts to likely Republican: Sabato's Crystal Ball
Sabato's Crystal Ball, a nonpartisan election analyst from the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, is shifting its rating of Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts's (R) seat from 'safe Republican' to 'likely Republican' after independent Dan Osborn's entry into the race. Sabato's Crysal Ball associate editor Miles Coleman wrote in an analysis Thursday that Ricketts was 'still a clear favorite for a full term,' but he noted Osborn, an industrial mechanic who lost to Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) last cycle by single digits, could benefit from a higher name ID this time around and a difficult midterm environment for Republicans. He also noted the state Democratic Party is not looking to put up its own candidate in the race against Ricketts next year. 'Even if we view Ricketts as a tougher opponent than Fischer, one factor in Osborn's favor this time could be a bluer national environment,' Coleman wrote. 'In his first campaign, Osborn also distanced himself from the Democratic Party, at least rhetorically, to an extent that other recent independents did not seem willing to—he talked about helping Trump build his much-mentioned border wall, for instance,' he continued. 'This is something Osborn will almost certainly have to lean further into now.' Yet, Coleman suggested Ricketts would be a more formidable opponent than Fischer, saying Ricketts may be harder for his opponents to define. Ricketts previously served as a two-term governor in the state, while Fischer maintained a lower profile in the Senate. The Sabato's Crysal Ball associate editor also noted that in addition to Ricketts's family wealth, he also notched close to 90,000 more raw votes than the senior senator when both were on the ballot in 2024. And while Osborn may have higher name ID this cycle, Coleman suggested that could also be a slight hindrance. 'Osborn enters the 2026 cycle with higher name recognition than he had two years ago, although we wonder if that comes at the cost of losing the element of surprise—something that seemed like a crucial ingredient in propelling him into contention against Fischer,' Coleman wrote. Unlike last cycle, when outside GOP groups had to get involved later on during the cycle, 'this time, national Republicans clearly wanted to cover their bases in Nebraska: in May, One Nation, a conservative outside group, began running ads boosting Ricketts,' he wrote. Osborn launched his campaign to take on Ricketts this week, contrasting his working-class background with Ricketts's wealth. Independent candidates have long faced a tough climb to pick off incumbents given the increasingly partisan political environment, and Ricketts may represent Osborn's most formidable test yet. Republicans, too, are leaning into a similar message they used against him last cycle — that he's a Democrat in sheep's clothing. Depending on how competitive he makes the race, he could at least force Republicans to spend in a state they otherwise wouldn't have had to worry about next year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Nebraska Senate race shifts to likely Republican: Sabato's Crystal Ball
Sabato's Crystal Ball, a nonpartisan election handicapper from the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, is shifting their rating of Sen. Pete Ricketts's (R-Neb.) seat from 'safe Republican' to 'likely Republican' with the entry of independent Dan Osborn. Sabato's Crysal Ball associate editor Miles Coleman wrote in an analysis on Thursday that Ricketts was 'still a clear favorite for a full term,' but he noted that Osborn, an industrial mechanic that lost to Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) last cycle by single digits, could benefit from a higher name ID this time around and the midterm environment for Democrats. He also enjoys the fact that the state Democratic Party is not looking to put up their own candidate in the race against Ricketts next year. 'Even if we view Ricketts as a tougher opponent than Fischer, one factor in Osborn's favor this time could be a bluer national environment,' Coleman wrote. 'In his first campaign, Osborn also distanced himself from the Democratic Party, at least rhetorically, to an extent that other recent independents did not seem willing to—he talked about helping Trump build his much-mentioned border wall, for instance,' he continued. 'This is something Osborn will almost certainly have to lean further into now.' Yet, Coleman suggested Ricketts would be a more formidable opponent than Fischer this cycle, saying Ricketts may be harder to define for his opponents having already served as a two-term governor in the state while Fischer maintained a lower profile in the Senate. The Sabato's Crysal Ball associate editor also noted that in addition to Ricketts' family wealth, he also notched close to 90,000 more raw votes than the senior senator when both were on the ballot in 2024. And while Osborn may have higher name ID this cycle, Coleman suggested that could also be a slight hindrance for the independent this time around. 'Osborn enters the 2026 cycle with higher name recognition than he had two years ago, although we wonder if that comes at the cost of losing the element of surprise—something that seemed like a crucial ingredient in propelling him into contention against Fischer,' Coleman wrote. And unlike last cycle when outside GOP groups had to get involved later on during the cycle, 'this time, national Republicans clearly wanted to cover their bases in Nebraska: in May, One Nation, a conservative outside group, began running ads boosting Ricketts,' he wrote. Osborn launched his campaign to take on Ricketts this week, contrasting his working-class background with Ricketts' wealth. Independent candidates have long faced a tough climb to picking off incumbents given the increasingly partisan political environment, and Osborn faces his toughest election yet. Republicans, too, are leaning into a similar message they used against him last cycle – that he's a Democrat in sheep's clothing. Depending on how competitive he makes the race, he could at least force Republicans to spend in a state they otherwise wouldn't have had to worry about next year.
